WE SHALL BEHOLD HIM!

There is a danger in studying the book of Revelation where “we cannot see the forest for the trees.”  We can become bogged down in the fascinating details and lose sight of the central focus. The book ends much as it begins, when immediately we are confronted with Christ, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,” (Rev.‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬‬). It commences with Christ and concludes with Christ, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Rev.‬ ‭22‬:‭20‬-‭21‬‬). 

John got a glimpse of the glorified Lord and never got over it. He shared that this is what every believer will fully experience, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬‬). We shall behold Him!

This is a call for ATTENTION, “ ‘Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book,’ ” (Rev.‬ ‭22‬:‭7‬‬).  “Behold!” Look! Pay attention! Christ is coming again, as He promised.  “I am coming.” There is the certainty of it. 

“I am coming quickly,” and that is the urgency of it. The word, “quickly,” is repeated three times in this final chapter. Yet, it has been around two thousand years since this promise was made. But, the calendar of an eternal God is not like that of mortal man. Peter alerted us, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet.‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭9‬‬). So, it has only been a couple of days as the celestial calendar reckons it!

This is the doctrine of imminence. The Apostles expected Jesus to come back in their lifetime.  We hear this in Paul’s words, 

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1Thess.‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭18‬‬, emphasis added).

Every generation of believers has been called to look up for the Lord’s return. There are no prophetic events that must occur before the rapture of the church. It could be today! Does that get your attention! 

The certainty and urgency demands industry! We do not stand around star-gazing, but get busy soul-winning! Here is the promise, 

“ ‘Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’ ”

Beyond a call to attention, this is a cry of ANTICIPATION, “ ‘And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.’ ” (‭‭Rev. ‭22‬:‭12‬‬). For the sinner, this is an event of dread for it means retribution. But, for the saint, it is an event of delight for it means reward. 

The truth is that there will be degrees of reward based on our faithfulness and fruitfulness. Paul wrote of it in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15:

“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

Yet, this call to attention and cry of anticipation, builds to the crescendo of ADORATION,  “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”‭‭ (Rev.‬ ‭22‬:‭20‬‬). We end where we began—that ultimately, this reality of our Lord’s return is not about us, but about Him!  This is more than a glance, or a glimpse, but a gaze, and ends in glory—His glory!  Our attention is a call to work. Our anticipation is a call to watch. But, greatest of all, our adoration is a call to worship, and it will be the order of eternity—a ceaseless celebration of the infinite Being of God!  

The crowns we win will be cast at the feet of Christ who made it all possible. We read that, “the twenty-four elders [representing the redeemed] fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ‘You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.’ ” (Rev. ‭4‬:‭10‬-‭11‬).

Years ago, I loved to listen to Sandi Patty sing, “We Shall Behold Him!”

The sky shall unfold
Preparing His entrance
The stars shall applaud Him
With thunders of praise

The sweet light in His eyes shall
Shall enhance those awaiting
And we shall behold Him
Then face to face

Oh, we shall behold Him
Yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face in all of His Glory

Oh, we shall behold Him
Yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face our Savior and Lord

And the angels shall sound
The shout of His coming
And the sleeping shall rise from
Their slumbering place

And those who remain shall
We shall be changed in a moment
And we shall behold Him
Then face to face

We shall behold Him
Oh yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face in all of His Glory

We shall behold Him
Oh yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face my Savior and Lord

And we shall behold Him
Our Savior and Lord!
Savior and Lord!!

VICTORY IN JESUS

The old Gospel song declares our “Victory in Jesus.”  Paul promised, “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us,” (Rom. 8:37). Now, Peter proclaims the triumph of our faith in Christ and the means by which we secure it in 1 Pet. 5:8-11. 

First, consider THE REALITY OF OUR FOE,  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8). The Devil is not a fairy tale. Satan is real, and we best face this fact so as to be ready to fight.

This calls for seriousness. “Be sober,” Peter says. It is not a game. This world is a battleground, not a playground. We have an adversary on the prowl who is ready to pounce, and we must take this seriously. 

There must then be watchfulness. “Be vigilant,” is the command.  In the jungle of this world, Satan is a lion stalking his prey. Suddenly, he roars that he may paralyze us with fear. He will devour us, if we are not alert to the danger.

Second, observe THE RESISTANCE OF OUR FAITH.  “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world,” (1 Pet. 5:9). Faith is the antidote to fear. These are mutually exclusive.

This summons us to steadfastness. “Resist him, steadfast in the faith.”  Rather than turn our back and run, we take a stand and resist. When Paul described our spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:10-20, he stressed that we are to stand our ground—the ground already secured for us by the victory of Jesus in His crucifixion and resurrection. One notes there is no armor for the back!  We are to face the foe. You cannot outrun the roaring lion, but you can outgun him! Faith is the victory that overcomes the world, (cf. 1 Jn. 5:4). 

Yet, there is also the fact of suffering as Peter stated, “knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” We can win, but that doesn’t mean there will be no wounds. We long for final victory, ultimate conquest, but that is secured when Christ returns. In this hostile world, suffering is a realty for the soldiers of the cross. But what the devil means for evil, God means for good—the fiery trials that refine our faith, as we find in the next section.

Third, note THE RELIANCE ON OUR FATHER, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Pet. ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭11‬‬). While we are no match for Satan, he is no match for our Father. It is in reliance on the Lord that victory is assured.

We have the promise of grace, as He is, “the God of all grace.”  There is grace for every need. God’s resources come to those in reliance. Martin Luther put it this way in his hymn:

1 A mighty fortress is our God,

a bulwark never failing;

our helper he, amid the flood

of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe

does seek to work us woe;

his craft and power are great,

and armed with cruel hate,

on earth is not his equal.

2 Did we in our own strength confide,
 our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side,
the Man of God's own choosing.

You ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is he;

Lord Sabaoth his name,

from age to age the same;

and he must win the battle.

3 And though this world, with devils filled,

should threaten to undo us,

we will not fear, for God has willed

his truth to triumph through us.

The prince of darkness grim,

we tremble not for him;

his rage we can endure,

for lo! his doom is sure;

one little word shall fell him.

4 That Word above all earthly powers

no thanks to them abideth;

the Spirit and the gifts are ours

through him who with us sideth.

Let goods and kindred go,

this mortal life also;

the body they may kill:

God's truth abideth still;

his kingdom is forever!

This grace leads to glory.  “[God] called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”  It is all about the glory of God and one day we shall enter that glory—to abide in it. Paul echoed this when he wrote, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us,” (Rom.‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬‬). These sufferings will purify us as gold and temper us as steel in the fire.

“To Him be the glory and the dominion direct and ever. Amen.”

THE END: The New Heaven and New Earth

Read Revelation 21:1-8.

What awaits the people of God in eternity?  More than we can imagine!  But, we do have a glimpse at that glory in a number of places in Scripture. Arguably, none is more revealing than Revelation 21:1-8.

In eternity, God makes all creation new (v.1a, 5). Paradise was lost because of man’s sin, yet paradise will be renewed because of the Last Adam, Jesus Christ’s, obedience. Every square inch of His universe will be reclaimed, refined by fire, and regenerated. The pristine conditions of paradise will be restored, but without the Serpent to be found!

In eternity, God ends our separation from Himself and from our loved ones, as John saw, “And there was no more sea” (v.1b). For John, imprisoned and isolated on the rocky prison island of Patmos, the storm-tossed sea represented separation from those he loved. That’s coming to an end!

In eternity, the love relationship with God will be consummated with our Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus, bringing us into our new home, the New Jerusalem (v.2). It comes down from heaven to earth, that we may enjoy the blessing of our dwelling and the exploring of our estate.

In eternity, we will abide with God, basking in the joy of His glory—perfect satisfaction in His presence (v.3). The supreme wonder of eternity is to be in the presence of the King!

In eternity, all of the consequences of sin are removed because sin as a condition is no more—the curse being cured (v.4). No more tears to fall, no more funerals to attend, no more pain to endure, no more sobs and sighing to express—all sorrow and sickness banished for there is no more sin!

In eternity, we will be satisfied by drinking from a fountain of life that never runs dry and we will be safe by the exclusion of all who would harm us (v.6-8).  This is the attaining of fulness and the absence of fearfulness.

They have a zoning ordinance in the new heaven and new earth. You cannot build a hospital or funeral home. No tombstones will be allowed to be erected on those green hills!  None will be needed!

BLESSED ASSURANCE!

Read Romans 8.

This is a chapter the commences with, “no condemnation,” and concludes with, “no separation.”  It highlights the precious promise of the perseverance of the saints.  “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (v.25‬).

This doctrine underscores the faithfulness of God that undergirds the fruitfulness of God’s children. It is rooted in His character and assures those who are truly born again of the grace we need for transformation—that the God who calls us, changes us, and confirms His work in us.  From start to finish, it is all of grace.  Paul puts it like this, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (v.29-30‬). In the all-knowing mind of God, and according to His almighty power, He saves us to the uttermost.

We will make it home.  God will hold us fast. Far from being an excuse to sin, this love and grace is the motivation and means for holiness. Even, these bodies of ours will be redeemed.  Our environment, now under the curse, will be liberated as Eden blooms again!

This is a chapter that contrasts groans with glory. We are not home yet.  There are groans (v.22,23,26). Those groans will—some golden daybreak—yield to glories (v.17,18,21,30). God is even using the things that make us groan to accomplish the glory He intends, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (v.28‬)

“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.” (Fanny Crosby)

ETERNAL HOPE; EVERLASTING HOME

Unless Christ rose from the dead, I am wasting my time writing this and you are wasting your time reading.  Thankfully, He lives!  There are so many implications to that truth.    For one, it establishes eternal hope and provides an everlasting home.  Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10.

Life is relentless—it just keeps coming at you, like the waves of the restless sea.  At times, those waves become tsunamis of trouble.  It is easy to lose heart.
 
Yet, we need not.  Paul reminds us here that although the pain of earth is real, the promise of eternity is far superior.  Outwardly, our strength and health will decline over time—this physical frame eventually grows frail and will fail.  Inwardly, the real person that is housed in a body, can grow stronger and stronger, and with it, the magnetic appeal of heaven overcomes the bonds of earth and we are lifted up to real home in glory.

Paul knew what it was like to suffer.  Do you hear him whining?  His tone is one of triumph.  Far from affliction overwhelming him, he sees how pain aids him—the knowledge that God uses the sorrows of this world to shape us into Christlikeness—that the weight of glory is incomparable when placed on the scales of our soul, in relation to the lightness of difficulty. What we see is temporary, as this material universe passes away, while what we know by faith concerning the spiritual, invisible Kingdom of God is eternally fixed.

For now, we groan.  Today we abide in a tent—a temporary structure that houses our souls.  Someday it will be exchanged for a permanent dwelling in a resurrection body.  Our groans give way to glory!  Our homesickness for heaven will eventually be met with a happy homecoming.  God’s Spirit within the child of God gives us that tug heavenward and His presence assures us of ultimate arrival.

So, let us walk by faith, and not by sight.  Looking around us will burden us.  Looking above us will bless us!  The moment we die, gazing into the face of Jesus will make every heartache forgotten.

Some have accused Christians of, “being so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good.”  Not so!  Paul tells us that a correct perspective of eternity brings a compelling passion on earth.  Living in light of eternity makes us into difference-makers!  We labor for the Lord as those who must give account at the judgment seat of Christ.  Lord, make us faithful that in the judgment we may be declared fruitful!

SHARING THE GLORY

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  (2 Corinthians 5:1)

The Apostle John said it like this, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)  What a day that will be!  The child of God is promised the ultimate experience—to be face to face with Jesus and in that moment to be changed into His likeness.  We will share in the glory of heaven.  Paul gives us some insight into what it means to share the glory. 

He speaks of OUR AFFLICTION (2 Cor.4:16-18). This old house is in a state of deterioration.  The hand of disease can grab life around the throat and squeeze it out.  But the wonderful promise for God’s children is that as physical strength ebbs, spiritual power increases.  In some fashion, our afflictions prepare us for the glory of heaven.  Often we ask, “Why?” when we see a loved one suffer. I don’t have the solution to that dilemma—ultimately we will understand when we reach eternity.  There are some comforting insights given us here, however.  Paul speaks of light, momentary affliction.  From the human perspective, suffering may seem heavy and agonizingly long, but from the heavenly perspective, where a day is as a thousand years, it is light and brief.  And it produces for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.  God puts His saints in the furnace of pain to refine them as pure gold and mold them in the exact image of Jesus.  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”  (Rom.8:18) 

 OUR AFFLICTION leads to OUR ANTICIPATION (2 Cor.5:1-8).  Paul was not afraid to die; he was anxious to get home!  This world is not our real home.  This body we live in becomes one day unfit for occupation.  In heaven, we will never have a pain or care.  No wonder Paul said, “To depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” (Phil.1:23)   We sorrow when separated from a loved one, but it doesn’t need to be a permanent separation.  We can see them again in heaven.  

This should be OUR AIM (5:9-10).  Paul’s aim was to be accepted by God.  When death called him into eternity, he wanted to be prepared.  Are you?  Every person who has ever lived will one day stand in judgment before the Lord.  You need not fear that.  You can be assured today of acceptance before God—not based on your own merits, but the finished work of Christ.  There will also be a judgment for the believer.  It will not be a judgment for sin, but for our service.  Our reward will be determined according to our faithfulness to Christ.  All believers will share the glory, but some will shine brighter.  My aim is that when I come to the end of the way, to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.”  (Matt.25:21)  Remember this:  

Only one life; ‘Twill soon be past;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

RESTORED

And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.  (Job 42:10)

Old battered furniture—a secretary, wardrobe and dresser from my wife’s mother and a dish cabinet from my grandmother—these came into our possession, were sent to a skilled craftsman who restored them, and now they adorn our home!  Job was battered by the Devil with cruel blow after cruel blow.  Looking at him, you would have said, “That’s it—he’s seen his best days.”  Yet, there is a Master Restorer—God Almighty—that would not abandon him in the ash heap where Job sat!  He is in the restoration business, and that is what He does with Job.  God not only restored Job, He doubled his worth!

In this climactic conclusion of Job’s story we see HIS REPENTANCE (Job 42:1-6).  It was not sinful acts against God for which he needed to repent.  That was the false accusation of his friends as time after time they assailed his character.  They believed that Job’s sufferings had come as Divine discipline for his sins, and if he would just repent then he would be restored.  That was not the case!  God Himself testified to the righteousness of His servant—having thrown down the gauntlet to Satan, concerning Job’s integrity—which Job maintained even in the withering fire of trouble he entered.  What did happen, however, is that as time went on, Job felt abandoned by God and sought answers.  That is understandable, and not even wrong.  Somewhere along the way, this moved from confusion to complaint—no longer desiring answers alone, but demanding them!  In the presence of a Holy God, Who turns the tables and demands an answer from Job—and He has the right—Job repents of his bitterness with brokenness.

There follows GOD’S REPROOF (Job 42:7-9)  God does not go so easy on Job’s friends.  They are facing His fury.  When they ought to have comforted Job, they instead condemned him.  Thinking they knew it all, they presumed to speak for God, when they knew very little, and had no business becoming judges.  God can handle that Himself.  The Lord is sick of hearing them, and so asks Job to pray for them!  While I might have not wanted to pray for them after they way they had been, Job again displays his spiritual excellence in his intercession.  God hears and answers the prayer of his servant Job.  God always does—just not always in the time and in the manner in which we expect.

Job didn’t get the answer to all his prayers, expressed throughout the book, as he wanted, but he got something better!  We see HIS RESTORATION (v.10-17).  God not only gave him as much as he lost—He doubled everything!  You might protest—pointing out that is accurate except concerning the children he lost.  God blessed him with the same number.  NO—they were doubled too!  Something is not lost if you know where it is!  Job knew he had ten children in Heaven, and now God gives an additional ten—so that in glory the family circle would be twenty—double what he would have!

God is in the restoration business.  Often we experience restoration in this vale of tears—the ultimate is coming in the city of gold!  For the child of God, no matter how good or bad now—the best is always yet to be!  Job’s story teaches that truth.

THE SUFFERING OF THE SAINTS

Therefore we do not lose heart.  Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  ‎For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory….  (2 Corinthians 4:16-17)

Is healing in the atonement?  Doubtless—every blessing flows to us from that crimson stream of Calvary.  One dimension of our redemption is a new body.  That awaits the resurrection, however.  Romans 8:23 promises, “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”  I would not deny that miracles take place today and extraordinary healings are experienced.  God is still God, and does what He wishes.  That is different than turning Him into a cosmic errand boy to serve my desires.  To dictate to the Sovereign Lord and demand healing is a blasphemous role reversal.

Many godly people suffer enough without some self-appointed theologian coming on TV and declaring their problem is they don’t have enough faith to receive their healing.  Now, the physical affliction of the saint compounds by the mental anguish of guilt.

Paul was an instrument God used to bring miraculous healings to some—but not all.  “Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.”  (2 Tim.4:20).  Why didn’t you send him an anointed prayer cloth for a donation Paul?  Neither did the Apostle receive his healing though he asked three times (2 Cor.12:7-10).  We do not know specifically what the condition was, and it is possible that this was not a disease, but some other trial.  That pain was caused is clear and despite the prayers of faith, God chose not to remove it.

History is filled with spiritual giants who suffered greatly.  Moses had a speech impediment; Job suffered agonizingly; Timothy had stomach problems—and the list could go on with Amy Carmichael, blind Fanny Crosby, John Newton, Spurgeon, Joni Eareckson Tada, and many more.  Examine the lives of all God has used mightily and you will see a dark thread of suffering—tears and tragedies—woven into the fabric of each.  The health, wealth, and prosperity preachers of today are not worthy to untie the shoes of these anointed afflicted.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 that pain produces a greater glory.  If we want glory, we must endure suffering—the cross precedes the crown (2 Tim.2:12; Rom.5:3-5; 8:18).  Should we then rate our faith as substandard because we don’t get our miracle?  Examine Hebrews 11:33-40.  Following a roll call of those who saw the miraculous were those who suffered the grievous—and ALL are extolled as heroes of faith!

So, are you sick?  Try to get well!  Ask God to heal you.  Go to the doctor.  Take some medicine.  You will be well someday—even if it awaits that Eternal Day.  If God chooses to permit the pain, then know there is a purpose in it, and that the suffering of the saints will only enhance the future glory.  “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Cor.12:10)  Don’t lose heart!  Press on to glory!