Travel to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. This is not a beautiful Caribbean or South Pacific island. It is a prison island. Patmos is bare and lonely. There you will find John the Beloved Disciple living in exile.
John is an old man. He has served God faithfully and has been a model of the holy life. He has ministered at the church at Ephesus, cared for Jesus’ widowed mother, and preached throughout Asia Minor.
At an age when he might enjoy honor as the last living disciple of Jesus, John has been banished to the Isle of Patmos. He is lonely and may feel that he is no longer useful in God’s work. But on a Sunday morning almost 60 years after Jesus’ ascension, John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, when he heard a voice like a trumpet (Revelation 1:10).
When John turned to the voice, he saw the Christ to whom he had given his life. Jesus’ hair was white like wool, his eyes were like fire, his feet gleamed like bronze, and his voice was like the roar of a mighty waterfall. His face was shining (Revelation 1:12-16). John beheld the “glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
In Revelation, we travel with John into the heavens to see the fulfillment of God’s plan. A holy people will dwell eternally in unbroken fellowship with a holy God.
A Perfect World
A Perfect World Lost
In the opening lesson of this course, you were asked to imagine the garden of Eden in the days after creation. It was a perfect world. Flowers, trees, and fruits were everywhere. It was a world without sin and its effects. It was a world without pain, tears, or death. Most importantly, it was a world of perfect relationship between God and mankind. Nothing separated man from his Creator.
Sadly, sin damaged this perfect world. Weeds grew among the flowers. Peaceful animals became dangerous predators. Man endured suffering, pain, and death. Most importantly, the perfect relationship between God and man was damaged. Because of sin, people were banished from the garden of Eden and barred from the Tree of Life. It appeared that Satan had defeated God’s purpose for his people.
A Perfect World Promised
But this was not the end. Throughout scripture, God shows his plan to restore his people to be like himself; he desires to create a holy people. The Old Testament prophets promised that God will someday make his people holy and return them to a holy place. Repeatedly, John the Revelator points to the fulfillment of these promises.
Ezekiel saw a day when God will dwell among his holy people.
"My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore" (Ezekiel 37:27-28).
God will sanctify Israel; he will make his people holy. He will dwell among his people. The promise of Ezekiel 37:27 is fulfilled in Revelation 21:3:
"Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."
God’s ultimate purpose will be accomplished when he dwells among his holy people. Like Ezekiel, Zechariah foresaw a day when God’s purpose for his people will be fulfilled. God promised, “I will dwell in your midst” (Zechariah 2:10-11).[2]
Zechariah 3 portrays God’s plan for his people. In Zechariah’s vision, the high priest was clothed in filthy garments representing Israel’s impurity. God will someday cleanse his people; Israel’s filthy garments will be replaced by pure linen.
"And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, 'Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments'" (Zechariah 3:4).
The last verses of Zechariah contain one of the most glorious pictures in the Old Testament.
"And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, 'Holy to the LORD.' And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them." (Zechariah 14:20-21).
The bells of the horses will be inscribed with words from the high priest’s turban (Exodus 28:36-38). Ordinary pots will be as holy as the sacred bowls before the altar. Jerusalem will be what God intended it to be; the entire city will be God’s dwelling place.
God will accomplish His purpose; he will have a holy people living in a holy city. Zechariah’s vision is fulfilled in Revelation 21 and 22. God’s people will live in his presence. “He will dwell with them, and they will be his people” (Revelation 21:3).
A Perfect World Restored
The Bible begins by describing a perfect world that was lost because of the fall. It ends by describing a perfect world that awaits those who allow God to fulfill his plan in their life. A Holy City is prepared for God’s holy people.
Like the garden of Eden, the Holy City is a perfect world with flowers, trees, and delicious fruits everywhere. Everything is beautiful:
"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:1-2).
Because of sin, humanity was banished from the garden of Eden and the tree of life. In Revelation, the tree of life is again available to people.
This will be a world without sin. Readers are sometimes frightened by the middle chapters of Revelation. These chapters describe the judgments that will fall on the earth. Many readers want to skip to the final chapters that give a picture of the beauty of heaven. However, we cannot ignore the middle of the book. For a holy people to live in unbroken fellowship with a holy God, the power of sin must be broken.
Revelation shows Satan’s hatred of God’s people. John saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads (Revelation 13:1). The beast was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them (Revelation 13:7). For a time, it appears that evil defeats God’s holy people. However, the beast will ultimately be defeated (Revelation 15:2). God’s people will ultimately be victorious. God’s purpose will be accomplished.
Throughout history, God’s people have trusted that a holy God will do what is right. God’s holiness gave the psalmist confidence when he cried out for justice. “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you” (Psalm 5:4). In Revelation, John heard the cries of the martyrs, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10).
The holiness of God assures God’s people that justice will prevail. John wrote to Christians suffering under the oppression of Rome. He promised that the holy and true judge of the earth would someday bring justice for his people. Revelation calls God’s people to remain faithful, knowing that a holy God will avenge his holy people. Revelation looks to a time when Satan will be defeated, and God’s holy people will live in peace.
Heaven is a holy city. It is a city without sin or sin’s effects. It is a city without pain, without tears, without suffering, and without death. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
But there is something even more wonderful. The best part of the garden of Eden was the perfect fellowship between God and man. Adam and Eve walked in the garden with God. They talked with him face to face. Nothing separated God and man. In heaven, we will live in perfect fellowship with God. Nothing will separate a holy people from a holy God.
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God'" (Revelation 21:3).
John describes heaven as a place without fear, pain, or death. Everything that caused fear in the ancient world (the unknown reaches of the sea, the danger of night, the threat of disease) will be gone. This everlasting peace will be based on the presence of God.
"No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever" (Revelation 22:3-5).
Holy people have always desired to see God. Moses asked to see God but could not look on his face (Exodus 33:18-20). David prayed, “When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:2).[1] Jesus promised that the pure in heart shall see God (Matthew 5:8). This promise is fulfilled in Revelation. “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4).
Dallas Willard told about a young child whose mother died. One night, afraid and alone, the boy asked to sleep in his father’s bedroom. In the middle of the night, the boy awoke and asked his father, “Is your face turned toward me?” The father replied, “Yes, my face is turned toward you.” This was enough; the child slept peacefully. In heaven, a holy people will see the face of God. His face will be eternally turned toward us; we will have peace.
God’s plan will be fulfilled! The garden of Eden will be restored. A people with holy hearts and holy hands will live forever with a holy God. This is God’s plan for his people.
[1] An alternate translation of this prayer reads, “When shall I come and see the face of God?” (English Standard Version footnote).
[2]A Prayer for Holiness:
"Bring us, O Lord, at our last awakening into the house and gate of heaven, to enter into that gate and dwell in that house where there shall be no darkness, but one light; no noise, but one music; no end nor beginning, but one eternity in the habitation of your glory and dominion, world without end.”
- Adapted from John Donne
Holiness Is Unbroken Fellowship with God
John saw a vision of God’s plan for his people. It is a vision of a holy people living in a holy city. Three times in Revelation, John describes the place of our eternal dwelling as the holy city (Revelation 21:2, 10; Revelation 22:19). This is the home of a holy God, holy angels, and holy people. This beautiful city is a place of perfect holiness. Only holy people can live there.
Revelation 21 gives a beautiful picture of heaven, but it also includes this warning:
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).
Heaven is a holy city. God will not allow sin to destroy the purity of that city. The old preachers said, “Heaven is a holy place prepared for a holy people.” Only a holy people would enjoy living in this holy city.
A self-centered person would not enjoy a city in which the Lamb of God is the central attraction. A person who lives for sinful pleasure would be unhappy in a city in which all is pure. A person who does not love God would be bored in a city where the worship of God is eternal. The Holy City is designed for a holy people. Because God’s people are holy and pure, they will live with him forever in the city.
The promise of Ezekiel 40-48 is fulfilled in the New Jerusalem. However, the reader soon sees a difference between Ezekiel’s vision and its fulfillment in Revelation. In Ezekiel’s vision, the Temple stands in the middle of the city. In the New Jerusalem, there is no temple , for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb (Revelation 21:22). God himself is the temple! The entire city is now holy ground set apart for God and his people.
The unbroken fellowship that God and man shared in the garden is restored. The shame and fear that caused a sinful Adam and Eve to hide from God is gone. We will look on God’s face. Holy people will enjoy unbroken fellowship with a holy God.
In the Old Testament, God set Israel apart as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). In Revelation, the church is a kingdom and priests to our God (Revelation 5:10). Unlike the nation of Israel, this kingdom is a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages (Revelation 7:9). The promise of Genesis 12:3 is fulfilled in Revelation 7:9.
Just as Israel could fulfill its mission as a kingdom of priests only by remaining holy, the church can fulfill its mission only if it is holy. God’s people must be holy. In the Old Testament, the Levites were clothed in white linen symbolizing their purity. In the same way, John shows that saints are to be pure (Revelation 3:4-5; Revelation 6:11; Revelation 19:8). Only those who wash their robes may enter the city (Revelation 22:14). A holy people will dwell at peace with a holy God.
Holiness in Practice: When I Don't Feel Holy
Does this sound familiar? You hear a sermon that challenges you to deeper holiness. You pray and commit yourself to a holy life. For the next eight weeks, you grow in your spiritual life. You see the fruit of the Spirit increasing in your life. You find a deeper love for God and your neighbor.
Then suddenly, the progress and growth seem to stop. You are still walking with God; you are still living a victorious life; you love God and love your neighbor. But through physical illness, emotional stress, or even the pressures of ministry, you realize, “I don’t feel like I am growing in holiness. What is wrong?”
How do you continue in the holy life when you don’t feel holy? Do you give up and say, “Holiness is impossible”? How do you continue to walk in holiness?
► Have you experienced this challenge? How did you respond?
“When I don’t feel holy, I must walk by faith.”
In Lesson 2, we saw that holiness is walking with God. Abraham walked with God to a country he had never seen. He walked with God in obedience and faith. 4,000 years later, it sounds very exciting to read about Abraham’s faith. But put yourself in his sandals – walking day after day after day through rugged land. There is no end in sight, and you don’t even know where you are going. Do you think that Abraham woke up every morning feeling excitement about the day? Most likely not! There were probably days when he said, “I don’t feel like walking today.” But Abraham kept walking with God.
We read that Noah walked with God in a sinful world. Surrounded by idol worshippers and men who constantly devised new ways to do evil (Genesis 6:5), Noah walked with God. Do you think that he awoke every morning with excitement for the day? Sometimes he surely felt exhausted and discouraged. But Noah kept walking with God.
One key to the life of holiness is to remember that we were saved by grace through faith; we were sanctified by grace through faith; we continue to grow in holiness by grace through faith. Some people understand that they are saved by grace through faith. They even learn that they are sanctified by grace through faith. But then they fall into the trap of believing that continuing growth relies on their own efforts.
Is there discipline involved in the life of holiness? Absolutely! Must we continue to put to death what is earthly in us? (Colossians 3:5). Yes. Must we continue to strain forward to what lies ahead and press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus? (Philippians 3:13-14). Of course!
Butyou must never forget that your putting to death, straining forward, and pressing toward the goal is done in the power of God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He is the one who gave the desire (will); he is the one who gives the power (work). He is working in us to accomplish his purpose of making us holy. When you don’t feel holy, you rest in the grace of the God who is daily transforming you into his image.
“When I don’t feel holy, I must rest in his holiness.”
In Lesson 5, we saw that perfection is not about flawless performance but about a heart that is undivided in our commitment to God. In Lesson 7, we learned that Jesus’ command, “Be perfect” is a command to undivided love for God. Christian perfection is not about performance; it is about love.
We are holy only because God is holy. Our identity is in Christ. He makes us holy. One of the great truths of the gospel is that we no longer struggle to achieve holiness in our own power. We can rest in Christ. Our identity as Christians, our identity as saints, our identity as holy people is in him.
Robert Coleman once told a story about what it means to love God perfectly when we cannot perform perfectly. Dr. Coleman was working in his garden on a hot summer day. When his little boy saw his daddy sweating in the sun, he decided to bring him a cup of water. The boy picked up a dirty cup, filled it with water from a puddle in the yard, and brought it to his father. Dr. Coleman said, “The glass was dirty and the water was muddy. But, the drink was perfect because it came from a heart of love.” That is a picture of our limited perfection. We bring our broken, imperfect service to a God who accepts it because it comes from a heart of love.
God accepts our broken efforts and transforms them into something beyond our imagination – because our holiness is a mere shadow of his unlimited holiness. Even our best love is affected by our human limitations. But when we rest in his holiness, we realize that obedience to his command to “Be holy” is accomplished perfectly only through himself. With hearts of undivided love, we bring him our muddy glass of water – and he transforms it into something pure and sparkling. Our holiness is perfected in his holiness.
“When I don’t feel holy, I must remember that I am part of a holy people.”
A major – but often overlooked - theme of Revelation is the church. Revelation begins with a series of messages to the seven churches. These messages show the importance of the local church community within the larger body of Christ. But this is not the end of Revelation’s emphasis on the church.
The community of 144,000 redeemed may be a figurative representation of the entire church, the body of Christ. Later in the book, the church is seen as the bride of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-8). The church is a focal point of Revelation.
If this is true, our worship and fellowship as a church on earth is preparation for our worship and fellowship as the church eternal. What does this mean for our life as a church today?
► If Revelation is a picture of the bride of Christ, how should its portrayal of the church affect life in the church? Or to ask in another way – in what ways does your church look like the church in Revelation? In what ways does your church not look like the church in Revelation?
One practical result of this truth is that our holy life is lived in fellowship with the church. In the individualistic modern world, many Christians think of salvation only in terms of personal, private experience.
However, while there are examples of individuals like Enoch walking with God alone, there are many more biblical examples of God’s children walking with God as part of a body. The laws of purity in Israel were for a people of God (Leviticus 20:26). Israel was more than a group of individuals; it was a corporate body growing together in the image of God.
The New Testament church was more than a group of individuals who happen to belong to the same club. The church was - and is - the body of Christ. The saints of Revelation face martyrdom as part of a body. Even when they die alone, they know that they are part of the universal church. The saints of Revelation live holy lives as part of a body. They are part of a pure bride. Even when John is isolated on the Island of Patmos, he knows that he is part of the universal church.
It has become common to hear people say, “I love Jesus, but I don’t love the church.” This is based on a tragic misunderstanding of the church! If the church is the bride of Christ and I love Christ, I must love the church. The church is a body of believers growing together in the image of God.
We were not created to live alone. John Wesley said, “All holiness is social holiness.” He meant that we grow as part of a body. Wesley put believers into small groups for spiritual accountability, because people grow spiritually as they are in close relationship with others.[1]
What does this mean for us today? Holy people are part of a holy church. We grow in holiness as part of a holy body. When I struggle, God brings alongside a fellow seeker after holiness who can encourage me in my area of weakness. On the other hand, when God has given me victory in an area, I can encourage a brother who is weaker in that area. The holy life is intended to be lived out in a community of Spirit-filled believers who are making God’s love manifest in our world.
The writer of Hebrews understood this well.
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Encouraging persecuted Christians to persevere in the faith, he told them to stir each other up as they meet together and encourage one another. Part of the function of the church is to encourage each member to a deeper love and holiness.
When you don’t feel holy, allow God to encourage you to further growth through the fellow Christians in the body where he has placed you. You are part of the universal church, but you are also part of a local body. God has put you there for a reason. Allow your fellow believers to stir you to greater growth in the holy life.
[1]“When someone thinks that to develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any use to others.”
- Oswald Chambers
She Found the Secret - Fanny Crosby
When Fanny Crosby[1] was two months old, a doctor’s mistake left her permanently blind. A few months later, her father died. Her mother had to leave the family alone for long hours while she worked as a maid. Fanny knew the difficulties of life in a sin-cursed world.
Fanny Crosby’s hymns testify to her commitment to Christ. She had fully surrendered her will to God’s will. In a beautiful phrase, Ms. Crosby prayed that her will would be lost in God’s perfect will.
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the power of grace divine.
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
Fanny Crosby understood that holiness is perfect love for God and perfect love for our neighbor. She gave her time and money to missions that ministered to alcoholics and the homeless. She and her husband gave away everything that was not necessary for their survival. She loved God, and she loved her neighbor. Day by day, Fanny Crosby grew in Christlikeness and perfect love.
Fanny looked forward to the day when the promise, “They will see his face” will be fulfilled. When someone expressed pity for her condition, Fanny Crosby responded that she rejoiced in her blindness because, “When I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior. I will see Him face to face.”
[1] Image: "Francis Jane Crosby, 1820-1915" by W.J. Searle, retrieved from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b17084, "no known restrictions."
My Savior First of All - Fanny Crosby
When my life work is ended, and I cross the swelling tide,
When the bright and glorious morning I shall see;
I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side,
And His smile will be the first to welcome me.
Through the gates of the city in a robe of spotless white,
He will lead me where no tears will ever fall;
In the glad song of ages I shall mingle with delight;
But I long to meet my Savior first of all.
Lesson 11 in Review
(1) Holiness is unbroken fellowship with God.
(2) From Genesis 3 through the Epistles, God promises restoration of the intimate fellowship between God and man. This promise is fulfilled in Revelation.
(3) Revelation shows a holy people in unbroken fellowship with a holy God.
(4) The fellowship of the church is preparation for fellowship in heaven. The church on earth is a (fallible) model of the church eternal. Because of this, we should seek to pattern life in the church here on the unity of the church there.
Lesson Assignments
(1) Imagine that someone said to you, “I love Jesus, but not the church.” Write a 1-2 page (450-800 word) letter in which you show this person that loving Jesus should lead to a love for Jesus’ bride, the church. Show how a holy heart will inspire a love for God’s church. Show how being part of a church will help us to grow in holiness.
(2) Begin the next class session by quoting Revelation 21:2-3.
(3) Remember to work on the final project that will be due at the end of this course.
Final Project
You will preach three sermons or teach three Bible studies on the doctrine and practice of holiness. You should record these sermons to submit to the class leader for your final project. You will prepare one sermon or Bible study on each of the following topics:
(1) A sermon or Bible study on one theological aspect of holiness. Choose one:
Holiness as Relationship
Holiness as the Image of God in His People
Holiness as a Separated Life
Holiness as an Undivided Heart
Holiness as a Righteous Life
Holiness as Perfect Love
Holiness as the Fullness of the Spirit
Holiness as Christlikeness
(2) A sermon or Bible study on a practical aspect of holiness. You may choose a topic discussed in this course, or you may select your own topic. Possible topics include:
Spending Time with God
Holiness and Personality
What Does It Mean to be Separate from the World?
Holiness and Business
Holiness and Family Life
Maintaining Victory Over Willful Sin
Holiness and the Life of the Church
(3) A sermon or Bible study on a biblical character who demonstrates holiness.
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