BOOK OF REVELATION copyright 2001 by Glenn Davis LESSON 13 Chapter 3 Verse 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock, if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. Jesus must have been thinking of houses in a town with this illustration, because the doors were kept closed. The door would not be opened as soon as the knock was heard. Instead it was the job of the porter [or family member] to listen to the voice of the one wanting to enter. When they recognized the voice of a friend, they would open the door. We see an example of recognizing the voice in Matt. 14:27. During the storm the disciples were frightened by a figure out on the sea. Jesus did not call out, "It is Jesus" or "It is I, Jesus", no, instead He said, "It is I" and they were familiar with and recognized Him totally by His voice. Jesus is standing outside the heart's door of lukewarm Christians [this wasn't written primary for non-christians]. He wonders if His voice will be recognized as the voice of a Friend. If it is, and the door is opened, then He will come in, and the relationship can be resumed. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me." [John 15:4] If we, as Christians, have walked away from Jesus and grown lukewarm, He is standing outside the door of our heart knocking. He wants us to recognize His voice and remember the joy we once had in His presence. If we are willing, and open the door, He will come in again and restore fellowship. Verses 21-22 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father on His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Jesus overcame His trials and temptations: He finished His mission. "Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." [Heb. 12:2] Now, because of His victory, Jesus is sitting in authority and glory at the right hand of the Father. Those who overcome their trials and temptations will be rewarded by sitting with Jesus and sharing in the glory of His kingdom. Since His kingdom is a present kingdom ["The kingdom of God is within you." {Luke 17:21}], Jesus must be referring to an increased relationship with Him and a greater experience of the power and authority of God in our lives.
Our spiritual position is reigning with Christ, but it is as we overcome the problems and difficulties of life that our practical experience comes closer to reaching our position. "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." [Eph. 2:6] There is no reason to believe that these churches represent successive eras of church history. Each was a literal church with its own set of problems. We can learn from each church. It is dangerous to think of the modern church as being the Laodicea church for then we develop a fatalism that lukewarmness is the way the church is going to be in the "last days". [If you want to see when the "last days" really are refer to When Are The Last Days? - http://www.joshuaclub.com/501.html.] It inspires a hopelessness about the current church that is not Biblical. For my thoughts on this read: http://www.joshuaclub.com/102.html -Is The Church Destined For Victory Or Defeat? Chapter 4 Verse1 After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in haven: 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. The vision of the Seven Churches has ended. John now embarks on the second of twelve visions from God. The door, like the one of a Jewish village, was open as an invitation to come in - a sign of welcome. Jesus desired to reveal these things to John and though him to His church. The voice John heard was like a trumpet. Trumpets were used for all kinds of public announcements or celebrations. Their call could be a call to war, a call for retreat, a celebration of victory, a sound of praise and worship, an expression of joy, and many other things. Basically, it was a loud musical sound to notify the people of some event or action that needed to be taken. The voice John heard was speaking loudly, and perhaps musically, calling for his attention and extending the invitation of the open door. We already have the context from Chapter 1 [and also Chapter 22] of the urgency of these visions. Jesus is revealing the near future to John so that He and the early Church will be prepared and their faith will not be shaken by the tragic and dramatic events about to happen. Just as the cross of Christ is the center point of all history, so the events about to take place were going to be the most tragic of all history. As I have mentioned before, knowing the future is not wrong if God chooses to reveal it, but seeking after such knowledge for personal benefit, or from idle curiosity, or from any source other than God is clearly forbidden. However, there are many times in scripture God did reveal the future to people. Sometimes they were rulers which He wanted to prepare or to warn, yet other times they were people who had an extremely close relationship with Him and it was a part of their communion. Even today, God may reveal future events to those who are close to Him, but He will never do so to those who are immature and want to make a sensational splash - or have a best-selling book. Too much Christianity today and "Christian" books are based on a hollow sensationalism instead of being established on a deep relationship and commitment to God. One of the devil's tricks is to degrade the Word of God to the level of the weekly tabloids - and too many Christians have fallen for it.
Verse 2 Immediately I knew myself to be inspired by the Spirit, and in my vision I saw that a throne had been set up in Heaven, and there was someone seated upon the throne. [Phillips] The Book of Revelation is a series of visions and if we are going to understand it, we will have to use the rules of interpreting dreams and visions. Foremost in our minds will have to be the symbolic nature of visions. Normally visions [and dreams] are symbolic pictures of reality, not literal scenes. Through visions John is now going to see the coming events from God's point-of-view, which is often quite different from ours. It was not by accident that John was chosen to receive this revelation. He was a man who lived in the Spirit, therefore he could be caught up to even greater heights. We are also to live in the Spirit. Our relationship with Jesus is built one brick at a time. God will not give us more than we are able to handle. We need to learn to be in the Spirit and in His presence so that we are capable of progressing in the wonders of God. A throne is a seat of authority, rulership, power, majesty, and judgment. "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple." [Is. 6:1] The Father is seated on the throne of the universe. The throne represents His spiritual authority through which He controls all things. John is allowed to catch a glimpse of the glory of the Father. We know it is the Father because in Chapter 5 the Lamb [Jesus] takes the scroll "from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne." True, Jesus is also seated on His throne with all rights, privileges, and authority of total kingship. "Who [Jesus] being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the world of His power, when He had be Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." [Heb. 1:3] However, that is not the aspect of His Kingship which is being portrayed at the moment. The fact the Father is on the throne is a great comfort for us [as it would have been for the First Century Christians facing the First Imperial persecution]. He is reigning even when the circumstances of life tempt us to doubt and He is reigning through His promises or covenant. If we want to know the will and purposes of God, we will have to know His covenant. We will have to study His ways and His laws which are revealed throughout the entire Bible. The whole Bible is for us today. It is not chopped up for different people of different times. True, it was written to specific people in specific situations but its applications are for all people of all time. Verse 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, in sight like unto an emerald. Jasper is a precious translucent stone which can be different colours: purple, blue, green, brass, but especially the red of fire. Jasper, sardius, and emerald stones were all on the High Priest's breastplate [Ex. 28:17-19] and are mentioned as among the stones in the Garden of Eden [Ex. 28:13]. The jasper stone was the last stone on the High Priest's breastplate. Jasper, then, being mostly a fiery red and being the last stone represents the final word of God in judgment. His judgments are right and true and unchanging. "For our God is a consuming fire." [Heb. 12:29] "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth forever." [Ps. 119:160]
There are two special varieties of sardius stone: one is a yellowish brown, and the other is a transparent red. It is a stone of great beauty and was greatly admired by people in Old Testament times. Sardius was the first stone in the High Priest's breastplate. Sardius represents the beauty and dignity of God along with His special "first" strength and power. God never needs a "second wind" because His first strength never weakens or dies down. The Jasper and Sardius, being the last and first stones on the breastplate, once again remind us that God is the First and the Last - the All-Encompassing One. We are not going to be left out! Jasper, being mentioned first, also shows God does not view things as we do and often "many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first." [Matt. 19:30] "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth." [Gen. 9:13, NKJV] The rainbow was God's sign and assurance to Noah and mankind He would never again destroy the earth with water. It becomes a symbol of God's covenant dealings and promises to mankind. The rainbow showed God's mercy. The special rainbow is entirely "emerald" green in colour. Green is the colour of healthy plants, grass, etc and becomes the colour of life. Putting this together we see God's promises to mankind are life-giving promises. "This rainbow looked like the emerald...to show the reviving and refreshing nature of the new covenant." [Matthew Henry, 6:1138] God is a covenant-keeping God. He has always dealt with mankind on the basis of covenants. They were designed to give life bringing us to the final covenant - the New Covenant or the New Testament - which gives us life in abundance. "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." [John 10:10] Also the rainbow going all the way around the throne reveals God operating in power from the center of His New Covenant. It is not something He started and then disengaged Himself from to see how we would do. No, He is actively involved every step of the way. Verse 4 Around the throne in a circle were twenty-four thrones, and on them I saw twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads. [JB] John saw twenty-four thrones and twenty-four elders. Twenty-four is symbolic of earthly conditions. This shows the completeness of God's plan on earth. There were twelve tribes of Israel representing the Old Testament age, and there were twelve apostles representing the New Testament age. This then becomes a picture of the saints of both Testaments united in purity [white] before the throne of God. Sitting on thrones speaks of their authority and the crowns of gold show their reward of righteousness for being Overcomers. In this picture we see unity - the Old and New Testament saints united around the throne of God. All Christians ought to be united in worship. Certainly there will be doctrine differences [I'm sure you'll discover some in this study!] but, if we have been genuinely saved we ought to join with our brothers and sisters in worshipping the God we love. The rewards and blessings God has given us are not to be a source of pride but are to be constantly thrown at the feet of God in recognizing that He is The Source and that He rules over all. Our gratitude and thankfulness to Him should have no limits Next Week: Lesson 14 continues with Chapter 4 as we move into the Living
Creatures.