The book of Revelation is quite a story! Lots of people argue over how much of it should be taken literally or how much to take figuratively. Will the new city of Jerusalem literally be 1,400 square miles? Will there actually be streets of gold? Will we actually wear white robes? There are lots more questions than there are answers in what John wrote down, but there are still things we can know and trust from reading the end of the Bible.
For example, we know that God wins. God began human history, stands outside human history and will bring human history to a conclusion when it suits His purposes. Evil may look like it has the upper hand, but God promises (and He’s powerful enough to deliver!) that evil will one day be destroyed once and for all.
We also know that there will still be work for us in eternity. Before you start to worry about what kind of job you’ll have, think about this. There won’t be any frustration. Can you imagine work with no stress, no anxiety, no fear, no frustration? No paperwork or busy signals, no traffic jams or spam in your email folder, no more office politics, no blue Mondays, no P45’s — just the fulfilment and joy that come from knowing you’re doing what you were always created to do. There will be learning without Test Anxiety. There will be growth without growing pains. Life will be ordered, and work will be fulfilling. That’s a pencil sketch of some of what awaits you, imagine what the full-colour, three-dimensional version will be like!
Few things cause as much heartache on this old earth as interpersonal conflicts. It’s so easy to be misunderstood or to feel slighted in some way by another person, and over time, those things add up and can cause a lot of unnecessary stress. More good news. There’s none of that in eternity. There’s no shame, no deceit, nothing impure. There’s no room for unhealthy ego or manipulative motives. Your relationships with other people will have no secrecy, no hidden agendas, no triangulation, no neediness about them at all—not even your relationships with your in-laws!
But wait … it still gets better!
We get to see God’s face.
No one has ever been allowed to see God’s face. Not Abraham. Not Moses. Not even the apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation, could handle the overwhelming light of God. But in eternity, all of God’s people are able to live fully in His presence and see Him face to face.
In our world, God makes His presence available to us, but He allows us to choose whether or not we want a relationship with Him. In eternity, God will gather together a group of people — His redeemed community — whose hearts and minds have been illuminated by His truth and melted by His grace. God will no longer be a visitor, He will be a resident. He will no longer live in a few of us, He will live with all of us.
Perhaps the most amazing thing is that the invitation into that kind of eternity is open to each and every one of us. The most baffling thing is that some folks decline.
What about you?
Prayer
What we could not have learned from the glories and marvels of Your world, You have revealed through Your Word. We know from the heavens and the earth that you are all-powerful, utterly wise and everywhere present, Your eternal power and divine nature have clearly been revealed. But it was only through Your special revelation in Scripture that we could know that the One who has dominion over all things is also the Lover of our souls. Your Word is a love letter to the people You created to enjoy forever in loving communion with You. May I be diligent to be a student of Your Word so that it will renew my mind and give me an eternal perspective as I meditate on Your timeless truths.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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