John
the apostle saw the vision of Jesus in chapter one of “Revelation”,
and he began to write to the “seven
churches in Asia”. He
started with the church located in “Ephesus”,
then the “church
of Smyrna”,
the “church
in Pergamos”,
the “church
in Thyatira”,
“the
church in
Sardis”,
“the
church in Philadelphia” and
finally the “church
of the Laodiceans”
where He told them,
“Behold,
I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with
me”,
and continued, “To
him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as
I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne”,
and he added, “he
that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches”.
In chapter four and verse one of Revelation John saw “a
door was open in heaven” where
we read:
After
this I 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 here,
and I will show you things which must be hereafter.
The
verse reads, “After
this I 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;”
John
began with the words, “after
this”
which are the Greek words “meta tauta” and means “after these
things” “I
looked”
or “John perceived with his eyes, noticed, discerned and
discovered”, “and,
behold” or
“and lo and see” “a
door”
which refers to “a vestibule, entrance way or passage” “was
opened”
or “ajar and unfastened” “in
heaven”
which refers to “the
region above the sidereal heavens and the seat of order of things
eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly
beings”
“and
the first voice”
or “the chief and principal in influence and rank tone, sound of
uttered words, speech, language and tongue” “which
I heard”
which means “that John was endowed with the faculty of hearing,
attended to, considered and understood” “was
as it were”
or “was like or even as” “of
a trumpet”
which means “the quavering or reverberation of a trumpet”
“talking”
or “uttering, emitting or articulating speech or sounds” “with
me”
which means “with John the apostle”. After listening to Jesus
share about each of the seven churches in Asia, this “door”
to “heaven”
was “opened”
to John, and he heard a loud “voice”
that sounded like a “reverberating”
“trumpet”
.
The
verse continues, “which
said, Come up here, and I will show you things which must be
hereafter.” John
added the words, ““which
said”
which means “the voice uttered, spoke, proclaimed and declared”,
“Come
up here”
which means “ascend, rise, mount, be borne and spring up to this
place”, “and
I will show you”
which means “and the voice would expose to the eyes, give evidence
or proof of a thing, and teach my words” “things
which must be”
or “things that are necessary, have need and behoove what is right
and proper” “hereafter”
which are the Greek words “meta tauta” means “after these
things”. John heard the
“voice”
invite him to “arise” into “heaven” and there he was to be
“shown”
“things” which
were to be
“after”
the church age.
When
we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we see how John was
invited to go to “heaven” where God and His angels dwell.
John heard a loud “voice” that told him he would be “shown
things” that were to be after the age of the church. In Revelation
chapter one and verse nineteen we learned about the three divisions
in the book of Revelation – the things which you have seen, the
things which are, and the things which shall be “meta tauta” or
“hereafter”. Now we enter into the future things of the book of
Revelation asJohn was shown an “open door” to “heaven”
and he heard a loud “voice” which invited him to hear
things which were going to be. May we all “go to heaven”
with John as a precursor to entering into heaven one day because we
have received Jesus Christ as a personal “Savior and Lord”.
Next
time
we see John say, “I
was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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