But God Never Gave Up

"And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.' And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then He said to me, 'Write: "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!"' And he said to me, 'These are the true sayings of God.'"
(Revelation 19:6-9)

God's restoration - perfect and complete.

It is important to realize that when Jesus comes for us - His Bride - it is because God's redemptive plan is complete. The Church - the Bride of Christ - is being returned to the glory and majesty God intended for her before sin entered in.

When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, not only was their action blatant disobedience, they were also saying that they could do things on their own, independent of the resources and wisdom of God. No longer were they righteous before God - sin had darkened their soul separating them from a Holy God.

But God never gave up.

From that time forward He has been working to reconcile with His children, to restore lives individually AND restore the Church corporately in preparation for the Great Day of His coming.

The Bride of Christ has to be pure, holy and acceptable before the Lord. That leads us to Hebrews 12:26,27, "He has promised saying, 'Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also heaven.' Now this, 'Yet once more,' indicated the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain."

Have you noticed that there is a whole lot of shaking going on?

The Lord is sifting and shaking the Church to see what will remain. Christians are experiencing extreme hardships, even oppression, at an alarming rate. I believe the Lord is saying, "Choose this day whom You will serve. Do you trust Me or not? Do you love Me or not? Am I your Lord or not?"

Tough questions.
Piercing questions.
Necessary questions.

I love Revelation 19:8, "And to her (the Church) it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clear and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."

The priests of the Tabernacle were dressed in fine linen as they went about ministering to the Lord. The Bride of Christ, also, will be dressed in fine linen, because all that will remain of their lives are their righteous acts. The "shaking" removes anything unrighteous.

Now, close your eyes and open your ears. Picture yourself in the Presence of your King. Your garment is whiter than snow, crafted of a priest's fine linen. You're standing before His glorious throne and all around you are the voices of a great multitude. Their praise sounds like many waters - yes, like the sound of mighty thunder! And there before you is your Lord. You are overcome with joy and gratitude. You stand in awe of what He has done and you can't help yourself. You must join in the chorus, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory!"

For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns. Alleluia!

Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Father, this scripture fills me with wonder. It is beyond our comprehension, yet it is our reality! The day WILL come when we stand before your throne and worship You. It's not a fairy tale. It's not somewhere in the sweet by and by. It is Truth - Your Truth! Teach us to reverence You, to stand in awe of Your holiness. And thank You for shaking away the impurities so that all that remains is righteousness before You. I know that's because of Your love. Thank You Lord for never giving up on us.