Fx – They Will See His Face, and His Name Will Be On Their Foreheads 22: 3-5

They Will See His Face,
and His Name Will Be On Their Foreheads
22: 3-5

They will see His face, and His Name will be on their foreheads DIG: What will the removal of the curse mean? Where else in the Bible does it say that His name will be on our foreheads? What does that represent? What is Jesus’ promise to him who overcomes?

REFLECT: Sometimes the Bible tells us something that is hard for us to understand or accept. How do you feel when it says that the LORD will serve us? Does it frighten you to think of seeing God face to face? 

John continues to contrast between life in this age and the age to come. This age is characterized by evil, sin, and many other things that fall under the divine curse (Genesis 3:17-19). But under conditions in the Eternal State, we and the earth will be completely transformed, and there will no longer be any curse (22:3a).⁵¹² Jesus not only bore the curse, He was made the curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Therefore, God in perfect justice can remove the curse forever because He was satisfied with Messiah’s sacrifice on the cross. In the entire world and throughout the ages, no one will ever die again. No one will suffer pain or sorrow of tears ever again, and death is swallowed up in victory. Like the first heaven and the first earth, all these former things are passed away.⁵¹³

The throne of God the Father and the Lamb Jesus Christ will be in the City and reign for all time. Therefore, His servants will serve Him (22:3b). This reveals that heaven is not a place of idleness, but a place of ceaseless activity. It will not be necessary to rest in order to give the body an opportunity to recover. The word for service is a special one in the sense that it came to be used by the Jews to denote their service to God as His special people. The writer to the Hebrews said: Then indeed, even the TaNaKh had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. . . Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the Most Holy Place, performing the service of God (Hebrews 9:1 and 6 NKJ). It will be a special service to ADONAI that you and I will perform in the Eternal State. What is it? I do not know. Perhaps each of us will be assigned an entire galaxy to explore and develop for the glory of the LORD. Remember that Adam was given the responsibility to work and take care of the perfect garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15a). Or perhaps each one of use will continue to develop the spiritual gifts that we had while living on the old earth. But whatever it is, we will at last fulfill our destiny and satisfy the desires of our heart.⁵¹⁴

Having unimpeded fellowship with the Lord, believers in the New Jerusalem will see His face (22:4a). Before the Eternal State this was not possible. When Moses wanted to see ADONAI’s Sh’khinah glory, he was warned: But you cannot see My face, for no one in a sinful state may see Me and live (Exodus 33:20). It would kill Moses instantly. The Scriptures are full of examples showing that mankind cannot see God (Exodus 3:6; Judges 13:22; Job 13:20). The LORD is sinless and holy, whereas mankind is sinful and unholy. But in the Eternal State, believers will be perfect and righteous and will be able to endure the Sh’khinah glory from God’s presence without being killed – something not possible for sinful human beings (John 1:18, 6:46; First Timothy 6:16; First John 4:12).

And His name will be on their foreheads (22:4b). Throughout the Bible, a name on the forehead points to ownership. We will be Yeshua’s personal possession. At the foot of Mount Sinai, ADONAI told the Israelites to fix His word in their hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hand and bind them on your foreheads (Deut 11:18). This was a symbol of His ownership of them; they were to be His chosen people.

When Ezeki’el was in exile from the Land in Babylon, the Spirit lifted him up and in visions of God he was taken back to Jerusalem. There he was shown the spiritual adultery that was taking place within the Temple itself. Then ADONAI called a scribe with a writing kit at his side to go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that were being done in the city. The Lord knew who had been faithful to Him and would spare those who were His. God then told the guards to follow the scribe through the city and kill those without the mark were destroyed without showing mercy. But He added: Do not touch anyone who has the mark because they belong to Me (Ez 9:1-6).

As the four angels who had been given the power to harm the land and the sea were ready to hold back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing, another mighty angel cried out: Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the 144,000 servants of God (7:2-3). Later, we find out that the seal was the Lamb’s name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads (14:1). These 144,000 will be servants, and their Master will be Jesus Christ Himself.

In the fifth trumpet judgment, a swarm of demons still under the Lord’s control were released from the Abyss. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads (9:4). In other words, the 144,000 or other believers were not to be harmed because they were His own adopted children (Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5).

In the end times, Satan will counterfeit the seal of God on the foreheads of believers. The false prophet will introduce his own counterfeit mark, the famous mark of the beast (13:16-18). By placing the mark on their forehead or right hand, the unbelievers of the earth will place themselves under the authority of the antichrist and worship him as god. On the other hand, the Tribulation martyrs are seen under the altar of incense in heaven (6:9-11). They had been beheaded because they refused to worship the beast and had not received his mark on their foreheads (20:4).

Finally, here in the Eternal State, we see once again that His name will be on their foreheads. This should not come as any surprise to us, since this has been His plan all along. After telling Isra’el that He would make a New Covenant with them, ADONAI said: This is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra’el. I will put My Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be My people (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a Covenant with the People of Isra’el).

Then John repeats his earlier description of the greatness of heaven by saying: There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the LORD God will give them light (22:5a). The Sh’khinah glory will provide all the light necessary for all eternity. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard. . . the things which God has prepared for those who love Him (First Corinthians 2:9).

And then John adds a final high point in describing believer’s heavenly experience. It will never end because God the Father and the Lamb Jesus Christ will reign forever and ever (22:5b). That will be the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to the church in Philadelphia: The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the Temple of My God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven (3:12).

The eternal capital city of heaven, the New Jerusalem, will be a place of indescribable, unimaginable beauty. From the center of it the brilliant Sh’khinah glory will shine through the gold and precious stones to illuminate the heavenly City. But the most glorious reality of all will be that sinful rebels will be made righteous, enjoy intimate fellowship with God and the Lamb, serve them, and reign with them forever in joy and never-ending praise.⁵¹⁵

Dear Heavenly Father, You are Awesome! It is so glorious to think of seeing Your face and having Your name on each of Your children (John 1:12). The trails of life will all be gone and the joy of a love relationship with You that we began on earth, will continue for all eternity! My heart is so full of gratitude for all that You have done and all that You are. Words cannot express how thankful and grateful Your children are. We bow in reverence, worshipping You and looking forward to praising Your great and holy name forever! In the name of holy Yeshua and the power of His resurrection. Amen