Sabbath Meditation #30 – The Great Reunion
By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

“Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings” (Lev 23:3).

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

One important detail we garner from Leviticus 23:3 is that the Sabbath is a holy convocation. The Hebrew word translated as convocation is miqra; it means a gathering or rehearsal. When we gather together on the Sabbath, we are also rehearsing for events that have yet to happen. One of those is the great reunion with each other that will happen at the first resurrection.

“16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4:16-17).

“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Rom. 8:17).

When Christ returns, the dead in Christ will rise first. Then, those who are still alive will be caught up. As Paul said in Romans, we will be glorified together. This is another reason why gathering together with other believers on Sabbath and learning to get along is so important. One day we will all be glorified together. This gathering together and glorification of all saints past and present is a future event that we rehearse on the Sabbath. It is a rehearsal for the great union!

As we keep the sabbath in an assembly now but there are those who have passed on the Lord. On the Sabbath, sometimes we remember their memories. We miss seeing them. When that great union occurs, we won’t miss them any longer! We will all be together then, which means our Sabbath experience will be even more fulfilling then than it is now. Imagine meeting not just those brothers and sisters from our past, but all the saints from the centuries! Imagine Jesus! Imagine meeting Paul, Peter, John, the other disciples, Timothy, Polycarp, Ulfilas, and the list goes on and on. The stories and history we will come to understand at the great reunion! – and at that time we will all be in our glorified bodies! Who will you look forward to seeing?

When that day comes, all the saints will be permanently together. We won’t have to miss someone whether it is for one Sabbath or for the rest of our lives.

This is why we should want to gather together even more as we see the return of Christ drawing closer. It means that we are even closer to that great reunion of all the saints to be together forever!

Selah.

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President – www.biblesabbath.org