Many times I prayed that the Lord would grant me just one vision here on earth. That vision was of Heaven. If my vision came true, I would have loved for God to take me to the place where His glory dwells. I would have loved to stand before Him at His Throne:
"I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells" (Psalm 26:8)
Just the thought of entering God's living room filled my heart with unspeakable wonder and my mind with countless questions. Just what sights and sounds would have awaited me in that glorious place? Would I have seen the blood of Christ still applied on the Mercy Seat?
"It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence." (Hebrews 9:23-24)
What would the language of heaven be? Would it be Hebrew? Or would it be a language only those in Heaven understand? What would the voice of God sound like?
"The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic." (Psalm 29:4)
"Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth." (Job 37:2)
Would I have recognized any description of the Throne given by the Prophets?
"Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome. Under the expanse their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. He said to me, 'Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.' As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me." (Ezekiel 2:22-28; 2:1-2) "After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.' At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal." (Revelation 4:1-6)
Would His Throne look anything like the pattern of the Tabernacle given to Moses? Would I have see the Lord's Throne residing on a mountain top? Would it be anything like the Temple prophesied to exist in the Millennium?
"In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.' The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:2-3)
Upon touching the threshold of the Throne Room in my vision, would I fall prostrate on holy ground? Would God favor me to acknowledge my name from His Throne as He did Moses from the Burning Bush?
Even if I was not allowed to enter, it would be enough for a thousand lifetimes just to peek from a crack in His doorway:
"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." (Psalm 84:10)
Such was the vision I once requested of the Lord.
But I have since stopped praying for it, not because I don't want to see it anymore or because I no longer think about it. I stopped asking because I realized that the Lord had already given me glimpses of His Throne!
In writing Jesus the Baptist and in looking back at all my experiences, I realized that I have been in the Throne Room many times. And I am so excited to say that I was not alone in these visitations.
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." (Philippians 3:20-21)
If you have experienced the Lord's Baptism, which is the Promise of the Father, and the gifts of His Spirit, then you too have been in the Throne Room. But what is even more exciting than this is that you never had to leave the earth to do so, the Throne Room came to you!
"I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.' At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.' Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." (Isaiah 6:1-7)
I must pause to thank the Lord for what He has shown me, because I know He has honored my prayers. May the Lord open your eyes and ears and show you the same.
"Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound—May the glory of the LORD be praised in his dwelling place!"(Ezekiel 3:12)
"Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear. No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil: He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the LORD; the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water." (Isaiah 32:3-6)
To be baptized by the Lord in the Holy Spirit is no small thing. The same can be said when a person is baptized in water and especially when a person is baptized in the blood of Jesus at salvation. I believe that all three baptisms originate from what I call "The Matrix of the Throne:"
To look upon the throne of heaven is to see the living waters of baptism. No sapphire on earth could ever compare to its clear blue sheen. Emanating from it is the color of the atmosphere and the waters that cover the earth. The Lord's throne rivals the heavens above and the waters2 below:Matrix1: "something that constitutes the place or point from which something else originates; the intercellular substance of a tissue; a crystalline phase in an alloy in which other phases are embedded; also called master; the womb"
"Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself" (Exodus 24:9-10)If you have ever felt the Lord stirring, you have felt His Throne in motion, the stirring of His waters. You have been enveloped by the clouds of His presence, the clouds kicked up by His feet. The clouds are His mobile home:"This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool." (Isaiah 66:1a)
"So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels." (Exodus 40:38)To be baptized into His salvation, is to be immersed in waters bluer than the clearest Caribbean waters and at the same time redder than the reddest desert sunset. If you were to look up from the embrace of your salvation, the Lord, you would see the colors of jasper and carnelien. You would see the waters of baptism that flow from the Throne, waters of the clearest blue and the deepest red3."Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds — his name is the LORD— and rejoice before him." (Psalm 68:4)
"Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy." (Isaiah 4:5)
"The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet." (Nahum 1:3)
"After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (1 Thessalonians 4:17)
As your Baptist, the Lord would be transfigured before you. His form and cloud would turn fiery red. He would be engulfed in living fire. His eyes would be ablaze with power. On the edges of his form would radiate the most brilliant light your body could ever feel. Its warmth would pour over you from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. You would be set on fire.
You would be embraced again with His hand of fire. He would dip you into the fire of His holiness, a molten bath burning from the oil of His Spirit. As you fall back, the Lord would cradle you:
"You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalm 23:5b-6)
You would see Him motion with His hand. Immediately, an angel with tongs would fly to the altar of incense. Once there, he would retrieve the live coal chosen for you by the Lord. The altar would glow from the iridescence of the live coals4.
You would watch in wonder as he would fly over and deliver it to the Lord. The Lord would smile as He would touch your lips with the coal. Sparks would fly from your mouth as if a crucible of molten metal was pouring from it. The deep springs of your soul would burst forth and bubble up to your mouth as lava from a volcano. As the bubbling reached your mouth, the coal would begin to dance and so would your tongue.
"on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened." (Genesis 7:11b)
At that moment, you would hear rumblings and peels of shouting thunder come from the Throne. You would see flashes of lightning surround you. In the distance, you would hear the cherubim calling out in repetitious synchrony. You would hear the language of Heaven. To mortal men, who could not discern, these voices would sound only like babble. Some would even say it sounded like rolling thunder:
"sav lasav sav lasav kav lakav kav lakav" (Isaiah 28:10, 13)
"Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord." (1 Corinthians 14:21)
"Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.'" (Revelation 4:8)
"God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding." (Job 37:5)
"'Father, glorify your name!' Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him." (John 12:28-29)
"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns." (Revelation 19:6)
Only then would you realize that the words coming from your spirit were in harmony with the chorus of sights and sounds from the Throne. You would be speaking in a language of heaven! Out of your spirit would flow a river of living water. And out of your mouth would flow the rumblings of the Throne, the babbling brook of the Spirit.
Again, the Lord would signal to the angel. You would see him fly to the golden lampstand ablaze with fire. From the lampstand, the angel would retrieve a luminescent vessel of oil5 and deliver it to the Lord.
"I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone 'like a son of man,' dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: 'Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.'" (Revelation 1:12-18)
Oil Pitcher for Replenishing the Menorah
The Lord would no doubt smile again as He poured all its contents on your head. Power would surge through your being and the Word of the Lord would burn within you:
"But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,' his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:9)
As the living waters spray from your mouth, a fine mist would burst forth and be immediately illuminated by the light of the Lord. It would join with the cloud of voices coming from the Throne. In the brilliance of His light, the voices would turn into rainbows that encircle the Throne.
The stream coming from your mouth would change in color according to the moving of the Holy Spirit. At times, it would be the same color as the live coal given to you from the altar. At other times, it would change to different colors. But whatever the color, the stream would always match in sight and sound with the river of voices coming from the Throne Room. With each measure of the heavenly song, you would be declaring the wonders of God!
"Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.'" (Revelation 9:4-11)
When we awake to this vision of synthesized experiences. You will suddenly realize a deep truth. Although you may have never visited the Throne, it has visited you!
"We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him' — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 'For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)
1. "matrix." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. 01 Oct. 2006. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/matrix>
2. The atmosphere of our planet is blue due to a process known as "Rayleigh Scattering." Water, however, is intrinsically blue due to its absorption of light in the red part of our visible spectrum.
3. The change in color from blue to red represents baptism in water followed by baptism in the blood of Jesus and vice versa. Amazingly, within our bodies blood changes in color from blue to red and red to blue all the time. This occurs when the blood coming from the body, which is blue, comes into contact with oxygen, changing it to red. It changes back to blue when it loses its oxygen and picks up carbon dioxide. This change literally occurs as we breathe. When you consider the fact that the intrinsic color of water is blue and the recognized color of blood is red, you can see a picture of water turning into blood within our bodies - all thanks to the power of our breath (Genesis 2:7; Exodus 4:9; Job 33:4; Lamentations 4:20; John 2:9)! This phenomenum is a vision of the three primary elements of baptism-water, blood, and spirit (the breath)-working in unison. Interestingly, the colors of these three primary elements are also the three primary colors of pigmentation: blue (cyan) for water, red (magenta) for blood, and gold (yellow) for the Holy Spirit. The color purple is also noteworthy, because it is the intermediary between blue and red. So as blood changes from blue to red, it goes through purple. When you add the color gold, which shines like the glory of the Lord, and white linen, which represents the Lord Jesus, you have the shifting colors of baptism: blue, red, purple, gold, and white (the Baptist Himself). Put another way, you have a picture of the Lord Jesus, water changing to blood (or wine), and the power of the Holy Spirit, or "saved, baptized and filled with the Spirit." This picture gives further insight into the significance of these colors in Temple worship, as well as in the Throne. It also gives insight into the color of the tallit (the Jewish prayer shawl) and the flag of Israel (in essence a tallit), both of which are representations of the Atonement. These familiar items, so central to Jewish spirituality and identity, have baptism written all over them! For more commentary about the significance of colors and baptism, see The Assorted Colors of Pentecost.
4. The coals represent an element in Baptism (Atonement). In this case, it is symbolic of the fiery tongue in the Lord's Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Each coal is uniquely chosen by the Lord for one of His believers (every coal has its own color and meaning). The fact that it is taken from the altar of incense is important because here it represents the intercession and ministry of the saints:
"Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake." (Revelation 8:3-5)
"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." (Revelation 5:8)
"For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit." (1 Corinthians 14:2)
"Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning." (1 Corinthians 14:10)
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Romans 8:26)
5. The blazing lampstand is symbolic of the Spirit-filled assembly of believers, while the horn of oil from the lampstand is symbolic of the gifts of the Spirit that edify and belong to the body.
Light the Fire Ministries ©2006
