At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
~ Revelation 4:2-6
he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.
~ 1 Timothy 6:15b-16
How John survived this moment is a mystery. The only clue that we have is that He was in the Spirit. He was imbued with the power of of G_d to come and experience the Throne which is both the wellspring and bane of existence.
“Unimaginable” falls tragically short here.
Notice that John never mentions seeing The One on the throne. He speaks only to the surrounding glory and effulgence of Him who lives forever.
Friends, it seems that John is seeing the confluence of infinity and the universe. This rainbow seems to be the event horizon of reality as we know it. Existence itself falters and shatters and explodes in a beautiful spray of verdant green light as it both falls into and flees from the Locus of the Presence of the One on the throne. Surely, the aspects of light and beauty seen in this scene are not like ribbons or bows wrapped around a really beautiful chair. They are epic, beyond-language manifestations of His power, and goodness and mercy.
And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives for ever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by Your will they existed and were created.”
~ Revelation 4: 6-11
Perhaps an application here, is to catch hold of a vision for how Holy and Powerful our G_d is. Might this One be able to bear us across the problems that we have in our lives? Might He be able to truly provide the path away from temptation, or the path towards the meeting of a need?
Surely He is able to do all things.
This One whom we serve is not simply adequate to meet our needs beloved. He is strength, power, glory and majesty itself. Our very existence even flows from His will. Shall we not trust Him fully for all things?
As believers, we live Coram Deo. Coram Deo is Latin and means that we live ever in the presence and before the face of G_d. This infinitely powerful One is not just in some far-away throne room. This same One is the One in whose presence we dwell – and Who dwells fully in us.
So again… Shall we not trust Him fully for all things? Surely.
