END OF TIME PROPHECIES 231

The great white throne.                                          Revelation 20v11-15

1.   The principle of the throne.

The principle of any throne is that of overall control within a given realm.   The throne of God is no different and symbolises His universal control as Creator of all things whether cosmological or terrestrial or material or spiritual.   This fact is stated in Isaiah 66v1  "This saith the Lord, the heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool."   There is no part of the universe where God is not Sovereign.   There are three Psalms, 93, 97 & 99 which begin with the statement  "the Lord reigneth." It is not our purpose here to investigate the massive subject of the sovereignty of God, but we think the statement by Paul in Ephesians 1v11 gives us the picture that is required here  "....Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will."    He is not everything, as in pantheism, but He is involved in everything; He restrains and constrains at will.

The bible gives us a few snapshots of the throne of God and each one has a particular emphasis.

• 2nd Chronicles 18v18.     The words of the prophet Micaiah    "hear the word of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting upon His throne and all the hosts of heaven standing on His right hand and on His left."      This was the vision of the heavenly council in connection with the death of the wicked king Ahab, and exactly how and when it would happen.   The overriding factor here is the throne of judgment in connection with the kingdoms of men.    
• Isaiah 6v1-7.     Verse 1 says  "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple."   On the death of Uzzaih, one of Israel's greatest and longest serving kings, this vision of the throne of God is given to Isaiah. The main thrust here is the holiness of God, before which the prophet felt his own unworthiness.   Before that throne the same prophet who in chapter 5 had declared six times over  "woes" to the nation, was forced to say  "woe is me for I am undone."
• Ezekiel 1v26-28.     This was the vision given to the prophet Ezekiel assuring him of divine control in a situation when his nation was in captivity, in exile.   The main lesson here is the glory of God.  
• Revelation chapters 4&5.     The apostle John is given a vision of the throne and the significance of this is divine power because the vision is placed immediately prior to the calamities which were about to come upon the earth.   Seventeen times over in these chapters is the mention of the throne and the message is clear; God is on His throne and is in control even amidst the awful catastrophies that are about to fall on the earth.   So comprehensive is this vision that we read of phrases like  "on the throne" :"round about the throne": "out from the throne" : "before the throne" and "in the midst of the throne."   The message is that God is in control come what may.  

In Revelation 3v21 the glorified Christ makes it clear that he has a throne and His Father has a throne. All the way through right up to Revelation chapter 19, it is all about the throne of the eternal Father; but now the great white throne is the throne of Christ Himself. To it He will bring before Him all the wicked dead.   This throne has already been established on Mount Zion for one thousand years.   During the millennium period, Christ is in total control of all affairs on the earth.

Amazon bookshelf   George Neilly