Following The Evidence #88

We need to be able to balance reality with the narrative of how it is presented in the Bible. Yesterday we talked about how the Bible speaks to us in conceptual language so that we can grasp what it is trying to tell us.

When I was younger, I had thought that thrones were like armchairs, and then I remembered the text, “To the one who overcomes I will give to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne (Rev 3:21).” Obviously, the throne of heaven is not an armchair! It is more like a couch, where two or more people can sit. Suddenly the New Testament texts about Jesus sitting down at the right hand of God made sense (Acts 2:33; Heb 1:3, 13; 8:1, etc.). It is conceptual. In this text, Jesus receives everything that the throne represents and offers a future place there to those who overcome. Revelation is speaking to us in conceptual language that surpasses its cultural background.

A careful reading of Revelation 4 makes it clear that “throne” is the keyword of the entire chapter. The word “throne” appears fourteen times in Revelation 4. It is the centre and focus of the scene. Everything that takes place in the heavenly throne room takes place in relation to the throne. These actions are signalled by a series of prepositions. Things happen “around” the throne, “upon” the throne, “out from” the throne, “before” the throne, “in the midst of” the throne, and “at the right side of” the throne. “Throne” is clearly the central word of this passage and the throne represents the central theme of everything that takes place in it.

What is a throne and what does it represent? A throne represents the right to rule. The person who sits on a throne has the right to rule over a piece of territory, a nation, or a group of some form. Since the throne is at the centre, the key issue of this passage is God’s right to rule and how that functions in heavenly places. Thus, the centrality of the throne here means this passage is a decisive development in the controversy between God and Satan over the dominion of the universe. Revelation 4 and 5 portrays the crucial event in that war– the death of the Lamb and His resulting exaltation back to the throne of God from where He originated.

Let me point out something significant that comes to us from a correct understanding of the book of Revelation. The book itself is overlaid with many things which include the history of Israel, Creation, the Exodus, and the Babylonian captivity. Also, many of the major Characters and their stories are over-laid over the book. The Jewish sanctuary service becomes an important ‘over lay’. In fact, the book of Revelation cannot be understood without an understanding of this Old Testament Jewish pantomime. We are told that the earthly services of the sanctuary are modelled on the Heavenly Sanctuary (Hebrews 8:1-5.) The book of Revelation is divided into 7 great controversy scenes. Each Scene begins with a heavenly sanctuary scene.

So, what is my point? Omnipresence has chosen to meet with His creation in a place that is called The Heavenly Sanctuary. If you take the time to read Revelation 4 and 5, which is the sanctuary scene preceding the 7 seals and 7 trumpets, you will find 5 coral anthems in an ascending crescendo of praise ending with a testimony to the divinity of Christ (Revelation 5:12-14.)

If your God is too small, or you struggle with His grandeur, remember that Jesus said if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father (John 14:7). God is Love! 621

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