Going Home

In Isaiah 4, God gives us a picture of His Millennial Reign in Jerusalem.

"... the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel." - Isaiah 4:2b

There will be a lot of fruit in Israel in the last days, and it will be their pride and joy.

Have you been to Israel? Did you know that they are one of the chief exporters of fruit in the world?!

This has been prophesied about in multiple places in the Old Testament, and now it's coming to pass! We're seeing this happen before our very eyes. The time is short!

In that Millennial Reign, Jerusalem will be filled with believers of Christ.

"And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem." - Isaiah 4:3

Everyone who has been recorded for life. Revelation 20 talks about a book of life. Everyone who has put their faith in Jesus is recorded in this book. In that Millennial Reign, those will be the people filling Jerusalem. What a glorious day that will be!

God will wipe away all of the sin, and His glory will fill the city! There will be a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, reminding us of God's glory and His presence covering us. He will be a refuge for His people!

Wow! That's all I can say when I look ahead to this day. What a glorious day that will be.

As Christians, this is what we look forward to. We anticipate being evicted from our tent to join God in Heaven. We're in transit, just waiting to be relocated!

"Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13-14

As Paul said, we press on, seeking to draw closer to God, anticipating the day where we will be called upward to God, to receive our inheritance, our prize of eternal life in God's presence.

If you're feeling down, if you're struggling, if you feel as if you've lost hope, remember this!

This is not our home! We are on our way to be with God! I remember the words of a song by Building 429,

"All I know is I'm not home yet, this is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong."

We're going to be with Him one day!

But look at verse 4 of Isaiah 4 with me.

"when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgement and a by a spirit of burning."

The first half of that verse is great! Our sins will be washed away. We'll be made white as snow! But when we read the second half, it doesn't seem as pleasant.

A spirit of judgement, and a spirit of fire...

God will deal with our sin, and make us more like Him, but it often takes burning away the parts of us that don't belong any more.

"For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives." - Hebrews 12:6

"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." - Hebrews 12:11

God will allow fire to try us, to burn parts of us that don't belong. God will turn up the heat to make us more like Him.

Consider the analogy that's made in a  few different places in Scripture. We're like gold being refined.

When gold is refined, the heat is turned up. As the gold gets hotter and melts, any impurities rise to the surface, and the refiner is able to remove them.

The refiner knows that the gold is pure when he can see his reflection in it.

We are gold being refined.

God turns up the heat so that He can remove our impurities, and He will keep going until we resemble Him. Until He sees His reflection in us.

So next time you feel it getting hot around you, don't complain. Remember that the purpose is to make you more like Jesus. This is part of your journey to being face to face with your Creator.