Do you have a phobia? Mother is terrified of spiders. When Caroline was little, every picture she drew and gave to mother had a little black spider on it somewhere. That’s a grandmother’s love that she displayed them on the refrigerator even if I did notice a corner turned under so she would not have to see a black creepy crawly.
Caroline is terrified of thunderstorms. I love thunderstorms so I run outside to watch, and she runs to hide! I didn’t fully understand until we were caught on the interstate in Denver during a violent hail storm (at least it was a rental and not our car). She literally panicked and curled onto the floorboard of the car and trembled with anxiety and terror. I felt so bad for all the times I teased her for being fearful.
Have you ever tried to explain your irrational or rational fear to someone? Finding the right words to articulate your anxiety never seems adequate- just like I never understood the state in which my baby existed during storms because her fear was something I did not share.
If you don’t have any phobias, maybe there is something in your life right now that makes zero sense: an illness, a wayward child, aging parents, current teenage slang. Odds are that each one of us struggles with something, and we simply do not possess the vocabulary to put the gravity of the situation into human words.
So this is the attitude we will take as we examine John’s vision of the Throne Room of God. John simply tries his best to describe the indescribable.
Revelation 4:2-3 CSB
“Immediately I was in the Spirit, and there was a throne in heaven and someone was seated on it. The one seated there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne.”
Some really great depictions of all of this can be found online if you feel like doing a deep dive. Jasper is considered a precious jewel that is clear like crystal. Some translations of the text say ruby instead of carnelian - so red - then all the colors of the rainbow. One commentary I read asked us to consider light itself. What happens to light when it goes through a prism? God is light. He is described that way over and over. But he is more than just light. He is every color you have ever seen in a sunrise or sunset. He is every fleck of color you have seen in someone’s eyes. He is pure light after the worst of storms and the darkest of nights.
Now we get into the really crazy stuff. Maybe you have an irrational fear of studying Revelation because Chapter 4:4-8 gets into the wild descriptions of the creatures surrounding the throne and the 24 elders. Another deep dive that can suck you in for hours (yes, I’m talking to myself) postulates who the 24 elders are, and what the creatures represent. But that is not where I want to focus. (Eye pun intended )
John did the best he could to give us a glimpse into the throne room. So did Moses in Exodus 24:1-11. So did Isaiah in Chapter 6. So did Ezekiel in 1:1-2:9. So did Daniel in Chapter 7. Read them. They share so many similarities. Logic can draw similarities between all accounts, but one feature dominates the scenes.
The Ancient of Days sits in splendor on His throne, and He rules with absolute authority over all of His creation.
Let me repeat that…
The Ancient of Days sits in splendor on His throne, and he rules with absolute authority over all of His creation.
So what should my response be?
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come.”
“The twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,”
“Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.”
Revelation 4:8, 10-11
And when did this occur? Day and night. Think about that. Day and night. Constant praise.
And how did John respond? I find a great deal of comfort in knowing that his response was IMMEDIATE. And heaven was open, and God was there to welcome him. But we cannot miss that John knew Jesus’s voice. That is how he knew to respond.
“My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”
John 10:27-28
Comfort for a weary heart. A stressed out head. A broken home. A broken spirit. God is on His throne, and He is in control. I know Jesus’ voice, and I can rest in real assurance that He knows the outcome over anything I face. And what does He require of me?
Worship.
How do you praise God daily? This should be the main take away from this relatively incomprehensible passage.
Worship. More on that next blog.
But until next time, consider how you worship God. Do you know His voice? Do you trust He has this crazy world under control? Do you trust Him in the storm ?
Commentaires