The One on the Throne

So, He’s looking through this open door. What is it that he sees? What’s the first thing that he describes there? Well, there is something that dominates the scene. Have you ever had the experience of a door springing open? Maybe it was a vast area that you were entering. But there was something that was so prominent, something that was so dominant in that room, in that area, that that is what you fixed your eyes on. That’s John’s experience here. This is, no doubt, a vast place that he is seeing, but there is One Who dominates the whole scene [verse 2: “…and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.”].

John describes what he sees. We notice how he does that describing. He doesn’t do any describing in physical attributes or characteristics. Why is that? Well, I would venture to say, because there weren’t any physical attributes or characteristics to describe. It may have been, too, that all he saw, all he could discern, was that brilliance, that glory. What does he compare that to? He has to compare it to something. He has to put it into some kind of human terms that those who would read the letter there at the end of the 1^st Century, and those who would read it for generations after, could understand.

So, he describes what he sees and puts it in terms of precious gems. He sees a throne. Yes, that’s discernable—a throne is there. But Who is on the throne, and how does John describe that? He describes that simply in terms of precious gems flashing their brilliance [verse 3: “And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”].

I think I have used this illustration before in thinking about Revelation and other things that we read about in the Scriptures. When we read and think about some of the descriptions in Revelation—heaven’s streets of gold, gates of pearl, and so on—are they literally streets of gold? Are the gates really made of pearl? I don’t believe so, not at all. Those are material things. But how does John describe those things for our benefit?

It’s like someone from the 21^st Century being transported back to the 19^th Century, or the 18^th Century, or somewhere back there, and describing an automobile and its function to group of people crossing the frontier in Conestoga wagons! Try describing what an airplane is, describing what a computer is, to those frontier people: “Well, you know, you see, ah, an automobile is a thing…well, it’s kind of like that wagon you’ve got over there, but it’s not really like that…it’s got rubber tires….What’s rubber? Well, that’s, ahhhh…”. You’re really stuck! So, how do you describe it? Well, it’s LIKE something else, and you try to put it into some frame of reference that those people will understand. And that’s what John is doing here.

What is it that he sees? He sees something so glorious, so awesome!...and he puts it into terms so that we can, at least, gain some sense, some appreciation for what it was that he saw. He sees One seated on the throne. “Seated on the throne” refers to God’s dominion over His kingdom. He is the Sovereign Lord; He is the Sovereign God Who rules over the entire universe. He’s not resting, He’s reigning. In this Chapter, Chapter 4, and again in Chapter 5, we’re going to see again this “Throne Scene.”

I was reading one writer who made the observation: “Imagine that you were living in the latter part of the 1^st Century, and you were a subject of Rome, and Caesar was on the throne and all of the Roman Governors sat on thrones and they ruled with an iron fist. And now you hear about, you read about, the God of heaven, Who is sitting on His throne, His majestic throne, and He is ruling and reigning from heaven. And you realize, that while your circumstance is such, that yes, you’re living in the world, and you’re under the Roman dominance, but in reality, it is GOD Who rules! That’s not just a temporary thing. That’s an eternal thing!”

There are three precious gems that are used to describe “He Who sat” on the throne and the rainbow around the throne. I’ve read all kinds of descriptions, all kinds of attempts, on the part of commentators to put these into some kind of perspective: This gem means that, and that gem means another thing, etc. In my opinion, they all fail in their descriptions. I think the thing that we need to understand from the use of the gems is the overall brilliance and glory of God. That is really what John is expressing here. Whether its opals, or diamonds, or crystalline, or whatever!, the point is still the same. Regardless of the color and the kind of light that it refracts, etc., the point is still the same.

There is a rainbow around the throne. I don’t think there is anything that is more beautiful, more captivating than a rainbow. How many times has every one of us seen a rainbow and stopped what we’re doing. I doubt that there are many of us who could say that we never see a rainbow that we don’t stop and take a second look. Why is that? For a couple of reasons, no doubt, but one of those reasons is because of its beauty. Did John see a rainbow? Probably not. But what was the most beautiful thing, the most amazing thing, the most majestic thing that he could picture (with the help of the Holy Spirit, I might add)? A rainbow.

I will share this with you. It is described “in appearance like an emerald.” The emerald is a colorless crystal that is capable of reflecting rainbow hues. It would seem that the One on the throne is surrounded by a rainbow. Is there significance in that? Is it just circumstantial that there’s a rainbow there? I don’t think so. A rainbow, of course, was what? To the Jews, under the Old Covenant, it was a sign of God’s Covenant—His Covenant promise not to destroy the earth again by water. So, we see in this heavenly scene that God is surrounded by a rainbow, a reminder, perhaps, of God being a Covenant God, a God Who makes Covenants with His people. And, as another writer suggested, it may very well have been part of what shielded, part of what concealed God from the full view of John. So, it may have served that purpose, as well. Again, any effort to try to identify the meaning of these gems/colors with the aspect of God’s nature, etc., is just very tentative, I think. John sees a dominant feature as he looks through this open door on this heavenly scene.