After these things I saw, and behold, a door was standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, like a trumpet [cf. Rev. 1:10], said to me, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things." Rev. 4:1.
After writing out the letters to the seven churches, John moves on to describe a scene in which a voice invites him to observe in heaven. From here on in the book the primary focus dwells on things that are future from John's point of view (perhaps A.D. 95). Why a book on future events? Because God wants us to know that we can trust Him to get us where we need to go.
In 1992 I had the opportunity to visit Disneyland in southern California with my extended family. My greatest fear on that occasion was that the group would somehow get split up. I was particularly concerned about my children, for they were 10, 6, and 4 years old at the time. I explained to the children that if any of them lost track of us, they should "freeze" at that spot and wait for us to come looking for them. If after an hour or so no one had shown up, their backup plan was to head for the park entrance and wait there.
Everything went fine until 9:30 that night. In the confusion right after the electrical parade, we lost our 10-year-old girl near the castle at the center of the park. I immediately told everyone else to stay where they were while I went back through the crowd to the place where we had stood during the parade. Back and forth I went, calling her name, but no response. Panic began to set in almost immediately. Where could she be? How could I find her in the crowd? When it was clear that she was no longer in that area, I took the group to the Tiki Birds, the next attraction on our agenda, and asked them to wait there while I checked the entrance of the park. In agony I prayed the whole way, my mind spinning. What if she's not there? Then what? Whom do I talk to? How will we find her? I walked down Main Street in fear and trembling.
When I got to the entrance, I did not see her. But I noticed a darkened area nearby and decided to see if she was hiding out there. I had just started in that direction when a feeble voice squeaked, "Daddy?" My head snapped around to see her on a bench. With inexplicable joy I hugged her. Not a word of rebuke came out of my mouth.
She had forgotten the "freeze" part of the instruction and had gone directly to Plan B, causing much anguish for her family. But we rejoiced that everything had worked out in the end. God gave us the book of Revelation in order to spare us similar anguish. Remembering its instructions will keep us from getting lost as the future unfolds.
Lord, thank You for providing us clear evidence that You know the future and can safely guide us home. Give us listening ears and understanding hearts.
After writing out the letters to the seven churches, John moves on to describe a scene in which a voice invites him to observe in heaven. From here on in the book the primary focus dwells on things that are future from John's point of view (perhaps A.D. 95). Why a book on future events? Because God wants us to know that we can trust Him to get us where we need to go.
In 1992 I had the opportunity to visit Disneyland in southern California with my extended family. My greatest fear on that occasion was that the group would somehow get split up. I was particularly concerned about my children, for they were 10, 6, and 4 years old at the time. I explained to the children that if any of them lost track of us, they should "freeze" at that spot and wait for us to come looking for them. If after an hour or so no one had shown up, their backup plan was to head for the park entrance and wait there.
Everything went fine until 9:30 that night. In the confusion right after the electrical parade, we lost our 10-year-old girl near the castle at the center of the park. I immediately told everyone else to stay where they were while I went back through the crowd to the place where we had stood during the parade. Back and forth I went, calling her name, but no response. Panic began to set in almost immediately. Where could she be? How could I find her in the crowd? When it was clear that she was no longer in that area, I took the group to the Tiki Birds, the next attraction on our agenda, and asked them to wait there while I checked the entrance of the park. In agony I prayed the whole way, my mind spinning. What if she's not there? Then what? Whom do I talk to? How will we find her? I walked down Main Street in fear and trembling.
When I got to the entrance, I did not see her. But I noticed a darkened area nearby and decided to see if she was hiding out there. I had just started in that direction when a feeble voice squeaked, "Daddy?" My head snapped around to see her on a bench. With inexplicable joy I hugged her. Not a word of rebuke came out of my mouth.
She had forgotten the "freeze" part of the instruction and had gone directly to Plan B, causing much anguish for her family. But we rejoiced that everything had worked out in the end. God gave us the book of Revelation in order to spare us similar anguish. Remembering its instructions will keep us from getting lost as the future unfolds.
Lord, thank You for providing us clear evidence that You know the future and can safely guide us home. Give us listening ears and understanding hearts.
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