WAITING: The Story of the Completed Church

Revelation 7: 9-17, Revelation 19: 6-10

In Revelation we begin to hear from John, cast out to an island to be exiled, who is hearing and receiving a clear vision from God. Revelation is considered to be apocalyptic scripture; simply a vision of the end of time. In this vision, God begins to spell out the completion to His plan. Everything from Jesus reigning on His throne as the Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of the world, all the way to Heaven coming to Earth and God restoring creation, including us, as it was meant to be. God has always had a plan for His people. He sent His Son to live the life we couldn’t, die the death we deserve, resurrect to defeat death and now restore things to the way they should be, in His design through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. 

In His perfect plan, the Church is plan A for bringing hope to the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the coming Kingdom of God. However, the Church is not complete, it is a work of progress and God has a plan for its completion. All over Revelation there are visions of what the completion of the Church will be like, but we are going to look at two of them a little closer. Both in Revelation 7 and 19, John receives a vision for what the Church will look like. Here are some key verses:

“A great multitude of every nation that no one could number.. From EVERY nation, ALL tribes, languages and peoples, standing before the throne and before the lamb” (Revelation 7:9, Emphasis added)

“Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure… Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” (Revelation 19:7-9)

The first thing highlighted here, and really one of the first things highlighted about the completion of the Church, is the beauty of its diversity. God is saying that the Great Commission will be fulfilled before the end just as Jesus promised in Matthew 24. EVERY nation will be represented. ALL tribes, languages, and peoples. The Church will be made up of vastly different people, that is in God's design. His Gospel has always been for ALL people. And one day we will all get to stand together before the throne worshipping God. How beautiful that will be. However, it does not just end here. Throughout scripture we see that Joy comes from the Lord (Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 43:4, Acts 13:52) and Charles Spurgeon notes that that last part of the verse, “standing before the throne and before the lamb” is no exception. He says this, “God has a throne, He sits upon it, He rules over all things, and all things do the work He commands. The central thought of Heaven, as the completed Church, is divine sovereignty, in this there is immense Joy.” It could not be put much better than that. To get to stand with people from all over the world, from all of time, and be ruled by a perfect, loving, Holy God IN HIS PRESENCE. This should give us incredible joy and hope for what the Church is going to be and can be now. 

In the second scripture, Revelation 19, we get a different picture of the Church… the Church as a bride. The idea in this imagery of a marriage is that there is a coming union with Christ Himself that is so close and intimate the only comparison we can comprehend is marriage. In both 2 Corinthians 11:2 and Ephesians 5:25-32, it talks about how the Church is currently the fiance of Jesus Christ longing and waiting for the wedding day. So I want us to do a little mental picturing for a second. Whether you are already married, engaged, or single you can think about this. Picture a wedding day, maybe it was yours, a friend, or one you hope to have… picture it from the very first moments with all of its anticipation. This is a day of incredible celebration of two becoming so close they are considered one. Your best friends, your family, the presence of God are all together; feasting, partying, dancing, and rejoicing. What an incredible day. Now picture all of it, even better, for ETERNITY… let that sink in. Even more joy than you could ever imagine experiencing, with people from all of history, from every nation… F O R E V E R. Charles Spurgeon, second time I’ve mentioned him now because he writes a lot about this, like to think of this as similar to the story of Cinderella. We are currently seen as less than compared to the world, but God is preparing us to be His bride. Even if this seems hidden to the world, even if the Church is full of people the world would reject, we are being prepared to be the most beautiful, chosen, and holy bride. 

Now, what can we be longing for, but can we be experiencing now? Here are some quick thoughts:

• God is actively preparing us to be His bride, to be married to Him. Meaning God is actively working in us, but has already set us apart. 

• We can be excited about our eternal celebration of being in the presence of Jesus and perfectly ruled by Jesus. 

• We can be excited to be with all the saints of all time in eternal bliss and enjoyment of the Lord. We can be excited about the diversity of God's salvation and how He has created us all uniquely, yet equally under Him. 

• Right now, we can be thankful for our confirmed identity as chose children of and the bride of Christ

• Right now we can pursue the joy of knowing Jesus is on the throne, rules over all, and is working all things out for good. 

  • We can literally have an otherworldly joy and hope that sets us apart. 

  • When the certainty of the world as we know it is unknown, the certainty of the Church is known. 

• The world desires perfection, yet misplaces their hope and puts it in themselves, in government, in global justice, but the Church places it in the only place that will actually deliver on the promise of perfection; Jesus Himself as King, Lord, Friend, Redeemer.