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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.”
Revelation 4:1
There is an open invitation to “come up here”. We are seated in heavenly places with King Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). He wants us to come up to hear what heaven is saying, and see what heaven is doing, so we can do it here on earth.
In Revelation 4:1, John sees an open door in heaven and Jesus invites him to come up. That invitation is open to us too. When John accepts the invitation, he immediately begins to operate in the spirit realm and realizes that he is in the Throne Room of heaven. He is in the midst of a perpetual worship session where He sees the Ancient of Days seated on the throne surrounded by the four living creatures and the 24 elders. The four living creatures cry day and night, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, who was and who is and who is to come.” the 24 elders and the four living creatures and in response, the twenty-four elders 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.” In Revelation 5, King Jesus enters the scene. The Risen Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the only one worthy to open the scroll.
When we read the Gospels we see who Jesus was when He walked here on earth, before He was crucified and resurrected (for the most part). But Revelation shows us who He is now, the Lamb that was slain, the Risen King, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Revelation is a hard book to understand. At least that’s what I’ve been told. I don’t know about you, but even though I’ve read it a few times, most of what I know about the book of Revelation relates to the end times and is based on someone else’s revelation of Revelation. Revelation 1:1 says that the book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ. That could mean it is something that Jesus has revealed to John or it is a revelation of who Jesus is… or both. I believe that even though Revelation is an actual revelation of events to come, it is also a revelation of who Jesus is now, as He reigns in heaven and here on earth. I want to know more about that Jesus.
I’ve accepted the invitation to come up here and have started reading the book of Revelation again. But I’ve been stuck in Chapters 4 and 5 for a while, in the Throne Room where I’ve joined the angels and the elders declaring His holiness and marveling at His beauty (I’ve been listening to Bethel Music’s new album Come Up Here, check it out). I can’t say for sure and maybe I’m about to find out, but I suspect that the key to understanding the Book of Revelation lies in chapters 4 and 5. As we spend more time in the Throne Room, we get a greater revelation of Jesus as the Risen Glorified King and maybe that will make the rest of the book easier to understand.
Leading up to Pentecost, we usually focus on the upper room experience. But maybe, in the time between now and then, you can spend some time in the Throne Room too. Accept His invitation to “Come up here”. Join the angels and the elders in worship at the foot of His throne. Focus on His holiness and behold the splendor of His beauty until everything else fades away and He becomes your only desire.
Deborah Ruck @ As Bold As THE Lion blog
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