What does it mean when you see God's throne in a vision?

Answer 1

Generally, the scriptural accounts of visions that involve God's throne tend to signify a few key themes, though the different visions can have different connotations, of course. One thing we think of when we think of a throne is, of course, royalty. It points to the stability of God, planted on His throne, the most stable ruler that has ever been, unable to be deposed from His position. Along with this is the aspect of God where we compare Him to a king or someone with very high authority, especially the authority be worshiped, and the authority to judge wisely. Take as an example Revelation 4, where John sees God on a throne and there are elders and what might be angels all around Him, respecting His authority and falling down to worship Him. They also give glory to His quality of "living forever and ever." They say He is worth to "receive honor and power."

You also see this in Revelation 5, where someone sitting on a "throne in heaven" has a scroll and He looks for someone worth to open it, and someone is found worthy to open it who is described as a "lamb," another term used to describe Jesus. So in that passage we see that the throne is showing God the "Father," or the kingly aspect of God, handing down His scroll, which is the way ancient kings would hand down their royal decree. It's also important to note that the scroll handed down contains judgements that are put on the Earth, which shows us that the God who sits on heaven's throne has the authority to judge. This is also mirrored in Revelation 20, where One who sits on a "Great white throne" looks carefully at the lives of all that have ever lived.

Now, often together with what I've already mentioned, we see sometimes that the throne of God is used as a way to emphasize God as the Father. You're going to notice this in Revelation as well, when in the beginning John sees a vision of God, but there are words used to highlight that it is Jesus that is being referred to (such as Him being called "Son of Man," which is a term Jesus used to refer to Himself.) Later on in Revelation, John sees a different vision of God in which He is on a throne and looks completely different from the vision of Jesus- the throne is partly used to emphasize the Father aspect. There is more evidence for this as well such as Jesus, while on Earth, making a reference to "God" and saying "heaven is God's throne" (Matt5:34). Jesus also refers to a time when He will sit on a throne, but He always emphasizes that God, whom Jesus also calls His "Father," is already on that throne and has the authority to give that throne to Jesus (Matt25:31;Luk1:32;Jon7:28;Luk22:69.)

So to boil it down, seeing a vision of God's throne may let a person know that it is specifically the Father, which could be important for any number of reasons, or it could be emphasizing that the information given in the vision has that "royal" authority which is coming from heaven. It could also have to do with a message coming from the king who has authority to judge, or to let the person seeing the vision understand that what they're seeing has something to do with heaven, for God's throne is always referenced as being "in heaven," which can be seen in the New Testament passages cited above. Though Jesus shares the immense authority of His Father, He is referenced as being the way "to" the Father through His sacrifice (Jon6:46,14:6). In the case of visions, however, it must be said that careful prayer and reflection is always important. We may have dreams or think we see visions, but many people run away with interpretations and get confused. It is important to remind oneself that, if God intends a person to get some meaning from a vision, it's going to happen; we don't have to go over the top in trying to "figure out" what God is saying, but only pray and wait on His enlightenment.