The Door Standing Open in Heaven

John's hand must have ached. On the rocky island of Patmos, Jesus had given him seven letters to write, one for each of seven churches. To the church in a town called Philadelphia, Jesus had said, "I have put an open door in front of you, and no one can shut it."

After that, John looked up. There in heaven was a door, standing open.

Then came the voice he had heard on the Lord's Day, the one like a trumpet. "Come up here," it said, "and I will show you what must happen after this."

At once the Spirit took hold of John, and instead of the gray sea he was looking at a throne.

Someone was sitting on it. John never described his face, only that he shone like precious stones, clear jasper and deep red carnelian. A rainbow circled the throne, green as an emerald.

Around it sat twenty-four elders on twenty-four thrones, dressed in white, with gold crowns on their heads. Lightning flashed out from the center throne. Thunder rumbled and cracked. Seven torches of fire blazed in front of it, and before it lay a sea of glass, clear as crystal, smooth as a pond on a day with no wind.

Closest to the throne were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and behind. The first was like a lion. The second was like an ox. The third had a face like a man's. The fourth was like an eagle in flight. Each had six wings, with eyes all over those too, even underneath. (Nobody has ever sneaked up on one of them.)

And the creatures were singing. Day and night they sang, and they never once stopped:

"Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and who is,
and who is still to come!"

Holy means set apart: so good and pure and bright that nothing wrong can come near.

Every time the creatures sang, the twenty-four elders fell on their faces and threw their gold crowns down before the throne. (Crowns are usually for keeping. These elders kept handing theirs straight back to the King.)

"You are worthy, our Lord and God," they cried, "to receive glory and honor and power! You made all things. They are here because you wanted them."

Far below, the churches that loved Jesus were in danger. Up here, Someone was still on the throne, and all of heaven was singing to him.

Still, no one simply walks up to a throne like that. Moses begged to see God's glory and saw only his back. Hundreds of years later the prophet Isaiah saw a throne like this one and heard the same "Holy, holy, holy," and he cried, "I am ruined! My lips are dirty!" Still the way up stayed shut, and God's people waited for someone to open it.

So who had opened that door for John? The trumpet voice from that Lord's Day, the one who had promised Philadelphia a door no one can shut. Years before, in Jerusalem, John had heard that same voice say, "I am the door. Whoever comes in through me will be saved."

Jesus had died and risen again to open the way to his Father's throne, and when he opens a door, no one can shut it.