John at the Throne Room in Heaven
Bible Study Guide
(Verse 2) Enoch was the first to experience it. Approximately 1600 years later, Elijah himself would experience it in a different fashion. Roughly, 850 years after that, Philip the evangelist had a partial experience to what occurred with Enoch and Elijah.
Of the three, only Enoch and Elijah felt the full power and experience of being “caught up” (raptured) to be with the Lord and remain with Him in heaven.
With this, we can see that the theological concept of the “rapture” is not a new one in biblical terms. It dates back to ancient times with Enoch.
Here in this passage, we’re going to see John’s temporary experience of the “rapture” fall somewhere between being fully and permanently “caught up” to be with the Lord, and being temporarily “caught up” by the spirit and brought to another location in Israel that Philip experienced.
John records, “At once, I was in the Spirit.” In other words, the “rapture” will happen as quickly as we can blink an eye.
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
Except in John’s case, it was temporary. Jesus still had much use for him on earth to finish the work of the last chapter of the Bible.
In the twinkle of an eye, John stood in heaven gazing upon the throne room of God.
The Beauty of the Throne Room in Heaven
(Verse 3) There are no earthly words or images that can be used to show us what God looks like. There is nothing that could ever capture the full glory of God in all His magnificent majesty and power.
The best that can happen is for John to use earthly things that will help us gain an appearance of God. Only when we stand before Him in the new age will we be able to finally cast our eyes on Him who made us and loves us.
Jasper is a quartz stone emitting several different colors based on the surrounding sediment that helps to form it. The ruby is a gemstone whose quality is based upon it’s color. It’s hardness is almost that of a diamond. We can only image with with these beautiful stones how God appeared before John.
We have to remember, John has just been taken up to heaven in Spirit. He’s now being shown things that are very overwhelming and hard to put into words to say the least. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, he’s going to do his best to put words to the visions he’s being shown.
The Completeness of the Rainbow
The sun’s rays provide humans with many benefits aiding our existence on this planet. Without it we could not survive. On average, 65% of our body is made up of water. Water is also a vital necessity to our existence. We would barely survive three days without it.
When these two essential life giving components come together in our atmosphere and dance in harmony with one another, they produce an array of colors we call a rainbow.
John casts his eyes into the throne room of the beginner and finisher of all things. The God in whom all things come to completion according to His sovereign will. John sees a complete rainbow in stunning shades of emerald.
In our world, we typically see a partial rainbow after a storm passes through. Where John is standing, he sees a complete rainbow before the storm of the wrath of God is shown to John.
Who Has Ever Visited the Throne Room of God?
We should note here that John is not the first to see God’s throne in heaven.
There are three others before him that had similar experiences through visions of the throne in heaven. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel all had experiences like John. Just like John, their roles were much the same. To share what they saw and heard so that those who have ears to hear would listen to what these prophets had to say about what was shown to them.
You can find each of these testimonies in Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, and Daniel 7.
Who Sat On These Smaller Thrones?
(Verse 4) Christ does not reveal to John who is occupying these twenty-four thrones that surround God’s throne. We can safely surmise that many of the prophets of the Old Testament would certainly qualify. At least based on our standards, but it’s not our standards that matter. Only God’s.
It could also be any number of church age saints including the apostles. It’s likely a combination of both. One day, the believers will learn who these saints are that sit next to the Father and the Son. There’s no point in trying to speculate.
(Verse 5) When God appeared to Moses on Mt. Sinai to deliver the law to His people, the Israelites heard loud peals of thunder and saw flashes of lightning coming from the mountain. But here, John witnesses lightning flash along with loud crashes of thunder before Jesus is going to deliver the wrath of God upon the earth.
“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance” (Exodus 20:18)
(Verse 6) It’s quite possible that the sea of crystal clear glass that John saw in front of the throne was similar to what Moses and Aaron saw when they approached God on Mt. Sinai.
“Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.” (Exodus 24:9-10)
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