OUR PROMISE OF VICTORY AND ETERNAL LIFE
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It is the Throne Room of God. The Ancient of Days sits upon His heavenly throne ablaze with fire. A river of fire flows before Him. His hair and His clothes are white with the purity of snow. Countless angels surround Him and attend to Him.
“There before me was One like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” – Daniel 7:13-14
The prophet Daniel experiences a vision similar to the visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel and John… privileged entry into the divine presence of the Almighty One and the Lamb of God. Daniel is shown a view of what is to come. The end times have arrived… prophecy has been fulfilled… and judgment is about to take place.
Christ has won the victory and reigns in omnipotent glory and power. All authority and dominion belong to Him. Every knee has bowed to the One whose kingdom is without end. He is the Conqueror who has come to judge the world. All await as the courtroom of heaven opens.
“The court was seated, and the books were opened.” – Daniel 7:10
It is the scene of judgment… and the books are ready to be opened. What are these heavenly books? These books include records of the lives of everyone who has ever lived, both the saved and the unsaved. Yet the most important book to be opened is the Book of Life.
When we come to believe in Christ… when we accept His grace, His unmerited favor… when He becomes our Savior and Lord, our names are entered into the Book of Life. This book is the heavenly register of all who accept Christ’s free gift of salvation. We are marked as His for all eternity. His victory becomes our victory.
“All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before My Father and His angels that they are Mine.” – Revelation 3:5
Believers are the victorious ones who have stood firm in their faith in Christ the King. Our trust in Him ensures our eternal citizenship in heaven. He promises that our names will forever be in the Book of Life. We will be clothed in white, pure and set apart for God. Jesus will commend us before our Heavenly Father and the countless angels before His throne… the highest of honors!
“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.” – Revelation 20:12
Christ presides over this day of judgment where everyone’s life is reviewed. All are judged according to how they have lived their lives… whether for God or for themselves. Works, no matter how good and noble, cannot save. The critical question will be… “Have you trusted in Jesus Christ for your salvation?” Unbelievers will receive their final judgment… eternity apart from the Savior they chose to reject.
For believers, judgment is not a time to be feared, for we are saved by the precious blood of the Lamb. Yet we will stand before our Lord to give an account of our lives… all our thoughts, our words, our deeds. We will receive heavenly rewards based on how closely we followed His will for us… and what we did with our spiritual gifts, opportunities and blessings.
“The Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… shone with the glory of God… The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 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… 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 21:10-11, 22-23, 27
We trust in this heavenly promise… a promise beyond compare… that our eternal life will be in the presence of our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. We enter the Holy City only because of what Jesus our Savior has done for us. Our names, written by the hand of God in the Lamb’s Book of Life, secures our entrance into heaven for all eternity. This is the hope, the promise, the victory of all true believers.
