LOOKING INTO HEAVEN
Dr. Stephen R. Phinney
“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.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.’ 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, 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, ‘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.’” Revelation 4:1-11
The open door gave John the privilege of looking into heaven. Keep in mind, at this point, John was facing the seven churches. After the messages were written, John was commanded to turn around and to come up into the Spirit, so that he was able to see what the Lord wanted him to see so that he could write it down.
Chapter one gave us the vision of the glorified Lord. Chapters two and three consisted of the letters to the churches, and now the third phase opens with chapter four and ends with chapter twenty-two, verse five. It is this portion that reveals the prophecies' introduction in chapters four and five, with chapter six showing us the prophetic actions.
The door standing open, scenes from Heaven, introduces the first series of Judgments, which concludes in chapter six. The Word of God consistently reveals a war that has been going on between good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness, and light and darkness. The battle between God and Satan, the Holy Spirit, and evils spirits, has been raging against the Bride of Christ (the church) since the fall of Adam and Eve. It is a war that will continue until the last and final Word is revealed to us as being fulfilled in Revelation 22:5.
Important Note: Once Christ comes for His Bride (rapture), the Holy Spirit will no longer have any purpose for restraining the evil forces of Satan. Earth, as we know it, will become a literal hell. The earth’s structure will be fully committed to Satan, the Beast, and the Antichrist. Satan will then rule in and through the person of the Beast (political leader), and the Antichrist (universal religious leaders). Remember that the Bride of Christ is raptured as revealed to us in Revelation 4:1-3.
John is not specific in talking about the Rapture, but Paul certainly was (1 Thess. 4:17), to whom God revealed the specifics in full color before, during, and immediately after the rapture. He makes it quite clear that we will be caught up to meet the Lord Jesus Christ (Groom) in the air, and so shall we ever be with Him throughout eternity.
There will be no tribulation storm for the Bride. Some of you have been taught that the Bride of Christ will go through the first half of the Tribulation—I used to be one of them. Please consider these five reasons why the Church will not go through such a storm:
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Contained within the first three chapters of the book of Revelation, the word church or churches occurs about twenty times. However, starting with this chapter, up through the seventeenth verse of chapter twenty-two, the Church is not mentioned—not even once.
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In Revelation 1:19, it states the key that unlocks the book. John was told to write: “the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be.” None of these things occur at the same time. After Christ addressed each of the Seven churches, He spits Laodicea out of His mouth, and then chapter four starts with the door of Heaven is open. According to John’s vision, this is a new phase of his vision unfolding.
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The Lord Jesus is no longer in the middle of the candlesticks (churches). Jesus is no longer on the earth anymore, but we see Him on His throne in Heaven. There is a rainbow sealing the throne, and most significantly, we see the Saints (the first of many Bridal members) in Heaven. Also, a significant factor is that these Saints come with the Lord out of Heaven (chapter nineteen) riding on white horses in judgment against the earth. But this is not interpretive; it is chronological.
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Remembering Revelation 3:10, the Church will not enter or go through any part of the Great Tribulation. “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” Jesus gave this message to the church of Philadelphia, the True Church. Christ is not about to have His Bride abused by the horrid period of Tribulation or Judgement, and they will not receive any condemnation. The Tribulation period (seven-year reign of Satan) will be like no other distress and persecution the Body of Christ has ever seen on the earth. Our Groom is a protective, a proactive, and a redeeming Savior who takes on this battle for the Bride. There is no logical or Godological reason He would drag His Bride through such a horrid Tribulation. Remembering, it is in Hebrew law and customs that a woman cannot watch a display of wrath from her father or her husband. If you remember back in the days of Lot, he was instructed to instruct his wife and daughters not to turn around to look upon the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but Lot’s wife did, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
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Since God gave Paul the message of—“for God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9), it is clear that the Bride is not destined for wrath.
Verse 1-3 shows us that John is to “come up here,” and God opens the door of Heaven and invites John to come into the throne arena of God.
Now that we have established this, John was immediately in the Spirit, and then he stepped into Heaven and began to see things in the light and sight of God (past, present, and future events all at one time).
Keep in mind here that John did not have his glorified body yet. Since no man can embrace the beauty and majesty of our glorified Lord in an unredeemed state in our mortal body, John had to be put into the Spirit to see these things. It’s beyond a vision. It’s an experience. God never breaks His guidelines or rules—not even for his Son’s Beloved Disciple John.
John gets to view firsthand the central command center of God and His structure of government; the throne, twenty-four thrones, the elders, all in white garments wearing golden crowns. Can you imagine what was going through John’s mind at this point? Seeing the One, Jesus, sitting on a throne clothed in Jasper and Sardius—stones symbolizing the glory and majesty of God.
These same two stones are mentioned to describe Satan’s original design in Ezekiel 28:13 and then again in Revelation 21:19-20 to describe the New Jerusalem. The Jasper stone reveals the purity and the transparency of God, and the Sardius deep red color symbolizes the power and purity of the blood of atonement for the Bridal members of His Son. Jasper was also the stone that was used to describe Benjamin in the Old Testament. It was used to state total victory. The Jasper stone was Benjamin’s name, which is a combination of two Hebrew words (ben and jamin). Scholars of Hebrew revealed to us that it means the son of my right hand or the son of power. Both stones point toward the first coming and Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. These stones are considered significant markings of the glory of the throne and the Living God.
John saw a rainbow over the throne, like a seal that had the appearance of an emerald. The emerald is Judah’s stone. The green tint of the stone has always been a symbol of freshness, new life, and eternal perseverance and endurance. It also has been known as the wedding stone of ancient times.
The rainbow was a complete circle, symbolizing the full promise of God. It’s not the half-circle we’re used to seeing on this earth; it’s completed, and it reveals the unbroken power and love and mercy of the Living God. Much like in Noah’s day, when God placed a rainbow with colors representing the earth in the sky to make a covenant with him, God now gives John the view of a full rainbow with colors that represent Heaven—the seal; it’s closed. The rainbow was not mixed with multiple colors of creation, but the straightforward color of an emerald—the eternal color. All of humanity will either meet the Lord Jesus Christ under the banner of the emerald green or the blazing light of Judgment of the Great White Throne of Judgment.
God does not use symbols, names, cities, stones, or anything else in a poetic fashion. He uses these symbols to tie His Truth together. All Words used by the Father have meaning and purpose. There is no symbolism here outside God using an object to communicate His beauty. Therefore, as you read on in this book, remember that each word carries significant meaning, and each meaning has an action-packed adventure connected to its existence.
Verses 4-5: The twenty-four elders sitting on the individual thrones represent the Church as a whole. You cannot but embrace this. It is the great symbol of leadership used by God to bring and unite His people in redemption. It is also a reveal of the glorified Saints after the rapture. The number, twenty-four, occurs six times. Each of those times, it pertains to these elders.
The crowns worn by these elders are earned rewards of a position that reveals dignity and purpose. The white garments are the purest symbols of righteousness made white as snow by the blood of Jesus Christ. The royal priests that hold these positions are not revealed to us anywhere in scripture. That is God’s business. It is undoubtedly one of the secrets of heaven that God holds dearly to His bosom. We can safely assume, these twenty-four men are significant leaders through the ages who were given the privilege to hold positions of power and royalty around the Throne of God that represent the priesthood of all believers.
From God’s Holy Throne, there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. Can you imagine this scene? God has always associated Himself with flashes of lightning and thunder. Even in His creation, thunder and lightning come forth from the mixture of hot and cold—not lukewarm. God displays His power and majesty through the statement of the cold of evil and the hot of the throne of God coming together for its final Day of Judgment. Think about that the next time you see lightning and hear thunder. It is the earthly reveal of evil clashing with God. If you look close enough, you will find the book of Revelation in all of creation. Remember, nothing that God does, or makes or displays is by accident.
At the beginning of Revelation, John saw the One, standing amid the seven gold candlesticks, but now he sees the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are now and forever the Seven Spirits of God. As we can see, the candlesticks are now lamps, and the seven churches are identified as one Bridal member; and what remains are the Seven Spirits that supervised the seven churches.
Verses 4-6: Now, let’s draw a mental picture of this scene. It is located in the center of the universe, and it is the throne of God. Around this throne is a rainbow with the appearance of emerald, as I said. Surrounding the throne, there are twenty-four more thrones filled with the twenty-four elders. Sitting on the throne is God, clothed with righteousness, with twenty-four men of God crowned with honor. Seven lampstands are burning eternally at His feet with lightning flashing forth from the throne and thunder filling the air. How could any man bear up under seeing this? Then we have a sea of glass like crystal before the throne.
This sea of glass is calm waters that are nothing like the seas of the earth, which are continually tossing, turning, and agitated by the restlessness of sin. It is a crystal sea of eternal peace (read more in 1 Kings 7:23-45), symbolizing the Living Water of Christ Himself.
Verses 6-8: Now, we see four creatures with eyes in the front and the back. The first creature is that of a lion. The lion symbolizes the power and majesty of all beasts, which reveals to us the two types of beasts—the Lion of Judah and Satan Himself. The Lion that is in Heaven will conquer the powers of Satan, who also calls himself a beast. Just as in the story of Daniel in the lion’s den, Daniel was that Old Testament figure of the Lion of Judah. When the earthly lions attempted to devour him, God overpowered them with the Lion of Judah!
The second beast was like a calf. Most likely translated out as ox, which is the Hebrew word picture for strength or leader that carries the weight. The ox has always been the Hebrew symbol of Alef, the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet—Alef-Bet. The meaning is related to the word for tame, and word for leading—the one who comes first. This is the Hebrew word picture for the Father of a Tribe. Also, it needs to be known that the Greek word Alpha derives from this Hebrew word. Now we can make the spiritual connection that this calf/ox was the eternal symbol of the Alpha, the beginning, and the first of all things.
The third beast had a face like a man. It is the creature that reveals the highest of God’s creation—man. The Greek here denotes that it is the vessel that demonstrates God’s wisdom, reason, and intelligence (though life). Do you want to know the reason God created Adam and Eve? It was not only to give His son a Bridal member, but it is the vessel that God chooses to use to reveal His wisdom, reasoning, and intelligence. You put those three together, and this is where we get the word power.
The fourth and final beast was like a flying eagle. The Hebrew word picture for eagle is the living prince and warrior—ne-sher. The eagle is God’s symbol of the wisest of all beasts. It flies the highest; it’s keen of sight and swift in action. The eagle has been a symbol of the Prince since the foundation of humanity, most likely forever past and future eternity.
These creatures and their characteristics combined express intimacy of the heart of God the Father and His relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, and His relationship with the Bridal members of Jesus here on earth. The Lion—Jesus Christ, the Ox—the Father, like that of Man—all of humanity, and the Eagle—the Prince represented by way of the Holy Spirit. Each is having eyes that see all sides all around them. They have six wings (number of man), all representing an alert and obedient heart unto the Father. Their role? To cry out day and night for the everlasting days of eternity saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.
Verses 9-11: We see a mighty act of worship displayed in these few verses. The four beasts, along with the twenty-four elders worshiping God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, sit upon the eternal throne of Heaven. They give praise, respect, and full adoration because He is the ultimate authority on the earth and in Heaven. He is One who is worthy of all such high honor. I wonder how God, the authority figure of eternity, is looking upon the horrid acts of resistance on the earth today. Seven thousand years is only seven days for God (1000 years for man is one day to the Lord), so He accomplishes absolutely everything that John is seeing in seven of God’s days (7000 years for man).
It is our duty and passion to worship the Lord in Spirit and Truth. That should be obvious to anyone who is truly indwelt by Jesus Christ. He has given us a heart of praise for His domain's sake. Nothing, absolutely nothing should stop us from entering into John’s great reveal.
