What is the church triumphant?

We are told that the church triumphant and the church on earth are all one, we being "the outer court;" both worship Christ presenting His offering in heaven actually, and on earth in the Eucharist. Of this last we have spoken. But all is error. There is no church triumphant. That all departed Christians, whose spirits are now with Christ, will finally make one body is quite true; and that when absent from the body they are present with the Lord, so that to depart and be with Christ is far better, this too it is most blessed to know. It has made death to be a gain. But there is no church triumphant. For this we must wait till the resurrection. The saints in their complete state, that is, conformed to the image of Christ, bearing the image of the heavenly, are not yet ascended or glorified. Their spirits, happy with the Lord, await the day of glory which Christ Himself, though glorified, is awaiting. For, as we read, David is not yet ascended into heaven. And however confused and contradictory the ideas of the early doctors may have been, (and on this point they were confusion itself,) still early liturgies and all early teaching recognized this; for they prayed for the departed — what afterwards, under Jewish traditions, became purgatory.

The walls will not be frowning battlements grimly reared for defence or defiance, raised against great foes and manned by intrepid warriors, for from those heavenly places in which the city will appear the foe will have been cast down, and the devil chained in the bottomless pit (Rev. 12 and 20). The city is the church triumphant, and will fear no attack from without and will be free to enjoy the riches of God's grace within. It will be God's enclosure, within it He will show His glory and every created intelligence will learn from it what pleased Him. And through the walls the glory will shine; they will not obscure the glory or hide its beauties, but they shine as a jasper stone; they have the glory of God. And in their foundations are every manner of precious stones, cut by the supreme art of the Divine Lapidary, the all-varied wisdom of God will radiate there, not to repel, but to attract all nations in admiring worship to it.

The wall will not be a frowning battlement, grimly reared for defence or defiance, raised against great foes and manned by intrepid warriors, for from those heavenly places in which the city will appear, the foe will have been cast down, and the devil chained in the bottomless pit (Rev. 12 and 20). The city will be the church triumphant, and nothing that defiles will threaten the peace of it, and it will fear no attack from without, and will be free to enjoy the riches of God's grace within. It will be God's enclosure, within it He will show His glory, and every created intelligence will learn from it what pleases Him. And through the wall the glory will shine; it will not obscure the glory or hide its beauties. And in the foundation of it will be every manner of precious stones, cut by the supreme art of the Divine Lapidary; the all-varied wisdom of God will radiate there, not to repel, but to attract all nations in admiring worship to it.

The walls will not be frowning battlements grimly reared for defence or defiance, raised against great foes and manned by intrepid warriors, for from those heavenly places in which the city will appear the foe will have been cast down, and the devil chained in the bottomless pit (Rev. 12 and 20). The city is the church triumphant, and will fear no attack from without and will be free to enjoy the riches of God's grace within. It will be God's enclosure, within it He will show His glory and every created intelligence will learn from it what pleased Him. And through the walls the glory will shine; they will not obscure the glory or hide its beauties, but they shine as a jasper stone; they have the glory of God. And in their foundations are every manner of precious stones, cut by the supreme art of the Divine Lapidary, the all-varied wisdom of God will radiate there, not to repel, but to attract all nations in admiring worship to it.

The great moment of the church’s triumph will be when the Lord shouts the assembling shout at His second coming, when in response every sleeping saint will arise and every living saint changed, and ALL together caught up to be with the Lord for ever (John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

To create the orbs that roll in space was glorious, but to exhibit in heavenly splendour countless millions of souls who had fallen under the dominion of death through sin, this is surpassing glory! Their sins cannot bar them, for they are without blame in the presence of Him who died for them. "It is God that justifieth! Who is he that condemneth?" Death cannot now retain them! At the "keleusma" of Christ they will burst its bonds; "the gates of hades shall not prevail against" His church. It was to this event that Christ's words pointed forward, not to the earthly success of the Church of Rome. Outwardly the true church may seem to he defeated. Men may point in scorn at Christianity. But the church will yet be seen in glory, and in glorious unity. Then, and in heaven, will be the church's triumph, not now and upon earth. Reader, where are you and I looking for success? Upon earth or in heaven? "Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. … When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:1-4).

The fact that the church is still here is a proof of its impregnability. During its history on earth it has often appeared as though it had been utterly defeated, but it has never been so, it has been said that the "annals of the church are the annals of hell." But the church of the historian is not the church of God. The church of God has suffered the fiercest persecution from that which blatantly claims that name, for the false hates the true, and the darkness hates the light. But the true has been maintained by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the blood of the martyrs has often been the seed of the church. We believe that we are right in saying that there are more true saints of God on earth today than ever in the history of the church, and in view of the near return of the Lord, we look for an increasing devotion of heart to Himself, which the prevailing worldliness and false teaching of the professing body will not spoil; for is it not written, "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come"? and does not this indicate heart longing for Christ? The devil cannot prevail against this. The final triumph will be, when Christ presents the church to Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

The church will come with Him to share in His triumph and reign. In Revelation 21:9 we get the introduction of the church in association with Christ during the millennium, the thousand years’ reign of Christ. We read:

126 As Christ offers up the prayers of His church, so He is said to be the Head of their praises. The believer sees Christ brought into the "dust of death"; but he also hears Him, after His conquest, in the midst of His church, declaring the Father's perfect satisfaction and pleasure. Christ's joy in the church's salvation, and in the inward witness of the Spirit of love to the work of Christ, we have the blessed certainty of the Father's love. All is thus finished. Now, did the Lord begin to praise before the work was finished? No; it is upon His resurrection He shews forth praises; then He begins the "new song," which His redeemed are taught to sing: "And they sing a new song, saying, Thou art worthy; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood." It is a new song, because a redeemed song, and they have done with sin, that is, as to any condemnation; they may, indeed, before they join the church triumphant, while they are here below, be tempted still, harassed, and oppressed; but greater is He that is for them than he that is against them.

Zipporah typifies the bride in the adversity of the wilderness — the church militant; as Asenath, Joseph's wife, typifies the church triumphant in the future glory. Asenath is a kind of additional lustre to her husband; but Zipporah is much the reverse — a hindrance and a discredit to him, a source of danger and sorrow; besides which she is murmuring and ungrateful, continually misunderstanding him — took him at first to be an Egyptian!§ When we hear of a king Cophetua wedding a beggar maid, or a Duke Chandos rescuing the wife of a groom from his blows and subsequently marrying her, and other instances of that kind of event embodied in the myth of Cinderella, we first think of the romantic side of the transaction, and admire the chivalrous devotion that has been shown; but reflection compels us to admit that the inconveniences of such mésalliances are enormous and continuous. Though love smiles at them, prudence recognises them: they are not to be ignored. But there is nothing that a just and wise man like Moses could do under the circumstances, except maintain patience and silence. He should have foreseen, and did foresee, all that at the beginning; it was part of the sacrifice he had to make. Then there is this to be said in regard to Zipporah, — that when she met the Hebrew ruler, his glories were obscured; he was a homeless outcast; and it was then she received him in love and faith. We may be sure he never forgot this. Now all that is manifestly typical of the church. — Zipporah means "little bird;" whether by design or not, the name suggests the same blending of contrary thoughts, — pathetic suggestions of weakness and waywardness; yet also of a nature belonging to the heavenly places; and of affection and divine care. [§ Ex. 2:19. See also Ex. 4:24-26.]