The Story - Redeemed Epilogue

Praise be to God, because God has won. Jesus of Nazareth is alive once more, and he's with his people in Israel. Talking to them, walking with them, eating with them—it almost feels like old times. Except that now, everyone is aware of Jesus's Godhood. And the saving work of the cross is finished.

But after some time, Jesus knows that it's time for his life on Earth to come to a close. And after forty days with his disciples in Jerusalem (you didn't think we were done with the number forty, did you?) he prepares to say goodbye. 

He gives them a promise. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you," he tells them, "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The Holy Spirit is going to help them, and they will do great things for God.

Having spoken his final words, Jesus is taken up to heaven in a cloud. The cloud hearkens back to the Old Testament image of the prophet Elijah, who was taken to heaven in the same way. Even in Jesus's last actions here on Earth, he's fulfilling a symbol. 

And... Jesus is gone. The work is finished, the story's complete. Right?

Nope. 

Jesus's death on the cross completed the work of salvation in each and every one of his chosen people. But the story's far from over. Soon after the ascension, the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples of Jesus Christ just as he'd told them, and with the Spirit comes power. The disciples are filled with amazing strength and boldness to spread the word of their Savior, and their words are accompanied by miracles—healings like the ones Jesus performed during his own work, speaking in languages that they'd never been taught, and a force of will that withstands all persecution and resistance they're met with. 

No, the story isn't over. Christ's disciples, soon known as "Christians," continue to increase in number and in faith. The church of Jesus Christ grows strong, and thousands and tens of thousands of lives are transformed. And that number only continues to multiply. 

From Jerusalem the church spreads. Taken to the Gentiles by many including the apostle Paul (another man whose story is well worth hearing), the Word travels to Greece and to Macedonia and to Ethiopia and to Rome, and from there more missionaries are sent out. The story of Jesus the Nazarene and holy son of God can't be stopped, and millions are hearing it. 

And now? 

Now, Christianity has spread all across the world. Hundreds (if not thousands) of countries contain members of the body of Christ. The church has grown, and the church has weathered storms.

Sin isn't gone. It becomes more clear every day how pervasive our fallen nature is—but simultaneously it becomes clear how powerful the Spirit's work is to cleanse it. Though we aren't yet perfectly sanctified, we are free of the curse of the garden. We don't have to pay the wages of sin. Because somebody already did. 

The final chapter to this story of redemption, grace, and hope, is found in the last book of the Bible. Revelation, a vision given to the apostle John, is difficult to understand. Visions usually are. But it shows us what's going to happen when Christ returns. 

As we are, we do not know every detail of what's going to happen in the days to come. We can't see the plot twists coming in our own character arcs. We don't know who's a villain and who, ultimately, will be given a redemption story. 

But we know someone who does. 

We haven't read the last chapter yet. But we know what the ending is. Heaven, the wonderful eternity full of peace and rest and glorious fellowship with God. When we'll be perfect, and when we'll finally understand all that God has done for us. 

Do you know that's the epilogue you'll live?

Heaven cannot be for everyone. If that were the case, then God wouldn't be just. Sin *must* be punished, and if you refuse Jesus's substitutionary sacrifice, then you've got to atone for it yourself. 

Christ is coming again. This isn't a myth. The story of the Gospel isn't a fairy tale—fairies aren't real, and God absolutely is. No, this story is true, and it's the most important one that you'll ever hear. 

 

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."

- Revelation 3:20