I have been reading What Happens After I Die? by Michael Allen Rogers. My review of this book will be published at The Gospel Coalition website in the near future. I will not expound on the many benefits of this book here, but I do want to point you to a particular section that I found encouraging and challenging.
In his chapter titled The Final Heaven Inaugurated, Rogers expounds on the momentous event of Christ’s final return. He writes;
No eye on earth will miss this! All the splendor, honor, and authority presently belonging to Jesus as Lord will be supernaturally visible to the entire world. Christ will not display more glory than he already has, but finally all mankind will see what is true about him as he now is. Every eye will see him and every knee will bow to him…When he appears, the present dimension will be ripped away, and Christ will be manifest to all eyes throughout the earth (See Matt. 24:27).
He continues:
Tragically for many, that recognition of Jesus lordship will come too late. They will recognize him as Lord without adoring him by faith. But for those who greet him with settled faith, this hour means a transformation of everything. God’s great saving work will be concluded in us and all around us. Enemies of Christ will be banished entirely from his presence, and his loving subjects will step forward to be invested as knights and ladies of his eternal court, enfolded into the brightness of his kingly splendor (pg.130).
What a wonderful picture of what is to come for the children of God! What a terrible picture of what is to come for those who reject Christ’s kingship. Oh that we would long for those around us to intimately know and lovingly adore Jesus as their savior, king, and treasure!
DR. MATT CAPPS 