by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
“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<\/em>” (Revelation 4:1).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
John has seen the strengths and weaknesses of the churches of Asia and encourages each person in each church to be an “overcomer” of weaknesses and apathy and rise up to the challenge before them. The tools of victory are within reach of each one of us. We can <\/b>“do all things through Christ who strengthens us<\/em>” (Philippians 4:13). But part of being an overcomer is filling your heart and mind with a greater internal vision of God’s greatness and glory.<\/p>\n
Seeing things from a heavenly perspective and not just viewing things with earth-bound concerns is what we need. There is a “door standing open in heaven” inviting us to come in spirit and see things from a heavenly and God-inclusive viewpoint.<\/p>\n
We tend to view things in a limited way from our human and earth-bound perspective. Isaiah 6:1-3 is related to this text in that Isaiah got to see things inclusive of the Almighty<\/strong>. How awesome was this vision to Isaiah! When we have a larger view of things our perspective from a heavenly vantage point is very helpful and empowering. Isaiah saw a similar heaven-inclusive perspective. From this vantage point, you get to see into the future and brace for the storm and also find comfort in knowing it will work for good to those who love the Lord (Romans 8:28).<\/p>\n
“Things which must take place after this<\/em>” would be bewildering and scary if you didn’t know how it would work out for the saints. The “overcomers” can utilize this perspective to give themselves extra strength and encouragement to hold on tightly to their faith in the One who has the keys of Hades and the key of David. We hear earthly voices of anxiety, worry, and fear, but let the trumpet voice of the Spirit sound in those “ears to hear<\/em>“. Let the voice be like a trumpet that gets your full attention.<\/p>\n
Let it drown out all worldly voices of doubt and fear. “Come up here<\/em>” so you can see the whole truth about what is happening in your world. We wrestle against forces in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12) and here is a view about how those forces and powers work out into events on earth. Come up here and get a better vantage point. It works out well for God’s people! Come up here and see! There is a throne set in place that we need to see so that we can truly see how things will work in favor of God’s people! If you are aligned with that One on that throne, and if you can see things from heaven’s vantage point, this book (Revelation) will be a great blessing for you to read and keep in mind! Come up here and truly see!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton “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” (Revelation 4:1). John has seen the strengths and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1452,102],"class_list":["post-65986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-perspective","tag-revelation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83199,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/of-being-an-overcomer\/","url_meta":{"origin":65986,"position":0},"title":"Of Being an “Overcomer”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels\" (Revelation 3:5). As mentioned repeatedly, the overcomers overcome apathy, indifference, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87079,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-an-overcomer\/","url_meta":{"origin":65986,"position":1},"title":"Are You an Overcomer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton John said that \"greater is He Who is in us, than he that is in the world\" (I John 4), but the question is, \"Is God in us?\" Have we so little of God in our hearts that the world overcomes us? Are we beaten down\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65558,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-can-be-a-pillar-in-gods-temple\/","url_meta":{"origin":65986,"position":2},"title":"You Can Be a Pillar in God’s Temple","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90116,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-look-for-new-heavens-and-a-new-earth\/","url_meta":{"origin":65986,"position":3},"title":"We Look for New Heavens and a New Earth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan King The natural longing that exists within each one of us to \"better our situation\" and improve upon our lifestyle grows out of a deeper instinct within the human soul. Our parents wanted us to \"have it better\" than they did, and we want our children to \"do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34398,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-keep-your-weaknesses-from-distracting-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":65986,"position":4},"title":"How do you keep your weaknesses from distracting you?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Maybe not as much now but I am sure when growing up as a Christian: How did you deal with your weaknesses distracting you? I have just really realized that my weaknesses have really been exploited to distract me from what I actually want to do and should do.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12985,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-the-book-of-revelation-when-is-christ-coming-back-on-a-cloud-before-or-after-the-tribulation\/","url_meta":{"origin":65986,"position":5},"title":"In the Book of Revelation, when is Christ coming back on a cloud, before or after the tribulation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the Book of Revelation, when is Christ coming back on a cloud, before or after the tribulation? 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