42 Fr. Sieg interpretation is corroborated by the purpose of coming to God’s throne i.e. receiving the revealed message, which consists in the revelation of future events: “I will show you what is to come in the future” - the knowl- edge reserved to God only. We should also consider that the voice performs a different function than voices usually quoted by commentators: Exod 19:16.19; 20:18.19 and Ezek 3:1242. Besides, it would be most unusual for such special revelation of God and of Jesus Christ - preserved, after the saving ministry of Jesus was completed, in the Book of Revelation of St John, which provides a continuation and completion of the Revelation given in the Old Testament and by Jesus of Nazareth - to be conveyed merely by an angel. All circumstances mentioned indicate that the voice in Rev 4:1 comes from the One who was sitting on the throne, just like in Rev 16:17, where it announces the execution of a sentence43. Also the voice of 1:10 is more likely to come from God than from Christ - the Son of Man - as suggested by some authors44. With his voice, God evokes the ecstatic state and reveals Jesus Christ in his glory, concentrating mainly on his relation to the Church45. As far as the nature of the experience itself is concerned - was the voice audible in a physical sense? - there are many writings on the subject by competent authors. The contemporary knowledge of mystical phe- nomena allows for a possibility of inner experience, even if a visionary is convinced he heard the voice (physically)46. The question of the ecstatic state. The expression eutheos egenomen en pneumati (Rev 4:2a) does not contradict eidon (1:10; 4:1), as held by some authors47, since the state of rapture evoked by the voice is later than eidon (4:1a). Whereas eidon in 4:1a belongs to the general introductory formula and refers to the opening of heaven, i.e. constitutes the condition on which further scenes can be seen, the voice introducing into a state of ecstasy enables the visionary to see the One who was sitting on the throne, i.e. refers to the vision itself. This reality is not accessible by natu- ral means. Man cannot enter it on his own; only God can enable him to 42 Cf. J. Massingberd Ford, Revelation, 70. 43 Rev 17-18 contains the desciptions of the fall of Babylon and the situation after the sentences have been executed. The author makes use of the traditional motives. Those chap- ters differ from the context and there are sufficient grounds to consider them as separate units into the main body. The text of Rev 19 seems to constitute a continuation of Rev 16. 44 Cf. note 34 and 35. 45 Cf. Sieg, ε δον μοιον and Listy. Kom. 46 K. Rahner, Visionen und Prophezeiungen. Zur Mystik und Transzendenzerfahrung (2. Aufl. hrsg v. J. Sudbrack; Freiburg, etc. 1989); A. Poulain, Des graces d’ oraison. Traité de théologie mystique (Paris 101922) 311. 47 Cf. W. Bousset, Offenbarung, 243.