After these things I looked, and there was a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said: “Come up here so that I can show you what must happen after these things.”
Revelation 4:1 NET
In C.S. Lewis’s novel “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” Lucy discovers a door in the back of a wardrobe, goes through it, and finds herself in Narnia. This book and the world of Narnia are, in many ways, an allegory describing the spiritual condition of our world. It describes the conflict between those faithful to Aslan the lion and those in rebellion and serving the witch. And it describes the ultimate victory of Aslan and his followers over the witch.
“The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” could easily have been loosely modeled on Revelation. After Jesus’ letters to each of the seven churches, John saw a door standing open in heaven. And then, he was invited to go through the door and see what would take place.
Looking Through the Door
What John saw when he went through the door was a very different view of reality. In highly symbolic language, John saw the spiritual conflict playing out in the world. He saw the lamb of God who was slain. The dragon who had rebelled against God. Finally, in the end, the lamb’s defeat of the dragon, judgment against those who followed the dragon, and the eternal bliss of those who faithfully followed the lamb.
Revelation essentially tells us that what we can see with our physical eyes is not all of reality. When we look around us and see a world rebelling against God, much of it indifferent or even antagonistic to the gospel. It might seem hopeless, and the temptation to compromise or give up can be great.
But when we look through the door with John, we see that judgment is coming to those in rebellion. And a glorious future awaits those who follow faithfully. And that should encourage us greatly as we live on this side of the door.
