6th Episode - Envision Heaven: Seven Descriptions of Heaven from Revelation 4:1-5:14

 A kindergarten teacher asked a young boy what he was drawing. Without pausing to look up, he said, “God!” The teacher smiled, saying, “But nobody knows what God looks like.” Without putting down his crayon, the boy announced, “After I’m finished they will.”

We may not have seen God or heaven, but John’s vision gives us a feel for the Person and the place. Someone said, “People make the place,” and a wise theologian called heaven “A little known region with a well-known inhabitant.” It is God who makes heaven a wonderful place. And just as John had a vision of Jesus, walking among the seven churches, before recording His letters to them, John now has a vision of Christ in heaven, before he records what must soon come to pass. John sees a Lamb seated upon God’s throne. In His right hand is placed this vital revelation. It is comforting to know, like the young boy who drew a lamb, who it is who reigns over all of human history. 

I’ve titled this chapter Envision Heaven. In it, John sketches the Person and the place for us. For God grants us entrance, pulling open the veil lest these things would remain hidden from our sight. He graciously shows us His throne, and “the One who sat there” who has a Scroll is in His right hand. The vision quickly moves to the worthy Lamb that was slain. He receives the Scroll and is now seated on the throne. What was once sealed is lying open in His hand and is the object of His revelation. Before the chapter ends, everything in heaven, on earth and under the earth is under His sway. This powerful vision is the foundation for all that follows in the Revelation.