By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #253 ~
This blog site is about Christ’s coming, the rapture, and the glorious future God has planned out for you. These things should be on your mind and heart, personal and real to you. Do you think about meeting Jesus, being in heaven, seeing your loved ones, and reigning with Him over the earth? It’s important that you do, for this is your hope, giving you endurance and encouraging you to keep living for Jesus. Here are some things God wants you to be looking forward to:
* Literally seeing Jesus Christ. “From my flesh I shall see God, whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another.” (Job 19:26-27). You will actually see Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, One who is God in the flesh. And think about how you will see His pierced hands and feet, permanent marks of His great love for you, of how He died to pay for all your sins. “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see.” Luke 24:29
* Lovingly gazing upon Jesus’ face. “The upright will behold His face” (Psalm 11:7). You will see Jesus’ godly and glorious face, and His sweet and loving smile for you. “I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.” Psalm 17:15
* Listening to Jesus’ voice, specifically that He is pleased with you. Won’t it be encouraging when Jesus comes up to you and personally commends you for how you served Him on earth? “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things – I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master.” Matthew 25:23
* Living together with Jesus Christ. “We will live together with Him” (1 Thess. 5:10b) in our heavenly home. “I will go and prepare a place for you… I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may also be” (John 14:2-3). And you won’t be with Jesus for just a short while – you “shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:17, Rev. 21:10-22
* Looking at the incredible, unbelievable, magnificent glory of Jesus. “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me.” (John 17:24). You will always be amazed by Jesus, eternally in awe of His glory, of His power, His wisdom, His love, His supremacy, His goodness, His righteousness, His splendor, His faithfulness, His truth, etc. Then you will say, “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11
* Being gathered together with all the believers to meet Jesus. “We who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-17). This spectacular and thrilling onetime event will occur at Christ’s coming – and you will be there! Can you imagine being with this exceedingly joyful assembly, with all the believers from all time, and together seeing Christ in all His power and glory? Matthew 24:30-31
* Being at one of the greatest worship services ever. “Behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands, and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’” (Rev. 7:9-14) This describes what happens just after the rapture, and all the saints are together in heaven, proudly and wholeheartedly worshiping both the Father and the Son. I am really looking forward to this!!!
* Being with your believing friends and loved ones. “Who is our hope or joy or crown or exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy” (1 Thess. 2:19). You will be super-excited about your grand reunion with dear friends and family members you knew on earth. Just think about the soul-warming, God-glorifying times of fellowship you will have in heaven, and which will go on forever. You just can’t imagine the extreme and exhilarating joy you will feel in your heart, and the profound and perfect love you will have for all the saints. “You have come to… the general assembly and church of the first born.” Hebrews 12:23
* Being “absent from the body and… at home with the Lord” – soon enough, you will be gone from this evil world and from your weak, sin-prone body. (2 Cor. 5:1-8). Every Christian should have “the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better” than living on earth. “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:25). You should long for that time when you will be with your heavenly Father, when “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.” Revelation 21:3-4
All believers who have physically died are now experiencing this heavenly perfection, this absence of sin, sickness, and pain, this freedom from fleshly and worldly problems and pressures. And I believe millions more Christians will die and ascend to heaven before Jesus descends to rapture the church, and you may be one of them. At the end of this age, Jesus will return to rescue His bride, and then all believers from all time, those in heaven and those just raptured from the earth, will be glorified. This is when our salvation is complete, when we receive our brand-new glorified body.
Then “we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). The Lord Jesus Christ “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil. 3:21). You will receive “an imperishable body… one that is raised in glory… raised in power… raised a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:42-44). “We will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52), wonderfully, beautifully, perfectly, powerfully, and eternally.
* Being with the angels. “You have come to… myriads of angels in festive gathering” (Heb. 12:22). All believers will soon be with all the angels, ones who are worshiping the Lord and perfectly “obeying the voice of His word” (Ps. 103:20). We will join the angels in giving praise to our Creator and King, and what a joyful, heart-gladdening time that will be! “I heard the voice of many angels… saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’ And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.’” Revelation 5:11-13
As a Christian, you have this hope of a great and glorious future, of being in heaven in a new body with Jesus Christ and all the believers and all the angels. It’s imperative that you think about this soul-charging, super-encouraging, God-given hope. This is especially true at this time in history, for we are seeing God’s prophetic word being fulfilled in the world around us – which means it won’t be long before Christ comes and takes us home to heaven so we can forever be with Him. “‘Behold, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20
P.S. Hope is so powerful and so important, and is especially needed when you go through tough times, and as you observe the devilish course of this world. I encourage you to also read this post, “The Rapture, a Love Story” (#6), and this article, “Being in Heaven with Jesus, and the Believers, and in a New Glorified Body” (#14).