Jump Start # 3149

Revelation 4:1 “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in Heaven and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.’”

Jim C. from Texas is one of our regular Jump Start readers. He sent me an email the other day about something I had written. I love hearing from our readers. I wonder some days if anyone out there is reading these. He wishfully said in his email that he hopes when I am no longer here that my son Jordan would take up writing these. I thought, he could call them, “Jump Start Juniors.” But, then, Jim added, “if there is a library in Heaven, I hope God, the master Librarian, will have all the Jump Start series there.” Jump Starts in Heaven—now that’s something I haven’t thought about.

Our verse today begins the grand scene in Heaven for John. The Lord did not tell him, but rather he showed him what these things would be like. Revelation is written like a picture book. The words are so descriptive that the images are clear in our minds. We may not understand what everything is supposed to mean, but we sure can see them. White horses. Red Dragons. Sea of Glass. Bowls of wrath being poured out. Seals on a book being opened. Beasts. Crowns. What powerful, colorful and precise images comes to our minds. What a masterful author God is. All of these things are telling a story. These are words of hope for God’s people. The troubles that they were facing would someday end. Powerful evil forces that no one can conquer will be conquered by the Lord. Victory in Jesus is the answer.

Some thoughts for us:

First, do not be afraid of Revelation. I have known churches that have studied Matthew through Jude and then turned around and went back to Matthew. No one dared touch Revelation. Much of the mystery, hype and fear associated with Revelation is made up. Certainly there are some background tools that will help you understand things, but don’t ever shy away from God’s word. God left this message to be read. He wants you to know it. And, once you do, you’ll be encouraged and your faith will have a greater resolve. You’ll find out that you have been missing out on such an encouraging and hopeful book.

Second, as much as my friend Jim wants Jump Starts to be in Heaven, I don’t think they will be. Not much of this life, other than ourselves will be in Heaven. I shared Jim’s message with my wife. She smiled and said, “that’s so sweet.” I don’t believe we’ll need Jump Starts, commentaries, class books, podcasts, blogs, or even our Bibles in Heaven. All of those things are tools to help us get there. Once we are there, the need for them will be gone. And, more than that, the Lord will be there. Why would I need a book, when the Lord is there.

I have heard so many say in a Bible class, “When I get to Heaven, I’m going to ask the Lord…” and what follows is their question. They want to know. But somehow, I don’t think we’ll even do that. First, I think we will be in such awe of the Lord that our questions won’t matter any more. Bowing, praising and honoring the Lord will be so important to us that our question will have no value. I expect if we say anything to the Lord, it would be, “Thank You.” Thank You for saving me. Thank You for your grace. Thank You for being so patient with me. Thank You for all the blessings in my life. Thank You.

Third, I am touched, honored and thankful that these little writings have meant so much to so many people.  We have never really tried to push the Jump Starts out in any grand promotional way. They just got shared and shared and shared. It is hard for me to believe that anything I have written has made much of a difference, but I know it has. The talent, drive and opportunity God gifted me with has gone far beyond anything I ever expected. As a very young preacher, a long time ago, I remember receiving, learning and being helped so much by the writings of Robert Turner. Then there were others, such as the writings of Paul Earnhart, Dee Bowman, Sewell Hall that helped me in ways they may have never known. I understand what it is like to be on the receiving end of help and encouragement. I hope, if this old world continues on, that someday, someone else will find a way to continue to help others. It’s not about the writings or the authors, but the good that can be done. Getting people to see the Lord and having the hope of life is such a great honor.

John saw a door opened in Heaven. God invited him up to see. Through those words, you and I get a glimpse of Heaven, and, what a view it is. Can’t wait to get there.

Jump Starts in Heaven—if they are there, I sure hope an angle fixes all my typos and mistakes.

Roger

Jump Start # 2831

Revelation 4:1 “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in Heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.’”

I love this verse. It’s one of my favorites. It says so much. It’s encouraging, hopeful and powerful. We must not be afraid of Revelation. Some folks never read Revelation. Certainly there are some tough spots, but so does Romans, Ezekiel and Zachariah. Sprinkled all through Revelation is assurance, hope and encouragement for suffering saints.

Here are a few things from our verse today:

First, I always use upper case or capital “H” when writing Heaven. Most Bibles, most articles, and most people don’t. Heaven is a real place. If I was writing about Chicago, I would capitalize the “C.” Heaven is God’s home. It’s special. It carries the qualities of God. Heaven is where I want to be. There may be a grammatical reason not to do that, but I’m more interested in heart, faith and God. In my writings, Heaven gets that big “H”.

Second, God wants us to know what’s up there. That’s the idea behind the open door and the invitation to come up here and see things. God is not secretive. God is not trying to hide things from us. There’s no need for guessing or speculation. He wants you to know. Knowing will give you confidence, power and freedom. Knowing will drive away doubts and error. Knowing defeats lies every time.

It is shocking that there were periods in religious history when some tried to keep the Bible out of the hands of the common people. Some of the early English translators suffered cruel punishment for trying to put the Bible in the language of the people. They were trying to open doors that others had closed.

Third, this passage reminds us that the book of Revelation is a “picture” book. Come up here and I will show you, is what the message said. He didn’t not say, come up here and read. Nor was it said, come up here and you will be told. I will show you. Visual works well with our senses. Sometimes it’s hard to put in words what our eyes see, such as sunsets, mountains, early morning dew on the grass. But the Holy Spirit helps with expressions that we understand such as gold, pearls, gates and bowls.

Fourth, the future belongs to the Lord. He knows tomorrow. He is already there. I will show you what must take place, is stated with a certainty. It’s not, here’s what might happen. Nor, I hope this happens. It will take place. How was that so certain? Because God was going to make it happen.

What John would be shown was not personal things, such as how many grandchildren he would have, or which job he ought to take. That’s how moderns believe God operates. There is very little “walking by faith” necessary if God were to tell us every detail in our lives.  And, when things do not work out, I guess they’d just blame God. John was shown what would happen to the saints that were suffering. John would be shown the triumphant Christ and the defeat of Satan. What was revealed was the will and the promises of God. It was a vision involving the spiritual.

A door standing open. There was a time when the door to the ark was standing open, but then it closed. There was a time when the door was open during the parable of the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and the five foolish virgins who arrived too late were not allowed in. God’s invitation for grace and mercy is open to all. But a day will come, when that will close. The only picture some will have of God is that of judgment. They will have missed out on the greatest gift ever offered to them.

A door is open in Heaven. A door that is open for you. That sure is a wonderful thought.

Roger

Jump Start # 1130

Revelation 4:1 “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in Heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

This is one of the “WOW” verses in the Bible. We have many wow moments in our lives. Holding a new baby, standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, walking a daughter down the isle are wow moments in my book. But here, John gets to see Heaven. There is a door and the door is opened and John is invited to come up there and take a look. What follows, is what he saw in Heaven.

Heaven excites us. The thought of Heaven motivates us and compels us to keep going when we feel weary and just want to sit on the sidelines of life for a while. Heaven holds all to me, is more than a hymn, it’s a motto and a way of life for followers of Christ.

This passage is inviting. John is being asked to come and see and then share with the world what he saw. This very act removes so many wild speculations about Heaven. For some, Heaven is nothing more than a personal fantasy catalog. It is different, some believe, to each person. They see Heaven as an extension of this life. Roller coasters, golf courses, pets, chocolate, sun sets, beaches, fun and more fun is how many want Heaven to be. All the things that bring them joy and all the things that they never have time for down here, that is what Heaven is their way of thinking. Problem with that is it just isn’t supported by the Bible. Heaven isn’t different to each person. Heaven isn’t a selfish, materialistic theme park. John didn’t see any of those things.

Others think Heaven is going to be down here on earth. The “new Heaven and new earth” passages found in Isaiah, Peter and Revelation are thought to be literal. They see a “restored earth” that includes animals, trees and in one book I read, some sort of spiritual sex, whatever that means. Our verse invites John to “Come up HERE.” It wasn’t down there. It was up there where Heaven is. The Isaiah “New Heaven and new earth” verses are now. They describe a new relationship with the Messiah. They took place when Jesus died and arose from the grave and salvation was issued in. Peter is talking about the end of time and the new order or changes that will take place. Revelation is talking about Heaven. God promises to destroy with fire this world. It will have served it’s purpose and will no longer be necessary. The temple was that way. Death and hades will be that way. They have a function and purpose and when that is fulfilled, they are no longer needed.

Still others see Heaven as a long church service with singing that lasts for 10,000 years. Sitting around singing is perceived as a bit boring, especially for that long of time. John didn’t see church pews.

The many, many books about people seeing Heaven and then coming back are driven by ideas that are not supported in the Bible. How they got there, how they got back, and why they were allowed to tell what they saw and heard is counter to the way the Bible teaches. Paul, an inspired apostle, saw the third Heaven, but it was “unlawful” for him to repeat what he heard. Those resurrected, including Jairus’ twelve year old daughter, Lazarus and others, never spoke one word about what they saw or heard. Yet, we are to believe that God allows a four year old here and a six year old there, and this person and that person to go and come back and write a book and make a profit when no one in the Bible did. The stories in these books are not consistent. Which one is to be believed? Which one is right? There are different messages. There are different things that took place.

What John saw, similar to what Isaiah saw in his vision of Heaven and what Ezekiel saw in his vision of Heaven, is God upon the throne. Heaven is God’s house, not ours. We are invited to His house. John sees God upon the throne. Holy, pure, perfect, majestic is God. This is Heaven. It is God’s house. And yet, God is inviting us to His house, not for an evening. Not for a tour. But to become our house. His house becomes our house.

Want to know what Heaven is like? Read Revelation four. Want to be in Heaven? Walk with Jesus. Want to get others to go to Heaven? Tell the story of Jesus.

Heaven, you don’t want to miss it. Live as if you have one foot already there.

Today, we are one day closer.

Roger