Sermon Central
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The Throne Room Of God Series
Contributed by Dennis Lee on Feb 18, 2016 (message contributor)
Summary: We are going through the Book of Revelation. Today we'll be looking at Revelation chapter four and the throne room of God. We'll look at heaven, the 24 elders, the Godhead, and the four living creatures and their praise of God.
The Book of Revelation
“The Throne Room of God”
I find it interesting that today is Super Bowl Sunday. The reason why is because what we’re going to be looking at over the next several weeks is kind of like one of those programs you pick up when you go to a sporting event.
When you go to a sporting event the ushers call out, “Get your programs. Get your programs here. You can’t tell the players without a program.”
Today we’ll be looking at the playing field; the throne room of heaven, and the players; those the Apostle John saw when taken by the Spirit to the throne room in heaven.
Next week we’ll see the quarterback and what the stakes are, or more succinctly the purpose of this vision.
Today we’ll be looking at each of these players and try to figure out just who and what they represent.
Read Revelation 4:1-3
We begin looking at the center of the field, or more literally, the center of the universe, the throne of God.
People have been searching for something to guide their lives by. Throughout time humanity has been searching the heavens for meaning. From the early Egyptians and Babylonians, and even today, eyes are turned to the heavens to find meaning and purpose. Today we call this astrology, or divination based upon the position of stars in the universe in relationship to the earth.
The Babylonians were more studious in their search, and several wise men were searching the heavens based upon biblical prophecy for the coming of the King. And when the Star appeared in the East, off they went and found the Messiah, Jesus.
But as we look at the heavens, the Bible reveals there are three.
• The first is our atmosphere. In 1 Kings 14:11 it talks about the birds of heaven, or the birds of the air.
• The second heaven is the universe. In Deuteronomy 4:19 it says, “take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven.” And the warning is for us not to worship these.
• The third heaven is the dwelling place of God. This was the place where Paul went in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 when he was caught up to the “third heaven,” which he describes as Paradise.
The third heaven is where the throne of God resides. Beyond our universe “a throne is set in heaven.” (Revelation 4:2)
When we look at what happens in the first six verses of chapter four it becomes clear that everything in heaven is located in relationship to it. The first six verses says, “around the throne,” “from (or out of) the throne,” “before the throne,” and “in the midst of the throne.”
The reason everything centers upon the throne is because the Lord is the One sitting on it.
When I think about this I like to think of it as what the North Star has been to humanity since the dawn of time. Like the North Star is set in the heavens and is constantly guiding sailors on their way, the throne of God is the fixed center of the universe.
Since the North Star is the only constant with stars and galaxies in constant rotation, could God’s throne reside in the space behind the North Star? Behind the North Star there exist empty space. Stars and Galaxies are found in all directions, but there is an empty space in the northern part of the universe.
This brings what Job said to the forefront, and it wasn’t until we had the Hubel Telescope and all these other huge telescopes that we found out that there was even an empty space out there.
Job said, “God stretches out the north over empty space … (and) He covers the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud over it.” (Job 26:7, 9)
And so the center of the Universe and of our lives is the Lord, and when we look to Him as the sailors look to the North Star to guide them, He will guide us.
Now Paul describes the Lord God who is sitting on the throne. And the question is, how do you describe what is indescribable?
Why are the jasper and sardius stone chosen to represent the Lord God.
• Interesting thing about these two stones is that they represent the first and the last tribes of Judah. The jasper represents Ruben, the firstborn son of Abraham, while the sardius represents the Benjamin, the youngest son. They are the first and the last, which is a description of the Lord throughout the Bible as He is called the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.
