What is Heaven Like (Pt.1)

INTRODUCTION

In our last time together, we answered three questions about heaven:

What is heaven?

Who is in heaven? (and)

Who can go to heaven?

When we asked what is heaven, we said heaven is a real place and there are three heavens.

There’s the first heaven or the atmospheric heaven which is the sky above us — the air we breathe, the clouds we see, the realm where the birds fly.

Then we said there is a second heaven called the planetary heaven which is the realm of the stars, the sun, the moon, the galaxies.

Last, we said there is the third heaven, where God dwells and where believers in Jesus go when they die.

That was the definition we saw of heaven.

John MacArthur reminds us, “Heaven is not some nebulous, mystical state of mind; it is a real, literal place prepared by God for His people.”

Then we asked a second question: who is in heaven?

We said…

God the Father is in Heaven.

God the Son is in Heaven.

God the Holy Spirit is in Heaven (both Rev.1:4; 4:5)

The holy angels are in Heaven.

The 24 elders are in Heaven.

The Spirits of the Redeemed are in Heaven.

Our inheritance is in Heaven.

Our names are in Heaven.

Our citizenship is in Heaven.

Our eternal reward is in Heaven.

Our treasure is in Heaven.

Everything precious to us is in heaven.

R.C. Sproul warned that many assume “we will go to heaven because we deserve to be there,” and he called that “the most monstrous lie of all,” insisting that heaven is only for those who rest in God’s grace alone.

Then we asked a third question: Who can go to heaven?

We said only those who have been saved by Jesus can go to heaven.

J.C. Ryle emphasized that there must be a real work of grace in the heart, or there will be no entrance into glory; heaven, he said, is only for those whom God has prepared.

Now we’re addressing two more questions.

What is heaven like? (and)

What will we do in heaven?

Please take your Bible and turn to Revelation chapter 4.

To understand what heaven is like, we will look at what John records for us in chapter 4 of Revelation.

There are two passages that I want to read this morning.

The first is Revelation 4…

The second is Ezekiel 1…

Read Revelation 4:1-11…

Revelation 4:1–11 NASB95

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.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. 3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. 5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. 7 The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” 9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

The second passage is Ezekiel chapter 1…

Ezekiel 1 NASB95

1 Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 2 (On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, 3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the Lord came upon him.) 4 As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. 5 Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. 6 Each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. 10 As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. 14 And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning. 15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. 17 Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. 18 As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. 19 Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. 21 Whenever those went, these went; and whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. 22 Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. 24 I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. 26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. 27 Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.

Both of those passages gave us a description of what heaven is like.

Going back to Revelation 4, John begins verse 1 with “After these things”.

That “marks an important transition in the book of Revelation” (MacArthur).

R.C. Sproul said, “The sovereignty of God is the central truth of Scripture,” and Revelation pulls back the curtain to display that sovereignty on His throne.

But it is important to note as whether verse 1 is referring to the Rapture of the church and the end of the church age or only to the third division of the book and the second vision that John has.

Many say this is the rapture.

But the more I studied I don’t find this to be the case, especially when you get to chapter 6 and compare it with Matthew 24.

They say that the argument for the rapture in chapter 4:1 hinges on a couple of things.

First, the phrase “after these things” is viewed as “an important transition in the book of Revelation from the church age...The scene shifts from matters concerning the church (which is nowhere mentioned in chaps.4-19) on earth to a dramatic scene in heaven” (John MacArthur, Revelation, p.145).

Second, the phrase “come up here.”

J. Vernon McGee says, “Come up hither, and I will shew thee the things which must come to pass after these things.’ After what things? After the church has completed its earthly run and is caught up’” (Revelation, p.131).

John Walvoord not sold on this line of thought says, “The invitation to John to ‘come up hither’ is so similar to that which the church anticipates at the rapture that many have connected the two expressions. It is clear from the context that this is not an explicit reference to the rapture of the church, as John was not actually translated; in fact he was still in his natural body on the island of Patmos. He was translated into scenes of heaven only temporarily.

But Walvoord adds his opinion following this when he says, “Though there is no authority for connecting the rapture with this expression, there does seem to be a typical representation of the order of events, namely, the church age first, then the rapture, then the church in heaven...From a practical standpoint, however, the rapture may be viewed as having already occurred in the scheme of God before the events of chapter 4 and following chapters of Revelation unfold” (Revelation, p.103).

In The Revelation Commentary by Robert Van Kampen, Bill Lee-Warner, Charles Cooper, and Gary Vaterlaus, they pose a different understanding to this that is worth considering.

They write, “There is no textual basis to claim that the "church age" has ended at Revelation 3:22. The are no explicit passages of Scripture that make such a claim. The argument that Revelation 4-19 does not involve the church is one of silence. It goes like this: the absence of any reference to the church between Revelation 4:1 and 18:24 means it is not involved in the events that constitute this section. Therefore, the church must be raptured to heaven.

This is called an argument from silence.

It is not an argument at all.

This type of logic can cut both ways.

The term church is also absent from Revelation 20-21, which deals with the millennium and eternity future.

The term church is never used to designate an entity in heaven.

It is as if the church disappears from history after Revelation 3.

However, this is clearly not the case.

A fundamental point of apocalyptic literature is to use nothing that would allow the unwanted to discern the meaning of the essential message.

Leon Morris writes, “There appears to have been times when it would have been politically unwise for them to have done so. They evidently trusted that their friends would be able to discern their essential meaning, and that their enemies would not be able to do so.”(Morris, Apocalyptic, 38).

It would have been very unwise for John to so identify the church with the future destruction of the kingdoms of the world that the world could easily discern it from his apocalypse.

The Revelation was written to comfort God’s people, not provide ammunition for their destruction.

We have seen what the enemies of God will do with a little information detrimental to their future (Matt 2:1-12, 16-23).

The fact that the term church does not appear in Revelation 4-19 does not mean that the entity itself is not represented in these critical chapters.

All would agree that the reference to wife in Revelation 19:7 designates the church.

Revelation 20:4 records, "Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them."

This group must contain at least a portion of the church given the Lord’s promise in Revelation 2:26b-27 and 3:21 that overcomers will reign with Him during His physical temporal kingdom on earth (Matt 19:27-30).

There are at least nine different references to the church in Revelation 4-19:

Every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 5:9c;

A kingdom, 5:10;

and priest, 5:10;

Fifth seal martyrs, 6:9;

A multitude, 7:9; 19:5-6;

Bond-servants, 11:18; 19:2, 5;

Our brethren, 12:10;

The rest of her children, 12:17;

Saints, 13:7, 10; 14:12; 18:20, 24;

Wife, 19:7.”

What is John saying here then?

Not what everyone wants him to say!

Notice first How John Responded to this vision in chapter 4:1.

I. How John Responded (v.1a)

“After these things I looked and behold”

Again the phrase “after these things” is a textual marker pointing to the divine outline of this book found in 1:19.

Let’s first note that…

He was in a Vision

“Looked and behold” is eidon kai idou in Greek which translates “I saw and behold” (Fritz Rienecker, The Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, p.822).

This “is typical visionary language (e.g., Ezek 10:1; 44:4; Dan 10:5)” ( C. Keener, The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament ).

The word “looked” Gr.eidon could be better translated “I saw” (Vincent).

“Our word “look” would rather indicate purpose or intentions, as if he had designedly directed his attention to heaven, to see what could be discovered there.

The meaning, however, is simply that he saw a new vision, without intimating whether there was any design on his part, and without saying how his thoughts came to be directed to heaven” (Albert Barnes, AlbertBarnes’ Notes on the Bible).

John MacArthur comments that this was “not a product of imagination or dream, but a divine revelation—God opening John’s spiritual eyes to realities that otherwise could not be seen.”

Verse 1 says…

He Looked with Astonishment

That is seen in the word “Behold” Gr.idou, which is an “exclamation of vivid emotion” (A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the NT) or “astonishment” (MacArthur).

John expresses this astonishment by using this word 25 times throughout the book of Revelation (Rev.1:7,18; 2:10,22; 3:8,9,20; 4:1,2; 5:5; 6:2,5,8; 7:9; 9:12; 11:14; 12:3; 14:1,14; 16:15; 19:11; 21:3,5; 22:7,12).

This is certainly one of his words because he also uses it 4 times in the Gospel of John (Jn.4:35; 12:15; 16:32; 19:5).

As R.C. Sproul pointed out, when Scripture says “behold,” God is calling us to stop, look, and feel the weight of what He is revealing.

What caused all this emotion?

It’s…

II. What John Saw (vv.1-11)

First he saw…

A Door Open in Heaven (v.1)

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.”

“Standing” is in italics which means the translators added that word.

It literally reads, “A door open in heaven.”

We have just learned that the Philadelphians had “set before [them] an open door, and no one can shut it” (Rev.3:8).

We also learned that Jesus stood and knocked at the door of the Laodicean church and said to them, “if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev.3:20).

“This appears to have been a visible [opening] in the sky over his head” (Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible).

This opening in the sky was “like a door so that he could look into heaven” (Barnes).

Ezekiel records his vision as “the heavens opened” (Ezek.1:1)

Stephen, who was the first Christian martyr, said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56).

As A.W. Pink reminds us, God does not reveal truth to gratify our curiosity but to promote faith and obedience; this open door is a gracious unveiling of heavenly reality, not a playground for speculation.

“After noticing the open door, the first voice John heard was the familiar voice like the sound of a trumpet that had spoken to him in his first vision (1:10).

This “was the voice of the risen, exalted Lord Jesus Christ.

His voice is likened to the sound of a trumpet because of its commanding, authoritative quality” (John MacArthur, Revelation, p.145).

“The voice, which in chapter 1 commanded John to write (1:10), now bids him to come to the door of heaven” (Robert Mounce, Revelation, p.133).

John was not swept away into some mystical fantasyland, but transported spiritually into the reality of heaven” (John MacArthur, Revelation, p.145) and told he would be shown “things which must take place after this.”

Verse 2a says, “Immediately I was in the Spirit.”

This is the same phrase found in 1:10 – “That this took place again shows that the condition it denotes was an intermittent one.

John had evidently ceased to be in the Spirit, but now the state was resumed” (Leon Morris, Revelation, p.85).

Albert Barnes says, “He does not affirm that he was caught up into heaven, nor does he say what impression was on his own mind, if any, as to the place where he was; but he was at once absorbed in the contemplation of the visions before him. He was doubtless still in Patmos, and these things were made to pass before his mind as a reality; that is, they appeared as real to him as if he saw them, and they were in fact a real symbolical representation of things occurring in heaven” (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible).

“The capitalization of spirit by the translators suggests that John is in the Holy Spirit, which is certainly true.

However, this is not what John is attempting to communicate here.

All believers have opportunity to be in the Spirit, but that does not mean such a one will receive revelation from God.

This phrase "is an idiom indicating that John’s revelatory experiences took place not "in the body" but rather "in the spirit," i.e., in a vision trance…(Aune, Revelation 1-5, 283; Revelation Commentary).

MacArthur notes that this phrase indicates “a Spirit-produced condition in which the faculties are under the direct control of God, so that the revelation comes with vivid clarity and certainty.”

Next he saw…

A Throne Set in Heaven (v.2b)

“A throne set in heaven”

This was the cause of John’s amazement

Notice that he uses the word “behold” again.

This was not a piece of furniture but a symbol of God’s sovereign rule and authority

“This symbol occurs more than forty times in Revelation” (Mounce).

Leon Morris says, “John’s readers were evidently familiar with earthly thrones and they were troubled by all that Caesar’s throne meant. John will not let them forget that there is a throne above every throne” (Revelation, p.85).

Psalm 11:4 says, “The LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.”

A.W. Pink wrote, “The Creator is absolute Sovereign, executing His own will, performing His own pleasure, and considering naught but His own glory,” reminding us that this heavenly throne is the seat of absolute, unquestionable rule. R.C. Sproul similarly said, “If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled,” underscoring that this throne governs everything seen and unseen.

Isaiah 6:1, “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up" (ESV). The seraphim's cry, "Holy, holy, holy" (Isa. 6:3), links the throne to God's holiness and transcendence, not a material artifact.

Ezekiel 1:26–28, Ezekiel beholds "the likeness of a throne" (dəmût kissēʾ, Hebrew), with "the likeness as the appearance of a man" above it, radiant like a rainbow. This theophany symbolizes Yahweh's sovereignty over chaotic nations (Ezek. 1:1–3).

Daniel 7:9–10, “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his throne was fiery flames" (ESV). The throne's fiery aspect evokes judgment (cf. Ps. 97:3), representing God's eternal dominion.

These Old Testament parallels, fulfilled in Revelation's New Testament vision (cf. Rev. 4:8 echoing Isa. 6:3), demonstrate that throne imagery conveys sovereignty, judgment, and glory.

That is further seen by the word “standing”

That means, “God’s sovereign rule is fixed, permanent, and unshakeable. A vision of God’s immovable throne reveals He is in permanent, unchanging, and complete control of the universe. That is a comforting realization in light of the horror and trauma of the end-time events about to be revealed (Chaps.6-19)” (John MacArthur, Revelation, p.146).

Not only did he see a door open and a throne but he also saw…

The One Who Sat on the Throne (vv.2c-3a)

“And One who sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance” (vv.2c-3a).

John does not mention who is on the throne. It is clear in verse 8 that it is the “Lord God Almighty”

Lord (kurios) God (theos) Almighty (pantokrator).

All of these words have reference to His sovereignty.

The last word, pantokrator (Almighty) “is a designation for God as the One holding all power and ruling all things” (Friberg).

He is called “Lord” or “Lord and God” in verse 11.

He is also referred to as being on the throne in chapter 5 because the Lamb who had been slain takes “the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” (5:7).

He is described as being like a “jasper and a sardius stone in appearance”.

“The one seated on the throne of heaven...is portrayed as the brilliance of light reflected from precious stones” (Mounce).

Psalm 104:1-2 says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, who stretched out the heavens like a curtain.”

Paul described the Lord as “dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen” (1 Tim.6:16).

John MacArthur notes that John “labors to describe Someone who is indescribable,” piling up gemstone imagery because human language cannot fully capture the blazing glory of God’s presence. A.W. Pink reminds us, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5); His holiness is such that fallen man cannot approach Him apart from grace, which explains why John sees glory rather than detailed features.

The source of the description is the vision of Ezekiel 1 in which the throne appears like sapphire surrounded by a rainbow – Ezek.1:26-28

“And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.”

Leon Morris, commenting on the “jasper and sardius stone,” says, “The lack of scientific terminology among the ancients makes identification of precious and semi-precious stones a somewhat hazardous business. Jasper may be the same stone as the modern jasper, but some hold that it was green jade or green quartz (NBD), or even diamond on the grounds that elsewhere it is said to be ‘clear as crystal’ (21:11)” (Revelation, p.85).

John MacArthur says since Revelation 21:11 describes jasper as “crystal-clear”; therefore, “it is best to identify this stone as a diamond. All the shining, flashing facets of the glory of God are compared to a diamond, brilliantly refracting all the colors of the spectrum” (Revelation, p.147).

Carnelian (‘sardius’) was a red stone” (Morris) or a “blood red ruby” (MacArthur). This is where Sardis got its name.

Morris goes on to say that “There may be significance in the fact that the sardius and the jasper are the first and last of the twelve precious stones in the high priest’s breastplate, each of which was inscribed with the name of one of the tribes of Israel (Ex.28:17-21)” (Revelation, pp.86).

“John’s vision of God’s throne is not one of peace and comfort. Its flashing, glorious, splendorous magnificence reveals the terrors of God’s judgment. Truly, ‘our God is a consuming fire’ (Heb.12:29; cf.Deut.4:24)” (John MacArthur, Revelation, p.148).

Next John says he saw…

A Rainbow Around the Throne (v.3b)

“And there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.”

The rainbow is “around the throne”

This expression of a rainbow around the throne is so difficult that “some think of a halo rather than a rainbow (Phillips gets the best of both worlds with ‘a halo like an emerald rainbow’!) (Leon Morris, Revelation, p.86).

The appearance of the rainbow is described as being like an emerald

This reveals that “green was the dominate color” and “again is introduced to show the many-splendored glory of God” (MacArthur).

According to Genesis 9:13-17, a rainbow symbolizes God’s covenant faithfulness, mercy, and grace.

“The rainbow round the very throne of God...is a way of saying that the covenant is eternal” (Morris).

John MacArthur writes, “God’s attributes always operate in perfect harmony. His wrath never operates at the expense of His faithfulness; His judgments never abrogate His promises. God’s power and holiness would cause us to live in abject terror were it not for His faithfulness and mercy” (Revelation, p.148).

R.C. Sproul has observed that “even in judgment, God remembers mercy,” and the rainbow around the throne preaches that His wrath is never divorced from His covenant love toward His people.

CONCLUSION

What reaction do you have to John’s vision?

Glorious or frightful?

Does it cause you to long for heaven?

As the children of Israel were filled with terror at the sight of God on the Mountain (Ex.19), and Isaiah shook for fear of Him who sat on the throne (Isa.6), you and I should fall like John “at His feet as dead” (Rev.1:17).

This is an awesome site – beyond description.

J.C. Ryle wrote, “The holiest saints that ever lived have always been the humblest; the nearer a man gets to God, the more he sees his own unworthiness,” and that should be our posture before this throne.

As we see the rainbow around the throne and are reminded of the promise that God made with Noah, we are also reminded of another promise.

It is found in John 14:1-3. But this promise is only for believers.

Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Paul Washer warns, “The greatest tragedy is not death, but dying without Jesus Christ.”

This is not true if you don’t know Him.

In fact what follows in chapter 6 of Revelation is for you who reject Him.

The only way to be a part of John 14 is to repent and believe in Jesus!

Charles Spurgeon said, “Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of eternity.” How urgent it is that we be right with God.

Let’s pray.