In Revelation 11:19 we read, “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple.” The context of this vision is the sounding of the 7th trumpet and the judgment of Christ. The ark was the most holy object in the temple and represented the promise of grace and atonement for sin, looking ahead to the coming of Christ, the Savior.
The vision of the ark is at the end of history, and it symbolizes that all the promises of God in Christ have been accomplished. It points believers to keep an eternal mindset, which is so easy to forget when we are busy in the present world. But we are reminded of the promise of Christ and the grace of God throughout the Scriptures.
The vision of the ark becomes a welcome sight when we understand how necessary grace is and how willing God is to give it to us. So, in the next couple of articles, we will go back to the beginning to see how God’s promise of Christ is woven throughout redemptive history.
After the devil succeeded in tempting Adam and Eve to disregard God’s word and sin against God, the result was the death of man, spiritual death immediately and physical death his destiny (to dust you shall return; Genesis 3:19). Mankind was now at enmity with God and had lost the favorable presence of the Lord.
But God made a promise after this fall. He told the devil that the seed (a descendent) of the woman would crush the head of the devil (Genesis 3:15). In this God was providing a way for sinful man to return to the favorable presence of God. This seed of the woman pointed to Christ, who came into the world to destroy the works of the devil.
After the fall, there are two ways one can approach God. One way is the way of perfect obedience and love to God and neighbor. This way is not possible for a sinner; nevertheless, God requires it. The other way is believing in the Surety God provides, one who will take upon himself the obligation to pay the debt of sin owed and be an Advocate to conquer everything that bars a sinner from coming to God: a sinful heart, death, the devil. This is the good news of grace.
The next story in Genesis, the story of Cain and Abel, impresses upon us how necessary this promise of grace is. The two brothers are appointed a time to come into the presence of God to worship. They bring offerings to God. It’s important to remember the context. They would know the story of how sin and death came into the world, as well as the promise of the seed of the woman.
After the two men brought their offerings, we read that God had regard for Abel’s offering, but did not have regard for Cain’s. The writer of Hebrews tells us that the difference was Abel brought his in faith. Abel came humbly to the Lord, believing his promise of a Mediator, and so brought the “fat portions” or the best offering he could bring. He desired to be in the presence of God and to worship him.
The Lord knew Cain’s heart. Cain brought his offering in a perfunctory manner and thought the Lord should be satisfied with whatever he brought. Cain would rather be somewhere else. When the Lord did not accept his offering, he became enraged and killed his brother Abel. He ended up going “away from the presence of the Lord” (Genesis 4:19).
No creature can get away from the presence of the Lord literally; this refers to the favorable, blessed presence of the Lord. Cain would not have the Lord rule over him. You see the power of sin here. He knew the Lord was God, yet he would not be corrected by God or humble himself to God.
A soul without God never ceases to be guilty and sinful, and therefore never ceases to be miserable. Every sinner isn’t as depraved as Cain was; but in this they are the same- they fall short of the glory of God and face an inevitable judgment from God if they persist in rebellion.
From the beginning, there has only been one way for man to return to God and know the blessedness and peace of God: humbly embrace Christ, the Son of God, the only Savior of man, promised by God, born in Bethlehem, who died for sinners, was raised from the dead, and is full of grace and love.
