There is nothing quite like the view from a mountaintop. If you hiked to get there you know how difficult it is to fight the unrelenting force of gravity, but the effort is soon forgotten when the panoramic scene from on high unfolds before you.
The book of Revelation can be considered similarly. If you’ve spent any time in this challenging last Bible book, you know that it’s a difficult and steep climb through the plagues and judgments. But at the end, there is a breath-taking view that makes the journey worthwhile:
“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God … And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’" Revelation 21:10, 3-4
The end is just the beginning. It is not as though the final word is, “they all lived happily ever after,” and then the scene fades to black. Indeed we do live happily ever after, but this is the unending chapter yet to be written for all eternity.
Maybe you need this mountaintop view of God’s ultimate plan for us. Maybe life for you just now feels like the plagues and judgments of Revelation, and you are wondering if there will ever been an end to this laboring climb up what seems like an impossible mountain. Be assured from the final scenes of Revelation that all will end well, and the laborious journey will have been worth it all when we step into the realm of God’s very best for us. Once and for all, God really will wipe away every tear, and forever banish death. All the heartache of this age will be permanently gone, and not even remembered.
God is coming to earth. Erroneous teaching asserts that we are going where He now is, but the truth is exactly the opposite. He is coming to dwell with us, so we do well to be ready for that great meeting.
Keep climbing. The pathway to the top is not without challenges and setbacks; some which are quite extreme. But remember the view from the top: the coming new city, the absence of all that is wrong with life today, the presence of our tender and loving Father.
"He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son." (Revelation 21:7)
That’s a promise worthy of all we are called to overcome.
©Steve Taylor, 2022 --Used by permission
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“Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith” Hebrews 13:7.