Revelation 4:2-3 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 ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.
When John writes about being in the Spirit, he was filled with the Spirit and seeing a vision that comes only through the genuine presence of the Spirit. This was not a trance from meditation or drugs. It was a genuine encounter with the presence of God. His vision begins with the throne scene of God. This is the fourth description of God’s throne in the Bible. The first was Micaiah in 1 Kings 22, then Isaiah in Isaiah 22, then Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1. Each one gets more descriptive. John’s is the most descriptive of them all.
John can only describe the person on the throne in general terms because no one can see God with God’s full radiance. The description of the bright lights brings to one’s imagination beauty and power. God is the source of true light, light that comes not from the explosion of atoms like in a sun but from holiness. The appearance of God on the throne changes our perspective about life on earth. There is much darkness around us. People walk in darkness, tripping and falling over the many obstacles that we all face. When we experience God’s holiness through the presence of the Holy Spirit, our spiritual eyes are opened and we can know with certainty the path we should follow.
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