Introduction
- Can we view what Apostle John saw in heaven?
- Who is in the midst of the throne?
- What is the posture of the One on the throne?
Rev 4:1 “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 hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”
Rev 4:2 “And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.”.
Rev 4:3 “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne…”
Rev 5:6 “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne…stood a Lamb as it had been slain…”
God speaks in parables
God is speaking in parables (Ezek. 20:49 ), so was Jesus Christ prophesied to open His mouth “in a parable and would utter dark sayings of old.” (Psa. 78:2). True to what was prophesied:
Mark 4:34 “But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.”
Jesus Christ spoke to many people, as the “Word of God” is read and heard today. To be noted is, it needed Christ to explain His words to His Disciples for they are expressed in parables. This was demonstrated in the following:
Jesus spoke which was heard by “many” people.
John 2:19 “…Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. “
How many noticed that those who heard this are classified into two:
- The Jews under the leadership of the Scribes and Pharisees, and
- Christ’s Disciples
The Jews understood and interpreted what Jesus said:
John 2:20 “Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?“
To them therefore, Christ’s words even became a snare for their mocking and derision:
Mat 27:40 “…Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
The Disciples knowing that Jesus was speaking in parables, just waited for His explanation, actually a demonstration:
John 2:21 “But he spake of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”
This truth about the Word must be “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Another example, this time it is the Devil who gave meaning to what he saw (as it is written) in what our Lord did. After fasting for 40 days and 40 nights (Matt. 4:2), the Devil told Jesus:
Mat 4:3 “…If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
Satan depended only on his senses and intelligence to perceive the meaning of what Jesus did – His literal hunger for bread. Unknown to Satan, and perhaps to “many” people, is the real message of Jesus’ fasting refers to “hunger for the word.” Thus,
Mat 4:4 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Through “spiritual discernment”...
1 Cor 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; COMPARING SPIRITUAL THINGS WITH SPIRITUAL.”
...the message could be determined from the following:
Jer 15:16 “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”
Amo 8:11 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.”
With “hunger for the Word,” God will liberally supply that the “excess” could be shared to the following:
Isa 58:6 “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? …let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? [John 8:32 ] 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry…? [Matt. 25:35] when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him [Isa. 61:10]… 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall…”
From these illustrations, how could we now understand what John saw as he was exiled in the island of Patmos ?
God’s words do not pass away
“God never change” (Mal. 3:6), and “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Heb. 13:8) He is the Word (Rev. 19:13) and the Truth (John 14:6).
Eccl 1:9 “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
The Book of Life
Could there be any other book than the Holy Bible where we can find the way to eternal life? The name of God’s chosen are found in this book. Following the Way therefore, we can also find “our name” by identifying ourselves with them.
John in the Spirit
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven ” (John 4:1). Does not “I looked”refer to the “search of the Scriptures” that our Lord enjoins in John 5:39 ? And “search” does not mean trying to look for the meaning with man’s own understanding, but with God’s guidance as it is written in:
1 Cor 2:13 “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
“Behold, a door was opened. ” Does not this refer to access to the truth since Jesus, the truth (John 14:6), is the “door” in John 10:9?
“Was opened in heaven.” Since John was still physically alive, he must be referring to the FIRST HEAVEN: ( http://www.purechristianity.org/first_second_third_heaven.htm)
“And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me.” This must be referring to the word of God that humbled us “like little children.”
The “first voice” I heard:
For me, “the first voice I heard, ” was when our Lord told His Disciples “For after all these things do the Gentiles seek” (Matt. 6:32 ). All along I thought I was already saved after sincerely saying the Sinner’s Prayer and accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. But in the “eyes of God,” I have not yet humbled myself like “a little child” that I was denied the “knowledge and wisdom” appropriate and endowed to a “babe.”
Mat 11:25 “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”
Other testimonies for the “first voice heard”:
1. One testimony :
All along I thought I already knew our Lord Jesus Christ, citing His physical identification. A child born in Bethlehem , grew in Nazareth , preached and performed many miracles in different places, hated and scorned, crucified on the cross, rose again from the dead, and is coming again.” He is the Son of God who Himself is God for He accepted worship. When I read:
John 8:19 “Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.”
Since the Father was still a mystery to me, I realized my recognition of Jesus Christ “came only from my flesh and blood, and it was not by the revelation of the Father,” as Simon Peter had:
Mat 16:16 “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
From then on, I began to act like a “babe” in the eyes of our Lord, knowing nothing that I fully depended on Him in spiritual matters.
2. Another testimony:
I thought I was already following our Lord’s command of “Love thy neighbor” by giving alms to the poor or giving bread to the hungry, providing clothing to the destitute, visiting some prisoners in jail, and visiting the sick in the hospital (Matt. 25:35-36). However, when I read about the God’s explanation, I felt truly humbled and from then on I always ask Him for the spiritual meaning of His words:
“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat.” Hunger to our Lord as in His fasting refers to hunger for the word.
Jer 15:16 “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart…”
Amo 8:11 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.”
“Thirst for water.” Our Lord spoke of water in the following:
John 7:37 “…Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost…)”
“I was a stranger, and ye took me in.” God spoke of household in:
Eph 2:19 “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”
“Naked, and ye clothed me.” God spoke of garment and robe in:
Isa 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself…”
“I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” I realized our Lord is referring to sharing the truth in:
Joh 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
“I was sick, and ye visited me.” Before, I thought God is referring to physical ailment,
but I realized this refers to the soul and sharing the truth is spiritual healing:
Psa 41:4 “I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.”
This reminded me of the man born blind whose eyes were “opened” by our Lord:
John 9:38 “And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. 39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”
3. Still another testimony
I was confident with my recognition of our Lord Jesus Christ and God. However, when I read about Philip and the other Disciples’ desire to see the Father; I was awakened from my deep spiritual slumber:
Joh 14:8 “Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me…”
Joh 10:30 “I and my Father are one.”
Rev 4:2 “And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.”
Rev 20:11 “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.”
Col 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
This “first voice” made me truly humble that I admit I have not clearly known our Lord and God.
“As it were of a trumpet talking with me.” Truly, like the sound of a trumpet so loud that only “a few” would want to hear, I endure the scathing power of TRUTH to the extent of truly humbling myself before God.
Heb 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
“Which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” After the “door was opened,” that is, now having access to the truth, we must be ready to “see” what is in “heaven.” We are reminded that God revealed the “First, Second, and Third Heaven.” The chosen are now in the “First Heaven!”
Luke 17:20 “And when he was demanded…when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you .”
Rom 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
Does not “Come up hither,” refer to a “higher spiritual plane” where the chosen, like John, is raised:
From Natural Man:
1 Cor 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
To a Spiritual Man:
1 Cor 2:15 “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
“Come up hither” is actually “born again” (John 3:3) which Nicodemus, a noted religious teacher in Israel, still a Natural Man before recognizing our Lord Jesus Christ, could not understand.
“I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” Does this not refer to “great spiritual things” God will show a real “born again of water and of Spirit” (John 3:5)? Examples:
1. While before the word of God could only be understood literally, now it reveals the great spiritual message, confirming:
John 10:4 “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”
2. While before many contradictions in the word are secretly kept, now words from the Lord flow well perfectly from the Old to the New Testament, confirming:
2 Pet 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
3. While before many questions remain unanswered, now God seems to answer everything in His words, confirming:
Mar 4:34 “But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.”
Now I realized:
Mar 4:11 “…Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.”
4. While before focus is on the earthly and material things, now emphasis is on the heavenly and the eternal, and is fully appreciated, confirming:
John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life .”
Rom 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink [earthly and material]; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
5. God’s standard of righteousness can now be clearly distinguished from Man’s standard.
Rom 10:2 “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
6. Peace from mind conditioning can now be distinguished from real spiritual peace. While before the scathing power of the “2-edged sword in the word,” and the deafening sound of the “trumpet” agitated and disconcerted me, now the more I wanted to hear it.
Psa 119:103 “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Psa 56:10 “In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word.”
7. Joy from worldly things is now relegated to the more joyous spiritual or heavenly things.
“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,” this is the “higher spiritual plane” of being “born of water and of the Spirit” (John 3:5) where God shows and reveals things of the Spirit. “Water” refers to the “letter of the Word.”
Eph 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”
The Spirit refers to the “quickening power giving “life to the letter.”
1 Cor 2:13 “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
For details: ( http://www.purechristianity.org/two_witnesses_to_the_truth.htm)
Hence Jesus’ admonition to His Disciples:
John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
This current discussion on the Book of Revelation is an example! While the Natural Man looks at the book on the literal-physical future view, God’s revelation delves on the spiritual -- in its “all-the-time” perspective.
“A throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Throne signifies power and authority. John did not see two but only one throne. And it is JESUS CHRIST, the Lamb slain, that he saw in the midst of the throne:
Rev 7:17 “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Rev 19:4 “And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.”
How could this one throne and one sitting on the throne be reconciled with:
Mark 16:19 “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”
To the Natural Man, this indicates two thrones where Jesus Christ on His throne is at the right hand of the throne of the Father. But God speaks “spiritual things, and “right hand” means POWER in:
Exo 15:6 “Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.”
Truly so, the “in the midst of the throne” vision of John is confirmed in:
Luk 22:69 “Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.”
This confirms the One True God is made visible in the person of JESUS CHRIST!
Col 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Isa 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father…”
A different position of our Lord though is noted in the following where John saw Him standing:
Rev 5:6 “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne… stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”
Standing on the throne indicates “the Lamb was on the move or at work,” where God in His human manifestation was seen busy showing the Way to the Disciples, by example as model, and finally fulfilling the testament of salvation with His death on the cross:
1 John 3:16 KJV only “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us…”
“And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone”
Seen sitting on the throne, the Lamb finally finds fulfillment of His plan of salvation to the Chosen . Jasper, a precious stone reddish in color and lovely in its original condition; so is Jesus Christ needing no sprucing up for His original beauty with His crimson representation for His death on the cross.
“And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”
Literally, how could a rainbow be round about the throne? Who could understand the significance unless God explains this “parable?” A rainbow is made up of water vapors in the clouds with reflections from the rays of the sun producing wonderful colors. God has this to say of rain from the cloud:
Deu 32:2 “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew…”
Now it is clear that the throne should really be adorned with a rainbow that represents the doctrine or TRUTH in the word of God. The multicolor spectacle represents the great message coming from the word like “flow rivers of living water.” We praise God through His magnificent words.
Psa 56:10 “In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word.”
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