Creator, Father, King #363

They will see his face.

WHEN SIN ENTERED THE world in Genesis 3 and Paradise was lost, our relationship with God changed drastically. Sin brings shame, judgment, and death. Sin separates us from perfect, intimate fellowship with our Creator.

We see this over and over again in Scripture. Moses asked to see God’s full glory, and God refused—for Moses’ own protection. “You may not look directly at my face,” God told him, “for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). Jacob (Genesis 32:30), Gideon (Judges 6:22-23), Manoah (Judges 13:21-22), and Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5) all saw various forms of God and marveled that they lived through it.

God instructed the Jewish high priest to burn incense when he entered the Tabernacle/Temple’s Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement to purposefully obscure the priest’s view of God’s holy presence above the Ark of the Covenant so he “[would] not die” (Leviticus 16:13).

In all these instances, the message was unmistakable: sinful humanity cannot see the Lord God Almighty in his full, unrestrained glory and live. His sheer majesty, power, and holiness would overwhelm us.

But one day, all that will change.

What’s It Mean?

When God renews all things in the new heaven and new earth, he will completely destroy sin and its curse (Revelation 22:3). No more fear, anger, or shame! No more separation, judgment, or death! Everything that is currently broken in the world will be made right.

Most beautifully, God will restore perfect fellowship with his chosen people. Paradise lost will become paradise restored! Look again at today’s Scripture passage: we will see God’s face. Let that sink in: WE WILL SEE GOD’S FACE!

What was once off-limits to us because of our rebellion will be wonderfully ours to behold. We will be fully sanctified, clothed in glorified, resurrected bodies thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ—completely free of any encumbering sin for all eternity.

No longer will we faint or cower in fear in God’s presence. Instead, we will flock to him (Revelation 21:24), joyfully delighting in the full, overwhelming radiance of God’s glory for all eternity.

What a promise!

Now What?

Read the Old Testament stories referenced above of God’s limited accessibility. Then compare them to our heavenly reality of Revelation 21:1-4 and 22:1-4!

Did You Know?

God is a spirit (John 4:24), so he doesn’t have a human face like ours. When the apostle John says we “will see his face,” he was probably attempting to describe the indescribable with personification—attributing human characteristics to something nonhuman. God’s glory and magnificence are far beyond human description!