John 14:2, 32In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2‑3); 1 Thessalonians 1:1010And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10); Revelation 22:16,1716I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:16‑17)
There are three things that come before my mind, and I do not question for a moment that the Holy Ghost brought these three distinct scriptures vividly before me, in connection with the thought of being forever with the Lord.
What a wonderful thought it is for our hearts, that we are waiting for the One who has promised to come for us, to take us out of this scene of trial and temptation and rejection, and to take us home to Himself: to go in with Himself, and not to go out again.
It seems to me that these three scriptures bring before us three distinct things.
Firstly, the One who loves us, and has made us His own with the price of His own precious blood, says He is coming again to receive us to Himself.
Secondly, that we, as having heard His voice, anticipating His return, must be in a waiting position. We are waiting for God’s Son from heaven; and I am sure if it is really true of us, if we are really in a practically waiting position for God’s Son from heaven, everything that we do will be characterized by it. It will be manifest that our citizenship is not here, that it is somewhere else, just where the Word says it is – in heaven.
Though with regard to our sins, and ourselves, we are at rest, and there must of necessity be rest before we can be with Him. We must fully understand that everything has been cleared away, and that we are brought nigh to God by virtue of that work, which was accomplished on the cross, before we can be in a position for the waiting.
It is a thing between our own souls and God Himself; and the only way we get this is by being under the power of the precious Word of God, that we may hear what God says about His Son: that there is nothing at all of a barrier, because everything has been removed by that sacrifice when He by the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God. He made a way for us to get into the very presence of God, and we are left here only to wait for the coming of Him who has said, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.”
And that really leads us on to Revelation 22, there you see it is as we get under the sanctifying power of the Word of God, we get in unison with the Spirit of God. There we find the Holy Ghost brings before us the bright and morning Star. And it is not only the Spirit says, Come, but the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. How sweet and blessed to be in unison with the Spirit, who delights to make Christ precious to our hearts now, and who is waiting for Him to come.
Blessed to be in a position in unison with the Spirit: “The Spirit and the bride say, Come.”
O Beloved, may we know what it is to be so occupied with Himself, where He is, that it may be the very joy of our hearts, in His personal absence, to minister joy to the heart that has endured so much for us! It is our privilege to do so now. How may we do so? By hearing His voice, and being obedient to what He says.
May it be ours, beloved, to know more of what it is to be hearing His voice, just as He says in John 10, “My sheep hear My voice,” and he adds, “they follow Me.”