The Throne

THE THRONE

One of the primary issues of the Kingdom of God is that of the throne. Whose will is going to be done in the earth — God’s or Satan’s? The struggle is between spiritual titans. Our personal will is of little significance except as we choose to serve either God or Satan. You are required to choose one or the other.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation 3:21)

A throne is the place of authority, its power being determined by the size of its armed forces. Supreme decisions proceed from the throne, sometimes referred to as the “Crown.” Barring political pressures, the will of the throne’s occupant is performed throughout the kingdom he governs.

Most Americans probably would reject both God’s will and Satan’s will, preferring to follow their own wills. But this is impossible. As God stated in the beginning, human beings are dust. Today, we have vastly inflated notions concerning our own significance and abilities. The truth is as God has said: We are dust.

We speak of our having a “free will.” This is foolishness. No matter how much money we possess, how excellent our health and strength, no matter where we live or what possessions we own, there are but a few decisions we can make at any given time. This is because of the social and environmental constraints on us.

God has placed us on the earth to test our character. He permits only a few choices at any time, and the purpose of these is to determine whether we are worthy to inherit the coming Kingdom of God.

Sometimes we decide to cast off His restraints. God’s response is to laugh at the ridiculous spectacle of the “ants” on the ground lifting themselves up to perform some great feat. Then we are stricken with cancer, a heart attack, a stroke, or one of our children develops leukemia or is abducted, and we realize how precarious our existence actually is.

The fool has declared there is no God. Satan invites us to be as he is, our own god. Satan does this so he can govern us, knowing our ultimate frailty. Thus we flop helplessly through our vain existence. We are a proud show today and return to dust tomorrow. The wise individual will recognize the vanity and frailty of human existence and will make seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness the first priority of his life. In the hope of obtaining a dependable foundation in the midst of the shifting sands, He will seek his Creator who is faithful and true and can be counted on not to change.

He pursues the Kingdom of God, which is the will of God. He sets aside his own will, dying to his own will, so to speak, that he might come under the supervision of Another who is wiser and stronger than he. In this way, he finds peace in a chaotic world.

Current Christian preaching places great emphasis on being “born again” and going to Heaven, not understanding the Gospel of the Kingdom. Being “born again” refers to Christ being formed in us, not to initial conversion. Going to Heaven to live forever is not the goal of salvation. Rather, the issue is that of submitting ourselves to the will of God. Numerous believers in our day are unaware that Jesus Christ insists on being their absolute Lord. They are running here and there in ignorance of God’s will for their lives.

The truth is, in our day and our country, Christ is knocking at the door of the heart of each Christian. Sometimes we are so pressed with our various fears, or perfectionism, or duties, or ambitions, we simply cannot hear Christ knocking. He may slow us down in our mad pursuits of money and pleasure until we can indeed hear. Then we have the opportunity to take the one important action of our entire life. We can open the door and permit Him to enter our personality (Revelation 3:20). Or we can keep the door closed in the hope we can prolong our self-will for a little longer. If we allow Christ to enter our personality, there is a table from which He can eat and we can eat. He dines on and is strengthened by our worship and obedience. We dine on and are strengthened by His body and blood.

What are we confronted with then? The issue of the Throne!

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation 3:21)

As we dine with the Lord and He dines with us, His Throne is established in us. His will and the will of God become our chief delight. One of the seven spirits of God, as I understand them, is delight in performing the will of God.

And he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; (Isaiah 11:3)

Not judging by what we see with our eyes or deciding by what we hear with our ears is an extremely important characteristic of anyone who is called to sit with Jesus Christ on His Throne. This means we are judging and deciding on the basis of what we are hearing and seeing with the Lord. We always are performing God’s will because His will is our chief delight.

I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:8)

In order for the Throne of the Lord Jesus Christ to be established in us, we must choose to step down from the throne that is in us. We must choose to deny our self-will, our self-centeredness, and our self-love. God sends suffering and imprisonment upon us to help us abandon our self-will. There cannot be two kings governing our personality.

The issue facing God’s people today is whether they will take their gifts and ministries and go forth to “save a lost and dying world,” or take up their cross of self-denial and look to Jesus for every decision.

But notice that the Lord said “I will give the right to sit with me on my Throne.” This means after the Lord is certain His will has been created us, that we are delighting to do His will and are not judging by what we see with our eyes or deciding by what we hear with our ears, but are looking to God for every decision great and small, then the Lord permits us to sit with Him on the Throne of our own personality.

We understand therefore that there are numerous kings, numerous thrones, and numerous crowns, although all of these are but reflections of the one King, the one Throne, and the one Crown of the Kingdom of God, which soon is to come to the earth.

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.” (Revelation 4:1)

What takes place after Christ and we have been established upon the Throne of our own personality? A door stands open in Heaven. The Lord told us if we would abide in Him and He in us we would bear much fruit, and we could ask whatever we wished and it would be given to us.

So it is that if we will permit Jesus Christ to dine with us, and us with Him, there will be a door open for us in Heaven and we will be able to “see” what will take place in the future. It is the Lord’s will that all of His believers have the spirit of prophecy, for this is the testimony of the Lord Jesus.

At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. (Revelation 4:2)

What are we faced with after we hear about the results of being an overcomer? The Throne. What throne? The Throne, the will, the Crown that governs all creatures and the entire universe. Is that throne in Heaven or in our heart? It is in both places. How can this be? How could the Lord Jesus Christ be on earth, filled with all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form, and yet pray to His Father in Heaven? Is Christ here with us when we assemble in His Name, or is He in Heaven? He is in both places simultaneously. How can this be? The answer is that the dimensions of space and time, by which we are bound, do not bind the spirit realm. God and Christ are everywhere at once. This may be true of us one day if we serve the Lord Jesus until we are found worthy to sit with Him on His Throne.

Someone is sitting on the Throne in Heaven. Who is it? That Person is God the Father. But He also is the Lord Jesus. How can this be? The Lord Jesus Christ is the complete, perfect revelation of the Father.

Is Christ the Father? No, in the sense that Christ has a will of His own, as we see in Gethsemane, but chooses always to do His Father’s will. Yes, in the sense that Christ is the complete, perfect revelation of the Father. Jesus Christ was not created, as were the angels. Christ was, is, and shall be begotten of the Father. Christ came forth from God. He was, He is, and He is to come. He is the “becoming one.”

Much of this will be true of us if we overcome the sin that comes against us. We were not brought forth from eternity nor did God create the heavens and the earth through us. But when we are joined perfectly to the Lord Jesus Christ, having been created from His body and blood, our body having been adopted, we having been filled for eternity with the Holy Spirit, the Father, and the Son, always choosing to do the will of Christ rather than our own will, having been joined completely to the Lamb in marriage and being an eternally inseparable part of the Body of Christ, then many of the attributes of Christ will be true of us.

It is not that we become many christs, for there is but one Lord Jesus Christ. Neither is it true that we are to become partners of Christ. Rather, we are being created part of Christ, having been begotten of the Father and declared to be a son of God by the resurrection from the dead. There is one Son of God, and He is to have many brothers. He is the Vine and we are branches from the one Vine. We are many and yet one with Christ and each other in the Father. Marvel of marvels!

At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. (Revelation 4:2)

This is what we will look like one day if we are diligent in putting sin to death through the Spirit of God. This is the image of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are being created in Their image, beginning with our inward nature. It is not possible that our outward nature can be created in such a glorious state until our inward nature has been created in a corresponding state.

One of the errors in Christian thinking is that if we accept Christ, we one day will be glorified in our outward form regardless of change in our inward nature. This is not true. The outward man cannot be created in Christ’s image until the inward man has been created in Christ’s image.

In the Day of Resurrection, our outward image will reveal our inward image. This is not true today, but the scroll that the claws of the Lion of Judah opens will be written on the inside as well as the outside.

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. (Revelation 4:4)

As we indicated previously, there is only one Throne. Those who are seated on the twenty-four thrones that surround the one Throne have within their personalities the Presence of the Spirit, the Father, and the Son. They judge and make decisions only in accordance with what they are seeing and hearing from God.

In my opinion, the number twenty-four is symbolic. Much of the book of Revelation is symbolic. By the same token, I think it’s likely that the 144,000 in Revelation chapter 14 is also a symbolic number. Perhaps the significance is that twelve of the twenty-four elders are symbolic of the firstfruits to God prior to the resurrection of Christ, and the remaining twelve are symbolic of the firstfruits to God after the resurrection of Christ. Of course, this is pure conjecture on my part.

The important idea is that there is a council of elders who govern with Christ.

From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. (Revelation 4:5)

The flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder are evidence of the incomprehensible power that always emanates from the Throne of almighty God, the power of His Word that upholds the creation. We know Christ holds the seven spirits of God.

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. (Revelation 3:1)

Perhaps these are the seven spirits spoken of in Isaiah:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD — And he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; (Isaiah 11:1-3)

The spirit of wisdom.
The spirit of understanding.
The spirit of counsel.
The spirit of power.
The spirit of knowledge.
The spirit of the fear of the Lord.
The spirit of delight in the fear of the Lord.

Perhaps these are not the seven spirits of God, but this is my present understanding.

Whoever would rule with God must have wisdom. He or she must hear from God so as to know what to do in a given situation.

Whoever would rule with God must have understanding. Often, religious people lack understanding. The Pharisees lacked understanding of God’s intention in instituting the Sabbath when they criticized the Lord for healing on the Sabbath. Modern-day preachers lack understanding of the Gospel message when they claim infants will be hurled into the Lake of Fire because they have not believed and been baptized, or when they claim that people who never have heard the Gospel will be assigned to the Lake of Fire because they did not “accept Christ”. They may have knowledge of the Bible, but they do not understand God’s intentions.

Whoever would rule with God must be able to counsel people who have a problem finding God.

Whoever would rule with God must have power. During the thousand-year Kingdom Age, the saints will enforce obedience to Christ with the rod of iron.

Whoever would rule with God must know what has been true in the past, what is true in the present, and what will be true in the future.

Whoever would rule with God must fear God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, as we know. In our day in America, because of the ignorance and vanity of the populace, the fear of God has become a mark of shame. It is as though only a fool would fear God. The truth is that an individual who does not have a wholesome fear of God is the fool. Contemporary pride prefers reverence to fear. This bias appears in some modern translations. It now is acceptable to reverence God but not fear Him. However, reverence and fear are not at all synonymous. People are not moved by reverence, ordinarily, but most people will act when they are frightened. If a person is standing on the tracks when a train approaches, he will jump off the tracks as soon as he can. He is not moved by reverence, but by reasonable fear. So it is with God. When we have a realization of the awful power of God, we have a reasonable, wholesome fear of God. Those who do not are either ignorant or foolish, or both.

Those who would rule with God must delight in the fear of God. God loves those who delight in practicing righteousness. God loves a cheerful giver. Too often in religion, we find people who will refrain from sinning but they would much prefer to be drinking, gambling, and fulfilling their lusts without restraint. God, being a king, will put up with their grumbling, their misery in having to practice righteousness, for just so long. Then He will send on them a strong delusion until they are wallowing in the lusts of the flesh while believing they have God’s approval.

The spirit of delight in the fear of the Lord is, I believe, an important member of the seven spirits of God.

It is easy to see that God’s kings, those who sit with Christ in His Throne, must have these seven spirits if they are to govern the nations successfully throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age.

Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal…. (Revelation 4:6a)

We find the sea mentioned again later, but something has changed.

And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God (Revelation 15:2)

Now the sea of glass is mixed with fire. Because of this change, I think the sea of glass represents mankind. How can mankind be a sea of glass as clear as crystal? I think it is because God has not yet judged it. The demons can express themselves until the Day of Vengeance arrives.

I believe that the Day of Vengeance is at hand. Because it is, the character of the Christian churches will experience radical change. Instead of being primarily institutions of instruction in the Bible, the churches are to become staging areas for spiritual conquest. God is preparing to judge and drive out all sin from His creation. The Christian Church is the instrument through which God will perform this great act of war and judgment.

I think this is why the huge sea of glass, perhaps something on the order of the Mediterranean, is clear to begin with and then becomes mixed with fire. Those who have been victorious over Antichrist, that is, over the spirit that is in the world, stand beside the sea singing the song of Moses and the son of the Lamb. The fact that both Moses and the Lamb, Christ, are involved, reveals that the modern theory of Dispensationalism is erroneous at its heart. The Bible is not divided into dispensations. God has kept giving more grace and making more demands on our personality throughout the history of the world, but His goals for man have not changed from the first chapter of Genesis. God knows what He is doing from beginning to end and plans accordingly.

Antichrist emerges from the unjudged sea of mankind.

There is no such sea on the new earth, because the Divine judgment, the fire of God, will have accomplished its work. Then all things will have been made new because they have passed through the fire. But the sea will not be made new because there never again will be a mass of mankind that is tossed to and fro by the ambitions of self-seeking leaders.

However, being a lover of oceans and sea, I do believe there will be a physical sea on the new earth. How do you feel about this?

… In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 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. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:6-8)

These are the four Cherubim of Glory that express the Nature of God (Ezekiel 1:10). The number four is symbolic of communication. Since we cannot readily view the One seated on the throne, God has provided the Cherubim of Glory so we can understand more clearly the personality of the Lord. The fact that the cherubim are covered with eyes tells us that God sees everything of the past, the present, and the future. God has perfect knowledge of all things, all events, and all relationships. God always sees everything taking place in our life.

Sometimes the idea is presented that God does not see the behavior of those who have received Christ. God always sees our deeds, but He forgives our sins and rebellions provided we are obeying the Spirit of God in the slow, thorough work of sanctification.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)

Whoever would sit on the Throne must be a lion. He must be a conqueror, having overcome through Christ every device that has come against him or her.

Whoever would sit on the Throne must be an ox. He must be willing to carry heavy burdens of work and responsibility over a long period of time.

Whoever would sit on the Throne must be a man. The fruit of the Spirit, and the moral Nature of Christ must characterize his actions and behavior.

Whoever would sit on the Throne must be a flying eagle. No matter how great the pressures on him become, he must continually soar in the heavens as he waits for the Presence, will, way, wisdom, and strength of God.

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 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: “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.” (Revelation 4:9-11)

The Cherubim of Glory give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the Throne. The twenty-four elders fall down and worship the eternal One who sits on the Throne. This precisely is where we are coming short today and why John was not permitted to write down the words of the seven thunders of Divine power. We are placing religious industry and devices ahead of the continual worship of God. We are not laying our crowns before the Throne. We are not continually overcome with the Glory of God and the Lamb. We are doing the work of religion, as evidenced by our Sunday services. But the congregations are not bowing continually in the Presence of the Throne.

It is fashionable today to seek power. We ought not to be seeking power, but seeking God that we may worship Him. When we are ready to bow down and lay our crowns before the Throne, and to do this in every situation of life and ministry, then, and only then, will be see the power of God displayed.

O that the Lord God would open the door of Heaven that we might gaze continually on Him who sits on the rainbow Throne, that we might delight in the fear of Him from whom emanates flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, that the seven lamps of the Spirit might blaze among us!

In our day, we need to worship God and continually be overcome with His presence, His Glory, His Majesty. Then the works of the enemy will be dissolved and mankind will become aware God is among us.

Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. (Revelation 5:1)

As I understand the symbolism, the scroll represents the hearts of people. There is “writing” on both sides of people. There is what we can see on the outside, and then there is what we cannot see on the inside.

And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. (Revelation 5:2-4)

We have stated that the crystal-clear sea of glass represents, in our opinion, the undifferentiated mass of mankind. In like manner, we think the scroll that no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth (an interesting thought!) could open or even look at what was written inside, speaks to us of the human heart. Mankind remains unjudged until the time of judgment comes.

Based on the words of the Apostle Peter, I believe that judgment has begun, and it has commenced with the household of God. A more intense judgment may be upon those who are seeking the Lord in our day than was true in past generations. God is ready to shake the earth and the heavens. Divine judgment will proceed until every trace of sin and rebellion has been purged from the heavens and the earth. What has been spoken in secret shall be declared openly. What has been hidden shall be revealed.

Mankind today is as a scroll that is closed. But the scroll of the thoughts and imaginations of all human beings shall be brought to the light in the days to come. The baptism with fire begins with those closest to the Lord, for their role will be to judge the remainder of mankind.

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5)

Only the Lord Jesus, because of the blood atonement, has the authority before God to open the hearts of people.

We discover in the next chapter that the opening of the seals reveals the events of the history of the world. This is because it is through the events of history that God uncovers the human heart.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9,10)
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. (Romans 8:27)

If Jesus Christ had not prevailed in Gethsemane and on the cross, God would have destroyed all of mankind because of the sin and rebellion in the hearts of people. But now, through Christ, we can confess and renounce our sins, obtaining both forgiveness and cleansing.

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6)

Since the slain Lamb is seen as standing in the center of the Throne, around which can be seen the Cherubim of Glory and the elders, it is obvious we are dealing somewhat with symbolism. A bloody Lamb could not stand in the center of a throne, as we picture a throne. Rather, we are being informed that at the center of God’s Person and will there stands the atonement made by Christ. Except for the atonement, the scroll of humanity never could be unrolled and the writing therein disclosed.

The seven horns of Christ are the fullness of power by which He upholds all things in the universe. The seven eyes of Christ are the seven spirits we have mentioned, through which Christ is able to install and govern the Kingdom of God on the earth.

He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. (Revelation 5:7,8)

Apparently, the transfer of the authority over mankind from the Father to the Lamb is an occasion for the greatest ceremony and celebration before the Throne of God. The four living creatures, the Cherubim of Glory, who portray the image of God, and the heavenly council of elders, acknowledge the authority that God has given the Lamb. Each one “had a harp,” meaning they are able to sing the song possessed only by the firstfruits of mankind. They bear up in their hands the prayers of the saints.

God wants each of His saints to stand beside the crystal sea mixed with fire, to function as a representative of God to mankind, and to sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Their song of worship tells of the day when the nations of the earth will worship God and acknowledge the righteousness He has portrayed through the Lord Jesus Christ and those who abide in Christ. We are to be singing this song today, not necessarily according to the literal words written in the book of Revelation, but according to the spirit of them. It is our destiny to reveal the righteousness of God before the nations of the earth.

And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:2-4)
And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9)

Every generation of Christians receives a new song from God. There is a new song today. We can hear it and sing it, but only as we seek the Lord with our entire personality. The song still tells of the people God has purchased from every nation on earth. But there has been added to today’s song the words of judgment and spiritual warfare.

We see the tares of wickedness coming to maturity in the earth. Last night on the news, we learned of a country in Europe where morticians are paying ambulance drivers to drive slowly on their way to the hospital so the patients will die before they can receive help, thus providing work for the morticians. This is an example of the current abominations and vile behavior. But there is much worse wickedness to come.

At the same time, God is giving us a new song. It is a song of the Glory of God and of power. The slain Lamb is ready to wage war against His enemies. The warfare must begin in us, because we cannot judge the wickedness in the world until first we ourselves have been delivered from every influence of Satan.

What a vision was given to the Jewish Apostle on the island of Patmos, the vision of the redemption of people from every nation! But let us see the purpose of purchasing people from every nation:

You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:10)

If we would understand the Kingdom of God, we must move past the concept that we are saved to go to Heaven to live in mansions. It is true rather that we were purchased that we might serve God as His kings and priests, that we might sit on the thrones that govern mankind on the earth.

It appears to me that the primary purpose of the Church Age has been to call out the future kings and priests of the Kingdom of God. At the same time, the invitation has gone out to everyone on earth to believe and be baptized, in order to be saved when the Lord returns to set up His Kingdom.

One can see in the New Testament the elementary steps necessary to obtain deliverance from wrath. It always is appropriate to shine the Gospel light in the darkness of this world that ‘whosoever will’ might come to Christ and be saved.

But then we read of the extraordinary demands on the royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9), such as offering our body as a living sacrifice.

If the Kingdom of God is to come to the earth, God’s rulers must be conformed to the image of Christ. Change into the image of Christ entails a discipleship that includes the need for the patient endurance of tribulation and afflictions. Every saint can tell of his years of patient endurance as the Spirit of God has searched his heart for every idol, every rebellious spirit, and every nuance of thought, word, and deed. As Paul said, we must count all as garbage that we may gain Christ, that we may attain to the early resurrection that is out from among the dead.

Every member of the priesthood is blessed and holy. Over such the second death retains no authority whatever. This is because through Christ they have obtained deliverance from the behaviors over which the Lake of Fire always holds authority.

Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)

The idea that we as the Lord’s saints have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ that we might govern the nations of the earth needs to be restored to the churches. Otherwise, we are perpetuating the myth that God has saved us so we can spend eternity in Heaven, living comfortably in mansions, doing nothing of significance.

God desires that the nations worship Him and learn of His righteous works. God’s desire can be met only as a royal priesthood is prepared, a priesthood that continually — every moment of every day — is worshiping and serving the slain Lamb.

God has opened a door in Heaven that we might gain entrance to that holiest of all places where He is worshiped by His elders and the four Cherubim of Glory. Let us hasten through that door and remain there for the remainder of eternity.

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:11,12)

But when do we get there that we can behold such a glorious scene? We are there already. Notice the tense of the verbs in the following passage:

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)

Picture the Throne: in the center of the Throne stands the Lamb. Around the Throne are the elders and the four Cherubim of Glory. Encircling the Throne are the Cherubim, the elders, and a multitude of holy angels singing praise to the Lamb, and proclaiming His worthiness to receive power, wealth, wisdom, and strength.

We already are there! We already have come there! It remains only for us to set our minds on things above and join the worship of the Lamb until Heaven resounds with the joyful sound. Now and throughout eternity, we always will be there, if this is where we keep choosing to be. No matter where we go, what we do, now or at some point in the future, we remain there on the Throne of Christ surrounded by the four Cherubim of Glory.

Unclean spirits labor night and day to keep our mind focused on Satan’s antics in the earth. We are to make the effort to rise above this until we always are part of the throng that continually is ascribing glory to God and to the Lamb.

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:13,14)

It is surprising that John could hear every creature in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, singing praise and honor and glory and power to the Father and the Lamb. How can this be? When will it be true that every creature in the heaven, on the earth, under the earth, and on the sea will be singing an anthem of praise to God and the Lamb?

When the new Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God, has been established forever on the new earth. The Throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the new Jerusalem, the glorified Christian Church, and from there the saints will bring the Presence and Glory of God to all the people of the nations of the saved.

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:3-5)

Let every one of us say Amen with the four Cherubim of Glory. Let every one of us worship continually along with the elders, crying, “Not my will but Yours be done.”

Amen and amen.

(“The Throne”, 3753-1, proofed 20211112)