Download this sermon (right click and save)
See Heaven Open and the Lord on the Throne
(Ac7:55-56; Rev4:1-11)
God is the God of revelation.
He reveals Himself in His time and in His way, and
He opens eyes to see and also closes them to keep them in darkness (2Ki6:17-18).
Faith is seeing the Lord in heaven (Ps123:1, 146:8) and
The life of this faith is seeing spiritual beings and the spiritual world and the things to come, and
testifying about them.
Because the eye is a sensory organ that prompts action,
Vision is extremely important.
Even with a perfect vision, however,
It can be difficult to see what is right in front of one's nose at times,
While at other times, one can be glad for not having seen certain things.
The Bible discusses visible things and invisible things (Col1:16):
The visible being "” man;
The invisible beings "” God, angels, souls, demons;
The visible heaven "” the first heaven, the heaven of the expanse (Ge1:1, 6-8); and
The invisible heaven "” the third heaven, the new heaven etc (2Co12:2; Rev21:1).
The ancestor of mankind, Adam, ate the forbidden fruit and sinned (Ge3:4-6) for
He fell to the devil's temptation that he would open his eyes and be like God (Ge3:5).
Thereafter, although all men opened their eyes to culture (Ge3:7),
The eyes of their spirit closed (Dt12:34; Is6:10; Rm11:8).
As such, Lot who chose Sodom, the land which he saw as good (Ge13:10-11),
Ended up barely escaping from it in the burning sulfur (Ge19:23-25).
Among the spies who went into the promised land
Those who gave an unfavorable report on what they saw there could not enter it (Nu14),
While Joshua who gave a favorable report was inspired by the Spirit and entered it (Nu27:18).
The many wonders and works that the Israelites witnessed,
The commands to give light to their eyes (Ps19:8) and
Even their eyes, the seers, could not keep them from their corruption for
Since Adam's, the eyes of all men were closed.
Meanwhile, there was a prophecy of a day to come when the blind will see (Is35:5), and that
They will see their Maker, the King of glory (Is17:7, 33:17), and
The Temple of Jerusalem would stand firm (Is33:20).
Yeshua said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days" (Jn2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would open the spiritual eyes of all men (Lk4:18).
As such, He gave sight to the man blind from birth to whom
He commanded to wash at the Pool of Siloam (Jn9:1-7).
In spite of seeing many signs, however, the people and even the disciples (Mt17:8; Jn12:37-40)
Did not recognized Him (Lk24:16) for their eyes were still closed.
As He died, He said, "It is finished" (Jn19:30), declaring that:
1) Heaven opened and His spirit was received (Lk23:46);
2) He judged the devil who was blinded by vanity (Is14:12-15; Eze28:12-17); and
3) With His redeeming blood (=Siloam) He cleansed all men's sin and opened their eyes (He9:22).
He resurrected and sat on the heavenly throne and He is the Lamb of God.
He has seven eyes (Rev4:5, 5:4) for He knows all things.
The Holy Spirit is He who
Lets those who have restored their spiritual vision by the blood of Yeshua
See heaven, Him who sits on the throne there, and
The gates of heaven open (Ac7:55-56; Rev4:1-2, 3:8; Mt16:18-19).
The man of the Spirit sets his mind on things above, not on earthly things (Col3:1-2, 5).
He longs for the resurrection of his own body, eternal life, and heaven (Rm8:23-25).
Therefore, he testifies the resurrection of the Lord and His kingship like he saw,
Through the open heavenly gates, that is, the church,
He stores up all his precious possessions in heaven (Mt6:19-22), and
Drives out demons in the name of Yeshua (Mk16:16-17).
For he sees the eternal glory, he overcomes the troubles of today (2Co4:16-18, 5:1-7).
O Lord,
Though I am a being visible just a moment and then disappears like morning mist,
Thankfully, I have come to know about the spiritual world and spiritual beings.
Open my eyes so I can see!
Let us not be deceived by what we see with our physical eyes
But instead, let us have the eyes of faith, of the spirit to see heaven open before us!
Amen.