A Vision of Heaven - Part 1 - Revelation 4: 1-3

1:16What a great way to start the Advent season, to be thinking about the incarnation of our Lord and the glory of our Lord. The one who is born among us now is exalted. To the very throne of God. And there he is. If you look at the last thought there in Revelation 3, verse 21, he who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne.

1:53Throne. Jesus sitting on his father's throne. And that verse, the end of chapter 3, becomes a segue into chapters 4 and chapter 5, where we enter into the very throne room itself. And so Jesus shares his throne, his father's throne. And chapters 4 and 5 give us that vivid picture and description of what's going on in heaven and centered around that throne. It was our privilege this time last year to look at John's first vision, that vision of the glorified Christ. You remember Christ walking among the lampstands? Christ, the one who had eyes like fire, feet like burnished bronze. We looked at those seven verses last year during this time, looking at the glorified Christ. This year, we're going to spend our Advent season looking at John's first vision of heaven.

2:58Looked at his vision of heaven. Of the glorified Christ. Now, in chapters 4 and chapter 5, we'll be looking at the vision of heaven, where he is in his ruling capacity. So, we just read about a door after these things. I looked and behold, a door standing open, a door opened, having been opened to John. And that is the invitation. That is a door into heaven, a door that will take John and us into the very throne room of God and see the things John saw and behold the things that he beheld. On the other side of this door that John sees is the very heaven of heaven itself, the third heaven, the very throne room of God.

3:54And it is the only place in the New Testament where God's throne is described. He gives us a lot of detail. But before we walk with John or go with John through this door, I want us to carefully observe some of the details of verse 1, a very important verse. Look at verse 1. After these things, after these things, I looked and behold a door. I love how he says that. I look and behold. Almost like. Come, visit this with me. I look and behold. Not I look and I saw, but I look and behold. Let me show you this: a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me back chapter one, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things. Notice that first phrase, after these things. After these things. It marks a progression in this prophetic narrative. There is a narrative here that's going to go on, and it's prophecy, prophetic narrative, after these things. And this phrase is going to be used throughout the book, but it's a phrase that is clearly a connecting point to this divinely inspired outline in chapter 1 and verse 9. Turn back there. You may remember in chapter 1, hold on a second. There is an inspired outline. Let me read it to you. Therefore, write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. There's the outline of the book. Jesus gives it to John. He wants John to write about the things. He had already seen at that moment. And this would be pretty much the contents of chapter 1. Then he wants John to write about the things which were taking place at that moment. And these are the events and the issues surrounding the churches in chapters 2 and 3. And then he wants him to write about the things which were going to take place or the things which will take place after these things. And so there's the outline. And this takes chapters 4 through chapter 22. That's the large bulk of the book of Revelation, are the things which are going to take place. And so, this vision, heaven, I want you to see several things about this. First of all, I want you to see the timing, the timing of this vision. Notice back at our chapter 4, verse 1: after these things, after these things, what things? Well, the things that he's just seen. So John receives the vision after John received the messages to the seven churches. So Jesus said, Write these letters to the seven churches. After doing so, or after having received that message for the writing, then he next gets this vision of heaven. Heaven to the things which will take place. Notice the goal of it. The goal of it is expressly stated as well. Right there, and come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things. The goal of this vision and what's going to take place after the church, the vision to the churches, letters to the churches are things that are going to take place afterwards. After the events described or depicted in those seven churches, there are another things that must take place. Notice it must take place. This is a divine necessity. There are certain things which must take place after the things depicted in the seven churches, and it is of divine necessity. You remember, Jesus said, Scripture must be fulfilled. I have to go to the cross. There are things that are of that importance that must take place.

8:41And therefore, it will take place because it must take place. Scripture must be fulfilled. There are things of divine necessity, things to come after the things depicted by the seven churches. Next, I want you to see the extent of this vision, the extent of this vision. And I'm talking about chapter. Chapters 4 and 5, this vision of heaven, thrones. There is the chapter 4, you really get the image of the Creator, Creator, Father, God. And then you have in chapter 5 the Lamb sharing that throne. Just as Jesus said, I overcame and I'm now seated on my Father's throne. So likewise, I will share my throne with those who overcome. But there he is, he's sharing chapter 4 about Father God's throne, and then chapter 5, the Lamb is sharing that throne. The Lamb is on that throne. And so you have this extent of this vision. And what it does is it serves as a bridge. Chapters 4 and 5 serve as a bridge from the seven churches to the seven seals. To the seven seals. Look at what happens in chapter 6, verse 1. Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals.

10:03So there we have seals. So what happens in chapter 4, chapter 5, the thrones are brought into view, but there is one, the lamb, who is able to take the scroll, the seven seals. And the opening of these seven seals is what Revelation is about. And so chapters four and chapter five take us from the things which are. The things depicted in the seven churches to the things which will come after these things, things depicted in the seven seals. Revelation is that simple. It's laid out very straightforward. It's not intended to make you wonder where things are going, what the progression is, or what the outline is. All that is intended to be clear. And if it isn't clear, you're not going to have revelation. You're not going to have anything clear. But the intention is to reveal. And so it's laid out very simply. It's organized very nicely so that we can follow along. There's another thing about this vision I want to say before we jump right into it, and that is the importance of this vision. The importance of this vision.

11:19This vision serves as an introduction to the rest of Revelation. Remember that the big bulk of Revelation is the things to come. It's about the things to come. That's the large part of it. And so chapters 4 and chapter 5 serve as an introduction to all the things that are going to come and take place. You can see this pretty clearly. There in chapter 4 and 5, you get the scenes of heaven. Scenes of heaven dominate chapters 4 and 5. And then scenes of tribulation dominate chapters 6 through 18. That's the bulk of Revelation, chapter 6 through 18, scenes of tribulation. And it's going to unfold very simply. Seven seals are going to be opened. When you get to the seventh seal, it's going to be opened, and then seven trumpets are going to be blown. And then when you get to the seventh trumpet, seven bowls are going to be poured out. That's the scenes of the tribulation. By the end of that, then you have these scenes of glory, scenes of glory where God's throne comes to earth and resides. And so that's very simply what takes place in this vision: it serves as an introduction, an introduction. And it's important to understand that we have this. We have the future events of human history, the final events of human history laid out before us. It's very important that we have this. Genesis gives us the beginning of human history, answers a lot of questions: who we are, where we came from, and what's wrong with the world.

13:16We also see in Revelation the end of human history. God knows that we need to understand the beginning and the end to understand a trajectory, to know where we are, and to know who we must be, who we are. To respond to who we are to bow down to and how all things are going to be made right. There is much coming. And it's important that we have this. But you need to understand something very important about how Revelation is organized. And this vision plays, chapters 4 and 5 play for the rest of the book. You remember last year, this time, we looked at the vision of the glorified Christ. That was in chapter 1. And we just looked at verses 12 through 18. They were really seven verses. But these seven verses, Jesus is there. He turned to see the voice speaking to me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. In the middle of the lampstands, I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet and girded across his chest with a golden sash. And it goes on to describe him. In his right hand, there in verse 16, he held seven stars out of his mouth, a sharp two-edged sword, his face shining like the sun in its strength. Verse 17, when I saw him, I fell at his feet, and he placed his right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last. It goes on in verse 20. The mystery for the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars of the seven seven seven seven seven The angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. That's the initial vision that John saw. And then what happens in chapters two and chapters three, it's looking back to the glorified Christ. And so the introduction there, the vision of the glorified Christ was the introduction to chapters two and chapter three.

15:25For instance, Jesus referred to himself as the first and the last in verse 17, chapter 117. And then he tells John, don't be afraid, on the basis of me being the first and the last. And then in the letter to Smyrna, Jesus again referred to himself as the first and the last and told the church, do not fear what you are about to suffer. And so there's a link going back. Likewise, the seven stars show up in the letter to Ephesus. The sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth refers, it is brought up again to the message of Pergamon. The point I'm making is that the details of the first vision of the glorified Christ give us several images and depictions that relate to what comes next in chapters 2 and chapter 3.

16:22The same thing is happening in chapters 4 and chapter 5, only it's not seven verses this time, it's two full chapters. And what we see and learn in this throne room scene, in this vision of heaven, is going to show up and impact, it's going to relate to everything that comes next. For instance, I'll unpack these as we go along, but I'll give you just an example of this right now. Chapter 4 and chapter 5 set the stage for everything that's going to come in the rest of the book. For instance, look at verse 8, chapter 4. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, full of eyes, and around and within, and day and night they do not cease to say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come. See, this verse makes it very clear that the Almighty is coming. And he's coming as the Almighty.

17:37His rule, his dominion, his throne is coming to earth. And the reason why there is so much tribulation to come is due to the unwillingness of earth's inhabitants to recognize the right of the Almighty to rule over them. That's why there is so much tribulation to come. There are so many who just will not receive the reign of the Almighty over them. But His kingdom is coming. His throne is coming. He is coming as the Almighty.

18:22And so there is a collision, tribulation. And as you look at chapters 4 and chapter 5, you realize heaven adores him, yet earth despises him. But when the events of Revelation conclude, earth will adore him in the same way that heaven adores him. And that's what Revelation is depicting. So you can see how chapter 4 sets the stage for everything that's going to come. In fact, the book of Revelation is really about thrones in conflict. A throne that is coming, the Almighty.

19:12And thrones that will not receive him and oppose him. No other book is more about thrones than Revelation. Thrones. The word shows up so many times. One commentator noted that it shows up so much. 62 times in the New Testament, 47 of those times, it shows up in the book of Revelation. The book with the second most occurrences of the concept of throne, Matthew, with five occurrences. So you get the idea here that Revelation is a book about thrones in conflict with one another. God's throne dominates the scene in chapters four and five, and what a great way to spend the Advent season. Who is this king that has been born, who has come, who is coming again? Let me show you.

20:23God's throne dominates the scene in chapters 4 and 5, but there is another throne that shows up in the book. And it opposes his rule. You can turn there if you want. Revelation 13:1, I'll read it to you. And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his head were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw. Was like a leper, and his feet like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.

21:19Going on in verse 3, the whole earth is amazed and followed after the beast. They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast and who is able to wage war with him? There's an opposing throne. You see the throne of God. You see the throne of the dragon. Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war with him? Well, the answer to that question has already been given. It's the lamb who was slain, his throne. He is the one who is able to wage war with this great dragon with all of his power and with all of his authority and with all of his political scheming and with all of his conquest. There is the lamb who sits and shares the throne with Almighty God.

22:27What an interesting depiction. If you think about this in a physical Sense. The dragon versus the lamb. In a physical sense, that would be no contest. You wouldn't. It's kind of like I get a, I think some of the mascots that people choose for their schools are kind of funny. Like, I think about, you've heard me say it, the crimson tide. That just sounds scary to me. Water, red, who can stand against the tide? And then you have the Minnesota Gophers.

23:03Somebody better get the gopher out of the way of that tide, because it ain't going to have a chance. Or the tigers, the tigers. And then you have the ducks. And I don't care how mean you want to make a duck look, it just doesn't compare with a tiger. Now, if you can think about a dragon, a fiery dragon, if you're a Tolkien reader and you've read the description of the dragon that he depicts, and then you put up against it a baby sheep, who's going to win that contest? There is no contest. Yet, that's the scene. You have a lamb, and yes, Jesus is depicted by several other things. The lion, that one am I, okay, let's have the lion up against the dragon. No, it's the lamb and a slain lamb. It's the slain lamb that's going to take down the dragon.

24:01His strength, the Lamb's strength, is in his submission to the will of God. That's where the strength is. The power of the Lamb is in his absolute surrender and trust in Almighty God. This war between thrones. And all of earth reels in the backlash of this conflict. The conflict between these thrones. In heaven, God is worshiped and followed. On earth, the beast is worshipped and followed. And yet, the book of Revelation tells us about the establishment of God's throne on the earth and these events that are going to bring it about. A sequential set of events that are going to bring about the establishment of God's throne upon earth so that all of earth will be able to say, it is done on earth as it is in heaven. And chapters 4 and chapters 5 show us what it's like in heaven and the worship and the honor and the reverence and the glory that is given to God and the lamb.

25:30Well, having said all that, I'd like for us just to go ahead and step through the door with John. He saw a door. And he wants us to behold what he beheld. And I want us to do that this morning. Step through the door with him so that we will behold what John beheld. And I want to do so so that you and I will know what is at the core of the Christian faith. What a depiction. The throne of God, majesty, mercy, sovereignty. Herein, we're going to find and see what is at the core of the Christian faith. I want to ask you today: are you a Christian?

26:19I want you to step through this door with me. Look at verse 2. Chapter 4, verse 2. Having heard the voice that said, Come up here, look at what John says, immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, there he is again. Behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and one sitting on the throne. And he who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardis in appearance. And there was a rainbow around him, the throne, around the throne, like an emerald in a pen.

27:01So, John's first sight of heaven is of this majestic one. He sees the throne, and yet his mind is taken to the one on the throne. Majesty, majesty. He beholds the majestic one and his majesty in his sovereign place, in his ruling capacity, seated there on his throne. And John is captivated. He sees the sovereign of heaven, the sovereign of the universe, sitting upon his throne, sitting and residing in his ruling capacity. And it's a throne that's already established. It's there. I see it. It says, behold, a throne already established, was standing. There it was.

28:09You think for just a moment, if you pause, a throne, a throne in heaven. Sigh, relief. A throne high above all other thrones, fixed. Immovable. And there it is. And you think about in the context of John's situation. After all of the challenges the church is facing in chapters 2 and 3, John himself is on the island of Patmos, prisoned periole. And all the challenges that the church is facing in chapters 2 and 3 must really weigh on him. Pressures and persecution from the outside. There's the synagogue of Satan. There's the devil throwing people into prison. There is the whole church living where the very throne of Satan is, and all these concerns, and all that the churches are suffering for the name of Christ. Those are the pressures from the outside to bow down and worship the emperor. And then there's the pressures and the enticements to sin on the inside. There's those who are pressuring the church to tolerate doctrinal defection. There are those other pressures of those to celebrate moral compromise, not just participate in moral compromise, but to celebrate moral compromise and sin that.

30:00And all in the likes of people like Balaam, Jezebel, all these pressures, and other evil impostors coming from the inside, enticing, all these pressures, all these situations, inside and outside, coming against the church. Churches are under Roman dominion, suffering. But what a picture this is. A throne above all these thrones, above all the political intrigues of humanity, and the warring between parties and schools of thought. John himself in prison, what a picture. A throne in heaven, fixed, immovable.

30:52So John describes his majesty by his position. But then he also goes on to describe his majesty by his appearance. And one thing that seems to hit John right as he walks through this door is the color, the splendor. Notice what he says: and the one, and he who was sitting was like a Jasper stone and a sardis in appearance. You know, you typically describe a person in those terms, a being, Jasper. I think we've kind of, I'm not sure. Exactly what Jasper is. Actually, Jasper today can be many colors: green, red, yellow, green. It's many.

31:42But the Jasper, if you look in Revelation, this is mentioned again. In Revelation chapter 21, verse 11, speaking about the new Jerusalem, it says this: This New Jerusalem had the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear Jasper. Now, what is something that's very costly, that is crystal clear, that really sparkles? What comes to your mind? A diamond. Yeah, and that very well may be what's being described here, and probably is what's being described, a crystal clear Jasper. It's the image of a diamond, a description. See this one sitting, and he is like a Jasper stone.

32:43Also, and it's interesting that this Jasper is also what the walls of the New Jerusalem are made out of. It's the first foundation stone. You want to radiate glory, Sardis. What is Sardis? Well, Sardis is almost certainly a blood kind of red, a fiery red color. The name Sardis, the stone was mined there in the vicinity of Sardis. So I think there's very little doubt as to what this stone looks like. But what's the significance? Well, people speculate. I don't know if I can really speculate with much authority. I've heard a lot of different comparisons. The tribes of Israel, the very first stone was the ruby, and maybe the Sardis is a ruby-red, kind of emerald, precious stone.

33:53Then the last one was the Jasper or the diamond. And so you could very well have a depiction of the 12 tribes of Israel here. I don't know if you can really, and that was what was in Aaron's breastplate. Others want to see that it's connected to, no, red is a depiction of anger, fire. Others, blood, mercy. I don't think I can really speculate without trying to introduce my mind, trying to connect it to Sardinia. Something else. There's certainly, though, a depiction, a depiction of the very character of heaven itself. God he is seeing him in his majesty, or John is seeing God in his majesty, and he is describing him in these kinds of terms, and it's clear that both these stones are connected to the new Jerusalem. The Sardis is also a foundational stone.

34:59So, certainly, you get a description of the character of heaven itself depicted there in the individual. Also, you get a depiction of God Himself, the glory, the radiance, the splendor, ruling capacity, regal authority. And yes, as you go through the book, you get the depiction of anger against sin, judgment. You have that judging authority and capacity. You also have the mercy aspect of it very much throughout. The blood, lamb who is slain. And so you see all of that there. And so, but simply to say, he gets a vivid picture of the splendid majesty of the sovereign of the universe.

35:54But there's also a depiction in this of mercy. Look back, chapter. Verse 3, he who is sitting on the throne was like a jasper stone and a sardis in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. There was a rainbow around the throne on all sides. There was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Another vivid detail. A lot of color. A rainbow. Emerald. Now, the word for rainbow is the word iris. You can think of iris, beautiful flower, but you can also think of it iris in the eye and a halo. The very word means halo, a vivid halo. Sometimes it's used as rainbow.

36:54But I think the idea of a halo, a radiance, not just like a semicircle, but more of a halo of glory. Certainly something. I came across this photo that NASA released last September. It's a picture of a Pileas cloud. This picture was taken in China. But you get the conditions right, you see what's taking place, you get this halo effect where the light and how it's the sun and the clouds, it's this pileus cloud, and you get this, it's a halo effect.

37:53And so, certainly, as you look at this, you get this idea that there is this halo effect around the throne. And you can think about the halo, and you can think about, okay, if you've got this diamond, a tight individual-looking thing, you know, one of the things when a diamond reflects light, reflects light, reflects, it puts the whole spectrum out there. And so you get this light spectrum that is rainbow in effect. Now, John adds a description that this rainbow has, so there's a rainbow, but it has an emerald in appearance. An emerald, you can be pretty sure that it is a green. So, if you're putting this image together in your mind, there is a rainbow of multiple colors, but the predominant one seems to be green. And we see the green in a rainbow, but there seems to be this.

39:00Multicolors, refraction, splendor, glory, but an appearance like an emerald. So you have this kind of description that John gives. But certainly, as you're thinking about the rainbow, it calls to mind the events of Noah's flood. What are the events of Noah's flood? Well, there's judgment upon the earth. God is not going to allow sin to reign. But his goal in the rainbow, depicted in the rainbow, is not destruction of the earth. You see, mercy is present. In fact, in Genesis 9, 14, it says, It shall come about when I bring a cloud over the earth that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. You see, what's about to come in Revelation is going to be very troubling cosmically. There's going to be a lot of trouble. Tribulation, a lot of distress upon the earth, in the sun, in the stars, in the plagues upon the earth. But one thing from the very outset, it's clear that God's purpose is not to destroy the earth.

40:48No matter how disastrous things look, God's intention is not to destroy planet earth. No, he has a different objective. As I mentioned earlier, Revelation is about these thrones in conflict with each other. And these thrones have completely different objectives. The powers of evil, they seek to destroy the people of God. We've already seen this in chapter 2 and chapter 3. The powers of evil want God's people gone, eradicated, extinguished, brutally by whatever means. They want them gone, they want them out, they want them completely destroyed.

41:36On the other hand, the powers of heaven seek to bring the nations to repentance. It's not about the same destruction. There is a desire to bring the nations to repentance. And this is seen throughout. As the Prophetic narrative continues. After these things, I saw, after these things, then this happened, then this happened, then this happened. Thinking, like in chapter 9 and verse 20, this is after the sixth trumpet has blown and plagues, so many people killed. Revelation 9:20 says this: The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands. So as to not worship demons and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their immorality, nor of their thefts. It's like man wants to worship anything but God.

42:59And then, again, in chapter 14, just before those seven bowls of wrath, now you're really getting into the thick of God's wrath. But before the bowls of wrath are poured out, Revelation 14:6. And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel, eternal good news to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. And he said with a Loud voice, fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water.

43:42Are you a Christian? And do you worship him? But before the seven bowls of wrath are poured out, the glorious gospel goes out. Turn to him, turn, turn, turn. And then in Revelation 16, 9, after the fourth bowl of judgment is poured out, before the fifth bowl comes, but after the four, and the fourth bowl, the sun's temperature is turned way up. Verse 16, 9 says, Men were scorched with fierce heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give him glory. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened, and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds. You see, one of the objectives through this whole tribulation period is the repentance. The turning of the nations to God. It's going to be a time of many people coming to salvation. But salvation is one of the merciful objectives of God's throne. The dragon's throne is extermination, destruction.

45:21And the rainbow reminds us of the contents, and the contents of Revelation remind us of the mercy of God. So, vision in heaven, majesty and mercy. I look forward to beholding more of what John beheld as he stepped through that door. And I invite you to continue with us during this Advent season as we continue looking at what John saw. His first sight of heaven was that of the sovereign majesty sitting upon his throne. And let me tell you something that's so comforting about this, so soul-renovating, so soul-strengthening, is because as you continue going through the book of Revelation, this one keeps showing. Going up on his throne. He never leaves his throne.

46:36This one is always upon his throne. I think about Revelation 6:15. When the world is fallen apart after the sixth seal, when the sun is darkened, the moon is bloodlike, the stars are falling, and the sky is split. And the kings in verse 6:15 say, The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the commanders, and the rich, and the strong, and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountain. And they say to the mountains and to the rocks, fall on us and hide from us. Hide us from the presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for great, for the great day of their wrath has come. So when all the world falls apart, he is on his throne.

47:37And when people are done, when people get it, when they are tired of resisting God, and when they realize that God is upon his throne and that God is worthy to be worshipped, then in Revelation 7:9, you see this whole multitude of people who have come out of this great tribulation singing, salvation. To our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. You see, when you are done resisting God, He is there throughout the tribulation to receive all who will come to Him.

48:16And then, when all the world's political schemes are torn down, when all the associations, when man has launched its final epic battle against the Lamb, when Babylon the Great has fallen, Revelation 19:4 says the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne. He is there at the fall of Babylon, He is unmoved, fixed, eternal. And then, when the devil and death have done all that they can do in Revelation 20:11, then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them. The small, the great, all standing before him. Even death itself, when the devil has done all that he can do, when death has done all it can do, it is all thrown into the fire because there's one who sits on his throne and he never leaves it.

49:29And then. And then, that glorious picture, Revelation 21:3. When humanity is confirmed in the holiness of the new Jerusalem, he is there. Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be among them, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death, there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things have passed away. And he who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new.

50:16And write these words down because they are faithful and true. So when the world falls apart, he is there. When your world falls apart, he is there. When people are done resisting God, he is there on his throne. When all of the schemes of humanity break down, he is there. When the devil has done all that he can do, when death and decay has done all, he is there. And in the glory, one day when we sit in his presence, he is there. He never leaves.

50:48Rest. What a nice picture. A throne above all these other thrones. A throne to which all will bow. Think about the challenges the churches were facing in their times. We can think about the challenges of our own times, whether they're external challenges, whether they're internal pressures against the church, whatever they are, whatever the unique personal challenges that you and I face each day, it's refreshing to get this image of God seated on his throne. And that's never going to change. Throughout all the seasons and changes and issues and situations of life, he is there, unmoved, unshakable, transcendent, yet very concerned.

51:47Behold, your God. This is the faith that overcomes the world. As John said in 1 John 5:4, I quoted it last time: whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world. Our faith. Faith in what? That the sovereign of the universe sits on the throne and he shares that throne with the Lamb of God. Are you a Christian? Let him in. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are tired of resisting you.

52:31Help us to accept you and your ways. Help us to be wise in light of what's been revealed, in light of what's coming, in light of what you've declared to be true. Father, help us to bow our hearts before you. Father, we are thankful that you are a God who transcends all of humanity. You're fixed, wise, majestic, merciful. But you're not just transcendent, you're very personal. So, Father, it's in this knowledge of your transcendence and your interest in our personal affairs that we pour our hearts before you and welcome you into our lives. Help us, Father. Forgive us of our sins. Help us to turn to you and embrace you more fully. For truly, you are the glory of heaven. Thank you for this vision. In Jesus' name, amen.