GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE

Paraphrasing Isaiah 6: 1: In the year that Manmohan Singh left the office
of Prime Minister, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and elevated, and
the hem of His robe filled the temple.

No, I dont think I am misusing Scripture. Scripture tells us, For everything
that was written in the past was written to teach us (Rom. 15:3). Again
and again, in various places in Scripture we are told that what happened in
the past can be applied to our own situations.

When the Prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord on his throne, it was
occasioned by the fact that the illustrious King Uzziah had died. He was on
the whole a good king. When the sacred historian summarized his life, he
wrote, He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD (2 Ki. 15:3). He had
done well for Judah. He had made it into a super power in the region. He
reigned for 52 years. The fuller history in 2 Chronicles chapter 26 does
inform us that when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he
acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD (v.16). His corruption
and unfaithfulness was in imagining that he could be king in the temple of
God. He wanted to arrogate to himself the priestly role of offering incense.
The historian tells us that at that very moment he was struck with leprosy,
the disease that made people outcast in Hebrew society. He rushed out of
the temple and spent the rest of his days in isolation. But, as the first
historian noted, he was a good king and had done well by the nation.

When an illustrious leader is gone, people despair. Isaiah, though a prophet,
was still human and his human feelings were that of despair that the days of
Judahs super power were coming to an end. Isaiahs vision reminded him
that the people of God are not to put their trust in princes (Ps. 146:3).
When princes are undependable, look up and see that the Lord, our
God, reigns in glory.

In his vision, the prophet saw the Lord on the throne in heaven. The earthly
king was dead, but the throne in heaven was not empty. The Lord was still
reigning. In Isaiahs vision, he only saw the hem of the Lords robe and that
was enough to fill the temple with glory.

Isaiah saw that all heaven attends the Lord God (6:2-3). All the seraphs had
six wings. When we think of wings, we think that they are all for flying. But
these heavenly beings used one pair to cover their faces indicating that they
were not worthy to look on the glory of God. They used a second pair to
cover their feet to show that they would not dishonour God. Not that the
Lord God couldnt see through the wings that covered their feet, but for their
part they would not show disrespect. With the third pair of wings they flew
around the throne to show that in spite of unworthiness they were serving
the Lord. Their service was in proclaiming the holiness of God, and
proclaiming His sovereignty, and encouraging the worship of God.

As the prophet saw the vision, he realized his own unworthiness. He said,
Woe is me! I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips and live among
unclean people (v.5). If anyone has a true vision of God, the person cannot
have a sense of being superior to others. The person is so awed that all
thoughts of being superior are driven and instead there is the realization
that one is just like other people, and not at all like God. Candlelight is okay
in a dark room, but in the blazing light of the sun, it doesnt look like light at
all. Even though the prophets lips were used for prophecies, he realized that
his lips were unclean because he stood in Gods presence.

The moment the prophet admitted his uncleanness, a seraph burnt his lips
with a live coal and said that the prophet had been cleansed by it (vv.6-7).
However he wasnt cleansed so he could feel good about himself. He heard
the call of God, and he responded to the call (v.8). He was commissioned to
take Gods message to people who were contrary to God and not in a
relationship with Him (vv.9-13).

The Bible also tells the story of the first martyr Stephen heaven opening up
and the martyr seeing the Lords glory (Acts 7: 55-60). Yes, when
persecution is unleashed, the Lord will reveal His glory.

Revelation is God in touch with people. Our Lord Jesus had promised His
disciples that when they would be arrested and hauled before authorities,
they will not have to worry about how they are going to answer their
accusers. He said that they would be given the answer (Matt. 10:17-20).

Today power is in the hands of a group that believes in totalitarianism. Even
before their leader had taken office, the mother body had already announced
an intention to change the curriculum of education in India. Obviously the
issue is ideology. Will the assassination of Gandhi be now presented as an
act of patriotism? Yes, there is cause for apprehension. But we have the
Lords promise. We will be given the power to answer.

Stephen was given the power to give witness to his Lord, Jesus. His
summary of Jewish history is fantastic, considering that he was of a Grecian
Jewone of the people who were being sidelined by the Hebraic Christians
(Acts 6:1). He was given the power to witness reasonably and effectively
(vv.8-10). When his opponents couldnt face his logic and faith, they made
false accusations and dragged him before the Jewish council. He was so
amazing in court that all thought that they were looking at an angel (v.15).

At the end of his speech, the people who heard him were so enraged at the
fact that he had withstood their accusations and had silenced them with his
answer that they stoned him to death. Stephen then discovered he had been
given the power to be faithful unto death and also the power to forgive the
people who were torturing him to death. Oh yes, when persecution will be
unleashed in our day, we can expect to see the Lords glory on display in our
own lives.

In the last book of the Bible, there is a scene of heaven being opened to the
gaze of the lonely prisoner Apostle John. In his vision of the state of the
Church he saw that it was in pretty bad shape. There were those who had
lost their first love (Rev. 2:4). There was tolerance of heresy and unethical
conduct (vv.14-15, 20-24). Some were as good as dead (3:1) and some
were so lukewarm that the Lord felt disgust (vv.15-16). But right after
seeing what state the Church was in, heaven opened up in vision and John
saw the Lord in glory (4:1-11). That is the ultimate reality: God is there and
He is in glory. As the vision ended, John heard the song,
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.

The Lord our God is enthroned and waiting in glory to receive glory. The
fact that He is waiting to receive shows that there are those who have to
give Him the glory. He is waiting for you and me to offer Him glory. It
maybe that we will have to witness faithful unto death and demonstrate the
power of the gospel in offering forgiveness even as we find ourselves
harassed and victimized and brutalized.