Foundations for Prophecy - 250207

SPEAKER A Hello, I'm Kaysie Vokurka. Welcome to Let God Speak. The first words in the Bible are, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. There is no ambiguity of God's power and our origin in this statement. God is the King of kings and rules the universe from his throne in heaven. Yet God, in his love for humanity, wanted to dwell among his people on earth. In today's study, we will glimpse the majesty of God's throne room in heaven. This scene and the themes can connected with it are embedded in many biblical prophecies. Join us as we explore this foundational top on our panel today we have Lena Yoon and Harold Harker. Welcome to the programme. SPEAKER B Thank you. SPEAKER A Thank you. And just before we start, we're going to bow for a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for the privilege of studying your word. And we thank you for the privilege of giving us insights to your throne room in heaven, your glory and your majesty. We look forward to this topic and we pray that your Holy Spirit will give us insight and touch our hearts. Thank you for hearing our prayers. In your name, Amen. Our concept of God and his character has a significant impact on our faith in God. The Bible emphasises God's power and character. He is the creator of all things that exist and his government and laws are founded in love. 1 John 4:8 simplifies it by saying, God is love, God is holy and sin cannot exist in his presence. The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of the awesome glory of God in his throne room in heaven. And we can read about that in Isaiah 6:1:4. So read that with me now. It says, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim. Each had six wings and two he covered his face with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out. And the house was filled with smoke. Quite a powerful, majestic scene to picture, isn't it? So what was happening in Isaiah's world when this incredible vision was given? Lina? SPEAKER C Yeah. Isaiah commenced his prophetic ministry in the last years of the king Isaiah. And he actually was given this vision when this king died, so in about 740 or 739 BC. And so therefore he had been a prophet for some years. For Israel. And the other notable thing here is that the early part of his ministry coincided with the conquest of this mighty Assyrian king, Tiglath Belez III, in 745 BC. And he, you know, immediately began his campaigns against Babylonia and, you know, other countries and so forth. So this was a great threat to Israel and even to Judah's existence. You know, but through this vision, actually, we can actually see that it was God who was in charge, although it actually seemed or appeared that Assyrian army looked invincible. SPEAKER A So that would have been quite a comforting thing for Isaiah to consider, wouldn't it have been, in those circumstances? Yeah, sure. And, of course, this vision had a real personal impact on Isaiah. Can you share a bit more about that, Harold? SPEAKER B Well. Well, Isaiah had seen the holiness of God and he really feared for his life. He'd been talking about all the sins of Israel. Now he was in the presence of this mighty holy God. And his own sinfulness, he thought, would consume him. Let me read what he said in Isaiah chapter 6 and verse 5. Then I said, woe is me, for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. SPEAKER A Amazing, isn't it, to think of what that would have been like for him to see God. Yeah. And the impact. And, you know, of course, the Bible is clear. In Romans 6, 23, it says, the wages of sin is death. And of course, Isaiah was a prophet, but he was still a sinner. And so he thought he was going to die. What did God do about this? To help give him some assurance, Lina? SPEAKER C Okay. To be able to find the answer. And we're going to go to Isaiah 6, verses 6 and 7 here. So then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal, which he had taken with a tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it and said, behold, this has touched your lips. Your iniquity is taken away and your sins purged. So here, obviously, Isaiah knew very well about this sanctuary services. And here in these verses, he sees that one of the seraphims actually flies to him and takes a live coal from the altar of incense and places it in his mouth, actually touched his lips. So, altar, actually, the coal from the altar represents purifying and refining power of divine grace. And also it actually signifies a complete character transformation. So what we can see here in these verses, that God interceded for Isaiah, so therefore his sin was purged. And purified, powerful. SPEAKER A Very, very interesting how God responded to that. And this intercession had an immediate impact on Isaiah that really changed the course of his life, it seems. In Isaiah 6, 8, it says, and I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then I said, here am I, Send me. So why did it have this impact, Harold? SPEAKER B Well, Isaiah could see the huge dangers of the Assyrian army and also Israel's own sinfulness. He knew, Isaiah knew desperately that God would fall and pronounce judgement on Israel unless they repented. They had to be sorry for their sin. But. But this vision of God's power and his desire to save and forgive Israel, Isaiah immediately had to tell Israel of this majesty of God and that he would forgive and he would save. Isaiah's ministry was therefore empowered from this point on. SPEAKER A Hmm. Very, very interesting. It's amazing the different layers of impact that this has had on Isai. And I'm just wondering, Lena, why would a vision of God's throne room in heaven have such a profound influence on Isaiah in this way? Can you share a little bit more about that? SPEAKER C Yeah. God showed this vision to Isaiah, this particularly the throne room, to emphasise that God was just not a man made idol. And he actually, He's a creator, as we all know, and he is beyond actually creation. So at that time, many other nations believed that God was just a derivative of a human being's imagination, but we know that that's not true. And so this vision actually was given to Isaiah to reinforce that God was actually, you know, God is beyond our comprehension, you know, and so we're going to go and see this verse. Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verse 2. Do not be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God, for God is in heaven and you on earth, therefore let your words be few. So it actually tells us everything pretty much about how, you know, creative God we serve. And actually he is not man made idol. And actually he's the king of this universe. SPEAKER A Mm. And do you have some things to add to that, Harold? SPEAKER B This image of the throne and the great symbolism that impressed Isaiah so much. He could see the royalty of God. You know, God is the creator, the king of all creation, and he had made everything, he rules it and he controls the universe. Well, if that being so, worship can only belong to God and all creation should be obedient to his laws and trust in his power and his kingship, so he could see who God was and what it means. SPEAKER A Yeah, you make some interesting points there about how God is. You know, he's obviously the creator, he's the ruler, he's a king, he's a leader, he's in charge of everything. And that position of authority usually goes along with some other responsibilities as well. So. So tell me a little bit more about that. What are some other roles that God has as the ruler? SPEAKER B Well, royalty is often unusually associated with the function of a judge. And David wrote about that in Psalm 122, 5 and he said for thrones are set there for judgement, the thrones of the house of David. So David recognised that God is the one who sees everything. He evaluates, he knows all actions, whatever happens, the good and the bad. And then let me read another verse. You know, Solomon was the great one of wisdom and he said this in Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verse 14. For God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil. And by showing Isaiah the throne room in heaven, he shows judgement and salvation. God has both. They are not in man's hands, they are in God's. Only God judges and only God can save us. SPEAKER A It's such a profound thing, isn't it, to have salvation and judgement both in the hands of God at once. Interesting to think about Isaiah's experience. And of course there were actually other people in the Bible who had a vision of God's throne room. Can you share a bit about those experiences, Lina? SPEAKER C Yeah, sure. In Ezekiel chapter 1 and 10, Ezekiel describes the throne room as being made out of precious stones such as amber in chapter one and sapphire in chapter ten. And, and also in Daniel chapter seven, Daniel describes the throne room and composed of fiery flames. And in Revelation 12:4 John sees there's rainbow around the throne and just like unto emerald and also seven, seven torches and lamps of fire burning before the throne and also in front of a crystal sea. So when we actually picture this, it's just incredible scene and it just must be magnificent and amazingly beautiful. So we can only imagine it with awe and reverence. SPEAKER A Very interesting. And such vivid descriptions that are coming through of these individuals experiences in seeing the throne room. So it's interesting you mentioned about Ezekiel. Ezekiel had two visions of the sapphire throne in heaven. One is mentioned in chapter one and the other is mentioned in chapter ten of Ezekiel. So if we have a little look at that we can have see what it says. It says in Ezekiel 126 and it says above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne. In Appearance like a sapphire stone in the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. So that's quite an interesting little, little description there. And of course we can jump over to Ezekiel chapter 10, verse 1, which says, and I looked and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. That would be such an amazing thing to see. So tell me, who are the beings that were around the throne? SPEAKER B Well, in Ezekiel chapter one they're described as four living creatures. And in chapter ten they're called cherubim, which are one of the angel groups. And they had the appearance of a man with four faces and had wings. SPEAKER A Not like anything we've seen on earth. Very unique. So let us come back to earth now for a little bit and interesting to consider. When God dwelt and communed with Adam and Eve in their Garden of Eden home, that was kind of where he met with them. And when they sinned, they were cast out of the garden. How did God actually keep them out of the garden once they've sinned? Lena? SPEAKER C Okay, so the answer can be found in Genesis chapter 3, verses 22 to 24. Then the Lord God said, behold, the man has become like one of us to know good and evil. And now lest he put his hand and take also of the tree of Life and eat and live forever, therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So he drove out the man and he placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the Tree of life. So actually the Garden of Eden was in fact the throne room on earth. So it was the place where God dwelled with Adam and Eve and had a face to face relationship which was awesome. But after Adam and Eve sinned and God had to stop them eating the fruit of the Tree of Life, it was because God actually did not want Adam and Eve and also sinners immortalised or to live forever. And therefore God removed them out of the Garden of Eden and placed two cherubs at the east side of the garden to guard the garden to entrance. And so it's really sad to see how sin separated Adam and Eve from God. SPEAKER A Definitely. Yes. And it's interesting to see that the role of the heavenly beings are having in this whole process. Those two cherubs that blocked the entrance served another purpose. Tell us a Bit about that, Harold. SPEAKER B Well, these two cherubs that guarded the Garden of Eden, God's sanctuary on Earth, the place where he met with them, it was to stop them eating the tree of life. But it was a powerful witness to this family of the results of sin mean God was holy. They're sinners and they're locked out. The sight of the cherubs also gave them a promise. God has a hope for them that one day they will be restored and be able to go back with God. So it was a keep out, but there's a hope you'll come back and I want you back. SPEAKER A I really like that. That's so encouraging, isn't it? Because of course, we all feel the separation between us and God from sin. And, and very interesting that coming forward about 900 years after the flood, God spoke to Moses about building a transportable tent sanctuary for the Israelites. What was the purpose of building this sanctuary, Lina? SPEAKER C Okay. The purpose of building this sanctuary was that God actually wanted to dwell among his fallen created beings. So we can actually find this in, in Exodus 25:8 and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. So therefore, God gave instructions to Moses on how to build the earthly sanctuary. And the pattern was based on, of course, the heavenly sanctuary, which was in heaven. And so this mosaic sacrificial system involving sacrifice of animals, representing the sacrifice of Christ, was established when Adam and Eve sinned. And this sanctuary formalised the redemption process and demonstrated God's divine power and grace for rebuilding and restoring mankind or humanity to the presence of God. In other words, it actually brings us back close to the throne of God. SPEAKER A Very, very interesting and very encouraging. And along the theme of the sanctuary service, it's very interesting to read In Exodus chapter 25 and verse starting with verse 18, it talks about how Moses was commanded to make an ark. And it says, you shall make two cherubim of gold, of hammered work. You shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. That's the part of the lid that sits on top of the ark. Make one cherubim at one end and the other cherubim at the other end. You shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat seat. So there's quite a lot of detail, specific detail there. And of course, these were. This was in the most holy place of the sanctuary where God dwelt. And we've got these cherubim. What does this tell us about the cherubim, Harold? SPEAKER B Well, the cherubim were in the heavenly throne room of God and they're symbolically here in this earthly tabernacle closest to God's presence. Now, here in Psalm 80, it reads, Give ear, O shepherd of Israel. You who lead Joseph like a flock. You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth. So the angels have something to do with us too. But let me read another 1 from Isaiah 37:16. O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the one who dwells between the cherubim, you are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth, you have made heaven and earth. And so the cherubim give glory to God and praise him constantly. They honour him and they praise him with reverence. And so should we. SPEAKER A Yes, absolutely. Very powerful thing to consider. And of course, the temple, the tabernacle eventually became a temple, which then eventually became a temple in Jerusalem. God's throne in the temple took on this sort of new name that it was referred to. What was that? Lena? SPEAKER C Yeah. So the temple was built on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and the new name was used as a synonym for the place of God's throne and also seat of judgement. So we're going to actually find this in Psalms chapter 9, verses 10 to 12. And those who know your name will put their trust in you. For you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion, declare his deeds among the people. When he avenges people blood, he remembers them, he does not forget the cry of the humble. SPEAKER A Very, very nice to consider and to see that other name. Now, when we consider the glory of the throne room in heaven, and we've been talking all about the holy beings that are created and that they dwell among the throne, the Bible actually reveals to us very profound fact. What was that, Harold? SPEAKER B Well, right in the throne room, evil started. I'm reading from Isaiah 14:12. How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning, how you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. So right from God's throne room, Lucifer had been there. And here's one from Ezekiel, chapter 28. And I'm reading from verse 13. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering. The Sardis, the topaz, the diamond, the beryl, the onyx and the Jasper. And there are others there. And then it says you were the anointed cherub that covers. So Satan was a cherub who covered a cherubim in God's house. You were on the holy mountain with God. You walk back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the days that you were created till iniquity was found in you. So right from God's throne room, the devil, Satan, Lucifer became Satan and the devil. SPEAKER A It's a surprising thing, isn't it? It is the least place you would expect. What was the result of this? SPEAKER C The result of that Lucifer became, as he already mentioned, Satan, the devil, the serpent and the dragon. And obviously Satan misrepresented God's character to the other created beings by deceiving them and began a war in heaven. So in Revelation 12:4, we can see that actually a third of the heavenly angels sided with Satan, unfortunately. And as a result of that, Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven to the earth. So we can read this in Revelation chapter 12, verse 9. Here it says, so the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of all called the devil. And Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him. SPEAKER A Yes, and certainly we do experience the effect of Satan's influence on the world, don't we, with what he did in his rebellion. And of course, Adam and Eve succumbed to his temptations on this earth. And hence we deal with the sin problem. But that was what the temple was for. God's way of helping to connect us with him again and bring about redemption. And that temple, however, that the early temple that was established for worshipping God was destroyed in AD 70, and there does not exist one today. So staying with you, Lina. Where is God's throne on earth today? SPEAKER C Today, when Jesus ascended or returned to heaven and he gave us the Holy Spirit, you know, as a comforter. And it means that Jesus actually dwells in, you know, with his people by the Holy Spirit. So in each one of us. So we are the temple of God. Not our own, but God's. We can actually see this in the first Corinthians 6, from 19 to 20 here. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not your own, for you are bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. SPEAKER A Very interesting to consider that. And of course, considering that God is dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit, should we have anything to fear with approaching him. Harold. SPEAKER B No, There's a great verse, Hebrews 4, 15, 16. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of God, the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Let's go boldly to God with our thoughts. We want to be with Him. SPEAKER A That's very, very wonderful thought to finish on and just to consider that God has that open invitation for us to come to him, even though he is holy and and mighty, that we can still come to him and he has salvation and redemption for us. Isn't that such an inspiring thing? Thank you so much for sharing with us today. The visions of the throne room in heaven show a dazzling scene of God's glory. From the smoke in the temple to the living creatures, the seraphim and cherubim, it all emphasises the holiness of God. Symbols of the heavenly throne room made their way to the earthly sanctuary to remind him, his people, of the holiness of God and teach the plan of salvation. This same holy God now promises to dwell in our living body temples through the power of the Holy Spirit. Will you invite Christ into your heart today? We're glad you joined us on Let God Speak. Remember, all past programmes plus teacher's notes are available on our website 3abnaustralia.org au so glad you joined us on this programme and God bless you. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.