Chapter 4 and verse 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 show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the Spirit. And behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne, 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. 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. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and thunderings, and voices, and there were seven lumps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. 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. 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. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about them, 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. And when those beasts Give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever. The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Amen. We know the Lord will bless the reading of His Word. I want to speak tonight briefly upon the opening part of verse number one of this chapter. And John says, After this I looked, and behold, A door was opened in heaven." And it's that phrase, a door was opened in heaven. Heaven's opened door, the open door of heaven, and what it signifies. Now, the analogy that's set before us here implies that it is not always the case. that heaven's door is open. Heaven's door is not always opened, but it's suggesting to us that there are certain seasons, there are certain times, there are particular and peculiar circumstances in which the door of heaven is opened to the Lord's people. God keeps the door to heaven shut and he keeps the door to heaven shut for good reason. An old preacher once said to his congregation, if you knew what heaven is, you would not have the patience to live here and to do your duty here. And I think there's a lot of sense in what that old preacher said. The closed door of heaven curbs curiosity, and it encourages the growth of faith. But that shouldn't prevent us from looking for the open door of heaven. That's what this text sets before us. Behold, a door was opened in heaven. There are times when the door of heaven is opened. And I want us just for a few moments to consider that thought. to consider when those times are, the circumstances in which there is a door opened in heaven. And I think we can say in the first place that the door of heaven is opened when a sinner is found or joined in union with Jesus Christ. If you turn over to 2 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul relates in that chapter a remarkable, a wonderful, and yet a remarkable experience. And he's speaking of his labors and his trials and his endeavors for the Lord, and also those great experiences by way of vision and revelation. And he says in verse number one of 2 Corinthians 12, It is not expedient for me, doubtless, to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell. God knoweth such an one caught up to the third heaven." A door was opened in heaven, and Paul speaks of this experience of being caught up into the third heaven. There was a time, there was a circumstance when he was caught up into heaven. And he says in verse 3, I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. He doesn't know whether he was in the Spirit or whether he was in the body. He could not perceive the circumstance in which this took place. Verse 4, how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. What an experience this was. For the apostle Paul caught up into the third heaven, and you'll notice he equates this to paradise in verse number four. The third heaven in verse two, in verse four it is paradise. They are one in the same place, synonymous terms for the same place. And he hears unspeakable words. which it is not lawful for man to utter." And I think that what he means by that is that what he saw, what he heard in the third heaven cannot be communicated adequately to us while we are still here in the flesh. We just cannot perceive. That's why I think the old preacher was right when he said, if you knew what heaven is, you would not have the patience to live here and do your duty. It simply cannot be described, and it cannot be comprehended, I hath not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has led up for them that love him." You'll notice here, Paul has this experience when the door of heaven is opened, and he's caught up into paradise. But did you notice the key phrase in verse number 2? I knew a man in Christ. And that's what precedes this experience of the open door of heaven. I knew a man in Christ. And that's reminding us that heaven, whether it be a spiritual experience or whether it be the physical experience, in death, when the soul leaves the body and enters into the Father's house, that the entrance into heaven, the door of heaven opened, only comes to those who are in Christ, who are joined in union to Christ. Prior to this, The door of heaven is closed, and it remains closed forever, unless and until a sinner is in Christ. That's the first answer to this question in Revelation 4, when is the door in heaven opened? It is opened when a sinner is joined in union with Christ and only then. But secondly, the door of heaven is opened in seasons of solitary meditation. Come back to Revelation chapter 4 and think of the setting here. This is the experience of John. And you can see he refers to himself, after this, I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven. And John is caught up immediately. I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven. And John sees this door opened, but he didn't see it when he was surrounded by company. He didn't see it in the company of other apostles or in the fellowship of the church. It was the very opposite. In chapter 1 and verse 9 of the book, he records the setting, and he says, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ, a reference to the fact that he had been exiled. And he has been sent, as it were, to an isolated island, a place apart, solitary confinement, as it were. But in verse number 10, notice the two locations. In verse 9, he says, I was in the isle that is called Patmos. But then in verse 10, he says, I was in the Spirit. So his physical location is this isolated island to which he has been exiled. But notice what happens. Notice what he's doing. He's in meditation. He's in a spirit of contemplation and communion with the Lord. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And I want you to see the setting now, when this door is opened and he's given this access to the heavenly realms, to see things from the heavenly perspective. He saw the door opened in heaven when he was engaged in the solitary meditation on spiritual things. There's no underestimating the benefit of solitary meditation when the soul gets alone with God. So important. It's almost a lost art today. It seems as if activity—religious activity—has been elevated above spiritual meditation. spiritual contemplation. And people will say, you can be so heavenly-minded to be of no earthly use, as if the two were at variance with one another. But that's not the case. Those who will be of greater earthly influence are those who are acquainted with heaven. they'll stand out, just like the pilgrims when they made their way through Vanity Fair, they stood out. And the reason why was because they had the atmosphere of heaven about them. I was reading recently a comment by the old Puritan preacher George Swinnock, and he said, solitude is a release to the soul that was imprisoned in company. What a tremendous statement. And people today are clamoring for the crowd. They want to be in the crowd. But you don't see the door to heaven opened when you're in the crowd. It's only when you get alone with the Lord, it's only when you engage in the solitary meditation, when you shut the door of the closet and get alone with the Lord, it's only then that we will see a door opened in heaven. So the door is opened in heaven when a soul is joined in union with Christ, and also when the believer engages in solitary meditation. But it's also true to say that a door is opened in heaven when a believer dies. And that's certainly true in our own case. When the time comes, if the Lord wills that we will traverse the valley of the shadow of death, then our death will be the opening of heaven's door. That's what we have to look forward to, because death is simply the opening of the door into heaven. the Lord says, come up hither, come up higher, come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. But it's not only true in our own personal experience. It's true also when another believer dies. In the reality of that event, captures the heart. The death of another Christian, the death of another believer, is something that makes us ponder our own mortality, the day of our death. And in effect, it's actually opening up the door to heaven. If you've ever had that experience when a friend or a loved one in Christ passes on, And in the days after, you contemplate that passing, and it makes you think of heaven. What is it like to be there? I remember a man in Scotland in Gardenstown, I remember he used to come to the services, a lovely old believer, and when he was dying, I remember being called in to see him. He was in the hospital. And I went in, and it was just he and I, and he wasn't far from the end of life's journey. And I remember him just sitting up, and his gaze was transfixed To me, it seemed as if he was looking at the wall, but he talked about seeing the light, seeing the light. The Lord was coming for him. The Lord was preparing for him. I never forget the impression that left on me. And I spoke about it at his funeral service, his passing, The passing of a fellow believer makes us think about heaven. It's the opening up of heaven's door. It brings eternal things. It beckons us to consider eternal things and to consider the heavenly realm. The old Methodists, in the early days of Methodism, they were renowned for their hymns, and they wrote lot of hymns. The Wesley brothers wrote a lot of hymns, and some of the hymns—in fact, a lot of the hymns—had to do with death and had to do with heaven. And when a Methodist, one of those early Methodists, died at their funeral, they would sing those particular hymns. And this is a verse from one of them, and it says they sang—this is what they sang—with songs, let us follow his flight. And mount with his spirit above, escaped to the mansions of light, and lodged in the Eden of love." That's what they sang at a funeral of a fellow brother or sister who had gone to be with the Lord. With songs let us follow his flight, When a believer dies, let us see the door opened in heaven. The Lord has opened the door for that person, and while that person's passing through, let us get as close to the door as possible and peer in and consider heavenly things. Sometimes we can miss the very positive benefit that death can impart, because the death of a believer opens the door of heaven and compels us to think upon Emmanuel's land. Behold, a door was opened in heaven, But it's also true to say the times of affliction are seasons when the door of heaven is open to us. Turn over to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1 and verse number 23, the apostle Paul is in a time of great affliction. His liberty has been taken away from him. He has been wrongfully accused. He's facing trial, and soon he will be executed for the sake of the gospel. But yet in the midst of that affliction, a door is opened in heaven. And this is what he says in verse number 20, He says, So now, also Christ, that Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour. Yet what I shall choose I know not, for I am in a great strain, betwixt two. I'm caught between two opinions, two desires. Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. I think the Lord brought to Paul's mind when he was in that prison cell in Rome. I think the Lord brought to his mind the experience that he relates to in 2 Corinthians 12, when he was caught up into the third heaven, caught up into the paradise. And what he saw, what he heard, had such a magnetism upon his soul that it creates this desire Oh, I want to be there. He had that impatience that the old preacher talked about. He knew what heaven was like, and now he's got that desire, that holy impatience, as it were. I have a desire to depart. Oh, there's a great tug of war in my soul. I am being tugged towards the heavenly realm, Emmanuel's land. yet at the same time, the tug of the purpose or the work of God and the people of God and the cause of the gospel upon this earth was tugging at his soul as well. And that's what he's talking about here in a straight betwixt two. I'm in a great dilemma between two opinions. I want to depart. I just want to be released. from this body that I might be with Christ, which is far better." And here he is in the time of affliction, and the Lord opens a door in heaven. And how often that's been the case for the Lord's people. If you read the letters of Samuel Rutherford when he was exiled from his church in Anwith during the Covenanting times, and they sent him away up to cold Aberdeen, and he was not allowed to preach, and he's imprisoned there in exile. And yet, in the midst of his cell, he has such a glimpse of heaven, and he records it in his letters. His letters are tremendous letters, tremendous insight to the depth of spiritual devotion, the depth of spiritual understanding that the Lord gave to him in the midst of his affliction. so it is when we're in affliction. Those are times when the Lord comes, and the door's opened in heaven, and the soul is filled with the joy and the delight and the glory of Emmanuel's land. We were thinking of Stephen the other week when he's surrounded by that hostile environment. What did the Lord do? The Lord opened the door in heaven, and he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of the majesty and high. A door was opened in heaven. When a soul is brought into Christ, then the door of heaven is opened. When the soul engages in solitary meditation, often the Lord opens a door in heaven. When a believer dies, a door is opened in heaven. When affliction comes, in the midst of that affliction, the Lord opens heaven's door. But it's also true to say that heaven is opened whenever we open the Bible. Whenever we open the Bible, the Bible is a heavenly book. It's the book that comes from heaven. It's the manna from heaven. And it's quite literally a door opened in heaven. The only way that we can know anything about heaven is from this book, from the Bible. It is that revelation into the other world that allows us to peer through that opening, to see a little glimmer, to see something of the life beyond. We would have no knowledge whatsoever of the Father's house except for this book. It is the Bible that opens heaven to us. It shows us something of what it's like. It's nature. It's environment. It's joy. It's gladness. It's glory. And you know, it's the Lord alone who tells us what heaven's like. The children have been learning John 16 in my father's house or many mansions. If you turn to Luke's Gospel, chapter 15, Luke's Gospel, chapter 15, and here you'll find just a little glimpse of what the Lord says about heaven. And he speaks here the lost sheep. And in verse number 5, when he found the sheep, he laith it on his shoulders. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." Notice the parallel with which he equates heaven in verse 6, when he cometh home. And the Lord describes heaven as home. That's what heaven is to the believer. This world is not our home. We're just passing through. We're pilgrims and strangers. We're just passing through, but the Lord has given us his word. And when we open the Bible, a door is opened in heaven, and it gives us a little insight to what our home is like, our eternal home. place where we will dwell forever. That's why we need to read the Bible often, to be often in the book. If you would want to be in heaven and in the influence of heaven, then read the Bible. The Bible is the door that's opened in heaven. But one final thought. Come back to Revelation chapter 4. Revelation chapter 4. And I want you to notice this in closing. heaven is opened, a door in heaven is opened to those who are looking for it. After this, I look And behold, a door was opened in heaven. And the Lord will open the door to the heavenly realm and show us those things that pertain to the world beyond, the world to come. He will show us those things when we're looking for them, when we're looking. We have to be like John. Many never find because they never look. But if we're prepared to look, if we're prepared to seek and search, then the Lord will not disappoint us. The Lord will open a door in heaven, and he will bring us up hither, and he will show us those things that must be hereafter. May the Lord help us to be like John, and may we see into the heavenly realm what a difference it is when we view things from the heavenly perspective. You go away out for a walk in the countryside and you maybe meet a huge rock or a huge boulder and you've got to figure a way to get round. It seems so vast and yet when you go up higher and you look down, that huge obstacle is so small and it seems so insignificant and you think, why did I ever worry about that in the first place? And that's what happens when the Lord opens a door in heaven and we begin to see things from a heavenly perspective. What was like a great obstacle to us here on earth becomes insignificant when it's viewed from the heavenly perspective. What a great blessing this is. A door, behold, a door was opened in heaven. May the Lord cause us to see the open door