An Open Door In Heaven

By Freda Hawkes

Revelation is the New Testament’s only book of prophecy. Although its Greek title– apocalypse – now in English means catastrophic destruction, the title’s true meaning is “unveiling, disclosure”. The writer, John, is invited to come through a door standing open in heaven, and sees God’s throne. He records the lyrics of heaven and describes events in heaven and on earth in vivid and mind-blowing images. The book of Revelation has generated art, music and controversy. These studies help you understand what the text says, to learn more about God’s greatness, to see our Lord Jesus Christ as both the slain Lamb and King of Kings, and to join in the praises of heaven.
The studies can be used by individuals or groups. The Introduction to each study includes background information and a summary of the previous studies. So if you study in a group and new people join in, they should be able to follow what you are doing. The Notes help you understand the context and unusual words. The questions can be answered from the bible text, except for the “What do you think...” questions, where your ideas provide the answer. The “To Think About” sections help us to learn lessons and praise God for what we have read. John promised that those who read this prophecy and took it to heart would be blessed. The final chapters of Revelation, for those of us who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, give unsurpassed hope for the future. Let’s read it together!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Freda Hawkes
• Release date: Aug 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005077471

Book preview

An Open Door In Heaven

6 Studies in the Book of Revelation

Published by Freda Hawkes at Smashwords

Copyright 2021 Freda Hawkes

ISBN: 9781005077471

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free eBook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form.

Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

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.’ At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it… (Revelation 4:1-2)

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Author

Preface

This study is written for people who already have some knowledge of the bible, both the part originally written mostly in Hebrew, which Christians call the Old Testament, and the New Testament. If you do not have some background knowledge you might like to start with another study in this series, The Bible from Start to Finish or What Christians Believe, both downloadable free from the publisher Smashwords through http://www.bibleview.co.uk/.

The bible is a library of books divided into the Hebrew Old Testament, written before the birth of Jesus Christ, and the New Testament, written in the first century AD. Christians believe that Jesus is the Christ or Messiah, God’s Anointed, God’s chosen king, promised in many parts of the Old Testament. In the New Testament we see how Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, fulfilled what was written about him in the Hebrew Scriptures. This is a study of the final book of the New Testament, called in the English translation Revelation. The writer, John, describes his book as prophecy. Although seventeen books in the Old Testament are classified as prophecy, the book of Revelation is unique in the New Testament. Revelation is also a letter to churches – churches in the New Testament sense being communities of people who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. John said that people who read and take to heart what is written in this prophecy will be blessed.

Introduction

Note: It is conventional to refer to sentences in the bible by chapters and verses, e.g. Revelation chapter 1 verse 11 is abbreviated to Revelation 1:11.

Who Wrote Revelation?

The writer identifies himself as John (Revelation 1:1, 4 and 9) – no other description is given, presumably because this John was so well known. Christian writers in the second and third centuries AD said this was John the disciple of Jesus who we know as the Apostle John, author of John’s gospel and three letters in the New Testament. In two of these letters John called himself The Elder; in his gospel he described himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Early records say the elderly Apostle John lived in the city of Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia, now western Turkey, and cared for the church in Ephesus and churches in the towns around. The book is addressed to 7 churches in the Roman province of Asia (1:4) that the Apostle John would have known well, and includes 7 short letters to these individual churches starting with Ephesus (chapters 2 and 4). John wrote Revelation while he was banished for his faith to the Roman prison island of Patmos, about 60 miles off the coast near Ephesus (1:9). We assume that the writer was the Apostle John.

We do not know the order in which John wrote his gospel, the three letters that we have in the New Testament and Revelation. We know from what Jesus told Peter (John 21:22-23) and from early Christian writers that John lived to a great old age. Records from the first few centuries AD tell us that John, the last living apostle, died in Ephesus about AD 98. So John was an old man during the time of the Roman Emperor Domitian (81-96 AD). Emperor Domitian was known for cruelty and