Day 353: Revelation 4:1–6a

Also before the throne was something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal (v. 6a).

In reading Revelation’s description of the throne room of God, please keep in mind that John related the completely unfamiliar through the familiar. Imagine, for example, escorting an Indian who had never ventured farther than the most primitive part of the Amazon through a tour of the state-of-the-art technology at NASA. When he returned to his fellow tribesmen, how would he describe jets or rockets? He’d probably have to begin his illustration by using birds as an example and try to stretch their imagination from there. Likewise, throughout much of Revelation, John employed known concepts to express images beyond our understanding. The throne of God is simply beyond anything we can imagine.

Yet Hebrews 4:14–16 says that because of Jesus, our great High Priest, we can approach His throne with confidence. No, none of us is without sin (1 John 1:8), but because Christ has become our atoning sacrifice, we need never fear approaching God with our confessions. He wants us to “receive mercy and find grace to help us” in our need (Heb. 4:16).

In the imagery of the throne room, I like to imagine God the Father catching those confessions in the palm of His mighty hand and casting them into the sea. What sea? Perhaps the one most conveniently located right in front of His throne. No matter how many confessions are made, this sea is never muddied by our sins. Rather, as God casts them into the sea, I like to imagine our sins instantly bleached into utter non-existence, swallowed in the depths of crystal-clear waters.

When it comes to dealing with your past sins, are you a deep-sea fisherman? Are you tempted by guilt, condemnation, and unbelief to dredge up old sins and agonize over them? Satan constantly volunteers to be our fishing guide. He even provides a handy lure to cause us to doubt God’s forgiveness. How successful has he been with you?

I certainly have done some deep-sea fishing in my lifetime. But what a waste of time and energy—because when we’re fishing in the right sea, our line will always come up bare. Anything we think we’re seeing on the end of that line is a vain imagination. We won’t even catch an old boot. Let’s consider giving the enemy one instead.