After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
(verses 1-2)
-
John’s experience was absolutely stunning. He saw the Exalted Lord face to face, he was carried into the heavenlies, and saw the unfolding plan of God played out before him in full Technicolour. It was unquestionably unique. And yet, I think his experience in these verses provides a model for us in our own approach to God.
First off, we find that we, like John, are interacting with each Person of the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. John starts here by telling us he heard a voice behind him, the very voice he had heard at the start, the voice which spoke to him in tones like a trumpet. That voice, in Chapter 1, belonged to the Risen and Exalted Jesus himself, the One who is “the First and the Last … the Living One” (1:17). With that voice of the Son of God again ringing in his ears, John finds himself “at once” in the Spirit, the very Spirit of God who has been given to John, as to us, as a birthright of salvation. The Spirit now envelopes him, carrying him forward into the vision he is about to receive, further fulfilling Jesus’ promise that the Spirit “will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). John now tangibly experiences that reality (which he himself had recorded), finding that he is led to the throne of heaven itself, a throne on which someone is seated. The unfolding narrative reveals the One sitting there is none other than “the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (verse 8). And so, in the space of these two short verses, John encounters all three Persons of the Trinity, helping us glimpse something of the rich interplay of their Oneness, and their united involvement in each of our lives.
We, like John, approach and find “a door standing open in heaven,”access not only being granted, but intentionally provided. Indeed, a strong invitation is pronounced, “Come up here,” an invitation that is at once enabling and empowering. After all, in seeking to approach the throne room of heaven, how could we even propel ourselves there, let alone have any right to enter? Yet, the invitation is given, sure and strong – the door stands open. And the Spirit empowers, carrying us to the very threshold. So, we step in, finding ourselves, like John, in the very presence of Almighty God.
Putting it all together, we receive the invitation from Jesus himself, the One, the only One, who can provide access. He opens the door. “I am the way and the truth and the life,” he says. “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Those words, recorded by John himself, spoken on the night before the crucifixion, point to the cross itself as the means by which this access is secured. And, just like John, it is through the Spirit’s enabling that we are empowered to avail ourselves of the access given – access to the Father.
The Apostle Paul put it this way: “For through him (Jesus) we … have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Ephesians 2:18). It’s exactly what John experienced. So, too, for us. It’s a pattern for entering into faith in the first place, but also for moving forward in relationship with him, each step of the way.
Hear the Son’s invitation, rely on the Spirit, and enter into the presence of a Loving Father. It’s a pattern for the whole of life.
-
Lord Jesus, thank you for providing access to the Father. Holy Spirit, thank you for enabling me to step into the invitation. Father, thank you for your loving embrace. Praise to your name.
-
Pray:
Take some time to pray, consciously entering into the Father’s presence, in the power of the Spirit, by the open-door access provided by Jesus. Follow the same conscious pattern several times throughout the day.
-
Photo by Summer Stock: https://www.pexels.com/.../low-angle-photography-gray.../
Kommentare