New International Version
Revelation 4:1
1After 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.”
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.
- 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.”
- 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 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.” 2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.
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 from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what 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 went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:
- Matthew 3:16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
- Mark 1:10Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
- Luke 3:21When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
- Acts 7:56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
- Acts 10:11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
- Revelation 1:10On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
- Revelation 16:17The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice 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, while their enemies looked on.
- Exodus 19:24The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.”
- Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
- Exodus 34:2Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.
- Revelation 1:19“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.
- Revelation 22:6The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his 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. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet 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
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