April 26 2026
Revelation 4:1, 7:13-17, 11:15-18, 21:1-7
Have you ever thought of how much your life changes any time you walk through a door? I mean, think about how much the course of your life was altered on that first day of school, when someone held the door open for you, and your teacher welcomed you into the beginning of a life-long journey of learning. Or perhaps it was the first day you remember entering the door of the building that people in your life called a church.From that first moment, your life was being transformed by the love you found there. Or perhaps you may remember how your life took on a new set of priorities that day you walked through the doorway of your first home. So it is a rather profound truth that something so simple as the doors we enter through, these can indeed be the very means by which enter into a whole new way of life.
You see, when we consider just how much our lives our transformed simply by going through all of the doors that are ever before us here on earth, we can only imagine how our life might be altered if we could enter the doorway that opens into the wonders of heaven. This is the thrilling moment that we read about here at the beginning of the fourth chapter of the book of his revelation. As John worshiped there on the Lord’s Day, in the fullness of the Lord’s power and presence, we read that John looked, and behold, there before him was a door that opened into heaven, of all places! When we read such a statement how can we not want to walk with John through that door to just get even a small glimpse of our eternal home.Yet many people are hesitant to go further and really read about what John witnesses while he visits the very place we hope will one day be our future. Perhaps the problem is that so many get caught up in this idea that this writing of John is about knowing when Jesus shall return that they fail to see that what matters to John is that the followers of Jesus remain holy all our days here on earth. Another reason why people never venture very far in the book of Revelation is that before they read too much of the story, things begin to get a little weird. The text is somewhat confusing and there are images and pictures along the way that make us scratch our heads. Yes, it is true that the book of Revelation is one of the strangest books in the Bible but still, it remains important to us because this book calls to remember that we do indeed have a future with God. While the rest of the world may be holding on to their memories of the past, we who follow Jesus are to, instead, hold on to the promise of our future because we know that the best is yet to come.
To help us through some of the stranger parts of this letter of John, I believe that it is best to begin with a broad overview of how this writing is structured. When you step back and look at the whole of this writing you begin to notice that it is divided into three distinct sections. This becomes evident because the book of Revelation is a story that has not one but three happy-ever-after endings. The first is at the end of the seventh chapter where we read that those who came through the times of trial will be those who are continually before the throne of God, serving him day and night in the temple. They will no longer hunger or thirst, nor shall the sun scorch them, for the Lamb seated on the throne will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Now, this by itself would be a wonderful ending for us, wouldn’t it? I mean, here in this ending we hear echoes of the twenty-third Psalm, where our good Shepherd leads us to rest beside still waters. We also hear whispers of the wonderful prophecy found in the twenty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, where God promises that one day he would set before his people a great feast. On that day, death at last will be swallowed up forever, and God himself will wipe every tear from our eyes. So here at the end of the seventh chapter of Revelation we see that what was once promised in the Psalms and the prophets has now become a reality for the faithful to enjoy.
As wonderful as this image is for us, this leading of Jesus that brings us to rest beside living waters, this is not all John has to say about what lies ahead. No, as we find at the end of the eleventh chapter, John has more to say about our glorious future. There we hear this, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our God and his Messiah, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Then the elders worship God saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty who is, and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged but your wrath came for now is the time to be judged and for the rewarding of your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, yes, now is the time for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” Here again, we hear the good news of the glorious future God has for us, only this time the emphasis is not on our own personal comfort but instead the focus is on the comfort of knowing that God is indeed going to at last deal with the evil of our world. No more will there be any opposition to the kingdom of God for those who raged against God and the future he is bringing forth have at last been dealt with forever. And not only that, but the promised reward for our obedience to the Lamb at last will be given to those who find this world not worthy of their time or effort.
So, again, with these two wonderful portraits of the future that will one day be ours, we have plenty to ponder on when we consider our eternity. Yet we find that John is not done in providing us with images of the world we are hoping to one day live in. At the end of the twentieth chapter of Revelation we hear that at last Death and Hell have been destroyed so that now John could tell us that he saw, “…a new heaven and a new earth, for the first earth and the first heaven passed away. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.And I heard a loud voice from the throne stating, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with all of humanity. God will dwell with them, and they will be his people…death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away….And further John also records, “I saw no Holy of Holies in the city for its Holy of Holies is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the new Jerusalem will have no need for the sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God shall be its light, and its source of light is the Lamb. By this light will the nations walk, and the kings of earth shall bring their glory into it, and the gates will never be shut by day- and there will be no night there. They will bring into the new Jerusalem the glory and honor of the nations.” What a breathtaking view of the glorious day that awaits all of us who place our faith in Jesus! You see, when we hold fast to these three happy endings we discover an amazing hope on which we can anchor our life.
So it becomes rather obvious that this revelation given to John is divided into three separate parts which is a great help to keep us from being overwhelmed by all that is written here. Now if this letter had been heard by one of the people of Israel back when this letter was written, these divisions would have been quite obvious. You see, the door through which John entered opened into the very Temple of heaven. We have to understand that the Temple where the people of Israel worshipped had its very architecture shaped by the design found in heaven. You see, the Temple built in Jerusalem had an altar on which sacrifices were offered and the reason for this is that in heaven there is an altar. We hear of this heavenly altar in the sixth chapter of Revelation, the ninth verse, that there under the heavenly altar is the secure home for all of the souls who treasured the word of God and that they witnessed to the risen Jesus, and who gave their lives as offering to God.
In a similar way, just as the earthly Temple had an enclosed space that housed a smaller altar where incense was burned, this too is copied from the original in heaven. At the beginning of the eighth chapter, we hear of an angel who is standing beside an altar with a gold censer and this angel is given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints. It is no surprise then, that just as there was a cubed shaped enclosed room called the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept there in the earthly Temple, that we also find at the end of this revelation given to John the original it was based upon. You see, the heavenly Holy of Holies is now the entire city of New Jerusalem. We are to understand this truth through the dimensions given to John, that the city’s length, width and height are all equal, just as we find in the earthly Holy of Holies. Instead of their being an ark in this holy place there is now the reality which the ark always pointed to, that God and humanity would at last be united forever.
So, knowing that the book of Revelation is moving through these spaces of the Temple helps us to keep our bearings, and they also provide us with the purpose that was associated with each part of the earthly Temple. Just as we know that the sacrificial altar dealt with the issue of sin, we can expect that sin will also be dealt with through the heavenly altar. And we also know that the incense altar is where the prayers of God’s people were thought to ascend to heaven from this space. So when we read of incense being offered in this revelation story we are to know that here is where prayers will be heard in heaven. We are to also remember that there within the Holy of Holies, once every year, God restored unity with his people. So it is no surprise that when we come to the Holy of Holies found in heaven that here once again, the focus is how God intends to bring about unity between him and all people.
In knowing the role of the Temple here on earth then, we can begin to make sense out of just what is taking place behind this open door which leads us into heaven. Yet, this is not all we have to assist us in understanding this revelation given to John because there is yet another series of three which also worth considering. This set of three is found extensively in the first chapter of this book, where John continually address God as being the one who was, the one who is and the one who will be. This is the name God first gave to Moses when Moses desired to know the name of God. God told Moses that he is the, “I Am”. This meant that God is one who does not change, ever for he is always who he is. Who he was in the past is who God is here in the present and who he will be there in our future. So it makes sense that when we enter the realm of God that the revelation we are given will also be structured by what God has done in the past, what God is presently doing and then also what future God has planned. This is exactly how we find this story laid out, that it begins with creation in chapter four, and then continues until the coming of the new creation where God and humanity are at last united. Through all this long course of history we find that God and his desire to be united with us, his highest creation, never changes and this should prove to be a great hope to those who read what John has written.
Now what is amazing is that all of these series of threes work together to bring the meaning of what has been revealed to John into focus for us so that we can better understand the message that is to be found here. To help us further grasp the meaning found within this revelation, I believe we consider that John had the core teachings of Jesus clearly in mind as he wrote everything down. It was there in the teaching Jesus gave us on prayer that we find that our eternal security depends on three key blessings that only God can provide. In the prayer Jesus taught, what we call the Lord’s Prayer, we find that the prayer closes with three petitions where we ask God to provide us all that is necessary for us to make his name holy, which is the overall focus of this prayer. So as we remember the prayer, it begins, “Our Father, hallowed be your name…”. This mean that our desire is that the reputation of our God is to be anything but common. Now in order for us make the name of God holy, we are to desire to see his kingdom come. This means that we will want to do only what God desires of us, that his will be done. The result is that what once was seen only in heaven will now be witnessed here on earth. This means that we must be willing to offer ourselves to be a daily source of life, like bread, to those who need life. Then next in the prayer we hear of forgiveness. We pray to be forgiven of our trespasses just as God first, forgives us of our trespasses. So it is right here in the Lord’s Prayer that we admit our need for God to do three things for us. The first of these needs is that we need the mercy of God. We are merciful only because we have first received mercy from God, forgiving others because God first forgives us. Yet this is not the only thing we need from God because we next pray that God not bring us into temptation. This is an admission on our part that we need God in order to remain faithful to him in times of trial. Finally, we pray that God deliver us from evil for we know that we are unable to overcome evil without him. Now if we take these three concerns that only God can fulfill, that we stand in need of mercy and forgiveness, that we to need God to make us faithful in upholding his name as being holy, and that God alone must deliver us from evil, and we lay these over top of the three divisions that we find in the book of Revelation, something amazing happens. In the first section, where we find the altar we find God’s provision for forgiveness through his mercy displayed at the altar of the cross. Then having come to live in the mercy of God, we enter into a space of prayer where through our relying upon the strength of God alone we find that we remain steadfast in demonstrating the holy love of God to others. And then in the future, we discover that one day God will indeed deliver us out of this suffering world so that we might live with him forever. So this revelation given to John demonstrates to those who pray the Lord’s Prayer just how it is that God alone will answer this prayer and create us to be those saints who stand to possess his kingdom where one day we will reign as his kings and priests.
So all of these series of threes are given to us so that we enter through the door of heaven and not despair at being overwhelmed by the mystery that confronts us. No, we should instead praise God for the future that awaits us, and pray that through what we discover in what he has revealed we might become the church which faithfully witnesses to this eternal life lived forever in the kingdom of our risen king named Jesus. God be praised! Amen!
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