The Revelation of Christ – Part 10:
The Throne of God - HOFC
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON
INTRODUCTION
The
Book of Revelation, or the Revelation of Christ, is the most difficult book in
the bible.
Because
of this fact, many avoid it, or ignore it all together. Some fear lack of
understanding, others afraid to misinterpret, which I guess it is better to
avoid than dive in and get it completely wrong.
Many
times, when a new believer comes to me for direction, they want to jump right
into Revelation and find out what’s to come.
This
is equivalent to deciding one day to learn Mandarin and sitting down to author
a novel in Chinese that very same day.
Or,
a kindergartener learning how to count, and then trying to calculate quantum
mechanics calculations.
The
words in Revelation have caused much debate on rapture, judgement, even some
who claim John was writing about the events in his day in code rather than
Jesus Christ revealing to him about the coming events and Judgment.
A
special blessing is promised to those who read Revelation.
Although
it may be a difficult book, we could all use a special blessing, reading this
is good for us all, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will take the
Revelation of Christ in small portions and gain understanding, little by
little.
SERMON SERIES
THE THINGS WHICH
ARE – The Church Age (Age of Grace)
Part 4 – Smyrna The
Steadfast Church
Part 5 – Pergamos The Immoral Church
Part 6 – Thyatira The Careless Pagan Church
Part 7 – Sardis The Spiritless Church
Part 8 – Philadelphia The Favored Church
Part 9 – Laodicea The Church God Hates
THE THINGS WHICH
SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
Part 10 – The Throne of God
Part 11 – The Living Creatures (Various Angels)
Part 12 – Heavenly Worship (As it is in Heaven)
Part 13 – The Sealed Book (Various Books)
Part 14 – The Lion and the Lamb
Part 15 – The First 6 Seals
Part 16 – The 144,000 Jews
Part 17 – The Tribulation Saints
Part 18 – The Seventh Seal
Part 19 – The First 4 Trumpets
Part 20 – The 5th Trumpet
Part 21 – The 6th Trumpet
Part 22 – The Mighty Angel
Part 23 – The Two Witnesses
Part 24 – The Seventh Trumpet
Part 25 – The Woman and the Dragon
Part 26 – Manchild
Part 27 – Michael
Part 28 – Overcomers
Part 29 – Persecution
Part 30 – Antichrist
Part 31 – The Lamb
More sermons in the series listed in Part 1
TODAY’S SERMON -
THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
Part 10 – The Throne of God
SCRIPTURE READING
Revelation
4
“After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in
heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said,
“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At
once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with
someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the
appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled
the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other
thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white
and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came
flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne,
seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also
in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as
crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living
creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The
first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had
a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each
of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all
around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever the
living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and
who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall
down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and
ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are
worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
I.
INTRODUCTION
a.
After this
ii. The things which are (the
seven church ages, now in Laodicea, the lukewarm church God despises)
b.
A door standing open in heaven
i. The door Jesus stands at and
knocks in previous verses
ii. If ANYONE hears His voice
and lets Him in, they can have a relationship with Him
iii. Doors the Lord opens, no one
can shut, and doors the Lord closes, no one can open.
iv. John hears “the voice I
had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet…”
1. This is no longer the angel
relaying the Lord’s words to him, but the Lord Himself speaking now.
2. “Come up here, and I will
show you what must take place after this.”
a. “After this”
i. The things that were (Jesus
established as Head of Church)
ii. The things which are (the
seven church ages, now in Laodicea, the lukewarm church God despises)
c.
At once I was in the spirit
i. When the Lord calls you, you
go in the Spirit
1. Some say this was a vision
2. Some say John was taken to
heaven to “see”
3. I believe the Lord actually teleported
John to the future to see as the scriptures say, “What WILL be.”
ii. Can one be “teleported”?
1. Acts
8:26-40 Philip
led an Ethiopian eunuch to faith in Christ. After the eunuch was baptized, “the
Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him
again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus” (verses
39–40).
2. Genesis
5:24 (Hebrews 11:5) “Enoch walked faithfully with God;
then he was no more, because God took him away.”
3. 2 Kings
2:11
“As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire
and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up
to heaven in a whirlwind.”
a. I believe Enoch and Elijah
are the two witnesses in the end time tribulation.
b. I believe God teleported
them into the future to be the two witnesses. To those on earth, in this
dimension limited by time, it takes thousands of years for them to reappear,
however, to them, they are instantly taken to the Tribulation by God.
4. Why do I believe this?
a. Hebrews
9:27
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
b. Neither Elijah nor Enoch
have died
c. Revelation
11:7
“Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the
Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.”
d. God then raises them from
the dead after their lifeless bodies lay in the street for 3 ½ days
iii. This is the reason I believe
God also took John’s spirit into the future to actually “see” as the Lord says,
“what WILL BE”
iv. I don’t believe this is a
vision, but a skip through time to see the actual events unfolding before his
eyes.
II.
THE THRONE
a.
There before me was a throne in heaven with someone on
it
i. The one who sat there had
the appearance of jasper and ruby
1. Jasper is the last of the
stones in the High-priests breastplate
a. Jesus was the LAST High
priest
2. Jasper is the FIRST of the
12 stones in the foundation of the NEW JERUSALEM
a. Everything is built upon HIM
b. He is the Cornerstone!
ii. Ruby should be “sardine” LIT
1. The Sardine stone is a blood
red color
2. Symbolic of the Lord’s blood
atonement
3. It was the FIRST stone in
the High-Priests breastplate
4. Symbolizing God’s plan for
salvation from the START with the atonement of Christs blood!
iii. “A rainbow shown like an
emerald encircled the throne”
1. The rainbow is a sign of
God’s covenant
2. Genesis
9:8-16
“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant
with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature
that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those
that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I
establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the
waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you
and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have
set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me
and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow
appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and
all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood
to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see
it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures
of every kind on the earth.”
b.
Surrounding the Throne
i. Were 24 thrones
ii. And 24 elders were seated
1. They represent the 12 tribes
of the old covenant and the 12 apostles of the new covenant
2. In other words, they
represent ALL THE PEOPLES who truly follow and serve the Lord
iii. They were dressed in white
garments (the covering received by the Lord)
iv. They had crowns of gold
(Kingdom authority given to them by the Lord)
1. I believe the crowns
represent the authority in our lives
2. Choice, free-will
3. We have this authority…we
can choose how we wish
4. At the end of the verses
here, we see that those who truly follow the Lord surrender their crowns, their
authority over their lives to the Lord, who is worthy to receive honor, glory,
and is fully able to lead us!
c.
From the Throne
i. “Came flashes of lightning
and rumblings and peals of thunder”
d.
In front of the Throne
i. “Seven lamps were blazing.
These are the seven spirits of God”
1. Seven symbolic of perfection
2. Lamps “blazing” implying the
7-ages of the church were all given equal amounts of the Spirit
3. We know from the seven
letters that they did not all keep in step with the Spirit as they should have,
as they were all equally able to!
ii. Before John was what
appeared to be a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
1. This may have been John’s
only way to explain he was able to clearly see the events which were about to
unfold beneath him
2. Floating or flying would
have been too difficult to explain, or perhaps there was a solid glass floor
perfectly clear he stood upon?
III.
THE CREATURES
a.
In the center of the Throne 4-living creatures
i. They were not statues; he
mentions they are alive because they are like nothing he has ever witnessed
before.
ii. They were covered with eyes
in front and back
iii. The first looked like a lion
iv. The second like an ox
v. The had the face of a man
vi. And the fourth a flying
eagle
1. Although literal creatures,
they were still symbolic
2. Much like the Cherubim’s in Ezekiel
1:6, 8 we read that EACH of
the 4 creatures had the four faces and four wings, but these Seraphim’s each had
one face and six wings.)
vii. The Lion represents the
Lord’s Kingship
viii. The ox, the Lord’s sacrifice
ix. The man, how the Lord came
as Jesus
x. And the flying eagle
representing the Lord as God
xi. Each had six wings with eyes
all over them even underneath.
b.
Whenever the creatures gave glory
i. Day and night the four
creatures never stop saying
1. Holy, holy, holy
2. Is the Lord God Almighty (Isaiah
6:3 when Isaiah described
these Seraphim’s)
3. Who was, and is, and is to
come
ii. Whenever these Seraphim’s
gave glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the Throne and who lives
forever and ever, the 24-elders fall down before Him and worship Him.
1. The 24 elders represent the
12 trines of the old testament and the 12 apostles of the new or in other
words, ALL those throughout earth’s timeline who follow the Lord.
c.
After laying their crowns down before the Throne
CONCLUSION
–
And say, “You are worthy, our Lord
and God, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by
your will they were created and have their being.”
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