DIVINE PILLARS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My God; and I will also write on them My new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:11-13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I read a quote from the incredible Gospel evangelist, Charles Spurgeon today and it went like this:

“The joys of Heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth.”

I don’t know about you but I really needed to hear that today, to be reminded that no matter how complicated and difficult and hard life might get at times, the best is still ahead for all those who have placed their belief in Jesus as Savior.

To add onto the encouragement we find through Spurgeon’s words, we find Jesus Himself reminding the Christians of the first century church of Philadelphia (and to us as well today) of the blessings in store after a dedicated, faithful, obedient life of following His will and way. Look again at His words here:

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My God; and I will also write on them My new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 3:11-13

What are the blessed promises contained within these three verses?

They include the following:

1. Jesus is coming back and soon.

Now, the word “soon” here can’t be looked at in the context of time as we know it. If that was true, then someone might say very cynically, “Well, He wasn’t really telling the truth because it’s been more than 2,000 years and He hasn’t returned yet.”

Jesus here is speaking within the time framework of eternity and so what might seem long to us in human terms of time is but a brief moment to Him. To add some reinforcement to this disparity in time measurement, look at these words from Peter found in the third chapter of his second letter:

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Vv.8-9

Jesus promised the Philadelphian Christians that He was coming back soon and as we saw in yesterday’s message, His promise to “keep” them “from the hour of trial” that would “come on the whole world to test” its “inhabitants” would happen whether they were dead or alive. The Word of God from 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, speaks to the truth Jesus speaks in this letter, affirming that there will be a great Rapture where He will come back and take away all Christian believers before putting all left behind to trial. It’s a blessed assurance we all get to embrace and trust in today.

2. All Christian believers wear the crown of victory through Him.

If you believe in Jesus as you read this, you have already gained victory over death and the grave, and no one can take that victory away from you. What an amazing truth we can cling to, no matter what life brings our way.

In support of this, I have always loved this passage from God’s Word found in the fifteenth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. There, we read this:

...in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Vv.52-57

Brothers and sisters, let’s all live every day with the joy that comes with knowing our victory is already won through Jesus’ redeeming, saving work on Calvary’s cross.

3. All Christian believers will one day be divine pillars.

Any structure is built upon a foundation and in using this as a spiritual illustration, Jesus is the foundation and cornerstone that His church is built upon. The scriptures attest to this truth.

Let’s go back to 1st Corinthians and the third chapter where we read this:

...no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. v.11

With this in mind, Jesus talks about how He will use the Christian believers of Philadelphia in relation to Himself, the foundation. He states that:

The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My God; and I will also write on them My new name.

Once Jesus returns to judge the world, condemning Satan and all unbelievers to Hell before destroying Heaven and earth as we know it and spawning a new Heaven and earth with New Jerusalem as the dwelling place (Revelation 20:7-15, 21:1-5), note that God’s temple will not be a physical structure but a holy, spiritual one comprised of the Lord God Almighty and Jesus, the Lamb (Revelation 21:22). Within this temple of God, Jesus’ disciples will dwell forever. They will become pillars of the eternal temple, supporting and integral members of it who will be inscribed with the name of God and the name of His city, the new Jerusalem. And as if that wasn’t enough, note Jesus will also write His name upon them.

No matter how weak we may feel as Christians while trying to bear the weight of this worldly existence, we know we will one day be pillars, powerful and strong because we bear the name of the Father and the Son.

My prayer today and every day is that we will embrace these promises and allow them to dispel any discouragement or despair. For friends, we all hold a guaranteed victory and a promised eternity where all the afflictions of this world will be no more.

Indeed, as Spurgeon so wonderfully proclaims:

“The joys of Heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth.”

Let this be our testimony as well.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.