“‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’” (Revelation 21:3-4)

Billions today fear darkness, evil, chaos, the unknown, and all that which is beyond human control. This has been so graphically and painfully demonstrated by the global spread of COVID which apparently is progressing despite all human efforts to end the pandemic. People long for peace and certainty, but in this world none can find it.

The Apostle John saw a vision that provides hope and comfort for all who believe in Jesus. As his vision of the Lord’s Revelation drew to a close, he saw an image of God’s eternal kingdom, a new creation, the bride of Christ. She descends from above, from God, indicating that all of the beauty, purity and radiance she possesses is the work and glory of God. We have been saved and sanctified, made holy by Him. Any works of righteousness we performed were all accomplished by His power and wisdom. We should be comforted by this image of the bride for it demonstrates how highly the Lord loves and values us. And, as His bride, we will be intimately united with Him in eternity.

We now live in this Kingdom. Consequently, we ought to eschew the values and promises of the world for our real citizenship in that heavenly Kingdom. Our membership by faith in that Kingdom is worth infinitely more than all that we strive for in life and all that we hold onto so dearly. It is worth all of our time, effort, sacrifice, and suffering. In His kingdom we find peace, joy, solace, comfort, and healing from all the hurts we have endured in this life. We will never want for anything. We will never be afraid of anything for in the eternal Kingdom there is no darkness, no chaos, nothing to fear. The Lord who loves us is in control. And He is in control now and we trust Him to always do what is right and good.