davidbowerkingwood

And Your Participation is a Sure Thing!

Many years ago I read for the first time “Childhood’s End,” a novel by Arthur C. Clarke; much later I learned the book was based on one of Clarke’s earlier short stories entitled “Guardian Angels.” I saw the book had remarkable parallels to Bible prophecy and the reason I mention it here was the emergence of a generation of humans that were transformed by an outside force and removed from the earth.

While this was but one of the parallels I saw it reminded me of the last generation of Christians who will be removed from earth by the Rapture of the Church; it would appear Clarke’s inspiration for this book came from the pages of the Bible.

As Christians we have in fact begun a process of transformation that shall ultimately result in profound changes to our entire being; we are truly “A Work in Progress.” Even now as we labor in our mortal bodies and struggle with the adversities presented by our sin nature and a world dominated by Satan we are being conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Change is Inevitable

A time of release is coming; our change is inevitable and will fully involve all of us; even past generations of Christians who have left their mortal bodies behind many years ago. This release will apparently apply to the entire creation as well when we consider Romans 8:19-22 where it is written:

“¹⁹ For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. ²⁰ Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, ²¹ the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. ²² For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

Paul then goes on to write:

”  ²³ And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. ²⁴ We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. ²⁵ But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)”

I’m sure each of us can relate to the groaning Paul mentions; I receive letters from all over the world from Christians who are frustrated and tired of sin in their lives and are looking for lasting relief from the onslaught of sin. It saddens me to have to tell them there will be no relief from the attacks of sin as long as they inhabit their mortal bodies. We live out our lives as soldiers on a spiritual battlefield and attacks by the “evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” are a part of the reality of our lives.

Spiritual Reinforcements

No one knows our situation as children and soldiers better than our heavenly Father and He has made excellent provisions for us to cope with the adversities we face and handle them with success. We have powerful allies in the highest of places who are committed to helping us fight the good fight and after the battle is over to still be standing firm!

Paul explains this in Romans 8:26-28 where it is written:

“²⁶ And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. ²⁷ And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. ²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Paul’s conclusion for all this is given in Romans 8:18 where it is written:

“¹⁸ Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

We are in the fortunate position of knowing how this story ends; although there may be times of testing, we win; the outcome is certain and we’re on the winning side! We should join with Paul in saying what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later! Let Paul’s advice in Philippians 4:4 dominate your thinking: “⁴ Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!”

The Battle Continues

The Bible gives us clues as to what will happen but virtually nothing is said about when it will happen. The final conflict, the Battle of Armageddon, will be resolved by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ at the time of his Second Advent; by that time the church will have been removed from the field of battle for several years; the last seven years belong to Israel as promised to them by God.

We must then wait patiently and confidently, serving and honoring the Lord with our lives, until we are called home either individually or collectively; knowing we like Daniel and Job will arise to our inheritance at the end of the days, stand on the earth and see God with our own eyes in glorious freedom from death and decay.

Hallelujah!