Category: Book of Revelation

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The throne of God is a symbol of His authority; His right to rule.

“Immediately I was in the Spirit;
and behold, a throne was standing in heaven,
and One sitting on the throne” (Rev 4:2)

It is called “the throne of God” (Rev 7:15) and “the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev 22:3), for Jesus said, “I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev 3:21).

Center of the Universe

The word “throne” appears in 35 verses in Revelation, of which 32 refers to the throne of God (Rev 4:2-3, 9-10; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16; 7:9-10, 15; 19:4; 21:5):

His throne is IN the temple (Rev 16:17), which is in heaven (Rev 11:19).  But, after sin and its consequences have been eradicated from the universe, the throne of God will be in the New Jerusalem (Rev 22:3).

In the CENTER and AROUND the throne are four living creatures; full of eyes (Rev 4:6).

BEFORE His throne are:

        • A sea of glass;
        • Seven lamps of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God (Rev 4:5-6; 1:4); and
        • The golden altar (Rev 8:3).

The 144000 sing a new song BEFORE the throne (Rev 14:3).  The final judgment is BEFORE a great white throne (Rev 20:11-12).

AROUND His throne are 24 thrones on which 24 elders sit (Rev 4:4). Also around His throne are the angels; myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands (Rev 5:11; 7:11).

OUT OF His throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder (Rev 4:5), a loud voice (Rev 16:17; 19:5; 21:3), as well as the water of life, clear as crystal (Rev 22:1).

JESUS sat down on His Father’s throne (Rev 3:21; 15:5). He is in the center of the throne (Rev 7:17; 5:6). The throne is therefore called the throne of both God and of the Lamb (Rev 22:1).

God’s Authority

Often in Revelation, we find references to God’s throne without a direct reference to God Himself. In such instances, God’s throne is used as a symbol of His authority. For example, when Revelation refers to “the seven Spirits who are before His throne” (Rev 1:4), or the great multitude standing before the throne (Rev 7:9) it is actually saying the seven Spirits and the great multitude are before the Authority of the whole creation; the One that has the right to rule (see also Rev 4:3-6, 10; 5:6, 11; 7:11; etc.).

God is often referred to as the “One sitting on the throne” (Rev 4:2) or “He who sits on the throne” (Rev 4:9, 10; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16; 7:15; 21:5) or “God who sits on the throne” (Rev 7:10; 19:4).  This is equivalent to saying ‘Him Who has authority to rule’. Therefore, just as a throne is a symbol of a king’s authority, God’s throne represents His authority.

Conclusions

God’s throne is the control center of the universe.

God’s throne symbolizes God’s authority.

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Is a consistently literal interpretation of Revelation appropriate?

As an example of how problematic a literal interpretation may be, consider the fifth bowl plague:

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl
on the throne of the beast,
and his kingdom became darkened;
and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,
and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains
… and they did not repent of their deeds. (Rev 16:10-11)

A literal interpretation could be that a literal chemical is poured out on a literal throne resulting in literal darkness in a literal kingdom.  However:

The beast receives its throne from the dragon (Rev 13:2), which is interpreted as the Roman Empire.  It is therefore not a literal throne, but a symbol of authority.  Another article interprets the throne of the beast as religious authority.)

The kingdom must similarly be symbolic because ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD worship it (Rev 13:3-4, 8). In other words, the Beast’s kingdom is worldwide.

Symbolic Interpretations

One criticism often levied against symbolic interpretations is that there are so many different symbolic interpretations that most (all?) of them must be wrong. MOST symbolic interpretations are indeed wrong, but then a literal interpretation is ALWAYS wrong.

Some people assume that, in Revelation, something is literal unless it cannot be literal. This is a false hermeneutic, for there are just too many things in Revelation that must be symbolic.  To mention a few examples of things coming OUT OF MOUTHS:

Fire and smoke and brimstone coming out of the mouths of 200 million horses (Rev 9:18);

Fire flowing from the mouths of God’s witnesses (Rev 11:5);

A flood of water pouring out of the mouth of the Dragon (Rev 12:15);

Frogs coming out of the mouths of the Dragon, Beast and False prophets (Rev 16:13); and

A sword coming out of the mouth of Him who sits on a white horse (Rev 19:15).

In a book where symbols are just everywhere, it is not valid to assume something is literal unless it cannot be literal. The context must be allowed to determine whether something is literal or symbolic, without the interpreter trying to apply some preconceived rule.

Another criticism against symbolic interpretations is that such interpretations are only limited by the interpreter’s imagination. This is not a fair criticism.  It is agreed that purely creative interpretations cannot be correct. Symbolic interpretations must be based on a detailed comparison of Scripture with Scripture, allowing Scripture to interpret itself. This does not guarantee a correct interpretation, often because interpreters come to the text with incorrect a priori assumptions.

Literal Interpretation

A criticism against literal interpretations is that it does not ask what something means.  It therefore often fails to grasp the real meaning and therefore fails to benefit from the message in the text. 

For example, a literal interpretation does not ask what the throne of the Beast is, and therefore often explains the end-time conflict as military in nature, which is inconsistent with the general message of the Bible.  The war on earth is a continuation of the war in heaven (Rev 12:7).  It revolves around much bigger issues than simply who is physically the strongest.  Jesus overcame by being a lamb (Rev 5:6).  He asked: “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt 26:53) 

The war in heaven is a war of words: “the accuser of our brethren … he who accuses them before our God day and night” (Rev 12:10).

Similarly, the war we are involved in is not physical in nature; it a war between good and evil.  Jon Paulien talks about a surface current – the military language of the book – and an undercurrent.  We need to look past the surface current to understand the true nature of this conflict.  God has all power in the universe, but He was not able to open the book (Rev 5:3). For a discussion of the true nature of this was, see:

Why Jesus had to die
OR Explaining Christ’s death to a Muslim
OR Why Satan thought he could win

Conclusion

MOST symbolic interpretations are wrong, but a consistently literal interpretation is ALWAYS wrong.

The assumption that, in Revelation, something is literal unless it cannot be literal is a false hermeneutic. 

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