Sunday
Sunday
The Central Throne
There before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
Revelation 4:2
It is immensely significant that, when John peeped through the open door, the very first thing he saw was a throne, symbol of the sovereignty, majesty, and kingly rule of God. The throne is mentioned seventeen times in Revelation 4 and 5.
The churches of Asia were small and struggling in comparison with the might of Rome. What could a few defenseless Christians do if an imperial edict were to banish them from the face of the earth? Yet they need have no fear, for at the center of the universe stands a throne. From it the wheeling planets receive their orders. To it gigantic galaxies give their allegiance. In it the tiniest living organism finds its life.
Everything John saw in his vision was related to the throne. He uses seven prepositions to indicate its centrality. On it somebody was sitting. The occupant of the throne is not described, because God is indescribable. All John saw were brilliant colors like flashing jewels. Encircling the throne, a rainbow symbolized God’s covenant mercy. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones occupied by twenty-four elders representing the church (twelve tribes and twelve apostles). From the throne issued thunder and lightning as from Mount Sinai. Before the throne seven lamps were blazing, standing for the Holy Spirit. In front of the throne there stretched an infinite expanse, speaking of God’s transcendence. Then in the center, around the throne, as a kind of inner circle, were four living creatures representing creation.
We pause and reflect whether this is our vision of ultimate reality. Our vision of the future tends to be too negative. We seize on the assurances of the Revelation that one day there will be no more hunger or thirst; no more pain or tears; no more sin, death, or curse, for all these things will have passed away. It would be better and more biblical, however, to focus not so much on these absences as on the cause of their absence, namely on the central dominating presence of God’s throne.
For further reading: Revelation 4:1–6