"The Throne Of God And Of The Lamb"

 Lesson #50

 Revelation 22:3-4


In this last chapter of Revelation the Apostle John is describing the glory, bliss, and beauty of heaven’s eternal paradise. In verses three and four he shows us "the throne of God and of the Lamb." Wherever heaven is, whatever heaven is, in it "there shall be no more curse!" In the old paradise, the garden of Eden, there was a river and a tree of life. But the paradise of God, which we shall inherit in the new creation, is infinitely better than Eden, for in the paradise of God, "there shall be no more curse!" There shall be no curse there because there shall be no sin, the cause of the curse. There shall be no pain, sorrow, and death, the results of the curse. And there shall be no possibility of curse - No devil! No temptation! No weakness!
 
 

"But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." The name of the city of God is Jehovah-shammah, "the Lord is there!" God, in the trinity of his blessed Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, shall be there upon the throne of glory. And the Lamb, the sin-atoning Sacrifice, the Mediator, the Man Christ Jesus, shall be there upon the throne of glory. There is but one throne, for there is but one God. God and the Lamb are one (John 10:30; Col. 2:10).
 
 

"And his servants shall serve him." The highest, most constant desire of God’s servants is that we may serve him. And this shall be our delight in heaven’s glory. In that blessed, eternal day we shall serve the Lord our God like the angels themselves, perfectly and perpetually. We shall worship him perfectly and perpetually. We shall do his will perfectly and perpetually. We shall glorify him perfectly and perpetually!
 
 

"And they shall see his face!" We shall see the face of the triune God, in all the fullness, majesty, and spender of his brilliant glory, as we behold the face of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. All his saints shall see him as he is. When we see him, we shall be like him (I John 3:2).
 
 

"And his name shall be in their foreheads." In that blessed, eternal day of heavenly glory, every child of God shall be known to all the universe as one of God’s elect. They shall all be owned of God, publicly owned, gloriously owned, delightfully owned, and eternally owned. Owned by the Father as the objects of his love. Owned by the Son as the purchase of his blood. Owned by the Spirit as the fruit of his grace. In these two verses the Holy Spirit shows us the glory that awaits those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Lift up the hands that hang down, strengthen those feeble knees, keep your eye upon the prize that awaits you, and run with patience the race that is set before you. Particularly as you run your race, as you endure hardness here, as you suffer adversity here, as you fight and war with sin, satan, and the world, I encourage you to fix your eye of faith upon "the throne of God and of the Lamb." Nothing is more comforting and encouraging to God’s people in this world than the realization of our Savior’s Mediatorial reign over all things.
 
 

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD. We can never see and know God until we behold the Lamb of God. And we can never get a proper view of the throne of God until we behold the Lamb of God. So, in all things spiritual, the first order of business is to behold the Lamb of God (John 1:29). Before the world began God ordained that his dear Son would come into this world to die as an innocent victim, as a Lamb for the atonement of his people’s sins (Rev. 13:8; I Pet. 1:18-21). God has always had the Lamb before his eye. Everything he has ever done, is doing, or shall hereafter do, is done for the sake of the Lamb.
 
 

In all the Old Testament Scriptures, the central figure in the revelation Of God was the lamb of sacrifice. The first blood shed in the world was the blood of a lamb (Gen. 3:21). Abel offered God the blood of a lamb (Gen. 4:1-5). Abraham offered a lamb in the place of Isaac upon the mount (Gen. 22:8-14). When the judgment of God fell upon Egypt, Israel was saved by the blood of a lamb (Ex. 12:1-14). The prophet Isaiah vividly described the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ as the substitutionary, sin-atoning Lamb of God (Isa. 53:1-12). When John the Baptist pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," his disciples knew exactly what he was saying. He was saying, "Behold, the Redeemer of whom God in the prophets spoke!"
 
 

The Lord Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God, has taken away the sin of the world. The sins of God’s elect throughout the whole world were at one time imputed to him. And he has effectually taken away their sins.
 
 

NOTE: The world here is the world of God’s elect. Everybody in this world is redeemed, justified, and saved, for the Lamb of God took their sins away. When the word "world" is used in connection with the love and grace of God, or redemption, salvation, intercession, and life in and by Christ, it is always to be understood in this sense (John 3:16; I John 2:1-2; 3:16; 4:9-10). We know that because God plainly asserts that he does not love, has not redeemed, and will not save some people in the world (Ps. 7:11; Rom. 9:11-18). The Lord Jesus refused even to pray for the reprobate of the world (John 17:9,20). It is utterly foolish to imagine that he died to redeemed those for whom he would not pray, and blasphemous to assert that he died to redeem and save those who yet perish under the wrath of God. The Son of God did not die in vain.
 
 

Christ has put away the sins of God’s elect by the sacrifice of himself (Heb. 9:26; I Pet. 2:24; 3:18; 4:1). He put our sins away by voluntarily suffering the wrath of God to the full satisfaction of justice, dying as the Lamb of God upon the altar of God, by the hand of God, for the people of God. "Behold, the Lamb of God!" Jesus Christ is the Lamb appointed by God, anointed by God, approved by God, accepted by God, and the Lamb who is God! To behold the Lamb of God is to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb of sacrifice and atonement, by whose merit alone we have acceptance with God.
 
 

BEHOLD THE LAMB UPON HIS THRONE. Verse three speaks of "the throne of God and of the Lamb." There is but one throne. Yet it is equally and fully the throne of God and of the Lamb, because God and the Lamb are One. The Lord Jesus Christ sits upon the throne in heaven by lawful right, both as God and as the Lamb. We have seen this many times in our study of Revelation; but it is one of those blessed facts of our faith that needs to be constantly brought to our attention.
 
 

As God, Jesus Christ always sat upon the throne of universal sovereignty, dominion, and power. He is very God of very God, co-eternal, co-equal with the Father in all things. He possessed the glory of Divinity from eternity, before ever the earth was made (John 1:1-3). But now, God sits upon his throne in the person of the sin-atoning, Mediatorial Lamb, the God-man, Jesus Christ. By his obedience to God as our Mediator and the merit of his blood as our sin-atoning Lamb, Jesus Christ has earned the right to rule the universe forever as a Man (John 17:2; Rom. 14:9). He is to God’s elect what Joseph was to his people in Egypt (Gen. 41:43-44). Our Savior rules over all creation (Eph. 1:22), all the details of providence, all his enemies and ours (II Pet. 2:1), and all the vast realms of grace (Psa. 68:18-20), for the salvation of his elect (John 17:2). His rule and dominion is unlimited, sovereign, and everlasting (Dan. 4:35-37).
 
 

BEHOLD THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB. Though it is the throne of God, it is none the less the throne of the Lamb. And though it is the throne of the Lamb, it is none the less the throne of God. What does that mean? It is a throne of august majesty, perfect holiness, and strict justice. It is a throne of infinite mercy and sovereign grace (Heb. 4:16). It is an approachable, accessible throne. It is a throne of absolute safety and security. It is an appealing, alluring, charming throne. Behold the throne of God and of the Lamb with delightful, anxious hope and anticipation (Rev. 4:9-10). "The throne of God and of the Lamb," above all other things, is what draws our hearts to heaven. Ever behold the Lamb upon the throne, and be at peace.

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