And They Lived Happily Ever After

Posted On December 31, 2023

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 21:4 NLT

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Revelation 22:12-13 NIV

It’s the end of 2023. Can you believe it? I can’t. We’ve shared an amazing trip through the story of the Bible, and now we’ve come to the last chapter. Thank you for sharing this adventure with me!

Our plan for this year was a journey through The NeverEnding Story of the Bible to discover how we fit into it along the way. It was loosely based on The Story, an abridged chronological version of the Bible, and the accompanying study guide The Heart of the Story by Randy Frazee.

Here is where we are in The Story:

We’ve reached the last chapter, “The End of Time, which is based on Revelation 1-5 and Revelation 19-22. These chapters in the Bible include John’s letters to the seven churches and John’s visions of the Scroll and the Lamb, the defeat of Satan, and the New Heaven and the New Earth.

We may have reached the end of The Story, but God’s story never ends. As we read the end of Revelation, we are reminded of the beginning of Genesis. That’s because the end of the story is not really an ending at all, but a new beginning. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. And He is making all things new!

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.“

Genesis 1:1 NIV

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared.”

Revelation 21:1 NLT

As Randy Frazee explained when we began this journey a year ago, God’s story unfolds in a circular fashion. It ends where it began in a beautiful garden. We discussed five movements within God’s story which have now led us back to the restoration of God’s initial vision:

• MOVEMENT ONE: The Story of the Garden
  • The Story: Chapter 1
  • Genesis 1-11
• MOVEMENT TWO: The Story of Israel
  • The Story: Chapters 2-21
  • Genesis 12-Malachi
• MOVEMENT THREE: The Story of Jesus
  • The Story: Chapters 22-27
  • Matthew-John
• MOVEMENT FOUR: The Story of the Church
  • The Story: Chapters 28-30
  • Acts-Jude
• MOVEMENT FIVE: The Story of a New Garden
  • The Story: Chapter 31
  • Revelation

The story of God’s restoration of our fallen world began with mankind’s first sin in the Garden of Eden, and it ends with a new garden in which there will be no more sin. The Bible was written in various styles and genres by approximately 40 authors over a period of 1500 years, but the true Authorship (by the Holy Spirit) shines through on every page. Because as we look back over the overarching story of the Bible, we see how God has always been leading us back here: Back to His garden. Back to Him.

“God’s story doesn’t make a line, but a circle. And now we’re nearly all the way back to where we began. The last two chapters of the Bible read almost identically to the first two chapters of the Bible. God is creating a new heaven and a new earth. The tree of life is at the center of the garden. A community of people will be there with new bodies that are not infected with sin. . . . This is not really the ending of the story, but a new beginning. God has restored what was lost in the first beginning through Christ. The next major event that will set this last movement into action is Christ’s return.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

“God will take that same finger depicted in Michelangelo’s painting as giving life to Adam and wipe the final tear from my eyes . . .”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

And they lived happily ever after. When we read that phrase, we usually think of the ending of a children’s fable or a sappy romance. It brings to mind a fictional story that, while sweet, has nothing to do with real life. It makes us sigh a little and muse longingly about another realm where dreams really do come true . . . Then we go back to our dull grown-up lives in the ordinary world where life is hard and we’ve learned long ago to stop believing in fairy-tale endings.

But this story — God’s story — is not fiction. It’s not particularly sweet, and it’s not just for children. It does, however, tell us that we will live happily ever after in the end. And it has everything to do with “real” life: Real life begins when we put our faith in Jesus. Reading about the wonderful ending that awaits us as followers of Christ puts everything else into perspective. It gives us strength to endure the hardships we face in this life, because we know they will last only a moment compared with eternity.

When we reach our final home, God Himself will live with us and He will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, and no more pain. (Revelation 21:4) We are destined for a realm where dreams really do come true and everyone lives in joy and peace forever in the presence of our loving Creator. So, let’s keep believing in something even better than a fairy-tale ending: Let’s hold on to the beautiful vision God gave us of our final destination and cling to the encouragement it provides as we journey on.

“The last words written on this scroll are about the journey’s end. . . . It tells us that we must always leave the old before we can enter into the new. And it reminds us that this life is not the destination, but the journey to the destination. So live your life and every moment of your life in light of that, in light of the end, in light of the day when the old will flee away, and of your first glimpse of that of which you had only dreamed . . . “

Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries

“God wants us to read the Bible as we would view a mural. The individual stories on its pages are connected, all entwining to communicate one overarching epic.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

As we discussed when we began The Story a year ago, Randy Frazee describes the Bible in terms of an Upper Story and a Lower Story. And he reminds us that to better understand what the Bible says, we must keep both perspectives in mind. To help us visualize this, he uses the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome (pictured above) as an example.

If we look at each of the individual paintings in the mural, we see God’s work in each of the Lower Stories depicted. The Lower Story, which is full of the everyday struggles and experiences of life on earth, shows how God intervenes in individuals’ lives to offer wisdom, guidance, healing, and comfort. If we focus instead on the overall panorama above us, we see how each painting fits together to create something much bigger: the Upper Story of God’s redemption of His people and his creation.

Now, at the end of The Story, Frazee asks us to look up once more:

“Let’s go back to the breathtaking Sistine Chapel in Rome. You now know the backstory of the three hundred characters that Michelangelo painted on the ceiling and how they fit together to tell the one love story of God. . . . You look up, and over in the corner, much to your surprise, you see the back of a man who looks like Michelangelo. He is painting a scene on a blank spot on the ceiling . . . this artist is painting a portrait of you! You are a part of the grand Story of God. You know how the story ends, but there are still things to be done, things to be said. How will the artist depict your life . . . ?”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

“Like your own story, each of these stories will be unique, filled with drama, heartache, and joy. Taken individually, not all of them may make sense, but when viewed from God’s Upper Story, they fit together perfectly.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

As we reflect on our journey through God’s Word this past year, we are reminded of what God has done and how God works in people’s lives. And we can also see the big picture of God’s ultimate plan for His beloved children. Our challenge moving forward is to keep striving to find our place in God’s masterpiece, because it’s still being written. Jesus has not yet returned, which means that we are all active participants in God’s divine epic.

“The events described in Revelation are still to come. You know what that means? You are a character in God’s story; you have a role to play. . . . As you draw close to God, you will hear his instruction on what to do, and you will see his hand, weaving the details of your life to move his story forward. Nothing will bring greater fulfillment than knowing you have a purpose in God. Live every day with the expectation that this could be the day your Savior returns.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

We must never stop moving toward the glorious destination that awaits us as God’s children. We must continue to take one step closer to Christ every day and, in doing so, discover the amazing ways He will write us into His grand adventure. Life in the Lower Story is not always easy, but our heavenly Father assures us that He works everything we experience for good in His Upper Story. So, let’s give Him the pen and trust Him to write the story of our lives.

“God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.”

2 Samuel 22:25 MSG

This week’s Scripture passages describe the new Heaven and new Earth that await us. Jesus is preparing a place for us there, and someday He will return in glory. Let’s be ready when He does! As we set our minds on things above and trust God with every aspect of our lives, He can use us to further His story and complete His masterpiece.

Maybe one day we’ll get to read the ending God writes for us. If so, I bet it will go something like this: “They worked hard for the Lord. They were good and faithful servants. And they lived happily ever after . . .”

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.
Amen.”

Revelation 22:20-21 NIV

References:

• Cahn, Jonathan. The Book of Mysteries. Front Line, 2018.
• Frazee, Randy.  The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
• The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.

Images:

• Magic Book featured image by NoName_13 from Pixabay (edited)
• Alpha and Omega image by Ralph from Pixabay (edited)
• Tree of Life image by Eva Michálková from Pixabay (edited)
• Creation of Adam image by Markus Baumeler from Pixabay
• Sistine Chapel image by Mustafa Simsek: https://www.pexels.com/photo/the-ceiling-of-the-sistine-chapel-in-rome-11826844/
• Heaven’s Library image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay
• Background for Scripture passages created using Parchment Background by 6863 from Pixabay (edited) and Tree of Life Symbol by 652234 from Pixabay (edited)
• Tree of Life Symbol image created using Open Book by Markus Spiske from Pixabay (edited), Parchment Background by 6863 from Pixabay (edited), and Tree of Life Symbol by 652234 from Pixabay (edited)