Amplified Bible
Revelation 4:1
1After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a [war] trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
Revelation 4:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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 shew thee things which must be hereafter.
- New International Version (NIV)After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."
- New King James Version (NKJV)After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
Context of Revelation 4:1
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a [war] trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” 2At once I was in [special communication with] the Spirit; and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne. 3And He who sat there appeared like [the crystalline sparkle of] a jasper stone and [the fiery redness of] a sardius stone, and encircling the throne there was a rainbow that looked like [the color of an] emerald.
Read all of Revelation 4Revelation 4:1 word by word
Μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον, καὶ ἰδοὺ θύρα ἠνεῳγμένη ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἡ φωνὴ ἡ πρώτη ἣν ἤκουσα ὡς σάλπιγγος λαλούσης μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ λέγων· ἀνάβα ὧδε, καὶ δείξω σοι ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι μετὰ ταῦτα.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Afterμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
- thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- I lookedὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- a doorθύραthura · doorG2374
- openedἀνοίγωanoigō · to openG455
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- heavenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
- the firstπρῶτοςprōtos · firstG4413
- voiceφωνήphōnē · voice/sound: voiceG5456
- whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- I heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
- as it wereὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- of a trumpetσάλπιγξsalpigx · trumpetG4536
- talkingλαλέωlaleō · to speakG2980
- meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- which saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Come upἀναβαίνωanabainō · to ascendG305
- hitherὧδεhōde · hereG5602
- I will shewδεικνύωdeiknuō · to showG1166
- theeσύsu · youG4771
- mustδεῖdei · be necessaryG1163
- beγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
Cross-references for Revelation 4:1
- Revelation 1:1This is the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries], which God [the Father] gave to Him to show to His bond-servants (believers) the things which must soon take place [in their entirety]; and He sent and communicated it by His angel (divine messenger) to His bond-servant John,
- Exodus 1:1Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his household:
- Matthew 3:16After Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he (John) saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus),
- Mark 1:10Immediately coming up out of the water, he (John) saw the heavens torn open, and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him (Jesus);
- Luke 3:21Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, the [visible] heaven was opened,
- Acts 7:56and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened up [in welcome] and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
- Acts 10:11and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet descending, lowered by its four corners to the earth,
- Revelation 1:10I was in the Spirit [in special communication with the Holy Spirit and empowered to receive and record the revelation from Jesus Christ] on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,
- Revelation 16:17Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne [of God], saying, “It is done. [It is all over, it is all accomplished, it has come.]”
- Revelation 11:12And the two witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they ascended into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.
- Exodus 19:24Then the Lord said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through [the barriers] to come up to the Lord, or He will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them].”
- Exodus 24:12Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments which I have written for their instruction.”
- Exodus 34:2So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain.
- Revelation 1:19So write the things which you have seen [in the vision], and the things which are [now happening], and the things which will take place after these things.
- Revelation 22:6Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as a representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place.
- John 16:13But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].
Commentaries on Revelation 4:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1A door was opened in heaven - This appears to have been a visible aperture in the sky over his head.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1After this - Greek, “After these things”; that is, after what he had seen, and after what he had been directed to record in the preceding chapters. How long after these things this occurred, he does not say - whether on the same day, or at some subsequent time; and conjecture would be useless. The scene, however, is changed. Instead of seeing the Saviour standing before him Ezekiel 1:1, “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” The Hebrews…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1A vision of God, as on his glorious throne, around which were twenty-four elders and four living creatures. (1-8) Whose songs, and those of the holy angels, the apostle heard. (9-11) Verses 1-8 After the Lord Jesus had instructed the apostle to write to the churches "the things that are," there was another vision. The apostle saw a throne set in heaven, an emblem of the universal dominion of Jehovah. He saw a glorious One upon the throne, not described by…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1After this I … saw: This introductory phrase does not show the order of events (see also Revelation 7:9; 15:5; 18:1; compare 19:1). Instead, it signals a new vision that John receives. Come up here: The Lord’s voice invites John to see what will happen from God’s point of view.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-11Here begins the Revelation proper; and first, the fourth and fifth chapters set before us the heavenly scenery of the succeeding visions, and God on His throne, as the covenant God of His Church, the Revealer of them to His apostle through Jesus Christ. The first great portion comprises the opening of the seals and the sounding of the trumpets (fourth to eleventh chapters). As the communication respecting the seven churches opened with a suitable vision…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 4:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Revelation 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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