The Throne Of Heaven (Parts 1-3) Series

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD, USA

www.mycrossway.org

View this and other messages at: https://mycrossway.churchcenter.com/channels/8118

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.”

What will heaven be like? When Paul went to heaven, he could not even describe what he saw. John, on the other hand, was told to “write these things down.” Revelation Chapters 4 & 5 are graphic descriptions of what John saw.

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1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:1–11)

What do you sense or feel as I read these words? What is the central focus of this passage? Chapter 4 takes us on a trip to heaven and it should be a welcome visit for any of us. The Throne of God!

John emphasizes that he sees all of this after “these things.” What things? The extraordinary vision in Chapter 1 and the letters were written to the 7 churches in Asia Minor in Chapters 2 & 3. And the phrase “after these things” at the end of the verse is a bit different. “Come up here, I will show you what must take place after these things.” In other words, you have here not John’s chronology but God’s chronology. That is a very important transition point because we are looking at the events that will take place after the rapture of the church.

“Behold, I saw a door standing open in heaven.” He didn’t see it open, it was already opened. In chapter 3, verse 20, there was a door closed on earth. The door on earth was closed to Christ. The door in heaven is open to John and to us and it allows whoever goes through that door into the very Throne Room of God. John is taken to Heaven.

Paul talks about “the third heaven”

First - Atmosphere (clouds and sky)

Second - Planets and Stars (infinite space)

Third - Where God dwells (beyond infinite space)

Others in the Bible who describe a visit to heaven: Ezekiel & Isaiah

Chapters 4 & 5 in Revelation set the stage for what is about to come in the judgment of God on an unbelieving world. “I will show you what must take place after this.”

“Must”- de? “to be that which must necessarily take place, often with the implication of inevitability

The central feature of heaven is the throne of God. The central focus of Revelation 4 is the throne of God. The word “Throne” can mean a literal throne; as in the seat of a king. Or it can mean the central power of supreme authority and sovereignty. Both definitions fit here. The word throne is used 13 times in chapter 4 alone and 40 times in the Book of Revelation. The throne is also not in a palace or castle. The throne is in a temple and it is associated with worship