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| Throne of Sapphire |
Standing Face To Face
With God
Can You Imagine Standing
in Front of the Throne of God?
Messianic Prophecy Bible
“Above the dome over their heads there was
something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire stone.” (Ezekiel 1:26)
Can
you imagine standing face to face with God?
Would
you shout Halleluyah! or not be able to speak at all?
Would
you dance for Yeshua or fall to your face before the Lord?
These
are the questions the American Christian music band called Mercy Me asks in
their hit song, “I Can only Imagine.”
Though
we don’t know how we would actually respond when standing before the literal
throne of God, we can see what it’s like to approach the throne of God.
The
prophets shared with us their vivid visions of His throne. And the apostles told us how we can enter His
presence with confidence.
One
day all of us will approach His throne (Daniel
12:2; Matthew 25 31-40; Revelation 20:4,11).
So,
let’s discover what His throne is, what it means for each of us today and on
the day that we will appear before His throne.
Gold
throne in the clouds with gold stairs leading up to it.
Can
God Really Sit on a Throne?
In
the Tanakh (Old Testament), and in modern Hebrew the word כִּסֵא (pronounced keesay) is a chair. But most often in the
Bible, it refers to a throne.
While
God is our King of kings, He is also Spirit, so can He really sit on a literal
throne?
One
of the most influential Jewish scholars and sages of all time, Maimonides also
known as the Rambam (12th century) said, no.
He
believed that God showed the prophets a literal throne only as a way to help
the Israelites (who were accustomed to seeing kings and statues of pagan gods
in Egypt and Canaan sitting on thrones) identify with Himself as the King of
all kings, whose glory, reign, and authority are above any other throne on
earth.
Whether
God’s throne is literal or allegorical, the language of the throne in the Bible
emphasizes God’s authority.
Just
as a king has authority over his domain, so God has authority over all creation
and beyond.
It’s
also important to keep in mind that the word for to sit in Hebrew is
shev, which can also mean to dwell or inhabit.
So,
perhaps God dwells wherever His throne is.
As
we’ll see, His throne could be anywhere and everywhere at the same time.
Let’s
start to understand what the throne of God means to us by looking at the robe
that our King of kings wears as He sits upon His throne.
The
Glory, Exaltation, and Authority of Our King
“I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne;
and the train (hem) of His robe filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1)
No
matter how wealthy and splendid an earthly king was, none of his robes could
outdo the Lord’s, which “filled the temple” in Isaiah’s vision of God’s
throne.
The
length of a king’s robe represented the level of glory and splendor he wanted
to portray among his subjects.
Keep
in mind that in ancient Israel, elaborate robes would have been painstakingly
woven together by hand one thread at a time with great precision and
craftsmanship.
The
Lord’s robe is so expansive that His glory and splendor covers His entire
house, summoning worship and praise from everyone.
But,
of course, His glory is not limited to a building made by hands.
In
chapter 6, God shows Isaiah another dimension of His throne.
This time, Seraph angels are attending to the Lord,
calling out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full
of His glory.”
And in Chapter 66, God says that “Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is My footstool.”
Even
the clouds of the sky, the rain, the thunder, the air we breathe declare the
glory of God, as if His robe extends around our earth and over each of our
homes. (Psalm 77:13–19)
As David wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of
God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal
knowledge.
“They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is
heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to
the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1–4)
A
king’s robe was not the only symbol of his glory.
The
height of his throne represented the level of authority and power he possessed
and commanded.
High
above all other kings and kingdoms, God’s throne is in the heavens and the
earth is but one of a vast array of creations.
“All these things My hand has made, and so all these
things are Mine, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 66:2)
What
can anyone do in the presence of such power?
“Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the
presence of the God of Jacob,” writes
the psalmist. (Psalm 114:7)
Let’s
see how even the holy prophets of God, who warned Jewish people about their
severe sins ― and were also human beings who sinned ― entered the presence of such
a holy, omnipotent, omnipresent King and left empowered and emboldened to serve
Him.
Isaiah
and Ezekiel Approach God’s Throne
When
Isaiah entered the presence of God’s supreme power and majesty (Isaiah chapter 6),
he was suddenly aware of his own sinfulness and did not understand how he could
be in the holy presence of YHVH Sabbaoth, the Lord of Hosts.
“Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean
lips.” he cried.
Just
then, one of the Seraphs took a hot coal from the altar in the Temple and
touched Isaiah’s lips:
“Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has
departed and your sin is blotted out,”
said the angel.
With
a clean slate, so to speak, in the eyes of YHVH, Isaiah could embark on His
commission.
“Hineini – Here I am,” he told the Lord, ready to serve You.
When
the Prophet Ezekiel approached God’s throne in all its splendor, he fell on his
face.
But
the Ruach or Spirit entered him and put him back on his feet so he could
proceed with his unique commission. (Ezekiel
2:1-3)
What
God did for Isaiah and Ezekiel, He makes available to each of us.
Aware
of our sin, He has removed our guilt and given us His Spirit so we can embark
on our own unique commissions.
How
Can We Approach God’s Throne?
Just
as God dealt with Isaiah’s sinfulness and Ezekiel was filled with God’s Spirit,
so we too must come into God’s presence to be cleansed and filled with His
Spirit.
We
know that living a holy life is not always easy, but it is what God calls us
to. It takes work by spending time with God in prayer and in His presence.
But
what can we do when we fail?
The
words of the song by Dave Browning help us understand how we can deal with our
sin and how God has provided for us.
We
still need a High Priest to make atonement for our sins, as Israel did.
This High Priest who would atone for our sins once and
for all “had to become like His brothers and sisters in every respect, so
that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God; to
make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17)
That
High Priest is Yeshua (Jesus)!
Through
this eternal High Priest, we have access to the throne of God!
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time
of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Understanding
His mercy and receiving His forgiveness is humbling.
Filled
with His Spirit, we can humbly but also boldly approach our King on His throne
with praise and worship, asking Him for help and guidance in our lives.
“This is the one to whom I will look,” God said on His throne, “to the humble and
contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.” (Isaiah 66:2)
The
Jewish apostle Matthew wrote his book to the Jewish followers of Yeshua
explaining that the true children of God have responsibilities to follow God’s
word, His house rules. That’s the deal.
A
day will come when we will stand before the throne of Messiah and be judged
according to His word:
“When the Son of Man comes [Messiah Yeshua] in His
glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
“All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He
will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared
for you since the creation of the world. …
“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Get away from
Me, you who are accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the
devil and his angels!” (Matthew 25:31–41)
Let
us pray that the Jewish People will come to the knowledge of their Messiah and
be counted as one of the sheep who will enter eternity with Him in heaven.
First and foremost, our
mission is ministering to Jewish people with love and comfort.
“Comfort, comfort my people
(Israel), says your God.” Isaiah 40
Located in the Holy Land, the
Bibles For Israel ministry is producing the first-ever Messianic Prophecy
Bible.
We educate Jewish people on
the prophecies about the Messiah in the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures), showing the
truths by defining the Messianic and rabbinical points of view.
Not only are we creating the
free Messianic Prophecy Bible in print form, we are tirelessly working on the
creation of free Bible software for mobile and computer devices.
This free software will be
used by everyone – from seminary students to Sunday school children in African
villages, and those who are scattered around the four corners of the
earth.
Our Bible will reach millions
of people in hundreds of languages, spanning all 257 countries and territories
in the world.
We also minister to the
spiritual and financial needs of the elderly, poor, and single parents.
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| These two 60 ft (18 m) high statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (14th century) have stood for 3,400 years in what is now Luxor, Egypt. |
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| King George V wearing his royal robe (1911), by Sir Samuel Luke Fildes |
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| Isaiah’s Lips Anointed with Fire, by Benjamin West (1738–1820) |
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