A Picture Of Things To Come

 

 

"After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” ² Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. ³ And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance."

Revelation 4:1-3

 

Good Morning my beloved,

 

We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord. We're glad to have you here with us today, thank you for joining us. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been continuing to share the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to God's Word!

 

I want to let all of you know that we are thankful your prayers. Prayer is powerful tool, and a mighty weapon against the adversary. And through your sharing, God continues to bring a number of people to faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God! May He continue to use you and this ministry mightily to effect change in even more lives. All for His glory!

In many people's lives today, the common sound is the sound of yelling and screaming, the sound of complaining, the sound of confusion, the sound of despair or the sound of frustration. However, in
sound of heaven is always a sound of rejoicing, joyful celebration and thanksgiving because it is there that you are truly in the presence of the Lord. The sound of Heaven brings us immediately into the Spirit. The sound of Heaven brings us before the throne of God. I believe that many of us desperately need to hear the sound of heaven in our personal lives as well as in the church.

 

If I were to ask the question, what kind of journey this life is tak­ing you on or where are you headed to,  I’m sure the answers would be very interesting. Our home is not Earth; we are here as pilgrims. So, prepare yourselves, because you never know when the groom is com­ing! If you knew today would be your last day, how would you live this day differently?

 

Let us pray

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Father, we thank You for Your Word.  How thankful we are for the consistency of your precious Word. Lord, as we look upon this vision, we have so much anticipation for the day when we enter heaven and we see this magnificence. Yet, we will not bask in its glory, because we know that it symbolizes Your unfolding wrath, vengeance and judgement upon the earth. Our hearts grieve for those whose sins will have separated them from You. For those who will never know the glories of heaven, only the horrors of hell. We know that we must take responsibility to proclaim the gospel and warn the world of what is to come. Make us faithful, Lord, give us hearing ears and responsive hearts. May it be for Your glory and Christ's sake.

In His name we pray.

Amen

Today's Message: A Picture Of Things To Come

 

In our study of Revelation today, chapter 4 takes us on a journey to Heaven. I believe this should be a welcome visit for many of us. In the several decades, there have been numerous books written about fanciful fabrications by people who claim to have gone to Heaven and have come back, attempting to tell us what heaven is like.

 

In II Corinthians, the Apostle Paul was caught up into the third heaven, and he saw things too wonderful to speak of. God did take Paul to heaven. Revelation chapter 4, tell us that God also too another to Heaven, the Apostle John. He was not only caught up into heaven, but he was commanded to write  down about the visions that he saw. In chapter 1, the first vision that he saw was the apocalypse of Jesus Christ or the unveiling of Jesus Christ, ministering in His church. Today, we have the second of his visions, and it is a vision of heaven. 

 

Open with me your Bibles to the book of Revelation. As we return to our study of the book of Revelation chapter 4, verses 1 through 3. As we come to this very important vision, we need to get a hold on it, so allow me read to you the first eleven verses. 

 

I invite you to follow along with me as I read to you from verses 1 through 11, to set the text in our minds, as we prepare our hearts for what the Spirit is saying to each of us. Revelation 4:1-11.

 

"After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.

Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come."

And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."

Until now, the church has had the center stage. In fact, in chapters 2 and 3, the word church appears 19 times.  Here, in Revelation chapter 4, the church disappears! Many see the invitation to John to "come up here" as an anticipation of rapture which the church awaits. While there is no authority for connecting the rapture with this expression, as the rapture as a doctrine is not taught in of the book of Revelation. The church as the Body of Christ certainly seems to be out of the picture. There are three views on the Rapture. That we will be taken up before the Tribulation period; that we will be taken up halfway through the Tribulation period; and that we will not be taken up until after the Tribulation period.

 

The book of Revelations primary objective from this point on is to portray the events leading up to and climaxing in the second coming of Christ, the prophetic kingdom and the eternal state which ultimately will follow. It does not concern itself with the church on earth, since as many believe, the true church is no longer there. From the onset of chapter 4, then, the church may be considered as in heaven and not related to events which will take place on the earth in preparation for Christ’s return.

 

As chapter 4 begins, we are drawn into the vision, and suddenly we come face to face with the ineffable Majesty Himself.  Let's get started.

In verse 1. "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things."

 

I would like you to notice, that the phrase "after these things," is mentioned twice in this verse, once at the beginning of the verse and once at the end. This is referring to the things which he had just seen and experienced. The tremendous vision of Christ, and the experience of seeing Christ ministering to His church in chapter 1. 

I want to point out that the phrase "after these things" at the end of the verse is a bit different. This a very important transition point. "Come up here, I will show you what must take place after these things," is God’s chronology, not John's. God is saying to John, "After the things you have just written about, then will come these things." By the way, the phrase "after these things, appear frequently in the book of Revelation, and, in each case it introduces a new vision as the scene shifts.In other words, after the visions I've just had, I looked and there was another one.

 

So John says, in exclamation, "After these things, I looked and behold, I saw a door standing open in heaven." The implication here is, he didn’t see it open, it was already opened when he saw it. If you will remember, in chapter 3, verse 20, there was a door closed on earth. The door of the church was closed to Christ. That's why He was knocking.

 

Now, here is the door to heaven, and it's open. And, it allows entrance into the very Throne room of God. A door standing open in heaven. The heaven which is being described is the dwelling place of God. This is the heaven where the Lord has been preparing for us a place. And, this door in heaven is open to John and to us. The same heaven where God dwells, the heaven to where Christ ascended and where He is preparing a place for us. And so, for the first time, John is lifted up into heaven, where he  will now spend the most of his visionary time.

 

Next, John reports that he heard a majestic voice. "and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet." That should sound familiar to us.

 

In chapter 1, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,  saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength."

Here again, is the Lord Jesus Christ that speaks with this loud, trumpet-like, commanding and authoritative clear voice. The voice gives John a command that is specific. "Come up here and I will show you what must take place after these things." After the time of the church, there are some things that are going to happen, and I want to show you what those things are.

As I said earlier, many interpret this as the church going up, I don’t believe this is the church going up, because John is not going up for the purpose of glorification, but for the purpose of revelation. I believe that this is John is taking this unique trip, and he’s taking us along with him. From chapter 4 through chapter 22, is all the discussion of what will happen after the church age. 

However, as I said it is curious and should certainly be noted that from chapter 4, verse 1, on through the remainder of this book, the church is never mentioned. So, I believe that we can assume here that the church is out of the picture.Which, by the way, seems to fit that the Lord is going to show John things that happen after matters concerning the church. I believe that it is entirely possible that the Rapture must occur before these things begin to take place, John is describing humanity without the presence of church. The church is not mentioned again until chapter 19, at which time we see they are referred to as the Saints being in heaven.

In verse 2, we come to the central theme, which is the throne. The word throne is used thirteen times in eleven verses. Eleven of those times, it speaks of the throne of God, and twice it speaks of thrones occupied by the twenty-four elders.  And, in from here through the end of the book, the word throne is used nearly forty times.

"Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne." 

Like the Apostle Paul recorded in II Corinthians, John is being taken out of this world and into some kind of transcendent ecstatic state. This is a miraculous spiritual condition produced by the Holy Spirit. This throne is in heaven and this kingdom does not belong to this present world, it is totally transcendent over all—it is divine and belongs to eternity. Here, John sees the very throne of God. As a footnote, a throne is the symbol and the seat of power, authority, and dominion. 

Therefore, the throne John saw was a symbol of sovereign rule and sovereign authority. It is in a temple associated with worship and godly holiness. The dwelling place of holy God who is to be worshiped and adored. The idea here, is that this is immovable, its something set. At the time that John is writing this, believers were being persecuted regularly and to keep safe, they were constantly moving from one location to another. In heaven, John is seeing the Ruler of everything seated on a throne that does not move. This is a fixed and permanent throne occupied by God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 47 says, "For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with a skillful psalm. God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne."

And, in Psalm 113:4-6, "The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high, Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth?"

This is very important because the way things are going to go, somebody may think God had lost control, I want to point this out before we get into the horrors and the terrible and fearful things that happen in the end time, let it be known that the throne is set and fixed and God is on it! The God, Who is the sovereign of the universe in charge. He is sitting, which indicates the posture of reigning. Though John doesn’t tell us the name of the One there. I believe that it is immediately obvious who is on the throne.

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah in his vision, saw the very same throne. "In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory."

The description in verse 3, tells us all we need to know. "And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance."

Jasper stone is mentioned here, which is crystal clear, therefore, it is best to see this as a term that describes a precious, flawless diamond, refracting all the colors of the spectrum in unbelievable brilliance. John says the one sitting was not only like a jasper stone but like a sardius. By the way, the church in Sardis was named for the stone. The stone was a blood-red ruby stone, fiery bright. It speaks of the blazing, fiery nature of God’s wrath and fury. 

This is not a peaceful vision, it is not comforting, but a wrathful, and frightening experience. In Exodus 28, we see that jasper and the sardius were the first and last stones on the breastplate of the high priest. They represent the first and the last of the tribes of Israel; namely, Reuben, the firstborn, represented by the jasper; and Benjamin, the last born, represented by the sardius. These two stones also speak of the fact that God in His covenant has not forgotten His promise to Israel. That He will fulfill His covenant.

John's description of a rainbow that surrounds the throne and shines like an emerald.  All of a sudden, out of the fury in the flashing, brilliant, glowing, white and red flames, the coolness of green seems to capture John. The rainbow is a sign of God’s faithfulness, that He will never again destroy the world by water again. God is faithful to His Word, He is faithful to His promise, and He is faithful to His covenant. Judgment never overrules His promise. God will be merciful to His own. God will be gracious. God will keep His promise.

A rainbow is made up of the seven colors of the spectrum. This could be a special kind of rainbow, or perhaps green was dominant color. We don't know. The rainbow shines, but not as a warning sign depicting danger of any kind; it shines as the perpetual light of grace and mercy and love, encouraging us to come even closer. 

John's unbelievable description surrounding the throne, gets even more fascinating. But we will get to that next time. So, you'll have to come back for that.

In Closing..

What an amazing scene we have in heaven! From the throne comes flashes of lightning, voices  resounding like trumpet. Oh the magnificence and holiness of God. All these honors and dignities God has invited us to behold. What an overwhelming, glorious sight. 

I don’t pretend to know what struggles or fears you face, but I tell you this, we need to take this to heart, there is an unchangeable sovereign God, who reigns from His throne. 

In the days in which we live, it may seem as though the forces of darkness are in charge, but nothing could farther from the truth. God is on His throne and He forgets not His own. 

Allow me to remind you, that  you cannot serve God and this world. You can not have two masters. So, I strongly encourage you to chose this day whom you will serve. Will you be left behind or will you take this opportunity to be right with God? What you do with Jesus today, will determine what Jesus will do with you then!

As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!

May it be so..

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 

 

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