December 2005
In the last Monthly View,
"The Ezekiel Wheel Project"
helped us to visualize that we are surrounded
by a great cloud of witnesses. 1
We read about these men of faith in Hebrews,
chapter 11. They were men who walked by
faith in God, not by sight. 2
They dared to believe in the invisible
God, Who created them for a personal realization
of Him in the Spirit. Today, they are
our heroes of faith.
The Throne's Seven Levels
View:
God's
Orchestrated Plan of Love Chart (Seven
Levels of God's Throne)
 These
heroes help us to see the seven levels
of God's throne, which are illustrated
on the Ezekiel Wheel Project chart. The
center core, the first level, is revealed
in Revelation 4:2,3 by the Apostle John
saying, "...I was in the Spirit,
and behold, a throne set in heaven, and
One sat on the throne." The invisible
God Almighty [El Shaddai] became visible
to him, "And He who sat there was
like a jasper [red, yellow or brown opaque
quartz] and a sardius [reddish brown]
stone in appearance, and there was a rainbow
around the throne, in appearance like
an emerald [deep green]." John saw
God's throne in its entirety in this one
verse, the throne of God on the highest
level to the rainbow, or the outer seventh
level. Can you see the view from where
you sit?
The Prophet Ezekiel saw
this highest first level of the throne
to be "...the appearance of a man
from his waste up, he looked like gleaming
amber [yellowish orange], flickering like
a fire. And from his waste down, he looked
like burning flame, shining with splendor.
All around him was a glowing halo, like
a rainbow shining through the clouds."
3
The second level begins
in Revelation 4:6, "Before the throne
there was a sea of glass, like crystal."
Ezekiel describes this level around God
as a blue sapphire stone. 4
The Hebrew word for sapphire refers to
lapis lazuli, a deep blue stone with golden
specks. John saw us, the Saints, standing
on the sea of glass, 5
but we are seated there spiritually right
now and are promised to sit with Jesus
on His throne as overcomers. 6
The firmament, mentioned
only by Ezekiel, is the third level separating
the living creatures from the throne.
"The likeness of the firmament above
the heads of the living creatures was
like the color of an awesome crystal [brilliant
sparkling ice when the sun shines on it]
stretched out over their heads ... their
wings, like the voice of many waters,
like the voice of the Almighty ... And
above the firmament over their heads was
the likeness of a throne." 7
The Four Living Creatures
View:
A
Living Creature Rendition Chart
 The
Apostle John also describes the fourth
level in Revelation 4:6, "And around
the throne, were four living creatures
full of eyes in front and in back."
They never rest day or night from serving
and praising the Lord God Almighty. Ezekiel
describes these creatures as a wheel in
the middle of a wheel. These four living
creatures have four faces [lion, calf,
man and eagle] representing God's rule
over all creation, moving with the Spirit,
full of eyes, lamps and horns, each inside
the sevenfold Spirit, capable of moving
in any direction throughout the entire
earth. 8 Ezekiel
saw one of their four faces being a cherub
and the creature having four wings. John
describes instead, the face of a man and
the creatures being seraphim's with six
wings. One can receive a clearer description
of these creatures by reading Ezekiel
chapter 1 and 10 in the New Living Translation.
John saw the fifth level
in Revelation 4:5, "...Seven lamps
of fire were burning before the throne,
which are the seven Spirits of God."
Then, in chapter 5, verse 6, he mentions
the Lamb [Jesus Christ] in the midst of
the throne "...having seven horns
and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits
of God sent out into all the earth [all-present]."
That is, each of the sevenfold Spirit
has a horn [all-power and authority] and
an eye [all-knowing]. The Prophet Isaiah
prophesied these sevenfold attributes
of the Spirit of the Lord, which are wisdom,
understanding, counsel, might, knowledge,
fear and righteousness. 9
Inside the emerald rainbow,
John saw the sixth level in Revelation
4:4, which he
describes as: "...twenty-four thrones,
and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders
sitting, clothed in white robes, and they
had crowns of gold on their heads."
These
elders are mentioned by John again in
chapter 21, whose names are written on
the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem,
"...the twelve tribes of the children
of Israel" (vs.12). Also, the names
written on the twelve foundations are
"...the twelve apostles of the Lamb"
(vs.14). John says about the New Jerusalem,
"Nothing evil will be allowed to
enter, no one who practices shameful idolatry
and dishonesty, but only those whose names
are written in the Lamb's book of life"
(vs.27).
The Emerald Rainbow
Lastly, John saw the
seventh or outer level in Revelation 4:3,
"...a rainbow around the throne,
in appearance like an emerald." Normally,
we think of a rainbow as an arch of colors
in the sky, but a rainbow is a circle.
This is God's covenant rainbow, which
is emerald green representing His promise
of life. The color is caused by light
passing through moisture in the air. It
represents the glorious presence of God
and reminds us that His mercy and grace
will finally triumph. When the bride of
Christ is removed from the Earth, the
rainbow will turn to bright-amber, releasing
the wrath of God as in the days of Ezekiel.
The Lord will show his
anger from heaven against all sinful,
wicked people who push the truth away
from themselves. For the truth about God
is known to them instinctively. God has
put this knowledge in their hearts. From
the time the world was created, people
have seen the Earth and sky and all that
God made. They can clearly see his invisible
qualities, his eternal power and divine
nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever
for not knowing God. 10
Christ is the visible
image of the invisible God. He existed
before God made anything at all and is
supreme over all creation. Christ is the
one through whom God created everything
in heaven and Earth. He made the things
we can see and the things we can't see.
Everything has been created through Him
and for Him. He existed before everything
began, and He holds all of creation together.
11
A Worldly View
It may be hard for you
to come to a realization of the invisible
God. But this fact remains: the truth
about God is known by you instinctively,
for He has put this knowledge in your
heart. I have met many people who know
the truth about God religiously, but they
do not know Him personally. They turn
away from God making excuses. They act
like they are satisfied in this world,
living life on a lower plane.
It is easy to get a commercial
view of things, during the Christmas season,
instead of celebrating the birth of our
Savior. Do you remember the story of the
shepherds, when the angel of the Lord
suddenly appeared and the Lord's glory
surrounded them? The angel said, "Don't
be afraid! I bring you good news of great
joy for everyone!! The Savior--Messiah,
the Lord has been born tonight in Bethlehem,
the city of David! And this is how you
will recognize him: You will find a baby
lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips
of cloth! Suddenly, the angel was joined
by a vast host of others, the armies of
heaven, praising God: 'Glory to God in
the highest heaven, and peace on earth
to all who God favors."' 12
The Christmas story is
what this season is all about. The biblical
account of Christmas is vastly different
from the one presented to us in the world
today. John, the Apostle, said rather
harshly to: "Stop loving this evil
world and all that it offers you, for
when you love the world, you show that
you do not have the love of the Father
in you. For the world offers only the
lust for physical pleasure, the lust for
everything we see, and pride in our possessions.
These are not from the Father, They are
from this evil world. And this world is
fading away, along with everything it
craves. But if you do the will of God
you will live forever." 13
The Apostle John is not
talking about being a legalistic Scrooge,
who lives an ascetic life, trying to become
righteous through strict discipline and
firm restraint. He was reiterating that
we are to live in the light of God's presence,
just as Christ is, then we have fellowship
with the Father, and the blood of Jesus,
his Son, will cleanse us from every sin.
14 And again, "...if
we confess our sins to Him, he is faithful
and just to have forgiven us and to have
cleansed us from every wrong 2000 years
ago at Calvary's cross." 15
This understanding of our faith is what
gives us the ability to live a victorious
life, "...because the Spirit who
lives in you is greater than the spirit
who lives in the world." 16
A Prayer For You...
"Father in heaven,
in the name of Jesus Christ, I ask for
every reader that you would confirm what
is true in this throne room vision, and
cancel out what may be false. I pray that
the fog of indifference to eternal things
would be lifted, and that the reality
of heaven and hell would become clear.
I pray that the focus of Christ in history
would become plain, and that his passion
would be seen as the most important event
that ever happened. Grant us to walk along
the cliff of eternity, where the wind
blows crystal clear with truth. For many,
these things are new. May they be patient
to consider them carefully. And would
you grant understanding and insight, in
Jesus Name. Amen!"
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