"[The Lord] will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love" (Zep 3:17)
What will the end be like for Christians? Zephaniah tells us two things:
1) There will be absence of judgement, evil and fear.
The Lord has taken away the judgements against you; he has cleared away your enemies. (Zep 3:15) Under the King, there can be no more fear. Not against evil, for God's enemies are totally removed, and no longer fear of wrath and punishment, for all judgements were already paid by the blood of the Lamb. It reminds us what it means to live under a protective, loving Shepherd (Ps 23).
2) We will be in the presence of an incredibly happy God.
It is often obscure to think of God as a happy God. We like to think of Him as a holy and solemn God who breaks more easily into judgment than joy. We associate God with saving and not singing. Yet singing is exactly what He does, as Zephaniah tells us. He will exult over you with loud singing (Zep 3:17). In the end of days God will be so exuberantly joyful of His people that he breaks out into songs of joy, for it is a people He Himself has claimed by His Son's blood. It is an amazing picture of God's joy in seeing His unblemished bride. If the angels rejoice over a sinner's repentance, how much more will God Himself rejoice! And so we, God's people look forward to bask in this eternal joy of God in heaven.
As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5)
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