When a man dies, he will either go to heaven or to hell. The Bible teaches that those who believe in Jesus and accept Him as their Lord and Saviour will go to heaven while those who reject Jesus will go to hell. In Revelation 4, God gave His children a glimpse of heaven. This should encourage them to make the wise decision of consecrating themselves to live a transformed life of holiness and godliness according to God’s Word while they are still on earth.

1.  A glimpse of God the Father. In Revelation 4:1-5, the Apostle John’s spirit was transported to heaven where he saw “…a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne” (Rev 4:2). The One who sat on the throne is God the Father. John further described Him “…that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne…” (Rev 4:3). The sardine and jasper were the first and last stones on the breastplate of righteousness that was worn by the priest (Exod 28:15-20). They signify that God is a righteous God. The rainbow was given by God to man after the global flood as a promise that He will not destroy the world by water again (Gen 9:11-13). Thus, the rainbow signifies God’s mercy towards man.

2.  A glimpse of the believers. John then saw that “…round about the throne were four and twenty seats…” (Rev 4:4). The number twenty-four was used as a number of representation in 1 Chronicles 24:7-19 to represent those in worship during the temple worship of God in the Old Testament. Thus, the “…four and twenty seats…” (Rev 4:4) represent all true believers of the Lord Jesus Christ (since the time of Adam). They will be seated around the throne in heaven worshipping God. This gives us believers the great hope that all of us will be in the presence of God in heaven one day.

3.  A glimpse of the Holy Spirit. Finally, John saw that “there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (Rev 4:5). Isaiah 11:2 reveals to us the seven characters/natures of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Thus, “the seven Spirits of God” are a reference to the ministry of the Holy Spirit which God had given to His children to lead, guide and teach God’s Word.

How does this glimpse of heaven impact our individual life? First, we must reflect on our own lives to ensure that we are truly born again. We must guard our hearts against false teachings by the constant studying of God’s Word. We must rely on the guidance and illumination of the Holy Spirit. We must do our utmost to live for Christ, constrained by God’s love that we may bear the fruit of the Spirit, till one day we are in heaven in the presence of God.