The history of the glory of God on earth goes all the way back to Adam. When Adam was created, God breathed into him the breath of life. The Scripture says that he was crowned with the glory of God. (Psalm 8:5)
We've all seen old paintings with the little moon glow around the head, or paintings with a little halo. What the artist is trying to depict is the glory of God. The glory of God is a power and a covering that Adam had that would actually allow him to live forever and to never have sickness and disease in his body. It allowed him to have no lack and to live the way God wanted him to live. That's the way that Adam was supposed to live.
If Adam and Eve had not sinned in the garden, Adam and Eve would still be alive today. You may say, "What about me? If Adam and Eve hadn't sinned, I wouldn't be here." Oh, yes you would. You would still be here because God had commanded them to multiply, reproduce and replenish the earth. They had been given that command. We just wouldn't have gone through the procedure we have gone through to get where we are.
Someone might say, "If Adam and Eve hadn't sinned, preachers would be out of a job." No, we'd still be called. We just wouldn't be preaching the salvation we are preaching now. We'd be preaching dominion. Adam and Eve had been given dominion over the earth. They had been given a job to do. After they sinned, they were naked. The Word doesn't say they were nude. They were naked. There is a difference. The reason they were naked was because they had lost their covering. They had lost the glory of God. They did not qualify for the anointing.
Even with the glory gone, God still had a love for man and mankind, His creation. He had a supernatural love that we can hardly understand. In fact, the angels could not even understand it. The Bible tells of one of the angels talking to the Father. "Who is man that you are mindful of him, who was created just a little bit lower than Elohim?" Some translations say angels, but actually the word is translated Elohim, which is the plural of God. "What is this thing called man that you created him and crowned him?" That's what the angel said.
From the beginning it was God's plan for man to be crowned with the glory of God and to live with God and fellowship with God. Man was placed in fellowship on this earth, he was covered with the glory of God, he sinned and then he lost that glory. He became naked and tried to cover himself up. There is no substitute for the glory of God. The scriptures tell us that Jesus walked in the glory and that He was resurrected by the glory of God. (Romans 6:4)
The Bible actually is the story of the glory. It's the story about how God created man, covered him with glory and then gave His best to bring back the glory to man. We know that one of these days, one of two things is going to happen to each one of us. You are either going to die physically or Jesus is going to return before you die. The scripture tells us that if you die and you are in Christ, then you will be caught up with Him in the sky.
"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep. . ." That's talking about those who have died. ". . . lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 4:13,14)
"For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)
This means there is going to be a time when Jesus is going to return and He is going to take every single believer who has died and resurrect their body out of the ground. They will become alive again. You say, "How can that happen?" The way it will happen is the exact same way that it happened with Jesus. By the glory of God.
Devotion 0127