One thing that can so easily be overlooked in our curiosity to rightly divide eschatology (the timing and mechanics of end time events) is this one most certain promise: we shall be with The Lord! Paul told the saints in Corinth: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8) To the saints in Thessalonica, Paul wrote that at the rapture of the Church, those who “are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them [who are asleep] in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) In both of these passages, the ultimate promise is that we will be with The Lord forever.
Heaven is going to be a beautiful place, for sure, but the most wonderful promise related to heaven comes from the words of Jesus Himself: “And 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 14:3) Heaven is the place where we will dwell with Jesus forever.
We are told that during the Kingdom age all believers shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years (Revelation 20:4). The Lord “died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” (1 Thessalonians 5:10) At the end of the tribulation period, “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also [the previously raptured saints] appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4). The emphasis of the eternal state of the saints is the fact that we will be with The Lord forever. “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29)
Oh that we may learn how to cultivate that awareness of His ever-abiding presence (Acts 17:28)! “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever” (John 14:16). “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11). “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians 13:14). Forever being with my Lord is the most glorious promise of Scripture!
