Heavenly Visions
Isaiah 6; Revelation 4; Ephesians 1-2; Hebrews 7-8; Colossians 3
A little background.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2 Peter 3:8 ESV)
Visions can be a view into any timeframe, past and future, not just present day.
I recently had a convergence of several thoughts regarding visions of heaven. In about 10-15 seconds all of this rolled around in my head. It’s been a few days since this occurred and I’m still trying to find the words to describe what I saw. There were two visions in particular which came to mind. The first was where John was shown a view into Heaven, recorded in Revelation 4. Then the vision where Isaiah saw a scene in Heaven played out before him which is recorded in Isaiah 6. Both of these amazing scenes were described by these men, using the only words which they could think of. It’s hard to verbalize some things which are so amazing it takes your breath away. It’s said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” How would you describe azure blue to a blind person? Yet, we see the sky every day of our life but cannot effectively put into words the magnificent beauty created by clouds and light, light sometime refracted by the earth’s atmosphere, which creates hues of colors too marvelous to be recreated by even a painting, much less simple words.
This is one of the limitations of any language. Yet, theses men chose words which made sense to them to try and preserve the things encountered by their senses: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch.
Let’s look at the vision Isaiah had:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-4 ESV)
In Isaiah 6, a vision is described which Isaiah saw of Heaven. “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple.” Isaiah heard, what appears to be, deafening sounds of worship and praise around the throne of Heaven. He saw the magnificent sights. Perhaps he heard thunder and saw flashes of light. He felt the powerful shake of the event which caused structural damage in Heaven. He smelled the smoke which was created by the threshold of the doorposts being dislodged. I can only imagine what the burning coal applied to his lips tasted like. Perhaps it was sweet, like the feeling of being forgiven and made right again with the Creator.
It said the living creatures “called” to each other. They were declaring the truth about the One seated on the throne. In the middle of this “calling to another” something happened. I’ve heard it explained as a manifestation of the glory of God. I don’t know how to describe it, but Isaiah tried his best. Regardless of what it was, it affected everything and everyone who was there.
Whatever he experienced that day changed him forever.
Look at the vision John saw while on Patmos:
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:2-11 ESV)
In Revelation 4, John describes the vision of Heaven which he saw. In John’s account, “One” was seated on the throne and there were “four living creatures” around the throne. He gives more descriptive words than Isaiah, but I believe they were seeing the same thing; perhaps even the same moment in Heaven.
Isaiah served as prophet in Israel approximately from 740–701 B.C. John had the experience recorded in Revelation around 70 A.D. Roughly an 800 year span. This is barely one day in Heaven. With this in mind, Jesus has only been seated next to the Father for about 2 days!
Then I got to thinking, “What event was going on in Heaven which was so spectacular and amazing that God brought two prophets to see?” When Jesus was transfigured before some of the disciples, God brought back two prophets to see it, Moses and Elijah.
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. (Matthew 17:1–3 ESV)
If Moses and Elijah were brought back to see Jesus’ “real essence” being revealed on earth, what was happening in Heaven which prompted Isaiah and John to be called in as witnesses to their world on earth? I then had this thought: “What is the greatest even we know of from scripture which occurred since the creation?” That brought me to Ephesians 1 & 2.
Before looking at Ephesians, look at some more background from Hebrews.
This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. (Hebrews 7:22–28 ESV)
Jesus was a high priest “forever” after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 7:17, 21) Who better could be the guarantor of a New Covenant?
Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. (Hebrews 8:1–2 ESV)
All the things God described for Moses when giving the instruction on how to build the tabernacle in the wilderness were based on the “true tent” in Heaven. The one Moses constructed was a replica. Jesus is High Priest in the REAL one! He is seated at the right had of the Majesty (The Father) in Heaven. When was he seated? After Jesus ascended to Heaven. Look at Paul’s description of this he wrote to the Church in Ephesus.
“… and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, …” (Ephesians 1:19-20 ESV)
In one verse (Ephesians 1:19) Paul uses four different Greek words to try and convey all that God did when He raised Jesus from the dead and then coronated Him King forever, seating Jesus on the throne in Heaven at God’s own right hand.
• Immeasurable greatness of his power – dynameÅs – (miraculous) power, might, strength dynamite
• Working – energeian – working, activity – energy
• Great – kratous - strength, might – dominion
• Might – ischyos – strength, might – force
According to scholars, this is the description of the most explosive show of God’s affect on creation – four distinct words used in one sentence fragment to describe all God did in raising Jesus from the dead and seating Jesus at His own right hand. Paul doesn’t give a description of the scene in Heaven which John and Isaiah had, but I believe Paul saw it too.
Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. (2 Corinthians 12:1–6 ESV)
Most scholars believe Paul is speaking of himself by saying, “I know a man …” Whether it was Paul himself or someone else who related the experience to Paul, they may have seen the same thing as Isaiah and John. Whatever it was, it was beyond words.
Could this have been the coronation of Jesus which both Isaiah and John, and possibly Paul, saw? This makes sense to me. It was certainly a change in direction from what had been in place in Heaven since the beginning. “The foundation of the thresholds were shaken.” Thresholds speak of transition. Prior to this moment, the Trinity consisted of God the Father, God the Word, and God the Holy Spirit. As John the Gospel writer declared, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 ESV)
This “Word made flesh” was made the King of the Kingdom! He was seated at the right hand of The Father in Heaven FOREVER! The King then sent God the Holy Spirit to abide in those who would become identified with this new Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. He now continually intercedes for us to the Father.
Now, if all of this is not enough to get you excited, here is the best part of all. Look at what Paul said in Ephesians 2:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1–7)
If you look closely at the grammar here, everything Paul described in Ephesians 1 (including the most explosive verse in scripture) was also accomplished in YOU when God raised and seated Jesus at His own right hand! Even while we were “dead in sin.”
Here is the really good news! Jesus is still on the throne! He is still King! You are now part of The Kingdom if you are in Christ! This gives us a new perspective from which to live out our lives here on earth. We can live as New Kingdom citizens right now. It’s not in the “sweet by and by.” Right now, you have access to the throne of Heaven.
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:2–4 ESV)
I heard a song recently called, “Live Like You Were Dying.” The message is a good one, in the sense of not waiting to enjoy life on earth. Go ahead and experience all life has to offer. But, here’s one better. We can live like we have already died, was raised from that death, and now we are alive forevermore!!! We can live every day knowing that death will never take us down. It will only serve as a pivotal moment when we transition from life on earth to that of a life with our Creator!
