John had already seen the weaknesses of the churches, and John’s readers would themselves also know those weaknesses too well. Now John will be shown (and so the churches will be told) what heaven plans to do for the sake of weak churches. Specifically, John will see how the exalted Christ will cause the gospel to go forth across Earth (see Matthew 28:19; Matthew 24:14), how people will respond to the gospel (Matthew 24:9–13), how the Lord will respond to apostasy (Matthew 24:17–28), and how the Lord will preserve his church in the face of attacks (Matthew 24:22, Matthew 24:27). It will take John numerous chapters to record these details.
1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”