THE GLORY: DO YOU KNOW
WHAT IT REALLY MEANS?
By. Mario Olcese
Key Text : “Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;” (Rom 2:7 NKJV)
The Mistaken Concept of Glory
Millions of people have listened to sermons in churches that state that God has called their friends and loved ones to his celestial glory. Also, in funeral sermons, the Pastor or Bishop may say that the dear deceased brother is right now with God in His glory, being synonymous with heaven itself. However, what many Christians are ignorant of is that this promised glory by God and His Son for the faithful, has to do with a possession, or inheritance, of a Kingdom on the earth at the the Parousia (the coming or appearing) of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of God's Kingdom.
This brief study will demonstrate that the Glory to which all believers are called has to do with the coming of Christ’s millennial kingdom to the earth. This primary study is intended to remove the doubts that we can still partake of the glory which we have been offered. The Catholic tradition is a distortion of the biblical view of the glory we are offered. It has largely gone unexamined by many Christians.
In Search of Glory
The apostle Paul refers to glory as the Christian's goal: the OBJECTIVE. We are to seek for it tenaciously. In his letter to the Romans, the apostle says to them:
“God "will give to each person according to what he has done." {7} To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” (Rom 2:6-7 NIV) So, all Christian believers must seek and long for the future glory (see the parallel words of Jesus in Matthew: “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness…” (Matt. 6:33), that will be granted to the believer after his mortal body has been clothed with immortality by the resurrection of the last day, in the parousia (or coming of) our Lord Jesus Christ. These are Paul's words: “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:4). So you see that nobody yet possesses the glory that we have been offered through the teaching of the Bible. And again the apostle Paul tells the believing Romans about this end-time glory, in the following: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Here Paul says that we must suffer tribulations before receiving the glory, which agrees with other writings of his that say: “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). Here our suffering will bring glory as a reward: Glory which will come when we REIGN with Christ.
It is a fact that our glory is inseparably linked to the future kingdom of Christ. One cannot be in glory, without being in the Kingdom and vice versa. In 1 Thes. 2:12 Paul shows this inseparable connection between the glory and the kingdom. He writes to the faithful of Thessalonica the following words: “so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory”. Paul says concerning the Kingdom and glory that they are future when he says that our glory will come when Christ appears. “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Col 3:4 NKJV)
The Glory in the Old Testament
King David, singer of beautiful praise Psalms, says it this way in Psalms 145:11-13: “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power, to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations”. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds. David predicts that men will recognize the kingdom of God as something glorious and magnificent. Besides, King David's Kingdom, including his descendants, was the very same kingdom of Yahweh. 1 Chro. 28:5 reads: “And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) he has chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel”. Solomon, the successor of David, took his seat in the same throne of Yahweh's kingdom in Israel. And this kingdom that Solomon inherited was a glorious kingdom in the judgment of all men! God's dominion or government over His people through His anointed kings was God's glorious kingdom in the Promised Land. That kingdom was established to last for many generations (Psa. 145:13) and exercising divine authority on the nations of the earth in the long term (Psa. 72:8). God had sworn to David that his sons would continue to sit on the throne without fail. (2 Sam 7:16 NKJV) "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever."' " (1 Ki 9:5 NKJV) "then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.' Also he promised that some day a last and final Davidic king would restore David's throne (Eze. 21:25-27). The glory of the Kingdom would someday be established in the earth with a Jewish king of David's line. And Daniel (in chapter 7) spoke of that kingdom-glory as an inheritance that would be possessed by God's saints in the future. Note especially, verses 18 and 27 “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, for ever and ever.' And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them” This is the glory that the Most High's saints will receive!
Ezekiel 39:21 says the following: “And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment which I have executed, and my hand which I have laid on them”. Here God talks about putting his glory among the nations, that glory that has to do with His tabernacle, his dwelling place among the saints (Rev. 21:1-3). God Himself will place His sanctuary among men. Finally, His presence and His rulership as King of kings will be absolute in the world. He will first reign in His kingdom through His Son, Jesus (The King of kings), for a thousand years, and then The Almighty Father will personally reign with Christ and his church as the Sovereign over His whole creation forever. Then the world will enjoy peace and justice never seen before by any human being, when the devil and his followers will be eradicated from the earth forever.
An Already Present Glory by Faith, but Not Yet Realized
It is certain that today we can have the glory, the salvation, the everlasting life, and the Kingdom through our faith. Each believer is already in the book of life in God's sight, and in a way, right now we possesses that glory and immortality by faith (“…those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” Heb. 6:12). But let's remember that we must keep that faith in order to get the final realization of our salvation (See Heb. 9:28; 1 Pet. 1:5). Jesus “has given” us glory by faith (John 17:22). Christ had it while He was on the earth, although He received it after his victory over death in his resurrection (Heb. 2:9). In the same way, Christ will take us to glory (not heaven!) when we are raised from the grave, having also been made perfect through the present tribulations. "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22 NKJV)
The Gospel of Christ's Glory ( 2 Cor. 4:4 )
Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:4 Says: “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God”. Here Paul reveals that Christ's glory – which is like the glory that is promised to us, is the glory of the gospel. Paul preached ‘the Kingdom of God’ as related to the message of the gospel concerning Jesus. Consider (Acts 28:23 NKJV) “So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.” (Also Acts 28:30, 31)
So That ALL RELATED with Christ's glory is the true Gospel, because this glory is an important part of the Gospel of Christ's Kingdom (Mat. 24:14). (Mat 24:14 NKJV) "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
We have just seen that kingdom and glory come side by side. So, each time that we are promised glory, in reality what is promised to us is the Kingdom. In short, to talk about the gospel of Christ's glory is to talk about the gospel of Christ's kingdom. The glory is part of the Kingdom, and the Kingdom involves the glory that we will obtain completely in the Parousía (or return of Christ). All believers are moving by faith to that monarchical glory (Heb. 2:10).
Peter “Took Part” In The Coming Glory (1 Peter 5:1)
The apostle Peter says it this way: “…So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed” (1 Pet. 5:1). With these words the apostle Peter recognized that right now he was also participating with the other believers of the glory that has not yet been manifested. That participation in glory was, for Peter, the participation of the divine nature (see 2 Pet. 1:4), by which one can obtain “…an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (See 2 Pet. 1:11). This agrees with what has been said by Paul when he assured the faithful of Corinth that: “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Cor. 15:50). One must earnestly desire the divine nature! Besides, for Paul, this participation in the glory of the Kingdom was equivalent to the participation of GRACE (Phil. 1:7), the true gospel of God's grace or the gospel of God's Kingdom in the earth (Look for my two articles on the subject in Google: “ Is the Gospel of Grace Paul's New Gospel? And “The Part is not the whole: A Study of the Complete Gospel!”).
The Apostle John Also Was a Participant in the Kingdom
John, just like Peter and Paul, was a participant of the glory which he called “the Kingdom”. In Revelation 1:9 he says: “John, your brother, who shares with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus”. Did you notice, dear reader, that partnership in the Kingdom for John was the partnership of glory for Peter, and in turn was the partnership of grace for Paul? That is, do You Understand now that the 3 terms (glory, kingdom, and grace) are closely related? It is evident than John participated in the kingdom; that is to say, in the glory that had not yet become manifest. And if glory had not become manifest, then neither had Christ's Kingdom. Christ's Kingdom was for John, a subject of the future, because he finalized his book asking for the coming of the King of the kingdom (Rev. 22:20 ).
What does John and James's Petition reveal?
It is interesting to compare Matt. 20:20-21 with Mar. 10:35-37, where we will discover what was clearly the glory for the disciples. These verses in Matthew' and Mark have been overlooked by many students of the Bible, and are key verses to understand what glory is promised by Christ. Unfortunately many believe that the glory is to be in the third heaven as white winged little angels playing a harp or a golden lyre for all the eternity.
Let's compare these two passages:
Matt. 20:20,21: “Then the mother of the sons of Zeb'edee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your KINGDOM."
Mar. 10: 35-37: “And James and John, the sons of Zeb'edee, came forward to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your GLORY."
If we compare both texts that refer to the same subject, but with slightly different perspectives, we will see that Matthew says that the mother of Zebedee's children (James and John) requested of Jesus a position of privilege in the KINGDOM for her two children. On the other hand, Mark writes saying that James and John asked Jesus for a place of privilege in His GLORY. Why this difference between both evangelists? Well, the only possible explanation is that there was little or no difference, since it was obvious that for the first Christians they associated the glory with the Kingdom and vice versa. With these verses it’s again demonstrated that the gospel of Christ's glory (2 Cor. 4:4) is closely related to the gospel of Christ's Kingdom (Mat. 24:14). Rresent-day preachers should understand this subject, and not speculate with interpretations that get away from the pristine truth of the Scriptures. Definitively the gospel of grace, the gospel of the Kingdom, the gospel of glory, the gospel of peace, the gospel of salvation, Christ's gospel, the gospel of the promise, etc, are all basically the same unique biblical gospel (Gál. 1:6-9).
The Glory that the three Witnesses saw: Peter, James and John
It is extremely interesting what the apostle Peter wrote in his second epistle that carries his name, chapter one, and verses 16-18: “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain” (of the transfiguration)”. This reminds us of what Jesus said in the Parable of the Tares when the nobleman went to heaven to RECEIVE a Kingdom, according to Luke 19:12. So Jesus went to heaven to receive glory and honor (2 Pet. 1:17), part of his glory and honor was in receiving the kingdom (Luke 19:12).
Now please notice this: In Luke 9:32 we are told that three selected disciples, Peter, James, and John, saw Jesus' GLORY. Notice that in Luke 9:27, Jesus had promised that some would see HIS KINGDOM. Also in Mark 9:1 Jesus announced to his disciples that it would be His kingdom that was to come and would be seen by some of His disciples in an event that we now know was his TRANSFIGURATION that occurred 6 days after. The three disciples, Peter, John, and James, really saw the majesty or the Messianic King's GLORY or His KINGDOM, like a preview of the glorified Lord in order that they might be witnesses of his glory and Kingdom.
Crowned to receive the Glory
The apostle Peter says that there is a crown of glory for the faithful. 1 Peter 5:4 says, “And when the chief Shepherd is manifested you will obtain the unfading crown of glory”. This means that we will be crowned like kings in the Kingdom as was Jesus Christ according to Heb. 2:9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” (Rev. 5:10: NKJV) “And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." (Rev 3:21 NKJV) "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
This tells of our glorification. Only the crowned are the nominees to be the executives of the messianic Kingdom, and this event the prophet Daniel foresaw clearly for the conquerors ((Dan 7:18 NKJV) “ 'But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.' . . . (27) Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.'”
Thrones of Glory
We read in Matthew 19:28: “Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”. See clearly that Christ's glory has THRONES. And where can there be thrones but in the kingdom? In this case we discovered that in Christ’s glory (his kingdom) there are thrones for Him and for the saved. Those thrones are Messianic Kingdom's thrones. So the GLORY again relate with THE KINGDOM of the Messiah in the new earth. In addition, take notice of the Psalm 122:3-5, where we are given more details on the thrones and the geographic location: “Jerusalem, built as a city which is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David”.
So you must be aware that the glory has nothing to do with a stay of the just in heaven like winged little angels, but with the dwelling of the saints in positions of authority at Christ's millenarian Kingdom in the promised land. That promised land is not the heaven, but Jerusalem, Christ will govern with his followers. Notice (Mat 19:28 NKJV) ‘So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ At that time Christ's Kingdom will be glorious. Psal. 72:7-20 says: “In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more! May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live, may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day! May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may men blossom forth from the cities like the grass of the field! May his name endure for ever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May men bless themselves by him, all nations call him blessed! Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name for ever; may his glory fill the whole earth! Amen and Amen! The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.”
But it is equally necessary to emphasize that our Lord Jesus Christ has not yet taken a seat on the throne of His glory in spite of the fact that some theologians have propagated the opposite. Notice what Jesus Himself says about the time of his being enthroned at his kingdom or glory: "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.” (Mathew 25:31). So Jesus has gone to heaven to receive the power of the kingdom (Luke. 19:12; Dan. 7:13,14), but he has not yet taken a seat on HIS throne, but on His Father's throne. He says : “He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” ( Rev. 3:21 ).
Glory and Power
We read in Rev. 5:13: “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!". And in Rev. 19:1 we read: “After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God”. So the glory has to do with the power that Christ and His saints will have in the kingdom over the entire world.
Power, Authority and the Kingdom
In Revelation 12:10, talking about our Lord Jesus Christ's future kingdom and his saints, says: “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”. Well then again, power, glory, and authority are intimately linked with Christ's Kingdom. The saints will have power in glory, or that is the same as saying: Authority at Christ's kingdom. In the parable of Luke's ten Mines, Jesus explains that the faithful will receive authority over entire cities, and the power exercised on human groups means authority (v.17). Also Rev. 2:26 “He who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him power over the nations”.
Satan has obscured The Gospel of Christ
We have seen that Satan has blinded the unbelievers' eyes in order that they not perceive or understand the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom; that is, the gospel of grace, or the gospel of coming Christ's glory. The devil does not desire that potential believers welcome this message of God because it means his own ruin, and of his kingdom in this world (See Mark 4:15). He has exchanged the gospel of a literal kingdom of God in the earth for a “spiritual reign in the believer's heart”, or for an “ecclesiastical kingdom”. The devil obstructs the human beings' reasoning, making them believe that God's Kingdom has nothing to do with a personal reign of the Messiah over the new earth. He has managed to convince millions that the Davidic covenant and the Abrahamic covenant, which insures for Christ and his church a kingdom on this planet, were not to be realized. Such preachers maintain that those covenants expired because of the infidelity of God's pristine people, and that these now have proceeded to being the inheritance of a new people (the gentile church) but with a purely spiritual significance. Augustine of Hipona was one of the responsible fathers for this crass mutation of the original pact. For Augustine, the Messianic Kingdom became an ecclesiastic kingdom, and David's throne transferred, from the earthly Jerusalem, to the celestial Jerusalem itself. This grave error was propagated subtly by Romanism for centuries, obscuring and making almost dissappear the true earthly Kingdom, as it is displayed in the Scriptures from cover to cover.
Summary
1.- Looking for the Glory ( Rom. 2:6,7 ) is to look for the Kingdom ( Matt. 6:33 ).
2.- The afflictions precede the glory ( Rom. 8:18 ) and it precede also the Kingdom ( 2 Tim. 2:12 ). Therefore glory and reign are equivalent.
3.- the Gospel of Christ's Glory (2 Cor. 4:4) is the Gospel of Christ's Kingdom (Matt. 24:14), and is the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24).
4.- To be participating in the Glory (2 Pet. 1:4) is to be participating in the Kingdom (Rev. 1:9).
5.- To receive the Glory (2 Pet. 1:16-18) is to receive the Kingdom (Luc. 19:12).
6.- To see the Glory (Luke. 9:32 ) is to see the Kingdom ( Luke. 9:27 ).
7.- Christ is sitting now on His Father's throne, not on His ( Apo. 3:21 ).
8.- The Glory is associated with the Power, and the power with the kingdom, and the kingdom with Authority ( Rev. 5:13; 19:1; 12:10 ).