God’s Word Translation
Revelation 4:1
1After these things I saw a door standing open in heaven. I heard the first voice like a trumpet speaking to me. It said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen 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.”
- 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 these things I saw a door standing open in heaven. I heard the first voice like a trumpet speaking to me. It said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2Instantly, I came under the Spirit’s power. I saw a throne in heaven, and someone was sitting on it. 3The one sitting there looked like gray quartz and red quartz. There was a rainbow around the throne which looked like 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. God gave it to him to show his servants the things that must happen soon. He sent this revelation through his angel to his servant John.
- Exodus 1:1These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who came with him to Egypt with their families:
- Matthew 3:16After Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up from the water. Suddenly, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down as a dove to him.
- Mark 1:10As Jesus came out of the water, he saw heaven split open and the Spirit coming down to him as a dove.
- Luke 3:21When all the people were baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened,
- Acts 7:56So Stephen said, “Look, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the throne!”
- Acts 10:11He saw the sky open and something like a large linen sheet being lowered by its four corners to the ground.
- Revelation 1:10I came under the Spirit’s power on the Lord’s day. I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet,
- Revelation 16:17The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air. A loud voice came from the throne in the temple, and said, “It has happened!”
- Revelation 11:12The witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven calling to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
- Exodus 19:24The Lord said to him, “Go down, and bring Aaron back with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through the boundary to come up to the Lord, or he will violently kill them.”
- Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the teachings and the commandments I have written for the people’s instruction.”
- Exodus 34:2Be ready in the morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai, and stand in my presence on the top of the mountain.
- Revelation 1:19Therefore, write down what you have seen, what is, and what is going to happen after these things.
- Revelation 22:6He said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets has sent his angel to show his servants the things that must happen soon.
- John 16:13When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into the full truth. He won’t speak on his own. He will speak what he hears and will tell you about things 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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