In Hebrews 3:1, Christians are said to be "partakers of the heavenly calling;" therefore anything in connection with the heavens ought to be of greatest interest to the children of God. In the New Testament we read of the heavens opened four times, and we cannot but believe that the Spirit of God would lead our souls to meditate with profit on this holy theme. May our hearts be opened to the truth set before us on these occasions.

The first passage in which we read of the heavens being opened is in Matthew 3:16, 17; it is in connection with our Saviour's earthly ministry. For the first time in the history of the world, here was a man-a perfect Man -in whom God could rest in perfect delight. The heart of the blessed God could find its perfect satisfaction in Him who stood there on the banks of Jordan. Before this, there was not a man on earth that could fully answer to His heart. He had-walked with Adam for a brief season in Eden; He visited Abraham in the plains of Mamre; but the love of His heart could find no complete outlet until His own beloved Son stood as a Man among men. What a blessed Object is here presented to us, dear reader. The Eternal Son having laid aside His glory and come down to this sin-ruined world to reveal to us the Father-the loving heart of our Saviour-God! And as the Father gazed with delight upon that perfect Man, He could not keep silence. He parts the heavens to declare, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." What a testimony to the personal, moral perfections of Christ the dependent Man! Let each of us ask our self, Is that Christ the delight of my heart? Can I say that to me He is the "altogether lovely?" As we view Him as the obedient One on earth who pleased the Father in all things, do we love to follow in His path, to hang over His words, and ponder over His acts of mercy and goodness to the needy? If God delights in Him thus, may we do the same; and as we do so, some moral likeness to Himself will be reflected in our lives. Then, at the end of our journey, what a blessed thing it would be to meet our Father's approval! Let us see to it, dear fellow-Christian, that we are learning the lesson set before us in Matthew 3:16,17.

The second place where we read of opened heavens is in Acts 7:56. But how different were the circumstances. The One who was the Father's delight here upon earth, had by wicked hands been cut off from the earth;

"His path, uncheered by earthly smiles,
Led only to the cross."

He who was loved by the Father was hated of men. But God had intervened:He had raised Him from among the dead and seated Him upon the throne as the -accepted Man in the glory of God. Earth had no place for Him, but God had set Him at His own right hand. And as the faithful Stephen charged the apostate nation with the crime of having put to death their own Messiah, and as they are ready to batter down his own body with stones, his face is turned heavenwards, and he sees "the heavens opened." There, the dying martyr sees JESUS. The Son of Man is at the right hand of God! The earth's rejected One is Heaven's accepted and glorified One. The thorn-crowned Victim upon the cross is now the glory-crowned Victor on the throne! What is the effect of all this upon Stephen? He is not occupied about his enemies, but beholds Christ at God's right hand! Let the mad crowd shout against him and revile him. He hears them not. Let the stones fly about him; he minds not the stones, for he sees JESUS!
Let us pause here a moment, my reader, and ask ourselves, What does Jesus in the glory mean to me? I believe it means this:That the sacrifice of Himself upon the cross has met our need, and has God's full acceptance; that we are now accepted in Him, the risen and glorified One, God's beloved Son. The fact of His being in the glory is the absolute proof that our sins are for ever removed from the sight of God.

Let us again ask, How far are we imitating Stephen? When we experience the opposition of the enemies of Christ, or the trials of the way in connection with following our Lord, do we look by faith in the opened heavens and see Jesus, the lover of our souls, smiling upon us? Can we say in such circumstances, "Lord, there is nothing between my soul and Thyself." That is the power of true sanctification. May the Lord enable us, dear fellow-Christians, to fix our earnest gaze upon Him in the glory, and thus be "overcomers."

In Acts 10:11 we find the heavens opened once more, in a somewhat different connection. It is not Christ Himself, but that which is dear to His heart that we view in this vision. It is His redeemed ones, His Church, that which occupies a unique place in the counsels of God-composed of all true believers in Christ, from the day of Pentecost till His return to claim His own, in fulfilment of His promise in John 14:3.

The circumstances connected with the revelation of this precious truth to Peter are very interesting. Peter, the apostle to the circumcision, was in Joppa, and while in prayer on the house-top, the heavens were opened and a great sheet, bound at the four corners, was let down from heaven; and in this sheet were all manner of beasts, fowls, and creeping things. And a voice from heaven says, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." Being a good Jew, Peter began to object:"I have never eaten what is common or unclean," he says. This was according to the ceremonial law, and the Jews applied it to the Gentiles whom they disdained, and with whom they would not eat. But the authoritative Voice answers, "What God has cleansed, call not thou common." Thrice repeated, the sheet was then received up into heaven again.

Now what is to be deduced from this remarkable vision? God was bringing out the purpose that of old had been hid in His heart. He was beginning to unfold that which He had kept secret from the foundation of the world; that, consequent upon the rejection and ascension of His Son, and as the "fruit of the travail of His soul," He would gather out of a ruined world, sinners from Jew and Gentiles as companions for His Son, the company which He calls, "The Church which is His body" (Eph. 1:22,23).

Let us look at the details a little. Notice that the sheet came out from heaven; then was taken back into heaven. What does this imply? Surely this-that the Church's origin is from God, and heaven is its destiny. In Eph. 1:4 the Church is the special object of Divine counsel in the dateless past, while in chapter 2:7 of the same epistle we learn that the eternal ages to come will be the scene in which His grace and kindness will be displayed. Mark also that as in the sheet were all kinds of creatures ceremonially unclean, so the Church is composed of sinners of every clime who are cleansed by the blood of Christ. The Voice told Peter that they were "cleansed," and Paul tells the believers in Corinth that they were "washed, and sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6:11). Into yonder realms of glory, sin or its fruits could never enter ; neither could we, until made fit for the " inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12). And let us learn a great lesson here, dear reader:it was while Peter was praying that he got this revelation from God. It is as we betake ourselves into our chambers in prayer that our Lord reveals to us His sweet counsels of grace and wisdom. Thus we learn to be intelligent in the things of God. May it be so with us as His people.

The last place in which we see the heavens opened is in Rev. 19:11. Again it is Christ that is brought before us; that blessed One is the center of all the divine counsels. His death upon the cross is the groundwork on which, God's eternal purposes rest, and it is the basis of all blessing for guilty man. In vision, the apostle John sees the heavens opened, and He whose name is called the Word of God comes forth in His judicial power and glory. He had come once as the Word "full of grace and truth," dispensing it with lavish hands, and ministering peace to as many as felt their need. As come from the Father's bosom, He told out the love of the Father's heart, and invited sinners to put their trust in Him. But now, in Revelation, He appears, not as the lowly Lamb in self-surrender, but as "the Lion of the tribe of Juda" (Rev. 5:5)-not as the Saviour of sinners, but as the righteous Judge of all the earth, to bring low all the rebellion and pride of man, and to set up His glorious kingdom. Oh how solemn, dear reader! Let me affectionately ask, Hast thou made the acquaintance of the Lamb of God? Know-est thou Him as thine own, thy personal Saviour? If not, I beseech thee to confess thy sins to Him now, and He will put them all away by His precious blood. "Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace, thereby good shall come unto thee"(Job 22:21).

The truth brought before us here is simply this:The Lord Jesus Christ is going to come back to the scene of His rejection to put down with divine power all opposition, to own and deliver the repentant remnant of Israel, and to reign to the ends of the earth as the Son of Man. What a glorious day awaits this groaning creation-a day when righteousness will reign, and the glory of God will flood the whole universe. (See Isa. 11:1-5; Hab. 2:14.) For a long time the heavens have been silent, but soon they will open again, and He shall come forth to claim the earth for God, and the kingdoms of this world shall become the inheritance of Christ and of the Bride which shall accompany Him. But ere that public event takes place, He shall come silently for His own, and take them away to the Father's house, in the fulness of His own acceptance before the Father; then He shall sweep this rebellious and unclean world with "the besom of destruction" (Isa. 14:23), and reign in all His glory as "King of kings, and Lord of lords" (Rev. 19:16).

We have contemplated Him as the obedient One on the earth and witnessed to by the Father (Matt. 3:16,17). We have viewed Him as the accepted and glorified Man with God (Acts 7:54-60). Then we have seen (in type) the object of His affections-the Church which He has sanctified (Acts 10:9-16); and, lastly, He is manifested as the rightful Heir of the world coming to judge the earth and to establish His kingdom (Rev. 19:11-16). May the Spirit of God lead our souls to look into these opened heavens while waiting for Him here, and occupying till He come. J. F. Turnbull