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Fulfilling the Mystery
Some have proposed that Revelation Chapter 4 verse 1 illustrates the Church being caught away to heaven. As a result, the rest of the book has nothing practical to say to believers in our generation because the subsequent events in Revelation supposedly occur after the Church has been removed. Such thinking results in making most of this apostolic epistle irrelevant to God’s people for today. However, this book was written to and for the Church.
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
John was not raptured away; he was caught up in the Spirit to see heaven’s view of reality. God immediately began to show him truth relevant for his day. First, he saw that the door to heaven was open. God welcomes His people into His presence that He might reveal to us His heart and purpose for the nations. How that contrasts starkly with the scene just a few verses earlier where Jesus is seen having to knock at the closed door of the Laodicean church (Revelation 3:20). If any member of that church would hear Him, He would fellowship intimately with them even though they were part of a lukewarm congregation.[3]
Believers constantly experience a clash of two cultures. The two realms vying for control are the flesh and the Holy Spirit. As those born of the Spirit, we need to have our eyes opened to the reality of our place of origin with its values and cultural identity so that we might then live in the realm of the Spirit. Too often, we bring our earthly culture to one another rather than the realities of heaven. The reason we do this is because we do not live in the realm into which we were re-born. But the door stands open for us! How the Church of today needs the values, ways, and practices of heaven revealed in her midst.
John saw the open door. Since Jesus died and rose again, the door to heavenly reality has been opened. God does not want us living our lives without direction, wondering who He is, and not understanding His purpose. Rather, He calls us to be His friends, to know Him and His ways. Such an invitation is indeed good news.
Second, John saw someone sitting on a throne. Many historians have declared the facts of history, missing a most important truth. Though they have written about Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, the rise of Western Civilization, Communism, etc., they failed to see what John saw. God opened the apostle’s eyes to the primary force behind those events, the Lord himself sitting on a throne standing at the center of the universe.
It is indeed good news that human history is not about a series of coincidences. Life is not simply about chance and survival of the fittest. God has been working throughout history to accomplish His purpose. Nations have risen and fallen. Those who have acted wickedly have experienced His judgments. At the same time, He has sent His rain of blessing on both the righteous and the unrighteous. As a result, His ways have been difficult to learn. In fact, the Bible says they are past finding out (Romans 11:33). Yet, our calling requires that we not throw up our hands and quit. We must learn His ways (Psalm 25:4; 51:13)! Lord, help us to discern Your work in past generations as well as in ours today that we might live in harmony with Your ultimate purpose.
And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
To John, God had the appearance of a jasper stone. However, in the following verses, we see that God’s city also shines like a jasper.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
The angel offered to show Christ’s bride to John. But when the apostle turned to see the bride, he saw a city descending from heaven. Many believers believe that the heavenly city with streets of gold and pearly gates is heaven. However, God’s city is not heaven; it is what is emerging from heaven.
Have you seen what is coming out of heaven? When you look at God’s work, do you see denominations, para-church organizations, religious sects, etc.? Or do you see an emerging bridal people that God defines as His city?
God’s city has been slowly appearing from heaven for centuries. All true believers in Jesus Christ have been born again (John 3:3, 7). However, the phrase “born again” can be translated as born from above (Greek, ANOTHEN). In other words, believers originate from heaven. You may think that you are primarily Italian, German, or American, etc. But Jesus said our origin was heaven. Of His followers, He said:
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
We might think, “Well, Lord, I know that You are not from this world. You came from heaven.” To which He might very well reply, “Yes, but you have been born from above. My Father is your Father. You need to understand your true origin.” Notice the heavenly roots of the early church:
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
(Acts 2:2)
In Acts Chapter 2 the city from heaven began to emerge in Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem was arising in the midst of the physical Jerusalem. The prophet Isaiah foretold this event.
Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He did not tell His disciples to tarry for the promised Holy Spirit in Bethlehem, Nazareth, or Capernaum. Rather, they were to wait in Jerusalem (Luke 24:49). Why? Because it was from there that God had promised to send His word to the ends of the earth.
The Book of Revelation reveals two cities to us. One is a woman who is a harlot and the other is a bride. While Babylon arises from the strength of man, from the ground up, the other city comes from heaven. It is designed and built by God. All his life Abraham looked for the city that God had promised to build (Hebrews 11:10). Today, that city is emerging. It is not fully built, but its completion is guaranteed because its source is heaven. Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear the reality of the emerging city? In the midst of all the sects, denominations, and religious movements that exist today, transcending them all in glory is this city designed by God.
When John saw the bridal city, he realized that it had the glory of God (Revelation 21:10-11).[4] But notice that as soon as he mentioned God’s glory, John saw that the city’s light was like a jasper. Now if God is like a jasper (Revelation 4:3), and the light of the city is like a jasper, what does that tell you? The only light that shines from us is that which originates in God. His light in the earth does not come from our good ideas, thoughts, or actions. Spiritual illumination occurs among the nations when God speaks and acts in power. The bottom line is that the Church desperately needs God. We need Him to reveal himself within our hearts and to speak words of life to us and through us. It is God in us who makes us the light of the world. If we are not abiding in Him, then we will fail to bring His illumination to the darkness that is pervading the world.
God is revealed as having the appearance of both a jasper and a sardius stone (Revelation 4:3). A sardius was one of the 12 foundational stones for the wall of the city (Revelation 21:14, 20). On those stones were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. Some might think, “Oh, the city has a wall around it. That will be good for protection.” Actually, a wall does not offer much protection if its gates are open all the time. God has designed the city to keep its doors continually open (Revelation 21:25). He is not looking to keep people out; His intention is to invite them in! For the last 2000 years God has been saying, “The doors are open. Come on in. Come and drink freely of the waters of life. Don’t continue to dwell in Babylon. Come out of her and be saved.” The invitation continues to go forth in our generation as well. Remember the words of our Lord:
”And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
But what good is a wall if not for protection? A wall defines a city by separating it from what is outside. Certainly, the 12 apostles of the Lamb were foundational for that purpose. As the 12 followed Jesus, their lives brought definition to God’s purpose and the city began to come into focus. The Book of Acts records for us the story of God’s city becoming ever more clearly defined as it grew in numbers and in spiritual power.
Underneath the city’s wall were 12 stones with the names of the Lamb’s apostles on them. One of those stones was a sardius stone. I wonder which of the 12 apostles’ names was on that specific stone. Could it have been John’s? That certainly would have been encouraging to him, for God is likened to a sardius.
And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
God is likened to a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance. Also, around His throne there was a rainbow like an emerald. A rainbow probably signifies God’s indicatemercy. He had promised that after Noah’s day He would never again destroy the earth by means of water, and He put the rainbow in the sky to remind us of that pledge (Genesis 9:13). Though mankind has certainly deserved destruction many times since the days of Noah (just consider the sins prevalent in our own generation), yet God’s kingly throne room is filled with His own promise to show mercy.
In the next chapter, we will consider God’s expression of authority in His house, both Old Testament and New Testament. He reveals His government on earth through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is poured out into the earth not to endorse the plans and agendas of men, but to reveal the power and wisdom of the Lamb. This is what must be propagated into the ends of the earth. Herein lies the apostolic vision.
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