07232022 Eternal End

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God in whose presence we will soon be united. It is a wonderful hope to know that we will each enjoy eternal fellowship with our God and Savior and with each other in His presence. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

This thirteenth and final category of God’s blessing is that of the eternal end of the believer. Even if there were no other blessings whatsoever, this category alone is sufficient. Since some of these verses deal with the threat of death, there will be some overlap between physical protection and the ultimate end, but the emphasis is on what happens at or after death.

God chooses our inheritance. “He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom He loved” (Psalm 47:4). We have an inheritance waiting for us that is like no other. God knows and plans our glorious end.

God redeems our life. It is never lost. “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction” (Psalm 103:4). This redemption is abundant. “With him is plenteous redemption” (Psalm 130:7). There is no squeaking through for the Christian, no barely making it into some menial survival. Our eternality is never in question.

God often delays our death, and He preserves our soul both before and after. “He preserveth the souls of his saints” (Psalm 97:10). Even when death comes physically, it is not a permanent death. “He hath not given me over to death” (Psalm 118:18). Death doesn’t win.

When death does come, God receives His children into glory. “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Psalm 73:24). God receives them gladly, viewing them as precious. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). Death is actually a victory, an advancement, and a celebration.

Death is just the beginning of an incredible eternity, the blessings of which cannot be fully described or imagined. Nor will they ever end. “Thou … settest me before thy face for ever” (Psalm 41:12). “I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:6). Eternity in heaven is the hope of the believer. All things will be put right and will remain that way forever, with never any more threat or defilement.

As we have seen before, the appreciation of God’s blessing to His children is often enhanced when we see how different it is for the wicked. That is nowhere more evident than in this category. When it comes to the threat of death, the wicked will be shattered. “But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses” (Psalm 68:21). They will be destroyed. “All the wicked will he destroy” (Psalm 145:20). They cannot stand or survive. “The foolish shall not stand in thy sight … Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing” (Psalm 5:5-6).

The wicked will perish, ultimately destroyed as a result of their willful sin and rejection of God. “The way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:6). “Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous will be desolate” (Psalm 34:21). Death is not merely ceasing to exist, but is the beginning of eternal judgment.

The end of the wicked is final and thorough. They are completely cut off and left in perpetual ruin, so that there is not even any memory of them. There is nothing that remains behind of any value or estimation. “O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end … their memorial is perished with them” (Psalm 9:6). “For evildoers shall be cut off” (Psalm 37:9). “The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth” (Psalm 34:16). For unbelievers, nothing good happens after death.

In conclusion, the life of the believer is not always filled with health, wealth, and pleasures. Those aspects are part of the blessing of God, and they do happen in varying degrees and for varying stretches of time. These material aspects of blessing are just the tip of the iceberg, however. The fulness of God’s blessing expands far beyond circumstances into valuable categories that really cannot be measured: general pleasantness of life, productivity and success, expressions of God’s favor, importance to God, access to God, the nature of our path, divine guidance, stability, internal and emotional support, help in times of trouble, response in our failures, mercy when facing judgment, and our eternal end. Indeed, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly” (Psalm 1:1).

This study has been important and helpful for me, and I trust that it has encouraged you as well. Take care.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA