Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

ETERNAL REIGN

This entry was posted on 07-10-2009 and is filed under HEAVEN.

"There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever" (Rev. 22:5 NKJV).

John returns to the thought expressed in Rev. 21:23 that God's glory is the illuminating source of the Holy City. There will be no sun or moon. There will be no night. Several years ago I was in St. Petersburg, Russia. I strolled the streets near midnight and it still looked like day. There is "no night" there during certain seasons. The same is true, I am told, of Alaska. But in Heaven the "no night there" is permanent. Not even the sun or moon are needed. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (I John 1:5). His radiance is big enough to illuminate all of Heaven! In his hymn "In the Land of Fadeless Day" John R. Clements wrote, There they need no sunshine bright, in the city foursquare; For the Lamb is all the light, And there is no night there. God shall wipe away all tears; there's no death, no pain, nor fears; and they count not time by years, for there is no night there.

Then John adds, "And they shall reign forever and ever." Of course Handel used this triumphant line over and over again in his masterpiece "Messiah." But what does it mean? It means that we shall reign with Christ forever and ever, Amen! William Barclay says, "The vision ends with the promise that the people of God will reign forever and ever. In perfect submission to Him they will find perfect freedom and the only true loyalty." Lots of people get hung up on the thousand-year reign and miss the true impact of us reigning with Christ. Paul reminds us that the saints will judge the world (1 Cor. 6:2) and John saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge - including the souls of those who had been martyred for Christ, reigning with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 5). Daniel prophesied, "Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him" (Dan. 7:27 NIV). Every blood-bought Christian who has remained true to Jesus shall reign with Christ forever and ever! Saints who are already with Christ are reigning with Christ. I can hardly wait to join them - how about you?

I meant for this special study of Heaven to last 40 days, in honor of my father's graduation to Glory on April 25. We have gone a little farther than that. I believe this is study #45. I hope you don't mind going this long. We are going to be in Heaven a long, long time and I felt the subject deserved at least 40 days. I feel it could go one for another 40. I draw this to a close by quoting the angel in Rev. 22:6, "These words are trustworthy and true." Heaven is real. Scripture's testimony and witness of Heaven is true. You can stake your eternal soul on the reality of Heaven. Let me close with Jesus' own words in Rev. 22:7ff "Behold, I am coming soon!...Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done...Yes, I am coming soon..." Jesus is coming again. He is coming back to take us with Him to Heaven. If it were not so, He would have told us. Heaven is our eternal destination so let it be our daily contemplation. Our names are written there, our treasures are there, our loved ones in Christ are there waiting for our entrance. HEAVEN - DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD!

Prayer: Loving Heavenly Father, our hearts are overflowing with thanks for what You have done for us in preparing Heaven for the faithful. Thank You for taking care of our loved ones who have died in Christ. Now help us to be faithful unto death that we might receive the Crown of Life. Through Christ we pray, Amen and Amen and Amen!