May – June 2024 Newsletter - Seeking God with Elaine

I put out the last newsletter after we completed the letters to the Messianic congregations. Since then, the ending of the series didn’t fall in line with the normal times I put out newsletters. This last series has been longer than I initially intended it to be.

So, I am going to stop right now and catch up on the newsletters. This devotion will be the Opening the Door of Heaven series.

Inviting John to Heaven

Chapters 4 and 5 contain John’s second vision. He saw Heaven itself.
Jesus said that only God knows the date and time things will happen. My humble opinion is that we aren’t supposed to know the exact how, either. We’re supposed to know enough to question but not figure it all out.
It is possible that John was using language he knew to describe something he could not describe. He was not trying to make it symbolic. He was trying to make it practical.
The open door is a welcoming visual because it is practical, but it can be difficult to assimilate when we try to put everything together.
Jacob just saw the steps leading up to a semi-open door. Angels were ascending and descending.
Jacob didn’t see into Heaven as John did. All he saw was the path to get there. John got an open door — and step through it.
We can’t think that John just glanced over and saw the door to Heaven. Just as Jesus had to open the minds of the men on the road to Emmaus to the meaning of the Scriptures (Lk. 24: 45), God had to open John’s eyes to see the door to Heaven.

We can only enter Heaven by accepting the gift of salvation. It becomes our only door to forgiveness and purity. It becomes our only door to God.
We open the doors to Heaven through our prayers in the Holy Spirit. When we sense His presence, grace, and mercy, we are brought to the threshold of Heaven.
We throw the door open wide when we actually study what God’s Word says, not just read it. Doors open and light bulbs come on when we finally understand with clarity who Jesus is.
True worship opens doors for us. When we are performing what we were made to do – praise Sovereign God – we are closer to where God wants us to be.
Heaven is filled with splendor and majesty. It is pure. That pure life is occurring now in Heaven while we are experiencing the trials of this life. It isn’t some fairy tale out of a musty old book. It is a living, breathing place where eternity has already started for some.
The time on earth is in the now. The time in Heaven is in the now and in the future.
It wasn’t that God was going to show John a typical day in the neighborhood. John was going to get to see what would happen 2000+ years down the road.
We gain by not having sight. We don’t need discipline when what we have put our trust in is right there.
Discipline makes us stronger.

Glossary

The Voice of Heaven

John was invited to God’s throne room.
One way the trumpet was used was to signify the reading of the law. We talked in Revelation 1 how a trumpet will play a large part in the Second Coming.
Well, Isaiah 58: 1 identified the trumpet as a voice. To me, that gives it a strong, clear quality.
I like the combination of those two things. The voice with a strong, clear quality is presenting, as the trumpet of the law, the Plan of Salvation.
The voice of the trumpet is calling one and all through the open door to Heaven.
Having laws and commandments without voices from Heaven would be so impersonal. It would be a cut and dry to-do list. Do the do’s. Don’t do the don’ts.
Instead, we have God Who sings to us (Zeph. 3: 17). We have Jesus Who comes to us. We have the Holy Spirit Who does everything for us – teaches us, encourages us, comforts us.
Instead, we have a Sovereign God Who deals with us personally. We have a divine God Who gave His life for us. We have a Spirit Who never leaves us.
What the voice like a trumpet was saying was for John to walk through Heaven’s door.
God is the One to call us to salvation. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn. 6: 44 ESV).
Old Testament people knew that there was a Heaven. They just didn’t know that it was a place for them to go. When Jesus came, that was the first that had heard of that concept. John didn’t know what to expect when he walked through the open door into Heaven.
One of the reasons Revelation is so hard to understand is that it is written about future events. What was shown to John was so far out of his experience – and probably comfort zone – that he probably had trouble grasping all of it.
Another reason is that John was being shown events from a heavenly perspective. God sees things a different way than we do.
Doesn’t God want our focus to be on spiritual things? We, like God, shouldn’t put priority on the physical. We, like God, need to focus on the spiritual and our condition thereof.
John had already been in spirit to talk to Vision Man, but this in spirit could be construed as something different. Before, John was talking with Vision Man, but he was still on Patmos. Did he physically go to Heaven here?
God showed John the mysteries of the life above. I think this ties into Colossians 3: 1. It is part of, like the Ephesians, keeping our first love. We have to keep God as our priority.
Do we envision that as being in a trance? Do we think of it as an out-of-mind, out-of-body experience? What if it just mean being in Christ? Our hearts have to be open to Him to see Him. Yes, that would make it more than a special occasion occurrence. We would be in the Spirit daily. But isn’t that what we are supposed to do? Aren’t we supposed to walk with the Spirit?
We have to approach the open door to Heaven realizing Who God is. He is Sovereign God. His majesty and glory are indescribable by our mere words.
We have to realize we have never been in a worship service like we will encounter in Heaven. Don’t worry. True disciples will love it. Goats masquerading as sheep won’t be there.

God’s Throne in Heaven

John really didn’t describe the throne he saw in Heaven. We don’t really know why there was no description of the throne.
Maybe it was indescribable. Maybe he wanted the focus to be on the One on the throne rather than the throne itself.
We know that this is a throne of grace and mercy. We need both from God.
The throne is high and lifted up because it belongs to Sovereign God. He has authority over everything. We acknowledge that when we acknowledge His existence.

Is the throne referenced here the great white throne we will see in Revelation 20? Is it the seat of judgment? Probably. We know for certain that it is a throne of holiness.
John saw Someone with the appearance of jewels. These are stones that were included in the High Priest’s breastplate (Ex. 28: 17-20).
Jasper is the finest form of a diamond. Carnelian, also called sardius, is a ruby. Those stones represented the tribes of Israel. Jasper represents Benjamin, and carnelian represents Reuben.
John has to be speaking of God. But an appearance of jewels is a whole lot different than the eyes of flame, feet of bronze, mouth boasting a two-edged sword description of Revelation 1.
Both descriptions could be accurate. This is describing the face of God. The others were describing specific elements of His face.
The eyes, feet, and mouth may be highlighted because the context of those passages of Scripture needed God the Judge. This passage may be looking at the God of Peace.
I don’t think we really need any other description of God. We get that He is a judge. We get that He is even keeled.
The emerald rainbow denotes God’s mercy.
The rainbow is often described by jewels – emerald this time. Also in the High Priest’s breastplate, the tribe it represents is Judah. That was the tribe in which Jesus was a descendant. Judah became the leader of the family when Reuben staged a coup and Simeon and Levi became murderers.
The rainbow was God’s promise. The rainbow was always a symbol of reconciliation. But it also emphasized God’s hatred for sin.

We have to accept the terms of the covenant. We are not just entitled to His blessings.

The throne — the symbol of authority and governance. Thrones are the seat of power. The rainbow — the symbol of mercy. Its beauty magnifies God’s holiness. It showcases His glory.

The Elders of Heaven

The elders have been given a seat of honor from which they can lead the prayer and praise service 24/7/365/eternity.
The thrones denote this as a place of honor for 24 beings. They get to sit down, giving them dignity. Because they are wearing white garments, we know that they have been glorified.
Sitting on a throne around the throne of Sovereign God would be, I think, designated for someone of deep commitment and faithful service. It would be someone with more than just a mustard-seed faith. The elders didn’t win the lottery and were just chosen to take the elder’s throne. They gained that right because of their spiritual condition.
The 24 attendants around God’s throne are called elders. Who the elders are is never stated. Their identify goes is the UNR book — understanding not relevant.
We know from other references in the Book of Revelation that these elders worship God.
I can see half of the elders being the sons of Israel (Jacob). It was on these men and their offspring that the nation of Israel was founded.
Old Testament faithful will have their place in Heaven if they are deemed righteous.
We right away jump to thinking the elders are old dudes because they are called elders. I don’t think that is it. If it is based strictly on chronological age, the Apostles probably wouldn’t be eligible for the honor. They all died young men – except John.
What all the Apostles were was elders in the faith. They are rooted and grounded in the faith. They have endured trials and tribulations to grow in God’s grace and knowledge.
A second head-scratcher this brings up is if the Apostles are 12 of the 24 and are judging the tribes of Israel, and the sons of Israel are 12 of the 24, who are they judging?
God is not going to turn His back on Israel and just go with the New Testament Church. He told Abraham that the term of His covenant with him was forever. True, I believe the Israelis born since Jesus came need to confess Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer. God is not going to punish the Old Testament Israelites because they were born prior to the Savior’s arrival.
I guess I can see the elders being priests. Priests have always been in charge of worshiping God.
The number 24 could represent the number of courses of priests and Levites who served at the Temple. This would mean that a full contingent is in place to ensure continuous worship of Sovereign God.
I think it is significant that this is another use of light. We know Jesus is the light of the world.
Here, the seven torches are symbolizing the seven spirits of God. Some believe the seven spirits to be the Holy Spirit. Some think seven spirits to be Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is torches.

The Creatures of Heaven

The glass sea is a barrier between Heaven and earth.
Here, the glass sea may have a more spiritual meaning. It brings to mind the bowl in Solomon’s temple where the priests did their ritual washing (I Kgs. 7: 23-26).
The sea being as crystal is important. That makes it see through. Yes, God is far away in Heaven, but that doesn’t mean He can’t see us. We know God is all-seeing.

But we can’t fathom how that would be if Heaven has a floor. A glass floor is the perfect explanation. There is no impediment keeping God from seeing us.
The description of the four living creatures creates an interesting visual.
These creatures have been identified by some as the cherubim, a special order of angels, which represents God’s presence. When a distinction is made, most angels are identified as cherubim.
The eyes within, I think, play a vital role. It is through this self-examination that we make our choices to submit to God. Even angels have the choice, because Satan chose not to submit.
The creatures’ possession of six wings makes us think these are angels. Maybe. We aren’t really told any other task given to the creatures other than worshiping God.
But for the most part, each creature has individual characteristics. The lion represents wild beasts. Domesticated animals are represented by the ox. The representative for birds is the eagle. Last, man is represented. Each are at the top of the food chain.
Jewish tradition connects these creatures to the groupings of the twelve tribes of Israel situated around the tabernacle. There were four groups with three tribes each. Each group had one tribe that was stronger than the other two, and each had a symbol.
Like the elders, the living creatures continuously praise God.
The task assigned to the creatures is to praise God 24/7/365/eternity. God is worthy of our praise. In fact, the reason for Heaven is to give Him that continual praise.
We tend to think that continual worship is just a Heaven thing

The seventh day didn’t get an evening-and-morning-made-the-day statement. The day of rest — the day of worship — will never end.
Our worship was always meant to be continuous.
Knowledge and worship have to go hand in hand. We must actively take part — in seeking to know God better and in giving Him the glory and honor He deserves.
We have to get worship down to the heart level. We have to be totally focused on being more and more in tune with God.
By repeating holy three times, it is signifying God’s supreme holiness.
Total focus is on God. We have to humbly give Him the glory He has due.
The elders and the living creatures feed off each other to give God perpetual praise.
Some like to think they are going to get to keep their crowns. Nope, our crowns are going to be given to the Lamb.
We usually focus on the priest part of First Peter 2: 9. We have a tendency to skip right over the royal part. But think of it. We are children of God, the Most High King. Of course, we are royalty! We will also be royalty because we will be the bride of Christ. We will also be royalty because we will have been victorious over sin.
What better way to honor the author of our salvation and eternal life? Casting our crowns is a practical display of our love, gratitude, and reverence. We will be showing our commitment to the One Who saved us.
Jesus was not only present at creation, but He also took an active part in it.

The Plan on a Scroll

God Himself has possession of the scroll outlining events leading to the Day of the Lord.
The scroll is in God’s right hand.

John saw a sealed scroll that there was an urgent need for opening.
What we should focus on are what is on the scroll and the seven seals. Each seal divulges some of what is on the scroll.
At this point, John didn’t know it was an explanation of history’s end. All he knew at this point was that there was so much written on it that it was filled front and back.
The Author of the scroll is never mentioned. We know, however, that it is God.
God, in this wisdom, has chosen to reveal the future to us. This revelation is so that we can be prepared, but it is also so that we can see his magnificence. But it is more than that. God is showing us the unseen world.
But, do we have a clue as to the contents of the scroll – just the seals? We consider the bowls and the trumpets and the rest of the book as what is on the scroll. Is it? Nowhere in the Book of Revelation does it say and-the-scroll-says anything.
We think that God will only judge on the Day of the Lord. Or that He will judge at the conclusion of whatever sin we are committing. Oh, no. God doesn’t just let us go and hang us at the end. He may step in at the middle and judge us.
This is the complete volume. Nothing has been left out. God explained — and promised — it all.
What is going to happen is predestined. How we choose to react to that isn’t predestined. God knows what our choices will be. We still get to make them.
How do we know the scroll contains everything? God sealed it with seven seals. The number seven signifies completeness.
Why is the book sealed? God is in control. The scroll comes from Him and His authority. Nothing is going to change the outcome of what is written there. Mainly, I think the scroll was sealed because God didn’t want anyone to know how horrible it is going to be until the time was right.

No One Worthy — or Is There?

An angel issued a call to open the scrolls.
Why didn’t God open the seals? He didn’t need to because He already knew the contents.
If, as some believe, it is the deed to the universe, it already belonged to God. It still does.
God had already given Jesus authority over everything. Maybe, this is like a coronation ceremony – an official passing of the authority.
The scroll was carefully guarded in God’s right hand. Now, it was going to be carefully and lovingly passed off to Someone Who was chosen for the job.
The call went out to all of Heaven. Heaven is a vast place. Many people have arrived there already. Many of the angels never left and followed Satan.
No one in Heaven was found worthy to open the scroll or even look at it.
Verse 3 says able. Verse 2 says worthy. We know Jesus is the only one righteous enough to open the seals. What this says but doesn’t say is that there were those who were capable of opening it.
We needed to see that Satan was considered and rejected from being worthy. At one point, he may have been considered worthy, but he blew it.
There is only One Who is worthy to open the seals.
John was concerned that – in all of Heaven – no one was even worthy to look into it, let alone open it.
We can’t fault John for his reaction. Heaven elicits an extreme response. John wept uncontrollably – and he hadn’t seen what was inside yet.
Weeping isn’t always a bad thing. When weeping is the product of sorrow, it can allow our hearts to be corrected.
John knew Jesus was worthy. Yet, John loses it when no one is deemed worthy. He doesn’t question where Jesus is.

We cry and cry over some sin God has already forgiven. We fear God will give up on us because we can’t seem to lick this sinning.
God is a loving, merciful God. He isn’t necessarily concerned about the do’s and don’t’s. He is more concerned with our attitude.
One was found worthy to open the sealed scroll.
Daniel called Him the Son of Man. John knew Him as the Lamb. “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (Jn. 1: 29 ESV).
What we should focus on here, for a second before we dive deeper, is that all the titles are from the Old Testament. Heaven hasn’t abandoned Abraham’s seed because a Church was established.
Here, John is point blank told Who is worthy. The elder said it in a matter-of-fact manner. He and the other elders weren’t stressing over it.
It is sticking with me that the elder comforted John. No, it wasn’t Jesus Who came running to throw His arms around the disciple that He loved. Instead, another inhabitant of Heaven comforted one of God’s children.
We are to care for each other. When one of us is hurting and despondent, we are to give comfort and aid. But we have to remember, this comfort and aid is done in the name of Jesus, not just something we are doing because we are a good person and care for our fellow man.
The Lion of Judah title came from Jacob’s blessing of his sons when he was about to die.
God needed Someone with Jesus’ strength to accomplish the Plan of Salvation. It was no walk in the park, His crucifixion. He needed Someone like Him. God needed Someone strong to go counterculture. And that is what He called Jesus – and us – to do. We are to be opposite of the worldview.
Because Jesus conquered sin, only He was totally obedient to God and could open the seals. How did Jesus conquer sin?

Jesus Makes His Entrance

Jesus was always at the center. From even before creation, Jesus was the basis of the Plan of Salvation.
If we are not growing, we are not growing closer to God and becoming more like Him. In fact, if we are not growing, we are dying.
In order to grow, we have to keep Jesus in the center of our lives and hearts. We have to keep looking up to Him.
Jesus is everything, just as God is everything.
God’s Word set the provision that there had to be two or three witnesses saying the same thing before the testimony was deemed reliable. God doesn’t need two or three witnesses. He will always speak truth.
So, all the usages of the title the Lamb that was slain was, really, when God Himself used them. Wouldn’t this be a kick? First-century Jews would have loved the Messiah being identified as the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5: 5).
If Jesus wasn’t the Sacrificial Lamb, He would not be the Savior of the world. It is only through His blood that we are cleansed. More than that, the Sacrificial Lamb is glorified in His resurrection. He is given a place of honor by the Ancient One’s throne.
Jesus always saw Himself as the Servant of God. He never did anything that God didn’t tell Him to do. He always did everything God told Him to do. In other words, Jesus always followed God’s plan — even when that plan led to suffering.

We have to understand what is meant by the word sent. Here, it really means being sent. God sends the Holy Spirit daily when we take up our cross daily (Lk. 9: 23).
Jesus is a man of action.
We focus so much on the fact that Jesus is the only One Who could be the Savior. Only He was worthy enough to open the seals. We often don’t consider that Jesus could have said no.

By opening the seals, Jesus is still being God’s Messenger.
Everything Jesus did for us was out of love. He loves us enough to have sacrificed Himself so that we could be restored to a right relationship with God.
Jesus didn’t conquer suffering. He completed the Plan of Salvation because He suffered. Conquering suffering would make it a worldview thing. We suffer in this world.

Music in Worshiping the Lamb

The Lamb is worshiped after He is found worthy to takes the scroll and does take it.
Music permeated first-century Jewish culture. We can see this because it is all throughout God’s Word.
As with everything, music can be a part of our sinful nature.
When we think of a musical instrument in God’s Word, we probably think of the ram’s horn (Shophar). Translators may call it a trumpet.
Whatever it is called in translation, it had an important function. It called Israel to war and announced when danger was present. It announced new moons and sabbaths. It also announced deaths of important nobility and mourns those who have died.
More importantly, music is used in worship. What the elders use to worship the Lamb is reminiscent of what was used in the Temple.
Although specific details are not given regarding how music was used in Temple worship, we know it was. We do know music is often used as praise and thanksgiving.
In fact, the Book of Psalms is a book of songs, many of which were used in worship. That is why there is musical notations in them.
It is important that we worship God. Music is one way to do it.
We can worship using a variety of instruments – our voice being just one. We can employ different styles.
We have to make sure we are worshiping the way God wants us to worship. We know what He does when worship isn’t correct.

Worshiping the Lamb that Was Slain

The Lamb that was slain deserves our worship.
Jesus had just received the scroll from God. Immediately, everyone we have met so far fall down and worship Him. They didn’t fall down in fear. They worshiped in joy and humility.

We have to have the mind of Christ – His attitude. We have to follow His example.
It is only as we step through the open door to Heaven that we find true salvation. It is then we see the Lamb and receive the bodies in which we will never sin again.
Music has always been an important part of worship.
What the elders used to worship the Lamb is reminiscent of what was used in the Temple.
We are all to worship God.
Every elder had a harp. Each of the four living creatures had a harp. That is 28 instruments. They had to be in tune. They had to sound as one.
When the music director announces that the congregation will be learning a new song, most probably cringe. Some choose not to sing. Not with the living creatures and the elders. Every one of them sang. They already knew the song. They sang it with joy and abandon.
Our prayers are worship of Jesus.
Our prayers are like incense to God.
In the golden bowls are more than one person’s prayers. That means our prayers are combined. That also pulls in the harmony of the harps.

The Song of the Elders and Living Creatures

The elders and the living creatures took their musical instruments without hesitation and sang to the Lamb with one accord.
It is a new song, but it could be based on God’s Word.
The worship bubbled out of the living creatures and elders because they were full of a life they enjoyed.
If Someone is forcing us to do something we don’t want to do, I don’t think we would be singing with the reverence given to the Lamb. We would be kicking and screaming. Instead, this worship was real and heartfelt.
The song starts and ends with Christ. He alone is worthy to open the scroll.
Jesus is constantly standing in the gap for us. This ties in with His job as Mediator. He is an intermediary between us and God – until we are allowed to see God face to face.
What is perplexing me is that this theme hadn’t been sung in Heaven before this time. I could see them not praising Jesus until the Plan of Salvation was a done deal. But Jesus had ascended back to heaven years before. It had probably been around 60 years since the last time John had seen Jesus. Why didn’t they praise Jesus for His obedience when the Plan of Salvation was completed?
The song focuses on Jesus’ obedience. The operative word is the Lamb Who was slain.
The Plan of Salvation has already been completed. But this happened 2,000+ years ago. There was a lot of saving that was waiting to happen – including you and me.
This just demonstrates Jesus’ love for us.
There was a reason why Jesus shed His blood. It was for our redemption. That is the theme of this song.
Yes, the Israelites are God’s chosen people. He also chose us for whom to lay down His life for our redemption. However, it wasn’t a blanket redemption for the whole world.

We have to be forgiven of our sins to have access to God. Those who have not ABCDed are still mired in their sin. God cannot grant them an audience.
Salvation must start here in this life. We can’t expect to get to Heaven on the Day of the Lord and be rewarded for a life that was not lived for God. This life is a training ground for Heaven.
We have to make a conscious and sincere decision to believe in Jesus and submit to God in order to be saved. Each of us has to sing the song and mean it.
The ransomed will be rewarded with titles of kings and priests.
We are only kings and priests when we have given our allegiance to the Lamb Who was slain. It is only through the exaltation that we receive for making that decision do we become this.
We are royals and priests because of grace. We are priests because we have access to God.

The Songs of the Angels and Creation

An angel choir joined in the worship service with a song of their own.
The angels formed another circle around the Lamb, elders, and living creatures. It is like they are standing guard.
There is just more of them, necessitating a position a little further back. The position does not carry any semblance of rank.
Sometimes, I think we consider the angels are the worker bees. They probably do work. But they take time to praise the Lamb.
The angels know that the Lamb is worthy.
Jesus didn’t redeem the angels. They didn’t need redemption. They never sinned. In a way, we can say that it isn’t personal for them – not like it is for us. We need redemption – they don’t. They praise anyway! “… ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’” (Rev. 5: 12 ESV).
The angels know the magnitude of the Lamb’s sacrifice. They understand the importance of why it needed to be done.

But we can’t forget that the angels are adding their voices to the elders, who had been redeemed. Heaven is all about unity.
Everyone who acknowledges God as Sovereign Lord and Jesus as Savior and Redeemer can worship the Lamb.
We are to give everything to God. We aren’t supposed to keep anything under our own control. We are to give everything to the Lamb.
We know that Jesus has already been given authority.
We know that Jesus gave up everything to come to earth to be our Savior. Jesus received it back when He returned victorious. Maybe this is the angels asking that He get it back.
We were created to worship God. That is what we are going to do throughout eternity. We will be singing the songs of Heaven, not necessarily the songs of earth.
More importantly, we will be seeing the Lamb in the midst.

To read devotions in the On the Day of the Lord theme, click the button below.

Devotions in the Opening the Door of Heaven series

Devotions in the The Appearance of the Lamb series

Devotions in the Worshiping the Lamb Who Was Slain series

Seeking to imitate God in our lives