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The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Weekly Devotional for 2007

One of the highlights of any visit to Istanbul, Turkey, is a chance to tour Topkapi Palace, the famous palace of the Sultan on a hill overlooking the Bosporus and the Golden Horn, the bodies of water that help define the city's geography. I particularly enjoyed a visit to the palace museum where the Sultan's treasures are on display. A highlight of the museum is a view of the Sultan's throne. I had never seen a throne in person before and this throne came as quite a surprise. It looked roughly like a highly decorated love seat, with comfortable cushions.
I had always thought that thrones were like arm chairs, but this one was much too wide for that. And then I remembered the text, "To the one who overcomes I will give to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne (Rev 3:21)." Obviously the throne of heaven is not an arm chair! It is more like a couch, where two or more people can sit. Suddenly the New Testament texts about Jesus sitting down at the right hand of God made sense (Acts 2:33; Heb 1:3, 13; 8:1, etc.). In this text Jesus receives everything that the throne represents and offers a future place there to those who overcome.

A careful reading of Revelation 4 makes it clear that "throne" is the key word of the entire chapter. The word "throne" appears fourteen times in Revelation 4. It is the center and focus of the scene. Everything that takes place in the heavenly throne room takes place in relation to the throne. These actions are signaled by a series of prepositions. Things happen "around" the throne, "upon" the throne, "out from" the throne, "before" the throne, "in the midst of" the throne, and "at the right side of" the throne. "Throne" is clearly the central word of this passage and the throne represents the central theme of everything that takes place in it.

What is a throne and what does it represent? A throne represents the right to rule. The person who sits on a throne has the right to rule over a piece of territory, a nation, or a group of some form. Since the throne is at the center, the key issue of this passage is God's right to rule and how that functions in heavenly places. While the word "throne" is normally associated with God in Revelation, it can be applied to Satan and his cohorts as well (Rev 2:13; 13:2; 16:10). Thus, the centrality of the throne here means this passage is a decisive development in the controversy between God and Satan over the dominion of the universe. Revelation 4 and 5 portrays the crucial event in that war -- the death of the Lamb and His resulting exaltation to the throne of God.

Lord, I accept that You have the right to rule in my everyday life. May my decisions and actions today conform to Your gentle government of my life.