Chapter 26 The Goal

Chapter 26

THE GOAL

Before we begin our study let us pray,

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father, please open our eyes, our ears and our heart so we can begin to truly understand the tremendous Grace and Mercy You have extended to us. Lord, please help us to see and never forget Your promise for our faith in Your Son Jesus Christ, which is our resurrection to eternal life with You.

Amen

INTRODUCTION

Perhaps the best way to begin this study is to ask ourselves, “Why should a person be born again? (Or) What is the purpose or promise of the believer’s faith?” A key to finding the answer to these questions is given to us by the Holy Spirit as He spoke through the Apostle Paul concerning the certainty of our resurrection to eternal life in,

1 Corinthians 15:19

"[19] If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

In other words, if it is only for blessings in this life we have hope and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, then we have missed the point; we have come far short of understanding our Lord’s plan. To see this we will,

1. Find that the primary reason why our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth was to offer His body and blood as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this for the salvation of our souls.

2. Review the conditions necessary for our new birth and the salvation of our souls.

3. Explore the resurrection to get a glimpse of what it will be like.

With the above introduction, we begin with a quick review of the primary reason our Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to this earth. Specifically,

JESUS CAME TO SAVE US FROM OUR SINS

To see this let us first read a portion of a vision that our Lord gave to the Apostle John concerning the upcoming judgment of all peoples. To do this we go to,

Revelation 20:11-15

"[11] Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. [12] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. [13] The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. [14] Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. [15] If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

It is important for us to notice the following verse,

15 … Anyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Given that this judgment awaits you and me, and that we do not want to be thrown into the Lake of Fire, it is imperative for us to know how a person is selected to have their name written in the Book of Life. To find out let us reflect upon the reason why God the Father sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth. His purpose is recorded in,

John 3:16-17

""[16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Let us notice the following verses,

16 … In other words, whoever believes in Jesus will not perish, that is be cast into the Lake of Fire, but will have eternal life. This means that their name will be written in the Book of Life.

17 … The whole purpose of Jesus’ visit to this earth was to save us from eternal damnation, that is the Lake of Fire, and give us eternal life with Him.

In previous studies we also found that this gift of salvation, that is eternal life, is free. Specifically, God's gift of eternal life is not something we can earn. It is only through God’s Grace and Mercy that He offers it to us. As a reminder, let us read the following excerpt from Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus,

Ephesians 2:8-9

"[8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast."

In other words, in our fallen state of humanity we are unable to comply with all of God’s commands and ordinances so as to deserve or earn eternal life with Him. For if we could, then, Jesus’ death on the cross was pointless. This truth is clearly revealed to us in,

Galatians 2:21

"[21] I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!""

However, this free gift of eternal life is the most precious possession in all creation. Thus, even though we cannot earn it, it should be more important to us than all the earthly things we possess or desire.

Even though God’s gift of eternal life is free there are,

CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE NEW BIRTH

Since the new birth is a sovereign work of God, we find that He deals with each one of us as He sees fit. Consequently, there is no precise formula or procedure for how and where we are born again. As Jesus told Nicodemus, it is like the blowing of the wind (John 3:1-8).

However, so we are not deceived by the evil one with a false or deceptive spiritual experience, God has provided us key conditions that must be present for the new birth to take place and be genuine.

In reading the New Testament we find that the following five conditions are necessary for the new birth to occur:

1. We must believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God.

2. We must recognize that we are sinners and incapable of saving ourselves, that is we need a Savior.

3. We must believe that Jesus Christ came to save us. In other words Jesus Christ is our Savior.

4. We must believe that on the cross Jesus bore our sins and through His death and bodily resurrection He saved us from them.

5. We must exercise our belief and by faith with all our heart, soul and mind call upon Jesus Christ to save us.

Even though the proceeding conditions are presented in a particular sequence, it is noted that this was out of editorial necessity. However, God is sovereign and chooses the order and circumstances by which He brings those whom He calls to the required beliefs and actions for their new birth.

The first condition necessary for our new birth is that we must believe that,

JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD

To see this, consider what the Holy Spirit wrote by the hand of the Apostle John with respect to Jesus. The Scripture of interest is,

John 3:16

""[16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

The fact that Jesus is the one and only begotten Son of the living God means that Jesus is our Lord and God. Thus, there is no one else who can save us (Acts 4:12).

With this understanding of who Jesus Christ is, let us now read what He once said to the Jews as recorded in,

John 8:23-24

"[23] But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. [24] I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.""

As we read the Scriptures, we find that this belief in itself is not enough. The reason for this is that the Bible shows us even the demons believe in who Jesus is. As an example or witness to this fact, let us read what the demons said before Jesus cast them out of two men and sent them into a herd of pigs.

Matthew 8:28-29

"[28] When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. [29] "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?""

Notice the demons clearly know and believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Obviously, for our salvation and new birth, more is needed.

This brings us to the second condition necessary for our new birth. Namely, we must recognize that you and I are sinners and need the Mercy of God to save us. In other words we must believe that,

WE CAN NOT SAVE OURSELVES, WE NEED GOD’S MERCY AND GRACE TO BE SAVED FROM OUR SINS

To see the importance of this, let us consider the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee.

Luke 18:9-14

"[9] To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: [10] "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' [13] "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' [14] "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.""

Let us notice the following verses,

11-12 … The Pharisees were very learned men in the Jewish faith and had good head knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. In addition, they were extremely careful and diligent to observe all the ordinances and laws of the Temple and Temple services. Consequently, this Pharisee did not consider himself to be a sinner. In fact, rather than humbly approaching God and asking for His Mercy, he was in effect boasting of his righteousness.

13 … The tax collector believed he was a sinner. Consequently, he humbly came before God to seek Mercy.

14 … Notice how God views those who think more highly of themselves than they should.

This issue of recognizing that we, you and I, are sinners is the whole reason why God, through Moses, gave us the Law (which is the Ten Commandments). To see this, consider what the Holy Spirit says to us in,

Romans 3:19-20

"[19] Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. [20] Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."

Let us notice the following verses,

19 … The Law was not given so you and I might be able to justify ourselves through it, that is to show how good we are by complying with its demands. No, it was given to hold us accountable to God by showing us how short we fall to its demands. In other words, it was given to expose our sin.

20 … No one will be declared righteous by observing the law. Instead, through the law we become aware of sin in our lives. In other words, by the Law, we find out the things we have spoken thought or did that were offensive to God.

In summary we find that the Law was not put into effect so we could justify ourselves by complying with it. Instead the Law was placed into effect so that through it we would recognize our sinful state and, as the tax collector, by faith ask God for His Mercy. To clearly see this let us read from,

Galatians 3:24

"[24] So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith."

This leads us to the third condition required for our new birth. Specifically, we must believe and accept the fact that,

JESUS CHRIST IS OUR SAVIOR

Because of God's Love and Mercy Jesus came to this earth to save you and I from our deadly disease called sin. To see this, let us carefully consider what Jesus said during dinner in Matthew's house to the self righteous Pharisees. It is recorded in,

Matthew 9:10-13

"[10] While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. [11] When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" [12] On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [13] But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.""

There are many lessons to be learned from this encounter. However, for this particular study, let us focus on the principle that we must consider ourselves deathly ill with a disease called sin and in need of the doctor, Jesus Christ. If we believe that all is well and we are righteous then, as Jesus implied, He is of no value to us. Also notice that Jesus did not say we are to get better before we come to Him. No, He said we are to come to Him and He will heal our disease, which is save us from our sin. We must remember it was for this very purpose He came. To see this, consider the following words that Paul wrote to Timothy in,

1 Timothy 1:15-16

"[15] Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. [16] But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life."

This now brings us to the fourth condition necessary for our new birth or the salvation of our souls. Specifically, we must believe that,

ON THE CROSS JESUS BORE OUR SINS

In other words, as we saw in an earlier study, we must believe that through Jesus’ death and resurrection He made the perfect atonement for you and me. His resurrection assures us that He is truly the Son of God, is alive and interceding to God the Father for us (Hebrews 7:25). In addition, His resurrection assures us that His sacrifice was accepted and He made perfect and complete amends, for the forgiveness of our sins. In addition, as we discovered in an earlier study, He also paid the price of redemption so we could be released from the bondage of Satan and sin. For us to better understand this glorious gift let us read the following excerpt from Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. The Scripture of interest is,

John 3:14-15

"[14] Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, [15] that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

To better understand what Jesus meant by lifting up the snake and how it applies to His saving us from our sins, let us go to the Old Testament and read about the incident that He referred to.

The incident concerning the snake occurred during the later portion of Israel's exodus from Egypt. At the time of the incident the people of Israel had been travelling in the desert for many years. In fact, by this time Aaron, Moses' brother, had already died. Their journey had been a very difficult one. The majority of the time the only solid food they had for nourishment was the thin wafers of manna that each morning God miraculously provided for them. With this background, let us now read what happened.

Numbers 21:4-9

"[4] They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; [5] they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" [6] Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. [7] The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. [8] The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." [9] So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."

Let us notice the following verses,

4-5 … The people grew impatient and sinned against God and Moses. Rather than believing and trusting that God delivered them from Egypt to save them from Pharaoh’s tyranny, they believed God brought them to the desert to kill them by starvation. Not only did they lose or not have faith in God, but also felt He meant to harm them.

6 … As a result, God became angry and because of their sin He sent poisonous snakes to bite the people. In other words, it was their sin that was killing them.

7 … The people confessed their sin, that is admitted that they were in grave error, and asked Moses to ask God to have mercy and forgive them.

8 … God responded to Moses’ prayer. He told Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole. He also told Moses that whoever would look up at the snake would live.

9 … Moses followed God’s command and God fulfilled His promise.

How does all this relate to us and Jesus? To see the analogy, let us remember that because of the people’s sin, they were bitten by a snake and would die. The same with us when we are bitten by sin … we die,

Romans 6:23

"[23] For the wages of sin is death … "

In the above incident, after the people confessed their sin and asked for mercy, Moses was told to put a snake, which was a symbol of their sin, on a pole for the people to look at. When Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and lifted up, it was our sin that was placed upon His flesh for us to see.

1 Peter 2:24

"[24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, …"

In returning to the incident with Israel, remember that when they looked upon the snake they were healed. It is the same for us. When you and I, through faith, see Jesus on the cross bearing our own personal sins we too are healed. To see this, let us return and complete our reading of,

1 Peter 2:24

"[24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

With all this background, let us now return and read more of the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus.

John 3:14-17

"[14] Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, [15] that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. [16] "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

In reflecting upon the above incident with the snake, it is important to remember that the people confessed their sin and through Moses, called upon God to save them from the deadly bite of the poisonous snakes. So it is with us. Hence, the fifth and last condition for our new birth is that,

BY FAITH IN HIM WE MUST PRAY TO JESUS CHRIST FOR HELP

In other words, as the Israelites confessed their sin, we too must confess to Jesus Christ that we are a sinner. We must confess to Him that we have transgressed against His commands and laws. We must be so sorry for this condition that we not only ask Jesus Christ to forgive us but also save us from the power that sin has over us. In other words, we are to be so fed up and horrified with our unrighteousness that we submit to Jesus Christ's lordship and ask Him for forgiveness and to save us from our sins.

When we do this with all our heart, soul and mind, Jesus Christ will send the Holy Spirit to live and dwell inside us. This is the new birth, which is being born again of the Holy Spirit. This is when we become a child of God and by His Grace and Mercy are saved. This is exactly what Jesus was telling the Jews during the great Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. To see this we go to,

John 7:37-39

"[37] On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." [39] By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive…"

Let us notice the following verses,

37(a) … The thirst Jesus is talking about is not the thirst for physical water but is the thirst for righteousness, holiness and for God.

If you thirst for these things, that is repented and sincerely want to live your life pleasing to God, then

37(b) … Go to Jesus and drink! Cry out to Him for this spiritual water.

38 … If we believe and have faith in Him and go to Him to quench our thirst for righteousness and holiness, Jesus will provide you streams of living water to flow from within you.

39 … This living water is not physical water but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, this is the new birth!

SUMMARY

As we carefully reflect upon the above conditions necessary for our new birth, we find that they are beautifully summarized in,

Romans 10:9-13

"[9] That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. [11] As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." [12] For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, [13] for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.""

This now brings us to the final portion of our study, which is the outcome of our faith, which is

RESURRECTION TO ETERNAL LIFE

The Bible teaches us that this event will occur when Jesus Christ comes for His bride, the church, which is composed of all true born again believers. As we reflect upon this glorious promise the following questions come to mind; "What will happen when Jesus comes to gather His disciples? And what will it be like?"

As we search the New Testament for answers we will find that,

1. When Jesus Christ comes for His church, the true born again believers, both dead and alive, will be gathered up to meet Jesus in the clouds. It is at this time we will be given our new, non perishable spiritual bodies.

2. After we receive our new, non perishable bodies we will receive our eternal inheritance.

3. Our inheritance is not a physical place but a spiritual one.

Let us begin by exploring that,

ALL BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS WILL BE GIVEN A SPIRITUAL BODY

When Jesus Christ returns to this earth all those who belong to Him will be caught up to meet Him in the clouds. To see this let us read the following excerpt from Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica,

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

"[15] According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Now some, as the Sadducees, may ask; “How can this be? How will this occur? How can the dead be raised?” To find out, let us read what the Holy Spirit, through Paul, said to those in Corinth who asked these same questions. We find His response in,

1 Corinthians 15:35-49

"[35] But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" [36] How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. [37] When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. [38] But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. [39] All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. [40] There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. [41] The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. [42] So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; [43] it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; [44] it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. [45] So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. [46] The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. [47] The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. [48] As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. [49] And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven."

Notice that in verse 49 we are told that our new body will be like the one Jesus now has. To be sure that we have understood this verse correctly, let us read what is written in,

1 John 3:2

"[2] Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

Can you just imagine what that will be like? Can you imagine how glorious it will be to see Jesus as He really is and to have a body like His?

In addition, after we have received our new immortal body is when we will also receive our inheritance in God’s Kingdom. This event will occur at

THE FINAL JUDGEMENT

This is the time of judgment for all mankind. To read what will occur let return and reread,

Revelation 20:11-15

Those whose names are written in the Book of Life are those who remained true and faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. They will now finally receive their inheritance, which is eternal life with Him. To see what this will be like, let us read from,

Revelation 21:1-7

"[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. [2] I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. [4] He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." [5] He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." [6] He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. [7] He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son."

In reflecting upon the above there is still one more question to be addressed. This question is, “What will the new Heaven and earth be like that the bride of Christ will live in?” To find out, let us read the description of the vision that God gave the Apostle John of,

THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH

As you read the following Scriptures please keep in mind that God, through John, is using human language to describe a spiritual place. Thus, it contains much imagery and symbolism. With this in mind, let us now read from,

Revelation 21:9-27

"[9] One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." [10] And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. [11] It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. [12] It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. [13] There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. [14] The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. [15] The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. [16] The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. [17] He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. [18] The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. [19] The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, [20] the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. [21] The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. [22] I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. [23] The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. [24] The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. [25] On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. [26] The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. [27] Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."

Revelation 22:1-5

"[1] Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb [2] down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. [3] No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. [4] They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. [5] There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."

THE MESSAGE

With all the above in mind, one may ask; “What is the message of this study? What is the point?” Actually there are two.

The first is directed towards those who may not yet be truly born again. It is given by the Holy Spirit as recorded in,

John 20:31

"[31] … these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

The second point is for those who are truly born again. It is given in,

Colossians 3:1-4

"[1] ... you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. [3] For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Blessed be the Lord forever!

AMEN and AMEN