Great White Throne of God Revelation 4:1-11 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Great White Throne
John was given an opportunity to see the throne of God. He is among an elite group [Isaiah – Isaiah 6:1-4; Ezekiel – Ezekiel 1:4-28, 10:1-22; Paul – 2 Corinthians 12:1-4]. He was carried up to heaven in the spirit and recorded what he saw around the throne. His “ascension” typifies the rapture. Let’s see how he got there and what he saw.
How John got to the throne of God
- He went through a door – 1 – John 10:7-9 [Jesus]
- He was called up by a voice that sounded like a trumpet – 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-16 – the same trumpet that will sound for us at the Rapture – this is the same trumpet that he saw and heard in Revelation 1:10-13
- The voice said “Come up hither” – a phrase recorded three times in scripture delineating the three raptures – Proverbs 25:7 [rapture of the souls of the Old Testament saints] – Revelation 4:1 [rapture of the New Testament saints] – Revelation 11:12 [rapture of the Tribulation saints]
- He went up immediately – 2 – i.e., “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” [1 Corinthians 15:52]
What John saw when he saw the throne of God
· A throne – 2 – Psalms 11:4
· One sitting on the throne – 2 – there is one God [Deuteronomy 6:4] in three persons [1 John 5:7] and Jesus is sitting with his Father in his throne [Revelation 3:21]
o He looked like a jasper [yellowish opaque quartz similar to the amber of Ezekiel 1:4] and a sardine [blood red] stone [Deuteronomy 32:4, 18 He is a Rock]
· A rainbow around the throne – 3 – sunlight shining into a cloud seen from the air produces a 360⁰ rainbow – so the light of God [Revelation 21:23] shining in the cloud around the throne [Ezekiel 1:4, 28] produces an emerald rainbow [compare the perversion of this sight in the Wizard of Oz’s Emerald City and notice where the world got the idea to use red and green as Christmas colors]
· Twenty Four elders sitting in Twenty Four seats – 4 – 12 of these are probably the twelve apostles, the other twelve might be 12 of the prophets [Ephesians 2:20-22]
o They were wearing white raiment – 4 – [Revelation 3:4, 43:18, 19:8]
o They were wearing crowns of gold – 4 – [following the Judgment Seat of Christ, many saints will be wearing crowns – 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 2 Timothy 4:8, 1 Corinthians 9:25, 1 Pet 5:4, James 1:12]
· Lightening, thunder and voices – 5 – [Revelation 8:5, Ezekiel 1:13-14, 1:24-25, John 12:28-29]
· Seven lamps of fire – 5 – these are the seven Spirits of God [Revelation 1:4]
· A sea of glass like crystal – 6 – [Revelation 15:2] – this sea of glass is literally frozen water [Job 38:30, Genesis 1:6-8, Psalms 148:4]
· Four beasts in the midst of and round about the throne – 6 – these match the cherubims of Ezekiel 1:10, 10:14-15 – notice a few things – the fifth cherub that covered the throne is missing [Ezekiel 28:14-16, Isaiah 14:12-15, because he is now the devil] – the face of the cherub and the calf are used interchangeably in Ezekiel 1 and 10 – thus when the devil (formerly a cherub) is depicted as an idol, he is depicted as a calf [Exodus 32:4, 1 Kings 12:28] – the reptile class is not represented among the beasts [Revelation 12:9]
o They were full of eyes before and behind – 6 – [Ezekiel 1:16-18 – the eyes are mentioned however the wheels are not mentioned by John]
o They were like:
§ A lion – 7 – king of the beasts
§ A calf – 7 – king of the cattle
§ The third beast had a face like a man – 7 – king of all animals [Genesis 1:26] – the beasts had the likeness of men [Ezekiel 1:5], but they are beasts nonetheless
§ A flying eagle – 7 – king of the fowl
o They each had six wings – 8 – in Isaiah 6:1-4, Isaiah saw Seraphims with 6 wings, and in Ezekiel 1:6, the four beasts appeared with four wings
o They say continually, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come” – 8 – [notice this chorus contains three sets of threes emphasizing the Trinity]
o They give glory and honor and thanks to God – 9 – likewise we should give these to God [glory – 1 Corinthians 10:31, honor – 1 Timothy 1:17 (honor thy Father), thanksgiving – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (Ephesians 5:20)]
· The twenty four elders falling down before God – 10 – they do this as the beasts glorify God
o They worship him – 9 – Matthew 4:10, he is the only one who is worthy
o They cast their crowns before the throne – 9 – it is said of these elders that they represent the saints around the throne of God [Revelation 5:8-11] and that when they cast their crowns before the Lord it is evident that the saints who are rewarded with crowns at the Judgment Seat of Christ will cast their crowns before the Lord, as well.
o They say – 10 –
§ Thou art worthy , O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power [see verse 9 and Matthew 28:18]
§ Thou hast created all things [John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16]
§ For thy pleasure they are and were created [1 Thessalonians 4:1, Hebrews 11:5-6, Hebrews 13:15-16]