THE ETERNAL STATE.
When the last enemy of God has been put down by our Lord acting as Mediatorial King, the purpose of His Mediatorial Kingdom will have been fulfilled. As the Apostle Paul wrote, "He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet" (1 Cor. 15:25). This point in the history of the government of God will have been reached when death itself comes to an end, for "the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Cor. 15:26). And this point is clearly indicated in Revelation 20:14 where we are told that "death" is cast into the lake of fire. With the end of this "last enemy" there can be no more any intermediate state; therefore "Hades" also is abolished. In the inspired record, the destruction of death and Hades appears as the last act of our Lord in preparation for the new and eternal world.
As we pass from Rev. 20 into Rev. 21 of the Apocalypse, therefore, we stand at the junction point between two worlds and between two kingdoms. It is the end of the "first" or "natural" order of things, and the beginning of the final order of things. Here also the Mediatorial Kingdom of our Lord ends, not by abolition, but by its mergence into the Universal Kingdom of God. Thus it is perpetuated forever, no longer as a separate entity, but in indissoluble union with the original Kingdom of God from which it sprang. What will happen is concisely described in St. Paul's classic passage on the subject: "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. . . . And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all" (1 Cor. 15:24, 28). This does not mean the end of our Lord's regal activity, but rather that from here onward in the unity of the Godhead He reigns with the Father as the eternal Son. There are no longer two thrones: one His Messianic throne and the other the Father's throne, as our Lord indicated in Revelation 3:21. In the final Kingdom there is but one throne, and it is "the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev. 22:3).
The changed conditions in this final Kingdom will be very wonderful and far-reaching. But, in general, it should be observed that there is no absolute break with the former world, as in the Platonic postulate. The Mediatorial Kingdom of our Lord will constitute the glorious consummating era of the first order of things and will serve as the divine bridge between the temporal order and the eternal order. As Lange has well said, "The Apocalypse alone sets forth the true mediation of the last metamorphosis of the old world, in the Millennial Kingdom." When in the record of Revelation 21:5 the voice from heaven announces, "Behold, I make all things new," we must not suppose that our world will then lose its identity, but rather that in its reconstituted form, it will begin to exist under new and perfect conditions. Two of these conditions may be stated as follows:
First, of all these changed conditions, perhaps the greatest is that at last "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" (Rev. 21:3). Even during the glorious millennial reign of Christ with His Church on earth, their actual residence will be in heaven. But in the eternal Kingdom heaven comes down to earth; God dwells with men! At last the long history of temporary theophany’s will be done. In the face of Jesus Christ men at last will see the face of God with no hindrance of circumstance or interruption of temporality.
Second, in this final Kingdom of God some of the most familiar things of the present life will be missing: "There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev. 21:4). And in such a world, of course, there can be no sin; for sin is the cause of all tears, all pain, and all death. Thus, we read, that in this new order of things with its glorious city, there will be no place for the "unbelieving" and sinners (Rev. 21:8). "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie" (Rev. 21:27). The description closes on a somber note: All the unsaved are shut "without" the city (Rev. 22:15), and for such there is no remedy (Rev. 22:11 ).
As the divinely given visions of the future Kingdom come to an end in Rev. 22:5, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself speaks from heaven historically in a final word to "the churches" (Rev. 22:16). And He identifies Himself here as "the bright and morning star"; for while during the life of the churches on earth it is night, not day, the morning is always "at hand" (Rom. 13:12). In His message we note two important things:
First, as an antidote to any possible hesitation (often unspoken) to believe all the wondrous revelation of this book of the Kingdom, we are given His own gracious assurance: "These sayings are faithful and true" (Rev. 22:6). And in the face of this divine validation, all our doubts must wither away and die. For the very name of the Speaker is "Faithful and True" (Rev. 19:11); and therefore of all He has spoken nothing can possibly fail.
Second, to "the churches" on earth, He gives a thrice-repeated reminder of something which must never be forgotten; for it will give courage in the hour of battle, strength in the hour of weakness, and hope in the hour of despair. Let us hear Him as He speaks: "Behold, I come quickly" (Rev. 22:7) "Behold, I come quickly" (Rev. 22:12) "Surely, I come quickly" (Rev. 22:21)
Thus, in His last historic word from heaven, our Lord writes once more over the portals of the Church that "Blessed Hope" under which she must live and labor during every moment of her existence upon the earth. And if we are wise in the simplicity of the Word of God, we shall respond in the words of the "beloved disciple," who heard and recorded the message:
"Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20).
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