God’s Throne Room
Session 2: The Place of His Eternal Government
I. The Environment Where God Rules:
Though He is infinite and omnipresent the Father has chosen a fixed place in all of the created order from which to govern all that He has made. Heaven’s throne room is that place. From His royal seat He leads the whole of His Kingdom, He has established it in Heaven and on Earth and made it everlasting. This environment that He has chosen to lead from is very different from any other; there are intentional and powerful components that fill the room. He has ordered it just as He desires and it is from this throne that He sits rules over all the created order.
A. The Voice of the Father Resounds:
This is the only room in the universe that we know of where the Father regularly speaks. His voice shakes the foundations of Heaven and Earth; the subject of the voice of God is a vast one in the Word (Nu. 7:89; Dt. 4:23, 36, 5:22-26; 2Sa. 22:14; Jb. 37:1-5; Ps. 29:3-9, 46:6, 68:33; Is. 6:8, 30:30-31, 33:3; Ez. 1:24-25, 10:5, 43:2; Da. 10:6; Mt. 3:17, 17:5; Mk. 1:11, 9:7; Lk. 3:22, 9:35-36; Jn. 12:29; He. 12:26; 2Pe. 1:17-18; Re. 1:15, 10:4, 8, 11:12, 12:10, 18:4). When the Father speaks in this room He thunders from His throne.
“The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded (2Sa. 22:14).”
“Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered (Jn. 12:28-29 NASB)”
B. God Surrounds Himself with a Great Throng:
In the first session of this series we looked at all of those in attendance around the throne, we saw angels and saints and elders and living creatures and a whole host of others encircled around Jesus and His Father. This room is full of activity; with so many in attendance and so many unique groups of beings positioned strategically around the throne we have to know that there are great purposes far beyond simply having a big crowd gathered.
“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 (Re. 4:4).”
“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back (Re. 4:6).”
“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne (Re. 5:11)”
C. They Worship Him Night and Day:
This room is the most power charged worship environment in all of creation. The Father has established night and day prayer in this room where worship goes forth literally unceasingly; it never stops.
“Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come (Re. 4:8).”
D. The Throng Declares His Purposes:
This holy room in Heaven is filled with worship night and day but intermingled into the gratitude filled songs are declarations of God’s eternal purposes. Constantly around this throne His good plans are being sung and spoken forth as sure. Below is an example of a future event that will occur during God’s coming end time drama.
“And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”…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 (Re. 5:2-5).”
E. His Character is Constantly Being Declared:
God is good and His nature is eternal. In addition to proclaiming God’s purposes before the throne we also see that His character is being declared eternally in the divine courts. Not just declared but sung and proclaimed in worship.
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise (Re. 5:12)!”
F. The Room is Full of Brilliant Colors and Sounds:
Heaven’s throne room is beautiful, magnificent sounds and rich colors precede forth in every direction. Since we will spend much of our final session looking at these details more closely we will just give mention to this reality at this time. For now it will be enough for us to recognize that God intentionally surrounded Himself with great beauty.
“At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne…From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing…there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal (Re. 4:2-6).”
II. The Heavenly Model of Worship:
We might not give much thought to it but the worship that goes forth in Heaven in God’s presence is not only beautiful, it’s organized. There are many dynamics of what worship looks like around the throne that tell us more than just what goes on but even how. We are talking about a God designed model of worship that employs musical elements flowing together in a specific way. It is by studying this model that the house of prayer movement has adopted what we call the harp and bowl model; which takes it’s cues from Revelation chapters 4 and 5.
A. The Harps and the Bowls:
Revelation chapter five gives us such a unique perspective into what life looks like around the throne of God. John recorded details about those in attendance and what they do and how they interact with God. What is perhaps most interesting from the human dynamics we see around the throne is that the elders are holding two items; a harp in one hand and a bowl full of prayers in the other.
“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 God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy (Re. 5:8-9).”
B. The Place of Intercession:
From this picture we see that the Heavenly model of worship in intricately connected to prayer. Prayer isn’t an after thought it is one of two primary instruments that those nearest to God employ everyday in their worship of God.
“they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people (Re. 5:8).”
“Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us (Ro. 8:34).”
C. Inclusion of Worship and Singing:
They are also holding harps. We see that they are singing. If you ever happen to find yourself in God’s living room you will be overwhelmed by music and song filled worship, because however else communication looks around the throne we see that those in attendance are playing harps and are singing.
“the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever (Re. 4:10).”
“And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy (Re. 5:9).”
D. Corporate in Nature:
In the perfect environment, with all God’s hand picked components to make the throne room everything that He wants it to be we see that the prayer and worship that goes forth is corporate in nature. The throng of Heaven engages in praise and intercession together before the throne.
“All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God (Re. 7:11)”
E. Praise Proceeds Back and Forth:
The throne room is full of sounds and songs; the four living creatures operate in a form of responsive signing where their worship proceeds back and forth to each other around the throne (Re. 4:8-11, 5:8-14, 7:9-17, 11:15-18, 12:10-12, 15:2-4, 16:4-7, 18:1-19:9).
“Above him were seraphs, each with six wings…And thy were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole Earth is full of his glory (Is. 6:3).”
F. On Earth as it is in Heaven:
Jesus made it clear that it was beneficial, powerful and that it should actually be a focus of our intercession that thing on Earth be made to look and feel like they are in Heaven. We seek to employ as much of what we see happening around the throne in Heaven here on Earth so that we can enter into as much of the anointing that rests there as possible.
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:9-10).”
III. The Role of Prayer:
God is the one who invented the concept of prayer; it serves Him in every way and it is His delight to respond to the prayers of His saints. He made prayer the primary form of communication between God and man and set it in place as the way in which He runs His government. He connects to His people through it and then uses His Church to release His purposes in the Earth.
A. Sweet Incense Before the Father:
Prayer rises before the Father as incense. As we read in the Revelation 5 account the Bible tells us that the prayers of the saints become a sweet smelling incense before the throne in Heaven (Ps. 141:2; Lk. 1:9-10; Ma. 1:11; Re. 5:8, 8:3). This is the intercession of all the people of God throughout history meeting and mingling before His throne.
“May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice (Ps. 141:2).”
“My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty (Ma. 1:11).”
B. The Foundation of Friendship:
Communication is the basis of any relationship and prayer is how we talk to God. That communication is foundational to our friendship with God and it is therefore an important and unmovable principle in Heaven. God invented prayer to keep us close to Him though we are physically distant from His throne. He asks us to come near to Him in the place of prayer, where we earn His trust as a friend and where He shares His secrets with us.
“Come near to God and he will come near to you (Jm. 4:7).”
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you (Jn. 15:15).”
C. God Ordained Partnership:
Intercession is not a bending of His will outside of His set purposes but just the opposite; His purpose is to partner with us through intercession and so see His Kingdom expand and progress. He shares His secrets with us so that we can partner with Him in the desires of His Heart. He wants for His Kingdom objectives to be accomplished on the Earth but He requires that we partner with Him in prayer to see those initiatives met.
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:9-10).”
D. The Power to Change Things:
When we pray He moves on our behalf and releases His Kingdom purposes in response to our prayers. We have the power to change things, to shift circumstances to move mountains and to see dramatic impact when we pray.
"will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly (Lk. 18:7-8)."
“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (Jn. 14:13-14).”
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Mt. 7:7-9).”
IV. Inside God’s Court Room:
All those prayers arise to God in His throne room and the universe is governed by the activity that proceeds forth before that throne. Our prayers enter into the heavenly court and impact decisions made there. By the words of His mouth kings are set in place and deposed; He leads with perfect wisdom and He serves as creation’s perfect judge.
A. The Lord Sits on His Throne:
In the center of this throne room we see God seated upon His glorious throne; it is from this regal seat that He rules.
“God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne (Ps. 47:8).”
“I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple (Is. 6:1).”
B. The Heavenly Court:
His throne in is in a courtroom; it is the place of His government and where He has his cabinet gathered. His court is always in session, it’s not only where night and day worship goes forth, but the Father has known from ancient times past that worshipers make the best decision makers, so His court is comprised of those who are ever in His presence crying out to Him.
“The court was seated, and the books were opened (Da. 7:10).”
C. The Edicts and Decrees of Heaven: