10/03/2021
During the life of Jesus leading up to the crucifixion He taught us many things, but in the forty days after His resurrection Jesus remained with His disciples and taught them, and us, about the kingdom of God. What a lesson it was. Today we look to the sky, and long for the second coming, we look forward to our resurrected bodies, meeting the likes of Moses and Elijah, walking through walls, our tears being dried, and so much more, but before this all occurs we have a few things to do. Are we ready?
“He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”
Acts 1:3 ESV
The life of Jesus is incredible, thrilling, miraculous, horrific in His suffering, magnanimous in the forgiveness of his persecutors, seemingly tragic during His death, awe inspiring in His resurrection, glorious in His ascension, and suspenseful as we await His second coming. These are just the highlights of His life, and all of this led to the point where we are given a glimpse of what awaits us in Heaven…
“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.””
Matthew 17:1-5 ESV
In this moment of grandeur God nearly blinds us with the transfiguration, expresses His pleasure in His Son, and tells us to listen to Him. If this is what we see and hear at the outskirts of Heaven, the cusp of eternity, then what must await us once we have listened, obeyed, and entered with Jesus into the presence of God Himself?
So what does He tell His disciples, and us? He tells them to stay in Jerusalem, and wait for the Holy Spirit… God’s promise.
“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.””
Acts 1:4-5 ESV
As for us, the Jerusalem in which we have been told to remain is much broader. This is evidenced in the words of Jesus as we hear Him asking His Father that we be kept in the world.
“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
John 17:15-16 ESV
Believers today are kept in the world to perform the same mission that He asked His original disciples to complete. Jesus asks us to begin from that place where we first believe, and go into the world, spreading the good news just as He asked His apostles, and the first disciples, to do when they were sent forth from Jerusalem.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
Matthew 28:19 ESV
So here we are, believers, disciples, martyrs, Saints, and the Sons and daughters of God. We have been given a taste of Heaven in the scriptures detailing the final days leading up to the ascension of Christ, and we too are now the recipients of the Holy Spirit. We have become missionaries of every description as we travel near and far, having listened to Jesus as God told us to do, and obeying Him. We are performing dutifully the Commission we were given by Christ in His final 40 days, and then reiterated in His final words…
“He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”
Acts 1:7-9 ESV
So if the streets of the New Jerusalem will be paved with gold, its foundation adorned with gem stones of every variety, and each of its twelve gates made of a single pearl, then what must Heaven itself look like? Are we ready to see it?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the vision we received of your kingdom from Jesus as he awaited His ascension into Heaven. Thank you for letting Peter, James, and John, His brother, witness His transfiguration, and for allowing them to tell us all that you had told them to listen to Him. We thank you for the great commission that Jesus gave us, and for your Holy Spirit that gives us the power we need to go into the world, and deliver the gospel to the lost. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who reveals yourself to us in glimpses, and magnificent imagery, through Jesus your Son. We praise you for each moment in the life of Christ in which we have been taught how to believe, and how to live our lives righteously here on this earth. We praise you for the view of the divine, revealed to us during the forty days in which Jesus taught us about Heaven, and what awaits us there as believers. Great are you, and amazing is your mercy and grace. Wash us in the blood of Jesus, and forgive us of our sins Lord, seeing only righteousness in us through our faith, and His sacrifice. Call us your sons and daughters Lord, and welcome us into your Holy Kingdom for all eternity as your people.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””
Revelation 21:1-4 ESV
Rich Forbes