“And He said, ‘Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left.” 1 Kings 22:19
Throughout Scripture, in particular in God’s dealings with Israel by the ministry of the prophets, He would speak very clearly to His people. It is for this reason that one of the primary roles of the prophets was to communicate clearly and emphatically that which was “the word of the Lord.” There was another aspect to the ministry of the prophets which was crucial, not only to the faith of the prophets, but to God’s people. It was the matter of communicating the vision of Eternal God upon His throne, sovereign, and almighty. The reality of that vision has never changed. The same God upon His throne that Micaiah the prophet saw in the days of wicked Ahab, would be revealed again to Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the Apostle John, a vision that covered centuries. What was the purpose of this vision, and why was it so very essential to faith?
In Paul’s first letter to the believers in Corinth, he wrote: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (2:7,8) What was this wisdom? Certainly it was Christ, but not only a Christ who took upon Him flesh and blood to dwell among us, but the One who has existed from before the world began, who declared of Himself, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.” This Christ is both Creator and Redeemer.
Nebuchadnezzar caught a glimpse of this eternal, glorified Christ, Creator and Redeemer, when he declared of Him, “…And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, ‘What doest Thou?'” (Daniel 4:35) The vision of God upon His throne, and now, especially after the resurrection of Christ, sitting at the right hand of the Father, must be seen as He is today, in His glory, power, dominion and might. He has regained the joy of His Father, and to Him all power and authority has been given in heaven and in earth. But what is it about the vision of the everlasting God, unchanging and unalterable, that causes prophets to fall on their faces, and the Apostle John to fall at his feet as if he were dead? The answer resides in His holiness, his perfect, spotless, distinctive purity and burning qualities of absolute power and authority, which are brought to bear and manifested by His spoken word. When Isaiah saw the Lord “…high and lifted up,” and heard the seraphims crying to one another, proclaiming His holiness, not only was he moved by the fact that “…the whole earth was filled with his glory,” but also by His power in the moving of the doors of heaven, the “house” of heaven being filled with smoke. Isaiah was so convicted of his sin of uncleanness that he saw himself as undone, or destroyed.
When Ezekiel saw the Lord Jesus in His glory, writing: “…the appearance of his loins even upward, …and downward, …I saw as it were the appearance of fire,” he fell upon his face. God would then speak to him.
Lastly, when John the Apostle, isolated on the Isle of Patmos, received his vision of Christ, whose “…head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,” (Rev. 1:14,16) he was commissioned to communicate this eternal vision to the churches. The revelation of the radiant, almighty and sovereign Christ in His holiness, and power, would eclipse all things.
Dear Father, Anoint our eyes to see. In Jesus’ name, Amen.