Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24: 30, 31, NKJV.
Dear God, “some golden daybreak” You will return. We shall see You coming in the clouds of heaven, and all our battles will be over, forever! We are longing for that day! Please come quickly Lord Jesus! We pray in Your holy name. Amen.
Our study for today is about what the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the earth will represent for the human race. I have attempted to talk about what heaven is going to be like, in the past, and have never been able to even begin to describe what that is going to be like. Today, I am simply going to share some of what is in my heart with You. My heart is somewhat heavy today. Just yesterday, I became aware of a very sick little girl,whose condition had been brought to our attention at the Prayer Request page. Along with a prayer partner I prayed for her healing, and then this morning I published a prayer on her behalf. Immediately after I published the prayer, I went to the link that had been left at the Prayer Request Chapel, and to my sadness, I discovered that little Kayla Grace, had fallen asleep in the Lord. My heart aches. She was only two years old!
That is one of the things we will never have to deal with when Jesus returns. Death will be a thing of the past! Glory to God! Hallelujah! I long to live in a world where life is going to prevail over death (1 Corinthians 15: 54, 55)! The first order of things will be restored! That is what heaven is going to be about – restoration! But it will not be a restoration of the old, but of what God had intended, “in the beginning,” before the entrance of sin into our universe. Because of this, God is able to say, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21: 5a). God will once again look at His restored creation and declare it “very good” (Genesis 1: 31).
The tree of life will be there. The river of life will be there. Life will be restored to the full! Above and beyond all of this, God and the Lamb, will be there (Revelation 22: 1-3)! Just to be in their presence will be heaven for me! God will then remove every cause for tears. When I think of “crying” in heaven, it just does not fit in with the concept of heaven. If “the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21: 4c), then there will be no place for tears! For this reason I have chosen to paraphrase the first part of verse 4, in the following manner: “And God will wipe away every cause for tears from their hearts[.]” There will be no need to fear, and there will be no need for tears. The old order of things is forever gone.
There will be no broken homes in heaven. I do not quite understand the concept that “they shall be as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22: 30). I believe, that, when by God’s grace, members of a family are saved, God will not separate them in heaven. Heaven is about restoration, remember? Not separation! All of the devastating effects that broken homes have had have on the different members of the family, and especially, on the children, here on earth, will not come to mind. Praise God!
We will not need any health insurance in heaven. Another text that I am not quite sure what it means, is, “. . . And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22: 2c). No one will be sick in heaven! Everything has been made new! We will have new bodies, new minds, new hearts! Why will we need “healing?” If this mortal is going to put on immortality, and this corrupt, incorruption, why will we need to be healed? Could it be that the effects of sin are so damaging that even after we receive our glorified bodies, some healing will be necessary, throughout eternity? Perhaps this is one of the mysteries, that I will have to wait until I get to heaven, to understand.
Praise God, that life as we know it, will not last forever. I can hardly wait for heaven to begin. Seeing Jesus, and living with Him forever, will be worth whatever we are suffering in the here and now. May God help us to be faithful until we see Him face to face!
My dear friend and sister in Christ,
How many times in the past two months I have longed to write to you. But in my depression, I haven’t been able to think right. I’m always behind at work and so I spend my every available time trying to catch up. But I knew after reading your testimony that today I had to take time. I have felt the deep sorrow of the loss of a child, my first. It was 12 years before I understood what restoration meant. It took mourning over someone else’s child (whom I had earnestly prayer for) to discover the full meaning of the state of the dead. Now when I think of restoration I consider that blessed joy of raising him as a parent covered in Christ’s righteousness.
Last month, while you were writing about cherishing our families, both of my grandchildren were fighting for their lives. Praise the Lord that I did not have to suffer that kind of loss again. My grandson may have to have brain surgery, we don’t know yet, but he is much better. But knowing this I’m sure you will keep him in prayer.
With your regard for Rev 22:2, I don’t consider myself to be an expert on scripture, but I see this as a healing of the relationships between different nations, different cultures. We have always had wounds between us, from Cain and Abel, Israel and Ishmael. Whatever the healing, praise be to the Lord that He is able.
If Kayla Grace’s parents would like an understanding ear, or a prayer to carry them through this darkest moment, let me know.
I praise the Lord for your heart and for your sincere friendship. May He continue to bless and use you for His Glory!
From my heart,
Terri
My dear friend and sister in Christ,
How many times in the past two months I have longed to write to you. But in my depression, I haven’t been able to think right. I’m always behind at work and so I spend my every available time trying to catch up. But I knew after reading your testimony that today I had to take time. I have felt the deep sorrow of the loss of a child, my first. It was 12 years before I understood what restoration meant. It took mourning over someone else’s child (whom I had earnestly prayer for) to discover the full meaning of the state of the dead. Now when I think of restoration I consider that blessed joy of raising him as a parent covered in Christ’s righteousness.
Last month, while you were writing about cherishing our families, both of my grandchildren were fighting for their lives. Praise the Lord that I did not have to suffer that kind of loss again. My grandson may have to have brain surgery, we don’t know yet, but he is much better. But knowing this I’m sure you will keep him in prayer.
With your regard for Rev 22:2, I don’t consider myself to be an expert on scripture, but I see this as a healing of the relationships between different nations, different cultures. We have always had wounds between us, from Cain and Abel, Israel and Ishmael. Whatever the healing, praise be to the Lord that He is able.
If Kayla Grace’s parents would like an understanding ear, or a prayer to carry them through this darkest moment, let me know.
I praise the Lord for your heart and for your sincere friendship. May He continue to bless and use you for His Glory!
From my heart,
Terri