Day 365 – Revelation & Eternity Future

Readings

  • Revelation 22
  • Isaiah 9:6-7
  • Ephesians 1:1-14

Prayer

Pray… that this year of reading will be the launchpad for a lifetime following Jesus.

Day 365 – Revelation & Eternity Future

Jesus Christ’s kingdom will last forever & ever & ever & ever…

  • Well… we’ve made it! I’ll share some thoughts below, but first – it’s time for our regular study notes for today’s passages!
  • How does Revelation end? Can you imagine being with God in this sort of way?
  • How have Isaiah’s wonderful words of prophecy come true?
  • There just aren’t the words to sum up the stunning message of the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ, but Paul made a fine attempt as he wrote the opening paragraphs of his letter to the Ephesians. They are fine words to bring down the curtain on our reading plan. There’s practically a sermon in every verse! If you rushed through it, eager to finish your reading for the year, go back and read them thoughtfully. Don’t worry, I’ll wait! I bet you’ll be amazed at how you can enjoy understanding them more than perhaps you would when you started this reading plan.
  • Paul reminds us that God has blessed us in the heavenly places with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Just think about what that means. Our union with Jesus means we belong to Him, and we’ll live where He lives, and receive what He deserves: unending blessing. What reminder does Paul give that none of these blessings are because of anything that we have done ourselves?
  • Paul also reminds us here, and in his other epistles, that no eye can see, no ear can hear and no heart can imagine all that God has stored up for those who love Him. This promise was given to us before we even had breath in our lungs. Before the foundation of the world, before we had done anything good or bad, Jesus predestined you for his family. This inheritance is rock solid. I rather hope that blows your mind!

 

And so our year of reading comes to an end.
It’s been quite the journey, hasn’t it? The early enthusiasm with the familiar words of Genesis, the covenant with Abraham, the giving of the Law, the long years in the wilderness, the Promised Land, the cycle of sin, the judges, King David and the sorry history of the kings that followed him, the destruction of the temple and the exile, and then the glorious welcome for gentiles and Jews alike into God’s family through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. Some days have been hard going – difficult theology or uncomfortable warnings. Some days have been full of joy. And I’m sure you enjoyed it when the Old Testament story was punctuated with familiar tales of Jonah, Ruth and Daniel. And now we’re here, worn out but hopefully cheery, standing gazing upwards at Revelation’s description of the new Jerusalem and our Saviour, as we reflect on the eternal rest that has been so gloriously promised us.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is One Story – God’s plan of salvation by grace though His son Jesus. The final glory described today, when it comes, will be the ultimate fulfilment of all our hopes in Christ. He is our eternal treasure.
You know, the events of this year – all the ups, and all the downs, and there have been many I’m sure – will one day be consigned to the annuals of past history. They’ll become part of the blur of your childhood memories. You’ll wake up one day and you’ll be 40 years old, and you’ll barely remember my name or the places where we sat and talked. You’ll talk nostalgically about Facebook to your kids. These words you’re reading right now will sit unread on a forgotten hard drive, with 2020 consigned to be remembered for nothing more than a rotten pandemic.
And that’s absolutely fine.
But Christ won’t have that fate. His message of salvation will be as joyous and fulfilling and glorious to those who accept it as it has ever been. My deepest prayer for you is that you will continue to walk strong with Jesus for all your days. Friends and family will come and go, as will houses and health, marriages, jobs and dreams. Scholars, politicians, scientists and clergy will endlessly debate and fathom, re-imagine and re-conclude. A Christian revival may happen in this country, or it may not.
But the Word of God will never change. It is life. It will always be life, and life eternal.
Hold onto Jesus as the most treasured thing you have, and the eternal glory of today’s passages will, one day, be the glorious reality of forever.

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