Turn with me to the book of Revelation
chapter 4. Revelation chapter 4. What we are enabled to see in
this blessed book is indescribably wonderful. We are viewing that which absolutely
would not and could not be known outside of our blessed Lord's
good pleasure to reveal to His people those things that surely
must be hereafter. In the first chapter of Revelation,
the Lord revealed Himself to John. John beheld Him, heard
a trumpet that said a voice. It was like a trumpet The Lord
spoke to him and gave John some revelations of himself, described
himself. And then in chapters 2 and 3,
of which we finished last Sunday, were the seven letters to the
seven churches. And in those seven letters, we
heard the Lord speak. And in those seven letters, everything
that was said in those seven letters pertains to Katie Baptist
Church. This is the Lord speaking to
this church in every church that the Lord is pleased to raise
up a hearing of Himself. And then the Spirit of God is
pleased, and I know that the Spirit of God, because the Scripture
said every time one of the letters was written at the very end of
it, it says, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches. The Lord speaks through His Spirit. And this morning, if we hear
anything, we will hear what the Spirit of God has got to say
to the people of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the
Spirit, beginning in this fourth chapter, is getting ready to
unveil. John saw the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Seven letters were written to
the churches. And in chapters 4 and 5, the
Lord God Himself is going to open up, remove, lay back the
veil and allow John to look into heaven itself, into the very
throne of God. Now what we're going to be looking
at this morning is truly a blessing. To be allowed by God Himself. Now you think about this. I mean,
you talk about holy ground. We're getting ready to look at
something that is indescribably Holy. And may we this morning,
we're just going to be here just for a little bit. It's not long,
Neil, just, I mean, a few minutes. And we're going to be enabled
to look and to see truthfully the very throne that is revealed
to a man. And God's going to allow him
to see some things and to tell us to reveal some things. May we ask and knock and seek
for truth this morning. I need the Lord to speak to me.
I'm just an ignorant man. I don't know anything. As I've said before, Gary Shepherd
made a statement to me one time and he said, Marvin, every time
we standing in the pulpit. He said, we're dealing with things
that are so far out of our league, over our heads. I'm honest with
you. We're looking at some things
this morning that are so magnificent. I want the Lord to say something
to me. John said beginning in chapter 4, verse 1, he says,
After this I looked, and behold, a door opened in heaven. And the first voice which I heard
was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, Come up
hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.
And immediately I was in the Spirit. And behold, a throne
was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat
was to look upon like a jasper, and a sardine stone, and there
was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an
emerald." Now, I'll just stop there for today, and Lord willing,
those will be the verses that I'll try to deal with this morning. After this, John said, after
the seven letters to the seven churches, after the Lord had
revealed Himself to John, the Lord I told him something. After this, I looked." John said. His spiritual perception was
divinely called forth. Now, whether we understand it,
and I know we don't, but when the Lord reveals Himself to His
people and He teaches them, you that believe, you know, We are
dealing with something right now that is truly perceived only
by faith. I looked. I looked. For this time, the glory of the
Lord God Himself and the peace and joy and the assurance of
John was called forth. I looked and John said, Heaven
was opened to His side. Now, remember, John is going
to behold in this chapter and in chapter 5, the throne. Starting in chapter 6 is where
we, Lord willing, will get into the trials, the wrath, the judgments,
the breaking open of the seals, and get into what shall happen."
Now remember, John wrote this on the Isle of Patmos some few
years after the Lord ascended into heaven. And the revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning His church was taking forth,
going forth. And John is going to show by
the Spirit of God's teaching what is happening in this earth
at this time, and why? But the way that he saw into
heaven, how? He said, I looked and behold,
a door was opened in heaven. Surely, he was reminded of the
words of our Lord in John 10, 7. John, the apostle, was the
one that penned John. The gospel according to John
as the Spirit of God taught him. Same John right here. John chapter
10 verse 7 says, "...verily, verily, I say unto you, I am
the door of the sheep." In John 14 verse 6 he says, "...I am
the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me." John says, "...I looked, and there was a
door. Anything we know, of God's throne,
of heaven, is going to have to be revealed to us by the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's going to have to teach us
things. And he says the first thing that he heard was a voice
as it were as a trumpet. It was distinct. It was clear. He heard. This was the voice
of his Master. And he knew it. He recognized
it. It was the voice of the shepherd,
the voice that the sheep hear. It was a familiar voice. Back
in verse 10, chapter 1, we looked at this. He said in verse 10,
chapter 1, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard
behind me a great voice as a trumpet. And he began to reveal to John
who he was. And this voice that John heard
was one with a particular and a unique purpose. John says,
He was talking with me. I looked, and behold, a door
was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was
as it were a trumpet talking with me. Now when the Lord is
pleased to reveal Himself to one of His own, He does so powerfully. And He does so purposefully. And He does so with divine secrecy. I know what men say. I know how
they set forth the Lord Jesus Christ and He's speaking to everyone. Now, let me tell you something.
Everyone that's sitting in this room hears my voice. I know you do. You have two ears. You hear what I'm saying. And
you pretty well understand what I'm saying. But I'm going to
tell you this, only the regenerated sinner, only that one called
out of darkness hears past my voice and hears the voice of
Him who speaks like a trumpet, who speaks distinctly. Only they
hear it. I said that He speaks in secrecy. He speaks purposefully and powerfully
and secretly. Those that know not the Lord,
you don't know what I'm talking about. In Acts 22, verse 7, Paul
the apostle was relating his experience, what had happened
to him on the road to Damascus, and while he was rehearsing,
this experience that he had, he said this in Acts 22, 7-9,
he said, And I fell upon the ground, and heard a voice saying
unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? You know, here again,
you know, the Lord takes personally whenever His people are persecuted. I know someone might say, well,
I'm doing that, and that was that preacher. That was this,
that and the other. I said before, I've heard and
I've known of some of the trials and tribulations that many of
you have gone through. You know, I know. I've heard.
I know. I know I've heard some of the things that have been
said concerning Brother Scott and this, that and the other,
but let me tell you this and rest assured of what I'm saying.
The Lord takes it personally. It's a personal attack upon the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself. and he shall avenge his people."
He said, vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. Personal. Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? And I answered, Who art thou,
Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus
of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And then Paul says, And they
that were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but
they heard not the voice of Him that spake to me." When the Lord
Jesus Christ speaks to His people, it's secret. It's a personal
thing. He whispers to His people as
Elijah spoke of Him in that still, small voice. And they hear. Always a voice of power. When
I say small, I don't mean impotent. I don't mean that. I mean it's
secret. I heard Him. And the voice that John heard
gave him a powerful command that accompanied that command with
a purpose. He said, Come up hither and I
will show thee things which must be hereafter. When the Lord God
Himself commands it is. No one stays His hand. No one
questions Him, asks Him, What doest Thou? He's the Lord. He's God Almighty. These things
the Lord said that must be hereafter. Now, the reason that these things
must be hereafter is because all things are done after the
counsel of His own will. The reason that you're here today
is because Almighty God decreed, declared that you would be here
today. You said, well, I just decided
I'd get up and come to church today. Well, that's probably
true. But why? Why did you? Why today? What was the reason? He works all things after the
counsel of His own will. He does as He will in the army
of heaven. And you're hearing the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sovereign God set forth. who
does these things, who reveals Himself to whomsoever He will. And this Word that goes forth,
not my Word, it's His Word, and this Word goes forth and it will
accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. Now whatever purpose
that is, only God Himself knows. But I can tell you this, when
the Lord said to John, you come up hither I'll show you things
that must be hereafter. The reason that they must be
hereafter is because He has declared the end from the beginning. That's
in Isaiah 46, verse 9 and 10. Remember the former things of
old. For I am God and there is none
else. I am God and there is none like
Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do all My pleasure." Declaring, or that is, informing. That's what He's doing this morning.
He's informing us. These are the things that shall
be done because He has decreed them. And then John said in verse
2, I was in the Spirit. Now, the effect of hearing His
voice. What is it? The effect of hearing,
truly hearing. And as I say, I'm not talking
about my voice. I understand that you've got
to hear my voice. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the Word of God. And how are you going to hear
unless God sends a preacher? And how is he going to preach
unless God sends him? God uses the means of a preacher. I understand that. But you remember
this. These words right here are not
my words. This is the Word of Almighty God. John said immediately,
here is the effect. Upon hearing His voice, he said,
I was in the Spirit. Now that is the way he described
himself also in verse 10. In chapter 1, I was in the Spirit. Now this description is a description
that is common to all believers that are acted upon by and divinely
stirred by the Spirit of God. They're carried and moved by
the Spirit of God apart from their own natural ability. The
Scriptures reveal that it is in the Spirit. You are taught
by, informed by, carried by. Now you that believe know what
I am talking about. This is something that is apart
from your ability to accomplish. How do I put myself in a state
of being to be able to hear what God has got to say? John said
immediately, he spoke to me, come up here immediately, I was
in the Spirit. Instantly. Ever do we behold the power of
our blessed God. This is the voice that reveals
who He is. That's that voice I talked about
a moment ago. That still, small voice that
comforted Elijah. came to the Lord and he said,
I'm the only one. Everybody else is forsaking you.
And the Lord told him, he said, oh no. There's 7,000 that I've
reserved, a remnant according to election, a remnant according
to grace. They've not bowed the knee to
Baal. If a man or a woman doesn't bow to the religion of this world,
It's by the grace of God. The voice heard by Mary that
day when the Lord has risen, and she heard her name called
by the one that she thought was the gardener. And when he spoke
to her, she saw the Lord Jesus Christ, and she, assuming the
Scripture says, was the gardener. And she asked Him, she said,
Do you know where they've laid Him? If you do, tell me. I'll take care of it." And he
spoke to her, and he said, Mary, and the Scripture says, when
he called her name, she knew. And she addressed him, Master. She knew. And you that believe,
you know immediately. It's the voice that is uttered. Brother Scott read in Psalm 46.
In verse 6, He uttered His voice and the earth melted. The heathen
raged. I'm going to do this. I'm going
to do that. I'll never bow to that God. I'll
do this. And He'll speak. And when He
speaks, it will be over. And He said, I heard His voice
immediately. I was in the Spirit. And He said,
And behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the
throne." Now this revelation right here sets the foundation
of peace and comfort to every child of promise. The throne
of God is the revelation of what the Holy of Holies typified back
in the book of Leviticus and Exodus that we have been looking
into. Here is, if I can say it like
this, this is the center of all things. By this revelation, he
said, I looked and there was a throne set in heaven. Psalm 93, verse 1 says, The Lord
reigneth. He is clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength
wherewith He hath girded Himself. The world also is established
that it cannot be moved. Before we get into the trials
of God's people in chapter 6, here we are told beforehand.
Here is the foundation. Once we get into those chapters
and we begin to see what happens and how the vows are poured forth
and the trumpets are sounded and the seals are opened and
we see what the Lord says shall happen, Before any of that is
looked at, this is what the Lord says to John. God reigns. The Lord is on the throne. Psalm
97, verse 1 says, The Lord reigneth, Jehovah Himself. Let the earth
rejoice. And then John says, He that sat
was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone. And there
was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like to an emerald. The one that John described upon
the throne was the triune God Himself. The Father, the Son,
and the Spirit as a throne in heaven. Stop and realize right
now God Almighty is in the heavens. That is what David said. Our
God is in the heavens. And He is reigning. Nothing is
happening right now outside of His control. Everything that
is ordered is ordered perfectly. As I said before, not one leaf
falls from a tree, not one sparrow falls to the ground, not one,
not one thing. And I can look at the most minute
something that appears as though, what could that possibly do? I just moved that pen. There's a pen sitting right there.
I just moved it. You say, well, that was nothing.
That didn't have any significance. Yes, it did. And I don't know
what it was. Everything, everything, everything
is so orchestrated and ordered and decreed and declared and
set forth. John said, I saw a throne and
Him that sat was to look upon. I say He described. He described what He saw. John had no words to exactly
express Him who, except for the Messiah, is unexpressible. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. That word declared there means
unfolded. He just unfolded. He rehearsed
Him. declared him. John said, He that sat was to
look upon like. Now look at that word there. He that sat was to look upon
like a jasper. Or he was similar in appearance. What John saw, he said he was
like a jasper. A jasper. Now, this word Jasper here, that
stone over in Revelation 21-11, we look upon this because, let
me tell you, and I'm going to show you this, what he's talking
about right here is the character of God. This is who we're dealing
with. In Revelation 21-11, there's a reference that's given concerning
this Jasper. Revelation 21, well, let's look
at verse 10. He carried me away in the Spirit
to a great and high mountain and showed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem. Now that's speaking of, you know
this, that's speaking of the bride. That's the church. He showed me the holy Jerusalem,
the city of God. Descending out of heaven from
God, having the glory of God and her light That is, the holy
Jerusalem was likened to a stone most precious, even like the
jasper stone, clear as crystal. Now, back in Revelation 4, John
said he was to look upon like a jasper. Well, Revelation 21,
11 said that that jasper was clear as crystal, symbolizing
the holiness. of God Himself. And that holiness
and righteousness in that verse that we just read describes the
bride's array. That is, that righteousness wrought
out by her representative in this life, the Lord Jesus Christ,
no spot, no wrinkle, without blemish, holy. He said, I looked,
and the one that sat on this throne was like a jasper. And he was like a sardine stone. Now, in Exodus 28, it reveals
that that 28, 17, if you want to turn there, I'll just read
this to you, but Exodus 28, verse 17, says this, it says when the Lord
was instructing Moses on what was to be constructed and built
for the high priest to wear, it says, Thou shalt set, that
was on that breastplate, set in it settings of stone, even
four rows of stones. The first row shall be a sardius,
or that word sardius is the sardine stone, but it's interpreted in
the margin for us as the ruby. The sardine stone. So John said,
now I saw, and the one that I saw sitting on that throne was like
unto a jasper and a sardine stone. Now, I understand, based on the
revelation, and this is what I truly strive to do, if I say
something by God's grace, and I'll be the first to admit, When
we get in and we walk very carefully into these blessed Scriptures
right here. But if I make a statement, by God's grace, I want to back
it up with some Scripture. Because as I've said before,
everybody's got an opinion. But what does the Scripture say?
This description that John is giving is concerning the character
of the one that sits on the throne. He said, the one that I saw was
like unto a jasper and a sardine stone." I know that back in Exodus
it described the sardine stone as being a ruby. And knowing
that these descriptions that are given by John under the inspiration
of the Spirit of God are concerning the attributes and the character
of the Lord God Himself, we're not left to wonder at the meaning
of John's description At Jasperson, we looked at, that's concerning
His holiness. The singleness of Him. That's when we think of the word
holy. The separateness. The singleness. The holiness. The unapproachableness. The purity of. I mean, you begin
to try Describe the word holy. Somebody says, you believe God
is holy? I do. What does that mean? Oh, my.
Where do you go from here? He is holy. John couldn't even
describe. He said he was like a jasper
stone. Outside of absolute holiness,
God is not described. Revelation 15 verse 4. It says,
"...who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou art holy, independently,
infinitely, immutably holy." Absolute purity. 1 John 1 verse
5 says, "...God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."
Life. This is the greatest title of
God's being, His name. This is the title. This is the description of the
seraphim in Isaiah 6, verse 3, that cried one to another, Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His
glory. So John said, I looked, and there
He was. He was like a jasper stone, just
crystal clear, just brilliant. But then he said also he was
like a sardine stone, a ruby red. And here is set forth the
Lord's justness. The law, according to Romans
7.12, is holy, the commandment holy and just and good. Now you remember that what John
sees of Him who sat on the throne is actually the manifestation
of the Lord in His character. As I read a while ago, no man
hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, hath declared Him, unfolded Him,
rehearsed Him. So whatever is said of the Lord
Jesus Christ, if you want to know, what the character, the
attribute of Almighty God is. What does the Scripture say concerning
the Son? Whatever it says concerning Christ,
that's what it says of the triune God. Whatever is said of the
Lord Jesus Christ in His character is the character of Jehovah Himself. Is there a Scripture that sums
up the character of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, you know that
there are many. But the one that I thought was
absolutely right to the point, no deviation, no misunderstanding,
is found in Acts 3.14. And Peter told those that refused
and rebelled. This is what Peter said. He says,
But ye denied the holy, There's the Jasper. And the just. The lawful is what it means.
The justness. "...and desired a murderer to
be granted unto you. He said, You denied the holy
and just one." The justice of God is that which we must meditate
and consider and be thankful for. God is a just God. He is a holy God, just God. And that set forth in that sardine
stone. Habakkuk 1.13 says, Thou art
of pure eyes, and to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. In Deuteronomy 32, verse 39 to
41, the Scripture sets forth, says that, See now that I, even
I am He. And there is no God with me.
I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is
there any that can deliver out of my hand. For if I lift up
my hand to heaven and say, I live forever, if I let my glittering
sword in my hand take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance
to my enemies and will reward them that hate me. This is the way God is. He is
holy and He is just. And John said, I looked and the
one that sat on the throne was likened to a jasper and a sardine
stone. I tell you, this is concerning
the justice of Almighty God. Now, this is something that,
you know, I don't think men by nature, I know they don't, I'm
convinced of this. They don't want to talk about
the justice of God, Booth Scott. God is love, and He is. All that
He's purposed to set His affections on, He's everlastingly loved
them. But you write this down. God's
just. He's fair. He's fair. If God
puts a man in hell, one outside of Christ, He does it absolutely
justly. If the Lord God Himself leaves
me to myself and puts me in hell, it is to the honor of the glory
of His holiness and His justness. It is concerning His justice
and righteous justice. at which the host of heaven in
Revelation 19, 1-3 will cry, Hallelujah, because of God's
judgment of the great whore that did corrupt the earth with her
fornication. When God puts rebels against
Him in hell, the redeemed will say, You're right. You're right. If this was all that John knew
of the character of God, the jasper and the sardine stone,
where would be the hope? You know, you start talking about
the holiness of God and the justice of God, and I'm going to tell
you something. If God ever reveals what He's
talking about to a man, that will stop a man in his tracks.
Who am I dealing with? I'm dealing with a holy God and
a just God. And without any other knowledge,
I have no hope whatsoever. But there was another likeness
that was revealed, and here we are going to end for this message. John says there was a rainbow
round about the throne in sight like unto an emerald. Now without
a doubt, John being in the Spirit, knew by divine revelation the
significance of this revealed truth, this character. In Genesis chapter 9, God made
between Himself, and the Scripture says, all flesh that is upon
the earth. That is verse 17 of Genesis 9,
if you want to read that. He made an everlasting covenant
According to verse 16, He said, this is an everlasting covenant
that I make with Myself in all flesh that's on the earth. This
was the covenant that He made that the waters shall no more
become a flood to destroy all the flesh. The rainbow that the
Lord put, that was the symbol of this covenant. He said, I'm
not going to destroy the earth with water again. And this is the covenant that
I've made as the symbol of the covenant, as a rainbow. Now,
this rainbow is a picture, it's a type of the everlasting covenant
between God and all those that found grace in His eyes, like
Noah. What he was saying was in that
rainbow, he said, storms over. That's what he said. The storm
is over. That wrath had fallen upon the
one who was set forth as the ark. There was the ark. And all those that were inside
the ark were protected from the rain. The rain is a picture of
the wrath of Almighty God that fell The Lord saw that the imaginations
of all men was evil continually. And He said, I'm going to destroy
man. I'm going to destroy him. My wrath is going to fall. All of those that were in the
ark, the wrath of God did fall, but it fell on the ark. And those
that were in the ark were protected, were kept from the wrath of Almighty
God. And everyone outside of the ark
was destroyed. Everyone outside of Christ. This
is where God started. This is the book of Genesis.
Everyone outside of Christ. The wrath of God will be upon
them. All who are in Christ, Christ
Himself bore the wrath of God as His people's substitute. After it was over, there was
a rainbow, a symbol of that storm being over. That rainbow in grace
is the Lord Jesus Himself. When God is viewed as indescribably
holy and just, the only way that a needy sinner finds any comfort
before God is in the rainbow, the bow. Ezekiel, in his vision
of the throne of God, saw this very thing. And so does every
child of promise whose eyes have been opened by the Lord. But this rainbow, in closing,
is something that I saw that was very significant here. When
we're driving down the road, or you're standing outside the
house or something, and when you see the rainbow, what it
is is right there after the storm has already passed, and it's
just maybe still just a little mist in the air, you know, and
just a little bit of rain falling You know, you still feel a little
rain there, feel a little, you know, drops or something like
that, and there's the rainbow. It's after the storm's over.
In chapter 6, the Lord's going to open up and show what's getting
ready to come. This rainbow was before the storm
started. Here's the promise to God's people. Take heart. God is a just God. And He's a holy God. But He said,
I'm a Savior. There's the rainbow. That rainbow
was set in heaven, not upon the earth. It was a promise before
the storm ever started. I don't know what tomorrow holds.
I don't know what right now holds. I don't know what's going to
happen. But I can tell you this, the
storm's over. You tell my people. You comfort
them. Comfort you. Comfort you, my
people. How do I comfort them? Tell them,
your warfare is over. Well, I'm in the midst of it
right now. I got some things going on in my life right now
that's hurtful, struggles. It's just waiting on me. Here's the comfort I've got.
God's on His throne, and He knows exactly And this rainbow right
here, it was round about the throne. It was complete. The
rainbow that I look at right here, you know, is just half
circle. Just, you know, this one's over.
It's complete. Circled. The throne of God. There's
some comfort. John's view of the throne sets
the foundation of peace to God's people. Our God reigns. All right,
Gary.