Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good besides You."
As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight."
(Psalm 16:1-3)
Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear
you. (Isaiah 25:3)
Simulation (noun): imitation of a situation or process.
For those who knew the Lord here on earth, they will no longer worship Bel or Nebo or Molech or Allah or Buddha or utopian social programs or capitalistic growth possibilities or ancestors or animistic spirits. Instead they will come in faith to the banquet on God’s mountain. And they will have the veil of sorrow removed and death shall be swallowed up and the reproach of God’s people will be removed and tears shall be gone forever.
With some help from the faithful yet mortal, J. Piper, he highlights the setting for understanding the vision of Isaiah 25:3:
“Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you.” In other words, God is stronger than the “strong peoples” and he is so powerful and so gracious that in the end he will turn ruthless nations to revere him. So the picture Isaiah gives us is one of all nations turned to God in worship, a great banquet for all the peoples, the removal of all suffering and grief and reproach from the nations, who have become his people, and the final putting away of death forever."
This triumph is sure because God is doing it, therefore we can be certain of it! But let us realize with sober minds and hearts that this current drama is a dress rehearsal for the future reality of eternal triumph and rest with the Lord. We are children of the Lord and in the here and now our lifespan must be spent evangelizing, praying, spending dollars, writing letters, messages and posts not in vain but to advance the Lord's kingdom. "The triumph is sure." The ending scenes of this earthly saga is found in Revelation 20, it's amazing and complicated but it is exciting and once more it is the Lord's doing:
"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because fo the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for war; the number of them like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was throne into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds (2 Cor 5:10). And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Blessings!
Reference
Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible
John Piper, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-triumph-is-sure?utm_campaign=Solid+Joys&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=206715197&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9tjeTEr_I9lA-FsdzlqdJWgAKzEqlFCC9CyaUUZtXK3VEoRRMHxfMddgERLgfRCinbqtLAI4xKNG7A-NhZh7CkWequ0A&utm_content=206715197&utm_source=hs_email. March 14, 2022
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