All right, good morning. Open
your Bibles to the book of Revelation, chapter four. The book of the
Revelation, chapter four. Everybody talks about going to
heaven. Everybody has different ideas
of what heaven's like, what folks up in heaven are doing. We were
watching some kind of silly program a few weeks ago. A father trying to explain to
his son about what happens after death and what heaven is like. He said, it's just, he said,
it's the most beautiful place you can imagine. It's where people
do what they love doing on earth. He said, what's your favorite
thing to do? I love to eat cheeseburger and have French fries. He said,
well, that's what you'll do in heaven. That's what you'll do
in heaven. And he went on talking like that. Reminded me of, I was at a funeral
several years ago, and this man who had died, his name was Jimmy,
and he was an older man, and he was a builder. He loved to
build. And one of Satan's false prophets,
one of his ambassadors preaching the message, he said, I can just
imagine when Jimmy got to heaven, God said, I know your favorite
thing to do is to build. He said, here's all the supplies
you need. You go build a deck on this place
somewhere. Just enjoy yourself. Folks have
such ridiculous ideas of heaven, don't they? Well, in Revelation
chapter 4, we're going to get a view of heaven. Let's see what
heaven's like. Let's see what goes on in heaven.
Revelation chapter 4, this is the second vision John has had. He says, after this I looked.
And behold, a door was opened in heaven. Stop right there. The first thing John sees in
this vision is a door opened in heaven. Oh, bless the name
of God. There is a way into the presence
of the Lord. There is a door opened into heaven. There's one way. There's one
way. There is access to God, God who's
righteous. God who's suffering, God who's
holy, God that he charges his angels with folly. Yet there
is a way into his presence. There is a way of access to God. There's one way, one door, not
many ways, not many doors, one way. The Savior said, I am the
door. He said, by me, if any man enter
in, he shall be saved. Go in and out, find pastures.
Over in Ephesians, the second chapter, Paul said, for through
him, that is through Christ Jesus, we both have access, that is
Jew and Gentile, we have access by one spirit unto the Father.
The Lord Jesus is the only way of entrance into the kingdom
of God, into the kingdom of heaven. And this is the Lord Jesus and
his work of redemption. Now we must never separate the
Savior from the salvation he's already accomplished. We must
never separate the Redeemer from the redemption he's already obtained. We must not, we cannot separate
the righteousness of the Lord from the Lord who is our righteousness. He's everything. He's everything. You can't separate His life,
all that He is as God and man, you must not separate that from
His death. His death is the work He came
to do. He came to redeem His people.
He came to save His people. The angel said, call His name
Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. That's
not an empty title He has. He's Jesus who saves. He's Jesus
who brought in everlasting righteousness by His cross death. He's Jesus
who put our sins away, who buried them in the depths of the deepest
sea, who separated our sins from us as far as the east is from
the west, and that by His death upon the cross. So there is one way of entrance
into the kingdom of heaven, Christ Jesus and His blood and righteousness. That's the way. We're not talking
about the Baptist way or the Catholic way or the Presbyterian
way or the Methodist way. It's God's way. It's God's way. There's one God and one mediator
between God and man. That's the man, Christ Jesus.
There are not many ways. There are not many doors. John
said, behold, a door was opened in heaven. It was open. Open for sinners. Open for those who are unworthy
to look upon the Lord. Open for those who are by nature
fed only for hell. Open for those who are made worthy
through the worthiness of somebody else. Open for those who are made righteous
by the righteousness of somebody else. Open for those whose sins
were imputed to the Lord Jesus and whose righteousness is imputed
to them. Open for us. Oh, this is a gracious
opening, isn't it? This is a merciful opening. God
said, after this I looked and behold, be amazed. He's shocked. This is something
to be wondered at. This is something to be admired.
Oh, admire the wisdom of God in the salvation of sinners.
How can God be just and justify the ungodly? Behold the wisdom
of God, who saves sinners without compromising His justice or His
holiness. He saves us by the sacrificial
death of his son. After this I looked, and behold,
a door was opened, opened right into heaven. And he says, the first voice
which I heard, well, it sounded like a trumpet, he said. It sounded
like a trumpet. This is not the voice of Simon
Peter. He's not standing at the gate
of heaven. He's not standing at the door
of heaven, beating you to enter, allowing folks to enter in. He's
just a sinner saved by grace, Simon Peter is. This is someone
far, far greater than Simon Peter. This is one whose voice, it's
like the triumphant voice The majestic sound of a trumpet. This is the same voice he heard
back in chapter 1. Go back to chapter 1. This is
in the first vision that the Lord showed him. Revelation chapter 1. Look at verse 9. who am also
your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom
and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called
Patmos for the word of God, for the testimony, for their record,
for the report that I gave concerning Jesus Christ, salvation accomplished
by him. And I was in the spirit, John
said on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice as of
a trumpet Now remember over here in chapter 4, he said the first
thing that got his attention when he got to heaven, when he
looked into heaven, a voice as ever trumpet, it sounded like
a trumpet to him. He had heard it before. Verse 11, this voice said, I'm
Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. What thou seest right
in the book, send it to the seven churches which are in Asia. And then he names all the churches.
Look at verse 12. He said, I turned to see the
voice that spake with me. And I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven
golden candlesticks, one likened to the Son of Man. That's whose
voice you heard. What did he look like? Well,
he was clothed with a garment down to the foot. He's girded
about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs
were white. That's his purity. That's his
holiness. And I think it also stands for
the fact he's the ancient of days. In the book of Song of
Solomon, Solomon saw him and Solomon said, his hair is black
and bushy. That's his youth. He's always
young. He's always full of strength
and energy. John says his hairs were white,
white as wool, because he's the ancient of days. This is his
eternality. He said his eyes were as a flame
of fire. His feet were like into fine
brass as if they burned in a furnace. His voice is the sound of many
waters. His voice sounded like a trumpet
and it sounded like many waters. And he had in his right hand
seven stars. And out of his mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword. That's the power of his word. And his countenance was as the
sun shining in her strength. John had caught a glimpse of
this brightness, his glory, the glory of the Son of God on the
Mount of Transfiguration. Now he sees him again like this. He says, when I saw him, I fell
at his feet as dead. He laid his right hand upon me
saying unto me, fear not. I'm the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. I died. I died to save my people. I died
to satisfy justice. I died for the sins of my people.
And behold, I'm alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of heaven
and death. Now you write these things. So the one whose voice John hears
over here in chapter four, this first voice that he hears, it's
the voice of the Son of God. This is the glorified Son of
Man. He's been glorified on the basis
of finishing the work of redemption that the Father gave him to do. What did the voice say here in
chapter 4 again in the middle of verse 1? You come up, Heather,
and I'll show thee things which must be hereafter. I'll show you things that must
be hereafter. They must be hereafter because
they are ordained of God. They must be because everything
has been predestinated. They must be. Don't you love
the musts that our Lord sets forth in His Word? Remember when our Lord was 12
years old, He went to the temple, and remember Joseph and Mary
couldn't, they couldn't find Him. In fact, they left, discovered
he wasn't with them. They went a day's journey. They
supposed he was with them. You know, a day's journey in
the scriptures, that's likened to a man's life. Wouldn't it
be sad if any of us go a day's journey just supposing he's been
with us? Is he with you? Is he your confidence? Is he your hope? Is He your all? You're not resting on your works,
are you? Nobody in here, you're not trusting in your self-righteousness,
are you? Do you see it's Christ alone? Do you see the work of salvation,
He finished it? This is not a conditional salvation,
this is a finished salvation. This is a salvation that our
Savior wrought. He did it, He did it for God's
glory, and He did it by Himself. You mean I don't make a contribution?
You're getting the idea. No contribution. And no stipulations
laid down. This is unconditional grace.
You satisfied to be saved by unconditional grace? I am. You
satisfied to be saved by the blood and righteousness of the
Lord Jesus Christ? Blood and righteousness alone?
I am. Are you satisfied to Him to have
all the glory and you get no glory at all? I am satisfied
with that. He said that we must go a day's
journey just supposing He's been with us. Then come down to the
end of the journey and we find out he hadn't been with us at
all. They went hightailing it back
to Jerusalem, looking for it, and they found it in the temple,
talking to the doctors and the lawyers. Where have you been? He said, don't you know, I must
be about my father's business. I must be. That was why he came
to do the father's business. He didn't come down here just
to set an example for people, teach us how to live. He didn't
come to institute a new religion. He came down here to fulfill
the law. He came down here to meet every requirement. To dot
every I and cross every T that's necessary for the salvation of
His elect people. Satan opposed Him. That's alright.
He's going to accomplish it anyway. The disciples opposed Him. They
said, don't go to Jerusalem. He told Simon Peter, get behind
me, Satan. You don't appreciate the things
of God. You don't know why I'm here. You have no idea. The Son of God, He said another
time, must suffer many things. Isn't that what He said? He must.
He must. He told Nicodemus there in John
chapter 3. He said, as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up. That whosoever believeth on Him
shall not perish but have eternal life. He said in John 9, I must work
the works of him that sent me. I must. He said in John chapter
10, other sheep have I also that are not of this fold, them also
I must bring. He told Nicodemus again back
in John 3, he said, you must be born again. I say, you must
be born again. You must be quickened by the
Sovereign Savior. And the evidence of being quickened
by the Sovereign Savior is, you throw up your hands trying to
save yourself and say, this is something I shouldn't be doing.
And you see by faith, as you read in the Word of God, you
see Christ has accomplished it all. And so you cast aside your
righteousness, you cast aside your works, you repent of your
ungodliness, you repent of your dead works, you repent of your
idolatry, and you look to Jesus Christ alone. That's the evidence
of the new birth. You believe on Him. The boy said, you come up here
and I'll show you things which must be hereafter. They must
happen in the future, they must. Now look at the second verse.
And immediately, I was in the Spirit. Immediately, I was in
the Spirit. And behold, this is the first
thing he sees. He says, behold, a throne was
set. That's the title of the message,
a set throne. A throne was set in heaven. A throne was set. Fixed. That's not the word. The word
set means fixed. Established. You know who sits on that throne?
Look back into chapter 4. Or chapter 3 rather. Chapter 3. Look at verse 21.
Chapter 3 verse 21. The Savior says to him that overcometh,
well I grant to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame
and am set down. That doesn't say sit and am sit
down, S-I-T. He doesn't say I sat down, though
we will deal with that in a couple of minutes because he did sit
down. But he says I am set down. with my Father in His throne.
Here's a Savior that is set upon a set throne. In other words,
He is established as the Sovereign, as the King. He is established,
He is fixed as the Sovereign, as the King upon this throne
that is established, that is fixed. The throne is set. Now this throne is symbolic. And much of the book of Revelation
is of symbolism. But this word throne is a key
word throughout the book of Revelation. In fact, in chapters 4 and 5
it's used 17 times. This is what gets John's attention
when he glances into heaven or when he looks into heaven. He
doesn't say, I saw mama, I saw daddy, I saw the family, I saw
my loved ones. The first thing that gets his
attention and holds his attention is a throne that is set and one
who is set upon that throne that fills his vision. He says the throne was set. That
throne symbolizes God's dominion, God's sovereignty, God's authority,
God's reign. This throne is significant. And
it is symbolic. I'll give you a definition of
God's sovereignty. The Lord says, I will do all
my pleasure. The one who sits on this throne
does all his pleasure in heaven, among the armies of heaven. That's
what Nebuchadnezzar said. Among the armies of heaven, among
the inhabitants of men. and none can stay his hand or
say unto him, what doest thou? This throne then is significant
for it symbolizes the absolute authority of God. And it's telling us what we read
there at the end of Romans chapter 11, that of him and through him
and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever and ever.
Amen. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He in heaven, earth, under the earth, all deep places.
This throne stands for the sovereignty of God. And it's set. It's fixed. That is, God's sovereign rule
is effectual and irresistible. None can frustrate what God is
purposed to do. He said, one sat on it, he says. One sat on their throne. And
here's a king who is set upon a set throne, and now we read
that he sat upon this throne. He's not walking the floors of
heaven. He's not pacing back and forth. That's what we do
when we're worried. When we're anxious, you know,
when our kids, one of them's not far from 40 now and the other
one's in her mid-30s, but when they were teenagers and they're
out at night, out with their friends, You know, you can't
sleep till they get home. It's supposed to be in here by
11, and it's 11.05, and you're up, and I wonder where they are.
And, of course, back in those days, we didn't have cell phones
and that kind of stuff, you know? So we just had to wait around,
and you're anxious. It gets to be 11.30, 12 o'clock,
and you can't sleep. And, you know, you're just pacing
the floor back and forth because you have no control over it.
You don't know where they are. You don't know what they're doing.
This one who sits upon a set throne, he is not pacing the
floors of heaven. He is not filled with anxiousness
or worry. He is not fretting about the
situation. He is not frustrated that somehow
or other things have gotten out of hand and he has no control
over the events on earth anymore and he is bemoaning the situation. Oh no! He sits! in regal satisfaction. Or he knows his will cannot be
frustrated. He reigns over all things and
everything that happens. And I do mean everything. Everything
big, everything little. Every major event, every minor
event, every insignificant event works together to fulfill His
sovereign purpose, which is the glory of His own name in the
salvation of His elect people. And everything's fulfilled in
God's purpose. And so He sits. John said, I saw Him. on this set throne. Well, how did he come to sit
on this throne? Well, this man, Christ Jesus,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. Wherefore, God's highly exalted
him. He did the work the Father gave
him to do. He finished it to God's satisfaction. Therefore, he was raised from
the dead, he ascended back to heaven, and he took his seat
upon a set throne. His sovereignty is established. It is fixed. Now look at verse 3. John, now he begins to look at
the one who sits upon the throne. He that sat was to look up, to
look at him was like a jasper, a jasper and a sardine stone. Jasper. Matthew Henry said that's
a transparent stone. which offers to the eye a variety
of the most vivid colors, which signify the wonders, perfections
of God. I believe it stands for the holiness
and the righteousness of God. Turn over to chapter 21 of revelation
in verse 11. Let me show you something over
here. He describes the Lord, he says,
like a jasper stone. Holiness, righteousness, purity. Now look at Revelation chapter
21. Look at the 10th verse. He carried
me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain. He showed
me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God. Now this is the Lamb's Bride.
This is the elect of God. These are the chosen from every
generation, nation, kindred and tongue. And she is descending
from heaven, out of heaven from God. Verse 11, having the glory
of God, this bride. And her light was like unto a
stone most precious, even like a jasper stone clear as crystal. Now John sees the one upon the
throne as being like jasper. which stands for the holiness
of God, the purity of God, the righteousness of God. And then
later, in the final vision, he sees the bride. He sees the church. And guess what? She's like Jasper.
She's pure. She's holy. She's righteous.
Just like the Lord is. You read in Jeremiah, the Lord's
name is the Lord our righteousness. Read further in Jeremiah. You
know what our name is? the Lord our righteousness. This
is the name whereby she shall be known, the Lord our righteousness. For God hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Back over here in chapter four,
He said, like a jasper stone and like a sardine stone. Sardine
is blood red. That represents the justice of
God. God will never cease to be just. If He saves, it will be in a
just way. His justice will be honored.
And if He damns, It will be in a just way. Isn't that right?
Everything God does has got to be just in doing. If he saves,
he must save in a way that will honor his justice. And he does that through the
doing and the dying of our blessed redeemer. God is a just God and a savior
through the substitutionary work. of the Lord Jesus. I would say
this, therefore, all of the ransomed shall stand as an everlasting
monument to the justice of God which has been satisfied by the
Lord Jesus and his work of redemption. And all of those who are finally
condemned, they will be monuments of his justice. which demands
full satisfaction for sin and will never receive it. Therefore,
they have to be punished forever. Well, then John sees something
surrounding the throne. Look at the end of verse 3. He
says, there was a rainbow round about the throne. It circled
the throne. In sight, like unto an emerald,
a shade of green. This rainbow surrounds the throne. It encircles the throne with
the main color being emerald. This is a sign in the covenant.
The covenant God made with Noah. Noah departed out of the ark.
God put a bow in the sky. That was a symbol of his covenant.
I'll never destroy the earth with water again. And that rainbow,
as the sign of that covenant made with Noah, reminds us of
another covenant, an everlasting covenant, the covenant of grace. And this covenant of grace encircles
the throne. And this rainbow, you know what
it announces? The storm is over. The storm
has passed. The judgment of our sins has
already taken place at the cross. And God is satisfied. This rainbow
surrounds the throne. Which means that everything God
does is always with a view toward this covenant. Everything that
He does. It surrounds the throne. And then John saw seats and people in them. Verse four,
round about the throne were four and 20 seats. And upon the seats,
I saw four and 20 elders sitting and they had white raiments on
and they had on their heads were crowns of gold. Who are these? Well, these 24 elders, I believe,
that's a symbolic number for the saints of God. 12 patriarchs of the Old Testament,
12 apostles of the New Testament. Here's all the Old Testament
saints and all the New Testament saints symbolized or figured
in these 24 elders. So here's all the elect of God.
You know, in the Bible, the number 12 is a number for God's elective
purpose. God's elected purpose, the number
12. In Revelation chapter 7, you'll
find that John sees the elect of God and it's a multiple of
12, 144,000. I already mentioned 12 apostles, the elected ones. When our Lord was dying, He said,
I could call twelve legions of angels, elect angels, to deliver
me from this. In John chapter 12, John sees
a woman with a crown of twelve stars. That's the church, the
elect of God. He sees later on twelve gates
into the heavenly city with twelve pearls on each gate. It had twelve
foundations. Twelve is a number that is significant. It represents the elective purpose
of God. The daughter of Jairus who died,
you know how old she was? Twelve years old. And she was
raised. God's elect must be raised from
spiritual death. That's regeneration. The woman
with issue of blood, she was sick. Guess how long she was
sick? Twelve years. Twelve years. You see, all of
God's people God's elect people are sick in sin, we must be healed
by the Great Physician. When our Lord fed the four and
the five thousand, each time there were twelve baskets left
over. God has an abundance of provision
for His elect people. Therefore, these twenty-four
elders represent all of those chosen unto salvation in Jesus
Christ before the foundation of the world, Old Testament believers
and New Testament What stands out about these 24
elders? Well, three things really stand
out as I read this. They sat upon 24 thrones or 24
seats. In other words, they're not 24
thrones and 23 elders. Every seat is filled. Listen, there's plenty of room
in heaven. But in the end, there won't be any vacant seats. Because everybody chosen under
salvation in Christ before the foundation of the world is going
to wind up there. Because Christ already died for
them. Justified by God's eternal purpose
of grace. The Lord Jesus shed his blood
and put the sins away. He established righteousness
by his obedience. The Spirit of God regenerates
them and shows them what's all been done for them. Makes them
to rejoice in Christ Jesus. All of those chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world are someday going to be
seated before the throne of God to rejoice
and praise Him forevermore. Notice they're all clothed in
white raiment. That's the righteousness of Christ. That's the beauties of our Savior.
We're made beautiful through His comeliness like that infant
of Ezekiel chapter 16. They all had on their heads crowns
of gold, not some more than others, all the same. Nothing stands
out different between the people of God. We're all the children of God
in Christ Jesus. The Lord is our portion. Everybody's
on the same level. Out of the throne proceeded lightnings
and thunders and voices. Seven thrones of fire burning
before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. That's
a perfect spirit of God. And before the throne, there's
a sea of glass like in the crystal. And in the midst of the throne
and round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before
and behind. I believe these are symbolic
of preachers of the gospel. The first one's like a lion.
God's preachers are bold as lions. They're courageous. Second beast,
like a calf or an oxen, one who serves. God's people serve the
cause of God. God's preachers do. Number three,
third beast had a face as a man, still God's preachers are men.
Saved by grace, but they're still men. Fourth beast was like a
flying eagle, taking the word of the gospel wherever he tells
us to go. They had six wings about him,
they were full of eyes within, they have understanding of the
scriptures. They say they rest not night and day. They cry,
holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come.
And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to Him that
sat on the throne who liveth forever. And that's what I'm
trying to do this morning, trying to give Him glory. Every one
of God's preachers, our goal is to give Jesus Christ the glory. And when we do, now watch this,
and I'll quit, when we do, Then the four and twenty elders
fall down before Him that sat upon the throne and worship Him.
That is, if I preach Christ Jesus to you, His blood and His righteousness,
if I exalt the Son of God before you, it will lead you who are
the people of God to worship the Lord. That's what true preaching
does. Cast your crowns before Him.
You'll give Him all the honor and the glory. And we'll all
say together, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honor and power, for thou hast created all things. For thy pleasure
they are and were created. We give him the glory. We worship
him. We worship him who sits upon
a set throne. All right, thank you very much
for your attention.