REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 4.1
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The
Apocalypse)
Chapter
Four
SECTION
THREE
THE
THINGS WHICH SHALL BE HEREAFTER
(Verse 1)
After
this I (John) looked,
and, behold, a door was opened
in Heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up
hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
(Verse
2)
And
immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a Throne was set in Heaven, and One sat on the Throne.
Prologue
As believers in Jesus Christ, we praise God that
He died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead to give us eternal
life and a travel guide for the future.
The Apostle John has been a member, one of us (cf.
Revelation 1:9), and is rightly a representative of the true church [ekklēsia (Strong's G1577)]. As such, he
is told by Jesus Christ to record everything (cf. Revelation 1:2, 11, 19) as a
reference book for the church – His future bride (cf. Revelation 19:7).
During Chapters
4 through 6, we are given a clear vision of the heavenly realm, the third Heaven.
This portion of the study will carefully and methodically be presented to give
full assurance, excitement, and anticipation for the hereafter, to omit any
doubt or confusion.
(Verse
1)
After this
This phrase or
expression in Greek reads meta tauta meaning afterward, after
those things, or hereafter. In the Ancient Greek language, the phrase in the
aorist tense designates an undefined, but perfect aspect of the future.
Question:
After what?
Answer:
1. After the
Things Which Are (Part 2; Chapters 2 and 3)
2. After the Laodicean Period
3. After the Age that ends in apostasy
4. After the Luke-warmers
5. After the dispensational age of the church
6. After the church has been raptured
7. Before the beginning of the Great Tribulation
period
You recall the church of the Laodiceans was
nothing but an organization that carried the name of a so-called church. The portrayal given is one where Jesus Christ is
on the outside of a church door that supposedly represents Him. But He is
pictured as willingly knocking for anyone to let Him inside so that He may have
dinner with them.
I looked, and, behold
I saw in a vision.
In John's spiritual state, he chronicles two
things:
1. What he saw
2. What he heard
Behold
Another similar expression is lo, i.e., to be aware, consider, or see.
1. What
John Saw
A door
By definition and usage, a door is a means of
access or an entranceway from one place to another. The door is used four times
in the Book of Revelation:
A. A door
opened to the Philadelphians (cf. Revelation 3:8)
B. A closed
door of Laodicea (cf. Revelation 3:20)
C. A door of
opportunity to eternal life (cf. Revelation 3:20)
D. A door to
the visible third Heaven (cf. Revelation 4:1)
During the Gospel narrative, we read Jesus Christ
is the Door of the sheep (cf. John 10:7) by which everyone has access.
John 14:6 – Jesus saith unto
him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by [through,
διά
dia (Strong's
G1223)] Me.
A door was
opened in Heaven
In John's spiritual state (cf. Revelation 1:10),
John visibly sees an opened door in Heaven. Some translations will say a door standing open in Heaven. However,
opened is in the past tense meaning
it has been opened or is already opened.
Heaven
Heaven is a real place (as discussed in the
introduction to this section). Now, John will describe its awesome beauty. By
description, Heaven is the final abode of all those redeemed by the blood of God's
sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
Scripture also mentions:
1. Jesus called Heaven His Father's House (cf. John
4:2)
2. Jesus said, "Where I am, you will also be."
(cf. John 14:3)
3. Jesus called Heaven Paradise, denoting Heaven as a place of future happiness (cf. Luke
23:43)
There is a prevalent question concerning believers:
Will we join our loved ones in Heaven? Aside from numerous accounts in the Old
Testament, Jesus purposely revealed many answers during the Gospels.
Here are but a few to ponder:
1. We will be recognizable
2. We will be able to talk
3. We will be able to be heard
Matthew
17:2-3 – And
[Jesus] was transfigured before them: and His face
did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. And, behold,
there appeared unto them Moses and Elias (Elijah) talking with Him.
Acts 1:3 – To whom also He shewed Himself alive
after His passion (suffering) by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom
of God.
4. We will be tangible
Luke 24:39
– Behold My
hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle (touch) Me, and see;
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.
5. We will be able to eat
John
21:12-13 – Jesus
saith unto them, Come and dine.
And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? Knowing that it was the
Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish
likewise.
6. We will be able to travel
Luke 24:15
– And it came
to pass, that, while they communed together
and reasoned, Jesus himself drew (approached,
came) near, and went (traveled, walked) with
them.
7. We will be like Christ
Philippians
3:20b-21a – The
Lord Jesus Christ…Who shall change our vile body, that it may be
fashioned like unto His glorious body.
2. What
John Heard
And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me
First, John saw a heavenly door. Next, he will
hear a heavenly voice. John was familiar with this voice because he heard it
first back in Revelation 1:10, the voice of Christ, and now again by way of
simile, sounding like the brilliance of a trumpet. It speaks to John saying:
Come up hither (here), and
I will shew thee things which must be
hereafter.
Come up hither
A command by way of an announcement: The phrase come up here in context indicates
transference from Earth to Heaven. It is not simply an invitation for John to
visit the house of God, but also to show John the purposes of God.
I will shew thee things which must be hereafter
I will shew thee things
Question:
What things?
Answer:
Everything from Chapter 6 to Chapter 22.
Must be hereafter
Must be
is an expression that indicates with certainty, an obligation from God that these things will come to pass.
Compare both verses in Scripture:
Revelation
1:19 – Write…the
things which shall be hereafter.
Revelation
4:1 - I will
shew…things which must be hereafter.
Be hereafter is better translated after these things. In
essence, "I will show you things in the future which will take place after
the things that have already transpired."
(Verse 2)
And Immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a Throne was
set in Heaven, and One sat on
the Throne.
And Immediately I was in the spirit
Interestingly, the text gives one the sense that
John is instantaneously stepping into Heaven, a correct portrayal of the Rapture.
Most Bible scholars also reference the Rapture at this juncture, a prefigurement
of what is to take place when the church meets the Lord in the air.
Now, observe how Enoch and Elijah were taken:
A. Enoch
Genesis
5:24 - And
Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Hebrews
11:15- By
faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because
God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
B. Elijah
2 Kings
2:1 – And it
came to pass, when the LORD would take up
Elijah into Heaven by a whirlwind, that
Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 Kings
2:11 - And it
came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and
horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into Heaven.
I was in the spirit
John writes that he was in the Spirit – A stark
contrast to being in the flesh.
Romans
8:11 - But if the Spirit of Him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken (give
life to, make alive)your mortal bodies by His Spirit that
dwelleth in you.
1
Corinthians 2:12 - Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the [Holy]
Spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
John 16:13
- Howbeit
when He, the Spirit of truth,
is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but
whatsoever He shall hear, that
shall He speak: and He will shew you
things to come.
In Paul's prayer to the Ephesians, we read:
Ephesians
3:16-18 - That
He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be
strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
These Scripture verses validate not only our
comprehension but also the riches freely given to us through faith in Jesus
Christ.
Question:
To what benefit are the aforementioned Scripture
verses?
Answer:
As our church representative, John had spiritually
matured as close to Christlikeness as any man. Thus, he was able to comprehend
the deep things of God and the fullness of God. It is believed he also received
the full seven-fold manifestation of the Holy Spirit and was the only person to
be shown the deepest important truths in the Bible:
1. The End Time prophecies
2. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
3. The Great Tribulation Period
4. The Battle of Armageddon
5. The Millennial Kingdom Age
6. The Great White Throne Judgment
7. The New Heavens and Earth
And, behold, a Throne was set in Heaven, and One sat on the Throne
As John is transported in the Spirit into Heaven, immediately,
the first two things he recorded made him awesomely impressed:
A. The heavenly Throne of God
B. The One seated on the Throne
In the following studies, the revelation of the
heavenly Throne in its splendor, where Jesus is and a description of the Bema Seat
Judgment will be discussed.
QUESTIONS:
1. State reasons why John was chosen to write
Revelation.
2. What is significant about Chapter 4 and verse 1?
3. What did John hear?
4. What did John see?
5. What do you think Heaven will be like?
6. How does a person become in the Spirit?
7. What will we behold in the Spirit?
If this study was a blessing to you, make it a blessing
to others.
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