Revelation 21:5-8 And he that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. is the symbolism of stability. It is the planted seat of power, the settled place whence authority springs. According to the paternal theory of government, the throne is the Father's chair, from which the household's law goes forth. Its very structure is suggestive. The throne lies upon the ground, broad and square and firm. Perpetuity is of the very essence of its nature. The waves of popular wrath rage and swell around it, the tides of public opinion ebb and flow; it, the centre of unity, the seat of authority, stands fast. This is the idea of the throne; and who shall deny that it is a most majestic one? Take the idea illustrated as we may see it in the life of any one of the great nationalities that have preserved their identity through long periods of time — take the story of England, with which we are familiar, and than which there could be no better for our purpose. Start with the throne on the day William the Norman set it up in the open space his sword had cleared, and follow its history, century by century, down to the present day. Mark how it stands unshaken as storm after storm of change sweeps over the face of the nation. Nobles conspire against it, ecclesiastics try to undermine it, popular risings threaten it, usurpers claim it once democracy put it aside for a season, again peaceful revolution transfers it to a collateral line, but still the throne survives, the same that the Conqueror founded, the centre of authority, the centre of national unity, the centre of the whole people's associations, loyalties, and loves. What, then, is the truth that lies behind this symbolism of the throne? Briefly this, that in the universe of which we make a part there are two great principles at work; the principle of stability and the principle of change, and, furthermore, that the sovereignty — and this is the important point — belongs to the former — to the stability. (W. R. Huntington, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. |
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