God’s Magnificent Throne
God’s Magnificent Throne
By John McTernan
Ezekiel does not describe God’s throne in the most holy place of the Temple. However, in other Scriptures the prophet gives a vivid description of what the throne will look like in the Temple. Ezekiel used the precious stone sapphire, brilliant blue, to describe the color over the throne. The entire throne had an amber or bronze color.
Ezekiel described the throne in awesome colors with tremendous brightness and the appearance of fire all around it. The entire throne was surrounded with brightness that looked like a rainbow.
Ezekiel witnessed the God of Israel sitting on His throne. God was in the appearance of a man. God gave the appearance of being totally on fire. Ezekiel said that the brightness of the throne was the glory of the Lord. He fell upon his face before this glory.
Ezekiel’s description of God sitting on His throne:
Ezekiel 1:26-28: “And 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.
And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.”
Notice when Ezekiel saw the God of Israel sitting on His throne, He was in the form of a man. God was in a form that Ezekiel could recognize as a man. When God is sitting on His throne in His house, it will again be in the form of a man. God will be sitting on the throne of David in the person of the Lord Jesus, King Messiah.
Ezekiel saw the same glory in chapter one in the temple coming from the Messiah’s throne. The awesome throne, which Ezekiel so vividly described is the very throne that the Lord Jesus will sit and rule upon. What an incredible sight this will be, the glory of God emanating from His magnificent throne, from His house in Jerusalem .
The Scriptures to show that the glory of God’s throne is the same glory that came from the temple:
Ezekiel 1:28 “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.”
Ezekiel 44:4 “Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.”
In the New Testament, the Scriptures show that at the second coming of the Lord Jesus, He will sit on the throne of His glory, the throne of David. This is the throne that Ezekiel so vividly described. The throne will be located in the most holy place of King Messiah’s awesome temple on top of Mount Zion .
Matthew 25:31-32 “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats”
In the Day of the Lord, when King Messiah is reigning, there will be only one King over all the earth. He will be ruling from His house, and will sit and rule upon His throne in Zion. The Bible never speaks of two kings reigning but only one. Jesus of Nazareth, King Messiah, ruling over the nations and the LORD God of Israel ruling as King are the same person.
All the nations of the earth will come to Jerusalem and worship King Messiah, the LORD of hosts. The Scriptures to show there will be only one king of Israel over all the earth follow:
Ezekiel 37:22 “And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel ; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:”
Zechariah 14:9, 16-17 “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.”
The Messiah, the LORD God of Israel , will sit upon His throne in Zion. He will rule the nations and be in the midst of the children of Israel forever. There is only one throne mentioned in Ezekiel 40-48. In God’s house there is only one throne, and it is located in the most holy place. The God of Israel in His glory is sitting on this throne. There are not two or three thrones but just one.
This throne is reserved for the Messiah, and the God of Israel as King Messiah will sit on it in His majestic glory. Thus He will rule the nations from this throne. What a glorious day this is going to be when the Lord Jesus, King Messiah, is ruling the nations from the midst of His people Israel!
God Desires to Dwell Among His People
The Bible shows that God desires to dwell among His people. God desires fellowship with man so greatly, that He was willing to become a man in the person of King Messiah. The psalms show that it is the desire of the God of Israel to dwell in Zion for His habitation. The prophet Zephaniah shows that God’s joy of dwelling in Jerusalem is so great that He will sing when He is in the midst of His people. Zephaniah calls God’s presence in His house a “rest in his love.”
The prophet Zechariah shows that there will be singing and rejoicing because the God of Israel will be dwelling in the midst of Zion. What a mental picture this gives. The people are singing and rejoicing because God is dwelling in His house, and God, so overwhelmed with joy, that He is singing with His people. What a day this will be when the God of Israel is singing for joy from His house on Mount Zion! The Scriptures to show this follow:
Psalm 132:13-14 “For the LORD hath chosen Zion: he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.”
Zephaniah 3:14-17 “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, ‘Fear thou not: and to Zion, let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.'”
Zechariah 2:10 “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion : for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.”