On Throne and Judgment, End Times and Prophecies, Part 2

This article picks up from part 1 of the same title.

So why should we be interested in topics to do with heavenly things above and end times judgments? Because we now live for Christ and walk in Christ who is our heavenly priest and hope and everything.

What about end times judgments? Well, because now that we are saved by what Jesus did on the Cross, we are to be walking circumspectly.

Ephesians 5:15-17 says: “See then that ye walk circumspectly (this word means exactly, accurately, diligently) (as we can see we can sin if we're not careful to follow the instructions of the Word of God).

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time (to recover that which was loss), because the days are evil... wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15-17).

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So what about end times judgments? Why should we think on that?

Because we are going to be accountable for how we live our lives. Yes we are saved from sin, washed, cleansed by the precious blood of the ultimate Lamb—the Lamb of God... but we are now responsible for our lives, our thoughts, our doings.

So we are going to be accountable to Christ at the “judgment seat of Christ” and we'll see what that looks like in a moment.

But first I want to talk about the heavenly things above which are parts of what goes on in the heavenlies... one particular component that is most prominent is the throne of God.

As I was researching various elements of this message, I came across some false teaching by some groups that the throne of God should not be thought of as literal. They use the scripture in John 4:24 that says that God is a Spirit and therefore He does not literally sit on a throne – this would be allusional or representational.

Yet they proceed to show scriptures that specifically speak of and describe the reality of God's heavenly throne as Jesus Himself spoke to us about, and the prophets throughout both the Old and the New Testaments.

Scripture examples...

For example, Matthew 5:34, 35, “But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool:” And Jesus here is quoting from Isaiah 66:1.

2 Chronicles 18:18,  “Again he said (he being the prophet of God), Therefore hear the word of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left."

Hebrews 8:1, "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;"

Revelation 3:21, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."

Revelation 4:2, "And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne."

Revelation 20:11, "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them."

Psalm 103:19, "The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all."

Revelation 22:1, "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb."

Revelation 4:10, "The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,"

Psalm 11:4, "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men."

Psalm 9:7, "But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.'

The throne of God Almighty

I was reading the book of Ezekiel some time ago ... we normally hear a lot about the war of Ezekiel in chapter 38 and 39. Or else we hear of the famous scriptures that speak of “the wheel within the wheel” as if it represents aliens and UFOs !

Well if we read this book from chapter 1 we will understand that this is not speaking of some aliens or UFOs... this is all about the throne of God Almighty.

Let us read the vision scene which begins at v. 4 in chapter 1, right through to v. 28... I was going to write here just a few verses to give you an idea of the awesome imagery, but one cannot really break it up anywhere, so here is the fantastic sight that Ezekiel saw ...

V.4, “Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

“Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.

(And of course we do read about the creatures that encircle God's throne in heaven in the book of Revelation 1:15; 4:6; and Isaiah 6:2; etc.)

V.10, “As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.

V.13 “As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning. Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness.

(Beryl: a transparent pale green, blue, or yellow mineral consisting of a silicate of beryllium and aluminum, sometimes used as a gemstone.)

V.16, “The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them.

(In the King James version the word “rims” is actually “rings” which translates from the Hebrew to “gab” which means “a convex surface”, an arch)..

V.19, “When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

V.22, “The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads.

(The word firmament translates from the Hebrew word raw-kee'-ah, into “expanse”, or an “extended surface”).

V.23, “And under the firmament (or the extended surface) their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; (in other words it was a very loud noise), and when they stood still, they let down their wings. A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.

V.26, “And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.

V.28, "Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face...

Wow... how would you like to have a vision like this? I think I would fall upon my face also.

But with all this, there was a big mission given to Ezekiel to carry out to the people of Israel... and the next chapter goes into this for the rest of the book and I highly recommend that you read it when you have a chance, from chapter 2 onward... but start at chapter 1 to see it again...

So what about end times judgments that I talked about earlier?

Why should we think on that?

I pick up from here in part 3 of this article articles.  Go to Part 3

/DMH

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