Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.”
Devotional Text
The fourth chapter of Revelation portrays an awesome scene. In this passage we get our first glimpse of heaven’s glorious landscape and beauty. Even though we know in our hearts that heaven is real, to have it described is breathtaking: “I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it! The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones— jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow” (vv. 2-3). Rainbow colors of precious jewels were all around the throne of God. Before the throne were the twenty-four elders, the seven lamps of the Spirit of God, and the sea of glass. Four awesome creatures surrounded the throne, and day and night, they cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come” (v. 8). The earthly ark of the covenant was just a little gold-plated box that symbolized this awesome throne. David’s heart’s desire was to build a place for that ark in Zion, for God had said, “This is my home where I will live forever. . . . I will live here, for this is the place I desired” (Psalm 132:14). Make spending time in God’s presence the greatest desire of your life. One day your eyes will see Him face-to-face upon the throne of His glory.