Day #364 - Eternal Dwelling
The Presence - A Devotional for Living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder
”And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away…” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death...” I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.“
Revelation 21:3-4, 6-8, 22-23 NIV
Have you ever been with a company of friends and you are having so much fun that you don’t want your time together to end?
I’ve had times growing up and time with my own family now that feels like the best of times, where everyone is talking, sharing, laughing and eating together. Its in those times that I don’t want our time together to end. The night starts to get late and people fall asleep and everyone has to retire to their own rooms or go back to their homes. There is a longing for these times of fellowship and joy to go on continually. This is like the longing for the eternal Presence.
As John continues to share the climax of His visions in Revelation, He says that God speaks from His throne after the return of Jesus and the final judgement of spirits and humanity that His dwelling place is now among the people. “The Presence” will be eternal and unending for all the redeemed who are victorious. We are God’s people and He is our God. He will be with us and we will be with Him. Nothing else matters in the end than being with our God forever.
The Lord Almighty and the Lamb, Jesus Christ will be our temple forever. The story of God’s presence in Eden, manifested in Moses’s and David’s Tabernacle, manifested in Solomon’s Temple, manifested in the church and in each believer, will now be measureless and unhindered forever in the immediate presence of our God. Everything we have experienced since Eden that has been lost will be fully restored. The story began with Adam and Eve dwelling with God in a garden and now Revelation 20-22 says we will dwell with God in a garden forever. God Himself becomes our light, our warmth, our Temple.
Our surrender to Jesus in this life matters for eternity. The inheritance of the wicked who practice sin, idolatry and immorality is destruction. But the inheritance of the righteous who have come to receive from Jesus the water of life have the inheritance of “the Presence,” getting to dwell with God. Our future inheritance as believers is the restoration of Eden and not only the restoration of the temples throughout Israel and the churches history, but the ultimate fulfillment of God Himself being our Temple where we encounter “the Presence” together forever.
Lord Jesus, thank You for taking my place on the cross and giving me new life. I ask for boldness to live for You and be prepared for the day where I will meet You face to face. You are the eternal longing of my soul. You are my temple, my dwelling place and my eternal inheritance. Let me live in urgency for this day and tell others of the greatness of Your plan to welcome us all into Your presence forever. In Your great and glorious name, my Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Amen 🙏🕊❤️
Amen🙏💖