REVELATION 4:1-3
As we begin a new week, begin by reading the entire passage for the week: Revelation 4:1-11.
We are beginning a new section in the revelation – “what must take place after these things” (4:1). It will describe a future period commonly known as the “Great Tribulation” – a period unlike any other in human history, a time of great peril for the world in preparation for the culmination of all things in heaven and on earth. This will be a period that will usher in the final judgment and the new kingdom to come. When will this time come only God knows for certain, but it is certain to come. I pray that as we look deeper into these things, it will provide a sense of urgency to prepare ourselves and others for the end of all things, and to give us hope that while the end is near, a beautiful home awaits us.
We have just come out of a series of letters addressed to seven of the churches of Asia Minor in chapter 3. Of significance is from this point onward until chapter 22, the church is no longer mentioned. Consequently, the centrality of the nation of Israel during the tribulation period seems to be in view in the proceeding chapters with Christ working primarily through the nation to turn the world to Christ. I mention this only in preparation of the passages that lie ahead. For today, though, let’s consider John’s vision of the throne of which he can only see the glory of its occupant who is presented as brilliant, radiant color. I don’t think our minds can conceive just how beautiful that really is.
On a sunny day here in the Northwest, the sun reveals so much more color and beauty than the grayness of a cloudy day. After a long string of gray days (and there are many), a sunny day in spring sweeps me off my feet. I’m sure there’s something biological about the whole thing, but there is something about seeing things in color that were once only visible in shades of gray. My grandmother nearly went her entire life seeing the world through extremely dim vision. An operation very late in life enabled her to see the world as it really is. Her first reaction was, “The colors are so intense.” Our reaction may be similar on the day we reach heaven. The colors of this world are perhaps but a sampling of the brilliance of God’s glory in the heavenlies.
When life is gray (whether it be clouds or situations), sit back for a moment and imagine the most beautiful sunset, or the most beautiful sunrise, or the blossoming of colorful flowers, or the turquoise waters of the tropics, and consider that these are but mere shadows of God’s glory to come. If His glory can make dull our colors here, imagine what it will do to our grays!
