Revelation 4:1–2a states that after John was caught up in the Spirit, he saw a door opened in heaven, and the voice he had previously heard speaking to him like a trumpet told him to come up higher in the Spirit. This spiritual ascent was the prerequisite for John to be entrusted with God’s future revelation. As a result, John was seized by the Spirit of God, and thus his spiritual senses were subjected to the Spirit of God.

 

1 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.’

2a At once I was in the Spirit, …

 

Being in the Spirit or seized by the Spirit of God describes a state in which our spiritual senses transcend our natural senses, and our awareness of the spiritual realm is more pronounced than what we perceive in the natural world.

 

 

This means that prophetic revelation doesn’t come from our own mind and emotions, but from the realm of God’s throne room. Here, the focus should first be on His sovereign being, which is revealed in multicolored light—specifically white and red—described by John as jasper and sardius (cf. Revelation 4:3a).

 

3a And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby [Note: sardius]. …

 

God’s gracious presence and His covenant, on the other hand, are manifested in the form of the rainbow and the green color of the emerald that encircles His throne (cf. Revelation 4:2b.3b).

 

… 2b and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

… 3b A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.

 

There is a significant interplay of three different colors, each associated with a gemstone. This interplay forms a lasting order of revelation in the spiritual realm, based on the principle from Ecclesiastes 4:12.

 

12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

 

This implies that our focus should be primarily on the LORD who sits on the throne as a reference to the purity of His nature and character, His heart, and His love and only secondarily on His throne, which signifies the seat of authority. It is therefore no coincidence that God named the first man Adam, whose Hebrew root word means ‘red, to be red, to dye red’, and that His Son Jesus Christ bears the title of ‘the last Adam’, who is Spirit and gives life (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45).

 

45 So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

 

Thus, the emphasis is not primarily on authority, but on the relationship with the LORD, which forms the proper foundation for the active functioning of authority and spiritual gifts assigned to us by God (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:1–3).

 

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 

 

In Song of Songs 5:10, the beloved and bride gives us a testimony about her beloved and bridegroom that is significant in this context. Here, the beloved as bride shows that her beloved and bridegroom stands out among many thousands in the colors white and red.

 

10 My beloved is radiant [Note: white] and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.

 

These thousands encompass the realm of thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand before the throne of God. Furthermore, this measure is an indication of the presence of the ministering spirits, or angels, over whom the Lord has authority (cf. Hebrews 1:4–6 i.c.w. Daniel 7:10).

 

Hebrews 1:4–6:
4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father’? Or again, ‘I will be his Father, and he will be my Son’?
6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’

 

10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

 

It is Jesus Christ who always stands at the forefront as the light and love of God the Father and stands out from all powerful spiritual presences in the supernatural realm (cf. John 1:4–5; John 8:12 i.c.w. John 3:16; Revelation 21:23).

 

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’

 

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

 

The red light of the sardius also points to the sacrifice of love given by God in the form of the work of redemption through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who redeemed us through His blood and made us kings and priests (cf. Revelation 1:5–6 i.c.w. Revelation 5:9–10).

 

… 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

 

9 And they [Note: the four beings and twenty-four elders] sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’

 

 

The principle of spiritual existence and the three interacting colors—white, red, and green—in God’s throne room can be found, for example, in the anointing of David by the prophet Samuel. Samuel went to Jesse of Bethlehem in response to God’s command, which came in the form of a prophetic revelation, because God had rejected Saul as king over Israel due to his disobedience and unteachable heart (cf. 1 Samuel 16:1).

 

1 The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.’

 

The impending anointing had been initiated by a prophetic revelation from God to the prophet Samuel and was accompanied by the presence of the fear of the LORD. This is evident from the behavior of the city elders toward Samuel, who were unable to properly interpret his presence (cf. 1 Samuel 16:4).

 

4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, ‘Do you come in peace?’

 

Furthermore, this event was accompanied by a sacrifice in which blood was shed (cf. 1 Samuel 16:2b–3).

 

… 2b The Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.”

3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.’

 

Since the prophetic word is a light that shines in a dark place and is white in color, just as blood is red, the presence of God’s being on the throne is revealed here in the form of jasper which is whitish in color, and sardius which is reddish in color.

 

It is the fruitful plan or the released promise from the presence of God, which resembles the emerald as greenish in color and brought the shepherd boy David to the forefront among all his brothers to establish fruitful royal leadership for the people of God in the future.

 

In this divine commission, the prophet Samuel was moved in his soul, even though he spoke with great prophetic authority, for God didn’t let any of his words fall to the ground (cf. 1 Samuel 3:19).

 

19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

 

Nevertheless, Samuel was so deeply moved in his reaction and influenced by his emotions regarding the rejection of King Saul that God had to correct his perspective (cf. 1 Samuel 16:1).

 

1 The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.’

 

From this, we can see that it is always necessary for us to place God’s perspective above our own experiences and allow it to take precedence, so that we may properly discern the concerns of the Kingdom of Heaven with the correct prophetic perspective for both the present and the times to come.

 

It is crucial that we ensure the human filter of our soul submits to God’s perspective in the Spirit, so that we may attain the goal God pursues and has in store for us.

 

Sometimes we need to see things in different forms in order to recognize what God’s perspective and will are for this time and the time to come. This is revealed by the arrival of the sons of Jesse before the eyes of the prophet Samuel. It involves a time of discerning the word of the LORD, so that we may recognize it correctly in the Spirit and act accordingly (cf. 1 Samuel 16:6–12).

 

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.’

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’

9 Jesse then made Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, ‘Nor has the Lord chosen this one.’

10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’

11 So he asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ ‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse answered. ‘He is tending the sheep.’ Samuel said, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.’

12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; this is the one.’

 

 

As previously mentioned, Samuel worked in harmony with the white, red, and green lights of God’s throne room, for he proclaimed God’s plan or rather, God’s promise through prophetic instruction amidst the sacrifices, in order to reveal God’s grace through the ‘Son of David’.

 

In this context, the shepherd boy David moved back and forth between the seventh and eighth positions in the birth order, which points to a completion and a new beginning. It is stated in 1 Samuel 16:10–11 and 1 Samuel 17:12 that Jesse had eight sons, with David being the eighth son.

 

10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’

11 So he asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ ‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse answered. ‘He is tending the sheep.’ Samuel said, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.’

 

12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old.

 

The Word of God in 1 Chronicles 2:13–16a, on the other hand, reveals to us that Jesse had seven sons, with the two sisters mentioned playing a significant role among Jesse’s sons. Both of these biblical passages from 1 Samuel and 1 Chronicles point to a revelatory truth connected with David’s ‘seventh’ and ‘eighth’ position.

 

13 Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; the second son was Abinadab, the third Shimea, 14 the fourth Nethanel, the fifth Raddai, 15 the sixth Ozem and the seventh David.

16a Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. …

 

The list of the first three sons of Jesse named in 1 Samuel 16:6.8–9 already foreshadows Jesus’ triumph on the middle cross at Golgotha through His death and resurrection, which took place on the third day (cf. Luke 9:22).

 

22 And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’

 

Furthermore, 1 Chronicles 2:16a highlights the significance of the relationship between the sons of Jesse and their two sisters, Zeruiah—whose root word means ‘balm, balsam resin, that which is obtained by pressing’— and Abigail means ‘My father is joy.’

 

Both sisters are named immediately after David and carry within them the mystery of the oil press of Gethsemane as well as God’s pleasure in giving His Son in love to guarantee salvation for humanity, which accepts His sacrifice of love (cf. Isaiah 53:10).

 

10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days, and the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

 

The ‘press’ in which David remained to receive the anointing comprised the side walls of the distillation process and the power of the joy of God the Father. These two side walls necessary for the pressing are embodied here, in a spiritual context, by the two sisters mentioned.

 

 

We can speak of David shifting between the seventh and eighth positions, in which Christ, as the eternal Son of God, is hidden in the eighth position —a figure referred to several times in the New Testament as the ‘Son of David.’ We also know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the firstborn among many brothers (cf. Romans 8:29 i.c.w. Matthew 1:1).

 

29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters [Note: brethren].

 

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: …

 

Furthermore, in a prophetic context, David moved from the green pastures of the shepherd in the realm of Yahweh-Roi to the realm of God’s kingship, representing the place where David became king through Samuel’s anointing.

 

These two spheres of authority of the shepherd and the king bear the Hebrew letters ‘Resh’ and ‘Mem’ in their initial letters. These two letters put together form the Hebrew word ‘rām – He is exalted.’, whose root means ‘to lift up, to exalt’. (Note: part excerpt from the Elberfelder Study Bible on the the Hebrew word ‘rām – He is exalted.’, with the word key number: 7585)

 

Thus, God lifted David into a higher spiritual realm of authority, so that he saw the ‘Son of David’ reigning over him, as Psalm 110:1 in conjunction with Matthew 22:41–46 reveals.

 

1 The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’

 

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 ‘What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ ‘The son of David,’ they replied.

43 He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him “Lord”? For he says, 44 ‘ “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’ ”

45 If then David calls him “Lord”, how can he be his son?’

46 No-one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no-one dared to ask him any more questions.

 

This connection between God’s sovereign and eternal plan as revealed in the truth of David’s position between the ‘seven’ and the ‘eight’ in God’s eternal kingship and in Jesus Christ should encourage us, as disciples, all the more to submit to His rule.

 

The complexities of current global and societal events are, more than ever before, focused on superficiality and the splitting of connections, which calls us, as God’s people, even more strongly to seek God’s depth and to live according to what the eternal King commands us to do. 

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel and Tina Glimm