The Throne Room of God

Today’s reading from the Book of Revelation moves from the epistolary form that we heard on Monday and Tuesday and presents us with the first of many visions about which the sacred writer writes.  (Remember what I wrote on Monday; namely, that the writer is in an altered state of consciousness, best compared to a dreamlike state or out of body experience.)

This vision is filled with symbols.  Understanding those symbols can help in our understanding of the writer’s message.  It might also help us to read passages from the Hebrew Scriptures, in particular chapters one and ten from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel.

1. An open door: The people of this time thought of heaven as a vaulted room that was entered by a door.

2. One whose appearance sparkled. . . : The sacred author is careful not to use God’s name explicitly in violation of the commandments.

3. Twenty-four other thrones: The twenty-four thrones and the twenty-four elders represent the twelve tribes of Israel as well as the twelve apostles, wedding together the old and the new.

4. Dressed in white garments: The white garment of baptism is used consistently in the Book of Revelation.

5. Lightning, rumblings and thunder: These are traditional natural occurrences that accompany any theophany (vision of God) in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures.

6. Seven flaming torches/spirits: Seven archangels stand before the throne of God (Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Selaphiel, Raguel, and Barachiel.  The seven archangels are sometimes related to the seven days of the week.  Of the seven, only three are mentioned explicitly in the Hebrew Scriptures.  The names of the other four come from intertestamental literature.

7. Sea of glass: The sea represents chaos for these people.  This sea is perfectly calm, so much so that it looks like a piece of glass.

8. Four living creatures: The four creatures represent the creatures of the earth - domestic (the calf or ox), wild (lion), bird (eagle) and human.  They also represent that which is noblest (lion), strongest (calf or ox), swiftest (eagle) and wisest (human) of the creatures.

9. Covered with eyes: Again, remember that the seer is an astronomer and is looking at the stars of the galaxy and the constellations they form.  The “eyes” are the various stars that make up the constellations.

10. Six wings: The Seraphim, the highest order of heavenly creatures, are pictured as having six wings: two for flight, two for flight, two to cover the face lest they look directly upon God, and two to cover the feet which in this culture would be soiled.

Thus the vision of heaven incorporates all of the various traditions of Judaism and early Christianity.  Because God was understood as “King of the Universe,” the vision of heaven resembles that of an earthly throne room for a king or emperor.  Rather than courtiers, the heavenly throne room is populated with angels, animals and human beings which figure in the religious tradition of both cultures. 

The vision is offered as an explanation of what is in store for faithful Christians: “Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards” (Revelation 4:1b).  In other words, this is the end of the story.  Think of it in terms of reading the last chapter of a murder mystery and learning “who done it.”  The Book of Revelation was written to explain to those who were undergoing the persecutions brought on by the Roman Empire what was to be their fate.  In other words, the sacred writer is attempting to bolster their morale.  It should be read that way for us as well. 

In particular, for those of us who carry the cross of chronic illness or disability, we read in these lines an affirmation of the fact that we are destined to live a life free of pain and of frustration once this earthly life is over and we shuffle off this mortal coil (to borrow from Shakespeare).  Perhaps our vision of the heavenly throne room would be filled with images and symbols from our own experience.  That is to be expected.  Nonetheless, we find a great deal of hope in the vision as John presents it.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator