092. CHAPTER 42 - FUTURE HAPPINESS OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
CHAPTER 42 - FUTURE HAPPINESS OF THE RIGHTEOUS. OUR most exalted conceptions of that felicity which awaits the people of God beyond the boundaries of time must be faint and inadequate. St. John says: “It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2. St. Paul asserts: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9. On this subject the pen of inspiration hath used language the most glowing and impressive; yet the most vivid descriptions, and the most sublime metaphors of Holy Writ, are but feeble adumbrations of the ecstatic glories of the heavenly state. These representations furnish us no very definite information as to the nature of the heavenly felicity; yet they contain some vivid descriptions of its sources. Hence the most we can do on the subject, unless we launch forth on the sea of conjecture, is to consider these sources so far as they are revealed in the Bible.
I.Character of the FINAL HOME of the saints.
1. It is a local habitation, or a place. Some have supposed that the Bible descriptions of heaven are not intended to teach that the future home of the redeemed will be any particular, locality or place, but merely a state of blessedness, having no reference to special locality; but this hypothesis is manifestly inconsistent with our Saviour’s explicit teaching. He says: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2-3. The notion referred to is also contrary to the prima facie evidence and general tenor of Scripture. The Bible everywhere speaks of heaven, not only as a state, but also as a place. Angels are represented as descending from heaven to earth, and ascending again to heaven. The Son of man is said to have “come from heaven” to our world, and again to have “ascended into heaven, where he was before.” Such expressions as these, with which the Bible is replete, can only be consistently interpreted upon the supposition that heaven is a place.
Again, that heaven is a place, as well as a state, is demonstrated by the fact that it is now the abode of the glorified humanity of our Saviour, and will ultimately contain the risen bodies of all the saints. It is impossible for us to form any conception of a body, however refined, without locating it in some portion of space. That which is composed of a body cannot be omnipresent, and that which is not omnipresent, must exist in a particular located place. Hence it follows - as the bodies of all the redeemed are to be assembled together, in company with the glorified body of our Lord, “that where he is, there they may be also” - that the heavenly mansion in which they are thus to be assembled must be a located habitation.
We must not, however, infer that, because heaven is a place, it is not also a state. It is, doubtless, both the one and the other. However glorious the external habitation, it could be no heaven to the occupant without the proper condition of heart. In one sense of the word, wherever God dwells in the heart, manifesting his love and revealing his glory, there is heaven. In this sense it may be said, “The way to heaven is heaven all the way;” and the poet has said - “‘Tisheavento rest in thine embrace, And nowhere else but there.”
Yet, as the Scriptures have plainly revealed the fact that heaven is a place, the admission that it is also a state, can have no tendency with the believer in revelation to weaken his confidence in the teachings of the Bible. That heaven is both a place and a state, implies no contradiction. The two positions are perfectly consistent with each other.
2. Heaven is a glorious habitation.
St. John, in his visions in Patmos, had a view of this habitation, which he describes as a magnificent city: “And 1 John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.”
He proceeds to describe the city, thus: “Her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper-stone, clear as crystal; and (the city) had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and the names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth four square, and the length is as large as the breadth; and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length, and the breadth, and the height of it, are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man - that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved, shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day; for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. And he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him; and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign forever and ever.”
We are aware that some commentators understand all this magnificent description of the heavenly Jerusalem, in the last two chapters of Revelation, as referring to the prosperity of the gospel Church on earth. It perhaps does refer to the gospel Church in this world, in one sense - so far as it is a type of heavenly salvation and glory. Some expressions in the description seem clearly to require this interpretation. Such are the following: “The kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.” “And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.” It is difficult to see how these passages can refer to the heavenly state. But there are other passages in the connection which admit of no consistent interpretation, if applied only to the Church on earth. It is said, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” Now it seems to us rather to pervert than to explain the inspired word, to assert that a state in which all tears, all sorrow, all pain, and all death, are to be done away, is to be expected this side the heavenly mansions. Again, into that city nothing unholy is to enter, but only “they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Can any thing like this be characteristic of the Church on earth? Once more: in that “holy Jerusalem” there is to be “no more curse” - there they shall see the face of the Lamb; there “they need no candle, neither light of the sun;” “and they shall reign forever and ever.” If these descriptions do not refer to the heavenly state, then we may explain away every promise of the Bible, and destroy forever the hope of the Christian!
Dr. Clarke’s comment on the scripture before us is somewhat remarkable. On the second verse of the twenty-first chapter, he says: “New Jerusalem.- This doubtless means the Christian Church in a state of great prosperity and purity.” But, in commenting on the fourth verse, he applies the declaration, “there shall be no more death,” to a state subsequent to the resurrection: thus passing with rapid facility from the Church on earth to the Church in heaven. The true interpretation of the three concluding chapters of Revelation, we think to be this: In the preceding part of Revelation a prophetic sketch had been given of the history of the Church to the commencement of Christ’s millennial reign. In the last three chapters the millennial reign of Christ, the solemn events of the resurrection, the general judgment, and the glories of the future state, are depicted. As the millennial reign of Christ with his saints on earth will precede, and is typical of, his triumphant reign with them in the heavenly state and as some things connected with this description of “the holy city, New Jerusalem,” apply more properly to the millennial state of the Church, and some can only apply to the heavenly state, the most rational inference is, that both these states are included. The burden of this description unquestionably relates to the heavenly state; yet, as both the millennial and heavenly glory are connected with the mediatorial reign of Christ, the one unfolding its greatest triumphs in this world and the other revealing its final issues in the world to come, it is but natural that the description of both should be somewhat blended. The triumphs of Christ’s mediatorial reign on earth, and its rewards in heaven, are, in an important sense, one. The saints on earth and the saints in glory are all the purchase of his blood. And as “the kings and nations of the earth” shall “bring their glory and honor” into the Church militant denoting its great prosperity in this world, so “the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light” of the “holy Jerusalem” above, where the light of sun and moon will never be needed, and where sin and sorrow, pain and death, can never enter. In an important sense, it is the same “holy Jerusalem,” whether here on earth in her militant state, battling with tempest and storm, and fleeing to caves and dens of the earth from the rage of persecution, or in heaven, where the saints, having, like their Master, been “made perfect through suffering,” and having “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, shall be saved from sin and all its consequences “forever and ever.” Here they oft have no certain dwelling-place, being “strangers and pilgrims on earth,” but there they shall inherit “many mansions” in that “holy city” whose twelve foundations are garnished with chrysolite, beryl, topaz, amethyst, and all manner of precious stones; whose gates are of pearl; whose streets are gold, transparent as glass; and whose walls are of jasper. But the question is often asked. Are these descriptions figurative, or are they literal? It is generally assumed that they are figurative. Perhaps they are. But we dare not affirm that they are entirely so. The human body, in the resurrection, will be the identical body that we have here; yet it will be changed into a “spiritual body;” it will be “fashioned like unto Christ’s glorious body:” even so, for aught we know, when the “new heaven and the new earth” shall be created, God may produce new substances of gold and precious stones, so refined and spiritualized, that they will as far transcend those metals, as known on earth, as will the spiritual bodies of the saints the “vile bodies” they now possess. And if this be correct, (and who can say that it is not?) then the descriptions here given of the magnificent city which shall be the final habitation of the people of God may be different from the literal acceptation only in so far as the spiritual gold and precious stones, and rivers, and trees, of the celestial world, shall excel in beauty, magnificence, and purity, those substances of earth; just as the vile body of the saint on earth shall be excelled by that body which shall rise from the tomb, with all the undying energies and unfading beauties of immortality. But if we conclude that these descriptions are entirely figurative, then we are bound to infer that all these glowing descriptions must come far short of imparting a full conception of the glorious reality. But in what part of God’s vast universe is the heavenly abode of the saints located? On this question, God has not seen proper to gratify the curiosity of man. The general Scripture presentation is, that heaven is far above us. But what meaning shall we attach to the term “above” in this connection? In reference to our own planet, down means toward the earth’s center, and up means in the opposite direction. Thus, to our antipodes, up and down are the very opposite of what they are to us. Hence, so far as such terms are controlled in their import by the earth’s attraction, they can impart no light as to the location of heaven.
Another point fully expressed in Scripture is, that heaven is immensely distant from us. God says: “I dwell in the high and holy place.” Isaiah 57:15. “As the heaven is high above the earth.” Psalms 103:11. “The heaven for height… is unsearchable.” Proverbs 25:3. St. Paul speaks of Christ having “ascended up far above all heavens” - that is, beyond the bounds of sun, moon, and stars - all the visible heavens. Hence the Scriptures teach, first, that heaven is above us; and, secondly, that it is beyond the bounds of the visible heavens.
Astronomy teaches that our system, of which the sun is the center, is but one of an almost infinite number of systems scattered through the immensity of space; that each fixed star is a sun and center to a system perhaps as extended as ours; and that, far beyond the reach of the strongest telescope, suns and systems innumerable shine forth under the eye and control of the Eternal. Now, the “heaven of heavens” - the throne of God, and the eternal abode of holy angels, and of the redeemed saints - must be above all these visible heavens and systems of worlds. Far, far beyond the bounds of those orbs on which the astronomer of earth may gaze, in the grand center of light and perfection, in an atmosphere purer and more spiritual than ever surrounded globe or world, is, doubtless, the lofty pavilion of God. Here, in the far-off center of the universe, as the great, great central point, we may suppose is the throne of God. Here amid surrounding worlds, and systems, and nebulæ, the great Creator of all sits upon his throne, “high and lifted up,” wheeling the spheres in their orbits, and swaying his scepter over innumerable worlds of intelligent beings. And here, in a manner to us incomprehensible, he is “over all, God blessed forever.” And here is that glorious and eternal habitation where the Son shares with the Father “the glory which he had with him before the world was;” and here, also, is the blessed home of “the saints in light,” where they shall dwell with the Saviour, beholding his glory forevermore.
II. The saints in heaven will have been saved from all evil.
1. From all intellectual evil of ignorance. We are not, however, to understand that they are to be absolutely perfect in knowledge. This belongs to God alone. But they shall not be conscious of any such defect in knowledge as would interrupt their happiness. And, doubtless, the pursuit of knowledge, unimpeded by the clogs of mortality, will constitute a part of the employment, and greatly contribute to the happiness, of the “spirits of just men made perfect.” This, we think, is more than intimated by the apostle, when he says: “We know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” From this language we gather the pleasing hope, that when the last accession of truth is made here on earth, we are not to die and leave it all behind, but it shall accompany us to the future world; and where the pursuit has been dropped here, for the want of time or ability to conduct it farther, it shall be resumed there with renewed and immortalized powers; where the body will not weary, nor the powers of the mind wax feeble, but where all our faculties shall bloom in the freshness of immortal youth, and ripen forever under the beams of heavenly illumination.
2. The moral evil of sin shall not enter heaven. Nothing unholy can enter there to disturb the peace of the saints. “There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary be at rest.” Job 3:17. Sin has caused all the evil in the world. The saints of the most high God, however pure and holy in heart and life themselves, in all ages, have been annoyed by the wickedness of those around them. Righteous Lot was “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked” inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. In this world of sin, the faithful have ever had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings; yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment;” they have been “stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, slain with the sword; they have wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented.” But in heaven the tongue of slander, or of profanity, shall never be heard; the rumor of outrage, of wrong, of oppression, or of war, shall never pain the ear, the sword of persecution shall never drink the blood of the saints, nor shall they any more be “killed all the day long, or accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
3. In heaven, the penal consequences of sin - weariness, toil, affliction, pain, and death - will be unknown. In Isaiah 35:10, we read: “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” In reference to the redeemed, it is written: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb… They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Revelation 21:3-4 : “And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.”
III. In the heavenly state, the ASSOCIATIONS of the saints will be a source of unspeakable happiness.
1.Angels will be their familiar companions. “But ye are come” saith the apostle, “unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.”
2. They will share the society of the pious of all ages and all countries. There they “shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 8:11. They shall hold converse with “prophets and righteous men” of olden time. They shall listen to the orations of Enoch and Elijah, of Abraham and Job, of Moses and Samuel, of David and Isaiah, of Daniel and Ezekiel, of Peter and James, of Paul and John. If a few moments on Mount Tabor, where Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus. so entranced the apostles, with what thrilling emotions must the souls of the redeemed be inspired, when on the eternal mount on high they shall listen to the sublime strains in which so many eloquent and immortal tongues shall comment on the stupendous wonders of redemption!
3. But the saints in that glorified state shall mingle with all their loved ones of earth who have died in the faith. But will those who have been acquainted in this world recognize each other in heaven? The plain inference from Scripture is, that they will. “Then shall I know,” saith the apostle, “even as also I am known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12. The supposition, that in heaven we will know less than we do in this world, is contrary to the tenor of Scripture. Even the rich man in hell recognized “Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Indeed, the inference from the Bible is, that in the heavenly state, by an intuitive perception, of which we can here form no idea, we shall even recognize those whom we have never seen in the flesh. Not only did the rich man referred to recognize Abraham and Lazarus, but the apostles, on the mount of transfiguration, recognized Moses and Elijah, whom they had never before seen. Surely, then, although “in heaven they neither marry nor are given in marriage” - domestic relations not being there perpetuated - yet, “when that which is perfect is come,” and “that which is in part shall be done away,” then our knowledge shall be wonderfully increased. And how must it swell the hearts of dearest kindred, and “true yoke-fellows” in the “kingdom and patience of Jesus,” to hail each other happy in that bright world of bliss and glory!
How must the heart of Jacob have exulted with joy when he once more met his beloved Joseph, for whom he had mourned as dead! After the long, fond embrace, was over, “Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.” And what ineffable joy must have filled the heart of the father of the prodigal son, when he met him after his return, and, falling on his neck, kissed him! But what are these instances of emotion compared with the reunion of nearest and dearest relatives and friends in the vast assemblage around the throne!
4. But, above all, Jesus himself will be there, known unto all his redeemed. There shall they “see him as he is,” in all the splendor of his glorified humanity. Without a dimming veil, they shall “see the King in his beauty,” and, casting their crowns before the throne, they shall lift the voice of praise, saying, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
IV. Another source of happiness in heaven, will be the EMPLOYMENT of the saints. Of this, our largest conceptions must be imperfect.
1. One important exercise will be the worship of God and the Lamb. Long ago, St. John had a vision of the heavenly worshipers. He heard them crying out, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come,” and giving “honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever.” He heard the “four and twenty elders” singing before the throne a “new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests;” and joining the swelling strain, he heard the voice of many angels - the number of them being “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard he saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever.” And again, he saw “a hundred and forty and four thousand,” with the “Father’s name written in their foreheads:” he “heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps;” and they sung “a new song,” which “no man could learn” but “the hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed from the earth.” (Revelation) Such are some of the Bible pictures of the worship performed in heaven. In this, the company of the redeemed will participate.
2. But we may rationally infer that there will be a pleasing variety in the employment of the saints in glory. Another interesting part of the exercise will be, to behold and admire the glories of heaven. Jesus said: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.” What sublime revelations will there be made of the unutterable glory of the Redeemer! There may be learned some of those things which St. Paul referred to as unlawful to be uttered on earth. But the Lamb shall lead his ransomed millions over all the celestial fields of immortality, and unfold to their vision the riches and glory of his eternal kingdom. Nor are we to suppose that the saints will be restricted to the precincts of the heavenly mansions. As the vast universe is the dominion of Christ, “all things” being “made by him, and for him,” so we may infer, that as the holy angels now “desire to look into” the redeeming work of Christ on earth, so will the glorified saints be interested throughout all the dominions of God. The study of the divine administration throughout distant worlds, as well as the ever-unfolding glory of God in redemption’s wondrous plan, will be enough to employ the thoughts, to warm the hearts, and to swell the joys of the saints forever and ever.
V.Character and degree of their enjoyment. In the present mode of our being, we can have but a faint conception of that capacity for enjoyment which our immortalized natures will possess. If the change upon the mental is to equal that upon the bodily powers, and the glorified body of the Redeemer is the model after which the bodies of the saints are to be fashioned, how wonderful must be the capacity for enjoyment possessed by the saints in glory! With a spiritual body, how keen and far-reaching must be the glance of the eye, how delicate and appreciative the faculty for hearing, how exquisite the powers of taste, how capacious the intellect restored from the curse of sin, how enlarged must be the capacity for deriving happiness from all that can attract the eye or charm the ear, illume the mind or delight the fancy, kindle the imagination or enrapture the affections! And we may rationally indulge the pleasing hope, that all these capacious powers, as the cycles of eternity shall roll, will be ever enlarging and ever increasing in their capacity for imparting to the undying nature, still sweeter, richer, purer streams of bliss. The crowning excellency in the bliss of heaven is, that it shall fear no termination. On earth, how quickly the most attractive beauty fades, the sweetest pleasure dies, and the fondest hopes are withered; but in heaven, the sun of peace, and joy, and love, and bliss, shall never set. Spring shall bloom with unfading beauty, love shall glow with increasing warmth, and the stream of bliss shall flow forever.
We have only glanced at a few of the “exceeding great and precious promises” of God, in reference to the future happiness of the saints. But how little do we know upon that subject! That it will be a state of bliss beyond the power of language to describe, none can doubt. The Bible, as we have seen, uses the most striking figures to describe it; but, at the same time, most clearly intimates that the subject is “too wonderful” for our conception. But, for the encouragement of our faith and hope, we may be assured that when “death shall be swallowed up of life,” the saints will be possessed of all that is essential to their happiness. They shall dwell amid “pleasures forevermore.” Free from sorrow and death, they shall mingle with the celestial throng around the throne of the Eternal. And while the pure light of heaven shall pour upon their immortal intellects, they shall feast forever upon the sublime mysteries of providence and grace, and kindle with holy rapture as they contemplate the unfolding perfections of Him “who is above all, and through all, and in them all.”
“There shall they muse amid the starry glow, Or hear the fiery streams of glory flow;
Or, on the living cars of lightning driven, Triumphant, wheel around the plains of heaven.”