What's to Come

What's to Come 

by David Brenneman 

‭"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” Revelation 22:1-7.

"And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” Revelation 22:10-11.

Do you ever truly think beyond your years?  

Many many people think of that vacation they've always wanted or to the one they recently had. 

I have heard all my life of the concept of a bucket list. Those things that people wish to see or do before they pass on.

I have heard of what the Believer's in my life are looking forward to when it's their time to go home to Heaven.  

For me...while yes family and friends who were there because they too said yes to Jesus's free gift of salvation are important to me to see...I want to see Jesus. I want to see Him with two good eyes. I want to have that embrace that I have longed for all my life more than anything else if I am being truthful.

Only those who have come to the place in their lives to know and understand they needed a Savior who is Christ the Lord will ever see Heaven. Those who understood that their good would never be good enough to get into Heaven. 

Hell is full of the arrogant, the prideful, those weeping only because only then did they find out that their good deeds of their lives didn't measure up. Weeping and gnashing of teeth. That's what Jesus repeatedly described. People who rejected Him.  

The future eternity of Believers is shown to be only really what the Bible reveals it to be. Once all of human history is completed, eternity begins for all of humanity. Either in torment in the lake of fire paying for their sins and rejection of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior or with Jesus forever being healed of those things that indeed were rough in their lives.

That Book of Life that is written in only when someone comes to Christ for salvation is everything. 

It's that reservation book at the hotel front desk that determines if entry is permitted or not.  

It's that which signifies that membership is confirmed and all the benefits thereof are granted. 

No human being at any time in human history has ever written their own name in that book because of how good they were...nobody but Jesus. It's His book. He is the Author and the Perfector of our faith. He is the Creator God. All things have come into being because of His plan and purpose for mankind. 

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit were and are in complete agreement that you and I, all humanity, needed a perfect sacrifice in the name and person of Jesus Christ in order to cover our sins.

You will never see all the perfection of Heaven without first receiving the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ alone.  

It's an entirely futile hope that you consider this idea, this notion, that you could even atone for a single sin let alone all you have committed before a Holy God.  

Millions of people die every day and night waking up in the torments of Hell who never ever believed that they deserved to be there.

We know this because at the Final Judgment, that's the case they will try to argue before Jesus Christ. They will speak of all the things they did...and even say they did those things for Him...and He will say "Depart from Me for I never knew you.".

The gift of God in Christ Jesus is not a golden ticket.  

The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. It is the recognition of that need and its the beginning of the right relationship between ourselves and our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. 

Believing isn't enough. The Bible says that even Demons believe...and shudder. Most, if not all of those who have rejected Jesus to date haven't even done that.  

We come to Christ for salvation it opens doors we never could have opened. We begin learning what it means to be saved. We have our hearts cleansed. We find the love of God that we've been looking for. 

Something else to consider. Simply being a Bible reader doesn't save you. The Bible is in probably every language known to mankind but until it penatrates the heart it does nothing. Satan's knowledge of the Bible surpasses all the Biblical scholars of any era. If reading an knowledge of the words of the Bible were enough then Satan would not be who he is. He was with Jesus from the beginning of all creation. He was with the Word of God.

You and I need to read and obey the Word of God. To be spending intentional time in prayer and the Word of God. To cultivate that right relationship with Jesus. To live in obedience to God's Word. Seeking Him daily, not just when we're in trouble. If you only do that then my Dear Reader you're already in trouble. 

If you only talk to Jesus when you feel like it, when you get around to it, how do you think that relationship is ever going to grow?

The Bible says to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Seek what's important to Jesus and pursue it. Jesus loved us so that we can love Him and then to love others.

We who are saved, who are Christians, have a future coming that we cannot begin to really fathom or understand. It's not based in a sin cursed fallen world. 

What we know of it is only found in the Word of God.  

Oh what my new eyes will be able to see when My Jesus is before me.

Jesus said that if He goes to prepare a place for us that He will come again and receive us to Himself.  

That passage tells me that when we die, Jesus is the one who comes for all. The Believer's and the unbelieving. We will see either our Savior or our Judge. The choice is for all who breathe the breath of life.  

Know this: the promise of His coming the first time was fully and completely fulfilled according to the Scriptures. 

His return WILL BE fully and completely fulfilled according to the Scriptures. 

The world wants our minds set on the things of this world. The Spirit guides the minds of Believer's to the things that are of above in the Heavenly places. 

Oh as the Scriptures say...come quickly Lord Jesus. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.