Part of My Journeys Through the Bible
"Does God have bad taste or what?"
For the longest time (the first six years of my Christian life), I had
struggled with an issue of great importance: whether or not I really
was going to be admitted into Heaven. I found it incredibly difficult
to believe that I really would have an eternal inheritance in Christ.
Sure, I had heard that once you were saved, you were saved for
all time. Yeah, I also heard that no one could be plucked out of the
hands of God (see John 10:28, 29). None of these arguments had
any effect on my life; simply put, I didn't see "once saved, always
saved" outlined in the Bible and just because I couldn't be plucked
out of God's hands by others didn't mean that I couldn't be
excluded from admission by my own devices. You see, I am a very
unique individual and the standard arguments simply weren't
compelling enough; as I did with the arguments above, I'd always
find some way to wiggle around the security that would comfort
other Christians.
I knew that even after six years of trusting in Christ hadn't changed
the fact that I could still be an evil person in several aspects.
Without a doubt, I was not the same person now that I was before I
heard the gospel of Jesus Christ; there were improvements in my
behavior, improvements that I didn't strive to see happen. But
perfection was way out of my league.
Some of my wicked tendencies seemed to be so deeply ingrained
that, knowing me, I'd get into Heaven, make a harsh criticism of a
brother and find myself getting booted out. This fear only came up
infrequently so I felt no need to really make a big issue of the fact
that I didn't feel secure in my salvation.
"Every adventure begins with a single accident..."
Not looking for answers, I found an enigma. It was during my study
of the book of Revelation, in chapter 21, which has little to do with
the issue of salvation, especially the part that caused me to slam on
my mental brakes. I was reading the passage about the new
heaven and new earth and the new Jerusalem, content as could be
reading the description of the twelve gates to the city, the streets
paved with gold, et cetera, et cetera, when I accidentally read
verse 9:
"And there came unto me one of the seven
angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,
and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the
bride, the Lamb's wife." Revelation 21:9 (AV)
So here I had a passage where John was told that he would see the
bride of Christ, a reference to the Church (as I understood from
Ephesians 5:31,32). But there was no mention of any people in the
following verses; the only people mentioned are "the Lord God
Almighty", "the Lamb", "the nations" and "the kings of the earth"
but no bride that I could see. This one thing I did learn from Chuck
Missler: God made no mistakes in the Bible when He devised it,
although God does at times conceal a message in illustrations and
somewhat obscure references.
"It may be a molehill, but it tripped me up!"
So I thought about it. And I shared my thoughts with a good brother
in Christ, Dave Borchers. He stated the obvious (something I was
having a hard time admitting to) that the only conclusion I could
draw from the passage was that the bride of Christ was the new
Jerusalem. Well, Jesus did kind of allude to that same type of
illustration in chapter 3 and verse 12 of the same book, telling the
Phildelphians that they would be made into pillars of the temple in
the new Jerusalem and Peter talked about how we are "lively stones"
being built up on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ in his first general
epistle, second chapter.
Even though Christians are encouraged to meditate day and night on
God's Word, continuing to halt further study of the Bible would be
fruitless, so I filed this away under "strange and unusual things I
found - probably worthy of more study" and went on with life. Having
half-settled the issue of this strange passage, I continued my "read
through the Bible in a year" program. As God tends to do with me in
my Bible reading, I was reading in First Kings when I was blasted out
of my chair with another obscure verse. The context is about the
building of Solomon's Temple, how the stones for the temple were
quarried and sent by barge to the site in Jerusalem. The verse in
question was First Kings, chapter 6, verse 7:
"And the house, when it was in building, was built
of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that
there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the
house, while it was in building." I Kings 6:7 (AV)
"Sorting through the ton of bricks I was hit with..."
When I read that, it was as if God just dropped this thought into my
head: "That's a picture of you and the church and Revelation
chapter 21." So I thought of our lives here on earth and compared it
to shaping rocks in a quarry, each part of it being chipped away until
it met certain specifications, when it would then be shipped to its
final destination and set in place. I thought about how Jesus told His
disciples before His redeeming work at the cross, "...in the world ye
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the
world." John 16: 33b (AV) That description of our
tribulation as followers of Christ was being described in First Kings!
Our tribulations, the need to submit to God in our times of trial and
need, these were the chisel strikes of our Loving Master and Lord;
this was how he would prepare us for our place in the new
Jerusalem. Remarkable! God would take an active part in my life,
using trials, tribulations, prayer, fellowship and Bible study as the
means of making us absolutely perfect for the place He has for us in
His glorious eternal kingdom. Now I could see that James wasn't
out of his mind when he said in his letter:
"My bretheren, count it all joy when you fall into
divers temptations; knowing that the testing of your faith works
patience. But let patience have her perfect work that you may be
perfect and entire, wanting nothing."
James 1:2-4 (AV)
As He accomplishes His work in our lives, we are being prepared
for our final redemption.
Now, I finally accepted fully that my salvation was secure in Christ;
by His work on the cross, God made a commitment to me (and any
who would receive Him) to bring me into an inheritance based on
His work and His work alone. So now, whether the verses of
Revelation chapter 21 are some illustration of a glorious relationship
which we cannot understand (which I personally believe) or whether
they are a description of our translation into the next world, I can
rest assured that God will not kick me out.
Respectfully submitted to my bretheren,
Ken Siwek
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