Look for the End!


Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"


I answered, "Sir, you know."


And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Revelation 7:13-17

Hunger, thirst and scorching heat are some of the things that followers of Jesus experience in this life but will not experience in Heaven! The appreciation of joy and peace on this earth is based on the obvious contrast between bad times and good times. You enjoy health after you have experienced sickness. You enjoy wealth after you have walked in poverty. You enjoy a beautiful spring day after a long hard winter. So how can we enjoy Heaven forever without the bad times to make us appreciate the good?

I think I have just stepped in to the “that question is too deep to ponder” area. But consider this.

When you are at the pinnacle of peace and joy in this life something always comes and takes you away from that place. It may be sickness, sorrow or even death. But it always comes. Then by trusting God you climb back out of despair to share the joy of the Lord and live in His strength. In Heaven nothing will ever come to steal away your joy and peace. You will never experience again those things that came as the result of sin. Your joy and peace will never, never end! Hallelujah!

How can this truth help me now?

When you can’t see the end of suffering the burden is very hard to bear. But when you can see the end you can hang on waiting for deliverance. When tribulation and suffering come look for the End and hang on tight to Jesus! He is coming and we are going! Don’t let go and don’t despair. The Eternal Daybreak is almost here!