God’s Throne Room

Session 3: The Beauty Realm of God

I.The Beautiful God:

King David cried out to God pleading with Him that he would be permitted to spend his whole life gazing on His beauty. This was a man who had it all from every worldly standard; wealth, fame, power and every freedom afforded to a king, yet this powerful man said that his one heart’s desire was to encounter the beautiful God as a daily reality. If we pause for a moment and think about what is being communicated here we recognize that David must have known something about God that we don’t, he must have seen aspects of God’s nature in unveiled way for this to be his deepest request.

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lordand to seek him in his temple (Ps. 27:4).”

  1. The Fact of God’s Beauty:

God is beautiful; this refers to all that is attractive about Him. It includes how He thinks and feels, what He does and doesn’t do, how He looks, His might, His glory, and the power and knowledge that He possesses.

“Yes, He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my friend (SS. 5:16)!”

“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us (Ps. 90:17)”

  1. His Beauty is Visible:

His beauty is visible all around us, in a sunset, in the mountains and even His beauty is reflected in humanity. But apart from the beauty of that which He has created, His physical beauty is visible. In fact a time is coming when we will see His beauty face to face when Christ rules on the Earth.

“From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth (Ps. 50:2).”

“In that day the Branch of the Lord(Jesus)will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel (Is. 4:2).”

  1. We Can Encounter His Beauty:

We don’t have to wait to encounter His beauty however. David spoke of God’s beauty, as something to be experienced not simply a fact about God. He talked about not just seeing and engaging the Lord but actually encountering God’s beauty in a way that marked him. If this was the case for a man under the old covenant then how much more for us who believe in Christ and who have greater access. David went to a tent and encountered God in a mere shadow of the heavenly throne room but we have been given direct access to God in His throne room through Jesus.

“God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6)”

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Co. 3:1).”

II.His Eternal Home:

The hope of this session is to establish the fact of God’s inexhaustible and eternal beauty in a way that makes sense to us. We want to begin to understand that His beauty isn’t just an attribute of nature but that it is something that can be seen and experienced. In this section we specifically want to connect the fact of God’s beauty back to throne room that He has established as His home. This room from which he rules is the place where He and His Son dwells; He made His throne room beautiful like Himself, it is a reflection of His awesome nature, power and glory.

  1. The Father on His Throne:

As we have been looking at throughout this series we have seen God as pictured on His heavenly throne. The Prophet Daniel saw the Father taking what is described as His seat in the heavenly assembly.

“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze (Da. 7:7-9).”

  1. The Dwelling Place of the Father:

We know from countless scriptures that Heaven is the forever abode of the Father. It is the place He created for Himself as His dwelling and the home of the righteous.

“Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people (Dt. 26:15).”

“The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place (2Ch. 30:27).”

  1. The Dwelling of the Lamb:

Heaven is not only the eternal home of the Father it is also where the Jesus the Lamb lives. This same throne room is where Christ dwells and from where He receives all that he is due night and day.

“no one in heaven…could open the scroll…Then one of the elders said to me “…the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed”....Then I saw a Lamb…standing at the center of the throne…He…took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And…the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb...And they sang…“You are worthy to take the scroll…because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation…ten thousand times ten thousand…encircled the throne… saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise…To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever(Re. 5:3:13)!”

  1. Jesus Seated at the Right Hand of God:

Jesus is alive, and currently he is in Heaven seated at the right hand of God. It was the Father’s goodwill to exalt Christ to sit at His side. Jesus lived the perfect life and died a sacrificial death that permitted Him to rule alongside Him; for this reason the Father has chosen Jesus to sit at His right hand.

“But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God (Lk. 22:69).”

“For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand (Ac. 2:34)”

  1. Christ is on the Throne of God:

Ezekiel chapter one is a brilliant description of Christ on His throne in Heaven; He is on the same throne as the Father; it is somehow one throne with two seats.

“high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown (Ez. 1:26-28)”

  1. All are Enthralled by His Beauty:

It is before the throne that all who are in His presence encounter the heights of His beauty, they are enthralled by Him, slain by Him might and in wonder of His glorious presence. With great emotion they proclaim His goodness and they fall before Him.

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

“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 (Re. 4:10-11)”

III.The Glorious Throne:

All manner of brilliance is wrapped up in the man on this throne and His glory pours forth from it;beauty radiates out in every direction in perfect colors, pitch and every sense imaginable. Everything about this throne is awe-inspiring; its height and appearance, it’s structure anddesign; all of it is unique in the universe; even the building materials used in its constructed are unusual; heavenly.

  1. Beauty Beyond Compare:

The Throne of God and the Lamb is beautiful beyond comparison, the Word describes it with a good bit of detail. While the fullness of this reality is veiled to us on this side of Heaven we can piece together an inspiring picture of the Throne through several revealing passages.

“there before me was a throne in heaven with…A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne…In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing...in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal (Re. 4:2-6).”

“Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome…there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire (Ez. 1:22-26)”

“His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him (Da. 7:9-10).”

  1. Power Indescribable:

God’s throne is the very starting place of all power in the universe; it is no wonder that lightning and thunder surround it and that even the mightiest of the angelic order cry out uncontrollably in His presence. His power emanates from Him bursting forth from the throne.

“From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder (Re. 4:8).”

“And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed (Re. 15:8).”

  1. Glory Unsurpassed:

It’s His glory that they are encountering. Often when the throne of God is spoken about in the Bible it is described as an awesome sight, full of God’s glory. The throne is awe striking, inspiring and all manner of brilliance is wrapped up in the man on this throne and this glory pours forth, radiating out in every perfect colors, pitch and sense imaginable.

“Look down from heaven and see, from your lofty throne, holy and glorious (Is. 63:15).”

“Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones (Mt. 19:28).”

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne (Mt. 25:31).”

IV.Imagining the Sights and Sounds:

If we are to give ourselves to the reality that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places, and if it is actually advantageous to think on things above then with the truth in front of us our imagination is an ally to us to take us past what is merely written and into a real room that we can be certain exists without ever having been there. For this section to be most beneficial you may find it helpful to close your eyes and meditate on each of these dynamics and try to imagine yourself in this room.

  1. The Colors of Heaven:

Around the throne are unbelievable sights, colors and beauty. God bends a rainbow around Himself and fire proceeds forth from His throne. We have never imagined such a beautiful scene.

1.Colors emitting from the emerald rainbow (Re. 4:3).

2.The brilliance of the sea of glass like crystal (Re. 4:6).

3.The colors of the 12 foundation walls (Re. 21:14-20).

4.The glimmer of the gates made of pearls (Re. 21:21).

5.The spectrum of light illuminating the city (Re. 21:23).

  1. The Imagesof Heaven:

In addition to the beauty that God has woven into the architecture of His throne room there are many other contributing factors that add to the visual and experiential beauty of Heaven. Below are just a few of the images that can be seen around God’s throne.

1.Angels whirling past (Da. 7:10).

2.Elders throwing themselves down (Re. 4:10).

3.The elders leading worship on their harps (Re. 5:8)

4.The four living creatures gazing on the Lord (Re. 4:6-9).

5.Glory of the Son radiating from the throne (Re. 1:13-16).

  1. The Fragrancesof Heaven:

The reality of censors, smoke, fire and incense burning around the throne and on the altar before God is repeatedly seen. These all create unique fragrances that are part of the experience before God at the place of His eternal throne.

1.The four living creatures (Re. 4:6).

2.Incense of the saints (Re. 5:8).

3.Fragrance of God (Re. 15:8).

4.Fruit from the Tree of Life (Re. 22:2).

5.Smoke from the altar (Re. 8:4).

  1. The Sounds of Heaven:

To compliment the visual display of God’s brilliance we see that powerful sounds also erupt from His throne. Thunder and the sounds of a mighty river pour forth over all in His presence. But harpists playing around Him (Re. 5:8) can also be heard.

1.Continual worship (Re. 4:8).

2.Thunderings (Re. 4:5).

3.Noises (Re. 4:5).

4.The Father’s voice (Mt. 3:17).

5.The heart felt cry of “Holy” (Re. 4:8).

6.Swirling of the throne wheels (Da. 7:9).

7.Gushing of the water of life (Re. 22:1).

  1. The Atmosphere of Heaven:

Heaven’s atmosphere is of another order with so many elements that we are not familiar with. The dynamics of the throne room are supercharged because God is there; this changes everything.

1.God’s tangible presence (Re. 7:15).

2.The permeation of His love (1Jn. 4:8).

3.Feeling of unspeakablejoy (Ps. 16:11).

4.Shared purpose with all those in sight (Re. 7:9-10).

  1. Powerful Feelings:

When before the throne of God there are not only spiritual feelings that will overwhelm us but also natural impact from all that is going on around Him. We will feel many things.

1.Wind from the wings (Is. 6:2).

2.Rumblings of the thunder (Re. 4:5).

3.Warmth from the altar (Re. 8:3-5).

  1. Experiencing the Textures:

Because Heaven is a real city there are plenty of tangible surfaces and varying textures to be touched and experienced. We want to think about the concreteness and experiential nature of Heaven.

1.Feathers of the Four Living Creatures (Re. 4:8).

2.Stones of the great street (Re. 21:21).

3.Softness of the white linen robes (Re. 6:11).

4.Smooth frame of the elder’s thrones (Re. 4:4).

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