Revelation: The Throne

 Revelation: Righteousness by Faith

The Throne

Revelation 4:2–3
(2) At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
(3) And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.

John was brought into the Spirit and went through that door of heaven into the heavenly temple. There he found a throne. The Father is described here as having the appearance of jasper and carnelian. The rainbow is described as resembling an emerald.
These stones are found in the temple service of the Old Testament, which again points to a heavenly temple:

Exodus 28:16–20
(16) It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth.
(17) You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row;
(18) and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond;
(19) and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
(20) and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree.

But it is also found with Lucifer, the fallen cherub:

Ezekiel 28:13–14
(13) You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.
On the day that you were created they were prepared.
(14) You were an anointed guardian cherub.
I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;
in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.

These covering cherubim are found again at the ark in the temple service:

Exodus 25:10–22
(10) “They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
(11) You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it.
(12) You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
(13) You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
(14) And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.
(15) The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
(16) And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.
(17) “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
(18) And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
(19) Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.
(20) The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
(21) And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.
(22) There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel."

On this ark, God was visibly present. It was between the two cherubim in the temple.
This ark was also seen as the throne of God, the one we see in Revelation 4.
When Jeremiah proclaimed the end of the ark in the earthly temple, he said:

Jeremiah 3:16–17
(16) And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the LORD, they shall no more say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again.
(17) At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.

Thus, the ark was here replaced by Jerusalem as the throne, which shows that the ark was seen as the throne.
At this ark, we find two things. First, we see the mercy seat, as we have already seen. Here we see the grace of God. Reconciliation is possible.
But at the same time, we also see the Ten Commandments, the testimony, in the throne.
The two tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written by God were also called the tablets of testimony because:

Exodus 32:15–16
(15) Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.
(16) The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

Thus, at the throne of God, we find both grace and justice. If we do away with one of these two, we do away with the throne of God itself.
The psalmist says:

Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

In the Old Testament, we see this only in shadows and in small measure. But in Revelation, we are shown the great reality.
Here we see the temple in heaven with the throne of God. The Ten Commandments and His grace have not disappeared here but have become reality.
Justice and grace come into full harmony at His throne.
This is best represented at the cross, where payment for sin was made, and at the same time grace was given.
This throne is unchangeable, for it is the throne of God.