There are a couple of times in the Book of Revelation that a tour guide angel showed up to assist John in his visions. This devotional reading looks at viewing the Bride and then chasing a rabbit to talk about whether we will spend eternity in Heaven or somewhere else.
Nuggets
- John was invited to see the Bride, the Church.
- There are many verses saying we will have eternal life, but where will we be?
There is a couple of times in the Book of Revelation that a tour guide angel showed up to assist John in his visions. This is one of those.
The angel is going to show John Christ’s Bride.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Eternity Begins series
Viewing the Bride
“Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb’ (Rev. 21: 9 ESV)
John was invited to see the Bride, the Church.
John’s tour guide was back. He got the same basic invitation as he did when he was invited into Heaven. “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this’” (Rev. 4: 1 ESV).
John, come and see.
This is kind of confusing for us until we put it back into context. It wouldn’t have been for John.
But then, John would have had a different context than we do. That would have given John more understanding of the reference.
- “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete” (Jn. 3: 29 ESV).
- “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called” (Isa. 54: 5 ESV).
- “For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isa. 62: 5 ESV).
- “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown’” (Jer. 2: 2 ESV).
- “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31: 31-34 ESV).
- “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (I Cor. 3: 16 ESV).
- “the LORD has spoken this word against him: ‘The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs at you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head in derision as you flee’” (Isa. 37: 22 NLT).
“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord” (Zech. 2: 10 ESV). - “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5: 25-27 ESV).
When we read that the Bride will be showcased, our minds automatically go to it talking about the Church. The Church is the Bride of Christ at the marriage feast in Revelation 19.
But go back to verse 2. “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21: 2 ESV). The Bride is the New Jerusalem. This, to me, is Heaven.
I like what Bonar said about the Bride. He wrote, “It was the Father’s free choice, and the Son’s free choice, that made her what she is now, the bride, and what she is through eternity to be, ‘the Lamb’s wife’.”
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God and Jesus chose us. They chose us to whom to offer salvation. They didn’t offer it to the fallen angels — Satan and his demons.
They chose to offer salvation to mankind.
Remember, a new earth with its heavens was created in verse 1. “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” (Rev. 21: 1 ESV).
Something just flashed through my mind. I may way off base; I may be right. Who knows?
But what if the Church — believers — will be in New Jerusalem? The Abrahamic covenant is everlasting, so what if those who did not ask Jesus as their Savior but walked a blameless life are residents of the new earth?
That would justify having all three new.
Curnock didn’t believe New Jerusalem was Heaven itself. He saw it as the Church itself.
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Well, we say that the Church isn’t a building. It is a people. That would apply here.
Okay, I have to say it. The Church isn’t a building. It is a city.
The bride would be adorned in her wedding finery. That is, she would have the righteous garments given to her upon transformation in the twinkling of an eye.
“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isa. 61: 10 ESV).
It is interesting that the tour guide says that John will be shown the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. Wedding ceremony is over. Now is the time to live the life.
What an enjoyable life that will be!
Eternity in Heaven
There are many verses saying we will have eternal life, but where will we be?
Okay, I guess this raises the question, where in God’s Word does it say we will spend eternity with God in Heaven? This is a big rabbit that we are going to chase. Strap in.
We tend to think we will be in Heaven, mainly because of two instances where Jesus was talking about where we would be.
- “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (Jn. 14: 1-3 ESV).
- “And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise’” (Lk. 23: 43 ESV).
We know Heaven is God’s dwelling place. But while both verses say that we will be with Jesus and God for eternity, neither specifically say that place is Heaven.
- “And I said, ‘O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments’” (Neh. 1: 5 ESV).
- “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail” (Rev. 11: 19 ESV).
- “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2: 44 ESV).
God’s house would be in His dwelling place, correct? Then that would make it Heaven.
But normally, what is talked about is the Kingdom of God.
- “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Mt. 6: 33 ESV).
- “And saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mk. 1: 15 ESV).
- “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (Jn. 3: 3 ESV)
- “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There!” for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you’” (Lk. 17: 20-21 ESV).
- “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? …” (I Cor. 6: 9 ESV).
We assume that God’s Kingdom will be in His dwelling place.
Now, we’ve talked about where Paradise is a couple of devotions back. Is that the “good mankind” section of She’ol before the “bad mankind” section gets sent to the lake of fire? Or is it a descriptive name for Heaven?
We’re not going to rehash that here, but I do want to add two verses to the mix that we didn’t discuss then. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 2: 7 ESV).
For the month of December, I have been reading through Luke in the Complete Jewish Bible. One thing really jumped out at me when I read the verse that is translated in our modern versions as Jesus taking the thief to Paradise that day.
“Yeshua said to him, ‘Yes! I promise that you will be with me today in Gan-‘Eden’” (Lk. 23: 43 CJB).
The repentant thief asked Jesus to take him to the Garden of Eden. Anki explained. He wrote, “According to ancient rabbis, the site of Gan Eden was referred to as a place of pilgrimage for righteous people after they died.”
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Paradise is the Garden of Eden. Is that in Heaven? We don’t know where it is.
I wish I read Hebrew so I could go back to the original manuscript and make sure our versions have translated things correctly. I’m beginning to question if they have.
A fun fact, the Jews of John’s day would have seen the tree of life as the Scriptures. The whole life-giving Word – which is Jesus – is in Paradise. So, back to the we-will-be-with-Jesus part.
Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world, but He did not identify where it was at. “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world’” (Jn 18: 36 ESV).
Sometimes, God’s Kingdom is referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven.
- “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Mt. 7: 21-23 ESV).
- “and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18: 3 ESV).
- “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt. 25:34
- “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt. 16: 19 ESV).
But then how do we mix Revelation 11: 15 and Daniel 7: 27 into all that?
- “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”” (Rev. 11: 15 ESV).
- “And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’” (Dan. 7: 27 ESV).
Usually, what is said is that we will gain eternal life.
- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
- “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6: 23 ESV).
- “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn. 17: 3 ESV).
- “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn. 5: 24 ESV).
- “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mt. 25: 46 ESV).
Maybe, it is all about like what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5: 14-16 ESV).
Hey, that would make the Church a city!
Making the Connections
Thomas made some interesting comments that I want to summarize.
- The Bride, the city, is ideal because of the union experienced with God.
- The Bride is dependent on God.
- The Bride totally subjugates her will to God’s Will – and is perfectly fine with that.
- Christian characteristics must be present in all aspects of the life, including a worshipful attitude.
- The Bride must pattern her life around God.
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The Bride is God’s children in their perfected form.
How Do We Apply This?
- Don’t delay a call from God to come as it will bring dangers if we disobey.
- Rejoice in the fact that – wherever we live for eternity – we will have communion with God.
- Look forward to our being totally absorbed in meditation on God.
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Father God. We want to be the Bride of the Lamb. Sanctify us. Take us from where we are to where You want us to be. Amen.
What do you think?
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