Last time we began a discussion on God’s throne. We talked about the foundation of his throne. Today we will dive deeper and start with talking about the environment around God’s throne. 

Enthroned on the Cherubim

A few weeks ago, Cherise gave us a deep dive on the subject of cherubim, these fascinating creatures before the throne of God. 

The main point of this subsection is this: God is enthroned upon the cherubim.

“And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said: “O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.”” 2 Kings 19:15 (ESV)

“Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.” Psalm 80:1 (ESV)

“The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!” Psalm 99:1 (ESV)

“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.” Isaiah 37:16 (ESV)

The Sea of Glass or Blue Sapphire

One of the best descriptions of the environment around God’s throne is found in Revelation chapter 4. John is invited into a vision where he goes through an open door to see Heaven, which by the way is something we can experience too.

“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 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 around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around 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. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind.” Revelation 4:1-6 (ESV)

What a sight to see in the spiritual realm!

We’ll focus first on the sea of glass, or the blue sapphire platform that exists around and before God’s throne. It probably looked like the Mediterranean Sea, which is a beautiful blue color in many spots. 

You may be asking, how do I know it’s blue sapphire? From Moses and Ezekiel. Let’s take a look:

After Moses sprinkled the leaders of Israel with the blood of the covenant, he took them up Mount Sinai to visit God.

“Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.” Exodus 24:9-10 (ESV)

Seventy-five people (Joshua was also there but not named in this verse) saw the sea of glass around God’s throne! This is incredible!

Later, Ezekiel is given at least two visions where he saw the sea of glass as blue sapphire:

“Over the heads of the living creatures [cherubim] there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. … And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.” Ezekiel 1:22, 26 (ESV)

“Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne.” Ezekiel 10:1 (ESV)

Revelation 15 gives us another descriptor of the sea of glass:

“And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire–and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.” Revelation 15:2 (ESV)

Other Stones around God’s Throne

“And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.” Revelation 4:3 (ESV)

Jasper is a red or reddish-orange stone, and carnelian is more reddish-brown and seems to be more translucent than jasper. Emerald is a beautiful green color. So mixed with sapphire, you have red, green and blue. 

Now these colors are interesting to me, because in my work in augmented reality, we project red, green and blue colors of light in various mixtures to make all other colors. If you buy an LED strip of lights, there are red, blue, and green LEDs that light up to give you all the other colors.

So we see these colors as foundational colors of light, even as God’s throne is very bright, and light comes from God Himself.

The stones are also living stones, remind me of these verses:

“As you come to him [Jesus], a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV)

Light Around God’s Throne

We learned from Revelation 4 that various items exhibit light-emitting properties.

“…And around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. … 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.” Revelation 4:3b, 5 (ESV)

“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.” Daniel 7:9 (ESV)

“And upward from what had the appearance of his [God’s] waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” Ezekiel 1:27-28 (ESV)

We also learn from Revelation 8 that the prayers of the saints – that’s YOUR prayers – are on the golden altar of incense, providing a sweet smell to God.

“And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne.” Revelation 8:3 (ESV)

God’s Wheels

Did you catch the verse from Daniel that talked about the wheels of God’s throne?

“His throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.” Daniel 7:9 (ESV)

Also, since God’s throne is above the cherubim, and they have what’s described as “whirling wheels” in Ezekiel chapter 1, my simple conclusion is that the wheels of the cherubim are the wheels of God’s throne.

God’s throne is mobile. And I believe when Ezekiel has his visions of God’s throne and the cherubim, he’s seeing God moving about on his mobile throne.

Now, this concept may be surprising to you. And no, God is not in a wheelchair. Let me ask you this: do you have a seat that takes you from place to place that happens to contain wheels on the underside? We call this a vehicle. And I believe this is one of the reasons the Lord uses the metaphor of vehicles to represent ministry oftentimes in dreams and visions, because it’s the operation of God on His throne, which is one of His ministries.

We could spend several more hours talking about God’s throne, but I must move on. Hopefully this was enough information for you to get a good grasp of the operation of God’s throne and what it looks like in the spirit. Everything around God’s throne has meaning, and we don’t have the time to go into the meaning; plus, I still need revelation on all the meanings of these things myself!

Other Thrones

The next major throne to discuss is the throne of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Jesus’ Throne

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.” Luke 1:32 (ESV)

Note about the throne of David being the Messiah’s throne.

“Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,” Hebrews 8:1 (ESV)

“Then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” Isaiah 16:5 (ESV)

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)

“For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17 (ESV)

The Thrones of the 24 Elders

“Around 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.” Revelation 4:4 (ESV)

I believe 12 of the 24 thrones of the elders belong to the 12 apostles (with Judas’ spot being replaced by the Apostle’s Paul).

Apostle’s Thrones

“Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19:28 (ESV)

The Throne of Satan

Even Satan is said to have a throne.

“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” Revelation 2:13 (ESV)

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15 (ESV)

“The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.” Revelation 16:10-11 (ESV)

Thrones Are Alive

One of the more peculiar things we’ve discovered is that thrones are alive. It seems like everything in the spiritual realm has God-given life to it.

Let’s take a look at Colossians

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:16 (ESV)

We have no problem thinking of rulers and authorities as people or beings that can communicate and make decisions. Well, what about thrones and dominions? It seems like these are four classes of beings in descending order of authority. Thrones -> dominions -> rulers -> authorities. And this makes a lot of sense when you think about everything surrounding God and His throne. 

Other thrones with smaller realms of authority surround God’s throne. And it seems like some measure of authority has been given to most every spiritual being, so it’s possible that every thing that’s created has some sort of throne.

There are peculiar verses in Revelation in relation to God’s throne that support this idea:

“And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”” Revelation 19:5 (ESV)

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:3 (ESV)

And this is distinct from Revelation 21:5, which says, a voice from him who was seated upon the throne:

“And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”” Revelation 21:5 (ESV)

So I believe both Revelation 19:5 and 21:3 show us that God’s throne has a voice and gives us revelation of something near and dear to God’s heart: that He wants to dwell with us, and He wants us to be His people, and He with us as our God.

And I also believe God’s throne is a template for all other thrones.

Your Thrones

You even have a throne!

“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Revelation 3:21 (ESV)

Even as God has given the elders a throne, even as Satan has a throne, even as the kings used to rule on a physical throne, I believe God has given you a measure of authority within Christ; you could think of this as represented by a throne.

I believe this measure of authority is in the spiritual realm, that you have at least one throne in the spiritual realm that your human spirit can connect to.

In my experience, the throne is much like the cockpit of a fighter jet, or you could maybe think of it as the infotainment system in a vehicle. The throne can give you spiritual intel and download information into your spirit.

I challenge you to ask the Lord to show you and reveal to you more about this, and perhaps we’ll speak on it more at a later time.