February 1: THREE SURPRISES

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4

Today, the scene moves from earth to Heaven. It is important to understand that a judgment distinguishing the saved from the lost must be made before Jesus comes to claim His bride. How else would those who have died in Christ and those yet alive who are truly faithful to Him be selected? The saved (both the resurrected dead and the living faithful) will all be caught up together . . . to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). A key verse for grasping the truth of the pre-advent judgment is found in Revelation 22:12. Jesus says, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”

Our verse today is leading to another phase of judgment that will confirm the total transparency of our God. It is often said that there will be three big surprises at the gathering of the saints when Jesus comes. The first surprise is that YOU are there! The overwhelming miracle of the Lord’s forgiveness and restoration (also known as justification and sanctification) in your own life is beyond humbling. In this earthly life, He allows trials to cure us of our shallowness and carnality (see James 1:2-3).

The next surprise in Heaven is that you see someone that, by all the recollections that you can muster, should not be there. A prime example of such a surprise (in reality, a jolt!) would be the sight of Paul by Stephen (see Acts 7:57-8:1). Will Stephen wonder if God has made a mistake? Will someone see you and think that a terrible error has occurred?

The third surprise is likely to come in slow-motion. In looking around, everyone there will realize that there are people missing that had given the positive impression on earth that they were saved (Titus 1:16). Many will wonder why certain others are not there.

In John’s vision of Heaven’s new arrivals, the Holy Spirit highlights to him those who had lost their lives for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God. We already know of countless millions who were tortured and murdered “in the name of God” by the church during the Dark Ages. But there are many more to come, once the mark-of-the-beast crisis comes upon the world (see Revelation 6:11; 13:14-17). They will not have worshiped the beast or his image. They will not have believed — in their foreheads — the false message, nor will they have complied with it just to get along (actions symbolized by hands). Many suffer adversity, inconvenience, derision, false accusations, and heartbreak for their faith; but these will have suffered the most.

The court was seated. And the books were opened. Daniel 7:10b

For further study: 1 Corinthians 4:5; 6:2-3; Revelation 20:12