English Standard Version
Revelation 4:1
1After 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."
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.”
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen 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 speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3And 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.
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 1:1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
- Exodus 1:1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household:
- Matthew 3:16And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
- Mark 1:10And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
- Luke 3:21Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,
- Acts 7:56And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
- Acts 10:11and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.
- Revelation 1:10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
- Revelation 16:17The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"
- Revelation 11:12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here!" And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
- Exodus 19:24And the Lord said to him, "Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them."
- Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction."
- Exodus 34:2Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.
- Revelation 1:19Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.
- Revelation 22:6And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place."
- John 16:13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
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