This is certainly a beautiful picture of the redeemed
Jerusalem and the redeemed people of God.
Imagery from the exodus abounds in the pillar of cloud and fire over the
city and the glory of the Lord like a canopy over her. The process of getting there is lightly
touched on but it is important to pay attention to it. Jerusalem and the people of God have to be
cleansed and prepared for this day and Isaiah says "the Lord shall have
washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of
Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning."
We have to pass through a spirit
of judgment and burning in order to become the people God wants in His
city. Sanctification is required and the
process is a purging of the old and the establishment of the new.
We are to expect that the end will come with violence. There are always wars and rumors of wars and
there are always false prophets and messiahs.
We may not hear of these phonies but they are there deceiving others and
we need discernment to avoid being lulled into false beliefs. We have the Word and the Spirit to guide us
and keep us safe but we have to listen and we have to keep our eyes fixed on the
ultimate prize not the short term situation.
Jesus promises that "not a hair of your head will perish" and
by our endurance we will "gain our lives." I believe in the perseverance of the saints
and I also believe that sometimes that affliction reveals the saints by their
perseverance in spite of difficulty. Let
us be prepared to stand in the days of testing and trial.
This passage puts me in mind of an old song, "When the
Roll is Called up Yonder." The
second verse begins, "On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead
in Christ shall rise, And the glory of His resurrection share…" Paul is very clear that the dead shall rise
first and then those who are alive will join them in glory. What an amazing time that will be to see the dead
arise. In our current time, there is a
fascination with zombies, the living dead or the walking dead and yet I believe
that we will see the dead walking but they will not be dead at all, they will
be fully alive, more so than they have ever been. We will see those whom we have loved, who
have gone before, and our joy will be without end or measure.
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