I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.

Revelation 4 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Scene in Heaven

4 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. ⁴ 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.

The Throne and Worship of the Creator

⁵ 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; ⁶ 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. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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.”

⁹ 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, ¹⁰ 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,

¹¹ “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.”

In yesterday’s text in the letter to the church at Philadelphia we read: “He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:       ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”  The key of David refers to the promise of the eternal kingdom that would exist on earth through the line of David the king. That is one of the many prophetic qualifications which Jesus fulfilled as Messiah. He came through the line of David and has the key to the eternal kingdom. He says to the church: “Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut”

In today’s text we also read about an open door. John says:   “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.” John was on the Isle of Patmos because he, like those in the church of Philadelphia, had been faithful to the word and not denied the name of Jesus. There was an open door into the heavenly realm. So too, for any believer who remains faithful to the word and does not deny the name of Jesus, there is an open door into the heavenly realm.

John was called to come up into that realm to see what was to take place. Amos 3:7 says: Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.  John was given a prophetic revelation of the will and the plans of God.   John writes:  Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.     John saw heaven in the spirit. Some of the things John sees in the spirit cannot fully be described or comprehended in the natural realm. John uses the words was like often as he attempts to describe heavenly things in human earthly ways. Much of the rest of the revelation John sees will be described in this way. John is seeing both spiritual things and physical things that will happen thousands of years in the future. His descriptions are limited by human knowledge and human language. This leaves us challenges as we try to interpret and understand all of what was revealed to John.  

One thing we can be sure of, there is constant praise and worship which goes on in heaven. John hears some saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” And   “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.”   Jesus taught us to pray: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  If the is constant worship and praise in heaven, then if we want to see the will and the kingdom of God on earth, it begins with worship and praise. We too should join with the voices in heaven continually saying:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” And   “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.”

What else though can we take from this word and apply to our daily lives? Remember what Jesus says:  “He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:       ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”    There is an open door to the heavenly realm that no one can shut. We have been given access to go in and out of that realm. We are not merely to go there though for a spiritual experience. As Jesus taught us to pray, Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, we are supposed to be part of bringing those realities, the things we see and know in heaven back to this earthly realm.

In Matthew 16:16-19, when Jesus asks the disciples who He is, we read this:      Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”     In today’s text Jesus said He has the key of David, the key of the eternal kingdom. Jesus says that at the revelation that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the King of kings, He gives the keys to the kingdom of heaven to those who believe, to those who are faithful, to those who do not deny His name.

With those keys, through the open door that stands before us, the door that no one can shut, we are to bring the realities of heaven, the realities of the finished work of the cross, from heaven to earth.   Jesus says: “whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”   Jesus says: “upon this rock(the revelation that He is Christ) I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”   Through the open door that stands before us we have the power to go against the gates of Hell.

Jesus says: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:18-20) This is how Jesus describes our use of that authority: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. ¹⁷ These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”(Mark 16:15-18)

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, precious Holy Spirit, thank You for the door that You have opened into the heavenly realm. Thank You for the authority You have given to fulfill Your will to bring the realities of heaven to earth. I pray Holy Spirit that You would enable and empower me, that I may be one who is found faithful to the word, that I would not deny the name of Jesus and so would have access to the open door into the heavenly realm. As You called John to come up, so call me. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, may it be in and through my life.   Amen