An Awesome Presence

When God came down upon the mountain to give the Ten Commandments, “there were thunderings and lightnings. … Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire” (Exodus 19:16, 18). God’s fiery presence was so awesome that the people were terrified (Deuteronomy 5:25). We are reminded of this scene as we glimpse into God’s sanctuary in heaven.

Before His ascension, Jesus promised, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). Acts chapter 1 records the ascension of Jesus from the earth, but in Revelation chapter 4, we see the ascension of Jesus from the perspective of heaven looking down.

Awaiting the arrival of Christ in heaven’s sanctuary, we find the living creatures, the twenty-four elders, and the Holy Spirit represented as “seven lamps of fire,” waiting to be sent at the command of the Son of God to His budding church on the earth.

It doesn’t take long for this command to be given, for in Revelation chapter 5, Jesus arrives, and not long after, “the seven Spirits of God” are “sent forth into all the earth” (v. 6). Switching back to Acts, we see the Spirit of God coming down upon the disciples, who were “all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1). In these chapters of Revelation, we are witnessing heaven’s perspective of the Day of Pentecost, in which Jesus, like Moses on the mount, goes up into the presence of God to intercede for us.

Such is the beauty of the book of Revelation! No other gives us such detailed insight into heaven’s perspective of the last two thousand years of this world’s history. In it, we see Jesus working diligently to “unseal” the salvation of this world. Every seal opened brings us from that fateful day in the upper room, one phase of church history at a time, to the second coming of Christ!

Jesus, thank You for the opportunity to behold Your entrance into heaven and the grand reception there to greet You. Please grant us Your Spirit to produce the light of Your righteousness in us.

For Further Study: Psalm 24; Psalm 68:17, 18; John 14:15–17

Key Bible Texts

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. (Revelation 4:5 KJV)