“God on His Throne” (Ready to Worship S13E6)

This season on Ready to Worship, we are looking at what John saw and said about worship in the book of Revelation. In the fourth chapter, John sees an open door and is invited to come up. When he does as he is invited to do, he sees God on His throne. Five wonderful things stand out about God on His throne – His brightness, His faithfulness, His awesomeness, His holiness, and His worthiness.

 

First, John saw the brightness of God. We read, “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald” (Rev. 4:2-3). The jasper was a brilliant transparent stone (Rev. 21:1) and the sardius was a brilliant red stone. The two stones represent the transparent brightness of God. You may recall that John had gotten a glimpse of this transparent brightness of God on the Mount of Transfiguration. Matthew recorded, “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light (Mat. 17:1-2). Likely, this is what John had in mind in the opening verses of His first epistle. He wrote, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Did you catch that? In Him there is no darkness at all. In the words of James, there is “no variation or shadow of turning” (Ja m. 1:17). That is transparency. That is brightness. Later, in the book of Revelation John will declare that God is so bright that heaven has no night or need of any other light (Rev. 21:11, 23, 25).

 

Second, John saw the faithfulness of God. We read, “And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald” (Rev. 4:3). The presence of the rainbow was a reminder of God’s faithfulness. As you remember, God gave the rainbow as a reminder of His promise to never again destroy the world with water. God is faithful (1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18; Rev. 3:14; 22:6). If God says something, He will make it good (Num. 23:19). Not one word of His good promises will fail (1 Kings 8:56).

 

Third, John saw the awesomeness of God. We read, “And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (Rev. 4:5). Both the sounds and the sights impressed John with the awesomeness of God. It reminds the Bible student of when God came down upon the mountain and met with Moses (Exod. 19:16). On another occasion, Moses declared, “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe” (Deut. 10:17; cf. Neh. 1:5; 9:32; Psa. 47:2; Psa. 111:9).

 

Fourth, John saw the holiness of God. We read, “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy,

Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever” (Rev. 4:8-9). Please note that the words “Holy, holy, holy” are uttered constantly in heaven. Yet, one might argue that even this is not enough. The triple utterance of holy may honor the three persons of the Godhead. It may also picture God’s perfect holiness. Three is sometimes used this way in Scripture. Repeatedly, the writers of the Bible speak of God’s holiness. For example, the Psalmist declared, “Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool—He is holy” (Psa. 99:5). In like manner, Peter wrote, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15-16).

 

Fifth, John saw the worthiness of God. We read, “The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord,To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created” (Rev. 4:10-11). God is worthy because of who He is. He is worthy because of what He has done (Rev. 5:8-14). In the Psalms, David declared, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies” (Psa. 18:3).

 

As we get ready to worship this week, let’s see what John saw. Let’s see the brightness, faithfulness, awesomeness, holiness, and worthiness of God