In this message we will continue to consider Christ as the Husband of the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 22:1 speaks of “the throne of God and of the Lamb.” The Lamb with God is on the throne within the city. On this throne God and the Lamb will not sit beside each other; instead, God in Christ will sit on the throne. We know this because God as the light will dwell in the Lamb as the lamp (21:23). Because the light is in the lamp, these are not two entities but one entity in two aspects. Just as the light and the lamp are one unit, one entity, God and the Lamb are one entity.
We need to note that there are not two thrones, one for God and another for the Lamb, because light and the lamp can neither be separated, nor do they stand side-by-side. Rather, the light shines out from within the lamp. Therefore, God as the light is in the Lamb as the lamp and shines out through Him.
God and the Lamb sit on the one throne in the way of coinherence, in the way of being two yet one. God sits in the Lamb, and the Lamb sits in God. God and the Lamb coinhere; They are one. They are one light, and They are sitting on one throne. This means that since God is in Christ sitting on the throne, both God and Christ sit on one throne in the heavens.
Hebrews 12:2 says that Christ “sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.” From this verse we may have the impression that next to the throne of God, at His right hand, is another throne. However, in the book of Revelation we see that it is only one throne of both God and Christ. In Revelation 3:21 the Lord says that He sat with His Father on His throne. Revelation 22:3 goes on to say of the holy city, New Jerusalem, that “the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it.” Again, this verse does not speak of two thrones—one for God and another for the Lamb—but of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Hence, it is one throne for both. The fact that God in Christ is sitting on the throne means that God administrates the entire universe from within Christ and through Christ, just as the light shines from within the lamp and through the lamp. From this we can see that Christ is enthroned with God. God is on the throne, and this God is in the enthroned Christ, the God-man.
Revelation 22:3a says, “There will no longer be a curse. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it.” In the new heaven and new earth there will be no curse, because sin and death will be gone. However, there is an additional principle that where the throne of God is established, there the curse is gone. To have a curse means that we do not have the throne. If the throne of God is within us, we will have no curse.
The one throne of God and of the Lamb signifies that God and the Lamb are one—the Lamb-God, the redeeming God, God the Redeemer. In eternity the God who will sit on the throne is our redeeming God, from whose throne proceeds the river of water of life for our supply and satisfaction. This depicts how the Triune God—God, the Lamb, and the Spirit (symbolized by the water of life)—dispenses Himself into His redeemed under His headship (implied by the authority of the throne) for eternity.
The One on the throne is both the God who created and the Lamb who redeemed. Hence, we may call Him the Lamb-God. This means that He is the redeeming God. This redeeming God is on the throne of His administration so that He may dispense Himself into all His redeemed. For eternity in the New Jerusalem we will see the redeeming God, God in the Lamb.
Revelation 22:3 says, “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him.” We need to notice that the pronouns in this verse are singular, not plural. This verse says, “His slaves will serve Him”; it does not say, “Their slaves will serve Them.” The singular pronoun, which refers to both God and the Lamb, proves that God and the Lamb are one. The throne of God and of the Lamb is the throne of the redeeming God, the Lamb-God. In Genesis 1:1 we have God, but in Revelation 22:1 we have God with the Lamb. In Genesis we have the creating God, but in Revelation we have the redeeming God. Out of this redeeming God as the source flows the river of water of life. The flow of the river of water of life is the fellowship of life. This means that fellowship is the outflow of the divine life from within the redeeming God.
The One on the throne is not just God and not just the Lamb but the Lamb-God, the redeeming God. According to Revelation 4:3, God, the One on the throne, “was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance.” Jasper, which is dark green, signifies God as the God of glory in His rich life, and sardius, which is red, signifies God as the God of redemption. The fact that the appearance of God on the throne is like a jasper stone and a sardius indicates that God is no longer just God but also our Redeemer. This also corresponds with Ezekiel 1, which speaks of the glowing electrum, a mixture of gold and silver, which signifies the Lamb-God, the redeeming God. Gold signifies the nature of God, and silver signifies redemption. The electrum, composed of the elements of gold and silver, signifies the Lamb-God. This indicates that our God is not merely the divine Being; He is also the redeeming God.