Revelation 4:1

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 looked, and there was a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said: “Come up here so that I can show you what must happen after these things.” 2Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was standing in heaven with someone seated on it! 3And the one seated on it was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald encircled the throne.

Revelation 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 his servants what must happen very soon. He made it clear by sending his angel to his servant John,
• Exodus 1:1These are the names of the sons of Israel who entered Egypt – each man with his household entered with Jacob:
• Matthew 3:16After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming on him.
• Mark 1:10And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
• Luke 3:21Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. And while he was praying, the heavens opened,
• Acts 7:56“Look!” he said. “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
• Acts 10:11He saw heaven opened and an object something like a large sheet descending, being let down to earth by its four corners.
• Revelation 1:10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day when I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
• Revelation 16:17Finally the 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!” So the two prophets went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies stared at them.
• Exodus 19:24The Lord said to him, “Go, get down, and come up, and Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people force their way through to come up to the Lord, lest he break through against them.”
• Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.”
• Exodus 34:2Be prepared in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself for me there on the top of the mountain.
• Revelation 1:19Therefore write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things.
• Revelation 22:6Then the angel said to me, “These words are reliable and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”
• John 16:13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you what is 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

• Trumpet
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Doors
• Living creatures
• Rainbow
• Receive
• Abinoam
• Canaan; Canaanites
• Cherubim (1)
• Ethics
• Isaiah
• Jabin

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