Imagine you are walking on the coast looking out to sea. You notice a girl swimming not far from the shore and then, to your horror, you seek a shark approaching her. You shout for help but no-one listens. The others around you all see what is happening but seem completely unconcerned. You run round the corner to try to get some help, and there you see a big, black chair with one word written on the back of it in capitals: DIRECTOR. A man sits on it with a big cigar and a loud voice, shouting instructions through a megaphone. You heave a sigh of relief: you have stumbled on to a film set. The director has everything under control.
That is the effect of the vision in Revelation 4. Whatever the appearances, God is in control. He is the great director of the universe, sitting on a throne. And we soon discover that the Lord Jesus is there as well. John writes: "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne". Jesus is that divine king of the universe. He has suffering and has triumphed; and his death guarantees that all those who suffer for him on earth will also triumph. We may not understand what he is doing in the world, but we can be absolutely sure that he is in charge. God is king.
- Vaughn Roberts,
God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible
, p. 140,141
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