THE GLORIFIED STATE -- Tomorrow:
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." (Rev 22:1-9)
NO MORE CURSE! NO MORE CURSE!
"And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it . . ."
Only those living by faith have the remotest idea of the magnitude of this promise. The curse of God was made known in Eden, and has continued without interruption until this very day. What a tragic day it was when the Almighty said, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen 3:16-19). Anyone imagining sin to be inconsequential must acquaint themselves with what it has brought into the world. Paul summarized what took place when he wrote, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom 5:12).
After killing Abel, Cain was "cursed from the earth" by the Lord (Gen 4:11). Eleven hundred years after the fall, when Noah was born, Lamech remembered "the ground which the LORD hath cursed" (Gen 5:29). In the flood, God again cursed the ground "for man's sake" (Gen 8:21). After the flood, Canaan was cursed because of the sin of his father, Ham (Gen 9:25). When the Law was read to Israel, its curses were sounded from Mount Ebal (Deut 27:13-26). With thunderous tones, even the Apostolic writings say, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them" (Gal 3:10).
The curse of the Almighty is all about us. The ground is cursed. Flesh is cursed. Even the whole creation has been cursed for the sake of man, groaning under the weight of its own mortality. One of the functions of salvation is to make us aware of this situation, and cause us to long for the time when there will be "no more curse."
Something that is "cursed" is delivered over to Divine wrath – a most dreadful consideration. While we are in this world, the Spirit reminds us that the people who are unresponsive to Divine overtures are like unprofitable ground that is "nigh unto cursing" (Heb 6:8). Jesus affirmed the unbeliever is walking about with the wrath of God abiding upon him (John 3:36). Peter spoke of persons who sat among the people of God who are "cursed children" (2 Pet 2:12). Indeed, the time has not yet come when there "is no more curse."
However, there is coming a time when, for the saints of God, "there is no more curse." Dare we to imagine what that means? It means there will be no more disobedience, temptation, hatred, or lack of response to God. There will be no more murder, crime, jealousy, or evil imaginations of the heart. There will be "no more curse" because there will be nothing to provoke Divine cursing. Never again will effort be met with resistance, as when the ground brings forth thorns and thistles to those who cultivate it. That "other law" that wages relentless war against us when we would do good, will no longer be present (Rom 7:23).
Here we live with a mixture of cursing and blessing. Our spirit is blessed and our flesh is cursed. We are seated in the blessed heavenlies, while living in a cursed realm below. But all of that will be behind us when we are "ever with the Lord." No more warnings will be required. There will be no need to exhort those who need to awake from spiritual slumber. There will be "no more curse." Mortuaries, hospitals, and prisons are evidences of the curse. But none of them will be in glory. There will be "no more curse."
Saint of God, the time of which we are reading is worthy of your investment. Preparations for eternity without cursing is time well spent. There will be "no more curse." In the world to come, there will not be "anything accursed" (RSV). That means there will be no flesh, no sin, no wayward thought, no recalcitrant nature. For a while, we must live in a cursed body and a cursed realm. But we will yet be delivered from both, and brought into a state of glory where there "is no more curse." Only Divine approval and blessing will forever surround us. There will be nothing, absolutely nothing, that will evidence God's disapproval. Having removed all things that offend, the love of God shall be lavished upon us in unprecedented ways. There is no way to now comprehend the effects of "no more curse." Our hearts, however, can long for that time, and in that longing, find strength for the day.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in he name of Jesus, I thank You for the hope of glory, where there is "no more curse."