The book of the revelation of
the Lord Jesus Christ begins with John, the Lord's beloved
disciple, the disciple whom Jesus loved. He's on the island of
Patmos. It's the Lord's day, it's Sunday. He had been exiled there because
he believed and preached the gospel of God's free grace to
sinners through the doing and the dying and the resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ. On that Lord's Day, as John thought
about the things of God, thinking about the Savior, no doubt the
last time he saw him, John saw him when he was ascending up
into heaven. Before that, John had, of course,
seen him at the cross. John had heard the Savior speak
to him, saying to him to provide for Mary and for Mary to look
to John as being her son. the one who would provide for
her, John saw our Lord Jesus suffering and bleeding and dying
in order to save all of his people from our sins. John then saw
him after our Lord's resurrection, and he rejoiced in the Savior
who had bought him with his own precious blood, the Savior who
redeemed him, the Savior who put his sins away, the Savior
who established righteousness for him, and the Savior who imputed
that righteousness to the account of John. John saw him ascend
up into heaven, and then he went forth preaching the gospel. And
there was a price to be paid for standing for the gospel back
in those days. So John was arrested, they tried
to kill him, couldn't do it. He wound up then under the reign
of Domitian being exiled to this island as a prisoner of Rome
where John would join other prisoners busting rocks for the Roman Empire. And on
the Lord's Day, as he was thinking about the Savior, I'm sure, he
heard a voice and then he saw the glorified Savior. John's description of him is
given in Revelation chapter 1. There was a magnificence about
the Christ of Calvary that practically defied description. Oh, the wonders
of the glories of the Son of God. You see, He has been crowned
with glories because of His victory upon the cross of Calvary over
all of the enemies of God's people. He has satisfied God's justice,
and God therefore exalted him above all, and given him the
seat at the right hand of the throne of God, where the Son
of God reigns in heaven above. And for the children of God,
when we depart this life, we go to be with that very same
Savior. Oh, what joy filled the heart
of John when he passed away and entered into the presence of
this same Jesus. And oh, the joy of every redeemed
sinner when they leave this life and then see the Savior face
to face. Oh, what joy to behold his glory. John saw the glorified Christ. Scared him to death. He fell
at the feet of the master. And the Lord Jesus touched him
there in chapter one and said, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. And then we get over into chapter
four after John writes the letters that the Lord Jesus gave him
to the seven churches of Asia Minor. We get into chapter four
which begins, after this I looked, I looked, and behold a door was
opened in heaven. What happens to the people of
God when they die? Well, they enter into heaven. Don't make the mistake of believing
the error of popish doctrine. That is the heresy of there being
an intermediate state between life and heaven or hell. There is no purgatory. Let's
be straight about that. There is no purgatory. When you
leave this world, if you leave this world in Christ, united
to Christ, washed in his blood, robed in his righteousness, in
the garments of God's salvation, you go immediately into paradise. What did our Lord Jesus say to
that believing thief? When that thief said, Lord, remember
me when thou comest into thy kingdom, the Lord Jesus said,
verily I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me. He didn't
say in purgatory. He didn't say today thou shalt
be with me in an in-between state. He said, verily I say unto thee,
today thou shalt be with me in paradise. in a walled garden,
in a glorious place that defies description. And so when a believer leaves
this life, indeed the body must be sown as a seed in the ground. to be reaped in the final harvest
when our Lord Jesus comes back, but the soul goes back to God. The soul of the unrighteous goes
back to God and then is turned into hell. But the souls of the righteous are welcomed into paradise. We go to heaven. What must that
be like? I know in John 14, the Lord gave
us a little bit of understanding there, and there are several
things that could be said about heaven, and I'm only gonna mention
this one before I get to this passage of scripture, but the
Father said, in my Father's house. That's what heaven is. It's the
Father's house. Let me tell you something, if
it's the Father's house, that's our house. Isn't that right? That's our house. We didn't build it. We didn't
make it. We didn't establish it. And we
don't get there by our work. Heaven is a city established
and built by God. And those who wind up there are
established and built upon the firm foundation of Christ Jesus
by the free grace of God, not of works, lest any man should
boast. Your work has nothing to do with
going to heaven. Our position in heaven as saints
of God is due to the work of somebody else. And I know it says that the works
of God's saints follow them. But let me tell you something.
Our Lord Jesus is our substitute. He has been our substitute from
the very beginning in every sense of that word. Substitute. He was our substitute in the
covenant of grace. He stood for us as our surety. We had a spokesman in that covenant. We had a representative in that
legal binding council of grace between the Trinity, Father,
Son and Spirit. We had somebody there representing
us. The son of God, our savior. He
was our substitute there. He was our substitute when he
came into this world and lived for us. He was our substitute. His life of obedience, that's
our life. Do you know that? And so when in the book of Revelation
it says, that blessed are the dead which dine the Lord from
henceforth, their works shall follow them. Our works are the
works of Christ Jesus. See, he who died for me, who
faced the justice of God for me, before that he lived for
me. In every detail of God's law,
He honored that for me. That's my life. I didn't obey that law, but I
obeyed it in Him. It's just like I didn't satisfy
divine justice, but I satisfied it in Him. He is my substitute
before the world began. He was my substitute in His life. He was my substitute in his death. He took my weapon for me. The scourge, the scourge of God's
rod of justice. It didn't fall on me. It fell
on my substitute. I safe in him. And when he was buried in a borrowed
tomb, I was buried with him. And when he was raised again,
I was raised with him. I come up out of the grave. There's
no death for me. There's no death for the child
of God. We died in Christ and we're risen with Christ. And when he stood and ascended
from that mountain in the sight of the disciples, We all ascended
with Him. And yonder He is in heaven, in
the Father's house. And that's where we really are. We have not yet experienced the
glory of that, and the wonder of that, and the majesty of that. But I'll tell you what, as sure
as He is there, so are we. So are we. He's always been our substitute. See, the doctrine of substitution,
it's a vital doctrine. He took our place, but we need
to remember that extend all the way back before the world began, all the way to the end. We stand in him. The disciples heard him say,
I'm going away. They said, where are you going?
He said, my father's house. That's what he started talking
about. My father's house. The father's house. You know,
there are many words in the Bible used to describe heaven. And
that's one of the phrases. The father's house. That's where
the family is. That's where our elder brother
is. What happens to a believer when
we leave this world? We go to be with the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit. We leave this body and immediately enter into the
presence of our God. And the very first person to
welcome us is the Son of God. I tell you what, He's got a lot
invested in us. He laid down His life for us.
It cost Him dearly to get me there. And I shall arrive. That's what
happens when a child of God leaves this world. They arrive in the
presence of Christ. John, on this Lord's Day, having
seen the majesty of Christ Jesus, and he wrote down as the Spirit
of God dictated to him the letters of Christ to the churches. After
that, he says, A word of amazement. Behold, look, see something utterly
astounding. John saw a door open into heaven. You know, earlier the apostle
Paul, he said he went to the third heaven and he saw things
and heard things that it wasn't lawful for a man to utter. Lazarus of John 11. His disease overtook him. Christ said he's asleep. The
disciples said, well, if he's sleeping, he does well. Our Lord
stooped down to their level. He said, he's dead. You can understand that, he's
dead. But he said, I go to, cause him to live again. Lazarus came
back, never said a word about what he saw when he entered into
heaven. Don't put any confidence in anything
anybody says, such as, well, I was on the operating table
and I flatlined. and I went to heaven and I saw
all these things, and they start describing it, I don't believe
a word of it. I don't believe a word of it.
Because Lazarus didn't say anything about it, and the apostle Paul,
who wrote over half the New Testament, he said, I can't tell you about
it. But John. Here he is in chapter 4 looking
into heaven. And the Spirit of God has recorded
this for all of the Lord's children. He says, Behold a door which
was opened in heaven. Here's a word of amazement. It's amazing that a door would
be opened in heaven for poor, lost, miserable, doomed sinners. Who is this door? Christ said, I'm the door. What is this door? Who is this
door that's been opened? There's a fountain open for sin. Who is that? The one who's the
door. And by his bloody death, heaven
is open to us. He's the door into heaven. He's the only entrance into heaven. I read an interesting story about
a Baptist congregation in Scotland. And they had a very historic
old building that they met in. And they outgrew it, pretty much,
and they built a newer, more modern building. And the old
building was a historical landmark, with the cemetery and all of
that. a place where tourists went to
see, that old church building. And the congregation, the Baptist
congregation met in the newer building. But on every fifth
Sunday, they'd go back to the old chapel
and they'd have the Lord's Supper there. Now they had put up an iron fence
all around the old chapel and its grounds. And there was one
gate. And ordinarily, that gate was
opened during the day for tourists to see that historic landmark. But on the last Lord's Day of
every month, once the congregation met in the newer auditorium,
then they dismissed and they went into the old building and
the gate was locked to keep the tourists from coming in when
they were taking the Lord's Supper. On this particular day, They
had a medium-sized group. And they had a few visitors that
listened to the preaching. And afterwards, a couple of the
visitors kind of cornered the preacher and got to talking to
him. And the rest of the congregation went on over to the old building. And the preacher got, as we tend
to do, got to talking and didn't pay much attention to the time
And as he visited with this couple of people, all the rest of the
church was assembled in the old building. And the gatekeeper
locked the gate so the tourists couldn't come in while they was
taking the Lord's Supper. And the preacher pulled out his
pocket watch and looked and told the visitors, he said, I've got
to go. I'm running late. So he left, walked down the path
to the old building that was surrounded, the building and
the yard around it, wrought iron fence, and he got to the gate
and the gate was locked. And he wrote in his journal,
he said, I could hear them singing inside. He said it sounded so
sweet. And he said, sang about the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, and I was locked
out. He said he yelled, nobody could hear him over the singing.
And he wrote and said this, I thought, what must it be like when the
gate of heaven is shut, the door of heaven is shut and locked,
and nobody else can come in? He said, I'm so glad that door
into heaven was open for me. I don't want to be locked out,
do you? I don't want to be locked out. I'll tell you something
about that door into heaven. It's a narrow way. And few there
be that find it. That's what Christ said. And I don't know your state with
God, your condition before a holy God, but I compel you to look
to the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the door. He's the door
to life. He's the door to acceptance with
God. He's the door to salvation. He's
the door. He's the entrance into heaven's
immaculate glory. And the amazing thing is this,
that right now the door is open. Even for you. Even for me. No wonder John used this word,
behold. Behold, the door was open. And
I'll tell you, it was opened at the cross. That's when the
door was opened into heaven. It stands open for guilty, hell-deserving
sinners, people who are ungodly by nature. And God washes them
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and robes them with His
robe of righteousness, and as it were, sprays upon us the perfume
of His glory. And the gate of heaven opens
for us. And when you die, you who are
the children of God, it'll be open for you. And it's not guarded by Simon
Peter either. He went in the same way you're
gonna have to go in. By the grace of the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper. Who is himself
the gate. who is himself the door. That's
a word of amazement. It was opened. And that door being opened, he
said, I heard a voice. The first voice I heard was as it were a trumpet talking
with me. talking with me. Come up hither. I was thinking about this. When
the Lord takes one of his children, I think he says to them, it's
time to come up hither. Come up hither. That's sweet
words to somebody whose body's wore out, diseased, aching. Come up hither. I know this door was virtually
opened in the covenant of grace. I know it was actually opened
when our Lord Jesus sojourned in the flesh. It was effectually
opened When he suffered, bled, and died as our substitute, it's
open. And he has taken every obstacle
out of the way that would hinder us from getting from here to
there. What do you think about that? Every obstacle's gone. Ain't
nothing standing in the way. The justice of God with its sword
drawn says, come on in. I've already done a work in the
heart and soul of your substitute. He suffered, bled, and died in
your stead. This sword is not raised against
you, but to protect you. Come on in. It's a word of entrance. John says, I heard this voice,
come on, come up hither. Come up hither. And it's a blessed day when the
Lord says to one of his children, come up hither. Your race is
run. I'll tell you when you'll leave
this life, when The Lord has used you for whatever purpose
he brought you into this world. When he's finished with you,
that's when you'll go up hither. And until then, you are immortal. And nobody can take you away
from here. But the Lord himself. He says, come up here and I'll
show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately John
says in verse two, as in the spirit, and behold, a throne
was set in heaven and one sat on the throne. He's looking into
heaven. He's looking into heaven. Disregard everything that you
heard on television about what people saw when they went to
heaven. Just disregard all of that as
garbage, because that's what it is. Here's a man, a door opened
in heaven. He hears a voice. He's looking
right into heaven itself. What do you see, John? That's
the question of that. What do you see? You're looking
into heaven, what do you see? And I read a book one time, my
doctor, I forget what this little kid's name was, but a book came
out about him, that he died and went to heaven and saw all of
this, and I read that, and my doctor had asked me about it.
And he gave me that book. He said, read this and let me
know what you think. And I did, and I wrote him a
paper. I told him what I thought of
it. That boy didn't say anything about seeing the throne. But John did. Now who am I going to believe? And that boy didn't say anything
about somebody sitting on that throne. All glorious. That boy didn't say something
about that. But John did. I think I'll believe
John. Don't you, Ron? I'm gonna believe
what he had to say. Because this is the word of God. So how can you explain what this...
I don't have to explain that. I can't explain it. Except to
tell you it's garbage. I can say that. Because here
I have it on divine authority. Here's a man looking into heaven. What do you see, John? I want
to know. I want to know when that door
was opened in heaven and you heard a voice that sounded like
a trumpet, what did you see? Don't you want to know? He says,
I saw a throne. That's what I saw. A throne,
notice the language, that was set. It's fixed. It's established. It's immovable. This throne is set. And somebody sat upon that throne. Somebody reigns. Somebody governs. Somebody has all authority in
heaven, earth, and in all deep places. One sat on the throne. And then
John goes on to describe this royal being. He says to look on him was like
looking at a rainbow. I tell you, a rainbow's beautiful,
isn't it? It's just absolutely beautiful.
One of the things we enjoy about going to Honolulu, usually there's
rain showers up in the mountains. Man, there are rainbows all over
the place. In fact, that's on their license tag, is a rainbow. You see, John is describing the
wonders and the glories of the God who sits upon that throne. John, what did you see when you
looked into heaven? I saw a throne. When you think
of a throne, what do you think of? King, right? Somebody who governs, somebody
who rules, somebody who has absolute authority,
that's our God. He sits upon the throne, looking into heaven. And just to see Him who is our God and King, that's going to be everything.
And let me tell you something, this life will soon be over for
all of us. And one of these days, the Lord's
going to say, come up, And then we'll go. That's not a question, do you
want to come up hither? That's a command. Come up hither. And then we'll go. And the amazing
thing is there's a door open into the presence of almighty
God for folks like you and me. For sinners. Saved by grace. That's all. I can't say more because the
scripture says it all. Let's get our...