His Inheritance Ministries

How can we even imagine what it will be like in the celestial throne room of God?

These words from Revelation describe the throne room, but are they even adequate?

REV 4:2 … a throne set in heaven, and One [YHWH] sat on the throne. 3 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. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 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.

In the Book of Revelation, the very first verse uses the word “signified” which in the Greek means “to communicate by signs”. So there are many signs and symbols in this book. These signs and symbols are imperative to understanding Revelation. But the question comes up: Are these just symbols or actual reality or sometimes both? My view is that this symbolic language is depicting actual events.

Also, there are differences of opinion among scholars as to what the symbols and/or reality mean. So we could say about the Throne Room and other end-time events, “this is that” again which St. Peter used at Pentecost. We don’t know exactly how the Throne Room looks. But we do have the Scriptures and they do give us an indication!

YHWH

In his vision, St. John beheld the God Almighty, seated on His throne. He looked upon His brilliant splendor, the surpassing brightness of the Holy One. He compared Him to two gemstones: the first, jasper, a gemstone that was like a sparkling diamond and the second, sardius, another red jewel that gave the appearance of fire! How magnificent!

Jasper comes in many colors. However, it says later in Revelation, talking about the New Jerusalem, that the jasper was clear as crystal. So, I assume that this is the same type of jasper. This translucent jasper symbolizes purity and holiness which God is.

The fiery red jewel was sardius or carnelian, depending on the translation. Ezekiel when he had a vision of the LORD described it this way:

EZE 1:27 … the appearance of fire with brightness all around.

Red represents sacrifice and redemption, but also the fiery righteous wrath as God passionately protects His people.

HEB 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

RAINBOW

REV 4:3 …. and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

Don’t you get excited whenever you see a rainbow? But the rainbow in the throne room was really quite extraordinary! Some scholars believe that this rainbow encircled the throne round about. It formed a complete circle, not a half circle like we normally see here on earth.

The latter half of this verse shows us these surrounded by the emerald-coloured bow, the evident symbol of the divine mercy. The allusion to the bow in the cloud (Genesis 9:12-16) is obvious; the bow completely encircled the throne, as mercy encompassing judgment. It was a covenant token, bearing witness to God’s faithfulness in dark times, God’s care for the ark of His Church, and His mercy shining forth after storm. – Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

Some believe the rainbow is all green.  Maybe. An all green rainbow that has various shades. Green is the color of life. Yeshua is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Him, we have eternal life.

Or it could be that this bow shone like an emerald! Maybe this heavenly rainbow sparkled as an emerald but it was like the seven different-colored rainbows on earth. 

The rainbow was given after Noah’s flood as a sign that the LORD would never flood the whole earth again. Therefore, a rainbow speaks of God’s mercy! It’s a beautiful heavenly sign!

A normal rainbow has seven colors: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red (from the inside out). Here’s a new mnemonic: ‘violets in bloom greet you on rising’.

Seven is a reoccurring theme in the Book of Revelation. ‘Seven’ means symbolically ‘perfection’ or ‘fullness’ or ‘completion’. The seven colors of the rainbow suggest that God is perfect in mercy.

Another option. Some translate the word as halo instead of a rainbow.

A circular green appearance was seen round the throne, which perhaps may be described as a green halo. – Pulpit Commentary

So we have many various ideas about this rainbow or halo. When we ascend to heaven, we will know!

SEVEN LAMPS

There were seven lamps or maybe torches of fire in the throne room. These lamps represent the seven Spirits of God.”

There is a list of the seven Spirits that the Prophet Isaiah wrote about. These would be the Spirit of the LORD; the Spirit of Wisdom; of Understanding; the Spirit of Counsel; of Strength; the Spirit of Knowledge and finally, the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.”

The Seven Lamps ARE the Seven Spirits. They consist of fire which is a portrayal of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is represented by fire (Pentecost in Acts 2:3; Isaiah 4:4); wind or breath which includes “a still, small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-13); a dove (Luke 3:22); water (John 7:37-39); & oil (1 Samuel 16:13).

At Pentecost, wind was there. Fire was there. Breath was there in the speaking of tongues.

Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

THE SEA OF GLASS

In St. John’s vision, he saw “a sea of glass as clear as crystal”. Glass is transparent. It allows light to pass through. As saints of God, we should allow the True Light of Christ to pass through us so that we can show the works of God. Transparency symbolizes that nothing is hidden. Everything is revealed in the Light of God.

But what else does this symbolize? Oftentimes the sea represents disorder, confusion, and chaos. That seems to be the world in which we live. But in God’s presence, there is a calming atmosphere. There is peace, the shalom of God. A sea of glass would represent that!

This is the most glassiest sea that I was ever came across!

LIGHTNING & THUNDER

Psalm 18:4 The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

Lightning and thunder are around the throne of God. Lightning is pure light. God is light. And God is pure.

1 John 1:5b God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

Lightning is hotter than the sun, about five times hotter!

Without a wind blowing, there wouldn’t be any lightning! It takes the light (Father) and the wind (Holy Spirit) and the physical nature (Son) to produce lightening.

The lightning and the thunder occur at the same time. The thunder is the sound produced by the discharge of electrical energy during a lightning strike. The light travels much faster than the sound. So lightning and thunder happen at the very same time. But the light reaches your eyes in an instant, while the thunder takes its time to get to your ears.

Lightning symbolizes revelation. The lightning pierces the darkness. Therefore, in Scripture, lightning often represents revelation from heaven, or suitably an illumination. There are always new traits of God that we haven’t seen before and that’s why the angels, the four living creatures, and saints cry “Holy, holy, holy!” They’re always discovering new attributes of this magnificent God that we serve!

Psalms 97:4 His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles.

Thunder represents the voice of God! Sometimes God’s voice can sound like thunder to human ears. When the heavenly Father spoke over Yeshua, some people thought it had thundered. But some actually heard the Father!

JOHN 12:28 “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” 29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” 30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

So let’s pay attention to the perceived order of lightning and thunder. Actually, they occur at the same time, but our ears are not always attuned to God. So, the lightning of divine revelation is seen first. Then the thunder, the voice of God, is heard. God often reveals His will with a spiritual flash of lightning and then confirms it with His thunderous “voice” through another saint or reading the Bible or circumstances. His saints will respond in obedience. This is how God often moves! So basically, lightning reveals, then thunder declares the truth.

We have a promise from Yeshua the Messiah:

Matt 24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

This will be the biggest event in human history! And the Book of Revelation speaks to it! Be prepared!

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