SEVEN FEATURES OF RESURRECTION GLORY.
By S. A. Blackwood
An Address by S. A. Blackwood, Esq., at the Wimbledon Prophetical Conference, May, 1877. I regard the convening of this Conference as an act that is loyal to our King. It reminds me of those, who, in the days of David, when all the tribes of Israel were at strife, said, “Why speak ye not of bringing the king back?” In all the evangelistic teaching and preaching that we are privileged to have, very little indeed is spoken of bringing the King back, and it is to promote that that we are gathered together for a few days. I believe there are many signs and indications that the King is very near now. We may regard as one sign of it this Conference, and the Conference to be held next week in Freemasons’ Hall, by brethren who, although they perhaps do not agree with us entirely in ecclesiastical or prophetical views, yet are one with us in this—they want to see the King coming back. It was when the word sounded from the ranks of Israel that King David seemed to hear it, and he sent this word immediately unto Zadok and Abiathar, and the elders of Judah, saying, “Ye are my bone and my flesh,” the very terms which our King applies to his church, his mystical body. And he said to them, “Why are ye the last to bring back the king?” The people who ought to have been the first, aye, his own brethren, they were the last, and that touched them, “and he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man.” They came unitedly, and sent this word unto the king, “Return thou, and all thy servants.” So the king returned, and came to Jordan, and Judah came over to meet him, not in the air as we shall meet our King, but to conduct him over Jordan. I trust our King is bowing the hearts of his people in some measure now, so that good results may follow from such gatherings as these. However much our intellectual perception of the different schemes of prophetical interpretation may differ or agree, we must all unite in hoping and praying that a deeper longing and more fervent desire than ever may be awakened that the King may soon come back. It may be that, as in those days the king waited for the invitation, so our King is waiting for unanimity—waiting for all his people to become united in the longing desire and prayer for his early return. God grant it speedily. May these promises make our mouths water, as when the pilgrims reached the land of Beulah, and got some good looks through the telescope, it set their hearts on fire to get to the Celestial City. I wish now to dwell briefly upon a beautiful CLUSTER OF SEVEN PROMISES
contained in Rev. 22: 3–5, which bring before us some of the glorious results of the approaching second advent of our King—seven characteristics of the glorified resurrection saints in the Heavenly Jerusalem, “the many mansions of our Father’s house in Heaven.” Like the patriarchs, we must embrace the promises (Heb. 11: 13), and not merely look at them, and touch them, and then let them go. The seven promises in Rev. 22: 3–5, read as follows:— “There shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads; and there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.” There are all the seven, and there is a centre one, like the centre of the seven-branch candlestick, from which they seem to originate—that one at the beginning of the fourth verse, “They shall see his face.” There is the centre promise—all the others are glorious, but that excels them all; that is the best. Why, it is what you are longing for. It is not the reigning you so much care about, it is not the glory, but the once-marred face and the pierced hand you want to see. It is not the magnificence, but it is the face of your King you want to see. 1. Let me point out those seven promises in their connection. “There shall be no more curse.” This points to the extermination of every accursed thing. It is not merely the curse, but the accursed thing, that the words seem to imply. The promise will then be fulfilled—“The God of peace shall bruise Satan under our feet.” Surely also with Satan, sin, introduced by him, will be removed, every trace of sin’s sad story shall forever pass away. We do not know to what extreme confines of God’s universe Satan, and sin, and they that have part in the lake of fire, will be banished. But here they are entirely lost sight of. “There shall be no more curse.” Nor shall there be any more death. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. There shall be no sin, nor pain, nor crying, nor any such thing. There will be an end of it once for all and forever. How can we picture to our imagination what a time that would be? Satan, sin, and death gone, creation no longer groaning and travailing, the time of the glorious liberty of the sons of God come. In vain, I say, we try to fancy it, but it is real, for we read of these promises, “These are the true and faithful sayings of God.” Then, indeed, “shall the earth bring forth her increase, and God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing.” The thorn, and the thistle, and the briar shall no longer be the memento and witness of the curse that has been introduced by sin. “The earth shall bring forth her increase.” 2. But, again, “the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it” (i. e., in the Heavenly Jerusalem). What does that imply? It denotes perfect government. For six thousand years man has been trying his hand at government. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and I think it is very much the same now—confusion. It does not matter whether it be despotism or constitutional government, parliaments or sultans, wherever you look the world still stands sorely in need of a righteous and equitable government. Man has been trying his hand, and has lamentably failed, and the six thousand years (so far as we can trace the times of man’s existence on this earth) of man’s history bear witness to urgent need for the Desire of Nations to establish everywhere his kingdom. The perfect government of Christ will be an absolutism. He will be the fountain of all authority, and the whole universe will be subject to him. Oh, how glorious that will be! “The throne of God and of the Lamb.” Perfect government. Ah! you see the name of Jesus is there—the Lamb. In some wonderful way, only hinted at in a few parts of God’s word, it seems that not only has Christ by his blood redeemed his church from hell, but has cleansed the very precincts almost of Heaven and heavenly places. He has acquired a right, not only to the headship over his people, but to the dominion of the universe, that God may be all in all. 3. The third feature is, “his servants shall serve him.” Perfect service! Why, that is what you long for. You are even now trying to serve him. You want to do so, but how often you are hindered; how often the weakness of your head and your heart hinders you; how often the feebleness of mind and body—how often the rising up of sin in your soul hinders you; but then you shall have no let or hindrance in his service. Then the prayer you have so often uttered, that you want to “serve him in holiness and righteousness all your days,” shall have its complete fulfilment. Perfect government will bring about, as its immediate result, perfect service. You will never be wearied then—never tire in his service, never tire of his service. Yes, our glorious lifetime throughout eternity will be characterized by continual service. You will not want to be idle then; for it will be a time of glorious activity, and his servants shall serve him in his temple day and night forever. The whole universe of God is our Father’s house, and I do not know whether our sphere of service will be among worlds millions and millions of miles distant, but we shall doubtless fly swiftly, like angels that excel in strength and that do his commandments and hearken to his voice and his word. What a change from the wretched, imperfect, lukewarm service that you and I are so conscious of! Selfishness comes in continually. But this is to be swallowed up in Christ, and self is to be lost sight of in his glorious service. 4. And now comes the center promise, “They shall see his face.” The Queen of Sheba said of King Solomon’s servants, “Happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee.” We are told that they continually saw the king’s face. But they had to go out of the king’s presence sometimes to get their meals, and to do his errands, and to obtain rest. Not so, however, with our service hereafter in glorified resurrection bodies. We shall always be in his presence, delighting ourselves in the nearness of the King. Oh! what a sight that will be to behold his face, which was marred more than any man’s; that brow that was crowned with thorns for you, for me; the countenance from which the cruel soldiers plucked off the hair! Well may we exclaim with David, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness.” You have never been satisfied yet;—you have tasted the streams of earth, and have found that this world cannot give durable satisfaction. Even in the moments of most prayerful communion we only see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face. Blessed day! “Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” come quickly. 5. “His name shall be in their foreheads.” Perfect likeness, perfect resemblance, will follow an uninterrupted vision of the King’s face. That is what we want. Has not God put down deep into your heart the desire to be like him—a longing for holiness—a consciousness of unholiness? Nothing will completely satisfy your soul but the sight of Jesus Christ and the changing of your body of humiliation into the likeness of his glorious body, every part of it being wonderfully and fearfully made anew and transfigured (like the bodies of Moses and Elijah when they stood on the mount), and permeated and penetrated with Christ’s likeness, because his name will be in your foreheads. “We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” It is because we do not see him now as he is that we are so unlike him. It was when men could see him a little more clearly as he is that they were transformed. It was when Moses had spent forty days and forty nights with God on Mount Sinai that the skin of his face shone, though it was only in a ministration of condemnation. It was when Stephen looked into Heaven and saw the Son of man standing at the right hand of God that his very enemies saw his countenance as the face of an angel. It is when men look at Christ that they become transfigured as he was. If you and I look more constantly and more steadfastly into Heaven, turning away our eyes from beholding vanity, we shall be changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,”—no gradual process; not like the gold, which now has to go through the furnace; not as the china, which has to be passed through the fire again and again; not as all earthly things, that have to be refined—but in the twinkling of an eye, in a moment, at the sound of the trump. When Christ comes, we shall be changed, and shall perfectly reflect his image. His name shall be in our foreheads. The name is the character; the character of our Father, our God, our Saviour, will be perfectly reflected on us; and then unto him shall be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. When his name shall be in your forehead, you will then never know what it is to be ashamed of Christ. We know now how the fear of man bringeth a snare, and how, sometimes, unlike true soldiers, almost we would fain take the number off our helmet or forage-cap and not let it be seen to what regiment we belong, when ashamed to confess Christ as fully as we ought before men; but then there will be no temptation to be ashamed of Christ. We shall perfectly resemble him, and perfectly reflect him. In our foreheads will be the character of God, and we shall be unmistakably recognized and manifested as partakers of the Divine nature. 6. “And there shall be no night there, and they shall need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light.” Here we need the light of the sun and the night of rest; but no material light will be required there. You will never be fatigued, or want to go to sleep. Your head and heart will never ache, and, still better, there will be no spiritual night. Believers now have their times of darkness, and they long for uninterrupted enjoyment of the light of God’s presence. Well, there “the Lord God will give them light.” There will be no night of perplexity or misunderstanding. Christians will not differ or strive about points of doctrine, or ordinances, or church government. All will be harmoniously settled then. There will be no night, because we shall have the mind of God without the weakness and imperfection of sinful flesh. What a blissful prospect! If there is anything that makes the heart of a man of God ache, it is strifes, and misunderstandings, and harsh judgments, and the cruel interpretations sometimes put on Christians’ conduct by their brethren. But perfect light will then enable the saints to understand one another in one moment, intuitively, “for the Lord God giveth them light.” It is not a borrowed light nor a created light, for it will come straight from God himself. I do not know what those words imply in their fulness, but I know that they contain everything that can be needed to satisfy and gladden the hearts of God’s children; for God is Light, and Jesus is the brightness of his glory and the express image of his Father. 7. “And they shall reign forever and ever,”—though they are servants and serve him day and night in his temple, yet they reign. The saints shall be seated on thrones of royal dominion, and wear unfading crowns of glory, and sway sceptres of irresistible authority. To speak of these topics is exhilarating and refreshing to our souls. Let us cherish these seven promises in our hearts. Let us look up and lift up our heads, for our redemption draweth nigh. What days we are living in! Surely there is enough to make us cry with increased earnestness,—“Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” come quickly. It may be that you and I will be among those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, and shall be changed from mortal to immortal without dying (1 Thess. 4: 16, 17; 1 Cor. 15: 51, 52). God help us all to stand upon our watch tower, and be looking, and longing, and waiting, and praying for Christ speedily to come to be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believe.—Christian Herald, London, Eng.