Revelation 22:4 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Revelation 22:4

Comments

The future state of man will be very different from his current state, as shown by the great change in his access to God. When Moses asked to be shown the glory of God, the Lord told him that no man should see his face and live. Even Moses could only be given a limited view of the Lord, described in anthropomorphic terms as the ‘back’ of God. But why was this limitation necessary? Does it apply to the Son as well as the Father? Is it true only while we remain in our mortal state and not afterwards in heaven?In his gospel, John assures us that no man has seen God the Father at any time, but that ‘the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him’ (John 1:18). This must be applied to every single appearance of God in the Old and New Testament. Our God remains the invisible God, even when he reveals himself to human beings. It is only through the Son that God has ever appeared to man, for the Son of God is the member of the Godhead chosen to be incarnate. Without the incarnation, even the appearance of the Son would not have been possible. The theophanies of the Old Testament anticipate the incarnation and reveal the pre-incarnate Son of Man. The Father remains beyond our comprehension because, as finite beings, we can have no direct knowledge of his infinite glory. Only the Son can know the Father for only the infinite mind of the Son can comprehend the infinite being of the Father. The Son also is infinite and cannot be fully known by us. However through the incarnation God’s infinite being has been made accessible to us in that nature which was deliberately created in the image of God for this purpose. The Son reveals the Father to us so that we can have true, albeit incomplete knowledge of God. It will be the business of eternity for us to explore the infinite being of God in the person of the Son. Yet even in his incarnate form no mortal man can see the glory of the Son of God and live. At his first coming Christ hid his glory, and ‘made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men’ (Philippians 2:7). The beatific vision of his glory is reserved for heaven. There in our glorified state we will be able to see him face to face. That weakness which Daniel (Daniel 10:8) and John (Revelation 1:17) felt, will be gone. Though these two men were, like Moses, of pre-eminent godliness in their day, they were unable to bear the sight of the glorified Lord, even in a vision, until they had been strengthened (Daniel 10:19; Revelation 1:17). The consciousness of sin made them feel unfit to look upon God in his glory. We cannot see him face to face until we have been made like him. Only then can we know him as he knows us.

Application

We will then enjoy the closest possible approach to God that human beings are capable of. The closest and most intimate relationship on earth between human beings is marriage. The marriage bond should surpass even the relationship between parent and child. Yet marriage is a picture, Scripture tells us, of the union between Christ and his church. Like all earthly types, it is but a dim reflection of the reality to which it corresponds. When believers see the Son of God face to face, they will have attained the highest state which man is capable of. In the words ‘face to face’ are included all the intimacy which will exist between Christ and his church. There will be a sharing of all secrets and experiences. There will begin a journey of discovery of each other in which nothing will be held back. Much is now hidden from us, but if we long to see our Saviour’s glory while on earth, we will not be disappointed.

Interestingly those who are sealed on the forehead on earth (7:3; 14:1) will be permanently sealed in heaven. Their foreheads will be sealed with the name of God. The wonderful changes that begin in believer’s hearts on earth is completed as we pass from this world into the next. The character which is being developed in them now has everlasting value. On earth the spirit battles against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit, but in heaven the work of sanctification will be perfected and nothing will ever again disturb the minds of the elect. Sin will have been removed and every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. There is no literal mark now or in the future glory. It means all your thoughts are of Christ. You reflect on him; you pray to him; he is your chief aim and joy; the word of God is your favourite study. He occupies your minds. It is defining the occupants of the city.

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Revelation 22:4 Commentary and Bible Study