After These Things (Revelation 4:1) | Coronation (Part 11)

Transcript

JRNT 510
After These Things
Revelation 4:1
9/14/2025
Jesse Randolph

To get ourselves reacquainted and reorientated because it has been something like four months, since we were in the book of Revelation when we kicked off this serious back in February. I made a case for a 3- point outline for the entirety of the book of Revelation. As I laid it out then, this is not an outline that I made up. It’s an outline rather than that we see in the book of Revelation itself. It’s an outline that’s rooted in the words of Jesus Christ our Lord Himself.

So, to get us started actually I’d like you to turn with me to Revelation 1:12-19, where we saw this many months ago now, but this is the Apostle John’s vision of the ascended and glorified Christ as John who was quite aged at this time was imprisoned you’ll recall on the isle of Patmos. This was not merely a vision which John saw, but this is a voice which John heard while in exile. John, directed by the Spirit, records this vision he had of Christ starting in Revelation 1:12. He says “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands, I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying.” (And now it is Jesus speaking) “‘Do not fear; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.’” Look at what our Lord says next, in verse 19, “Therefore (He’s addressing John here) write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.”

It’s quite the scene, quite the powerful scene, and what we have at the end of this scene or at least the end of what I’ve read there in verse 19, is the Holy Spirit-inspired, Christ-directed outline of this vision John received. This vision we now hold in our hands, in written form, in this book we now know as the book of Revelation. That outline that is given is as follows: Heading one, “The things which you have seen.” That refers to John’s vision of the ascended, glorified Jesus back in Revelation chapter 1. Heading two, “The things which are.” That refers to the seven letters to the churches, seven real, historical churches which existed in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, in John’s day. Those letters of course are found in Revelation 2 and 3. Heading three, “The things which will take place after these things.” Now that refers to the heavenly throne room scene which begins here in chapter 4 and then runs all the way to the end of the book, in Revelation 22.

Now, it has been a while. But I’ll remind you just now that we’ve actually already worked through the first two sections of this book. So, we’re basically already almost done right? Wrong. Section 3 is much much longer than sections 1 and 2. But we did work our way through sections 1 and 2. We spent three weeks covering “The things which you have seen” as we worked our way through Revelation 1 and that vision John received while on the isle of Patmos. After that we spent seven weeks covering “The things which are.” The letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. That included the Adrift Church in Ephesus, in Revelation 2:1-7. The Suffering Church in Smyrna, in Revelation 2:8-11. The Compromising Church in Pergamum, in Revelation 2:12-17. The Tolerating Church in Thyatira, in Revelation 2:18-19. The Dying Church in Sardis, in Revelation 3:1-6. The Obedient Church in Philadelphia, in Revelation 3:7-13. And then The Lukewarm Church in Laodicea, in Revelation 3:14-22. So that took us to the end of Revelation chapter 3 and the end of that second major division of the book of Revelation. Meaning, we have already considered again “the things which you have seen” and “the things which are.”

Now as we resume our Sunday evening series in Revelation, we’re going to dive headlong into the third, final, longest, most extensive future-oriented division of the book of Revelation. And it’s again tethered to those words from our Lord, in Revelation 1:19. “Write the things which will take place after these things.”

“After these things.” That’s the title of this evening’s sermon. The title comes straight from those pivotal words from the Lord Jesus as He highlights for John the things which are to come. Those words appear not only in Revelation 1:19, but as we see in our text for this evening, Revelation 4:1, we see the exact same words. In fact go ahead and turn with me if you’re not there already to Revelation 4:1. God’s Word reads “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.’” So, we’re covering just this single verse tonight. It gives us plenty to think on and chew on and consider as we launch into this third and final division of the Book of Revelation. But right away I want us to notice these clear bookends to this verse, to Revelation 4:1. “After these things” John had this experience where he saw this door and he heard this voice and then that same voice the voice of the ascended Lord Jesus tells John that He’s going to show him “what must take place after these things.”

Now that’s an intentional repeated use of that expression “after these things.” Meta tauta in Greek. Meta tauta is no accident. No these are intentional time markers by which Jesus is laying out for John and John is, in writing it down, is laying it out for us that these events recorded in the book of Revelation, happened, or will happen, according to a certain specific sequence, in a specific order.

Now from my earliest days as a believer, back when I was a new convert, going all the way back to those days, I have been exposed, I’m sure many of you have too, to those individuals who will argue with me until they are blue in the face, that the book of Revelation is not sequential. It’s not laying things out in the order in which they are laid out in the book itself. Instead, they’ll say things like no Revelation isn’t sequential. It’s not literal. It’s not futuristic. Instead, it just teaches certain spiritual principles for you to reflect upon. Folks like that will argue that the book of Revelation must not to be taken literally and must not be taken futuristically. Instead, it's to be read according to its genre, as apocalyptic literature, and that the events recorded in it, aren’t to be taken at face value. Aren’t to be taken for what they’re actually recorded to be. But again just principlizing, giving us some spiritual principles to sort of add as a feather to our cap. But to take that position as I’ve told those who advocate for that position before, is really to remove what I would call the spine of the book of Revelation. Because, think about it, if you, let’s just talk about the human spine. I don’t mean spine like a book. I mean spine like the spine that holds you together for your back. If you didn’t have a spine, an actual spine, a real spine back here, you would immediately collapse into a bag of bones, right? You would have all kinds of problems right away. You would have immediate issues with structural support for your whole body. You would immediately lose nerve function. You’d experience organ failure right away. You would die really quickly.

Well, I would argue that the chronological markers in the book of Revelation are like the spine of the book of Revelation. They really hold it up. They really hold it together. They really support it. As the Lord gave all of this information that He revealed to John on the Isle of Patmos, when He did, He gave it to John in this very chronological, sequential order. We would be wise to keep the spine of what God has given us intact. That we would be wise to follow and trace out the chronology according to the order which it’s given. That points very clearly to the fact, the spine does. That especially starting in Revelation 4, where we will be tonight, that this is, in this third section is, futuristic. This book and this section of Revelation points to the sure and secure future that we all have if we’re in Christ.

In fact, let’s go ahead and do a quick survey of some of these key chronological markers in the book of Revelation. Starting with Revelation 4. Let’s walk through what I’m calling the spine.

Revelation 4:1, “After these things.” Now Revelation 5:1, “Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne.” Revelation 5:2, “Then I saw a strong angel.” Revelation 5:4, “Then I was crying greatly.” Revelation 5:6, “Then I saw in the midst of the throne.” Revelation 5:11, “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne.”
Revelation 6:1, “Then I looked when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals.” Revelation 6:2, “Then I looked, and behold, a white horse.” Revelation 6:8, “Then I looked, and behold, a pale horse.” Revelation 6:12, “Then I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake.” Revelation 6:15, “Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man HID THEMSELVES IN THE CAVES and among the rocks of the mountains.”

Let’s go to chapter 7. Revelation 7:1, “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth.” Revelation 7:2, “Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun.” Revelation 7:9, “After these things I looked, (meta tauta) and behold, a great multitude which no one could count.” Revelation 8:1-2, “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.” Revelation 8:5, “Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar.” Revelation 8:13, “Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven.”

Revelation 9:1, “Then the fifth angel sounded.” Revelation 9:1 again. “Then I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth.” Revelation 9:3, “Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth.” Revelation 9:13, “Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.”

Revelation 10:1, “Then I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven.” Revelation 10:5, “Then the angel, whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth, lifted up his right hand to heaven.” Revelation 10:8, “Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me.”

Revelation 11:1, “Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me.” Revelation 11:15, “Then the seventh angel sounded.” Revelation 12:3, “Then another sign appeared in heaven.” Revelation 12:6, “Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God.” Revelation 12:10, “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven.” Revelation 13:11, “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamb, and he was speaking as a dragon.”

Revelation 14:1, “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.” Revelation 14:6, “Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who inhabit the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.” Revelation 14:14, “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.” Revelation 14:16, “Then He who sits on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.” Revelation 14:18, “Then another angel, the one who has authority over fire, came out from the altar.”

Revelation 15:1, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous.” Revelation 15:2, “Then I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire.” Revelation 15:7, “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God.”

Revelation 16:1, “Then I heard a loud voice from the sanctuary saying to the seven angels go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God." Revelation 16:4, "Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters, and they became blood.” Revelation 16:10, “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened.” Revelation 16:17, “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, ‘It is done.’”

Revelation 17:1, “Then one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls came and spoke with me.” Revelation 17:6, “Then I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints.” Revelation 18. Familiar words here, in Revelation 18:1, “After these things [meta tauta] I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.”

Revelation 19:1, “After these things [meta tauta] I heard something like a loud voice of a great crowd in heaven.” Revelation 19:6, “Then I heard something like the voice of a great crowd and like the sound of many waters and the sound of mighty peals of thunder.” Revelation 19:9, “Then he said to me.” Revelation 19:10, “Then I fell at his feet to worship him.” Revelation 19:11, “Then I saw heaven opened.” Revelation 19:17, “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun.” Revelation 19:19, “Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies assembled to make war with Him who sits on the horse and with His army.”

Revelation 20:1, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven.” Revelation 20:4, “Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them.” Revelation 20:11, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sits upon it.” Revelation 20:12, “Then I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne.” Revelation 20:14, “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.”

Now we get these two glorious chapters, Revelation 21 and 22. Revelation 21:1, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heave and the first earth have passed away.” Revelation 21:6, “Then He said to me, ‘They are done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.’” Revelation 21:9, “Then one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’”

Then, finally, these words, from Revelation 22:1-7, “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, bright as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him; and they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night, and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them, and they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true’; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His slaves the things which must soon take place. ‘And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’”

That’s a lot. We basically just did a survey of the entirety of the Book of Revelation and frankly that was sort of the point. The point of going through all of that and hearing me drone on for how many minutes that was, was to help us to see how connected, chronologically, each of these events mentioned in these future-oriented chapters of the book of Revelation are. There’s no question that as Jesus laid out these details for John about the things which are to come, he was laying them out in this orderly and sequential fashion. So, to take something that’s laid out so plainly here sequentially and futuristically, to take it out of its context and make it about something else, to spiritualize it, to allegorize it, it fails to do justice to the text. In fact, it abuses the text.

It’d be like this. Let’s say you and I have coffee tomorrow morning. Right? As we’re finishing up our time at coffee together, you say something to me like, “After I finish coffee with you Jesse, I’m going to run off to the dry cleaners.” “And then I’m going to go visit my parents.” “Then, I’m going to go to the gym.” “And then I’m going to be hungry, so I’ll go have lunch.” “And then after lunch I’ll be tired, so I’ll take a nap.” “And then after that nap I’ll probably do some reading.” “And then after that I’ll probably go mow my lawn. There are still a few weeks of that.” “Then I’ll be sweaty by then so after that, I’ll need to take a shower.” “Then after the shower, I’ll have some dinner.” “Then after dinner, I’ll watch Monday Night Football.” “And after Monday night football, I might read a little bit more and then I’ll fall asleep.”

Would I have, if that’s how you laid out your day to me at coffee tomorrow morning, would I have interpretive liberty to say something in response like, “Oh. So, what you’re telling me is that your favorite color is yellow?” No! Of course not. You laid out for me, sequentially the things which are to come. At least from your vantage point as a fallen human being, the things you hope to happen for the rest of your Monday. The things you intend to do. You’ve laid out for me very clearly some specific time markers related to the order and the sequence in which you intend to do those things. I have as the interpreter, no right to scramble those words or inject my own sense of meaning into those words. I have no right to ignore your words or to twist your words so that they no longer bear any resemblance to what you originally said or intended, right? So, it is with this third division of the book of Revelation in chapters 4 through 22. God, in His Word and specifically, Jesus, speaking through the Apostle John, has given us the order in which these “things to come” these future things will occur. We would do well to heed those words by following His chronology and then staying aligned with that spine of thought that holds the book together, rather than imposing our own ideas or sense of meaning upon the text.

So that was all background. That was all for free. Let’s get back into our text here in Revelation 4:1, “After these things.” Now here we of course have the Apostle John and he’s saying in context here because we have three chapters of run up to those three words there. He’s saying “After I received that glorious vision of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus. After I turned to see that voice that was speaking with me. After I saw that vision of the seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of those lampstands, I saw ‘one like a son of man.’ That One with that robe that was reaching to the feet. The One that had that golden sash girded across His chest. The One whose head and whose hair were white like white wool, like snow. The One whose eyes were like a flame of fire. The One whose feet were like burnished bronze. The One whose voice was like the sound of many waters. The One who had in His right hand seven stars. The One who had that sharp two-edged sword coming from His mouth. The One whose face was like the sun shining in its full strength.”

“After these things.” And after these things, John is also saying “After the words the Lord gave me to say to that Adrift Church in Ephesus, and that Suffering Church in Smyrna, and that Compromising Church in Pergamum, and that Tolerating Church in Thyatira, and that Dying Church in Sardis, and that Obedient Church in Philadelphia, and that Lukewarm Church in Laodicea.” “After these things.”

Now look what comes next. “After these things, I looked,” he says. Now John here was still in a state of receiving a direct vision from the ascended, glorified Lord. The vision had progressed from John receiving this vision of Jesus Himself, to now receiving and taking the words down that Jesus had given him to give to the seven churches. Now he’s looking and note that doesn’t mean that John is necessarily turning to see something as he did back in Revelation 1:12. Remember that when he says, “I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me?” No here in Revelation 4:1 when John says he looked; he’s saying here that his line of sight in his vision changed before him. As Jesus in this single, extended vision, “changed the scene,” as it were from His authority over the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, to this vision of now of God’s courts of heaven.

So, it’s “After these things I looked” and then look at the next two words. “And behold.” Now that word “behold” is always calling attention to whatever comes next. That word behold is like a magnifying glass, pointing to and enlarging whatever comes next. To the Church at Laodicea, for instance, back in Revelation 3:20, Jesus said “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” In Revelation 16:15, He’ll say “Behold, I am coming like a thief.” In Revelation 21:3, a “loud voice from the throne” says “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men.” In Revelation 21:5, the One “who sits on the throne” says “Behold, I am making all things new.” Jesus, in Revelation 22:7 and Revelation 22:12, says “behold, I am coming quickly.” And again, each time it’s used that word “behold” is calling special attention to whatever comes next. It is no different here in Revelation 4:1, where the attention was about to shift now in this heavenward direction.

Look at what comes next as John continues to report on his vision. “After these things I looked, (he says) and behold.” And look at these next few words. “A door standing open in heaven.” Now, that word “door” is used just three other times in the book of Revelation. We have actually already seen all three of them to this point. If you go back with me to Revelation 3:8, to Christ’s letter to the church at Philadelphia, the obedient church, look at what Jesus says to them. “I know your deeds. Behold, I have given 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.”

So there in Philadelphia this mention of “an open door” was referring to this door of opportunity swinging open for this faithful church. To spread the word of Christ even more fully, more faithfully, more extensively in faithful service to Him. Then down the page in Revelation 3:20, here’s where we see the other two references to doors in Revelation. Here is Christ’s letter to the lukewarm church of Laodicea. And in verse 20 He says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

Now it bears repeating, though we did work through this text now many many months ago. But the “door” that’s mentioned here in Revelation 3:20, no matter what you see at Mardel or online or at Hobby Lobby or whatever is He’s not talking about knocking on the door of our hearts. That is not the reference here. Contrary to what passes for “Christianese” in a lot of different circles in our day, Jesus is not and never has and never would ask for permission to come into our hearts. That’s not how it works with a sovereign God. He certainly isn’t saying that in this text where this text is often wrongly attributed to Him just kind of softly, wimpily knocking on the door of our hearts. That’s not what’s being described here. No in context what Jesus is doing is, He’s standing at the door of this church and He’s demanding that they let Him come in so that He can clean house and bring them to a place of repentance. Repentance of their lukewarmness.

So those are the three other references to “doors” in the book of Revelation as a whole. One in the letter to the Philadelphian church, two in the letter to the Laodicean church, and then we have this fourth door reference, in our text in Revelation 4:1. “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.” That’s a good translation, “a door standing open.” This is written in the perfect tense in Greek, which is communicating something like “a door already having been opened.” A “door which already stands ajar.” A “door which was already opened before John even saw the door.” That’s what’s being conveyed with the word choice here. So, John, in other words, is not saying he witnessed the opening of this “door” into heaven. He didn’t see a knob turn. He didn’t hear hinges creak. No. This door, set in the sky, was already opened. It was “standing open in heaven” allowing John entry into heaven which we’ll look at more in just a moment.

And by the way, I think there’s a fair argument to be made, that not only is this door the door through which John in this vision would be given entrance into or access into heaven or to have this heavenly vision. This also is the door through which Christ will return at His Second Coming. Revelation 19:11 says, “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.” David Jeremiah traces the thought out this way. He writes “Twice in the Book of Revelation we see an open door. The first time is in Revelation 4:1 when John sees ‘a door standing open in heaven.’ The last time is in Revelation 19:11 when he ‘saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse.’ The first time the door opens, somebody goes up, and the next time, somebody comes down. I would agree with that assessment. The Lord promised the Philadelphians an open door for their faithfulness. The Lord warned the Laodiceans that He was knocking on their closed door. And now He is showing John this “door standing open in heaven.” One which would give John this opportunity to have this vision into the heavenlies, but also one through which Jesus himself would later return.

Moving on in our text, as John continues to describe his vision here in chapter 4 verse 1, he goes from describing what he saw with his eyes, to now what he heard with his ears. Reading on, after saying “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.” That’s what he saw. Next, he says “and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said…”

Now question number one. Whose voice is that? Answer. Jesus. We know this not only because John explicitly links this voice to (he says) “the first voice which he heard.” That’s the voice he heard back in chapter 1. That was the voice of Jesus. But there’s this second link as well, which is that the voice he heard speaking here had these trumpet tones. The voice was like the sound it says of a trumpet.

Now, that should sound highly familiar to us. Go back with me again, to Revelation 1:9-11 to see what John is referencing here. Revelation 1:9 says, “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the witness of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, saying, ‘Write in a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.’”

Now verse 12, I alluded to this earlier. He says, “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.” No kidding. I would turn too if I heard a voice like a trumpet right behind me. Now, middle of verse 12, we learn more about this booming voice that John hears. Revelation 1:12b-15), “And having turned (he says) I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.” The Lord Jesus’ voice, in other words now that He is in glory, His current state today, it is not His voice like a trickling brook. It’s like a deafening waterfall. It’s thunderous, His voice.

Now back to Revelation 4:1, we also see here that the voice John heard, the voice of Jesus was “like the sound of a trumpet” he says. The blowing of trumpets is surprisingly prevalent all over the Old and New Testament. I did some study this week and I remembered that when God gave His Commandments to Israel, in the form of the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20, right before that in Exodus 19:16-17, God’s presence was proceeded by trumpets. The declaration of the 10 Commandments came after the blowing of trumpets. Exodus 19:16,17 says “So it happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.” Then the 10 Commandments are given later.

Trumpets were blown in Israel to summon assemblies. Trumpets were blown in Israel to initiate warfare. There’s even a Feast of Trumpets mentioned in Leviticus 23:23-25 which says “Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, “In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a memorial by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall bring an offering by fire near to Yahweh.”

Then we come over to the New Testament, and we see that the trumpet blast will be associated with the taking away, the snatching away, the future Rapture of the Church. I Thessalonians 4:16. It was part of the Scripture reading this evening. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” I Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.”

And then here, Revelation 4:1, John is describing the thunderous voice, the voice of many waters as also being like the sound of a trumpet. It’s always interesting when you read John, there’s all these stages of John. He’s the Son of Thunder early on. Then he’s aged John writing the gospel of John and the letter of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. Then here in Revelation. We sometimes forget that John would have known as one of Jesus’ inner three, Peter, James and John; John was the apostle whom Jesus loved. John would have known the sound of Jesus’ voice. John would have remembered, surely, the sound of Jesus’ voice when they walked side by side in Judea. So, you can imagine to hear that voice coming out like a trumpet now. Or like Niagara Falls. It was quite a bit different than what he was accustomed to. It was surely jarring. It wasn’t the same voice John heard when he heard Jesus summon Lazarus. John 11:43, “Lazarus, come forth” that was now summoning him up to heaven. It was a different voice. A thunderous voice, a loud voice, a voice that would have made his earthly voice sound like a whisper.

So, John saw in this vision, this “door standing open.” I’m still in Revelation 4 here verse 1. He saw this door standing open in heaven. And while experiencing this vision, he heard this voice, this trumpet-like voice of Christ. Well now what we’re going to see as we read on, and continue to work our way through this text, is that with His trumpet-like voice, Jesus was now summoning John upward. It says, “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.’” So come up here He says, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” These are the words of Jesus to John. There are really two key components to what is being said here by Jesus. We’re going to break this into two. First, we’re going to consider those words “Come up here.” And then we’ll spend the rest of our time this evening with Jesus’ words where He says, “and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

Let’s start with that first clause, “Come up here.” A couple of issues to work through even with those three words. For starters, what is “here”? Where is here? What is Jesus referring to when He says come up here. What place is he referring to. Well, the place He’s referring to is heaven. Jesus, seated at the right hand of God the Father, in heaven was summoning John to heaven when He said, “Come up here.” Now that swings the door open to another question. Which is, what is heaven? Heaven essentially is a place in the heights. It’s a place above us. That’s the root definition of the words heaven in either Hebrew or Greek. In Hebrew it’s “shamayim” and it literally just means “heights” or “great heights” or “highest heights.” That’s what heaven is described as. And then you come over to the Greek New Testament and the Greek word is “ouranos” which means “an elevated place” “a place that is highly lifted up.” So “heaven” in the rawest terms is a place that is elevated, it’s above us, it’s in the highest heights. We know as we kind of put those definitions to work in what we know about Jesus did, and where He came from and where He returned, that is describing a specific place. Heaven is just not some abstract place that’s up there. It’s a real place in the heights.

We remember that in His incarnation when He came to earth. Jesus came down from where? Heaven. That’s what He Himself said in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” And then following His resurrection and following His ascension to the right hand of God the Father, Jesus went up. And He went up to where? Heaven. Acts 1:9-11, “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who has just been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’”

Not only that but we have Scriptures like Ephesians 4:10 where Paul says, “He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.” Colossians 3:1 says, “if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” So “heaven” is a real place. The heaven that we see referenced here in Revelation 4:1, is what’s known as the “third heaven.” That’s how the Apostle Paul, in referring to himself, refers to it in II Corinthians 12:2. You might remember this scene. He says, “I know a man who fourteen years ago, whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows, such a man was caught up to the third heaven.” He’s talking about himself. Paul there is referring when he speaks of the third heaven, he’s referring to the same “heaven” that’s being referenced here in Revelation 4:1, where there’s a “door standing open in heaven.”

So, if Paul is referring to the “third heaven” and there is a third heaven as Paul confirms by inspiration of the Spirit, with the chase down this other rabbit trail, where are the first two heavens? I mean if we leap all the way to the third heaven, I want to know where heaven one and heaven two are don’t you?

Well, the first heaven would be what’s known as our atmosphere, our lower atmosphere. So, when we look up in the sky and see clouds making their way slowly across the sky. When we look up in the sky and we see a cloud, well that’s the “first heaven.” The “first heaven” is this bright blue color. It’s from that “first heaven” that we breathe the air that God graciously gives us to live and function and move and have being. That’s the first heaven. The “first heaven” is what the prophet Isaiah was referring to in Isaiah 55:10-11 where he says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth.” He’s saying the rain and the snow come down from heaven. It’s that “first heaven” that David was referring to when, speaking of Yahweh, he said in Psalm 147:8, “He is the One who covers the heavens with clouds.”

So that’s the “first heaven.” Think blue sky. What’s the “second heaven” then? Well, the “second heaven” sits above the “first heaven.” The “second heaven” would be what we would call outer space. The orb or the realm of planets and stars and comets and galaxies. We see the “second heaven” mentioned back in the creation account. Genesis 1:16-18, “So, God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and also the stars. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.” So outer space, that’s the “second heaven.”

What about the “third heaven”? The one that Paul was taken up to in II Corinthians 12. The one that is being referenced here in Revelation 4:1. Well the third heaven is the dwelling place of God. The third heaven is the one that’s mentioned in places like Psalm 33:13-14, “Yahweh looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from the place of His habitation, He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth.” Or Psalm 11:4, “Yahweh is in His holy temple; Yahweh’s throne is in heaven.” Or the vision that Ezekiel had in Ezekiel 1:1, “the heavens were opened (he says) and I saw visions of God.”

Now there’ve been countless people throughout history who have asked the question, they’ve even written books, is heaven for real? Well of course it is. It’s a real place, it’s a literal place, and one day the Lord will take His children to that place. A place, as we’ll see next week, has a throne right there in its midst.
The church
In fact, let’s read ahead, we have time. Revelation 4:2-11. This is where we’re going next week, next Sunday night. “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 those thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. And 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. And 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.’” That’s where we’re going one day and that’s where the Lord Jesus in our text, summoned John in this scene, to heaven the third heaven. To the abode of God with those three words you see in verse 1, “Come up here.”

Now what we need to do is work through one theological issue. One interpretive issue that has caused people to disagree as it relates to this passage. Now some have taken the view that Jesus’ words here when he says, “Come up here” that those words “come up” are synonymous with being “caught up.” And that Jesus here, this view will say, is actually through John making a reference to the Rapture of the Church. There are a couple of reasons people will make that argument and reasonable people can disagree on this one.

They’ll point to Jesus’ trumpet-like voice here in Revelation 4 and they’ll say, well that’s kind of like the trumpet that’s mentioned in the passage we read for Scripture reading. The Rapture passage in I Thessalonians 4:16-17 which again says, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” Then they’ll point to the fact, those in this camp, that at the Rapture, not only is there a trumpet in both of these instances, but at the Rapture the Church is caught up to heaven. That’s the meaning of the word Rapture. And how that’s sort of similar to what’s happening here in Revelation 4, where John is being called up into heaven.

Those who hold to this view will also point to the fact and it’s indisputable that from this very verse onward all the way to Revelation 22:16, there is no further mention of the Church in the book of Revelation. And they’ll say that supports the idea that the Rapture is in view here in Revelation 4:1. Then some, like Harry Ironside will go even further where they’re so committed to this interpretation, that they are so bold as to say that this entire Revelation 4 scene that we’ll be looking at tonight and next week, is to be taken merely symbolically, because it’s all ultimately portraying the higher truth about the Rapture of the Church. Ironside says this, “Of the rapture the apostle [meaning the apostle John, here in Revelation 4] is the symbol.” So, he’s saying we read Revelation 4 symbolically as pointing to the Rapture of the Church. It’s primary significance, the text we’re in tonight and the text we’ll be in next week, is to tell us about the Rapture. I’ll make the case next week that the Rapture is a wonderful truth of our future hope, but I’m going to make the case that there are better passages to make that case. In fact, there would be a few extra reasons, I’ll give you a few additional reasons why I would not hold to that view, that this specific text is teaching the Rapture.

First, those words “Come up here,” you would have to really stretch those to say this is about the Rapture of the Church. Just look at the context. These words are given by Jesus to John. He’s saying to John specifically come up here. So, if we’re to stretch that to say well this is clearly evidently about the Church, we would be doing the very thing that I harp on all the time by those who allegorize and find extra hidden meanings in the Scripture. We would be saying yes, this says it is about John coming up to wherever Jesus is summoning him. But what Jesus really means is talk about the Rapture here.

We would have no leg to stand on when we go after those who allegorize or spiritualize or add extra layers of meaning to texts if we do the same thing ourselves. Never find a meaning in the text that the original author would be surprised is there. Right? No, this text in context is about John receiving a vision. John receiving a command from Jesus, come up here. It’s not about the Church being “caught up” in the air to meet the Lord.

Another reason we can reject the view that the Rapture is being referred to in this specific verse, is that it’s clear from other passages. Just because the Church is not there at this phase in history, does not establish this is a Rapture passage. We would grant that the Rapture has already taken place by Revelation 4:1. The Rapture, I would maintain, occurs somewhere in between Revelation 3:22, the last words to the seven churches, the end of the Church age, and then what this vision is of the future in Revelation 4:1.

So, I would argue that the Rapture doesn’t take place in Revelation 4:1, rather the Rapture has taken place immediately before Revelation 4:1. And the events laid out there in the vision that comes are after the Rapture, after the Church has been taken out of the world.

Another reason I would reject that argument that this is a Rapture passage is that the events of this passage have dissimilarities from the Rapture event itself. In the Rapture, the bodies of those who make up the Church are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Bodies go up. In this scene, in our passage in Revelation 4, John’s receiving a vision. This is not a transportation of his physical body into the heavenlies. It’s a vision. His physical body was still on Patmos as he received this vision. He’s not even being Raptured.

So, where I land, then, is that the words “Come up here” are not some sort of veiled reference to the Rapture. But I do at the same time affirm and take the position that as we come to these future oriented events here in Revelation 4:1 and following, the Church in fact has been Raptured. The Church is already out of this world. It’s no longer in the world; it’s already been taken up. I just think we have better passages to make that case. Not this one.

Like for instance, not just I Thessalonians 4 which I quoted a few times now. How about Revelation 3:10? The Church at Philadelphia where Jesus says, “I also will keep you (He’s speaking to the Church here) from the hour of testing, which is about to come upon the whole world.” Or Paul’s words to the Church at Thessalonica, in I Thessalonians 1:10. He says we “wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.” That’s a Rapture passage. That’s saying the Church will not be here when the wrath is poured out on this world in the tribulation. Those are all glorious promises to church-age saints. Whether you’re in first-century Thessalonica or Philadelphia or in twenty-first century Nebraska. It’s a wonderful promise and truth to know and to have confidence because of what God has given us in His Word that God’s wrath will never be poured out on us as the Church. We will not go through the tribulation that is coming. Praise the Lord for that.

Back to our text, Revelation 4:1, “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.’” I mentioned earlier a few minutes ago that we’d be taking those words in two parts, two pieces. First is to consider the words “Come up here” which we’ve just done to both establish the realm that Jesus was speaking of, heaven, and also to challenge the idea that this is some sort of Rapture passage. Then the second piece is that we need to unpack the words here; “And I will show you what must take place after these things.”

Now we’ve already seen how those words “after these things” intentionally bookend the beginning of this verse and the end. The verse begins with after these things, meta tauta, and the verse ends with after these things. Now that language “after these things” is saying there are certain things that must take place. “Come up here and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

Now I want to highlight those words “must take place.” Just for a moment here as we get ready to wind down. Because there’s some nuance in that language. I think it’s important to highlight this for you. Go back in Revelation 1:19 one more time. We went through this kind of quickly before so we wouldn’t have likely picked up on the nuance the first time around but in Revelation 1:19, Jesus gave John the command to “write the things which will take place after these things.” Now note that word, file that away, “will.” The things that will take place after these things. Now back to Revelation 4:1, the word isn’t “will.” Instead, the word is what? “Must.” “And I will show you what must take place after these things.” In other words, the events which come next on the timeline, working our way down that spine, not only will come to pass but they must come to pass as the outworking of God’s perfect plan, and design, and purposes.

In other words, though the futuristic portions of the book of Revelation which are going to occupy our time profitably over the next many Sunday nights, though those words are prophetic. God hasn’t given us these passages ultimately so that we might scratch our every curious thought or itch about every curious thought about the future. Instead, God has given us these passages, these prophetic passages, these future oriented passages, from Revelation 4 all the way to 22, to remind us Who is in control. To remind us of who is going to bring to pass all the things He has promised to bring to pass.

Let’s not forget that as we work our way through this book; as we consider “what must take place after these things.” Let’s not forget that as we work our way through the Tribulation period in Revelation 6 through 19 and all that entails, warfare and wrath and seals and trumpets and bowls and fulfillment of Daniels prophecy in Daniel chapter 9. Let’s not forget about that as we encounter the Second Coming of Christ, at the end of Revelation 19 or as 1,000-Year Reign at the beginning of Revelation 20 or His defeat of Satan and the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of Revelation 20. Or the New Heavens and New Earth in Revelation 21 and 22. All of it, we’re told not only will come to pass from our text, but it must come to pass.

God is sovereign over events, not only the events of today and the events of our past, but He is sovereign over those events that He has appointed to happen in the future. I pray that’s an encouragement to anyone here this evening as we wrestle with whatever we’re wrestling with day over day and week over week.

That’s it for tonight. As I mentioned earlier, next week we will go deeper into Revelation 4 as we come face-to-face, through John with God’s throne in heaven. I trust that will be an uplifting and encouraging time. Let’s pray.

Father, we thank You for this chance this evening to study one verse out of your glorious book of Revelation. I thank you that we can look to this book and know not only that there’s a blessing that comes to those who teach and who hear it. But also, that this book testifies to your sovereign plans not only for today but for our future. And God that future hope that we have that sure hope, that certain hope ought to encourage us. It ought to spur us onto holy godly lives today. It ought to fuel in us a passion to share the hope that we have in Christ with the lost, so that they too might be spared the wrath that is coming to this earth. God, I pray that you would guard our minds and guard our hearts as we study this book. It’s a book which if we’re not careful and study it with wrong motivations and wrong heart aims, can lead to spiritual pride. Because we know so much and our heads are filled, and we’ve got all the details and the data down. Help us to remain a priority and focusing on Jesus Christ Who is the center of this book. In His Second Coming, which is the event on this timeline that the whole book points to. There are amazing details in this book. There are rich details in this book. But let’s not take our eye off the prize of Jesus Christ coming again. Lord, we love you and we thank you for this day of worship. May you be glorified in our lives this week. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.