Christian unity believes in immortality and the promise of heaven.

The victorious stories of the saints in the early centuries of the church can hold anyone spellbound. The heroism and total commitment to the faith of their resurrected Lord have provided permanent images in the Body of Christ for all time. In a sense, they are very much our brothers and sisters in Christ, even at this moment. Their flesh and blood left an aroma which rose above all the crudities, bestialities, and horrors that animal-like pagans could provide. An unstoppable momentum was the outcome of their supreme sacrifice.

Our passage of Holy Scripture is picturesque and creates an eschatological drama which outdistances Hollywood’s best. In these few verses, the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, and the completion of history, as humanly known, all seem to come together in an awesome magnificence. It has long been my opinion there are no full-fledged experts on the Book of Revelation. The appeal of these words becomes both highly mysterious and totally absorbing.

It records a success that the world finds very threatening and Christians find indispensable to living the faith. There are, at least, three helpful clues in understanding such success.

Heaven Is for Real

There is a heaven and those faithful to Christ can go there. This strikes at the heart of a secular humanism that refuses such categories of belief and expectation. Quickly we can differentiate between it and catholic, evangelical Christianity. There is much more to life than what we can experience here and now, regardless of our attempts to serve and improve humankind. The inadequacy of so-called liberal Christianity in recent years has been at this very point. It has shown itself to be closed to a heaven, scripturally defined, and has provided little except more of the same here and now.

Christian unity touches and finds its strength in the dawning of the Body of Christ. Therefore, it always shares in far more than visions of a visible church that backs away from eternity. In Protestants and Catholics by Peter Toon, he has a section on the profession of faith of Paul VI, the pope under whose direction Vatican II was carried out. In this profession he declares: "We believe in the life eternal. We believe that the souls of all those who die in the grace of Christ - whether they must still be purified in purgatory, or, from the moment they leave their bodies, Jesus takes them to paradise ..." The same Pope, in a closing paragraph, declares: "We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church ..." Some may not agree totally with these words, but we dare not miss the wellingup of the catholicity dwelling in the Body of Christ from the beginning.

Protestant hymnody is filled with the expectation of heaven. The ecstasy produced by it is a history all by itself. Charles H. Gabriel gives an example:

When all my labors and trials are o'er
And I am safe on that beautiful shore,
Just to be near the dear Lord, I adore
Will through the ages be glory for me.

With Roman Catholics now singing Protestant hymns and Protestants beginning to have an appreciation of the hope that has been in Roman Catholicism, many of Christ’s followers are being inspired by both. The hymns of Charles Wesley, in particular, provide an ecumenical bridge. The charismatic movement, especially among Roman Catholics, has enabled a sharing of the reality of heaven across all denominational lines.

Perhaps no body of Christians can bring into our midst a more profound and spiritually thrilling experience of heaven than the Orthodox. Their worship in the Divine Liturgy of Saint John of Chrysostom, as well as other services, captures the essence of sainthood and the participation of the whole church in a total way. Heaven and earth are brought into union with the mystical Body of Christ, taking on meaning which other liturgies and worship services never quite seem to bring about. There is an appeal to all five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. Timothy Ware, in his book, The Orthodox Church, says it this way: "Worship, for the Orthodox Church, is nothing else than ‘heaven on earth.’ The Holy Liturgy is something that embraces two worlds at once, for both in heaven and on earth the Liturgy is one and the same - one altar, one sacrifice, one presence."

Another clue awaits us in bringing into our midst a concept of success foreign to the world.

Representation from All

Christian unity, in its diversity, calls attention to the glorious truth that saints are found "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues." In a union of two of the most divergent denominations among Protestants, Congregational/Christian and Evangelical/Reformed, giving us the United Church of Christ, a statement of Faith was adopted by the General Synod at Oberlin in 1959. In part, it proclaims: "He promises to all who trust Him: forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, His presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in His kingdom which has no end." No one who is close to what happens before and after church unions would maintain perfection - theologically and ecclesiastically - has been attained. What is evident is the work of the Holy Spirit, continually enabling Christ’s Body to be One.

J. Ralph Shotwell, in his book, Unity Without Uniformity, says: "The postdenominational community Church movement is not hostile to denominations. It appreciates the good that has resulted from God’s workings through denominations. However, it believes that God is calling us into a new age, a post-denominational age, an age in which even greater good can eventuate." His words have a way of unlocking the future shape of things.

We have all heard persons say there will be good this and good that in heaven, emphasizing the weakness of denominational labels in determining our future abode. The generosity of such a point of view in our day and time becomes more and more questionable. I say this because it is too easy to dismiss the cause of Christian unity with it. It can serve as the lowest common denominator blocking the essential explorations Christians are being called upon today. I am firmly convinced God forces us to grow spiritually from time to time. Furthermore, I happen to believe, with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, we are now living in one of those times, ecumenically. Our passage points to the truth we have long suspected and admit with hesitancy: no visible ecclesiastical structure has it all. This has the positive effect of thwarting hurtful ambition that has virtually torn Christ’s Body asunder upon occasion. No one says it better than Saint James, in his Epistle: "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice." (3:16)

The great Puritan divine, Jonathan Edwards, has gone down in history in far too many books as being the author of the sermon, "Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God," and little else. What a grave error! In his Charity and Its Fruits, he says, "Christ loves all his saints in heaven. His love flows out to his whole Church there, and to every individual member of it. And they, with one heart and one soul, unite in love to their common Redeemer." He was a generous and gentle spirit who was far ahead of his time and deserves to be called an ecumenist in his own right. Much of what he had to say transcended the petty religious squabbles of that day.

Success as it is being utilized has a final clue.

They Have Arrived

In today’s society, drenched by the drive to succeed in secualr terms we hear, "He has arrived" or "She has arrived." A message is communicated and it is one of success nearly always in the context of power, money and position. Such thinking is foreign to the saints of Christ’s church. This does not mean we go untouched by all three. In fact, there are some Christians with one or more in their lives. Christian unity believes, "The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the spirit." (John 3:8) Therefore, we arrive just as the saints of old. When heaven becomes our permanent home, success is ours and only God can bestow it.

Those who take their lives seriously under the Cross of Jesus Christ are aware of the pseudo-religionist who superimposes the standards of the world upon the faith. There are no official records, to my knowledge, which would indicate the amount of money poured into such schemes. From a cursory observation, it would appear substantial. If that were the only problem, we might overlook the seriousness of it. A much bigger problem is at the point of knowing one has been tricked into believing Christ did not mean, "My kingship is not of this world ..." John (18:36) Some of the finest affections and motivations can be drawn into techinques and promises that, at best, lead to an acquaintance with a smidgen of what our Lord expects of us. Some purveyors of such beguilement use a few of the traditional forms of Christianity to point out the promise of heaven is really pie in the sky by and by and a means to hold down our development into prosperous and successful persons. Let us not dismiss such criticism as totally unfounded. We can answer it with Christ’s own words: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19-20)

John Wesley, in his "An Order of Worship for Such as Would Enter into or Renew their covenant with God," aids us with this: "Christ has many services to be done; some are easy, others difficult; some bring honor, others bring reproach; some are suitable to our natural inclinations, and temporal interest, others are contrary to both." We Christians operate on a different wave length. Our Lord told us it would be that way. Too often we have tried to live our lives contrary to it. As we probe into the deeper levels of our relationship with him, a phrase comes from the same service to focus upon our uniqueness, in speaking of our place and work, he elevates Christ and says, "... and that he alone be our reward." Such is heaven - to be with Christ and all the glories it entails. That - my dear friends in Christ - is arriving!

HOPE AND PURPOSE ARE FOUND in indelible ink as we bring to conclusion our visit, based upon this moving passage in the Book of Revelation. Christian unity finds its own consummation as well. Those who have labored long and hard await the honor - some having already received it - given expression by "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

We know what ultimate and unlimited success is. It is spending eternity with our Savior and Lord. Heaven is for real; there will be representation from every sector. The saints have arrived in the only sense that it counts. There is much cause for jubilation and great thanksgiving. Indeed, "the Lord be with you."

Have we told others about all of this? Mission and evangelism are not to be implemented in isolation from one another. I bid you to tell those in your denomination, those in other denominations, and those in every ecumenical setting of which you find yourself a part. One of the saints, Peter by name, proclaims we have been born anew, "to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you." (1 Peter 1:4) In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.