CHRIST ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN
Lemah Putro, Thursday, May 21, 2020
By Pastor Paulus Budiono
Shalom,
As we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, our body, soul and spirit don’t belong to ourselves but Him. Yet, without realizing it, many times we still use them for our worldly needs; thus it makes our faith shaken easily when encounters any turmoil.
We are assured that Jesus died because of our transgressions, resurrected to justify us and ascended to heaven after completing His Father’s commission. And because He lives, His peace will not be in vain but shall dwell among us.
Generally, when someone close to our heart is about to leave us, we will have inarticulate mixed feelings of sadness, anxiety and happiness, especially when we see them off at the airport or bus station. And we can’t wait to communicate with them again as we are separated by distance. Do we have this kind of feeling and urgency to communicate with God? Remember that He has promised to take us back to be with Him!
Acts 1:9-11 are commonly used by many preachers to address the congregation the tidings of Christ’s Ascension and we celebrate it every year. When we read those verses, do we still feel something in our heart or we feel nothing special about it? These verses were written by Luke in the year 63 AD and people have been reading them until now. Though 1957 years have passed, do we still believe in His second coming? Or do we think it is a mere Jewish philosophy and folklore?
Do we still have faith that Jesus ascended to heaven and will return exactly as it is written in the Bible, “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).
The above verse seems flexible in its truth because it is said that He will return without any information of the exact date and it is not happening yet until now. We shall ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith so as not to doubt His coming considering that Peter already foretold that in the last days, there will be mockers. They are people who follow their own desire and doubt the coming of the Lord, saying “for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise (2 Peter 3:9). For that cause, He sent one of His disciples, John, to Patmos Island (95 AD) to write down about His second coming as we can read it in Revelation chapter 22. He wrote in the last part of the Book of Revelation to emphasize that Jesus is coming soon. If we know that He is coming soon, what should we do then in the meantime? For example, when we know that someone close to us is coming, there will be 2 common reactions: fear (maybe we have done something wrong in the past) or joy because we miss that person. And we will prepare anything necessary for his coming. John had a strong bond with Jesus; therefore, he didn’t feel fearful or perplexed to welcome the coming of Jesus.
Introspection: Because of this Covid-19 pandemic, many people fear of death and call out the Lord for help. Will they – also we – forget the Lord after everything is back to normal? Do we fear that His coming will take place before we become successful, get married, and so on? How will our children feel when they are studying overseas, and then suddenly they miss us and want to come home, but we reject them because we don’t want to get disturbed? Will we reject Christ who comes from heaven just because we still enjoy the world and all its glory, even though it’s just temporary and comes from the devil? Do we go to church only as rituals and we disregard His second coming?
Jesus had told the Philadelphian congregation about His return (Revelation 3:11-12) and He said about it 4 times which culminated to close Revelation chapter 22. John was also enthusiastic in waiting for Christ’s return. In reality, people care more about their lives during this pandemic rather than waiting upon Christ’s second coming. Rest assured that we are safe in the hand of God, though we are living in this decaying world. God has provided us a better place than this world. Acts chapter 1 was addressed to the church that was saved because of Christ’s redemption and who had witnessed His ascension. But as time passes by, the longing of the church toward God is fading away and John was the person used by God to remind the church of Christ’s second coming.
“I am coming soon” has 3 interconnected phases, they are:
⊕ “Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (Revelation 22:7).
The Lord’s return isn’t intended to make us confused, disappointed or anything else, though it will make the world terrified. What do we – the believers – have? Do we have faith in Jesus but at the same time we cling to this world and its riches? He didn’t promise us the world after we believe in Him. To Peter, who wanted to keep His Teacher from the cross’ suffering, Jesus said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
To be honest, the world’s luxuries and popularity often entice us. But blessed are those who listen, hold and do the prophesying Word of God. When we have decided to follow the Lord, we must have the understanding of why He died and rose again, and why He should return.
Moreover, in Hebrews 9:27-28 it is said that Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. After that, He will return without bearing any more sins but grant salvation to those who wait upon it.
What should we do then while waiting for His coming? We must prove our love to Him by not doing sin anymore or lies, cheats, corruption and so on. Truly, we do have weaknesses that will be judged after we die. But if we have been saved, we should not fear death. He has given us the way and solution, so let us use the opportunity that He may completely sanctify us that we would have the right to be the heavenly kingdom citizen, and to be His bride.
⊕ “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12).
What had been accomplished by the disciples of Jesus to receive their reward after Jesus ascended? They preached the gospel to the world and God worked along with them through signs (Mark 16:19-20). They were filled by the Holy Spirit and zealously evangelizing without seeking any popularity.
So, whatever we do, it will return to us as a reward or as a condemnation. None of us wants to be condemned because of the unredeemed sin. But if we do believe that we shall receive the reward from Him, we will have a desire for His second coming. On the other hand, testifying and evangelizing will be our new joy fueled by a true motivation to bring back people to Christ.
⊕ “He which testifieth these things saith, “Surely I come quickly. Amen.” Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
At this point, He no longer speaks about preaching the prophetic Word, loving His word and evangelizing under the anointing of the Holy Spirit; rather, He wants to take us further to the culmination that is the unity between the Heavenly Bridegroom and His Bride.
What did Jesus’ disciples do after He was ascended to heaven? Luke 24:50-53 wrote that they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem, filled with joy. They were always in the temple of God and worship Him.
Introspection: What have we prepared as the soon-to-be Bride of the Lord? Is our heart filled with a great desire to worship Him just as the early church did? They had been faithfully worshipping God without even knowing when He would return. Take an example: Before the wedding day, the bride would surely take care of her body, meticulously prepare the wedding gown and other details. So what is our preparation for the incoming Day of the Lord – the day when the Bridegroom will take us with Him?
When the Heavenly Bridegroom reveals Himself as the Root and descendant of David, the brightest eastern star, the Holy Spirit will move His Bride to respond His calling and call other people to freely enjoy the living water that is coming down from the throne of the Lamb (Revelation 22:16-17). John also wrote that no one is to add any word to the words of the prophecy of this Book; otherwise, God will add to him the plagues; or take away any word; or else, God will take his part from the Book of Life and from the holy city, the New Jerusalem (vv. 18-19).
If we are under the control of the Holy Spirit, we will find it a joy to worship God and to tell people about how to get saved. Never add or take away any word from the inerrant and perfect Word of God, just because we want to adjust it with today’s condition; otherwise, we will be under condemnation. Jesus, the Living Word, is always relevant.
Jesus returns not to condemn us, but to bless us. He intends to give us the fruit from the tree of life inside the holy city of New Jerusalem. Adam and Eve, and their descendant – including us – had lost the tree of life, so had the congregations of Ephesus. But we are all promised to eat from the Tree of Life if we win (Revelation 2:7).
May our faith stay strong and believe that Jesus is coming soon to take us away and make us His bride. In the meantime, let us stay on guard and prepare ourselves by following His Word that can transform our lives, so that one day we will be united with Him, the Heavenly Bridegroom, and to enjoy all happiness with Him in the New Jerusalem forever. Amen.
Video: Ibadah Kenaikan Kristus - 21 Mei 2020 - Pdt. Paulus Budiono.