Living In The Kingdom 2 - The Throne of God

The Kingdom of God proceeds from the throne of God. In this study we will look at the major passages on the throne of God in the Scriptures and how God’s Kingdom is an eternal Kingdom of glory, justice, mercy, covenant, worship and healing.

OLD TESTAMENT

Isaiah’s Vision
Isaiah 6:1-13 In the year that King Uzziah died I then saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. (2) Above it stood the seraphs; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (3) And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts; the whole earth full of His glory. (4) And the doorposts moved at the voice of the one who cried, and the house was filled with smoke. (5) Then I said, Woe is me! For I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts. (6) Then one of the seraphs flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, snatched with tongs from the altar. (7) And he laid it on my mouth and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged. (8) And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me!

Daniel’s Vision

Daniel 7:9-10 I watched until the thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days sat, whose robe was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like flames of fire, and His wheels like burning fire. (10) A stream of fire went out and came out from before Him. A thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The judgment was set, and the books were opened.

Discussion: Where is God’s throne? What words are used to describe it? What is God’s Throne like?

THE NEW TESTAMENT

Matthew 5:34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all! Not by Heaven, because it is God's throne; (see also 23:22)

Hebrews 1:8 But to the Son He says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 8:1 Now the sum of the things which we have spoken is this: We have such a High Priest, who has sat down on the right of the throne of the Majesty in Heaven,

Hebrews 12:2 looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.

Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming; and from the seven spirits which are before His throne;

Revelation 3:21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and have sat down with My Father in His throne.

Revelation 6:16-17 And they said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; (17) for the great day of His wrath has come, and who will be able to stand?
Revelation 12:5 And she bore a son, a male, who is going to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.

Revelation 16:17-18 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air. And a great voice came out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done! (18) And voices and thunders and lightnings occurred. And there was a great earthquake, such as has not been since men were on the earth, so mighty and so great an earthquake.

Discussion: Who is on the throne now, in the New Testament? How is it a throne of grace?

JUDGMENT

Judgment Of The Nations

Matthew 25:31-46 But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He shall sit on the throne of His glory. (32) And all nations shall be gathered before Him. And He shall separate them from one another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. (33) And indeed He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats off the left. (34) Then the King shall say to those on His right hand, Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (35) For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; (36) I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. (37) Then the righteous shall answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You? Or thirsty, and gave You drink? (38) When did we see You a stranger, and took You in? Or naked, and clothed You? (39) Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You? (40) And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you have done it to Me. (41) Then He also shall say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. (42) For I was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; (43) I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me. (44) Then they will also answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You? (45) Then He shall answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. (46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.

The Great White Throne

Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And a place was not found for them. (12) And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (13) And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works. (14) And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. (15) And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire

Discussion: What do these two great judgment scenes tell us about how God judges people?

WORSHIP

The Great Worship Vision – Revelation Chapters 4 &5

Revelation 4:1-5:14 After these things I looked, and behold, a door was opened in Heaven. And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you what must occur after these things. (2) And immediately I became in spirit. And behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and One sat upon the throne. (3) And He who sat there looked like a jasper stone and a sardius. And a rainbow was around the throne, looking like an emerald. (4) And around the throne I saw twenty-four thrones. And on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white clothing. And they had crowns of gold on their heads. (5) And out of the throne came lightnings and thunderings and voices. And seven lamps of fire were burning in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. (6) And a sea of glass was in front of the throne, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. (7) And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. (8) And each one of the four living creatures had six wings about him, and within being full of eyes. And they had no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was and is and is to come. (9) And whenever the living creatures gave glory and honor and thanks to Him who sat on the throne, who lives forever and ever, (10) the twenty-four elders fell down before the One sitting on the throne. And they worshiped Him who lives for ever and ever, and threw their crowns before the throne, saying, (11) O Lord, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You created all things, and for Your will they are and were created. (5:1) And I saw a book on the right of Him sitting on the throne, written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. (2) And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to loosen its seals? (3) And no one in Heaven, nor on the earth, nor under the earth, was able to open the book or to look at it. (4) And I wept very much, because no one was found worthy to open and to read the book, nor to look at it. (5) And one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals of it. (6) And I looked, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, amidst the elders, a Lamb stood, as if it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (7) And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him sitting on the throne. (8) And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having harps and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. (9) And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. (10) And You made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign over the earth. (11) And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and the living creatures and the elders. And the number of them was myriads and myriads, and thousands of thousands, (12) saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. (13) And I heard every creature which is in the Heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, and those that are in the sea, and all who are in them, saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever. (14) And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the One living forever and ever.

Discussion: What do these two chapters tell us about the nature of worship in heaven before the Throne?

THE SAINTS’ THRONE

The Saints Before The Throne

Revelation 7:9-17 After these things I looked, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palms in their hands. (10) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb. (11) And all the angels stood around the throne, and the elders, and the four living creatures, and they fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God, (12) saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. (13) And one of the elders answered, saying to me, Who are these who are arrayed in white robes, and from where do they come? (14) And I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes, and have whitened them in the blood of the Lamb. (15) Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple. And He sitting on the throne will dwell among them. (16) They will not hunger any more, nor thirst any more, nor will the sun light on them, nor any heat. (17) For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will feed them and will lead them to the fountains of living waters. And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Prayers Before The Throne

Revelation 8:3-5 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer. And many incenses were given to him, so that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints on the golden altar before the throne. (4) And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God from the angel's hand. (5) And the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth. And voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake occurred.

The 144,000 Before The Throne

Revelation 14:1-5 And I looked, and lo, the Lamb stood on Mount Zion. And with Him were a hundred and forty-four thousands, having His Father's name written in their foreheads. (2) And I heard a voice from Heaven, like the voice of many waters and like the voice of a great thunder. And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. (3) And they sang as it were a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousands who were redeemed from the earth. (4) These are those who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, as a firstfruit to God and to the Lamb. (5) And in their mouth was found no guile, for they were without blemish before the throne of God.

Discussion: What do the above three passages tell us about how important that’s saints and martyrs and their prayers are to the Lord?

TRIUMPHANT

Hallelujah!

Revelation 19:1-8 And after these things I heard a great sound of a numerous crowd in Heaven, saying, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and honor and the power to the Lord our God! (2) For true and righteous are His judgments. For He has judged the great harlot who defiled the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged the blood of His servants out of her hand. (3) And secondly they said, Hallelujah! And her smoke rose up forever and ever. (4) And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God sitting on the throne, saying, Amen! Hallelujah! (5) And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all His servants, and the ones fearing Him, the small and great. (6) And I heard as the sound of a great multitude, and as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of strong thunders, saying, Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigns! (7) Let us be glad and rejoice and we will give glory to Him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. (8) And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

The Throne of Renewal

Revelation 21:5-8 And He sitting on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. (6) And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the Water of Life freely. (7) He who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. (8) But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

The Healing Throne

Revelation 22:1-5 And he showed me a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. (2) In the midst of its street, and of the river, from here and from there, was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve fruits, each yielding its fruit according to one month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (3) And every curse will no longer be; but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him. (4) And they will see His face, and His name will be in their foreheads. (5) And there will be no night there. And they need no lamp, or light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light. And they will reign forever and ever.

Discussion: What do these three passages from the final chapters of Revelation tell us about God’s triumphant throne?

Personal Notes