What is the throne of God? Does God literally have a throne?
The throne of God is one of the great themes of Scripture, and the writings address it from several angles — what it is, what it means, and what character it bears in different dispensations.
The Throne Defined
Morrish's Bible Dictionary gives this entry under "Throne":
Morrish's Bible DictionarySeat of honour for judges, priests, and especially for kings. The same word, kisse, is translated 'seat' in Judges 3:20; 1 Sam. 1:9; 1 Sam. 4:13, 18; Esther 3:1; etc.
And specifically of God's throne:
God is often represented as sitting on His throne: "Jehovah hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all." Ps. 103:19. The Lord Jesus is now sitting on His Father's throne, but He will have a throne of His own, and will be hailed as King of kings and Lord of lords. Heb. 1:8; Rev. 3:21; Rev. 17:14; Rev. 19:16.
Heaven itself is defined, in part, as the abode of God, where His throne is — "Ps. 2:4; Ps. 11:4; Matt. 5:34. Whence the Lord descended and to which He ascended, and where He was seen by Stephen" (`dictionary/345_371.html`).
The Throne as the Emblem of God's Authority
Hamilton Smith opens up Revelation 4 with remarkable clarity:
Hamilton SmithThe first thing we see is a throne; moreover the throne is "set in heaven." The throne is the emblem of rule and authority; the guarantee for order and blessing and security throughout the universe. The fall was in reality a challenge to the throne; sin is rebellion against the throne; infidelity is a denial of the existence of the throne; pride aspires to the throne, and the devil defies the throne. How blessed, then, after six thousand years of rebellion against the throne, to pass into heaven and find the throne "set in heaven," unshaken, unmoved, and immovable.
He presses this further:
Even now the heavens do rule, though in a hidden way. Our great High Priest "has sat down on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens," and from that throne He ever lives to make intercession for the saints as they pass through this world. For the believer the throne is a throne of grace. ... Nevertheless, faith knows that, behind all, the throne of God remains unmoved in heaven. The consciousness that God is behind all, and that His throne remains with all its grace available for the saints, with all its mighty power untouched by the evil of men, will keep the soul in the calm of heaven while walking amidst the unrest of earth.
The Throne of Government and Judgment
J.N. Darby in his Synopsis on Revelation 4 emphasises that the throne John sees is not the same as the throne of grace believers know now — it is a throne of government:
J.N. DarbyHe is taken up to heaven, and there he sees God in covenant with creation, on a throne of government, with a rainbow round about it. The living creatures celebrate Him as the Creator, the One for whom all things were created. The throne was not a throne of grace, but the signs of power and judgment broke forth from it.
He describes its judicial character:
The living creatures are in and around the throne; for it is a throne of executory judgment, with the attributes of cherubim united to it. But it is not, as in Israel, mere earthly providential judgment... There is before us the government of all the earth, and executory judgment according to the holiness of God's nature.
The Throne of Grace — For the Believer Now
In a different dispensational character, Darby writes on Hebrews 4:
Therefore, our High Priest being there, we can go with all boldness to the throne of grace, to find mercy and the grace suited to us in all times of need: mercy, because we are weak and wavering; needful grace, because we are engaged in a warfare which God owns.
Observe, it is not that we go to the High Priest... The Priest, the Lord Jesus, occupies Himself about us — sympathises with us, on the one hand; and on the other, we go directly to the throne of grace.
Christ at the Right Hand of the Throne
J.G. Bellett contemplates the wonder of Christ seated there:
J.G. Bellett"Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith, who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2). Thus is He seen in heaven in this new character... And there He shines before the eye of faith: and had we but senses to discern it, and a heart to enjoy it, we should know it — that heaven itself is bright with beauty and glory unknown to it before, since Jesus in all these characters, won and acquired on earth, and for us sinners, has reached there.
The Throne in Eternity
In the eternal state, the throne takes its final and fullest expression. Hamilton Smith writes:
Hamilton SmithThe river proceeds from "the throne of God and of the Lamb." God is the blessed source of this life, for it is the "eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began." But it comes to us through Christ as the Lamb.
The curse being for ever removed, the purpose of God to dwell in the midst of His people can be fulfilled. Thus we read, "The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it."
So — Does God Literally Have a Throne?
The throne of God is not a mere metaphor for power, nor is it reducible to a physical chair. It is the real expression of God's supreme authority, government, and sovereignty over all creation. Scripture places it in heaven as a settled, established reality — "set in heaven," as Revelation 4 says — from which all divine rule proceeds.
The throne takes on different characters in different ages: today it is a throne of grace (Heb. 4:16); in the coming judgments it will be a throne of lightnings and thunderings (Rev. 4:5); and in the eternal state it will be the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem, the source of the river of life (Rev. 22:1-3). Christ is now seated at the right hand of that throne, and will one day have His own throne. The throne is as real as the God who sits upon it — though it exceeds what any earthly object could represent. It stands for the unshakeable, unchangeable, unchallenged right of God to govern everything He has made.