After publishing my post, The LORD Said to My Lord, I began looking into the Hebrew word, most often translated as throne, kisse (H3678). It comes from the verb root kasa (H3680) which means to cover, according to Brown-Driver-Briggs. And the noun kisse (H3678) means seat of honour, throne, and it appears 135 times in the Old Testament.
Of these mentions, we see priests, kings (& the mother of a king: Bathsheba), and YHVH (& even Haman in the book of Esther and a foolish woman in the book of Proverbs) seated on them. Primarily, though, they are mostly reserved for kings and priests.
In the New Testament, the Greek word thronos (G2362) appears 61 times.
In my previous post I made a reference to God’s children being seated on heavenly thrones when I wrote,
“In the Kingdom of God, God sits on His throne in heaven and calls on people to act as His children, doing His Will, ruling themselves. And when they have proven themselves worthy to be called His children, God seats them on heavenly thrones.”
from “The LORD Said to My Lord” by Messyanic
I was asked by Kay in the comment section what I meant by that reference, what it looked like, was it something that happened during our lifetime or afterward, and if it was literal or figurative.
Here’s my response to that.
A Royal Priesthood
It is my understanding that the children of Israel, specifically those who came out of Egypt as recorded in Exodus, were told that God would make them a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
“3 And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”
(Exodus 19:3-6 KJV)
But then, we see in the New Testament, in 1 Peter 2 another reference to this “royal priesthood” and “holy nation”, only this time it is speaking of that “chosen generation” to whom Peter was writing.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
(1 Peter 2:9-10 KJV)
Multiple Thrones
Upon further inspection of the use of “thronos” in the New Testament, I see in Matthew 19:27-28 (& confirmed in Luke 22:30), Yeshua speaking of the Son of Man sitting in the “throne” of his glory, and that his disciples, that have forsaken all and followed him, would also be seated upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
(Matthew 19:27-28 KJV)
29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
(Luke 22:29-30 KJV)
In the letter to the Hebrews, we see Yeshua being referred to as a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of God.
1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
(Hebrews 8:1-2 KJV)
Then, in the book of Revelation, chapter 3, we read what is to be written to the church of the Laodiceans. In verse 21 it says,
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
(Revelation 3:21 KJV)
In chapter 4, there is much said about the throne of God, with 24 thrones round about it, upon which 24 elders sat.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
(Revelation 4:4 KJV)
Later in chapter 20, verses 4 & 6, there is mention of multiple thrones, on which others beside the Anointed sat, and it says that they lived and reigned with the Anointed for a thousand years. They were to be priests of God and of the Anointed.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
(Revelation 20:4-6 KJV)
And then in verse 11, there is mention of “a great white throne”.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
(Revelation 20:11 KJV)
Upon reflection of all of this, I’m starting to think that my notion of there being “heavenly thrones” might be reserved for a more limited bunch than I had previously thought.
In the Past
I believe the book of Revelation reveals visions of events that have already come to pass, namely the destruction of Jerusalem.
And the idea of there being thrones set up alongside Yeshua’s throne, may already be occupied by those who lived and died “in the faith” in that first century.
Personal Confession
I have been guilty of reading the New Testament texts as if much of it were written to me, taking it upon myself that whenever Yeshua spoke to his disciples, and whenever Paul and the other authors of correspondence addressed “believers” and “saints”, I assumed they were including a greater audience (to include myself).
But now, I’m beginning to reconsider all of this again.
I firmly believe the writings penned in the first century were written for that generation — they were not penned for us.
While we may be able to learn valuable lessons and glean wisdom from them that could greatly benefit us in our lifetime in the modern age, I am not expecting what is revealed in Revelation to unfold before us in the days to come, as many have been led to believe.
My Current Understanding
It is my current Biblical understanding that the Kingdom of God spoken of in the Bible is in place right now, which I consider to be the realm of heaven and earth, with the Creator God seated on His throne, and His Anointed Son of Man seated at His right hand, making intercession on behalf of all mankind.
And I believe all of mankind in some form or fashion are considered to be “the children” of God, by the very nature of our being created humanity. Some are more representative of our Creator than others, being akin to His Spirit, however all are given the opportunity to conform to His Likeness. But clearly, not all children of God are anointed.
Beyond that, I don’t know much when it comes to what’s happening in the heavenly realm.
However, I believe we, who are alive today inhabiting the earth, have a responsibility to apply our authority, power & dominion to act rightly on this earth, to make this realm a better place, regardless of whether or not there are thrones for us to inhabit, be they in the kingdoms of man or in the greater Kingdom of God.
Because, as far as I can see, there is nobody else that is going to do it for us.
