FOREVER is the KEY to a better understanding of the Scriptures.

   God is an eternal being, therefore everything God does has eternal significance. Words such as eternal,everlasting and forever are found throughout the Bible. They are the heart of God's word and God's plan.

   The word forever appeared when Adam and Eve were still in the garden of Eden. After they ate of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of Eden and away from the tree of life lest they eat of that tree also and "live forever" (Gen.3:22-24). Because of sin access to the tree of life, which is the promise of eternal life, has been denied Adam and Eve and their descendants for 6000 years. Instead of living forever, they have all died; but God's plan did not die!

   There were two vital aspects to that plan from the very beginning: a people who would live forever and a place for them which would endure forever. Both parts of that plan will become a reality when Jesus will appear and say to his loved ones, "Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt.25:34 R.S.V.). Those who will inherit that kingdom live by faith now, resting on the promise of an everlasting future, "the hope of eternal life...promised before the beginning of time" (Titus 1:2 NIV).

   We do not hope for what we already have. Our future lies beyond this world and beyond this life in God's eternal forever!

   The Apostle John had a vision of that heavenly place; he wrote, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God...and I heard a loud voice...saying, `Now the dwelling of God is with men...He will wipe away 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.' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!" (Rev. 21:1-5 NIV).

   John also saw the heavenly throne from which flowed the river of the water of life. By the river was the tree of life. God's people will have access to that water and that tree. They will live forever! (Rev. 22:1-5).

   Meanwhile, death will continue to reign until there is a new heaven and a new earth. God's plan for a kingdom and a people that will exist forever will be fulfilled in God's new creation.

   "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind...I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy...the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more" (Isa. 65:17-19 NIV).

   Although Isaiah's prophecy includes references to things which seem earthly, since crying and tears will be "no more", death will be no more! That prophecy is looking beyond this life and beyond this earth to that which is eternal. Israel's promises were always better than they realized.

   The Apostle Peter tells us to look ahead to God's promise of an everlasting future because this sinful world is destined to be destroyed by the fires of God's judgment. He wrote:

   "The heavens and the earth which now exist are...reserved for fire until the day of judgment...the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up...We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth" (II Peter 3:7,10,13 NKJV).

   Jesus will not reign over a world littered with thousands of years of human failure; that will all go up in flames! Jesus is reigning now in heaven, "at God's right hand, with angels, heavenly authorities and powers made subject to Him" (I Peter 3:22 Williams N.T.).

   And that is where Jesus will remain until all of his enemies are destroyed. "He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death" (I Cor. 15:25-26 NKJV).

   "He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET" (Heb. 10:12-13 NAS).

   The following three quotations speak of the everlasting kingdom over which Jesus will reign. The added terms such as "will never end" confirm the eternal nature of His kingdom.

   "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days...and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom...his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14 KJV).

   "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment...forever" (Isa. 9:6-7 KJV).

  In this third quotation the angel Gabriel is speaking to the Virgin Mary. "You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:31-33 NIV).

   The next quotation tells us when God's people will see and enter that kingdom.

   "When the Son of man comes in his glory...all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world" (Matt. 25:31-34 NIV).

   In that discourse those on Jesus' left are called the wicked, and those on his right are called the righteous. Jesus will say to the wicked, "Depart from me...into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (verses 41,46).

  To enter into the kingdom is to enter into eternal life. That is the inheritance of the righteous, which was God's plan from the beginning. God's people are called: "Heirs of the kingdom" (James 2:5), "Heirs...of eternal life" (Titus 3:7), and "Heirs of salvation" (Heb. 1:14 KJV).

   Our salvation will not be complete until we enter into his presence to live forever with him. "The Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore" (Psalm 133:3)."What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do (Isa. 46:11 NIV).

   His plan is our heritage. We have, "a living hope...an inheritance...reserved in heaven" (IPeter 1:3-4 NKJV). There is strength and power in a "living hope". It lifts us up above the turmoil of this life. By his grace we can overcome. Hour by hour, day by day, he is with us. We are not alone!

   Jesus said to his disciples, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am...I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor...the Spirit of truth... I will not leave you as orphans" (John 14:2-3, 16-18 NIV).

   Jesus did leave and he did send the Holy Spirit to live in each new believer. "You also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession" (Eph. 1:13-14 NIV).

   The Holy Spirit in us is only a deposit on our full and complete deliverance from sin and death. The best is yet to come!

   "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1 NIV). "This hope we hold as the utterly reliable anchor for our souls, fixed in the innermost shrine of Heaven, where Jesus has already entered on our behalf" (Heb. 6:18-20 Phillips).

   Does not the believer have eternal life now? Does not John 3:36 tell us that every one who believes "has eternal life"? Eternal life for now is a hope and a promise, guaranteed by a God who cannot lie. The promise will not become a reality until we receive heavenly bodies which cannot die.

   Before we can live forever in an everlasting kingdom with heavenly beings, we must become heavenly beings. This requires a resurrection from the dead or the transformation of those who are still alive when Jesus comes. This mortal must put on immortality!

   "Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God...We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed...for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality...then the saying that is written will come true, `Death has been swallowed up in victory" (I Corinthians 15:49-54 NIV).

   It is "in the resurrection" that we become "like the angels of God in heaven" (Matt. 22:30 NKJV). Only glorified heavenly beings can live in the presence of God. Even Jesus needed to be glorified! John explained that the Holy Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39). Looking ahead, Jesus prayed, "Glorify Thou Me, Father, with Thine own glory, which I had in Thy presence before the world existed" (John 17:5 The Berkeley Version). Jesus will never put aside his heavenly glory again. "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory" (Matt. 16:27 NIV). We also will be glorified! "The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:43 NIV). If mortals cannot live in the presence of God, neither can they live in the presence of our glorified Savior.

   This is exactly what Jesus was talking about to Nicodemus. Jesus told him that no one can "see" or "enter" the kingdom of God until they have been "born again". Jesus was speaking about the resurrection, when "flesh" becomes "spirit" (John 3:1-6).

   Jesus explained that whatever is "born of the flesh is flesh" and whatever is "born of the Spirit is spirit". Jesus compares one born of the Spirit to the wind, which we can hear even though we do not know where it came from or where it is going. (John 3:6,8). Jesus was describing a heavenly being!

   Resurrection is a birth. Jesus is called "the first born from the dead" (Col. 1:18). We have a new birth in our future which is more dramatic than any spiritual awakening could ever be. The prophet Isaiah spoke of a nation being "born" in a day (Isa. 66:7-9). Isaiah was speaking of the resurrection!

   Jesus, speaking of the post-resurrection time, said, "In the regeneration...everyone who has left houses or brothers and sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold and inherit everlasting life" (Matt. 19:29 NKJV).

   It is in "the regeneration", that time beyond time, when we inherit everlasting life. That is when flesh becomes spirit and mortal becomes immortal.

   In Hebrews, Chapter eleven, we find a list of righteous people beginning with Abel and continuing on through sacred history up to and including the early church. Not one of those mentioned has yet experienced that transformation in which mortals become immortals. That chapter closes with these words, "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised...that only together with us would they be made perfect" (Heb. 11:39-40 NIV).

   The righteous faithful ones from Abel to our day will all be made perfect together, at the same time!

   God's plan will be fulfilled in every detail, in his eyes it is as though it is already done. That is why we read that the believer "has eternal life" (John 3:36). That is why Jesus is called, "The Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth" (Rev. 13:8). And that is why God said to Abraham, "I have made you a father of many nations", before Isaac was even born. Why would God say such things? Because he is "The God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were" (Gen. 17:5, Rom. 4:16-17 NIV).

   If Abraham is a father of nations then we must be his children. How can this be? "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:29 NIV).

   Heirs of what promise? The promise God gave Abraham that he and his descendants would inherit all the land of Canaan for an "everlasting possession" (Gen. 17:7-8).

   This promise was given to a righteous man and only his righteous seed will inherit the land forever. David understood this. He wrote, "The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever" (Psalm 37:29 NIV).

   To this day no one, no nation, has inherited the land as an "everlasting possession", nor can they because this earth, this land, will pass away. No one will inherit that everlasting kingdom land until they do so with Abraham, the righteous man to whom the promise was given. Abraham and his righteous seed will all be resurrected together and that is when God's promise will be fulfilled.

   The present struggle over the land will never bring God's promises to pass; instead, it will lead to Armageddon. (Rev. 16:16).

   God said, "I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen" (Hosea 1:7 KJV). Nor by tanks, planes and guns!

   When Abraham's descendants were about to become a nation, God made a national covenant with Israel; a covenant which could be called an "if" and "then" covenant. God said,"If you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession...a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6 NIV).

   The words "if" and "then" do not appear in an unconditional covenant. A holy nation requires holy people. Never in Israel's history was there a single day in which all of its people were holy. Israel prospered during the reign of David, but their years of glory did not last very long.

   After the temple was completed God said to Solomon, "If you walk before me...as David your father did...I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever...But if you or your sons turn away from me...then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them" (I Kings 9:4-7 NIV).

  Both Solomon and his sons did turn away from God, and the result was a divided kingdom with two separate thrones, and, eventually, they were cut off from that land! God said to Jeremiah, "They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers...they are gone after other gods...The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore...I will bring evil upon them which they will not be able to escape...The Lord called thy name a leafy olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit...and the branches of it are broken" (Jer. 11:10-11, 16 The Jewish Publication Society of America).

   The Apostle Paul's reference to an olive tree with its broken branches is a reference to Israel. He speaks of wild olive branches being grafted in among the branches which remain. These wild branches are Gentiles. When the "full number" of wild olive branches are grafted in, then (and by that process) "all Israel will be saved" (Rom. 11:16-26).

   "Behold, the days come...that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt; which my covenant they broke" (Jer. 31:31,32 KJV).

   Individually or nationally, Israel's only hope is the "new covenant", and that covenant includes Gentile believers. Speaking to Gentile converts, Paul wrote, "You were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one" (Eph. 2:12-14 NKJV).

   "Through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 3:6 NIV).

   There is no provision in the new covenant for two groups of God's people. In the new covenant there is "one body...one Spirit...one hope...one Lord...one faith...one baptism...one God and Father of all" (Eph. 4:4-5).

   The expression "all Israel" is not a reference to every Jew from a racial point of view. "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly...No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly...of the heart, by the Spirit" (Rom. 2:28-29 NIV).

   "They are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham...That is, those who are children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of promise are counted as the seed" (Rom. 9:6-8 NKJV).

   Speaking to Gentile converts Paul wrote, "Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise" (Gal.4:28 KJV).

   Israel as a nation has often been called God's people, but only the righteous in Israel belonged to God. The righteous Gentiles are just as much God's people as the faithful ones in Israel. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus and if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs of the promise" (Gal. 3:28-29 NKJV).

   The only "if and then" clause in the new covenant is this, "If you are Christ's, then you are...heirs of the promise."

   God's plan involves millions of people, and until these millions are born and then reborn by the resurrection, the devil, his angels and the wicked will be able to continue their evil ways. Because God's judgment over sin and evil will include the destruction of this earth, that judgment must be postponed until the full number of those God desires is complete. God's judgment is so horrible that he will execute it only at the end of time. That is why sin and evil are still allowed in our world.

   Illogical ideas arise when God's future kingdom is considered a present reality. One of these is the belief that the kingdom is within us. In a small booklet called "Thought conditioners" by Norman Vincent Peale, #10 is entitled, "The kingdom is within you".

   He writes, "When you are filled with self-doubt, and in the grip of your inferiority complex, don't give up saying, 'I can't do it, I haven't it in me.' You do have a big 'it' within you. You have the kingdom of God within you. God has placed in your personality all the ability you need. You only have to believe in yourself, and strength within you will be released".

   The only place in the Scriptures which speaks of the kingdom as being within us is Luke 17:21. No single statement in the Scriptures is a reliable declaration upon which to build a doctrine. Many versions of the Bible have "in your midst" or "among you" in Luke 17:21, which indicates uncertainty concerning the meaning of Jesus' words.

   That statement by Jesus was given when his enemies, the Pharisees "demanded" him to tell them when the kingdom of God would come (Luke 17:20 KJV). Jesus would never say to his enemies, "The kingdom of God is within you".

   Before we examine Jesus' reply, we need to realize that the coming of the kingdom and the coming of Jesus are one event. Jesus will "Judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom" (II Tim. 4:1 NKJV).

   The first thing Jesus said to the Pharisees was, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation" (Luke 17:20 NKJV). That statement makes very clear what Jesus had in mind in Luke 17:20-24 and Matthew 24:26-28. In both of these references Jesus compares his coming to lightning which flashes across the sky for all to see. Remember, Jesus is explaining his coming and the coming of his kingdom:

   "If anyone tells you, `There he is, out in the desert', do not go out; or, `Here he is, in the inner rooms', do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man' (Matt. 24:26-27 NIV).
 
   "Men will tell you, `There he is!' or `Here he is!' Do not go running after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other" (Luke 17:23-24 NIV).

  Jesus was using the Pharisee's question to show us that his coming and his kingdom will be a spectacular event obvious to everyone on earth. That knowledge will protect us from unscriptural teachings regarding his kingdom or his presence before that time actually comes to pass.

   Another popular view of the kingdom is often called the prosperity doctrine. If we are in the kingdom now, shouldn't we be claiming our kingdom blessings now? To search the Scriptures for those kingdom blessings and to claim them now is a little premature.

   Assuming that we are in the kingdom now produces more than one unusual idea. For instance, "Regeneration comes before faith" and "We do not believe in order to be born again, we are born again in order that we might believe" (pp 72,73 `Chosen by God' by R.C.Sproul).

  Such ideas came about by assuming that we are in the kingdom now. Therefore, regeneration, faith, and being born again must come first. That would be correct if we were actually in the kingdom. Jesus told Nicodemus that one cannot "see" or "enter" the kingdom of God unless one is "born again" (John 3:12). We can see a church building and we can see the people in it, but the church is not the kingdom. We will not "see" or "enter" the kingdom until Jesus will say to us, "Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34). The kingdom is still a future event. The resurrection of the dead and the transformation of the living must take place before we can "see" and "enter" the kingdom.

   Remember, resurrection is a birth. Remember, Jesus is called "the first born from the dead" (Col. 1:18). To "see" and "enter" the kingdom we must be born again. That which is "born of the flesh is flesh", and that which is "born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:8).

   Abraham, Moses, and David, etc. will need to be born again before they can enter the kingdom. They will be born again by being resurrected from the dead!

   An examination of Jesus' words concerning John the Baptist will help us to see this point of view. Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist, yet he who is least in the kingdom is greater than he." (Matt. 11:11 NAS).

   Is a "born again Christian" in the kingdom now? Is the least Christian greater than John the Baptist?

   Paul speaks of those who are saved "so as by fire" (I Cor. 3:13-15). They would be the least in the kingdom if, in fact, they were in the kingdom now.

   John's ministry, on the other hand, was a matter of prophecy. Luke, in writing about John, said, "As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, `The voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord" (Luke 3:3-6 NKJV).

   John was the first one to call Jesus "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" (John 1:29 NKJV).

   It was that same John who boldly reprimanded a ruler concerning his adulterous life, and who eventually ended up in prison and who finally was beheaded for his words. (Matt. 14:2-12).

   John will not be the least in the kingdom. After he is born again by resurrection he will enter the kingdom as a heavenly being. He, along with Abraham, Moses, David and the prophets, will stand head and shoulders above the least in the kingdom - those whose works were all burned up; those who were saved "so as by fire" (ICor. 3:13-15).

   Jesus was comparing the glorified ones in the kingdom with the greatest earthly man. The least in the kingdom will be greater than the greatest person who ever lived on this earth!

   John was great during his life on earth and he will be great in the kingdom. He was not the least in this life and he will not be the least in the life to come.

   God's message to the prophet Zechariah concerning Israel's future was, "In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God" (Zech. 12:8 NAS).

   That is what Jesus was talking about in reference to John the Baptist.

   Now consider the roll call of the saints, those who were counted righteous because of their faith, in Hebrews, Chapter eleven:

   Abel whose close relationship to God caused his own brother to kill him.
   Noah who walked with God and who spent many long years building the ark which kept his family safe during the flood.
   Abraham who left home and country in obedience to God. He was called a friend of God.
   Moses whom God used to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and to whom God gave the laws and statutes which governed Israel when they became a nation.
   David who reigned during Israel's glory years. He was called a man after God's own heart.
   Samuel, and all the prophets, who because of their faith were counted as righteous before God.

   "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some thing better for us, that they without us should not be made perfect" (Heb. ll:39-40 KJV).

   We are not yet "perfect". It is true that God said, "Let us make man in our own image and likeness" (Gen.2:26). But that does not mean we are now just like our Creator. "We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). We read that Adam had a son "in his own image and likeness" (Gen 5:1-3). "Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven" (ICor. 15:49 NIV).

   "Now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward whose who are Christ's at His coming" (I Cor. 15:20-23 NKJV).

   God's plan to make us into his own image and likeness will not be complete in every respect until we stand in his presence in his kingdom to live forever with him.

   The way into the kingdom is through Jesus Christ who said, "I am the way, the truth and the life: no man comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6 NKJV). He also said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out...and this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life" (John 6:37-40 NKJV).

   He is saying to each one of us, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20 NAS). 

   Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with everyone who will open the door. He stands there and knocks, and if we listen carefully we can hear his voice calling to us, for "He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (II Peter 3:9 KJV).

   In repentance we acknowledge our sin and our desire to receive his forgiveness. His death on the cross paid for all our sins, and now all we need to do is recognize our sin and recognize our Savior who is ready to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

   A good place to get acquainted with Jesus is on one's knees. That is where I found him and that is where he found me. Now we walk together, my Lord and I.

   There is an old song with these words, "Get your knees acquainted with the cold and rocky ground. Talk it over with Jesus, and he will make it right".

   There are many terms used in the New Testament to describe the kingdom which should be of interest to all of us.

   The kingdom of heaven.
   The kingdom of God.
   The kingdom.
   Your kingdom.
   His kingdom.
   The kingdom of their father.
   My father's kingdom.
   The kingdom of their father David.
   A kingdom.
   My kingdom.
   The kingdom of Christ.
   The kingdom of his dear son.
   His heavenly kingdom.
   The everlasting kingdom of our Lord.
   The kingdom of our God.

   All these references to the kingdom describe one kingdom. Jesus did not teach the mystery of the kingdoms, he taught the mysteries of the kingdom His! His kingdom is not of this world.(John 18:36).

   The Apostle John could say of Jesus that he had heard him, seen him and even touched him, yet there remained unanswered questions about the future. He wrote, "Dear friends, now we are the 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" (I John 3:2).

   John saw the resurrected Jesus and he had a vision of Jesus in his glorified heavenly form. But even in a vision he falls down before his Savior like a dead man (Rev. 1:12-17). Some day we, with John, shall enter into that heavenly place fit to live with our savior as though we belonged there, for we really will belong there! What a wonderful day that will be!

   "The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away" (Isa. 51:11 KJV).

   See you there!

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