"In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous ness" (2 Peter 3:10,13).
Following the greatest of all physical convulsions of earth or heaven, the earth shall be re-formed for man to dwell on forever, and the heavens changed, in both of which righteousness shall dwell. Those who have come out of the millennial earth, living, shall dwell on the new earth.
All who have lived or died in faith up until Pentecost, all martyrs, and the holy, unfallen angels, shall live in the newly created heavens (2 Peter 3:13).
Life shall be in the spirit, not in the flesh which cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50).
The Creation of God
Christ is "the beginning of the creation of God" (Rev. 3:14).
Christ, the Firstborn, is the beginning of the manifestation of all of the power and glory of God. Being the "Firstborn" of all creation means that He has the full title to it all. It does not mean Firstborn in the sense of birth but as Creator and Redeemer (Col. 1:15-18).
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 5:17,18).
The foregoing verses speak of the creation of God with the character of God stamped upon every part of it. This is the inheritance which the Church will share with Christ, reaching out to all created things in the universe (Eph. 1:11).
The Father's House
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:1-3).
Anything that we have ever known of joy and happiness fades as we look on to that day when we, the Church, will dwell with the Father and with His Son Jesus in their eternal abode where they have always lived.
For us, this is grace that knows no bounds to take the beggar from the dunghill to dwell with the Father and inherit the throne of glory with His Son (1 Sam. 2:8).
God's purpose is to have His home filled with children just like Christ (Heb. 2:13). We shall by nature enjoy the same things that the Father and Son enjoy, the very desires which fill the Father's bosom.
The children shall also be the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:27).
All of the present history of the believer is an exhibition of the hidden eternal counsels of the divine bosom to be revealed later in the Father's house.
"Oh bright and blessed scenes!
Where sin can never come,
Whose sight our longing spirit weans
From earth where yet we roam.
"And can we call our home
Our Father's house on high,
The rest of God our rest to come,
Our place of liberty?
"Yes! in that light unstained,
Our stainless souls shall live,
Our heart's deep longings more than gained,
When God His rest shall give.
"His presence there, my soul,
Its rest, its joy untold,
Shall find when endless ages roll,
And time shall ne'er grow old."
(Little Flock Hymnbook #64)
Beloved, what will it be like to feel at home with the Father and to know that we are loved eternally by the Father and the Son ( 1 Thess. 5:10)!
One who has a longing desire for soul peace, love, and rest may find it immediately in the bosom of Jesus.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:31).
The Church, the Bride of Christ
The moment when Christ presents the Church to Himself, a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, will be a time of gladness such as heaven has never witnessed before and which will never end (Eph. 5:27). It will be the joy of Christ over His bride, prepared just for Him and also for the joy of the Father. This will be the highest moment of bliss in heaven. Will you be a part of this glorious occasion, beloved?
Christ loves His bride with an everlasting love. That is why He has endured such pain and loss to have her as His eternal companion.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matt. 13:45,46).
Christ graciously forms, in His bride, during her earthly sojourn, the cravings for a heavenly country of a pure atmosphere, the country which has always been His home.
The Lord employs His holy Word to accustom us to the nature of His home, fitted in every way for both His and His Father's presence, to be a companion for Jesus, as Eve was for Adam.
We learn suffering and loss here in this world to realize more, even now, what it cost Him to redeem and have us, the "pearl of great price" (Matt. 13:46). He sold all that He had and bought it.
In keeping with purity, proper in the Father's house, the bride is to be holy, so Christ cleanses her morally by the "washing of water by the Word" now (Eph. 5:26).
The elements of the heavenly glory in which we shall participate are discovered down here in His presence (Eph. 3:17-21).
That which does not correspond to heavenly propriety in the believer's life is found and judged in our daily walk. We may not always be conscious of the end in view, but the work of love goes on, preparing our hearts for an eternity of happiness of which He is both the Author and Measure.
Spiritual affections are also developed here below, as we experience the emptiness of this world. Christ's infinite love in going to the cross willingly for us to pay our debt of sins and bearing all the shame raises in us richer desires than any brought about by adverse circumstances (Eph. 5:25).
Christ cares for His bride day by day and waits upon her to deepen those affections in the inner man, as seen in The Song of Solomon.
We are weaned from earth by a sense of His love and the continual reminder of that love as we remember Him in His death, at His table, each Lord's Day from week to week, as members of His body (Acts 20:7).
We are cleansed morally to His likeness by having our eyes fixed upon that pure Object, Christ. We shall have the fresh, balmy fragrance of life in the Spirit to enjoy heaven in perfect liberty as the sons of God, in an atmosphere which will be no small part of the banquet of love when Jesus girds Himself to serve us.
"Verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them" (Luke 12:37).
How could anyone reject God's offer of salvation when he could receive Christ as his Savior and become part of His bride?
"Meet companion then for Jesus,
From Him, for Him made;
Glory of God's grace forever
There in me displayed.
"He and I in that bright glory
One deep joy shall share:
Mine, to be forever with Him;
His, that I am there." F.B.
I trust that my reader will seriously consider the end of his path, short or long, and avail himself of eternal life while it is still today. Your decision at this moment may be final should your life be suddenly snatched away.
"The redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth forever" (Psa. 49:8).
"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).
"The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
May we have the spirit of Mary Magdalene, to find nothing in this world, to be empty, poverty-stricken spiritually, if without Jesus. May these desires fill our hearts.
"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen" (Rom. 11:33-36).
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