2019-05-31
Good Morning Dear Ones,
What does ”appear with Christ sharing His glory” mean, as it is stated in COL 3: 3-4? That’s the current question we’ve been examining together, while at the same time presenting supporting Scriptures to this book from Revelation. Revelation has 22 chapters, each filled with John’s fascinating visions and with how the challenges and prophecies of earthly living are consummated. And yes, we are also looking at the ideal of how our relationships with the Lord, vertically, and other people, horizontally should be. The book of Revelation is filled with symbolism, which is why it gets the ill-deserved reputation for being hard to understand. I say “ill-deserved,” because those of us who do understand it should be sharing the meanings of those symbols with those learning it for the first time. Someday, I may write a series of messages about its contents, but for now, I will mention our need to understand that God can do things that are supernatural, meaning that don’t conform to the rules of earthly mathematics and science. Suffice it to say that we get to see some things in heaven, which don’t conform to what we can quantify or understand on earth.
The book of Revelation is organized as follows: Chapter 1 is John’s vision of Christ. Chapters 2-3 demonstrate the nature of the seven churches in Asia Minor [today’s Turkey]. Chapter 4 describes worship in heaven. Chapter 5 is about the scroll with seven seals and the Lamb’s permission to open them. Chapters 6-10 describe the seal and trumpet judgments; chapter 11 is about two witnesses. Chapters 12-15 deal with the woman and the dragon, the two beasts, the Lamb and His people, and the three angels. The bowl judgments follow in chapter 16, and the famous prostitute in chapter 17. Chapter 18 is the fall of Babylon. The wedding feast of the Lamb is found in chapter 19, followed by the thousand years, the defeat of Satan, and the final judgment in chapter 20. Trying to understand each of these chapters can only be done by reading and studying them carefully. Chapters 21-22 give us the consummation of all prophecy concerning God’s eventual separation of the goats and sheep [MT 25: 32]. What I’ve given here is by no means a full study of this amazing book, and it is my hope you will personally decide to study it with help available to you.
For now, I will focus on these last two chapters, which serve to answer the question asked above. John’s vision continues in chapter 21 with seeing the new heaven and the new Earth. At this time, evil has been stopped, and the evil leaders (also known as the evil trinity) are gone. For those people who have won the victory over evil, they will be God’s children, and He will be their God. (Just think of all the times such a notion has been mentioned in the Scriptures! [there are at least 17; an example is JER 31: 31-34. For those who don’t win over evil, there are negative consequences. Both notions are mentioned in REV 21: 7-8. The new Jerusalem is richly described in vss. 9-26 in greater detail than ever before in the Scriptures. Verse 27 assures us that “nothing impure will enter the city, no anyone who does shameful things or tells lies. Only those who names are written in the Lamb’s Book of the Living will enter the city.” REV 22 gives us a description of what is inside the city, along with God’s throne. This is followed with the coming of Jesus, which includes instructions not to keep the prophetic words of this book secret (vs. 10). Christ speaks of the rewards according to what a person has done. In the conclusion of REV 22, John attests to the truth of his vision. We are told not to alter it by adding or leaving out any of the words of the Bible. It is my hope that I have given you just enough about this book to encourage you in your faith and cause you to want to study it for yourself.
A second question is asked of us, in PS 73: 21-26 that bears citation here. “When my thoughts were bitter and my feeling were hurt, I was as stupid as an animal; I did not understand You. Yet I always stay close to You, and You hold me by the hand. You guide me with Your instruction and at the end You will receive me with honor. What else do I have in heaven but You? Since I have You, what else could I want on earth? My mind and my body may grow weak, but God is my Strength; He is all I ever need.” We each must draw his own conclusions.
PRAYER: O Lord, You show us that we can call upon You any time of day or night. As an ordinary person writing about You, I ask You to grant understanding and wisdom to everyone who reads my writing about You. It is the Holy Spirit, Who gives me what to say week after week. It is He, Who deserves all the credit for this writing and not me [PS 115: 1]. Each week, You have yet another lesson to learn and yet another way of showing us Your unconditional love. Things like rewards motivate human beings to come to You. We admit it, that we should not require a reward to see the wisdom of making You the center of our lives and thoughts. We are limited in our perspective and so, must take time to think about what You are so kindly teaching us. We remember 2 TIM 3: 16-17, which is repeated here. “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching the truth, rebuking errors, correcting faults, and giving instruction in right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.” Dearest Father, we love, praise, and thank You for all You are and all You do for us. Learning what we need to know to establish and nurture the kind of relationships You want us to have with You and other people doesn’t come naturally to us but is important. We see the advantages of our obedience to You in these matters and thank You for bringing this to our attention. We utter this prayer in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: There is still more to write about in attempting to ask yet another question: What is it like to “appear with Christ and share His glory?” That will be the subject of next week’s message. God is always with us, who believe in His Son. Stupidly, I didn’t realize this constant presence until I was in my 50’s. It’s my hope you will see and feel it sooner. He is not here with us just to judge us, so we should welcome and not fear His constant presence. He wants to enjoy each of our victories and hold our hand in each of our sorrows. Like the Parent He is, He will correct us at times when we are erring. However, it is not on His mind to ever abandon us or depart from us in anger. We can frustrate Him at times with our slowness in understanding, but He loves us enough not to give up on us. The only unforgiveable sin is serial unbelief [LK 12: 10] or saying evil things against the Holy Spirit. God reminds us that He has forgiven us (Who believe in Christ] and thus, we should forgive others [COR 3: 13]. Remember that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God [RO 8: 38-39]. Now, Dear Readers, you can understand why I find comfort in God’s presence, and I hope you do too. He deserves all our thanks and praise forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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