A Snapshot of Heaven

A Snapshot of Heaven

Vicar Owen Eubank

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Revelation 7:8-17

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,

“they 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.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
    nor any scorching heat.
17 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.’”

A snapshot of heaven

I love looking at pictures. Growing up, we had photo albums at home that I would page through over and over. Then, we’d visit my grandparents, and they had stacks of loose photos. I spent hours looking at old photographs: parties, holidays, vacations. It’s fun to see yourself or people you know at a happy moment in life, celebrating or gathering with family, wearing clothes that went out of style decades ago. You might even have a favourite picture on your desk at work or on your fridge. Sometimes we need a bit of nostalgia to remind us of the good ol’ days. As we grow old, picture can bring back those long-forgotten memories.

By the time he wrote the book of Revelation, the apostle John was an old man. He had lived longer than any of the other apostles. Over and over, he received news that one of his brother apostles had been killed, then another one, and another, until all of them were dead, all martyred for the faith. John had survived the longest, yet he wasn’t totally spared from persecution. Exiled to the island of Patmos, he had been taken away from his congregations in Asia Minor. Separated from them, alone on an island, the last of the apostles, John had to wonder whether Jesus’ words were true.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that the meek, the poor in spirit, and the persecuted are blessed, that they will inherit the kingdom of God. But that just doesn’t seem true. Not for John and his congregation, not for the Christian church today. Are Nigerian Christians “blessed” as persecutions displace millions and thousands die every year for their faith? Are Chinese Christians “blessed” when their entire family shuns them for believing in Jesus? Do you feel “blessed” every day of your Christian life? Where is the kingdom we’re supposed to inherit?

When God’s blessings seem so long in coming, we grow impatient with him. Days, weeks, years go by, and we’re still waiting for the kingdom he’s promised us. Maybe it will never come. Maybe God is lying to us. Maybe God isn’t as good as he says he is. If he is truly good, why do his people suffer so much? You’d think an almighty and all-loving God would protect his people from harm!

Doubt of God’s goodness has been mankind’s problem from the beginning. Adam and Eve doubted God when they ate the forbidden fruit. You and I doubt God’s goodness whenever we grumble or complain about something in our lives. We think there must be something wrong with God, but the truth is, there’s something wrong with us. God originally made us like himself, pure and holy, so that we could have a relationship with him. But we have broken this relationship with God. Our doubt and distrust have made us filthy in his sight, unworthy to stand in his presence, dressed in tattered, black rags. Why should we expect God to bless us if we are constantly doubting his goodness? Our sin makes us appalling to God, and he doesn’t owe us a thing, not even an ounce of his love or goodness.

And so, we’d expect the picture of our future to be one of eternal torment in hell. But that’s not at all the picture John describes in Revelation 7. Instead, we’re transported to a throne room in a large, bright palace. You look around the expansive hall, and all you can see is people, so many that you can’t even see the floor. Out of the endless sea of faces, you recognize a few: a family member or friend who died recently. But there’s so many more faces to see. Your eyes move quickly from one to the next, and they’re all so diverse, from all over the world. You start counting the number of the crowd, but it breaks your brain and you have to keep restarting. They’re all wearing the same thing: long white robes, sparkling clean, whiter than the purest snow. They’re all saying the same thing too: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

This crowd is not celebrating their own achievements. Salvation does not come from us. On our own, we’re helpless, unable to save ourselves from the punishment our sins deserve. But God saw our helplessness. He loved us, even though we were dressed in filthy, stinking robes of sin. God wants to live with us eternally, to bring us into his throne room and share his goodness with us. So he sent Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus shed his blood for us, so that we can take our dirty robes, plunge them into his holy blood, and lift them out, clean and spotless. Salvation from sin and the restoration of our relationship with God—this is what the saints in heaven get to celebrate day after day. Jesus has won the victory!

But you don’t have to wait until you die to join in that heavenly song. God isn’t teasing us with this picture, as if we can’t experience joy until we reach heaven. It also affects our lives right now. This vision is what John needed to see. It may not have saved John from exile or ended his persecutions, but it did remove any doubts about God’s goodness. Though his fellow apostles were executed in shameful, excruciating ways, they hadn’t lost the battle: in Christ, they had actually triumphed! And so it would be for John. It didn’t matter what anyone did to his body while he lived on earth, because this life isn’t the end. This picture of heaven gave John confidence to live out his Christian faith, even in the face of persecution, because in Christ he had already won.

John wrote down everything he saw so that you could also see God’s goodness. You truly are blessed, because heaven already belongs to you here on earth. You can rejoice and be glad during trouble and hardship, because you don’t have to worry about your eternal future. Jesus has already cleansed your robes: you’re bound for heaven! When you’re tempted to feel depressed or dejected about your life on earth, remember this picture, this celebration in the halls of King Jesus. Know that you’re not alone in your faith. In heaven and around the world, saints are celebrating God’s salvation with you. Every time we hear about the death of a Christian, we realize that they haven’t lost the battle: they’re just joining the celebration in heaven! Death is only the end of our tribulation and the beginning of new life.

What a beautiful snapshot of our future glory! But the heavenly photo album doesn’t end with the throne room. After flipping through all these glorious, royal pictures and seeing an incomprehensible multitude of people standing before God’s throne, you turn the page and see just one familiar face: it’s you.

As awesome and exciting as that heavenly crowd is, now the vision focuses solely on you, on your personal experience of heaven. And we need to see that picture too. Though the Lamb has won the war over sin and death, there are still battles that we must face today because we live in a sinful world. Sin means that we get hungry and thirsty, that our desires are never fully met. Sin has doomed us to a lifetime of toil and hard work, to frustration in our jobs and relationships. We can’t even serve God as perfectly as we want here on earth. Sin brings us tears, as we suffer pain or disease or watch others slowly dying around us. Sin ruined paradise for us on earth, and we’ve been living with the consequences.

But the day will come when paradise is fully restored for us. God will call us out of this sinful world and into his loving presence. Now we’re transported to a quiet, idyllic scene. Dressed in your white robe, there’s a calm feeling of serenity. You’re not afraid or anxious about anything. You’re in God’s tents, and there you’re fully protected from harm and danger. All your desires are fulfilled; all your needs are met. It’s the most comfortable safe space you can imagine. No more sadness—just joy and peace, all the time. Best of all, you get to see God every day, to walk with Jesus. You no longer have any guilty feelings, no shame as you stand next to him. Gone is the thought, “I wish I could do better for you Lord,” because in heaven, you serve and obey him perfectly. Whatever tears you cry, he reaches out with his gentle touch and wipes them away forever. In the heavenly tents of your Good Shepherd, you finally have perfect rest.

I don’t know which picture of heaven you need today, a grand victory celebration before God’s throne or a serene walk with Jesus, but I hope they both give you the strength you need to carry on. All those saints in heaven once knew your struggles. They suffered in this world of sin too. But their tribulation didn’t last forever, and neither will yours. God will take us out of this sinful world to an eternal paradise with him.

In this way, we are blessed, even in this troublesome life. We are blessed to wash our robes in Jesus’ blood, to have peace with God once again. We are blessed that heaven is our inheritance, that we have something far greater to look forward to than our current existence. And we are blessed that God reveals these pictures of heaven to us. In them, we find the hope and comfort we need to live our lives in service to the Lamb. We offer up our praises to him with our fellow saints on earth, until the day when we join the multitude of saints in heaven. Then, it won’t just be a snapshot or a sneak peek: we’ll have all eternity to experience the real thing. So, why not start your eternity of praises now: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Amen.

Stand Firm to the End in Unflinching Faith

Stand Firm to the End in Unflinching Faith

Pastor Pete Metzger

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Daniel 6:10-12,16-23

10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

Stand Firm to the End in Unflinching Faith

How do you respond to adversity?

That’s a big question. There are lots of different kinds of adversity. It can be something as simple as a zipper that won’t zip when you’re already 5 minutes behind schedule. Adversity can also be a targeted, malicious attack by someone who actively wants to see you fail. How we respond to either – or anything in between – reveals a lot about who we are as people, but especially who we are as Christians.

Today, we are celebrating the 509th anniversary of the start of the Lutheran Reformation. 509 years ago, Martin Luther faced his own adversity that ranged from thunderstorms and whittling accidents to the most powerful person in the world putting Martin Luther’s face on a “Wanted” poster “Dead or Alive.” How did Martin Luther respond? With a mixture of abject terror, crippling anxiety, and steadfast faith.

Martin Luther had his doubts. He recorded “conversations” he had with the devil where he could practically hear Satan’s voice saying to him, “Are you the only person in the whole world who knows the truth? Is the whole Christian church wrong and Martin Luther alone right?” Luther dealt with his fair share of guilt and fear – guilt over sins he knew should disqualify him from heaven; fear that what he wrote would be taken out of context and abused, that they would put him directly into harm’s way.

But Luther was also able to stand before the Emperor and in the face of an ultimatum to recant or die say, “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.”

500 years later, we still remember it. We are grateful to God for it, because Luther’s steadfast stand in steadfast faith restored the truth of the Gospel to God’s people and as a direct result we get to be here, holding God’s Word in our own hands and understanding correctly what God’s Word means for me – that I am saved by grace, through faith, in Scripture alone.

It’s the precious privilege of our Lutheran heritage, but in reality, it’s a privilege and heritage that God has extended to believers for thousands of years before the world ever heard the name Luther or Lutheran.

Daniel lived 600 years before Jesus (2,000 years before the Reformation), and he faced adversity too. The Babylonians had come, and for the first time since its inception, the Kingdom of Judah was utterly defeated. 400 years of royal succession from the days of King David gone as the best and brightest in Jerusalem were carried off into 70 years of captivity 500 miles away from home.

Daniel was a young man at the time. He had grown up in the Promised Land God gave to Joshua after Egypt, but Daniel had the distinction of being the first generation in 800 years to be forced to leave it. He had come from a noble Jewish family, but was pressed into service in the court of the pagan kings of Babylon and Media and Persia. If anybody had a reason to be disillusioned, depressed, resentful, it was Daniel, but he wasn’t. He was resilient.

He remained faithful to God in the face of temptation to assimilate into the ungodly world around him. He retained the practice of his faith despite all obstacles to prevent it, including what we read in our First Reading today – an outright ban on the freedom of religion.

“Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”[1]

If the government of Alberta or Canada issued such a decree, what would you do? Take to social media and voice your outrage? Stand on a bridge with a homemade sign? Move 150 miles south? Would you hide at home? Would you feel deflated and discouraged? Would you say a silent prayer that God would change the situation?

Daniel prayed. I find it amazing how. Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home.[2] He didn’t wait for the next regularly scheduled synagogue. He didn’t wait for the day to be over. He went home right away.

And notice, he went home. He didn’t make a show of it. He didn’t protest. He didn’t beg and plead. He didn’t mumble in a corner with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He went to the privacy of his own home.

But he wasn’t scared. He wasn’t trying to hide. He went to the roof, with the windows open. Scholars suggest that there might not have even been any real walls up there, just latticework. That’s not going to keep you free from the scrutiny of prying eyes.

And he did it over and over and over again. Three times a day, just as he had done before. That’s courageous. That’s committed. He wasn’t daunted by the decree of the king. He was faithful to his God over everything.

But the most amazing thing to me about Daniel’s prayer? Giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.[3] Daniel wasn’t about to break the habit of gratitude, even when the circumstances would have broken the spirit of most of us. Imagine what our prayers would have sounded like on a day like that – the grumbling and complaining, the fear and anxiety, the anger and outrage, the demand that God change something. Daniel said, “Thank you.”

How is that even possible? Because Daniel understood the world he lived in. He wasn’t lost pining for the good ol’ days back in Judah. He wasn’t under the delusion that life was going to be any easier wherever he was. Daniel understood the warning that Jesus gave us today: “You will be hated by everyone because of me.”[4]

Daniel’s expectations were properly calibrated. He didn’t expect life to be easy. He didn’t expect the ungodly world around him to respect the exercise of his faith. He expected it to be hard. He had already lived through so much hate, and was prepared for more. But he also remembered the promise, i.e. the same promise Jesus used to finish this sentence: “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”[5]

Every once in a while, when I read the children’s version of this story, I get a little peeved. Publishers are so keen on explaining how Daniel could do this unthinkable thing and put his life at such unnecessary risk that they say something reckless like, “Daniel knew God would keep him safe from the lions,” or, “Daniel had a promise from God that he would survive.” Daniel didn’t. He had a better promise – that the one who stands firm to the end will be saved, not from lies or lions or kings, not from conspiracies or controversies or cancer, but from sin and death and damnation.

When we read about heroes of faith like Daniel, it can be equal parts inspiring and depressing. We want to be like that, but we’re not. How little of a thing does it take to set you off and lose your cool? How little of a thing does it take to discourage you and deflate you to the degree that you stop trying anymore? How often do you set gratitude aside for grumbling, or replace faith with fear?

It’s hard to live the Christian life, and we’re not even standing before Emperor Charles or Pope Leo or King Darius or a den of lions. But just like Luther and Daniel and every generation of believer, we have the same promise, that the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.[6]

That’s what Jesus came to do for you. And he faced so much adversity too – the rejection of the people who were supposed to love him, the backroom conspiracies of government officials to get rid of him, the murderous intent of kings – our own unrealized sinfulness – that all ultimately led him to the cross. But before he got there, he stopped for prayer too in the Garden of Gethsemane and committed himself to his Father’s care if it meant death for him.

Unlike Daniel, God didn’t send an angel to spare Jesus’ life, because what Jesus was accomplishing on the cross was more than a demonstration of faith. It was a sacrifice for sin. It was substitutionary atonement for you. Your failures, your weakness was transferred to him and his righteousness was credited to you, so that he would die for your guilt and you would live forgiven by his grace. So that you can do what Daniel did and you can face even death for your faith knowing that death isn’t the end. You’ve seen it before.

It’s uncanny the similarities of Daniel’s den and Jesus’ tomb. Both sealed with a rock and a signet ring, both in an attempt to prevent tampering, but both ultimately confirming God’s miraculous power. Because just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t find a way to let Daniel out, the disciples didn’t steal Jesus’ body. God raised them both out of situations where you’d expect to find a dead man, only he was alive, because of the power and sovereignty of our God.

And that’s the same God you pray to and we worship. He doesn’t promise that you’ll beat cancer. He doesn’t promise that life will be easy. But he does promise forgiveness for your sins and an eternal life that no king or controversy can threaten. So that even if we have to stare down the barrel of the grave, we can do it with the unflinching confidence that Daniel did, knowing the promise of Jesus that the one who stands firm to the end will be saved because Jesus stood firm then laid down his life only to take it back up again, so that you can stand fast in your faith too.

Adversity often reveals the condition of our hearts. God uses it to bolster the strength of your faith. When trying times come for you, don’t be afraid. Do what Daniel did. Continue in your habit of faith and thank your God for his salvation and love and promised abiding presence through his Son Jesus Christ. Trust in him. He has and will deliver you eternally. Amen.

[1] Daniel 6:12

[2] Daniel 6:10

[3] Ibid

[4] Matthew 10:22

[5] Ibid

[6] Ibid

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