Come up here.

Revelation 4 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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.

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, from Revelation 3:8, the Spirit said:  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.  In today’s text it 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.”    There is an open door into the heavenly realm and there is an open invitation for us to come up into heaven. From heavens perspective we can see God’s plan for earth. When we view the things and the circumstances of earth from the perspective of earth, we see turmoil, chaos, confusion and darkness. Isaiah 6:1-3 tells us how it looks from heavens perspective:   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.”  From heavens view, in the presence of God’s glory, we also see the glory of God on earth. The text tells us John’s response to the invitation to come into the heavenly realm. It says:  Immediately I was in the Spirit.  To see things from God’s perspective, we too must be in the Spirit. In John 4:24 Jesus says:  “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  We cannot fully know or comprehend God with our natural minds and human reasoning.  To know Him, we must know Him in the Spirit.  

Hebrews 4:16 says:  Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  In today’s text it says:  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.  It is only because of God’s great grace that we can have confidence to draw near to His majesty, His splendor and His awesome power. Psalm 97:1-6 says:  The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands be glad. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world; The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.  No one could stand in the presence of the holy, righteous and almighty God on their own, in their own righteousness, but because of His grace, given to us through Christ and the cross, we who believe have an open invitation to come, and that not just to visit occasionally or to bow down in submission, but to abide with Him and to dwell in His presence. Jesus taught us to pray saying: Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Walking and living in the heavenly realm should be as real and normal for us as living on earth. In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus says:  “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”   If we truly love God, we must know Him, worship Him and walk with Him in the Spirit. Our spiritual love for God will then be evident to the world, as we love them as we ourselves are loved.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 describes what godly, spiritual love looks like. It is not like the way the world describes love. It says:  Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Today Lord, I join with the four living creatures and the twenty four elders at Your throne and say:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”  “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.”  Amen. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.