In the vision in chapter one things in the natural realm are used to describe things in the spiritual realm. These spiritual things are deep, but we can understand them through the natural and physical things that are used to describe them. According to God’s plan the spiritual things revealed here begin with the wind (v. 4) and end with the rainbow (v. 28). As we will see in the next message, there is a rainbow that manifests God’s splendor. In our experience, the throne (v. 26) and the rainbow both depend on our having a sky that is crystal clear.
In the last message we saw that above the heads of the living creatures is a clear firmament, a clear sky, that is expanding and yet was stable. Now in this message we need to see that above this clear sky there is a throne. Ezekiel 1:26 says, “Above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.” We need to consider the meaning of the throne and apply it to our experience.
We Christians need to maintain a clear sky with the Lord. This means that we need always to have a clear fellowship with Him. We should have nothing between us and the Lord. When there is nothing between us and the Lord, our sky will be crystal clear, and our conscience will be pure, void of any offense (Acts 24:16).
We need to be deeply impressed with the fact that if, as Christians, we would have a clear sky, a crystal heaven, before the Lord, we need to have a conscience that is without offense. Whenever there is condemnation or an offense on our conscience, our sky immediately becomes cloudy, darkened, and foggy. At such times we should confess our failure and our sin to the Lord and receive His forgiveness and the cleansing of His precious blood (1 John 1:9, 7). This will cleanse our conscience so that it will be void of offense. We will again have a clear sky and a clear fellowship with the Lord, with nothing between us and Him.
Sometimes a small matter, such as a poor attitude toward our spouse, can cause us to have clouds in our sky. Perhaps the other party is wrong, but our attitude is also wrong, and we lose our joy and our peace. Also, we may have no anointing to pray for a period of time. Our conscience begins to condemn us and bother us. This is the loss of a clear Christian sky, the loss of a clear heaven. We no longer have a clear heaven over us, because something is wrong between us and the Lord. This situation will remain until we go to the Lord and ask His forgiveness for our bad attitude. Then the Lord’s anointing within us may cause us to sense that we need to confess and apologize to our spouse. Although we may hesitate, because we have lost the Lord’s presence, eventually we confess, apologize, and ask for forgiveness. As soon as we do this, the “weather” changes; the clouds disappear, and the clear sky returns. Something within us is living once again, and we can praise the Lord. Once more we have a clear sky, a sky like the firmament of terrible crystal over the heads of the living creatures. We should have this kind of experience not only in our daily life but also in the church life.
Whenever we have such a clear sky in our Christian life and in our church life, we will also have the throne, which is above the clear sky (Ezek. 1:26). The throne is the center of the universe, and it is where the Lord is. We often talk about the Lord’s presence, but we need to realize that the Lord’s presence is always with the throne. Where the Lord is, there His throne is. His presence can never be separated from His throne. The Lord’s throne is in the third heaven, but His throne is also in our spirit. Hence, the Lord’s throne is with us all the time.
As Christians and as local churches, we all should be under a crystal clear and expansive sky. Above this clear, expansive sky is the throne of the Lord. By having such a clear sky, we are spontaneously under the government of the Lord’s throne. Now we are under the ruling and reigning of the throne.
We should always be under the ruling of the Lord’s throne. Because we are under the throne, we do not need policemen and law courts to rule over us. If we need to be ruled by the police and by the courts, this means that we are not under the throne.
We should be under the throne of the Lord all the time. Perhaps we want to say a certain thing, but the ruling of the throne does not allow us to speak a word. As we begin to speak, the throne exercises its ruling, and we are forced to swallow our words. At other times, we may become angry and may be close to losing our temper, but we realize that we are under the ruling of the throne, and we are subdued. Who is ruling over us? We are ruled not merely by the teachings of the Bible but by the throne.
In our Christian life and in our church life, if the sky is clear, the throne will be there. But if our sky is cloudy and darkened, we will not see the throne. When we do not see the throne, we can be loose and do many things according to our taste and convenience. Today many believers are careless in their daily Christian life because they do not have a clear sky with the throne above it. Whenever believers are in darkness and thus are not under the throne, they can be quite loose, speaking what they want to speak, expressing what they want to express, and going where they want to go. But a person who is under the throne has no liberty to behave in such a way.
In a sense, because we have been saved, we are liberated, but in another sense we are under the throne and have no liberty at all. I can testify that sometimes I wanted to go to a certain place, but because of the throne I did not have the liberty to go there. Praise the Lord for the clear sky and for the throne! Above our heads is the firmament, and above the firmament is the throne.