A Theological Fantasy - Concluded...?
"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. 4 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 21:3-4 -
This may be my last letter for a while.
If you've missed any, you'll definitely want to start with the first — CLICK Here.
Last Word on The Glory...
Image courtesy of Greg Rakozy and http://unsplash.com
I've been writing in order to stir your imagination.
I know how tough it can be to face the difficulties of life, day after day. You need the hope of Glory, a solid grip on the fantastic future so clearly laid out for us in the bible. I'm living it now, and I'm writing to share it with you.
The long night of the world is over; never ending day has arrived!
Jesus conquered sin and death.
From where I'm sitting, he's restored creation to its original beauty. In fact, all is now better than it has ever been. We've entered that age of "the glorious liberty of the Sons of God." There is no longer any risk of falling. We've been imbued with the very mind of God, and we will never fail again.
Some things here are absent because of that.
I'm sure that as I list them, you'll agree I'm being obvious... even so, you may be caught off guard if you haven't thought it through before. The Glory is really, really different than anything you've ever known. Are you ready for a whole lot of negativity? There are a lot of "noes" and "nevers" here, occupations, institutions, and items that simply no longer exist.
Let's consider a few obvious "noes:"
There are of course no jobs here that are inherently wrong or evil.
No conmen, no pickpockets. No human trafficking, no sex workers. No casino operators. No drug pushers, no cartels. No rapists, no murderers, no hitmen or extortioners. There are no mafias, no gangs or terrorists.
Why steal? Everyone has everything they could ever possibly need or want. If they don't have it yet, they will find it is freely available when they want it. This obviously eliminates all motivation for criminal activity.
Better yet, there are no politicians.
The greatest criminal enterprise of all time has been completely eliminated. Human government is no more.
Man never had any legitimate right to rule his fellow man. There has only ever been one person with the inherent right to rule. His right is evident, because I speak of Jesus himself, the one who created us all.
Thus, all the trappings of human government are permanently gone.
No political scientists. No senators, congressmen, presidents, prime ministers, members, lobbyists, mayors, magistrates, councilmen, school board members, and so on, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.
No meter readers. No emergency management. No fish and game wardens.
There is no nationalism, because there are no nations!
There are no more soldiers; all armies have been retired. No more wars. No more weapons, except for museum pieces and relics we use for the fun of target practice.
No sergeants, no captains, no colonels, no lieutenants, no generals. No medics. No intelligence analysts. No artillery or missile officers.
No customs brokers. No customs agents. No borders.
No nations.
Image courtesy of Andrew Pons and http://unsplash.com
There are no police.
No sheriffs. No judges. No prosecuters or defense lawyers. No district attorneys. No bailiffs. No detectives. No forensic analysts. No legal secretaries. No probation officers.
We don't need social workers.
We file no lawsuits. There are no mediators. No disputes need settling!
There is no need for public safety.
No lifeguards. No firemen. We don't need search and rescue. Not even first aid.
There are no building inspectors, health inspectors, nor "licensing" of any kind.
We need no inspectors... everything is done right the first time and every time.
Also quite obvious should be the absence of the medical/industrial complex.
There are no hospitals in the Glory.
There's no need, as no one is ever sick. Thus there's also no need for doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, ambulance drivers. No anesthesiologists, no phlebotomists, no MRI techs, no surgeons.
No allergists, no immunologists. No chiropractors. No ophthalmologists or opticians.
No dentists or dental hygienists... No dermatologists. No diagnosticians. No therapists of any kind. No medical records clerks.
Everyone is content and happy always.
We need no psychiatrists, no psychologists. No anger management classes.
No pharmacies. No drug companies.
No insurance. No underwriters. No claims adjusters, examiners, or investigators.
No veterinarians. No zookeepers - there are no dangerous animals. We intermingle everywhere in peace and safety. There is never any danger, nothing to ever make us sad.
Death is history.
There is no longer any need for morticians.
We used to see massive graveyards in every community. They've all been vacated, and are now forever unused.
We don't need no stinkin' embalming fluid. No hearses or hearse drivers. No grave diggers. No tombstones or memorial stonecutters.
No funeral directors or attendants. No mourners. The shroud has been lifted for ever.
We have no bankers.
No tellers. No stockbrokers. No loan officers. No Payday Loan Stores on every corner.
Everyone is wealthy.
We don't need locksmiths.
No maintenance and repair persons... Nothing ever breaks.
No janitors. Everything is in a state of perpetual cleanliness.
No tax collectors. No highway maintenance.
No locks.
Image courtesy of James Sutton and http://unsplash.com
Jesus is the King, LORD over all.
And the cool thing about that is this: We all love him. We are all self-governing, because we've been completely changed from the inside out, body, soul, and spirit.
Guess what? There are no clergy.
Who needs a preacher? The knowledge of God fills the universe like water fills the seas.
Another way to look at it is this; we're all preachers, all priests, all prophets, all kings. We are a community of the redeemed, thrilled to be here, holding our LORD Jesus in constant recognition for who he is and for the incredible things he has done for us.
What else is missing?
I could go on and on and on...
There are no dietitians or nutritionists... Our food is perfect, and perfectly nourishing. No weight loss programs or diets either.
There are no cost estimators. No economists.
We don't need editors. All the writing is the best you've ever read.
Fundraisers are obsolete. Anything that you may want to do can be done now with the marshaled resources of the universe at your bidding.
Have you made a career of one of these things?
Image courtesy of Saulo Mohana and http://unsplash.com
Friend, have you made a career of one of these "missing" things?
You had better enjoy it while you can, because it's no longer needed... or wanted, here in the Glory.
Get it out of your system now. And, don't worry! You'll have plenty of new and interesting things to do here.
Thoroughly enjoying one another's company.
Image courtesy of Pablo Heimplatz and http://unsplash.com
Have you gotten it yet?
There are no shortages. There is no hunger. There are no shortcomings of any kind. No fleas, mosquitos, potholes, germs, poison oak or ivy, false teeth, dental work, backaches, ingrown toenails, obesity, tooth decay, myopia, or presbyopia.
YOU want to be here. This is the be-all and end-all of human existence. I've barely begun to scratch the surface.
I can't keep quiet about this.
Is my story now over? Is this the end?
Oh, I may be able to take a break, but this won't be the last you'll hear from me.
I'm having way too much fun.
I'm overflowing with more joy de vivre than will ever let me stop expressing my thanks. I can't help but want to share it all with you, my friend, my reader.
The Statler Brothers - Official Video for "This World Is Not My Home"
I don't want you to miss it. Have you met Jesus?
Wouldn't you like to know what he offers you?
I pray you'll read John's book soon, and find out.
So, is this my last word?
Yes and No.
This may be the last "formal" entry in the "Whispering Hope" series. However...
Be watching for a new collection, "Postcards from the Glory."
It will be a series of occasional short stories, footnotes to "Whispering Hope."
© 2017, Duncan Cary Palmer. All rights reserved.
