Glory Is Character

Start with a question When you hear the word "glory," what do you picture? Most people picture a blinding, brilliant light, or a booming voice, or a physical manifestation of power. But if we let the Bible define its own terms, we discover something far more profound. The glory of God is not just a display of power; it is the revelation of His character.

What is "Glory"? When Moses was leading Israel in the wilderness, he made a bold request. He didn't ask for a display of lightning or a demonstration of raw power. He asked to see God's glory.

Notice the exchange. Moses asks for God's glory. God replies that He will make all His goodness pass before him and proclaim His name. The very next chapter records the fulfillment of this promise:

When God proclaimed His glory, He proclaimed His character. He declared His mercy, His grace, His longsuffering, and His truth. The glory of God is the shining forth of His moral perfection.

The Glory Given to Us Now look at what Jesus prayed just hours before His crucifixion: "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one..." (John 17:22–23)

Jesus gave us the same glory the Father gave Him. What is that glory? It is not a blinding physical light. It is the indwelling presence of the Father and the Son, transforming our character to match Theirs. The glory of God is the character of God, reproduced in the life of the believer through the Holy Spirit.

The "Fearful" in Revelation 21:8 This understanding of character and glory is vital for understanding the final judgments. Look at the list of those who will be lost in the New Jerusalem:

What does "the fearful" mean in this context? Many assume it means anyone who experiences the normal human emotion of fear. But that cannot be true, because Jesus Himself experienced fear and agony in Gethsemane, and He commanded us to "fear God."

The "fearful" here refers to those who shrink back and give up the faith under pressure. It refers to those who love the praise of men more than the praise of God. It is the person who, when faced with the threat of the mark of the beast, the loss of their job, or the loneliness of standing for truth, chooses the safety of the crowd over the loneliness of obedience. They shrink back. As Hebrews 10:38 says, "If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."

To be "fearful" in this ultimate sense is to lack the courage that comes from the indwelling Christ. It is the failure of character under pressure.

These are established expressions in prophetic teaching. The “Loud Cry” refers to the final, powerful proclamation of God's message to the world, associated with Revelation 18. The “Latter Rain” refers to the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit connected with the completion of that work. This lesson examines these expressions through the biblical passages themselves and explains the meaning proposed here.

But if the glory of God is His character, and the gospel is Christ in you, then the Loud Cry is something far more powerful. It is the manifestation of the character of Christ in His people.

The "Latter Rain" is not a new set of doctrines; it is the fullness of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Just as the early rain prepared the soil and brought forth the blade, the Latter Rain brings forth the full, mature character of Christ in the final generation. The world will not be converted by our arguments alone; it will be convicted by the undeniable reality of the Father's name written in the foreheads of His people (Revelation 14:1). They will bear His character. They will know who they worship, and they will reflect His love, His mercy, and His unyielding truth to a dying world.

The Ultimate Question This brings us to the end of our study on the indwelling Spirit, and to the most important question you will ever answer.

It does not matter how perfectly you can defend the doctrine of the Godhead. It does not matter how well you can dismantle the Trinity or explain the Hebrew word Elohim. The demons have perfect theology, and they are lost.

The only question that matters at the judgment is this: Is Christ living in me?

Do I possess the Spirit of the Son? Has the Father and the Son made Their abode in my heart? Is my character being transformed by His indwelling presence?

If the Holy Spirit is the very life and person of Jesus Christ, then to lack the Spirit is to lack Christ. And to have the Spirit is to have everything.