---
title: "Revelation 4 - Study King James Bible with barnes notes on the whole bible"
description: "Read Revelation 4 with barnes notes on the whole bible commentary. 1 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"
image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/barnes-notes-on-the-whole-bible/revelation/4"
---

[ Read](/kjv/revelation/4)[ Commentary](/study/revelation/4)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/revelation/4) Audio

 1 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.

 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and *one* sat on the throne.

 3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and *there was* a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

 4 And round about the throne *were* four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

 5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and *there were* seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

 6 And before the throne *there was* a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, *were* four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

 7 And the first beast *was* like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast *was* like a flying eagle.

 8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about *him*; and *they were* full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
 
[Revelation 3](/study/revelation/3) [Revelation 5](/study/revelation/5)

## Commentary

 To verse 1
 
**After 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 [Revelation 1:0](/kjv/revelation/1/0), the scene is transferred to heaven, and he is permitted to look in upon the throne of God, and upon the worshippers there. 

**I looked -**Greek, “I saw” - εἶδον eidon. Our word “look” would rather indicate purpose or intentions, as if he had designedly directed his attention to heaven, to see what could be discovered there. The meaning, however, is simply that he saw a new vision, without intimating whether there was any design on his part, and without saying how his thoughts came to be directed to heaven. 

**A door was opened -**That is, there was apparently an opening in the sky like a door, so that he could look into heaven. 

**In heaven -**Or, rather, in the expanse above - in the visible heavens as they appear to spread out over the earth. So [Ezekiel 1:1](/kjv/ezekiel/1/1), “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” The Hebrews spoke of the sky above as a solid expanse; or as a curtain stretched out; or as an extended arch above the earth - describing it as it appears to the eye. In that expanse, or arch, the stars are set as gems (compare the notes on [Isaiah 34:4](/kjv/isaiah/34/4)); through apertures or windows in that expanse the rain comes down, [Genesis 7:11](/kjv/genesis/7/11); and that is opened when a heavenly messenger comes down to the earth, [Matthew 3:16](/kjv/matthew/3/16). Compare [Luke 3:21](/kjv/luke/3/21); [Acts 7:56](/kjv/acts/7/56); [Acts 10:11](/kjv/acts/10/11). Of course, all this is figurative, but it is such language as all people naturally use. The simple meaning here is, that John had a vision of what is in heaven as if there had been such an opening made through the sky, and he had been permitted to look into the world above. 

**And the first voice which I heard -**That is, the first sound which he heard was a command to come up and see the glories of that world. He afterward heard other sounds - the sounds of praise; but the first notes that fell on his ear were a direction to come up there and receive a revelation respecting future things. This does not seem to me to mean, as Prof. Stuart, Lord, and others suppose, that he now recognized the voice which had first, or formerly spoken to him [Revelation 1:10](/kjv/revelation/1/10), but that this was the first in contradistinction from other voices which he afterward heard. It resembled the former “voice” in this, that it was “like the sound of a trumpet,” but besides that there does not seem to have been anything that would suggest to him that it came from the same source. It is certainly possible that the Greek would admit of that interpretation, but it is not the most obvious or probable. 

**Was as it were of a trumpet -**It resembled the sound of a trumpet, [Revelation 1:10](/kjv/revelation/1/10). 

**Talking with me -**As of a trumpet that seemed to speak directly to me. 

**Which said -**That is, the voice said. 

**Come up hither -**To the place whence the voice seemed to proceed - heaven. 

**And I will show thee things which must be hereafter -**Greek, “after these things.” The reference is to future events; and the meaning is, that there would be disclosed to him events that were to occur at some future period. There is no intimation here when they would occur, or what would be embraced in the period referred to. All that the words would properly convey would be, that there would be a disclosure of things that were to occur in some future time.

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