“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
4:1 After these things - As if he had said, After I had written these letters from the mouth of the Lord. By the particle and, the several parts of this prophecy are usually connected: by the expression, after these things, they are distinguished from each other, #Rev 7:9|; 19:1. By that expression, and after these things, they are distinguished, and yet connected, #Rev 7:1|; 15:5; 18:1. St. John always saw and heard, and then immediately wrote down one part after another: and one part is constantly divided from another by some one of these expressions. I saw - Here begins the relation of the main vision, which is connected throughout; as it appears from the throne, and him that sitteth thereon; the Lamb; (who hitherto has appeared in the form of a man;) the four living creatures; and the four and twenty elders, represented from this place to the end. From this place, it is absolutely necessary to keep in mind the genuine order of the texts, as it stands in the preceding table. A door opened in heaven - Several of these openings are successively mentioned. Here a door is opened; afterward, the temple of God in heaven, #Rev 11:19|; 15:5; and, at last, heaven itself, 19:11. By each of these St. John gains a new and more extended prospect. And the first voice which I had heard - Namely, that of Christ: afterward, he heard the voices of many others. Said, Come up hither - Not in body, but in spirit; which was immediately done.
Re 4:1 The Open Door in Heaven SUMMARY OF REVELATION 4: The Voice from Heaven. The Throne and He Who Sat on the Throne. The Twenty-four Elders. The Four Living Forms. Their Cry Night and Day. The Doxology of the Twenty-four Elders. After this. "After these things" (Revised Version). After the letters to the churches had been dictated. The "things which must be after this" are yet to be shown. And, behold, I looked. Rather, "I saw in vision". And a door [was] opened in heaven. Heaven standing open so that the throne within could be seen. The first voice which I heard. The same voice that he had heard at first. See Re 1:10. Which said, Come up hither. Through the opened door. I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. Hence, we know that what John sees in the vision just opening belongs to events still future when he wrote.
After this I looked, and beholde, a doore was opened in heauen: and the first voice which I heard, was as it were of a trumpet, talking with me, which said, Come vp hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
- King James Version (1611) - View 1611 Bible Scan
After these things I looked, and behold, a door {standing} open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like {the sound} of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things."
- New American Standard Version (1995)
After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, `a voice' as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter.
- American Standard Version (1901)
After these things I saw a door open in heaven, and the first voice came to my ears, like the sound of a horn, saying, Come up here, and I will make clear to you the things which are to come.
- Basic English Bible
After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will shew thee the things which must take place after these things.
- Darby Bible
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 show thee things which must be hereafter.
- Webster's Bible
After all this I looked and saw a door in Heaven standing open, and the voice that I had previously heard, which resembled the blast of a trumpet, again spoke to me and said, "Come up here, and I will show you things which are to happen in the future."
- Weymouth Bible
After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one saying, "Come up here, and I will show you the things which must happen after this."
- World English Bible
Aftir these thingis Y say, and lo! a dore was openyd in heuene. And the firste vois that Y herde, was as of a trumpe spekinge with me, and seide, Stye thou vp hidur, and Y shal schewe to thee whiche thingis it bihoueth to be don soone aftir these thingus.
- Wycliffe Bible
After these things I saw, and lo, a door opened in the heaven, and the first voice that I heard [is] as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, `Come up hither, and I will shew thee what it behoveth to come to pass after these things;'
- Youngs Literal Bible