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1: After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
John is having a vision in the same fashion as Peter on the roof-top in Acts 11:5.

The door that John sees in this Scripture is a door to future events that God had open to John. Only heaven knows the future for sure. This is the reason that this door was set in heaven. God is going to show him things that are going to happen in the future. The way God is going to do this is by showing him a number of allegories, or types and shadows of things in strange appearances that will tell us a story without saying it in words. The images you are about to see are not real. When we get to heaven, heaven will absolutely not appear the way that John would see it.

2: And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Immediately John was in the spirit, which was a spiritual state of mind, a spiritual trance. While in this trance he saw a throne in heaven, and someone sitting on the throne. This was to mean that he had entered the door in this vision and was taken to the throne.

3: And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
The mystery hidden in this allegory is this; John sees God as a fine cut diamond, a precious Jewel. This in itself reveals the tremendous value that God is to all of us who know him. God and his dear Son, along with the Holy Ghost are the greatest wealth a man or woman could ever possess. This is easy to understand.

The next mystery is that there is a rainbow that is like unto an emerald, around the throne. Some try to say that the rainbow encircled the throne, but if it did, it would not be a rain-bow, but it would be a circle. So, it went up and over the throne like rainbows do. The mystery of this rainbow is that it is green. What in the world could a green rainbow represent? Well, God's word has the answer. In Gen. 9 beginning with the 11th verse God makes a covenant with Noah.

A token of a covenant is simply this. God set the rainbow in the sky as a reminder of the covenant that God made with Noah. So the rainbow was a reminder of a covenant that God had made with someone. This tells us what the rainbow over God's head was there for. It was a reminder. But wait a minute. This rainbow is green. Rainbows are multi-colored. What can this possibly mean? Well, let's look at God's word again, and we will find the rest of this mystery.

As Jesus was being led to be crucified, a crowd of women followed Jesus weeping and wailing. Jesus turned to them in Luke 23:28 and said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children." He told them of the hardship that would come to Israel and then said: Lk: 23:31, For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

Green represents life. In this case Jesus was referring to himself being the life that was in Israel. It would not be long until that life would not be there any longer. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. He was the green or the life of Israel. He is also our life. We are like a green tree because he lives in us. This green in the rainbow represents Jesus. Life. A token or rememberance of a covenant with life, or Jesus in it. There is only one covenant in the world that was made to a man that had this promise in it. It was Abraham's covenant that would take us toThe everlasting covenant of life. God is remembering the covenant he made because of his covenant with Abraham. That covenant is the one and the same with the new covenant that God promised to Israel. Jeremiah 31:31-34 tells us of a covenant that would come to Israel that their sins would be remembered no more. This covenant is the same as the one Jesus made with the Church. It was to the Jew first and then the Gentile, but it is between Jesus and his followers.

4: And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
John saw twenty-four elders seated around the throne. They were the 12 patriarchs and the 12 disciples. The white raiment they were wearing represented their purity and the golden crowns on their heads are a symbol of their rewards in heaven.

This covenant that we saw in verse 3 explains whom these 24 elders are who are sitting before God with crowns on their heads. Abraham's covenant was that some day the 12 sons of Jacob would receive salvation and that God would always be their God. So 12 of these elders are the 12 sons of Jacob. The other 12 are rather obvious because Jesus himself raised these men up for representatives of Israel and the covenant that brought Jesus to them. The Covenant of Abraham is why they were saved. These are the 12 disciples, with Mathias that replaced Judas according to scripture. This whole scene is about the rebirth of Israel through the remembrance of Abraham's covenant. All of these men are from Israel. These men have been crowned, which shows that they have great rewards coming to them in Heaven.

5: And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
The voices in this scripture is talking about the prayers and praises that go up to God everyday. The thunders and lightnings in this scripture are referring to the voice of God when he answers or if he is trying to direct us. The thunders represent God speaking when people do not understanding. The lightnings represent the times that God speaks to us through divine revelation, which gives us understanding. It comes to us in the form of light. One good example of this is found in John chapter 12.

When God speaks we will either understand it or not. If we understand it becomes a light to us, or lightning, if we don’t understand it may as well be thunder.

What are the seven lamps burning with fire? It is important to realize that there is only one Church, and one Spirit.

Even though there were seven churches in Asia, there was in all reality only one church of Asia. In this same fashion, since God has a people on all seven continents of this earth, there is seven churches today; The Church of North America, the Church of Europe, The Church of Africa and so forth. The Seven Churches which make up the one Church in the World today is also called the body of Christ.

The seven lamps are the same thing. John saw the seven lamps burning before the throne. These lamps are an allegory or type and shadow of the seven spirits of God. Since Ephesians 4:4 says that there is only one body speaking of the Church and that there is only one Spirit, speaking of the Spirit of God. It is obvious that this is simply telling us that the seven lamps burning with fire is symbolic of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost that has been poured out all over the earth for all men to receive, in all seven Continents. In John's day they didn't know that there were seven Continents in the world, but God did.

6: And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
We are about to take a look at some very exciting news. This sea of glass reveals a mystery that very few people in the Church are aware of. This is not a sea such as an Ocean or large body of water. This is an allegory of a great work that God is doing in the earth, and is about to let Israel take part in it. This is something they have been called to do from the time that God first spoke to Abraham. Let's look at Solomon's Temple for a minute. God commanded Solomon while making the furniture for the temple to make a molten sea.
I Kings 7:23, And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
25. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.
II Chronicles 4:6, He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.

II chronicles 4:5 said that it held 3,000 baths (in our estimates it held 10,000 gallons of water).

This huge sea sitting on the backs of these 12 oxen are a prophecy of a time that the 12 Disciples, under the banner of the Ox that is Ephraim's banner, would take the Gospel to the world. God has made all Christians priests and kings in the kingdom of God, but the lord must wash us before we can do his service. Through his blood and through his word this is made possible. This what this sea represents the remission and forgiveness of sins. His capacity to cleanse us is like an Ocean or a Sea. It is enormous! The reason we don't see the cross or a sacrifice altar here is because he has already been crucified once, and that was enough. There is no more sacrifice for sins; it has already been paid. The one who paid that price will step out in the next chapter as a Lamb to take the book with the seven seals from the father sitting on the throne.

The other mystery in this verse is the four beast who were full of eyes before and behind.

This is Israel and their banners in the wilderness: Ephraim in the west, Judah in the East, Dan in the north, and Reuben in the south. When God placed these tribes around the tabernacle in the wilderness he used the banners of the leading tribes. In each one of these groups God set one tribe above another. For example Ephraim in the west was leader over Manasseh and Benjamin. And this is the way it worked all the way through. All twelve tribes actually had their own banner, but God placed the other banners under the leading tribe with only four banners representing all twelve tribes of Israel.

Eventually Ephraim and Judah would be the only tribes in charge over all of Israel and all twelve tribes would be found under each one of their banners. It is very important to note that while Israel was living outside of the Promised Land, Ephraim's location was in the west, Judah's location was in the east. (For more on this teaching please read our teaching on the four banners of Israel on our web site). We will go into more detail on these four beasts during the next two verses.

These four beasts are full of eyes before and behind. We will give an understanding of this in Verse 8.

7: And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
The four beasts are numbered and described. Pay close attention to their numbers and what they are because it is very important in two separate ways. The numbers have no meaning except to reveal a deep mystery when we go to Chapter 6 and the first four Seals. These numbers play a critical role in understanding the first four Seals.

The description of each one of these beasts are the emblems on the banners of Israel. The Lion is for the tribe of Judah, the Calf is actually a baby Ox, and the Calf holds a deep mystery that we will go into later. The Ox is the emblem of Ephraim, the Man is Reuben’s banner and the flying Eagle is Dan’s banner. These were the four encampments around the Tabernacle in the wilderness.

8: And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
The four beasts represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Each beast has six wings; there are four beasts, which tells us that there are 24 wings all total. Wings were sometimes used to describe great leaders such as the two wings that brought the children of Israel out of Egypt; these wings were types and shadows of Moses and Aaron. Also the four wings on the back of the four-headed leopard in Daniel that represented the four leaders of the four nations that made up the Grecian kingdom under Alexander the great.

So, the 24 wings represent 24 men who are responsible to help Israel get to heaven. These wings are will carry them there. These 24 men are the same as the 24 elders who are sitting around the throne. The 12 patriarchs and the 12 disciples, the reason they are shown as wings is because God’s promises to these 12 men are why Israel, all of Israel, will be saved in the last days.

These four beasts were full of eyes verse 6 says that they were full of eyes before and behind. In this verse it says that they are full of eyes within. Israel has been held in partial blindness since the time that Christ walked on this earth. These eyes that we see are a description of the time that Israel will be able to see and understand. This means that will be saved and know that they are saved.

The fact that the location of these eyes being before, behind and within is a confirmation of Israel’s salvation. They are able to say which was, because God has given them eyes behind, He has given them eyes to see into the past to believe that Jesus was the one that came to Israel and was crucified for their sins. Jesus was really the Messiah after all.

They say, and is. They have been given eyes to see within. How do they know that Jesus is? Because Jesus is now living in their hearts just like you and me. This is how we know that he is, because he lives in us. Jesus told Nicodemus that you can't see the kingdom of God until you have been born again. They have been born again.

They say and is to come. Because they have been given eyes before, they are able to see what lies ahead of them. Now they realize that Jesus is going to come and rapture them out of here with the rest of the Church, Gentile and Jew alike for there is neither in the kingdom of God.

God was giving John a vision of a group of Jews who will be saved before the Seven Year Tribulation begins. There is a lot of scripture in the Bible about this, but most people don't realize that it is there. One of the things that have blinded the gentile church to the truth concerning Bible prophecy is our own desire to see ourselves in the scripture. We are the best at taking the scriptures in the Old Testament, written to Israel and turning them into a spiritual blessing for ourselves. By doing this we have blinded our own selves to what God has actually promised to Israel, and have obscured the meanings of much prophecy given concerning us. He has something greater in store for us than we could ever imagine.

It is the unusual in this allegory that tells us what God wants us to see. The Ox of Ephraim has become a calf. This is very revealing. It is a baby ox, Ephraim's ox has been born again. God is telling us that Ephraim has been born again. If the lion had been a lion Cub, sometimes called a whelp, it would have been telling us that all of Israel had been saved. Why? Because Israel is still under two banners, the Ox or the Lion, all of Israel. God has never changed his mind. Since the Lion is still an old Lion, not a baby Lion, this tells us that the Jews in the Land of Israel have not been saved yet. These under the Ox are clearly the Jews in the Western Hemisphere. God still sees Israel in two groups. It doesn't matter what tribe you were from. If you live in the Western Hemispere and you are a Jew, you are under Ephraim's banner the Ox. If you live in the Eastern Hemisphere you are under Judah's banner the Lion.

There are an estimated 13 million Jews living in the world today scattered among the nations. Gradually the Jews have been going to two countries in the world. In the past two hundred years they have either gone to one of two places. That is the United States of America, or the nation of Israel. These are the two main gatherings of the Jews, Ezekiel's two sticks. God has promised to save the Jews in America and the Western Hemisphere first.

Jeremiah 31: 9:They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

In these scriptures God is telling us that Ephraim, the Jewish people who are living in the western Hemisphere, will be saved first. There is something else that is important to take note of and that is this. The firstborn had the birthright, which meant that they also had a double portion. These people will possess a double portion of God's Spirit when they are saved. The Spirit of God is part of their inheritance. But there is more.

The simple fact that the four beasts are telling Jesus in the fifth chapter of Rev. that he is worthy to open the seals. This tells us that this is going to happen before the tribulation begins. Simply because he hasn't broken the seals yet. The tribulation will begin when the first seal is broken.

9: And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
This scripture says that the four beasts give glory and honor and thanks to God who is setting on the throne. This is a mystery because it appears in verse 8 that they are talking about him being the one who is and was and is yet to come. But we are not looking for the return of God the Father, we are looking for the return of the Lord Jesus.

This is speaking of glorifying God through Christ. These four beasts are giving glory and honor to God by accepting Jesus and being thankful for it. This pleases God, you cannot come to God except through Jesus Christ. Israel in the past has dishonored God by not accepting Jesus Christ. In verse 8 these four beasts are saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. We are shown in Revelation Chapter 1 verses 7-8.

7:Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
8: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

10: I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11: Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
12: And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13: And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

10: The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
The sight of Israel worshipping Jesus is more than the 24 elders can handle. This is something they have desired for a very long time. They fall down and worship God the Father who is setting on the throne. They cast their crowns before his feet in gratitude because they know that without him it would have never happened. Remember the crowns are their heavenly rewards. They are saying this means much more to us, to see Israel coming to God is worth more than all of our heavenly rewards.

11: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
They are worshipping the Father telling him that he is worth to receive glory and honor and power because all of this is the works of his hands. God’s whole plan was founded before the earth was ever created. All of the souls who are being saved were part of his great plan in creation. Jesus the Son of God created all thing to please the Father. John told in John 1: 10: He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Ephesians 3:9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Ephesians 1: 9: Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

God Bless You
Tommie Spurgeon

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