LET’S BEGIN this chapter with a quiz.
Question: What are the four chapters in the Bible in which Satan and his work are completely absent?
Give up?
Answer: The first two and the last two—Genesis 1 and 2, and Revelation 21 and 22.
Satan raises his ugly serpent’s head in Genesis 3, and he battles God and bedevils the human race throughout the Bible. Finally in Revelation 20, God consigns Satan to the lake of fire.
Satan hates the Bible—and there are no two books of the Bible he hates more than Genesis and Revelation. Why? Because in Genesis, God pronounces Satan’s death sentence. And in Revelation, the sentence is carried out.
Why do increasing numbers of false teachers tell us that Genesis is a myth and Revelation is a mystery? I’m convinced that Satan himself is behind this false teaching. Satan wants to keep us away from Genesis and Revelation, because he wants to hide the truth from us—the truth that he is already a condemned spirit.
This Battle of Armageddon and the defeat of Satan are precipitated by one all-important prophetic event: the Second Coming of Christ.
The promise of the Lord’s Second Coming is repeated several times: “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown” (Revelation 3:11). “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll” (Revelation 22:7). “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done” (Revelation 22:12). “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
When that promise is fulfilled, and the Lord returns, it will be the greatest day in history. On that day, the oppressive rule of Satan ends and the glorious reign of Jesus begins. That moment is described in Revelation 11, when the seventh trumpet sounds, and the voices from heaven—the voices of the angels, the elders, and all who have been redeemed—shout:
The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever. . . .
We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.
(Revelation 11:15, 17–18)
On that day, the prophecy of Isaiah will at last be fulfilled, as Jesus establishes His government over the entire world:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever. (Isaiah 9:6–7)
Isaiah wrote those words seven hundred years before Jesus was born. More than two thousand years after Jesus was born, we still await the fulfillment of that prophecy. But here in the book of Revelation, we see how that prophecy will be fulfilled. We see that Messiah will reign, and the government will be on His shoulders forever and ever.
We also see the reign of Jesus, the everlasting King, in the shout of the heavenly multitude in Revelation 19:
Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready. (vv. 6–7)
The eternal reign of Jesus the Messiah will begin with an event that is described in Revelation 19. This event is called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is like no wedding feast you have ever attended. In our weddings today, the bride is the focus of attention—and rightly so. When I perform weddings, I say to the bride, “Honey, this is your day. I will do whatever you ask me, within reason. It’s your day, and I want everything to be perfect for you.”
But at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, it will be the Groom’s coronation day—the day He is enthroned as King of kings and Lord of lords.
In the first century, when John wrote Revelation, most Jewish weddings had three stages. In the first stage, the father of the bride and the father of the groom would write a binding agreement called a ketubah. For example, when Mary and Joseph were betrothed to each other, they were man and wife in every sense except living together and consummating the marriage. Their marriage contract was so binding that it would take a legal divorce to break their betrothal.
In the second stage, the father of the groom returns home and he and his son, the groom, prepare a room in the home where the bride will live after they are married. After the extra room in the parents’ house is ready, the groom’s father goes to the house of the bride’s father, and he brings the bride and presents her to his son. This stage is called the chuppah.
In the third stage, the groom’s father hosts the wedding feast—a time of celebration, music, dancing, and joy.
In a similar way, the church is “married” to the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. This marriage is an arranged marriage, just as ancient Jewish marriages were arranged. When did the Father arrange the marriage between His Son and the bride? Before the foundation of the earth. You were spoken for long before you existed. The Lord chose you—you did not choose Him. He called you and predestined you, and He brought you to Himself to be His bride. There is a three-stage process whereby our marriage to the Bridegroom takes place:
In the first stage, the Holy Spirit comes to us and opens our spiritual eyes, removing our blindness. And make no mistake—every one of us is born spiritually blind. We don’t see our need of salvation and forgiveness. But when the Holy Spirit opens our eyes, He convicts us of sin. Once we realize we need a Savior, we repent and invite Him to take control of our lives. At that moment, the Lord adopts us into His family and writes our names in the book of life.
I once spoke at a funeral service for a young woman in our church. The fact that she passed away so young made the loss all the more painful for her grieving loved ones. I had prepared a message of hope—but as I got up to speak, I felt the Lord urging me to say something I hadn’t planned to say.
“Many Christians struggle with a lack of assurance,” I said. “They can point to the moment they received Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but now they wonder if they are still saved. They wonder if there’s some unconfessed sin in their lives that has canceled out their salvation. Maybe God has reopened the book of life and erased their name.
“If that is your struggle today, I want you to know that God does not write our name in the book of life in pencil. He does not erase our name every time we sin, then write it back in when we repent. That is not what the Bible teaches. When God writes our name in the book of life, He writes it in the precious blood of Jesus. There is no ink that is more permanent and indelible than the blood of our Savior.” That’s the first stage: He writes our names in the book of life.
The second stage: the Lord comes for the bride, the body of genuine believers. This is the event we called the Rapture. Notice how this stage differs from the second stage of a Jewish wedding. In a Jewish wedding, the father of the groom goes to fetch the bride and bring her back to his son. But in our case, the Groom—the Lord Jesus—comes to fetch His church and take her to His Father’s house. There, He presents His bride to God the Father.
Isn’t that a wonderful thought? Jesus comes back to earth at the Rapture and calls the church to meet Him in the air. Then He takes us home to meet the Father face-to-face. The very thought of that day should fill us to overflowing with joy. I can’t wait for that day!
The third stage: we celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. That will be the greatest celebration the universe has ever known. Imagine the guest list: Abraham and Sarah. Moses. Joshua. King David. Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. All the apostles, including dear old Paul—and John the Evangelist, the author of Revelation.
The Marriage Supper will not be like the dinner parties we’re all familiar with, where you get dressed up, eat a sumptuous dinner, mingle and chat for a few hours, then everybody goes home. You’ll never have to leave the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, because you will be home.
In Bible times, Middle Eastern wedding feasts lasted for as long as the father of the groom could afford. When he ran out of food and wine, the feast was over. In those days, it was not the father of the bride who wept but the father of the groom—because he got stuck with the bill. A father of modest means might afford a one-day feast; a prosperous father might afford a three-day celebration; a truly wealthy father might throw a party lasting a week or two. A king might celebrate the wedding of the prince for a month or more.
What sort of wedding feast can our God afford? At what point will His hospitality run dry? When will His stockroom and wine cellar be exhausted?
I believe the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will go on and on throughout eternity. The celebration will never end. A million years from now, the party will still be new and fresh and exciting, and the joy will be never-ending. When I think of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, I get so excited, I have to praise God! I have to shout to Him, raise my hands to Him, clap for Him, and weep tears of joy. If your spirits are low and your faith is dragging, take heart! Be encouraged—because you have an engraved invitation to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The next words John heard were those of an angel, saying, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! . . . These are the true words of God” (Revelation 19:9). Upon hearing those words, John became so emotionally overwrought that he fell to his knees and began to worship the angel. But the angel said, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus” (v. 10).
Some Bible commentators are tough on John for taking leave of his senses and worshipping the angel, but I can hardly blame him. I guarantee, when I see Jesus face-to-face, I am absolutely going to lose it. I’ll be an emotional basket case! I’ll be weeping and laughing, so giddy with joy I won’t know what I’m doing. I imagine that was what John felt.
At the end of Revelation 19, we come to another place where the symbolic images are out of chronological order. In verses 11 through 21, John describes a heavenly Warrior on a white horse, and the rider is called Faithful and True. The Warrior goes to battle against the Antichrist and the kings of the earth—and He is victorious.
Since we have already dealt with the Battle of Armageddon, I want to pause and take a closer look at Jesus, the Rider on the white horse. John describes this heavenly Warrior with imagery similar to his description of Jesus in Revelation 1:12–16. In both descriptions, the eyes of Jesus blaze with fire. He sees everything, from our darkest secrets to our hidden motives. In both descriptions, a sharp sword proceeds from His mouth—a double-edged sword of truth to demolish lies. John tells us the heavenly Warrior wears a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. As John wrote in the opening lines of his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
The Lord’s robe is dipped in His own blood. We are reminded of Revelation 7:14, where John sees a throng of people wearing white robes. They are the believers “who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” One day, we will have robes dipped in the blood of the Lamb, symbolizing the righteousness of our Savior. Our own righteousness won’t get us to the back door of heaven, much less earn us a seat at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Only the righteousness of Jesus can save us. That’s why our robes must be dipped in His blood.
John goes on to describe the redeemed martyrs, quoting the words of the prophet Isaiah. These believers, John writes,
are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
“Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on 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 7:15–17)
This is a beautiful message of hope for all believers. The day will come when our trials will be over, and we will have rest. We will wear white robes of victory, purity, and righteousness, because our robes will be washed in the blood of the Lamb. We will serve God in His temple, and He will shelter us with His presence. Never again will we hunger or thirst or feel the scorching heat of the sun, because the Lamb of God will be our Shepherd. What a privilege it will be when He wipes our tears with His nail-scarred hand.
And notice this beautiful paradox: the Lamb of God will become the Shepherd. The Scriptures are filled with such paradoxes: God became a man. The Lord became a slave. The King became a servant. And the Lamb will be our Shepherd. He will fulfill every line of the Twenty-Third Psalm. Our Shepherd will lead us beside the still waters, restore our souls, and lead us in paths of righteousness. And we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
The blood of Christ is the only solution to sin and guilt. Not our performance. Not our rituals. Not our good works. Not the money we give. Only the blood of the Lamb can make us clean. Hebrews 9:22 tells us, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Why, then, do we talk so little about the blood of Jesus?
A preacher once told me, “I don’t talk about the blood very much. I find that talking about blood offends some people.” My friend, if the blood of Jesus offends you, then you need to be offended more often. How can any follower of Christ be offended by the precious blood of Jesus? It is the power to save us, the fountain that cleanses us, and the proof of God’s love for us. You cannot be saved by the blood of Christ if you are offended by the blood of Christ.
I recently heard the story of a missionary couple, George and Vera Bajenksi, who worked in Ontario province in Canada. On the morning of February 16, 1989, their phone rang. It was bad news: their son, Ben, had been in an accident near the high school where he was a student.
They drove to the intersection and saw the police cars and an ambulance. A newspaper photographer was taking pictures of a young man lying on the pavement, unmoving. He was surrounded by the largest pool of blood they had ever seen.
Vera Bajenksi clutched her husband’s arm and said, “George, Ben went home—home to be with Jesus.”
She later recalled wanting to collect all the blood—if there was only some way to put that blood back into her son’s body. “That blood,” she said, “became the most precious thing in the world because it was life. It belonged in my son, my only son, the one I loved so much.”
George Bajenksi was heartbroken to see cars driving through the blood of his son. He wanted to throw his coat over the blood and shout, “You will not drive over the blood of my son!”
But out of their sorrow, George and Vera Bajenksi experienced an amazing insight, which they have shared when talking about the blood of Jesus Christ. They realized that they had caught a glimpse of how God the Father must have felt as His only Son bled and died on the cross of Calvary.1 By shedding the blood of Jesus on the cross, God spoke to the human race in the strongest language He could find. He paid the highest price He could pay. He appealed to the human race through the language of blood—the precious blood of His only Son. Only by redeeming us with the blood of Jesus could He express how much He loves us.
Give thanks for the blood of the Lamb. Tell everyone you know that His blood has saved you. Never be ashamed of the precious, life-giving blood of Jesus.
Revelation 20 is one of the most triumphant chapters in the entire Bible. Here we see with our own eyes the fulfillment of the plea in the Lord’s Prayer: “Your kingdom come, / your will be done, / on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In Revelation 20, God’s kingdom on earth is finally realized, and for the first time since the Fall, God’s will is carried out planet-wide.
Now begins the thousand-year reign of Christ, the Millennium. There are many conflicting views among Bible-believing theologians as to how to interpret the Millennium. As long as the body of Christ does not fight over this issue, it really makes little difference which view of the Millennium you choose.
Over the years there have been three primary interpretations of what the thousand-year reign of Christ will mean. Those three theories are called postmillennialism, amillennialism, and premillennialism.
First, postmillennialism: This view is almost nonexistent today, but it was very popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s—the so-called Progressive Era, a time of rapid social change and social reform. Postmillennialists believed that the Millennium had already begun, that the world was getting better and better, and that it would continue progressing toward a paradise on earth. After two world wars, the atomic bomb, and the rise of global terrorism, it has become increasingly difficult to believe we are currently living under the thousand-year reign of Christ.
Second, amillennialism: This view means there is no literal millennium. When you see the Greek prefix a- in front of a word, it means “no.” Amillennialists believe the thousand-year period that John writes of in Revelation 20 is a metaphor, not a literal thousand-year span of time. Amillennialists believe that Satan is already bound, locked up in the Abyss, so Satan cannot harm the believer. They believe the thousand-year period in Revelation 20 corresponds to the current “church age.” They teach that Christ will return at the end of the church age, administer the Final Judgment, then establish a permanent reign over the new heaven and new earth.
Third, premillennialism: This view says that the Millennium will occur exactly as it is described in Revelation 20. Jesus will come and rule the entire earth from Jerusalem, establishing a thousand- year reign of peace. This is the most common view among evangelical Christians.
Now, I confess that I don’t hold any of these three views. I have my own interpretation. I call it “panmillennialism.” I define panmillennialism this way: I’m just going to wait and see how it pans out. At some point in history, all the events in Revelation 20 will be fulfilled, and we will know exactly which view is correct.
In our previous chapter, we saw the defeat of Satan’s schemes at the Battle of Armageddon. The Antichrist and the False Prophet are thrown into the lake of fire—but Satan still awaits his ultimate doom. Here, John writes:
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. (Revelation 20:1–3)
John describes Satan in vivid terms—the Dragon, the ancient serpent (a reference to the tempter in the Garden of Eden), the devil, and Satan. The name Satan is a Hebrew word meaning “an adversary.”2 This fallen angel is the enemy of our souls. As Peter said, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
One of the ways our adversary tries to hinder our effectiveness for the Lord is by tempting us to compromise. Sometimes the voice of temptation comes in the form of a whisper in our thoughts. At other times, the temptation to compromise may come from other people: “Don’t be so dogmatic. Don’t say that Jesus is the only way to God—that kind of talk makes you sound intolerant. Don’t talk about the blood of Jesus—you’ll only offend people. Don’t talk about sin—it makes you sound judgmental.” Whether the voice comes from within or without, the temptation to compromise God’s Word comes not from God but from Satan. Don’t listen to it.
John says that he sees the believers whom God has appointed as judges. He sees the souls of martyrs who were beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and the gospel. They refused to worship the Antichrist or receive the mark of the beast. They were resurrected to reign with Christ for a thousand years.
Next, we come to the best part of Revelation 20—the final destruction of Satan, at the end of the thousand-year period:
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (vv. 7–10)
John speaks of Gog and Magog, a term from Ezekiel 38, a prophecy of the Lord’s victory over the hostile nations of the world. At the end of the Millennium, Satan will be released from the Abyss, and he will go out among the nations to incite them to battle. All these nations have been at peace for a thousand years, but Satan will gather them together—and John says their numbers will be so great, they will be like sands on the seashore, surrounding Jerusalem, the city God loves. And God will rain down fire from heaven to engulf Israel’s enemies.
Then Satan the deceiver will meet the fate that was prophesied for him in Genesis 3:15. Jesus, the descendant of Eve, will crush the head of the serpent, who is Satan. Our adversary will be thrown into the lake of fire, where the Antichrist and the False Prophet have already been imprisoned for a thousand years.
Next, John describes how God is going to judge the world:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11–15)
We will all face that day, and each of us will fall into one group or the other. Who are the two groups that will be judged on that day? Will it be the nice people and the mean people? The good people and the bad people? The people with good doctrine and the people with bad doctrine? No. None of these differences will matter in the Final Judgment. There will only be one factor that divides these two groups: those whose names are written in the book of life—and those whose names are not written in the book of life.
God’s judgment is neither arbitrary nor unfair. He will judge based on evidence that is recorded in the books. Remember, John said he saw that the books were opened, and the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. Everything we do and say is in those books. That’s why Jesus tells us, “Everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken” (Matthew 12:36).
Now, I don’t know if God has literal books in heaven in which our deeds are being recorded moment by moment. These books may be a metaphor to describe some unknown mechanism God has for recording our words and actions. Albert Einstein described time as a fourth dimension in which the past, present, and future are all equally real. In a sympathy letter to the widow of a recently departed friend, Einstein wrote, “Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”3 So it may be that the recording of our words and deeds is imprinted on the fabric of the universe, and God can simply show us the complete timeline of our existence, from birth to death.
How would you feel if you discovered that God could play back your entire life—every sinful act, every careless word, everything you ever did that you thought was secret and hidden? What if it was all used against you on the Day of Judgment? Isn’t that a chilling thought?
But there’s another book—the book of life. If your name is written in the book of life, then nothing that is contained in those other books can be used against you. If your name is written in the book of life, then you have nothing to fear.
But if your name is not written in that book, you have nothing to hope for.
Jesus said that on the Day of Judgment, many stand before Him, pleading, “Lord, Lord”—yet they are false disciples. Jesus said:
Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:21–23)
People will stand before Jesus, saying, “Lord, Lord, did I not attend church?” And Jesus will answer, Your name is not written in the book of life.
People will say, “Lord, Lord, did I not do charity work?” Your name is not written in the book of life.
People will say, “Lord, Lord, wasn’t I kind to others?” Your name is not written in the book of life.
People will say, “Lord, Lord, didn’t I give money to the church?” Your name is not written in the book of life.
People will say, “Lord, Lord, didn’t I have the right doctrine?” Your name is not written in the book of life.
You may ask, “How can I be sure that my name is written in the book of life?” Jesus said, “Only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Is Jesus saying we must live a sinless life in order to be saved? Of course not. Our righteousness cannot save us. Only the righteousness of Jesus can save. The will of the Father is that we commit our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, whenever we sin, we confess our sin and repent, and He restores us to a full relationship with Him.
You can know with assurance that your name is written in the book of life. I know that my name is written there because I came to Jesus as a sinner, repented of my sins, and received Him as my Lord and Savior. Jesus said that when you do that, your name is written in the book of life. No one can erase it.
Whenever someone comes to me and says, “I hope my name is written in the book of life, but I’m not really sure”—I say, “Well, let’s make sure right now, once and for all, so you’ll never have to wonder again.” I want you to be absolutely confident that the instant after you close your eyes in death, you will see Jesus face-to-face. I want you to know that your name is inscribed in that book in the indelible lettering of the Lord’s own blood.
Confess to Him that you are a sinner, repent of your sins, and receive Jesus, once and for all, as your Lord and your Savior. Ask Him to write your name in His book in His own precious blood. Then live every day for Him. When the Day of Judgment comes, you’ll have no reason to be ashamed. Your name is in the book.
One of the great blessings and benefits of studying the book of Revelation is that it alters the way we look at our lives and live our lives in the here and now. Revelation fills us with a sense of expectation and hope—and our hope for the future impacts the daily decisions we make in the present. The Christian who believes in the reality of heaven lives differently from the worldly person who believes only in this earthly existence.
There’s an acronym for the worldly view of life: YOLO—You Only Live Once. For the believer, that’s simply not true. You live once, you die—and then there’s the resurrection! If you know the Lord, you will live forever with Him. This present life is nothing but a dress rehearsal for the life to come. You look forward with eagerness and joy to the new heaven and the new earth that are yet to come. And the best part of heaven is Jesus Himself.
In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus says three times, “I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20). Clearly, the Lord wants us to expect His return. He wants us to look forward to that day when we finally see Him face-to-face. As the apostle Paul said, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Have you ever considered what it will be like to see Jesus face-to-face? Nobody has ever seen the face of God. Even Moses, who went up on the mountain and received the Law directly from God Himself, has never seen God’s face. In Exodus 33, Moses pleads with God, “Now show me your glory.” God replies, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (vv. 18, 20).
But then the Lord tells Moses, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen” (vv. 21–23). So Moses glimpsed the glory of God, but he never saw God’s face.
When we are united with the Lord in heaven, we will see Him face-to-face. Can you imagine the emotions of that moment? Can you imagine what it will feel like to see your beloved Lord for the first time?
Years ago, I heard the story of William Montague Dyke, the son of a prominent member of the British Parliament. He was engaged to a beautiful young lady, the daughter of a renowned British admiral. They were to be married on October 12, 1900.
But young William had never seen the face of his bride. Though he was deeply in love with her, he had no idea what she looked like. Why? Because at the age of ten, William had been injured in an accident that caused him to be blind. Despite his handicap, he had studied at Cambridge and had graduated with honors. He fell in love with his beloved bride-to-be because of her voice, her touch, and the kindness of her heart.
After they announced their engagement, one of England’s most prominent eye surgeons approached William and said, “There’s an experimental procedure I have performed a number of times with some success. William, I believe I can help you see again.”
William agreed to undergo the surgery, and he asked the doctor to attend the wedding and remove the bandages at the altar. William explained, “I want the first sight I see to be the vision of my beloved, coming down the aisle to be my wife.”
On the appointed day, William stood at the altar, waiting for his bride. Next to him was the surgeon. As the organist played the wedding march, the surgeon cut the bandages from William’s eyes.
William looked—and he saw.
“At last,” he said as he gazed upon the beautiful, shining face of his beloved for the very first time. “At last!”4
When we get to heaven, it will not be the bride but the Bridegroom we will see for the very first time. We have been blind all our lives, seeing through a glass darkly, unable to see the face of our Lord and Savior—but on that day, we will see Him face-to-face. And John tells us that “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
Our own faces will shine with joy as we say, “At last, at last!”
Are you ready for that day?
Jesus said, “Yes, I am coming soon!” For those who love Him, who eagerly look forward to His appearing, those words are a blessed promise. For those who have not received Him, those words are a warning—and an invitation.
Don’t wait. Don’t put it off. Receive Him into your life—and He will receive you into heaven. There is no time to lose.
He is coming soon.