PROPHECY SECTION EDITED BY CHARLES L. FEINBERG, Th.D., Ph.D. DIRECTOR, TALBOT THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ‘TPlib&iaa tn rreavett By PAUL NEVIN, Th.M.
H e a v e n is a place so different from this world that God has chosen to describe it in part by contrasting it with the things familiar to us in the present life. Some of the most remarkable descriptions of heaven in the Bible concern, not what will be there, but what will not be there. Some things will be missing in heaven. What are they? I. ALL SEPARATION WILL BE MISSING IN HEAVEN The aged John, exiled on Patmos, had a glorious glimpse of heaven: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away: and there was no more sea” (Rev; 21:1). Why does it say “no more sea” ? A number of ideas might be sug gested by the sea here. But the thought that stands out the most to the writer is that of separation. What is it that poses the greatest geographical barrier to communi cation in the world? Moimtains, indeed, are great bar riers, with their treacherous crags and snow-capped peaks. Rivers, swift and deep, also present great problems to man’s communicating with man. The burning sands of the desolate desert do conspire to discourage human con tact. All these things are geographical barriers. But greater than all are the oceans. If all the world’s oceans were taken away, communication would be greatly simplified, and all the nations of the earth would be much closer together. This is physical separation, and it will be absent from heaven. But, what is far more important, there will be no spiritual separation in heaven. Notice Revelation 21:2-3: “ And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Just as a bride is made beautiful for the wedding, and is prepared to dwell with her husband, so God is prepar ing and making beautiful the new Jerusalem for the joyous occasion when His people will dwell with Him, and He with His people. “ The tabernacle of God is with men. . . . ” A tabernacle is a tent, a dwelling place. God will pitch His tent with men. Think of it! God’s abode, His holy house and habitation, shall be face to face with men, for His personal presence shall remain there. There will be no spiritual separation between God and man in heaven! Three times in verse 3 the word with is em ployed. God will dwell with, not apart from, His people. During the first 33 years of the incarnation, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, dwelt among men upon earth; but in that blessed future day the Father Himself will live with His own creatures. Ever since the fall of man into sin, God has of necessity separated Himself from him. No one in his sinful state and natural body can see the face of deity and live. It is written, “No man hath seen God at any time . . .” (John 1:18). The thickness of the heavy veil separated the glory of His presence between the
cherubim even from the priests of Israel, those who had nearer access than all others.1When the law was written with the finger of God, the Almighty sequestered Himself atop Sinai’s foreboding peak, and all who dared come near the smoking, quaking mount met with instant death. When Moses requested of God that he might see His glory, God replied: “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live” (Exod. 33:20). But now, what a change has taken place! For we read in Revelation 22:4, “And they shall see his face. . . ” The mystics of medieval times longed for the beatific vision, the beholding of God face to face. But we who know Christ will, in that day, long for it no more; it shall be achieved, for there will be no separation from God in heaven. In harmony with this fact, John records in Revelation 21:22: “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” The word here for temple (naos) means the inner sanc tum, where the presence of God dwelt, including the holy place and the holy of holies.2Here in this world, we who know Christ are God’s dwelling place; but in heaven, God will, in the most absolute sense, be our dwelling place. Then, truer than ever before w ill be those beautiful words of Moses in Psalms 90:1, “ Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.” Yes, separation will be missing in heaven. II. ALL HUMAN WOE WILL BE MISSING IN HEAVEN One of the most wonderful verses in the Bible is Reve lation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” First, let us notice that all tears shall be wiped away. No tears. It has been my privilege to labor in a hospital as a chaplain. I have seen many tears shed in that hospital. When the burden becomes too heavy to bear; when the load of life crushes; when pain is acute; when the sense of loneliness overcomes; when tragedy and disaster overwhelm; we resort to tears as naturally as a river overflows its banks. But the causes for all these human woes shall be removed in heaven, and so all tears shall be wiped away. What God says to regenerated and restored Israel in Isaiah 66:13, will be applicable also to all in that heavenly country: “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you. . . .” No tears, in heaven fair, no tears, no tears up there, Sorrow and pain will all have flown; No tears, in heaven fair, no tears, no tears up there, ’The one exception was the high priest, who was allowed en trance but once a year. “Richard Chenevix Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament (ninth edition; London: Macmillan and Co., 1880), pp. 10-12; and Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (New York: American Book Company, 1889), p. 422. Cf. Matt. 23:35, 27:51; Luke 1:9; I Cor. 6:19; Rev. 11:2, 19.
JUNE, 1959
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