END OF TIME PROPHECIES 233

The great white throne                                        Revelation 20v11-15.

3.  The purity of the throne.

The throne is said to be white in colour.   White in scripture always speaks of purity.   This is in contrast to previous visions of the throne.   in Ezekiel 1v26-28 the appearance of the throne was sapphire blue, amber, and the colours of the rainbow.   In Revelation chapter 4 the appearance of the throne was of jasper ( crystal clear) sardius (flame red), and emerald green.   The appearance of this throne is pure white.  What is seen in the previous visions speaks of beauty.   The emphasis on the great white throne is of purity.   The colour white appears throughout the book of Revelation from chapter 3v4 to chapter 20v11 no less than fifteen times.    It is used to describe the apparel of Christ, of angels and of the saints.  

We get some idea of this appearance in the records of the transfiguration of Christ on the mountain while He was here.  In Matthew 17v2 it says  "He was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light."   Again in Mark 9v3 it is written  "And His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them."   In Luke 9v29 it says  "the fashion of His countenance was altered and His raiment was white and glistening." There is little doubt that the sheer brilliance of the white raiment was symbolic of a deeper purity, that of inward perfection in the sinless Christ.   This, when placed before a massive company of people whose hearts were black as coal morally would reveal the great chasm between the holiness of God and the simpleness of mankind.   In John 3v19-21 Jesus characterised the evil deeds of men as darkness opposed to the light of the truth of God.   the gathered congregation will finally have their inward darkness exposed against the brilliant white.   In Acts chapters 9, 22 & 26 the religious hypocrisy of Paul was exposed when the light of Christ shone into his soul.   So will it be at the judgment of the great white throne.   We human beings can barely understand the searing white purity of sinless  perfection.   The prophet Isaiah describes it when he records in chapter 33v14  "Who among us shall dwell with a devouring fire?   Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?"   There is not one of us who can rise to this standard which is why we required divine intervention.   In this future day men and women when confronted with the holiness of divine beings will suddenly realise the sinfulness of their hearts, and their inability to reach the divine standard.   Paul captures the thought in 1st Corinthians 4v5  "until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts."

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