Topic: Home At Last – Discover the Book by Dr John Barnett 13 June 2022
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Home At Last
As the end of days approaches, you can find hope as you look for the returning Jesus!
“Many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” -Matthew 8:11, emphasis added
Are you getting ready for the ultimate banquet? The greatest party of all time is approaching! The King of Kings, the Lord of the Universe, is preparing a wedding feast like none other! In the most breathtaking location imaginable, He is spreading an immense table. The greatest names of all times will be present and seated. At dinner the invited guests will be rubbing shoulders with Adam and his lovely wife, Eve. One of their twin sons, Abel, will be sitting with them as well as Seth and his wife. Not too far away will be the amazing preacher, the earliest known prophet, Enoch and family. His great grandson Noah and family will be nearby. On down the long table lavishly set will be the likes of Job and clan, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph- with all their various family members. What a reunion as Moses and Elijah walk around talking with guests and visiting with old friends!
Further on, Jeremiah sits in rapt attention with Daniel and Isaiah as Ezekiel points out again the wonders they see about the Banquet Hall-angelic creatures moving about, choirs of angels singing, and the brilliance of the galaxies radiating the glory of God shining down upon the gathered saints. Interspersed with all these Old Testament saints will be multitudes of beaming faces well known to us. Matthew and the rest of the twelve will be at the entrances to the twelve gates that the guests will stream through on their way to be seated at the banquet. Paul, at one gate, is weeping for joy as he finally sees so many of his spiritual children and grandchildren. Because he died before many of them had grown up, it is a very precious reunion. At another gate, John also weeps for joy as he returns to this place he saw from Patmos.
Saints of all the ages are taking their places; a name card with a special name (uniquely theirs, and known only by them and their Savior) marks each seat.
And then the party begins. With glorious enraptured souls the hallelujahs begin to echo down the aisles of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Expectantly, each guest personally invited by Jesus looks up. And then they see Jesus, the glorious and majestic Savior, as He comes to each and all, calling them by name, extending His nail-scarred hands, and touching them with His love. We have come to the culmination of the desires of all hearts of all saints of all time. It is the wedding banquet, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and it is the scene of Revelation 19 when those who have loved Him, and waited all their life for Him, honor Jesus. It is the assembly of those who have and love the testimony of Jesus.
It is hard to put these things on a time line chart, however. God knows the end from the beginning. What that means is that when you are God, and you are outside and above time, the beginning of Creation, the present time, and the consummation of all things are all equally happening at the same time. We are linear: when we try to illustrate time, we draw a straight line and mark events on it. But to God, past, present, and future occur all at the same time-the end and the beginning are all equally before Him. If you think about it, in a very real sense, that means that at this banquet Enoch, Paul, and the people at the end of the Tribulation will all get there at the same time we do. Chronologically, it is different times; but in eternity it is all happening at the same time. Thus, John was actually seeing these events because everything is unfolding before God simultaneously. Amazing!
In physics, time is a different dimension than space and matter. There is something beyond that that the scientists cannot quite quantify-and it is God. I believe that everyone is going to get to the banquet table at the same time. That is why I don’t believe that the bride of Christ refers to only the church; I believe it encompasses all the saints of all time. The Bible never specifically says that the bride is the church, only that the church is an espoused virgin and is going to be married (1 Corinthians 11:2), like Ephesians 5 says. Israel is His wife, but the saints are all collectively coming to the marriage supper and will be married to the Lord in Christ. What these verses picture is a marvelous event!
God does not distinguish between pre-Flood saints, pre-Abrahamic saints, pre-Mosaic saints, pre-New Testament saints, pre-Tribulation saints, pre-millennial saints, and pre-eternity saints. In heaven, there is one great merger of them all
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