The Rapture in Revelation Chapter Four

  

Helix Nebula

   After[1] 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 ^{Exodus 19:16-19} talking with me which said Come up here [^{See footnote in John 10:1-3}] [2] and I will show you things which must be hereafter And immediately I was in the spirit and behold a throne was set in Heaven and one sat on the throne And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone and there was an iris ^{pronounced ee-ris [Strong’s G2463] [3]} round about the throne in sight like unto an emerald And round about the throne were four and twenty seats and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders[4] sitting clothed in white raiment and they had on their heads crowns of gold 

Revelation 4:1-4

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[1] There are two chronological references in Revelation 4:1. They are the phrase "after this' and the word "hereafter." Everything from chapter three on, occurs after Jesus delivers his messages [of chapters one through three] to the messengers of his Called-out people. 

[2] Many believe this summons to be the harpazo, the catching up of those in Christ to meet him [and the resurrected saints] in the air, precipitating all that is described from this point on in The Revelation.

[3] We see the iris ^{pronounced ee-ris} in only one other place in the New Testament and that is in Revelation 10:1, where John sees an angel with an iris on his head. This angel is not symbolic. He is real.  

The Greek word iris must be where the English word for the “iris” of our eyes comes from, and it is used only twice in the New Testament [both times in The Revelation]. Once it is seen encircling the throne, and then again encircling an angel’s head. Both times, iris is translated as rainbow, yet John described it, not as a prism, but, as a single color—green ^{Revelation 1:3}. It is possible [but not certain] that the iris John saw, could be God’s qesheth ^{Bow Genesis 9:13} [the rainbow] that God gave as a token of his promise never to destroy the earth by water again ^{Genesis 9:11-17}. 

Ancient Greek writers did use the word iris for rainbow, but that does not mean the biblical writer meant the same thing. It should be noted that John was actually seeing into Heaven. The Heavenly things he described were literally real. The throne in Heaven is not symbolic. It is real. He who sat on the throne is not symbolic. He is real. The iris encircling the throne is not symbolic. It is real. 

In The Revelation, we get glimpses into Heaven itself, and in 4:3 can see one of the origins of the pagan symbolism of the halo. If the iris (ee-ris) John saw is indeed the token of God’s promise never to destroy humanity by a flood of water again, then Satan’s use of the iris means just the opposite. It is his reminder that he fully intends to come in like a flood and utterly destroy 'âdâm ^{See definitions in “Special Features” of this commentary} from the face of the earth. 

Because Satan wants to be God, he counterfeits everything he can that is of God. Using symbols of things in Heaven, he creates deceitful and deadly counterfeits of things that are real. The ancient symbol of the halo [seen in many “christian’ images] is a satanic counterfeit of God’s iris. The enemy of our souls confiscated God’s iris to use in his ancient deception of the mother and son religion (that descended from Nimrod and his mother in Shinar [ancient Babylon]. The enemy of our souls has confiscated God’s qesheth ^{Bow Genesis 9:13} [the rainbow] as the symbol of both New Age philosophy and homosexuality. We must never forget that humans are caught in the middle of a great cosmic battle. But by God’s Spirit and through his Word, we have hope and confidence for both time and eternity. The Name of the LORD is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and are safe. 

God even placed an iris (ee-ris) in space: The Helix Nebula (also known as “The Eye of God”) https://www.space.com/17901-amazing-helix-nebula-space-eye-photo.html 

Helix Nebula

[4] From the end of Chapter three on, throughout the rest of The Revelation, the Called-Out are never seen on earth again, for they have been called out. The Good Shepherd has descended from Heaven with a great shout, with the voice of the Arch-Angel, and with the Trump of God, to call his saints out to meet him in the air. The Bridegroom has come for his Bride, and he takes his Bride to that place that has been prepared for them ^{John 14:1-3}. The Called-Out are now in Heaven. The elders in Revelation 4:4, belong to that group ^{1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18}, and the time foretold by the prophet, Joel, when 'âdâm could simply “call” upon the Name of the LORD to be saved [the time which began on the Day of Pentecost], is now consummated. On earth, from this point on, 'âdâm can no longer simply call on the name of the Lord to saved but must endure to the end ^{Matthew 24:9-13}.