The Church Triumphant

I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. Revelation 15:2.
Now the church is militant. Now we are confronted with a world in darkness, almost wholly given over to idolatry. But the day is coming when the battle will have been fought, the victory won. The will of God is to be done on earth as it is done in heaven. The nations of the saved will know no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving—the robe of Christ’s righteousness. All nature, in its surpassing loveliness, will offer to God a tribute of praise and adoration. The world will be bathed in the light of heaven. The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold greater than it is now. The years will move on in gladness. Over the scene the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ will unite in proclaiming, “There shall be no more sin, neither shall there be any more death.”…
Stand on the threshold of eternity and hear the gracious welcome given to those who in this life have co-operated with Christ, regarding it as a privilege and an honor to suffer for His sake. With the angels, they cast their crowns at the feet of the Redeemer, exclaiming, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing…. Honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:12, 13
There the redeemed ones greet those who directed them to the uplifted Saviour. They unite in praising Him who died that human beings might have the life that measures with the life of God. The conflict is over. All tribulation and strife are at an end. Songs of victory fill all heaven, as the redeemed stand around the throne of God. All take up the joyful strain, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain” and hath redeemed us to God.
Maranatha p. 358
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Prayer Requests
—–Eileen has a doctor’s appointment with the neurological surgeon this morning. Please pray that all goes well and that she can get well soon. Rose
—–Please continue to pray for us to be able to get a car. Blanca
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Dear Friends,
About eleven years ago, we went to Florida to get my mother who was no longer able to live by herself. On the way there, we stopped for gas in a small town in Louisiana. After filling up the tank, Ron tried to start the camper. The engine would not even turn over. With a sinking feeling Ron remembered that he had had trouble with the starter a few times about a month before. Since having some mechanical work done, however, it had not given him any trouble, so he had forgotten all about it. Even the night before, that starter had given us a slight problem, but since it had started when he added the extra power of our coach batteries he didn’t think about it again. Now we were wishing that we had heeded the warning signs.
Ron called the towing company on our membership. They told us that the only place they could tow us was the Chevy dealership which was closed until the following day. They assured us that they would tow us to the nearest campground until the next day. Ron told them that all they needed to do was bring us a part from the auto parts store which was open. They said that they could not do that. We told them that we could not be delayed that long because we had to get down to Florida, load all my mother’s stuff into a U-Haul trailer, and drive back to Kansas in less than a week. It didn’t matter. They would not budge from their position.
Finally, in desperation, I called the AutoZone store and asked if they could deliver a new starter to us. The man said that his delivery man was off that day. Then I asked if he would ask any customers who were in the store at that moment if they would like to earn $20 by delivering the part to us. Within moments, the clerk had found a man who would do it. After the transaction was completed over the phone, Ron and I waited and waited. I began to wonder if we had been “taken.” Finally, a middle-aged black man in a late model white car pulled up beside us. He gave the part to Ron. We thanked him and paid him the $20 for his kindness.
The man did not leave. Instead, he took the starter out of the box, crawled under our camper, and put it on for us. Within minutes, the camper’s engine roared to life. Ron tried to pay this good Samaritan extra for fixing it, but he would not take any more. He said that his mother had taught him to be kind to strangers. Again we thanked him profusely. He smiled, got into his car, and drove off. We praised God for sending this man to the parts store just when we needed him.
How good God is to give us warnings in His Holy Word that we may be prepared for the trouble coming upon this world as an overwhelming surprise. Zephaniah describes the end of all things, “The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath.” Zeph 1:14-18 Isaiah describes it thus: “Howl ye, for the day of the LORD is at hand, it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another, their faces shall be as flames.” Isa 13:6-8 Joel adds, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” Joel 3:14, 15 John also was given a vision of the end of the world. “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?” Rev 6:12-17
Our Dear Saviour outlined warning signs that we might be ready for that solemn day. “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. . . . For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. . . .Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matt 24:3-31
Peter also speaks of the coming of Jesus. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” 2 Peter 3:9-14