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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Jul 29, 2021 0:52:21 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 20:9
Wednesday, July 28th, 2021
They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. Revelation 20:9
The words now are referring to those of the nations who have been deceived by Satan and who have been gathered together for battle, specifically called “Gog and Magog.” Of them, John now says, “They went up on the breadth of the earth.”
The deception will be so great that vast hordes of people will be involved. The previous verse spoke of the deception going out to the “four corners of the earth.” People will stream from all directions and be “as the sand of the sea” so that they will cover everything. The terminology is similar to that which described the Chaldeans coming against Jerusalem at the time of Habakkuk –
“For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.” Habakkuk 1:6
Of these vast multitudes, John next says, “and surrounded the camp of the saints.” The word translated as “camp” is a compound noun coming from two words signifying “a throwing beside.” It is a word that can mean a castle, a barracks, an army in battle array, and so on. The context determines the meanings. In this case, it is the layout of space allocated for the saints.
In Ezekiel 45:1-8, land is specifically set aside in exacting measurement in relation to the sanctuary. It seems likely that this is what is being referred to here. It is the place where the saints minister to the Lord in the temple. That designated area is inclusive of, and surrounds, Jerusalem, of which John next says, “and the beloved city.”
Without a doubt, this is referring to Jerusalem. It is a literal attack coming against it, not a spiritualized battle where the foes of the church rally against her. The idea of Jerusalem being the beloved city is found in Psalm 78 –
“But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved.
69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.” Psalm 78:68, 69
This great army, one not unlike the one prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39, will be gathered together, repeating the same pattern that occurred a thousand years earlier. The same results will occur at that time as well. As John next says, “And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.”
This was prophesied for Gog and Magog in Ezekiel–
“I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 38:21-23
“And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day of which I have spoken.” Ezekiel 39:6-8
The thought here is that the same groups will repeat the same mistake, thus demonstrating that man will refuse to learn to trust in God’s word. Instead, he will inevitably believe the lies of Satan. It is the wickedness of the human heart that is on display here. As Solomon says –
“That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9
Life application: It is believed that, throughout history, Jerusalem has been destroyed partially or entirely approximately forty times. It has been the center of the nations, and even today the world’s eyes are focused on this teeny piece of property in the little country known as Israel.
There are such weighty claims to it that no one is sure how to resolve the matter. So heavy and burdensome is the stone known as Jerusalem in today’s world that as Zechariah prophesies, “…all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it” (Zechariah 12:3).
History, at the beginning of the tribulation period, will recapitulate history at the end of the millennium. Apparently, after the devil is released, he will deceive the people in some way once again. He is an inciter to violence, and he tempts people in his three consistent ways – by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and by the pride of life. This was his mode of corruption in Eden, it is what John warns about in his first epistle, and it is the way he tested Jesus in the wilderness as is recorded in the gospels. He will use his power to tempt one last time to take as many souls as possible to hell along with him.
He knows that the book is written, and the outcome is already known to God. He knows that God’s word will be fulfilled. Despite this, he will make his final move. However, the move will be brought to an abrupt end. Unlike the tribulation period which encompasses most of chapters 4-19 of the book of Revelation, this battle takes up a few sentences. Unless there is a battle where the details are simply brushed over, when armies are gathered against the city and the people of God, the Lord will act, and the rebellion will be over immediately.
There are numerous times that fire comes from heaven in the Old Testament. It is in a way that demonstrates God’s power to God’s people. And so, it will be one final time at the end of the ages. God will show himself holy, in the presence of, and on behalf of, His people, protecting them and consuming those who would harm them. “‘For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst’” (Zechariah 2:5).
The Lord will act because He is the Lord – great, powerful, and covenant-keeping. He is JESUS!
Heavenly Father, knowing that You have already determined to protect Your people who will live even a thousand years from now assures us that You are completely in control of all things in all ages. We can know that we have nothing to fear because You have, do, and always will tend to the needs of those who have called on You. Thank You for this wonderful assurance. Amen
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Jul 30, 2021 0:29:55 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 20:10
Thursday, July 29th, 2021
The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:10
The previous verse detailed God’s protection of the camp of the saints and the beloved city when fire was brought down upon the attackers. With that completed, the attention is now brought to focus on the one who deceived them in the first place. John says, “The devil, who deceived them.”
The verb is a present participle. It rightly reads, “The devil, who is deceiving them.” The words are active and alive. They show that right up until the very end, the devil never stops deceiving the people. His nature never changes. It is reflective of Jesus’ words concerning him –
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44
Of this wicked entity, John says he “was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.” And the crowd goes wild! The one who has brought such calamity upon the people of the world, even since the earliest times, is chucked into the lake for an eternal swim in fire and brimstone. But he will not be alone. John reminds us that this is “where the beast and the false prophet are.” Their fate was noted in the previous chapter –
“Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Revelation 19:20
Imagine! The beast and the false prophet have now been burning for a thousand years, and yet it notes that they are still there. With the devil now joining them, they will continue to suffer their deserved punishment forever. John says as much with the next words, “And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
This is the fate of any who will later be cast into the lake of fire. The idea of annihilationism is not to be found in Scripture. Those who are not granted access to God’s paradise through Christ will be cast into the lake of fire for their own eternal swim in punishment. That was noted earlier in chapter 14 –
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’” Revelation 14:9-11
This same truth will again be seen in the verses ahead.
Life application: The devil, who is the serpent and Satan, came on to the scene in Genesis chapter 3, the third chapter into the Bible. He now makes his eternal departure from the scene in the third chapter from the end of the Bible – the symmetry of the Bible is stunningly beautiful in so many ways. It bears both the fingerprints and the wisdom of God in all that it reveals to us.
The devil is the same evil character who deceived Adam and Eve at the very beginning. He is a cunning foe, and he has followed the same wicked path since the beginning. This must be noted because, if he was there at the beginning and he is there at the end of the millennium, then he is also present now.
This is what the Bible records concerning him, and therefore his cunning deceit is not to be underestimated. Only during the millennial reign of Christ, while he is bound in chains in the bottomless pit, will the world be free from his temptations. However, there will be an end to his wickedness, and this verse reveals that glorious day.
This is an important verse because it dispels false concepts of hell. It is not a place where sin is eventually purged from those in it so that they can be restored to God. It is also not a place of annihilation. Both of these concepts are proven false by the fact that it has been one thousand years since the beast and the false prophet were cast into it, and yet they are still there, receiving their just torment for their wicked actions.
Further, we see that their punishment will go on forever. There will be no end to it. Unfortunately, for all who reject Jesus Christ, the punishment will be the same. It is not something that anyone will think is fun when it comes. There will be no “getting together with old friends for parties” or any of the other crazy things people say about their end.
There are only two choices for fallen man: receive Jesus Christ and be reconciled to God through His cross or be forever separated from God. The latter involves following the beast, the false prophet, and Satan into the lake of fire. Now is the time to choose, and now is the day of salvation. Make the right choice while there is time. Call out to God through His offer of peace. Come to Him through JESUS.
Great and glorious Lord Jesus, please help us to learn to speak to others now about Your wonderful work. Help our words to be clear and right and in accord with Your word, so that others will be able to understand the glory of what You have done for us, and to be able to avoid the eternal punishment of the lake of fire. To Your glory, we pray. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Jul 31, 2021 0:16:45 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 20:11
Friday, July 30th, 2021
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. Revelation 20:11
The scene now set forth is a post-millennial judgment. Satan has been cast into the Lake of Fire, and now will come the final judgment of all humanity not previously raptured or raised. Of this judgment, John begins with, “Then I saw a great white throne.”
It is a throne of justice. The white signifies perfect righteousness. The judgment will be pure and unbiased. John next says, “and Him who sat on it.”
The Greek is a present participle. It says, “Then Him who is sitting on the throne.” The scene is active and alive. This is referring to Christ Jesus. God is unseen. This is made perfectly evident in Scripture. However, Jesus who is fully God and fully Man, reveals the unseen God to man, and it is to Jesus that all judgmental authority belongs –
“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” John 5:22, 23
Christ, sitting on the throne of God, has already been seen in Revelation 3:21 –
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
To sit down with His Father does not mean that the Father literally sits on a throne. God is Spirit and has no parts. Jesus’ words indicate a position of authority. That position is His. In this judgment before the great white throne, John next says of Jesus (who sits upon the throne), “from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.”
The symbolism is apocalyptic. A similar instance was seen in Revelation 6:14. The terminology is also like that found at various times in Scripture, such as Psalm 18:7-15; Psalm 77:16-19; and Psalm 114:3-5. These and other references describe the creation fleeing from the presence of the Lord. The idea is that in seeing Him in His glory, everything else recedes from sight. As such, John says, “And there was found no place for them.”
Again, the thought is like that of the parting of the Red Sea or the parting of the Jordan. When the Lord’s presence is made manifest, the creation flees back from Him. In the full presentation of the splendor of the Lord at this final judgment, all creation will appear to flee away from Him. The only thing evident to the eyes of those before the throne will be the One who created all those things
In other words, the creation that they are a part of, that they relied on, that they idolized, and that they thought was the source of their existence is nothing in comparison to the One who created it all. They failed to look beyond the creation to their Creator, and now they find that the only thing of true value is what they failed to seek out and glorify. No place is found for those things because the Source of those things is there before them. His glory causes all else to recede into obscurity.
Life application: The final judgment of all humans who had not previously been granted eternal life will come someday. Those who were called up to Christ at the rapture will be witnesses of this judgment, not a part of it. Likewise, those who were part of the first resurrection are also safe from this judgment. Only those who didn’t previously participate in one of these two events, along with those who lived during the millennial reign and who did not take the mark of the beast, will be involved here.
A progression of thought, concerning Christ as Creator, proceeds all the way through until He is seen as the final Judge upon the throne. In Colossians 1:16, it says, “All things were created through Him and for Him.” Jesus was the mediator between God and the creation at the very beginning. He is the One through whom all things came into existence (see also John 1:3).
In the next verse of Colossians 1:17, it says, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Jesus is the continued Mediator between God and the creation after all things were created – “in Him all things consist (or are ‘held together’).”
Jesus is also the direct Mediator between God and Man as is noted in 1 Timothy 2:5. There it says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” The Bible is absolutely clear on this precept. The Pope has no authority to mediate between God and man. No pastor or preacher has such authority. No angelic being or apostle has this authority. There is one and only one point of mediation between God and man, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is also the Judge of man. By His own words of John 5 (cited above), we know that He will be the One there at the final judgment of man.
One must understand the nature of the Godhead in order to comprehend the nature of our relationship with God. Jesus fills all of these positions because He is the full expression of God in bodily form. He is continuously, ceaselessly, and endlessly revealing to us the unseen Father. Thus, all judgment has been committed to the Son. We err when we bow to any other god, when we look to horoscopes for daily counsel, or when we look to a human figure – living or dead – to submit our prayers or petitions to. All of these things cause us to miss the mark. It is Jesus to whom we owe our devotion and supplication.
In saying that creation will flee away from His presence, there are several general thoughts on what this means. The first is that creation will literally be utterly swept away and that what is coming will be a new creation. It will be something that never existed before. The second thought is that this creation will be utterly purified by His glory, and so what is coming will be a new creation – as if one were to make something from clay – such as a bowl – and then completely start over with that material and make something new.
Based on the words of Genesis 1 and 2, and considering that redeemed man will continue to exist with Christ forever, it would appear that the second option is more likely. This will continue to be evaluated in verses to come.
Creation will be purified and perfected to its original state. Paul seems to allude to this in Romans 8:20-22 as well. No matter what occurs with the created order, those who are saved by the blood of Christ will exist for all eternity in His presence, completely free from corruption, impurity, or defilement.
Of this, we can be certain. God’s word is clear and unambiguous in this. God has promised eternal life to those who come to Him as He has set forth in the giving of JESUS.
What a marvelous thought it is! Oh Lord Jesus, to see You in all of Your glory is more than our minds can imagine. You have taken sinful people and redeemed them to Yourself in such a way that we won’t be utterly consumed when Your glory is revealed. You have covered us with Your own precious blood. What a great and glorious Lord! Hallelujah and Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 1, 2021 1:02:54 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 20:12
Saturday, July 31st, 2021
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. Revelation 20:12
With the great white throne brought into the forefront of John’s view in the previous verse, he now continues with the narrative, saying, “And I saw the dead, small and great.” This is an expression that simply means, “and I saw all of humanity from the small to the great.” At times, more expressive terms are used, but this one is simple enough to say that none will be exempt, from the small to the great.
Of this, Albert Barnes says, “The fair meaning in this place therefore is, that all the dead would be there, and of course this would preclude the idea of a ‘previous’ resurrection of any part of the dead, as of the saints, at the beginning of the millennium. There is no intimation here that it is the wicked dead that are referred to in this description of the final judgment. It is the judgment of all the dead.”
There is no reason to assume this. The Bible clearly speaks of a rapture of the church, and it also refers to the first resurrection. One must deny a literal reading of those events in order to dismiss them as something other than what is referred to. Further, Paul notes that believers in the church must appear before the judgment (bema) seat of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:10). Nothing is said there of a great white throne judgment. The two are, therefore, distinct judgments. Understanding this, John says of this mass of humanity that they are “standing before God.”
It is an expression that means they are exposed before Him as creatures before their Creator. He is the judge, and they are the judged. As judgment has been granted to Christ Jesus, He is the member of the Godhead they actually appear before. While standing there, it says, “and books were opened.”
The same terminology was seen in Daniel 7:10. The order of events there is not the same as here in Revelation, but it is certainly referring to the same judgment upon humanity. The idea of books being opened is that there is a documented record of the life and deeds of humanity.
This does not mean that a literal book, as we think of it, is kept. The imagery is given for us to understand that all of what man has done is recorded. At the time of John, a biblion, or a papyrus roll, was the standard means of recording things. Later, books as we know them today were used. Now, we record things on computer hard drives or various other devices. The symbolism is set forth so that the truth is conveyed, regardless as to the means of recording such things. Each person’s record is to be evaluated. John next says, “And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.”
This book has already been seen in Revelation 3:5 –
“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
This “Book of Life” is that which records those who have gone from the spiritual death of Adam to the born-again life of Jesus Christ. All who have been restored to a right relationship with God through Christ are recorded in the Book of Life. With this understood, it next says, “And the dead were judged according to their works.”
There are several possibilities as to what could be conveyed here, but the simplest explanation is that all the dead standing before the throne will be judged on their deeds. Those who are recorded in the Book of Life will have their deeds judged for their eternal state in heaven, just as believers in the church will when they go before the judgment seat of Christ.
Those who are not in the book of life will be judged for their deeds, setting their eternal fate in hell. As such, there will be greater punishment for those whose deeds were more wicked. In the end, however, those who are saved will have eternal glory in heaven, and those who are not will have eternal condemnation in hell. It is by their deeds that the state in one of those places will be determined. As John says, “by the things which were written in the books.”
The record of the life of all people will be taken into account. God is perfectly just, and He will reward each person exactly as is deserved and without any partiality at all.
Life application: Everything we as humans do is recorded. If we fail to come to Jesus Christ, we will not receive His covering and we will stand utterly exposed and naked before our Creator. There will be absolutely no doubt of guilt, though now we as humans try to hide it. Every person who has ever lived will receive his judgment. There will be no soul left unremembered before God.
Concerning the term “God” in this verse, some manuscripts have “the throne” instead of “God.” As the throne is the throne of God, the intent is the same – it is Jesus who sits to judge. Unfortunately, some scholars try to disconnect the two (God and Jesus) when the terminology changes, but one must continually ask, “Is Jesus God?” The answer is “Yes.” Therefore, based on Jesus’ own words about all judgment being committed to Him, it is He before whom they stand.
Why does it say God (or “the throne,” implying the throne of God) then? The reason is so simple that it is easily overlooked. It is because He is God that the term is used. In other words, even those who have denied His deity during their lives – such as members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cults, as well as unbelieving Jews – will realize that the One they are now being judged by is the One whose deity they denied.
From the first chapter of the Bible, all the way through to the last, the concept of the Trinity and the concept of the God/Man are to be found, understood, and accepted. God has stepped out of His eternal domain and united with human flesh in the Person of Jesus in order to show us the unseen Father. Now, at the end of the ages, these people await their judgment.
For sure, the book of works is insufficient to save. Paul sums this up in Ephesians 2:8, 9 –
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
At this judgment, no person will say, “I deserve eternal life based on what I did.” Either they are saved through faith in Christ Jesus and are recorded in the Book of Life, or they worked out their lives apart from Christ. If the latter is the case, they will see the futility of the life they lived.
What a terrifying thought – to stand naked and exposed before the Living God without the covering of Christ. May none presume that deeds are sufficient to appease the wrath of God for sins committed while in the flesh. May we understand now the severity of the consequences of the choices we make concerning our beautiful, perfect, just, righteous, and holy Lord – JESUS.
Lord Jesus, apart from You we are fallen and wicked. We know that without Your righteousness, there is no hope for us. Please help us to be able to clearly convey this to others and to stand firm on the message that without You we stand exposed and condemned. May You be praised for providing a way of reconciliation and restoration.
Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 2, 2021 0:43:47 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 20:13
Sunday, August 1st, 2021
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Revelation 20:13
The previous verse noted that “the dead were judged according to their works.” What was recorded of their lives is brought forth for them to face in the final judgment. With that stated first, the categories of where the dead are is only now noted, beginning with, “The sea gave up the dead who were in it.”
There is, as with everything in Revelation, debate as to what “the sea” means. Is this the literal sea, or is it a symbol of the nations that has previously been used? In this case, it is probably the literal sea. There is no need to allegorize this. The Old Testament makes a distinction between those who died on the land from those on the sea. Though poetic, Jonah equates drowning in the sea to the pit –
“The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.” Jonah 2:5, 6
It is probably for the reader’s benefit that a distinction is noted concerning the dead in the sea. Those who fail to understand the Lord’s authority over all things might assume that those who died in the sea would be safe from final judgment. Such is not the case. In noting this, it is an assurance that all who drowned in the Flood of Noah, and throughout the ages, will be included in the tally. Along with those in the sea, it next says, “and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them.”
In Revelation 1:18, Jesus is said to possess the keys to Hades and Death. These entities are noted again in verse 6:8. Here, like in 6:8, they are being personified. In this verse, they are treated as if they are living entities that have control over the souls of those who have died in time past. But if Christ has the keys to them, then He is the one with ultimate control over them. As such, John next notes, “And they were judged, each one according to his works.”
It is a repeated thought from the previous verse. All people, regardless as to who they are, when they lived, or where they died, will be gathered together for the final judgment before God. Their deeds will testify to their lives, and they will be judged with the perfect judgment of God.
Life application: The sea is noted along with Death and Hades to ensure us that there is no place from which the souls of men will not be searched out for judgment. Those who died in the waters, reaching back even to the Flood of Noah and those who died in the earth, all will be resurrected for judgment.
Every human who has ever existed is remembered by God and will be brought before the great white throne. Death has not separated them from this final act because man was made to be a soul/body unity. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul describes the soul without a body as “naked.” In order for man to be in a state which is suitable for judgment, it appears their soul will be reunited with a real, physical body.
Those who are not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life will find an eternity of punishment awaiting them. People who see fault in this are only finding fault in themselves. A finite sin against an infinite God demands an infinite punishment – and all have sinned.
God never changes, and His righteousness is a part of His very nature. When a sin is committed, it is a violation against that nature, and therefore it will be there in a minute, in an hour, in a day, in a year, in 1000 years, and so on for all of eternity. The sin committed in time, which God created, will exist as long as time exists. Time, space, and matter occurred at the same moment of creation, and so as long as space and matter exist, time will be associated with it. And because man is a physical being, the stain of that sin remains as long as that physical being remains.
Thus, there are only two possibilities to handle the sin problem: 1) That it be covered by an act of justice which will eternally satisfy God’s righteousness (which is eternal), or 2) that the sin be judged and eternally punished. And there is only one act of justice that can eternally satisfy a sin against God. A suitable Substitute must be found. It must be one in the same category (an animal cannot satisfy a sin for a human) and one that is sinless (for example a baby even though it has not committed a sin has still inherited Adam’s sin nature). If such a substitute is found, the penalty for sin may be taken out on that substitute.
Only Jesus was and is sinless because He was born of the Holy Spirit and a woman – no sin was transferred through a human father. And yet, Jesus is fully Man because He was born of the Holy Spirit and a human mother. Further, Jesus never sinned during His life. Therefore, He is a qualified Substitute. If the payment rendered on Jesus’ cross is accepted, then the sin can never be punished again.
Because He is fully God, His atonement is eternal. His covering will continue as long as He continues, and He will continue for eternity. Despite people claiming that it is somehow unfair that Jesus is the only way to be reconciled to God, it doesn’t change the fact that Jesus is the only way to be reconciled to God. And unfairness is a non-starter because “all have sinned,” and thus what is fair is that all go to the Lake of Fire; that is fair.
Anyone who doesn’t go to the Lake of Fire receives mercy because of what Jesus did. Anyone who doesn’t come through Jesus will receive what is already due them. The judgment at the great white throne is one of “works.” Therefore, there are two possibilities. The first is to have suitable works –
“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’” John 6:29
The second is to have unsuitable works –
“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. … Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:20 & 28
The greatest sadness to be found in this judgment will be in those who have trusted in their own goodness and good deeds to justify themselves in the sight of God. They will come into His presence assured of their own righteousness, and they will be severely disappointed when the gavel comes down in judgment against them because of an issue they never thought through – the inherently fallen state of man in the presence of pure holiness.
If you have never accepted Christ’s righteousness, today would be a good time to do so. Eternity is a very long time, and the Lake of Fire is a very unpleasant destination. Be sure to come to God through His offer of peace and reconciliation. Come to Him today through JESUS!
Jesus, we know that we are unworthy of Your goodness and the gift of Your righteousness, but we accept it by faith. Cover us with Your precious blood. In this, we know that we will be eternally secure from the righteous judgment that we are due. Thank You for Your white garments of righteousness that allow us to be restored to God. Thank You Jesus, thank You. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 2, 2021 23:20:53 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 20:14
Monday, August 2nd, 2021
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Revelation 20:14
In the previous verse, it noted the sea giving up its dead and Death and Hades delivering up the dead in them. That was in order to judge those in them. With that complete, John now provides a description of an amazing finish to this process saying, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.”
Again, Death and Hades are being personified. These great foes of humanity are now facing their own demise – never to be seen again for all eternity. John’s words are perfectly in accord with Paul’s words found in 1 Corinthians 15 –
“The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26
Death, the great enemy of mankind, will be destroyed. Hades, the place where the dead resided, will also be destroyed. As death will no longer reign in man, there will never again be a need for storing the souls of the dead. In this, John says, “This is the second death.”
Some manuscripts repeat the previous words as an explanation and for emphasis –
“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.” BSB
The proverbial saying “Born twice, die once; born once, die twice” is seen in this verse. For all who come to Christ and are born again, there is only one death to be anticipated. For those who never come to Christ, they will see death someday, and they will also be a part of the second death when they are cast into the Lake of Fire along with Death and Hades. But understanding the process requires thought concerning death.
Considering the Greek of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:26, light will now be shed on what Paul was conveying. The verb he uses for “will be destroyed” is in the present indicative middle or passive voice. And so rather than “will be,” the action has already begun, and it will continue on until a fixed point.
A good way to understand it would be to consider a major league baseball team that has no chance of winning the pennant. They have lost the right to play in the World Series, and yet they continue to play because other teams still have a chance. Until the baseball season is ended, they continue in order to meet a set plan which was initiated at the beginning of that season. Though they are defeated, their defeat will continue until the plan is finished.
Therefore, Paul is conveying the thought that Death “is being destroyed until it is finished.” Further, there is a definite article in front of “death.” Therefore, “death,” like in Revelation, is being personified by Paul. Tyndale’s version renders the verse, “Lastly, Death the enemy shall be destroyed.”
In support of the ongoing (and yet inevitably completed) nature of the action, several pertinent verses from the New Testament which concern the work of Christ should be reviewed. These are only a few among many which show us that Death is defeated, but that it will continue in this defeated condition for a set amount of time. First, from Paul’s second letter to Timothy –
“…but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…” 2 Timothy 1:10
Paul shows that in Christ’s first appearance death was abolished. However, death still exists as is quite evident from the world around us. To understand this, again think of the baseball team that has no chance of winning the pennant, and yet, it still plays during the regular season. And so even though this action is done, it is awaiting a future fulfillment.
In Hebrews 2, it is seen that it was through Christ’s death that this came about. In this, “death” is tied in with the devil, showing that it is the devil who had “the power of death” –
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:14, 15
Next, in John’s first epistle, he shows that death is tied to sin. This takes us back to the very beginning when the devil deceived the man. In so doing, man sinned. In this, death entered the world. As the wages of sin is death, it shows that the work of the devil is what brought death about –
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8
Jesus Christ came to undo this. He accomplished it at the cross, destroying the power of the devil in all who believe. But why didn’t He just toss the devil into hell right then? The answer is that He is building a church out of the redeemed of the world. After that, He will fulfill the Old Testament prophecies promised to Israel during the millennium.
If He simply destroyed the devil at that time, there would be no church and thus no “living temple.” There would also have been unfulfilled prophecies promised to Israel. Instead, the victory was won, but the devil has been allowed to continue in the world until a time determined by God. In this, we can think of the team that will eventually win the pennant. It is comprised of people who are winners, but they are not winners until the end of the season.
Those who come to Christ are “in Christ” and can never die again. But those who are not will both physically die and be eternally separated from God in the process, because Death continues to reign over them. Thus, we see why there is an ongoing nature to the work of Christ. But some wondrous day, even Death will be eliminated forever. As John says, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
Life application: In John 3:16, we read the wonderful words, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
How can life be eternal? Eternal life is guaranteed because God will destroy death and also the place of death, known as Hades. Hades is the place where the lost go now, and it is the repository of those lost souls. After the final judgment of those in Hades, it will be thrown into the lake of fire because there will be no more need for it.
The logical deduction to be made from John’s words is that, if death is no longer present and Hades is also no longer present, those who are alive in Christ can no longer die. The promise given by Jesus is realized in its fullness. However, it can be assured to any person willing to accept it right now.
God has spoken and what He has said is more certain than the ground under our feet. He has given His word, which cannot be broken, that all who look to the Son – believing in His work and accepting what He has done for them – will never die. Though our bodies may wear out, and though they may cease to function, our souls will continue forever, waiting for the moment when they are reunited with eternal bodies. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54, 55 –
“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” ‘O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’”
God has a marvelous plan for the people of the world if they will only accept it by faith. There is no other way to be reconciled to Him, except for faith in what He has already done through Jesus. When we believe that gospel message, and proclaim with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, God is pleased to call us His own and grant us eternal life.
If you have never accepted the gift of eternal life, now is the time of God’s favor and today is the day of salvation. Don’t wait another moment but call out to JESUS!
Lord, we are fully convinced that Your word is true and that what it proclaims will come about exactly as You have stated. We trust in Jesus alone for our salvation, and we are confident in the promise of eternal life that You have offered through His shed blood. What a great and marvelous God You are! Hallelujah and amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 4, 2021 21:09:19 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 20:15
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15
With the judgment noted since verse 11 complete, John finishes the chapter with words of finality, saying, “And anyone.” The Greek reads, “And if any.” It is conditional, but it is also all-inclusive for those who are found in such a category, which is that they are “not found written in the Book of Life.”
As noted, it is all-inclusive and there will be no exceptions. To not be written in the Book of Life means that such a person will be “cast into the lake of fire.”
No categories are stated. Thus rank, title, ethnicity, age, status, amount of wealth, number of good deeds accomplished, and so on, are not considered. One is either registered in the Book of Life, or he remains dead in sin. He is “condemned already” according to Jesus’ words of John 3:18.
The words are to be taken literally, just as the thousand-year period that began the chapter is to be taken literally. There is eternal life for those who are saved, and there is the lake of fire for those who are not. This is what the word declares.
Life application: In the end, all humans have eternity to look forward to. Some will receive eternal life, and some will receive eternal death. Death is what separates. It separates souls from bodies, it separates loved ones physically, it separates people in a spatial sense, and it separates us through time – only a memory is left, but nothing tangible.
However, the second death isn’t the end of those who are cast into the lake of fire. Rather it is an eternal separation from God – the Source of life. Because there is no life, there is only eternal death. And during this time of eternal death, there is only suffering and corruption. Because God is the source of goodness, there can only be an eternal movement away from goodness and to corruption and terror.
Jesus used the term Gehenna to describe this place of eternal destruction. Gehenna is the Greek translation of ge-hinnom. Ge is a valley and Hinnom is the name of the valley. This valley, which is a deep ravine running along the side of Jerusalem, was where the most wicked and idolatrous practices were conducted, including that of child sacrifice to the pagan god Molech.
Some have identified this type of sacrifice to Molech as a giant bronze statue that was heated from the inside. When it was fully heated, babies were placed on the hands of Molech and burnt to death as an offering. This and other wicked practices were conducted in the land that God had chosen to be for His people, just outside of His dwelling. But they rejected Him and went their own way, committing what is violent and deserving of destruction.
After the return of the people from the Babylonian exile, the Valley of Hinnom became the garbage dump of Jerusalem. People would carry out all the filth of the city and dump it into fires that burned day and night, consuming the refuse. This is the picture that Jesus portrayed concerning the lake of fire and its eternal destruction. It is a place outside of where God dwells, it is a place of putridity and corruption, it is a place of absolute evil (evil being the absence of that which is good), and it is a place where the fire never dies.
The Bible proclaims that hell is real, and hell will be the final destination of any who die apart from the Person of Jesus Christ. There is a Book of Life and there is a way to be included in this book. The choice is clear, and the choice is ours. God doesn’t force hell upon His people, nor does He, as reformed theology teaches, force heaven upon them. He leaves the choice up to each person who hears the gospel message.
God has granted man free will, and He has given us the ability to perceive what is good and right and what is evil and wrong. In the end, hell will be a self-inflicted punishment for those who reject the gospel. It will be a choice that the offender will eternally regret.
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19
Be wise. Call out to God through His offer of peace. Call out to Him through JESUS.
Oh God, the horror of considering an eternal separation from You is more than we can imagine. We shudder at the thought of being forever in a place of horror and corruption, never again sharing in Your glory even in the slightest way. We call out to Jesus and accept His gospel of peace. We receive all of His goodness and all of His promises now. We know that it is only through Him that we can avoid the second death, and so we choose Jesus. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 4, 2021 21:11:57 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:1
Wednesday, August 4th, 2021
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1
With the great white throne judgment recorded at the closing of the previous chapter, Chapter 21 now opens with the words, “Now I saw.” This is John’s normal way of introducing a new subject. It is as if his eyes have been watching a screen display the future and a new vision is presented on it. And what he beholds is “a new heaven and a new earth.”
The idea of a new heavens and a new earth was presented by Isaiah millennia ago –
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.” Isaiah 65:17-19
Peter speaks of this as well –
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:10-13
The main question that consistently arises with these words is whether this means a literal new creation, or something that has a newness of appearance. Charles Ellicott notes –
“There are two words which are translated new in our English version: one of these (neos) relates to time; the other (kainos) relates to quality. The one would be applied to what had recently come into existence; the other to what showed fresh features. … Now, it is this latter word which is used throughout this chapter, and, indeed, throughout the book of Revelation. The newness which is pictured is the newness of freshness: the old, decaying, enfeebling, and corrupting elements are swept away.”
The same word, kainos, is used by Peter in his words cited above. As this is so, it would then tend to refer to the same creation that has been made over in newness. This would correspond to the word “regeneration” used by Jesus about this matter –
“So Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’” Matthew 19:28
This would also correspond to the words of Paul in Romans 8 where he speaks of the creation being delivered from bondage. The idea, then, of a new heavens and new earth leans toward the thought of a renewal. Despite this, being dogmatic about what lies ahead is futile. Whatever the Lord has planned will be revealed in due time. For now, John continues with the words, “for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.”
These words do not provide any further clarity concerning the matter of a regeneration or a completely new heavens and earth. John simply notes that what exists right now will no longer be what is. If a renewal is being referred to, there will be such a marked change in what is seen that it will be completely new to the beholder. In this great change, John notes explicitly as the first major difference, “Also there was no more sea.”
Of this, the Greek more literally reads, “And the sea is no more.” This again brings in a great deal of dispute about the nature of John’s words. In Scripture, there is the literal sea. However, there is also that which the sea represents – chaos, the nations of the world, and so on. As the land is fixed and firm, the sea is fluid and changing – just like the fluidity of the nations of the world as opposed to God’s government which is fixed and firm.
With this in mind, the argument is, “Is this referring to the literal sea, or is it referring to the chaotic and changing form of nations and government?” Two different views can be considered –
“Some explain the sea as the ungodly world. I cannot help thinking this interpretation forced. According to this explanation, the passage is in the highest degree tautological.” Vincent’s Word Studies.
“Among the more detailed features of the new earth, this obliteration of the sea stands first. It is strange that so many commentators should vacillate between literal and figurative interpretations of the chapter; the ornaments and decorations of the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:10-21) are treated as symbolical; the annihilation of the sea is considered as literal. It is wiser to leave the literal meaning to the future, and to grasp the spiritual teachings, which are of infinite and present interest.” Charles Ellicott
Vincent leans to the literal meaning in order to avoid an obvious tautology. Ellicott doesn’t deny a literal meaning, but does note that the spiritual meaning is more likely what John would be referring to at present.
Ellicott’s analysis displays a particular wisdom in regard to the nature of Revelation. When John sees God “sitting on a throne,” he is not actually seeing God sitting on a throne. Rather, he is seeing a meaning that is being conveyed for us to understand a truth. When John sees a new heavens and a new earth that has no more sea, he is being presented with a truth about what lies ahead.
Whether there will be actual seas or not is not the point of what is being conveyed. The truth that God’s government is the only government that will exist is the presentation we are to consider. There will be nothing vacillating or changing about this eternal rule. It is in this chapter that the New Jerusalem will be described. That is the seat of government, and it is the focus of what the nations will be guided by. Hence, what John is seeing may have a literal aspect to it, but it is the truth behind the words he states that should be considered first and foremost.
What was lost in Eden – a state of perfection and of communion between God and man, with God as the rightful Head – will again be realized.
A point to consider is that there was a literal sea in Genesis 1, and it was declared “good” by God. As such, then there is no reason to think that a literal sea couldn’t be found in what God will be doing in the new heavens and the new earth. If there is, then “sea” is only referring to the chaos that the nations of the people generate. Again, this is all speculation. In due time, the redeemed of the Lord will know and appreciate exactly what the Lord is conveying to John in his vision.
Life application: As time has not yet reached the point where the debate concerning the events of Revelation fully come to pass, it would be presumptuous to be adamant about something we really cannot know. Different verses in both testaments can be used to come to different conclusions. Ecclesiastes, along with other books of the Bible, says the earth will abide forever. Isaiah 65:17 speaks of a “new heaven and a new earth,” but then it goes on to say in verse 20 that people will die when that comes about. Therefore, what Isaiah is speaking of is a new economy existing in the old creation.
Psalm 102:25, 26 (which is quoted in Hebrews 1) speaks of the heavens and the earth being changed like a garment; one wearing out and being replaced by another. This seems to indicate a complete change with nothing of the old left.
Hence, different verses lead to different conclusions, and we simply cannot be adamant either way. God is God and He will accomplish everything in His word exactly as it should be, whether we fully understand it now or not.
In the end, whatever the fulfillment is, it will be glorious. As we move through the final two chapters of Revelation, we will see the wonderful majesty of what God will be doing for His people in this new heaven and new earth. Stay tuned, marvelous things lie ahead because of what God has done for us through His Son, our Lord JESUS!
Lord God, though we can only look ahead and speculate about many things Your word reveals, whatever the outcome is, we know that it will be wonderful. There will be a place for Your redeemed that will be without any corruption, any defilement, or anything wicked or impure. How wonderful that will be and how we long for that glorious time! Thank You for the promises Your word holds for us. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 6, 2021 0:18:12 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:2
Thursday, August 5th, 2021
Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:2
In the previous verse, the new heaven and new earth were seen by John. The verse now says, “Then I, John.” As a note on these words, some manuscripts do not have John’s name in this verse. Rather, it simply says, “And I saw…” Either way, the source is still clear. John is the one having the vision which is that he “saw the holy city.”
The idea of the holy city is one that is unique and set apart. It is the ideal that has been set forth throughout Scripture. It is that which the author of Hebrews says the faithful of the ages have anticipated –
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13-16
This city is then said by John to be “New Jerusalem.” Earthly Jerusalem has been set forth as the ideal of where God dwells with man. It is the location where access to Him is found acceptable. This was seen in Genesis 14 with the introduction of Melchizedek who was “priest of God Most High.” From there, the earthly Jerusalem was slowly developed as the place of this access and fellowship with God. However, it is merely an ideal set forth of a greater hope that Paul refers to in Galatians 4 –
“For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:24-26
So important is this concept of New Jerusalem, that the author of Hebrews completely contrasts access to it with Mt Sinai, meaning the Law of Moses. The access is not through the law, but through Jesus –
“For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.’)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” Hebrews 12:18-24
Understanding these few key points, John now says that New Jerusalem is “coming down out of heaven from God.” This city will be described as a bride in verse 9. As such, there is an intimate connection of the city to the Lord that is being conveyed. A city represents the people in the city, and thus, those people who reside there are ultimately what is being referred to. The city bride is for the people of God who are united to the Lord.
As it is coming down out of heaven, it signifies that it is something that is not man derived. In other words, Babel started on the earth and was built up toward the heavens. God rejected that approach, demonstrating that man’s works are insufficient to reach Him. On the other hand, New Jerusalem has a heavenly source. Charles Ellicott rightly states, “The world will never evolve a golden age or ideal state. The new Jerusalem must descend from God.”
Access to God in the heavenly city is not man originated. Rather, it is by faith in what God has initiated and provided. Of this city, John next says that it is “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” This terminology is brought forth from the book of Isaiah –
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10
“For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So shall your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:5
What John’s eyes are beholding is the anticipation of man since his fall. It is free, full, and unfettered access into the presence of God once again. It is “the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10) where man can forever delight in what God has provided through the giving of His Son.
Of note is that the author of Hebrews refers to this city as being for everyone whose hope was in Messiah. This includes the entire list of those from the Old Testament noted in Hebrews 11, and it includes those of the church today. It will include the tribulation saints, and it will include the redeemed of the Lord during the millennium.
The hope of the New Jerusalem is the hope of man’s return to what was lost. God is doing one overall thing for all of the people of the world, even if it occurs during different dispensations. The book of Revelation is detailing this hope for those in the church from the early establishment of the church, through the church age, into the tribulation period, and then into the millennium. To say otherwise makes the book of Revelation a curious oddity that has no true relevance or application concerning the eternal hopes and desires of those of the church who have set their eyes, hearts, and affections on Jesus.
Life application: Throughout the Bible there are two contrasting cities which God has used to lead us to understand who He is, what is right, what is wrong, and what the blessings of following Him properly – or the curses of failing to follow Him in a right manner – are. These two cities are Babylon and Jerusalem.
Babylon is a picture of chaos, false religion, disorder, and fighting against God. It is the location where God’s people were sent when they were disobedient. It is also the location where His people mourned as they waited to return to their city of peace, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is a picture of the idea – of harmony, right religion, order, and peace with God. It is the hope and the aspiration of the people of God – to live in her, to walk in her, to exult in her because of her direct connection with the Creator. It was considered an honor to have been born there –
“The Lord will record,
When He registers the peoples:
‘This one was born there.’ Selah” Psalm 87:6.
Even the stones and the dust of Jerusalem are considered precious to God’s people –
“For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.” Psalm 102:14.
In the book of Revelation, we have seen God’s triumph over Babylon. Her destruction is complete, and she will never rise again. In Revelation 20:9, we saw a final attack against earthly Jerusalem that was thwarted by God, and after that came the great white throne judgment.
When this occurred, heaven and earth fled from the presence of the Lord. Then, in the first verse of chapter 21, we saw “a new heaven and a new earth.” This implies that the Jerusalem that exists now will be gone in the renewal of creation, but it is not the end of the ideal set forth by earthly Jerusalem.
There is the true Jerusalem awaiting the saints of God. It is a place that is only pictured by the Jerusalem that now exists. It is the hope and the anticipation of all who anticipated Christ’s coming, or who have called on Him since He came. Being a resident of the city implies citizenship in that city. Paul speaks of that in Philippian 3 –
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:20, 21
This city is the spot where God will dwell with men. A marvelous description of it will be given in the verses ahead. It is a city for the people of God, and it is built of the people of God. Peter speaks of us as “living stones” in a spiritual house, and Jesus says that those who overcome will be made “a pillar in the temple of My God.”
What God has prepared for His people will be astonishingly glorious. He is the Architect of this building, and He has been preparing it since the beginning of time. When we behold its marvel and glory, there will be no thought of what exists now. It will be a city of such marvelous wonder that we will never tire of it, even throughout eternal ages.
Until we arrive in the New Jerusalem, we look to the earthly Jerusalem, knowing that Jesus will return there to fulfill His plan for the ages. Only when that plan is fulfilled will the true city of peace be realized. And so, let us follow the admonition of the psalmist and pray for the city of peace. When peace returns to Jerusalem, it will be because the King has returned to dwell in her midst.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you. Psalm 122:6
This is the wonder and delight that lies ahead for the redeemed of the Lord. But in order for there to be the redeemed of the Lord, there must be the Lord who redeems. Thank God for our Redeemer, JESUS!
Lord, when we think of the glory that is coming and the heavenly city which You have prepared for Your people, we stand in awe and in anticipation of that wondrous day. Until it comes, help us to shine forth Your light to this world and let others see the great hope is in us, leading many to desire the same – to Your glory we pray. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 6, 2021 23:32:50 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:3
Friday, August 6th, 2021
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:3
The New Jerusalem was seen to be descending from heaven. With this, John now says, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven.” This is the voice of the Lord making the jubilant proclamation. It is to be understood this way, and some manuscripts say it explicitly –
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying.” ESV
Instead of “from heaven,” it says, “from the throne.” Either way, it is the Lord who is calling out the words. As such, He is “saying, ‘Behold the tabernacle of God is with men.’”
This is the last use of the word skéné, or “tabernacle,” in Scripture. It signifies a tent, booth, dwelling, and so on. At times, it refers to the tabernacle constructed in Exodus. That was given as a type, or representation, of the coming Christ. That is made perfectly evident in Hebrews 9. There the tabernacle was described by the author, and then he states that it was only a representation of Christ Himself –
“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.” Hebrews 9:11
For example, a part of the tabernacle of Exodus was the veil. The author of Hebrews explicitly states that the veil was a picture of Christ’s body in Hebrews 10:20. A cognate noun, skénos, is used to describe the body of the believer in 2 Corinthians 5:1 and 5:4. And the verb form, skénoó, is used when referring to the action of Christ “tabernacling” or “dwelling” among us in John 1:14. That verb form will also be used in this verse of Revelation now.
In fact, every single detail of the tabernacle, from the ark to the menorah and from the table of showbread to the brazen altar, points to the Person and work of Jesus Christ. It exudes with pictures of the grace of God in Christ to be revealed in His coming and in the giving of the New Covenant for the people of the world.
The words of Revelation now tell us that this “tabernacle of God” is speaking of Jesus, not the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is where man will dwell with Jesus. He is the tabernacle, or dwelling, of God. He is Emmanuel, or God with us.
This idea is expressed in Ezekiel 37 to some extent. During the millennium, Israel was promised that the Lord would place his sanctuary among them. The sanctuary was the entire complex of the tabernacle. The tabernacle is what was in the midst of the sanctuary. As such, Ezekiel says –
“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore.” Ezekiel 37:28
The idea is similar here. New Jerusalem will come down and be the place where the Lord will reside with man. As John next says, “and He will dwell with them.”
Here, the verb form is skénoó, which was introduced in John 1:14, is now used for the last time in Scripture. Christ came and “tabernacled” with his people in His first advent. He will dwell among Israel during the millennium, and now we see that He will dwell with man in the New Jerusalem. He is the full expression of God, and thus in His dwelling among His people, we will have the fulness of the Godhead in bodily form – endlessly and ceaselessly revealing God to us. This continues to be revealed in John’s words, saying, “and they shall be His people.”
The redeemed of the Lord, from all ages and dispensations, will be brought forward to dwell with God forever. Jesus – the incarnate Word of God – will forever reveal the unsearchable riches of God to His people. Again, this is perfectly expressed as the verse finishes with, “God Himself will be with them and be their God.”
God is omnipresent, and so there is no time that we are not in the presence of God. What John is referring to is the fullest expression of God in a single spot. This was once said to be in the tabernacle –
“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8
“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. 21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.” Exodus 25:17:22
That spot, between the cherubim, was the focal point of God’s meeting with Man. A study of the ark of the covenant clearly reveals that every detail points to Christ Jesus. With this in mind, that which only anticipated Him is seen in its fulness in Him. This is what these earthly types and shadows only anticipated. It is Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of them, and it is He who is being referred to in John’s words here in Revelation.
Life application: The message of this verse is one of absolute wonder, and it has been the true heart’s desire of the people of God since the moment we were sent out of the Garden of Eden.
Before that dismissal, the Lord walked with man (Genesis 3:8) and there was face-to-face fellowship. However, that was destroyed through sin. Now the restoration of that loss is finally being fully realized.
Israel was given an anticipatory taste of restoration with the giving of the tabernacle. That is seen in Leviticus 26:11, 12 –
“I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.”
This was the foreshadowing that God was providing at that time. He was hinting to us that this edifice was to be His dwelling place as a picture of the true Tabernacle, Jesus. He is the embodiment of God in human flesh. God has progressively brought man back to the point of full fellowship through these various stages of Him revealing Himself.
First was full access in the Garden. That was lost. Then came the various developments of restoration through the tabernacle, the Incarnation, the Transfiguration, the millennial reign, and then the final restoration of full and unfettered access to Him once again.
In these incremental steps, we are seeing how God is working in and through history, continuously and clearly unveiling His progressive plan of both redemption and restoration.
When the New Jerusalem comes, we will be there in His presence forever. The unveiled Tabernacle of God will be with men. The time of restoration anticipated by Adam and Eve and every person desirous of an intimate relationship with God since then will be realized in full measure.
As the writer and theologian C.S. Lewis stated, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” And this is true. There is a desire in the hearts of humanity that will only be fully realized when we see the face of God in the Person of Jesus Christ. When we do, and when we dwell with Him, we will receive the fullness of what He has always intended for His people.
There will be the beauty of what the psalms anticipate; there will be the majestic fulfillment of what the prophets proclaimed; and there will be the ending of the yearning of the anxious human soul. At that time, we will behold God’s Messiah forever and ever.
Hold fast to this true and sure promise. Know now and understand that the temporary trials and sadness of this world will be utterly forgotten when we stand in the presence of Jesus and behold the beauty of the Lord.
Until that day, God has sealed us with His Holy Spirit as a guarantee of this wonder to come. We are asked to “be filled” with the Holy Spirit and that can only come by allowing Him to take over and be our Light, Guide, and Helper in this earthly walk, waiting upon the realizations of our hope. And that Hope will never disappoint. He is JESUS!
O Lord, there is no greater hope in our souls than to see You and to dwell with You in complete fellowship and peace. Until that time, fill us with Your Holy Spirit and keep us from sins that only hinder our fellowship. We long for the day of eternal joy in Your presence! Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 7, 2021 22:42:01 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:4
Saturday, August 7th, 2021
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4
The previous verse noted that the people of God will dwell with Him. They will be His people, and He will be with them and be their God. In this precious position of intimacy, it next says, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
It is an indication that in the renewed state, there will be no reason to weep. For God to wipe away our tears signifies that He will remove anything that would cause tears to come forth. That is then explained by the next clauses, beginning with, “there shall be no more death.”
This great enemy of man has been cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14). As such, death will no longer be a consideration, nor will it come to mind again. Death resulted from the entry of sin into the world, but it couldn’t hold Jesus. This was impossible because He was born without sin, and He never sinned after His birth. In Romans 6:23, it now explains that we too can have what He accomplished because He offers to be our Substitute –
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
At this point in time, death is defeated in God’s people, but it is allowed to run its course until the time of renewal. But someday, as Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 15:54, death will be swallowed up in victory. This is the state that is promised to those who are in Christ. As such, John next says, “nor sorrow.”
The Greek word is penthos. It actually goes beyond sorrow. It is a sorrow that cannot be hidden from sight, thus it is a state of mourning. It is well described by the state of Nehemiah when he stood in the king’s presence. The king could openly see the condition of Nehemiah’s soul –
“Therefore the king said to me, ‘Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.’” Nehemiah 2:2
Such a state as this will never be seen again. It is to be replaced with an eternal joy of the Lord filling the souls of the redeemed. Along with this, John says, “nor crying.”
The word is kraugé. It signifies “clamorous screaming (shrieking) that is extremely boisterous, like a wounded person emitting ‘unearthly’ (non-human) types of sounds” (HELPS Word Studies). This goes beyond the mere crying of joy or sadness, but it extends to the emotions that well up in a person overwhelmed with grief. This will be gone forever, never to be remembered again. Further, John says, “There shall be no more pain.”
This is one of the great enemies of man’s joy, and it is that which can rob us of concentration, sleep, and the ability to perform properly. It can even take away our capacity to utter praises to God. Pain can be so overwhelming that it destroys anything of value in our day, including the ability to simply function normally.
Pain was introduced into the narrative in Genesis 3:16 when the Lord God noted that the woman would bring forth children in pain. From that first mention of it, the idea of pain permeates Scripture, and it permeates the human experience – both in physical and emotional ways. This foe is defeated in Christ, and it will be realized some wonderful day. It is a sure promise from our God who cannot lie.
All of these things will be gone and forgotten because “the former things have passed away.” The idea here is that an entirely new state of existence will be ushered in. That which exists now will come to an end, the way of things will close out, and a new economy that is completely new will be realized.
It should be noted that there were those who were punished with the seven bowls of God’s wrath in Revelation 16, and they faced all of the evils that the redeemed in this verse will never again face. A contrast is made to the judgment of those who fail to come to God, and the joy of those who put their trust in Jesus Christ.
Life application: In a mere brushstroke of the magnificent panorama of what John’s words signify, we can revisit passages from the Bible that show us where we were, where we are, and thus the glory of what lies ahead.
There is coming a time when the eternal joy intended for man will be finally realized. In the psalms, David acknowledges his life of tears, but that God is aware of every one of them –
“You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?” Psalm 56:8
Some beautiful day that bottle will be opened and poured out never to be remembered. The Book of Life will overcome the death and anguish of soul in God’s redeemed. This will be realized when death is forever removed from the equation.
If we accept Christ’s work, then we move from Adam to Jesus. Our sinful state is crucified along with the Lord, and we are granted His sinless perfection. It is completely just, and it perfectly satisfies God’s righteous standard.
Because of this, sorrow will forever be removed from man’s existence. As noted above, pain entered into the narrative in Genesis 3:16, but that is also where sorrow is first mentioned –
“To the woman He said:
‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.’” Genesis 3:16
The bride of Adam received these woes because of his disobedience. The bride of Christ will forever have them removed because of His obedience. This is the hope that we possess because of God’s goodness to us in Christ.
From the first moments of life apart from God, sorrow entered humanity and it has been carried by each subsequent generation. Mourning and sadness have overwhelmed life and have sent many even to the point of suicide. This, in turn, only produces more grief. Such a life is an endless pit that overcomes the hearts of sorrow-laden humanity. But through Jesus’ work, the pit is to be completely covered over by the endless love of God.
This work of Jesus wasn’t just a trial of physical pain. Rather, it was a walk filled with sorrows and griefs as well. An example of this is found in John 11 where we see that Christ Jesus was intimately involved in the state and condition of those around Him. In order to demonstrate to us His full understanding of our situation, God took on flesh and lived a life like any of us – experiencing pain, trials, separation, and weeping –
“Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’
They said to Him, ‘Lord, come and see.’
35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, ‘See how He loved him!’” John 11:33-36
Though the multitudes rage and strive against God, searching for fault in Him, none can truthfully say that He isn’t intimately aware of our needs, emotions, and desires. The loving Creator has demonstrated His compassion for His creatures in every possible way.
Instead of directing our anger at Him for what we now experience, we should be praising Him for what He has done in Christ, and for what that means in the ages ahead. Not only will we be freed from the emotional woes that we now experience, but we shall be free from any sort of pain – be it emotional, mental, or physical. There will be a new order of existence for God’s people. It will be as He intended for us all along.
What Adam had was a taste of what we will possess, but it will be even better. You see, without the fall, without the tears, without the death, the sorrow, and the crying, we couldn’t appreciate the joy. It would be like a person who had never gotten sick. Without sickness, health can’t be fully appreciated. But coming out of our fall and all of the evils that resulted from it, there sprang a hope and an anticipation of something better.
That which is better, even infinitely greater, came in the form of a Baby, lived in the form of a Man, and died in the form of a Savior. By the power of the work of Jesus Christ, and through the glory of His resurrection which destroyed death, we now have the hope of eternal and unending joy. Thanks be to God for the glorious work He has worked for the sons of men. Thanks be to God for Jesus!
“So the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 51:11
Yes, indeed! Thank God for JESUS!
Jesus, thanks be to You for the marvelous work You accomplished for Your redeemed. Yes, even for me. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 9, 2021 0:25:00 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:5
Sunday, August 8th, 2021
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5
John just described the delightful state of what it will be like at the regeneration of all things. Now, as a confirmation that what he saw is what will certainly come to pass, he says, “Then He who sat on the throne said.”
The Greek is a present participle. It says, “Then Him who is sitting on the throne.” The scene is active and alive. Words will issue directly from the throne of God, meaning from the Lord Himself. They are words of confirmation concerning the vision, and they are words of surety that can be trusted by those who read them. And the words He calls out are, “Behold, I make all things new.”
This is a confirmation of everything just seen. In verse 21:1, it said, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.” That began the regeneration. Then the next three verses then described what would occur after that, including the joyous state of those who will participate in that glorious time.
The Lord Himself has promised to make all things new. An order will come that is the ideal setting for man in his walk before God. John wasn’t just imagining some wonderful place. Rather, he was being given a view into the future when all things are made new. John then says, “And He said to me, ‘Write.’”
This is the last time in the Bible that anyone is specifically told to write anything. The first time the directive was given was in Exodus 17 –
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’” Exodus 17:14
From that initial call for Moses to write down something specific, the Bible has followed a long and specific path, detailing the redemptive process of God. Now, the final directive is given to John, ensuring that the word will be faithfully documented as it closes out in these final two chapters. The voice finishes this verse with, “for these words are true and faithful.”
Some manuscripts say, “faithful and true.” Either way, the content of what is spoken is based upon the content of the vision. What John saw will come to pass, and the Lord confirms that it is so. The sentiment of Amos 3 is found in these words –
“Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
Who can but prophesy?” Amos 3:7, 8
Some prophesy with their mouths, and some prophesy with their pens. Either way, the Lord has spoken to John, and he can do nothing but prophesy. The word is sure because the One who speaks it out is true and faithful.
Life application: There will be a new order to all things. Death and Hades have been cast into the Lake of Fire, sin (which brings about corruption and death) has been dealt with in Jesus’ cross, the saints of God have received glorified bodies, and all pain has ended. The former things have passed away.
Now, because of Christ’s work, these things which could come about have come about. This is the time of the realization of every hope rooted in the human soul. It is the time that God has known would come even before the original creation occurred. As noted in the previous verse, without the fall and all of its associated woes, we couldn’t fully appreciate the glory of what is coming; the knowledge of it would remain hidden and obscure from us.
But there is one other thing that would have been hidden from us as well – the glory of Christ. Without pain, we cannot appreciate health. Without seeing God’s wrath, we could not understand God’s love. In the Garden of Eden, man lacked one thing necessary to grasp the many facets of his relationship with God – the knowledge of good and evil.
Innocence of these things implies creatures that can never understand the difference between such things. Happiness and sorrow, comfort and pain, beauty and ugliness, right and wrong, love and hate, etc., are all concepts that can only be realized when placed in the context of contrast. Man had knowledge, but he had nothing to use for comparison. Until Eden was lost, it couldn’t be appreciated.
And so, in the ultimate display of contrast, we have the cross of Jesus Christ. Without the cross, we couldn’t understand the depth and the enormity of God’s wrath at sin, nor could we see the infinite scope of His love for His creatures. The cross is what provides the contrast, and therefore it is the center of God’s redemptive plan. Everything that we will ever experience in our eternal state will be seen with clarity because of the cross.
Thus, Jesus’ words to John can be understood in their proper context, that His words are true and faithful. The One who went to the cross is the One who is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11). And His words reflect His being. What He says is the ultimate in surety and the epitome of truth.
In the directive for John to “write,” the special revelation given directly to him is then intended for all who would read what is spoken. The content is to be taken as literal. In other words, what God is telling us concerning these things is to not be spiritualized or thought of as allegory. Instead, it is the truth of what will come about. God has spoken, He has done so clearly, and we are to accept these words at face value.
What is spoken from the throne of God is true, and it is faithful because it is uttered forth by JESUS!
Oh God! The cross… it all centers on the cross. Your love for us, Your anger at sin, Your intent to make us understand Your very heart and mind – it is all to be found in what Jesus did there. Thank You for what You have done. Thank You for the beauty and perfection of this glorious plan to reconcile us to Yourself. Thank You for Jesus. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 10, 2021 1:30:06 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:6
Monday, August 9th, 2021
And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. Revelation 21:6
The Lord on the throne just proclaimed that He makes all things new. In order to demonstrate that this is not just an empty promise, the words of this verse are now provided. John says, “And He said to me.”
The words are spoken by the Christ of God, Jesus. It is He who sits on the throne at the right hand (meaning the position of all power and authority) of God. And His words are, “It is done.” Some manuscripts say here, “They have come to pass.” Thus, it refers to the words that were promised. Either way, the words are words of surety. That which was spoken would come about is that which is now accomplished. And the reason for this is given in His next words, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.”
It is the same expression first used in Revelation 1:8. As noted then, the meaning is found in the fact that these are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, comparable to saying “A to Z” in English or Aleph to Tav in Hebrew.
It thus forms an all-inclusive statement. Everything that can be expressed by the language is contained within the letters of the language. This includes the concepts of time, space, and matter. If the concept is explainable by the language, then it is included in this thought because the first and last letters are representative of the whole.
Of this, the scholars at Cambridge state, “Alpha and Omega] As in Revelation 1:8 …. Here, as in the former passage, it is God the Father that speaks.” This is incorrect. They have arbitrarily divided the words coming from the throne into two categories – some spoken by Jesus and others by the Father. Rather, the words are all spoken by the Lord. Each time, He uses the titles necessary to explain His nature in relation to the surrounding events.
In this case, the intent is to show that He is outside of time. He was there at the beginning, creating all things. He is at the end of each successive step of the redemptive process, seeing it to its completion. Nothing has happened apart from Him, and all that has happened has occurred because He has allowed it to occur. The words spoken forth ask the reader to trust that what He says will come to pass shall, in fact, come to pass.
He next says, “the Beginning and the End.” Unlike in Revelation 1:8, where the same terms were used without definite articles, they are now spoken forth with the articles – the Beginning and the End. The words convey the same general meaning as those of Paul where, in Colossians 1, he describes Christ as the firstborn over all creation (meaning prior to creation), the Creator, the Sustainer, the head of the church, the firstborn from the dead, etc. Paul’s words were given to show the preeminence of Christ in all things.
The words now spoken by the Lord show the absolute existence of Christ – the “I AM THAT I AM.” Nothing exists in all of creation apart from Christ Jesus because the existence of all things is derived from His eternal, unchanging existence.
With that understood, He next speaks out words that convey the very idea of man’s existence, saying, “I will give of the fountain of the water of life.” The existence of man is intimately tied in with water. Without it, man cannot exist. There is the thought that the waters were gathered together, and the dry land appeared. From that ground, man was brought forth. But without water, the man could not survive. These physical truths are brought forward into spiritual pictures in Scripture.
Isaiah 55:1 calls out an offer for any who thirst to come forward and do so –
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters.”
And though it is true that man needs literal water to survive, the words of Isaiah are conveying a spiritual truth that was already set forth several times in Scripture, including in the psalms –
“O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.” Psalm 63:1, 2
The thirst of the physical body is equated to a spiritual thirst that only God can satisfy. That is then more fully expressed at the coming of God’s Messiah –
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:10-14
The words of Jesus to the woman at the well are then more fully explained in John 7 –
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:37-39
The offer of the Lord spoken forth now towards the end of Revelation is actually one addressed to the people of the world who read Revelation at any point in history. The offer is made to any who will believe the message of Scripture – that God has sent His Christ to bring us back to Himself. Whoever accepts this message of reconciliation, as Jesus next says, He will give this water of life “freely to him who thirsts.”
It is the thought re-expressed from Isaiah 55:1 (cited above). There is no charge for what God offers. It is a gift of grace and not of works. To work implies a wage is due. That which is free is given without accepting anything that requires wages to be paid. For those who thirst after God, the fountain of the water of life will be provided to him. The next verse will specifically explain how that is obtained.
It should be noted here that those who were punished with the seven bowls of God’s wrath in Revelation 16 faced the punishment of drinking blood (16:6), symbolizing the drinking of death. It is the exact opposite of what is promised now to the redeemed of the Lord. As in Revelation 21:4, a contrast is made to the judgment of those who fail to come to God, and the joy of those who put their trust in Jesus Christ.
Life application: What needed to be accomplished has come to pass; what was lost has been restored; that which has been anticipated has been realized. When the Lord says, “It is done,” it reveals a truth to us. The fact that the words were spoken means that it is already accomplished. What we don’t yet perceive because we are in the stream of time, God has already brought to pass. The very word He speaks is the indication that it is done.
When God speaks out a prophecy, such as the granting of eternal life, it is for our benefit so that we can understand what He has already determined. And because he is outside of time, it is already known by Him what the outcome of all things will be.
If God is at the beginning, then He must have been prior to the beginning in order for it to begin. He is the Necessary Being by whom all things came into existence, and apart from Him, nothing has come into being.
Further, if He is the End and God is eternal, then the End stretches into eternity as well. Because God has stated that all who believe in Jesus will have eternal life, then it must be true. There will never be a time when the true end is realized. Rather, the end is the moment-by-moment existence in the eternal state.
As a note concerning the term “Alpha and Omega,” it is used four times in the Bible, all in Revelation – 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, & 22:13. The term “Beginning and End” as used in this context is stated three times, again all in Revelation – 1:8, 21:6, & 22:13. When compared between uses, they confirm (as many other things have) Jesus’ deity.
He is the Lord God Almighty and the second member of the Trinity. This is an inescapable truth and one that is not to be overlooked. The entire Bible reveals this. To deny Jesus’ deity is a heresy. One cannot call on Jesus as Lord if He is a created being. Rather, He is the Lord our God.
Looking at the structure of this verse, the final thought is positioned to complement the first two statements: 1) “It is done,” and 2) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” It is also a witness to the truth of Jesus’ deity because only God can provide what He offers, meaning the fountain of the water of life. That offer was made in the book of John as noted previously.
As the eternal state has no end, there is the need for an eternal stream of life-giving nourishment to sustain God’s people. This is the “water of life” that Jesus speaks of. Without water, all life dies. Therefore with the water of life, there can be no death. God is outside of His creation and therefore is eternally existent, but we are within it. As such, we need to be eternally sustained. This is noted in Colossian 1:17 and in Hebrews 1:3, both of which are speaking of Jesus as the One who sustains all creation. Only God can sustain what God has created. In understanding this, the words of this verse clearly present the deity of Jesus Christ.
He is our Creator, Sustainer, and Hope. This is revealed in a beautifully unique way in this verse. As we move through our eternal state, we will never tire of the wisdom and life which flows from Him. We can learn about and contemplate Him for a billion times a billion years, and yet we will still have an eternity of learning ahead of us. He is a great God, a wonderful Lord, and a beautiful Savior! He is JESUS.
Jesus, how absolutely astonishing it is to contemplate eternity and to know that we will never be able to fully grasp all that it can reveal to us about You. What a marvelous and glorious Lord You are. Hallelujah to You. Hallelujah in the highest! Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 10, 2021 23:02:08 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:7
Tuesday, August 10th, 2021
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. Revelation 21:7
In the previous words, Jesus said to John that He would give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. The implication is that they have the Source of eternal life flowing to sustain them forever, and thus they will live forever. In this, there is an implication made that Jesus next explicitly states to John, saying, “He who overcomes shall inherit all things.”
As a side note, some manuscripts say, “shall inherit these things” instead of “shall inherit all things.” It would then be referring to those things promised in this passage (and elsewhere that are connected to the things mentioned in this passage).
Either way, one must overcome in order to receive the fountain of the water of life. This demands that we remember exactly how one overcomes. The subject was addressed in detail in Revelation 2:7, but it is now the last time that the word nikaó, or overcome, is found in Scripture. Thus, it is worth repeating again, towards the end of Revelation, to ensure the matter is properly understood. John’s letters provide the necessary detail –
——————————————————–
The words are based on 1 John 5:5 (cited below), and which are taken in connection with John’s other words of that epistle. Look at how John weaves thoughts together in the book of 1 John in order to ensure that all ends are secure –
“…whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” (5:4)
“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” (5:1)
“He who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” overcomes the world. (5:5)
“Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.” (4:2)
“…every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. (4:3).
In this, John is obviously equating “Christ” with “Son of God.” The Christ is God incarnate (come in the flesh) – where the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9). John is revealing that which is true and that which is false. This calls out for proper understanding because to believe otherwise is the spirit of the antichrist.
There are those who claim that Jesus is the Christ, but they do not believe He is God incarnate. Thus, verse 5:1 does not apply to them. There are those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but they do not accept that He is then fully God. Thus, verse 5:5 does not apply to them. In other words, there are sons of God recorded in both testaments – such as in Genesis 6 and Job 1. These are referring to human beings, not the divine Son of God.
There are also sons of God in the New Testament, such as in Romans 8:14 and elsewhere. These are adopted sons of God, not the Son begotten of God – meaning Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God.
One must take the words of John on a much more global scale to fully understand what he is referring to. Without doing so, a Mormon or a Jehovah’s Witness might appear to pass the test of one who overcomes the world. But such is not the case. Through evaluating the entire scope of what John is referring to, we find that such heretics do not pass muster, and have not overcome the world. As John asks, “Who is he who overcomes the world…?”
It is the person who will meet the qualifications he will state in a moment, but that person must meet the other qualifications which are directly tied to those words as well. John says that it is “he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” This is the person who overcomes. But he only does so if he believes that the Son of God (Jesus) is the Christ. And further, he only does so if he confesses that Jesus Christ has also come in the flesh.
If he does so, he is of God and has both been born of God and has overcome the world. If he does not confess the deity of Christ (having come in the flesh), he “is not of God.” In proper theology, one plus one will always equal two. However, sometimes the equation is built upon other such simple equations. When each is properly realized, then the truth of the situation is confirmed. This is why it is so important to have a larger understanding of what John is conveying when talking with people from aberrant cults.
Also, in his words, John uses present participles, each prefixed with an article when speaking of the one who overcomes. More literally, he says, “Who now is the one overcoming?” The response is, “…the one believing.” As noted, one can believe in a “Christ” who is not the Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:4, for example). It is the one believing in the proper Christ, who is the Son of God – fully Man and yet fully God. In his belief, he is overcoming the world. For those who believe in the wrong “Christ,” they are not overcoming anything. They are still in their sins, and they belong to this world.
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To sum up this most important point of doctrine, it is to the person who trusts in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, the God/Man, that overcomes. With this understood, Jesus next says of he who overcomes, “and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”
Of this, Vincent’s Word Studies notes, “This is the only place in John’s writings where υἱός son is used of the relation of man to God.” The Father/son relationship that began to be revealed in Genesis 6:2 with the “sons of God,” meaning those of the line of Seth that trusted in the promise of the coming Messiah, and that is then carefully and methodically built upon throughout Scripture, is fully realized in this verse.
The promise is that any who overcomes (placing their trust in the Messiah according to the level of understanding given in any particular dispensation) is granted this Father/son relationship. The hope of returning to paradise, and of spending eternity in the presence of God, is explicitly promised in these verses of Revelation. The thing God promised in Genesis 3:15, and which He has continued to slowly and progressively reveal since then, is realized here. God, who is ever faithful to His word, sent His Christ. He has restored all to the state it was originally intended. For His redeemed, the coming of that day is as certain as the word uttered forth by Him.
These wonderful words are the final fulfillment of what Paul hinted at for any who are already in this relationship because of faith in Christ –
“I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18
For the one who has overcome, the position is already realized. We are just waiting for the redemptive narrative to unfold, but we already possess this blessed Father/son relationship.
Life application: In the evaluation of Revelation 3:22, the promises made by Jesus to those who overcome were noted. They were made in the seven letters to the seven churches addressed in Revelation 2 & 3. That list is –
(1) Jesus will allow him to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
(2) He shall not be hurt by the second death.
(3) He will be given some of the hidden manna to eat. Jesus will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.
(4) Jesus will give him power over the nations – “He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessel” – as Jesus also has received from His Father; and He will give him the morning star.
(5) He shall be clothed in white garments, and his name will not be blotted out from the Book of Life; Jesus will confess his name before His Father and before His angels.
(6) He will be made a pillar in the temple of God, and he shall go out no more. Jesus will write on him the name of His God and the name of the city of His God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from His God. And He will write on him His new name.
(7) He will be given the right to sit with Jesus on His throne, as He also overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne.
All of these things are coming to the one who overcomes. Along with that is promised the intimate Father/son relationship noted in the verse analyzed above. As noted, the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:2, is a passage speaking of the chosen line that will lead to the Messiah.
From that springboard, there is a succession of adoption which leads all the way to this verse in Revelation. The promise was made to Abraham in Genesis 17:7. Israel was proclaimed the Lord’s firstborn in Exodus 4:22. They were given the promise of being His special treasure in Exodus 19:5, 6. After this was seen the confirmation of this covenant line through David in 2 Samuel 7:14. Eventually, these promises were made to the church on several occasions in the New Testament.
This Father/son relationship is made possible because of Jesus. In Hebrews 1:2, He is noted as the “heir of all things.” We are called “joint heirs” with Him in Romans 8:17. We are united to God through the work of Christ. And that is based on simple faith, with nothing else added. Jesus tells us this in John 3:16, Paul states it again and again in his epistles, and finally John gave us the great and wonderful news of how to overcome in 1 John 5:4, 5 (noted above).
To be a son of God, one must look to the work of the Son of God. To overcome and reign with Christ one must look to the One who overcame and reigns with God. To be an heir of the great promises of God, one must be adopted through the Son of God. It is the most wonderful and glorious promise ever, and it comes by simple faith. Praise God for His glorious gift! Praise God for our Lord, JESUS!
Heavenly Father, how wonderful it is to be called a son of God! We, your people, accept Jesus and we come to You in faith, knowing that only through Him can we receive Your gift of eternal life. Thank You for Jesus, thank You for His work, and thank You for the grace and faith You have granted us to come to this wonderful place. Hallelujah and Amen!
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 12, 2021 1:08:15 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:8
Wednesday, August 11th, 2021
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
The Lord noted those who would inherit all things in the previous verse. It is “he who overcomes.” Anyone who doesn’t fit into this category will have a different fate ahead of him. To give an idea of the type of people this includes, a list is provided. The idea here is that all who don’t believe in and accept the finished work of Christ are a part of this list, demonstrating their actual state of lowliness, regardless of how they think of themselves.
Understanding that, Jesus begins the list of those who are disqualified. Each is in the dative case, meaning that they are the recipients of the action that will be expressed. One can think of each category being preceded by the word “for” or “to.” Thus, “To this group, and to this group, and to this group there will be this consequence applied to them.” As such, Jesus begins with, “But the cowardly.” Hence, think of “But to the cowardly.”
The idea of being a coward brings up the thought of shrinking back in fear during a time of war or the like. This is not what is being referred to. The word is deilos. It signifies fearful, timid, or cowardly. The word is used in Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:40, Hebrews 12:28 (where it is translated as “godly fear”), and in this verse.
HELPS Word Studies defines the term – “properly, dreadful, describing a person who loses their ‘moral gumption (fortitude)’ that is needed to follow the Lord. / refers to an excessive fear (dread) of ‘losing,’ causing someone to be fainthearted (cowardly) – hence, to fall short in following Christ as Lord. / deilós is always used negatively in the NT and stands in contrast to the positive fear which can be expressed by 5401 /phóbos (“fear,” see Phil 2:12).”
As it has already been noted concerning those who “overcome” from the previous verse, this cannot be referring to someone who expresses fear after salvation. It refers to one who never receives Christ out of fear of the consequences of doing so.
The next on the list include the “unbelieving.” The word, in this context, is anyone who has failed to believe the gospel. As belief in the gospel is required to be sealed with the Holy Spirit, such a person is unsaved. Paul defines this in Ephesians 1 –
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14
A person who believes the gospel is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of his salvation. Those who do not believe will not be saved. The context of Jesus’ words is after His completed work and ascension. Thus, a lack of belief in the gospel is the focus of what is stated here. Next, it refers to the “abominable.”
The word is a perfect participle, and it signifies “to stink.” Thus, it speaks of the total corruption of the person. He is foul, detestable, and loathsome. Remembering that those on this list are given as comparisons, it is saying that those who may think they are pure and good smelling are rejected, vile, and loathsome without Christ.
Jesus next mentions “murderers.” This refers to those who commit unjustified, intentional homicide. Jesus uses the verb form of this word to make a point about people’s need for Him –
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” Matthew 5:21, 22
God looks at the heart when He evaluates man. The act of murder carries punishment, but the intent of the heart is no less convicting before God. This is true with the next category, the “sexually immoral.”
The word speaks of a male prostitute. However, in the New Testament, that is given as a type of any who engages in sexual immorality. Of such conduct, Jesus uses adultery as an example of the intent of the heart –
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27, 28
The next on this list includes “sorcerers.” HELPS Word Studies defines this as “properly, a sorcerer; used of people using drugs and ‘religious incantations’ to drug people into living by their illusions – like having magical (supernatural) powers to manipulate God into giving them more temporal possessions.”
From there, Jesus refers to “idolaters.” This speaks of a server or worshiper, either literally or figuratively, of idols. Being in a congregation where Christian images, such as crucifixes, statues of “saints,” and so on are served must be included in this. Without Christ’s atoning sacrifice to cover one’s sins, such actions merely heap up added guilt. They are no different than worshiping statues of Buddha.
Jesus finishes this list by saying, “and all liars.” The word used is general in nature. It certainly includes liars, but it signifies false, deceitful, lying, and untruths.
Of these, Jesus says they “shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.” This is hell. It is a place from which there is no escape and no end. God promised full restoration to man of that which was lost. But that is conditional on the work of the Messiah. He completed His work, and all who receive Him will be saved. All who do not are included in this list of doomed souls.
Again, and as stated before, the list is given as a comparative list to show that those who have not come to Christ are like any of those mentioned in this verse. There is no gradient scale by which man can be saved. There is no bell curve. There will be no evaluations of how hard or how well someone worked. There is either being in Christ and being covered by His righteousness, or there is nakedness and exposure. Those who stand naked and exposed before God will find their place in this lake of fire, “which is the second death.”
The second death is that spiritual death that all humans are born with. We are born physically alive, but spiritually dead. Being born again in Christ restores the spiritually dead condition to life. Not being found in Christ leaves that person dead in sin. When he dies, his spiritual condition is in an unconverted state. As such, his fate is sealed. The lake of fire becomes his eternal home. As Jesus says, “this is the second death.”
The 21st letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet, Shin, corresponds to the 21st Chapter of Revelation. Shin is pictured as the two front teeth, and it signifies sharp, press, eat, and two. However, it also represents the eternal flame. Thus, there is a contrast between the lake of fire in verse 8 and the illumination of God and the light of the Lamb in verse 23. There are those condemned to the flames, and there are those who will be illuminated by the light of God – both are eternal.
Life application: One of the most common misperceptions about Jesus is that He is a cosmic pushover and that through His work there is an “anything goes” attitude concerning our walk and conduct. This attitude leads to heretical groups and cults by the bucketful.
People who spend all their time solely in the beatitudes fail to take in the whole counsel of God. They fail to realize that the same God who thrust Adam from the Garden of Eden, who swept the world clean in the Flood of Noah, who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, who punished the people who had stood at the base of Mount Sinai – making them wander in the wilderness until all the disobedient were dead – and who also exiled His chosen people from their land – among many other acts of judgment recorded in the Bible – is the same God who spoke out those beatitudes. He is the Lord Jesus. He is the Judge of the sins of the world, and He will cast those who fail to meet His perfect standard into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.
In the end, all of the sins of man can be forgiven, but they must acknowledge their violations of what God expects of and from His people. Only through the cleansing power of the precious blood of Christ can man be purified from these things. Let us come to the throne of grace and receive God’s offer of mercy while there is still time to do so. Let us come to JESUS.
Lord Jesus, we come before You and confess that our lives have been lived apart from You. We have committed sinful acts and deserve only God’s wrath. But we look to You for forgiveness and mercy. Thank You, Lord, for the undeserved favor You offer. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 13, 2021 2:56:34 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:9
Thursday, August 12th, 2021
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Revelation 21:9
With the new heaven and the new earth prepared, and the prospect of eternal joy or eternal condemnation laid out, a new vision begins, that of New Jerusalem. The words of this verse are a close parallel to the words of Chapter 17. There, Mystery Babylon was introduced, and so the contrast between the two cities is highlighted by the parallel use of the words –
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’” (17:1, 2)
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’” (21:9)
This is a pattern that has been repeated many times in Scripture. The first is the introduction of a negative entity which is then followed by a good one. Cain and his line were introduced (Genesis 4:1), followed by Seth and his line (Genesis 4:25). The generations of Ishmael were noted (Genesis 25:2), followed by those of Isaac (Genesis 25:19). The generations of Esau were introduced (Genesis 36:1), followed by those of Jacob (Genesis 46:8).
This pattern continues on in various ways and at various times, such as introducing King Saul and then King David. The pattern defines those who are sons of Adam by nature (seeking after worldly things) and those who are sons of God by nature. The sons of God include those before the cross because of their anticipation of the coming Messiah. They also include those after the cross because of their faith in God’s Messiah who has come, Jesus.
Likewise, the idea of the city opposed to God, Babylon (Babel), was first described in Genesis 11 (introduced in Genesis 10). However, the city of God, Jerusalem, was first introduced in Genesis 14 (Salem) with the introduction of Melchizedek (see Psalm 76:2).
Thus, there are these divergent concepts being explored and developed in Scripture in order to reveal what God is doing as opposed to what man is doing. The final end to Babylon has been described, and now the introduction of the eternal city – New Jerusalem – is to be described. With this understood, John begins with, “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me.”
As in verse 17:1, which of the seven angels this is remains unstated. Therefore, the angel’s identity is irrelevant. It is simply one of the seven. To John, this angel is “saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’”
This is in contrast to the harlot of Revelation 17. A harlot is a wife to no one, but rather gives herself away to whoever will participate in her wickedness. Further, the harlot was said to sit on many waters, implying exactly the idea of harlotry. She spread herself out among many lovers, and she committed fornication with the kings of the earth and the earth’s inhabitants.
In complete contrast to this, there is a bride who will receive the affections of her husband, the Lamb – Jesus. There is a united bond between the two that will last forever because of the love of God which is found in Christ Jesus.
Life application: Although a city is going to be described, the New Jerusalem, it is the people who comprise a city. In other words, what will be described may be literal, and it may be an actual edifice that God has prepared. However, as with other biblical passages, New Jerusalem is more than its material parts. Rather, it is the city of the people of God.
The bride of Christ is both the city, and its the people. To miss this is to miss what God has been doing since the very first pages of the Bible. Since that time, He has been working in and through history to secure for Himself a people who live by faith. This is the premise of both testaments and of every story to be found in the Bible’s pages – faith that God will restore what was lost and that it will be even more glorious because it will be eternal.
The splendor and the majesty of what will be displayed in the coming verses will be highlighted with the glory of God itself. It will be more wonderful than mere words on paper can describe. If you have never called on Jesus Christ as Savior, you will have no part in this marvelous and eternal beauty, so make the right decision today, even now.
Call on Him and share in what lies ahead. Call on JESUS!
Lord, to be a part of Your glorious plan for the ages is more than our minds can grasp. To know that You have accepted us in Christ, even when we fail you, gives us the greatest hope. May we never fail to give you the praise, glory, and honor for all You have done for us. Thank You for the reconciliation You alone have provided through Him! Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 14, 2021 1:58:54 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:10
Friday, August 13th, 2021
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Revelation 21:10
Having cited the angel’s words, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife,” John now says, “And he carried me away in the Spirit.” It is a similar thought to that which came at the very beginning of Revelation when John said, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” John is carried away in this heightened state “to a great and high mountain.”
It is a similar experience to that of Ezekiel –
“In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the Lord was upon me; and He took me there. 2 In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city.” Ezekiel 40:1, 2
The intent of being taken to a high mountain seems obvious. Once there, his view would be totally unobstructed as he next beholds the scene before him. Ezekiel saw the structure of a city. It would be hard to view such a city in its total scope while standing on the same level as it. Walls, hills, trees, and so on would obscure parts of it from his view. But the Lord wanted him to see the city laid out before him. Such is the case now with John. Like Ezekiel, he next says, “and show me the great city, the holy Jerusalem.”
In this, there is a slight variation in source texts. Some omit “great,” and the adjective describes the word “city.”
“the holy city, Jerusalem” NASB
“the great city, the holy Jerusalem” YLT
Either way, the intent is understood. Like Ezekiel, John is seeing Jerusalem. It is the city of God’s focus, and it is the city set in contrast to Babylon. Where Babylon was a harlot and defiled, Jerusalem is set apart to God. In Scripture, the earthly Jerusalem was used as an ideal set forth by God to represent something greater and more perfect.
At times, it did not meet up to the standard, and it was defiled by the people who dwelt there. Nonetheless, it was used as a type of that which is prepared by God, just at the earthly tabernacle was set forth based on a heavenly pattern (see Hebrews 8:3-6).
What earthly Jerusalem anticipated is what is then spoken of by Paul and by the author of Hebrews, anticipating that which lies ahead –
“Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:21-26
&
“ But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24
As such, there is the type, earthly Jerusalem, and there is the antitype, “the holy Jerusalem.” Of this, John next says it is “descending out of heaven from God.” Christ is the fulfillment of the tabernacle in heaven, and He descended out of heaven from God. Now is seen the fulfillment of the anticipation of the earthly Jerusalem likewise descending out of heaven from God
The vision may be something that literally happens, or it may be that what John is seeing is a vision containing a spiritual truth. Until the New Jerusalem is actually beheld by the people of God, we can only look to the words of Revelation and speculate how much of what is to be described is literal and how much is symbolic. No matter what, it is to be a city fashioned by God, and it is to be prepared by Him for the dwelling of His people.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown immediately takes the symbolic approach and states, “descending—Even in the millennium the earth will not be a suitable abode for transfigured saints, who therefore shall then reign in heaven over the earth. But after the renewal of the earth at the close of the millennium and judgment, they shall descend from heaven to dwell on an earth assimilated to heaven itself. “From God” implies that “we (the city) are God’s workmanship.”
They are correct that what is being prepared will be beyond that which is to be seen in the millennium (implying that there will actually be a thousand-year reign of Christ), and that what is being expressed by John now will be after that period. Whatever it is that God has planned, it will be glorious, even beyond our current ability to grasp. John’s words are given as a foretaste of what will be experienced in its fullest some wonderful day.
Life application: In Isaiah 40:9, we read these words –
“O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
Isaiah 40 is a passage of comfort for God’s people in all ages, but it is a passage that only is fully realized in the book of Revelation. Today is the beginning of that realization in a tangible way.
Although John saw New Jerusalem descending in verse 2, he will now get a close-up look at it and see the splendor of the city in detail. He is going to be provided a fuller scope of what Isaiah and so many others only saw from a distance. And then he will record what he sees as a point of hope and anticipation for the saints of God.
In Hebrews 11, we learn that the faithful believers of ages past knew this city was coming. In Hebrew 11:10, it says that Abraham waited “for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Later in the same chapter, when speaking of all the faithful witnesses of time past, it says that they desired “a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
This heavenly city is now described as descending out of heaven from God. Imagine the city’s marvel in this way – everything that we now see was created by God in just 6 days – the splendor of the mountains, the magnificent creatures of the seas, and the wonder of the secret caves of the earth with all their variety of life hidden in them. But in addition to the things we have here on earth, God also created the other planets, the stars, the constellations, the immensely vast workings of the universe… it all came from the mind of God and was ordered and established in just 6 days.
Now imagine – “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2, 3
Jesus spoke these words 2000 years ago. And since then, He has been building a city and a home for His people. If God created every wonderful thing we perceive in just 6 days, imagine the marvel of what He will present to us after His Son finishes what has taken 2000 years?
Will we truly have eternal joy? Youbetcha! It will be so marvelous and so glorious that we will never tire of what is coming. And the best part of this amazing city will be described last of all. It will be such a wonderful source of majesty that God’s people will eternally revel in what they behold.
If you are tired, frustrated, overwhelmed, or just beaten down by life, then hold fast to what is promised. The joy that is coming will erase every thought of the difficulties we now face. Great is God and wonderful are His dealings with the sons of men. Thank God for what He has done for us. Thank God for JESUS!
Oh God, how glorious it will be to see the city that You have prepared for us. Each room will be lovingly fashioned by our glorious Savior. Thank You for showing John these things so that he would record them for us in our times of difficulty – sure promises to carry us through in hopes of something better – a city which has foundations of whom You are the Builder! Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 15, 2021 1:30:24 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:11
Saturday, August 14th, 2021
having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Revelation 21:11
The previous verse saw the great city, holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. John now says that it is “having the glory of God.” This is more than simply having a splendor fitting of God. Rather, it is referring to having the very presence of God radiating out of it in a display of His glory. That will be explicitly stated in verse 21:23 –
“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”
This then is the fulfillment of what was only anticipated in a limited sense in the tabernacle and later in the temple –
“Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34, 35
“And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” 1 Kings 8:10, 11
The difference between the earthly sanctuaries and this is then to be stated in verse 22:4 where it says that the servants of God and of the Lamb “shall see His face.” In the earthly sanctuary, the presence of the glory of the Lord could not be beheld in its fullness by those who served Him. But in the New Jerusalem, His people shall behold Him in all of His glory.
John next continues with, “Her light.” The Greek reads, “Her light-giver.” It refers to a luminary. It is that by which the city receives its illumination, meaning the Lamb (as is seen in verse 21:23). The glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The word used to describe this light, phóstér, is found only here and in Philippians 2:15 –
“that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”
Of this light, John says it “was like a most precious stone.” In other words, just as the finest gem will radiate in the most brilliant manner, so will be the radiating of the Illuminator of God’s glory as the Lamb reveals it to His people for all eternity. Of this, John next says it is “like a jasper stone.”
The jasper (Greek: iaspis) is believed to be the same as the last stone mentioned in the breastplate of the high priest in Exodus 28:20. In the Hebrew there, the name is yashepheh. That comes from an unused root meaning “to polish.” It is believed to be jasper because of the same general sounding name – yashepheh/iaspis/jasper.
Jasper stone varies in color, and the specific color is speculated on. Throughout the ages, the identification of many of the colors and stones mentioned in the Bible has become unclear. Different terms are used today than they were in the past. Because of this, various translators will identify them differently.
What jasper is today is apparently not the same as what John is speaking of here. Rather, some commentators believe it is a blue-white diamond. Whatever the exact color and nature of it, the glory of God is being reflected in this manner.
However, the symbolism speaks out what John is trying to relay. There is the light of the glory of God emanating through the color, or from the color, that speaks of His infinite perfection, glory, and holiness. Finally, of this, John says it is “clear as crystal.”
The Greek literally says, “shining like crystal.” The word is found only here in Scripture, krustallizó. It signifies “to make (i.e. Intransitively, resemble) ice (‘crystallize’) — be clear as crystal” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance).
The words John uses convey the idea of absolute brilliance, splendor, and glory. It is nothing that we can as yet fully comprehend. But someday, because of Christ Jesus, we will behold what John attempts to describe for us in Revelation.
Life application: The New Jerusalem will be stunningly marvelous and more beautiful than we can now comprehend. We see a glimpse of this in Exodus 24:9, 10, were the presence of God is seen on Mount Sinai –
“Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.”
This was a mere foreshadowing of the glory that John beholds. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, the glory of the Lord is revealed in various ways, but none are as spectacular as what John conveys to us. Sinful humans cannot perceive the true glory and majesty of God, nor can mere words adequately describe it. And, therefore, only comparisons can be used. However, at some wonderful point in the future, God’s full and complete glory will be displayed to His redeemed. They will walk in His light, and they will be eternally enlivened by Him.
A time is coming when these things will be fully realized. And so now, as we walk in this darkened and sin-stained world, we can carry with us the hope of this wonderful time. But this is only true if we come to God through His offer of peace and reconciliation. The Lamb that will illuminate the glory of God in New Jerusalem is the same Lamb who first came to die in order to redeem man back to God. Without coming through Christ, no man will enter into His presence. Be sure to call out to God through His Messiah. Call out to Him through JESUS.
Oh God, when the world wears me out and there is only grief in our souls at the wickedness that surrounds us, we can overcome this feeling and stand strong in the sure hope of being in the presence of Your glory – never again to feel frustration, pain, anger, or fear. Instead, we will be perfectly content with the light of Your majesty. How we long for that day! Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 16, 2021 0:06:53 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:12
Sunday, August 15th, 2021
Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: Revelation 21:12
John continues with his description of New Jerusalem, beginning with, “And she had a great and high wall.” The Greek uses a present participle – “And having a wall, great and high.”
The dimensions are given in verse 21:17 as one hundred and forty-four cubits in height, but to support such a height, they would also be thick. The idea is that of complete security within, even though the gates will never be closed (see verse 21:25). The size of height and thickness are probably then metaphors for eternal security (everlasting life) promised to those who have come to Christ.
John next says it is a wall “with twelves gates.” The word translated as gates, pulón, is a common one, but it is not the type of gate that we would think of today. Rather, it is more of a portal or passage leading from the outer area and arriving at an inner court. This passage would have a heavy gate (a large door), known in Greek as a pulé, at the passage entry.
As far as the number of gates, the number twelve in Scripture, according to Bullinger, “is a perfect number, signifying perfection of government, or of governmental perfection. It is found as a multiple in all that has to do with rule. The sun which ‘rules’ the day, and the moon and stars which ‘govern’ the night, do so by their passage through the twelve signs of the Zodiac which completes the great circle of the heavens of 360 (12 x 30) degrees or divisions, and thus govern the year. Twelve is the product of 3 (the perfectly Divine and heavenly number) and 4 (the earthly, the number of what is material and organic). While seven is composed of 3 added to 4, twelve is 3 multiplied by 4, and hence denotes that which can scarcely be explained in words, but which the spiritual perception can at once appreciate, viz., organization, the products denoting production and multiplication and increase of all that is contained in the two numbers separately. The 4 is generally prominently seen in the twelve.”
Bullinger’s description of the number twelve, when carefully considered, beautifully explains the twelve gates of the city where God rules among men. It is where the creation meets with the Creator, and where the earthly meets with the divine. It is where access to God is through these twelve gates. John next says, “and twelve angels at the gates.”
This takes the reader back to Genesis 3. Man was placed in Eden to worship and to serve his Creator. Through disobedience, he was cast out of Eden, and angels (cherubim) were placed as protectors to keep him out –
“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.’” Genesis 3:22-24
The tabernacle, and later the temple, made a picture of this forbidden access. Both faced east, with the Most Holy Place to the west. Cherubim were woven into the veil that divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, facing outward (facing east) –
“You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.” Exodus 26:31-33
“And he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.” 2 Chronicles 3:14
It was this veil, representing the body of Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 10:20), that was torn when Christ died on the cross –
“Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last.” Luke 23:44-46
The tearing of the veil (His body) is a metaphor for allowing full access into the Most Holy Place because of His shed blood. Understanding this, any who come to God, must do so through Jesus Christ. Only through Him can access be restored, because He is “the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
All who have come to Him have access into New Jerusalem – past these angels, through the gates, and into the Most Holy Place where God resides. Of these gates, it next says, “and names written on them.”
In the Bible a name identifies more than just who an individual is. The nature and character of that which (or who) is named is expressed in the name. The very substance and qualities are seen in the giving of a name, and each name – and the use of the name – has particular meaning. These gates, then, are identified with the substance of the names they possess. As for the names, John says they are names “which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.”
The naming of the sons of Israel is noted in Genesis. Each one is given for the reason stated in the text at the time, and each anticipates more concerning the son (the tribe) later in Scripture as well. But the reason for naming the gates of New Jerusalem with the names of the tribes of Israel appears to be for exactly the same reason that Jesus is the one and only way to be reconciled to God.
Jesus descended from Jacob (who is Israel), even if He did not descend from each and every son individually. He came through this group of people, and thus it is an acknowledgment that it is through Israel that access into the city is obtained – because Jesus is of Israel. The one religious expression that allows access is the law that was given to (and agreed upon by) the people of Israel. All must meet the standard of that law, and that is only possible through the One who met its demands perfectly –
“Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.” Leviticus 18:5 (BSB)
Christ, the Man, did the things of the law, He died in fulfillment of the law, and He died as a substitutionary sacrifice for violations under the law for any who come to Him. In doing so, atonement is provided, and propitiation with God is realized. This law, given to Israel, is the way to enter into God’s presence, and it is made possible by the true and perfect Son of Israel, Jesus.
The walls and gates of this marvelous city, and access through them because of the work of the Lord, are prophetically anticipated by the prophet Isaiah –
“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
‘We have a strong city;
God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
2 Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.
3 You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.’” Is 26:1-3
Life application: In ancient days, before aircraft and more powerful artillery, the walls of a city were its main defense against outside attacks. Watchmen were placed on the walls, just as sailors on the top of a mast on a ship at sea would act as lookouts for enemy ships. The New Jerusalem will have “great and high walls.” These walls won’t be defensive though because there will be nothing to defend against. Rather, they will reflect the absolute security of the believers who dwell in the city. The mightiest power of all, the Creator, dwells there. Therefore there is the truth that eternal security is realized.
One thing to be noted is that if there are walls, regardless of the height, they are a set size. In other words, the size descriptions which will be given in the coming verses are real and literal and should be taken as such. This is a real city with real dimensions, even if it contains a wealth of spiritual truths. As noted, in the walls are twelve gates.
Throughout the Bible, it is the gates of the city where judgments are made, legal transactions occur, and where the elders sit to rule and determine legal proceedings. The angels of the gates will most likely be used for the announcement of certain occasions and maybe to announce the comings and goings of special dignitaries, as well as to provide glory to God in the presence of those who come and go between the city and the new heavens and new earth.
There is no reason to think that there won’t be established hierarchies in the new order of things, and these angels will be there to handle them as well as the other matters. Isaiah speaks of a similar concept in his writings which gives us a glimpse into what the future may hold as well –
“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
7 And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” Isaiah 62:6, 7
As far as the names of the sons of Israel, there is an immense amount of coded information in them that shows wisdom, harmony, and structure. An involved study of them reveals truly astonishing patterns that are fitting for the gates to this marvelous city. Everything, down to the minutest detail, will be glorious and wonderful.
What God has planned for His redeemed will be amazing, awe-inspiring, and a blessing to His people for all eternity, and it is all available to you if you will simply call out for reconciliation with Him through the giving of His Son. Do so today. Call on JESUS.
Lord, even the walls of our future home are filled with wisdom and wonder. Since this is so, how glorious will be the things contained within those walls! How we long for this time to be realized so that we can walk in Your glorious city and investigate the wonders and mysteries You have waiting for us. Thank You for this hope, O Lord. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 17, 2021 1:45:10 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:13
Monday, August 16th, 2021
three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Revelation 21:13
John just described the wall and gates of New Jerusalem. He now continues with the location of those gates, saying, “three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.”
The word for “east” is anatolé. It literally means “dayspring.” It was used to describe the Messiah in Luke 1:78. It has been used twice so far in Revelation, and this is its final use in Scripture. It is an actual direction, from which one would expect the sun to rise. As such, there must be something to mark out actual directions. It would make no sense to give directions if directions no longer existed. This might seem like a pointless argument to make, but it is not. Rather, it concretely establishes that what is coming has a direction indicating the dayspring. Otherwise, the account would simply say something like “there were three gates on each side.”
Likewise, the word for “west” is dusmé. It literally means “a setting.” Thus, and by implication, it is the west – the place where the sun sets. In verse 21:23, it says of this city, “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it.” This doesn’t mean that there is no sun. It simply means that another source of light is always available to the city. There is a place of the rising, and there is a place of the setting. As the city is square, there is also the north and the south as well. Each direction contains three gates.
The names of the tribes situated in these four directions around the tabernacle were listed in Numbers 2. Then in Ezekiel 48, as the book closes out, the names of the tribes are listed on the gates of Jerusalem in a different order, but still in the same clockwise rotation –
Numbers 2 – East: Judah, Issachar, Zebulun. South: Reuben, Simeon, Gad. West: Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin. North: Dan, Asher, Naphtali.
Ezekiel 48 – North: Reuben, Judah, Levi. East: Joseph, Benjamin, Dan. South: Simeon, Issachar, Zebulon. West: Gad, Asher, Naphtali.
The directions of the compass are presented in order as –
Numbers 2: East, South, West, North.
Ezekiel 48: North, East, South, West.
Thus, both are listed in a clockwise rotation.
No specific names or directions are provided by John in Revelation. The point is that as there are four directions, and as each side has the same number of gates, it is an indication that people are welcome from all four points on the compass.
This is actually anticipated by Christ Jesus when dealing with a Roman centurion in Matthew 8 –
“When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.’” Matthew 8:10-13
Such references are found elsewhere in both the Old and the New Testament, demonstrating – beyond a shadow of a doubt – that what is being presented applies to Jew and to Gentile, and it applies in every dispensation equally. Israel under law was used as a tool of instruction and for learning, not as a means to an end. In these gates, it is seen that God’s grace symbolically extends outward to all people from all places, and the same access is granted to all.
Life application: Assuming that Ezekiel’s description of Jerusalem is referring to the millennium, which is a possibility, in New Jerusalem there will be a layout similar to what is coming during that millennial period. During that period, as noted above, there will be twelve gates around the city of Jerusalem, but the city will be much smaller than New Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 48:35 says that the name of the city will be Yehovah Shammah, or “The Lord is There.” This signifies that Jesus, the Lord, will sit and reign in the city. The same will be true in New Jerusalem as will be seen in the coming verses. The glory of Jesus will be fully realized then, and it will be visible to all.
As another interesting side note, and as noted above, the tribes of Israel were also aligned in named formation around the tabernacle before Israel departed Mount Sinai. The specific layout is detailed in Numbers 2 & 3. When the number of the people who surrounded the tabernacle is determined, it forms a most beautiful picture, a cross.
Throughout the Old Testament, there are shadows and pictures of the cross hidden in the details. God is meticulous in how He arranges all things. It will be no different in the New Jerusalem. He will have order and structure for us to marvel at for all of eternity.
To see this presentation of the layout of the tribes forming a cross, you can watch (or read) the Superior Word sermon entitled, Numbers 3:14-39 (A Sign in the Wilderness). In the end, everything God is doing has a set purpose, and it is intended for all of the people of the world. The redemption of man, through the cross of Christ, is at the heart of this plan. It is hoped that you will yield yourself to Him and come to Him for spiritual renewal. Yes, come to Him today through His offering of peace and restoration – JESUS.
Surely You, O God, are a God of order. The harmony and detail You have laid out in Your creation as well as in Your word can only bring us to rejoice in the things You have done. Praises and majesty belong to You, O wonderful Lord! Thank You for all You have done for Your people. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 18, 2021 0:11:47 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:14
Tuesday, August 17th, 2021
Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Revelation 21:14
With the description of the wall and gates complete, John next turns to the foundations of the wall, saying, “Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations.” A foundation is a support for an edifice. It is the substruction of a building upon which everything else rests. The idea of twelve foundations can be taken in a couple of ways. One is that the foundation stones would be separate stones going from gate to gate. Another is that the stones are laid one upon another.
An architectural reason for them being on top of the other would be strength. However, whatever God builds, it is going to be permanent and unyielding based on its construction. As such, either way is possible. The point of there being twelve stones, however, is based on the spiritual meaning of what is being conveyed. There may be twelve literal stone foundations, but – like everything being described – there is a symbolic and typological reason for it. That is then seen in the next words, saying, “and on them were the names of the twelve apostles.”
As noted, a foundation – even if it is made up of many things – is one thing. It is that upon which everything else rests. The typology is plainly evident and can mean only one thing, but it takes care and consideration to understand it. Paul says in Ephesians 2 –
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22
The prophets – all of them, and in every word placed into Scripture – ultimately called for the message of Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah. When Christ came, the apostles spoke forth the fulfillment of Messiah’s coming, and they did so in a united voice. They all proclaimed exactly the same gospel message, as is evidenced by Paul’s words of 1 Corinthians 15 –
“For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” 1 Corinthians 15:9-11
There is one united message which forms the basis of the apostles’ proclamation, Jesus Christ. Grace through Jesus is God’s one purpose of the written word. To say otherwise is a false and heretical teaching. Every detail of what is presented in the law, the prophets, the gospels, the epistles, and which is summed up in Revelation, points to the coming of Messiah and the grace of God found in Him. Everything else has been a means of instructing the people of the world that they cannot reach back to God apart from Jesus Christ.
And yet, the false teachings of deceitful liars crop up in the Hebrew Roots Movement, in the teachings of Judaizers, in the doctrine of hyper-dispensationalists, and in numerous other aberrant sects, cults, and false gospels that proclaim God is doing “more than one thing.” He is not. Paul explains this “foundation” in 1 Corinthians 3 –
“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:10, 11
In other words, the foundation stones, upon which are written the names of the twelve apostles, are the united (single) message which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Their proclamation is one. Just one message is given by the twelve apostles. The author of Hebrews repeats this same sentiment immediately after a note about Abraham, the father of justification by faith –
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10
This is the exact building that is now being described. It is the building proclaimed by the prophets, explained by all twelve apostles, and which points to God in Christ – the single, unified message of Scripture. John finishes with the note that they are apostles “of the Lamb.”
The sacrificial role of Jesus Christ, meaning His death as the Passover Lamb, is the hinge upon which everything else turns. It is a single, unified message of all of the apostles. This is made plainly evident by the two noted apostles of the book of Acts, Peter and Paul, in their epistles –
“Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7
“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, “but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:17-21
Paul, referring to the Passover (the Lamb), speaks of the exact same redemption as Peter when he refers to the Lamb (the Passover). The symbolism of the foundations is as clear as crystal. And yet, false teachers throughout the world attempt to divide up the message of Christ, again and again, in order to put forth a false gospel. It is, as Paul says in Galatians 1, anathema. It is the message inspired by Satan (the devil) – 2 Timothy 2:26.
There is one gospel, there is one thing that God has been doing and continues to do, and it is reflected in the beautiful symbolism of the foundation stones of New Jerusalem.
Life application: The wall is where the gates are, and those gates are represented by the twelve sons of Israel. Thus, the wall, with its foundations, is the uniting of the message of Israel and the church. The same message which allows access to God through the people of Israel (the hope of God in Christ) is that which was then proclaimed by the apostles – the foundation which is God in Christ. There is no division between the two.
This is alluded to in Ephesians 2:11-18. In the temple which stood in Jerusalem, there was a wall of separation that kept gentiles out of a large portion of the temple area. Paul tells us in the book of Ephesians that this wall is removed in Christ –
“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” Ephesians 2:11-18
This is then followed up by the obvious words of Paul (cited above) concerning the foundation of “the apostles and prophets” with Christ being “the chief cornerstone.”
The foundation of what God is doing is built on this foundation. Some prophets who predate Israel – such as Abel, Enoch, and Abraham – are noted as prophets implicitly or explicitly. There are many prophets who came from Israel as well, noted throughout the Old Testament and as far as John the Baptist – “Christ is coming!” This is noted in Acts 3:24. The apostles, as noted above, proclaim the same message, Christ – “Christ has come!”
In this is the foundation of God’s household and their united proclamation of Christ. As such, one central precept of the Bible is that God uses people to proclaim His word, and it is His word that tells us of Jesus. The New Jerusalem is an eternal city for the people of God, and it is the home of the Living God who reveals Himself through the second member of the Trinity – Jesus Christ. Any attempt to divert attention away from this is to be rejected.
Another note to consider is that on the twelve foundations are written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Judas is obviously not going to be listed, but a question that then arises is “Which names will be listed?” In Acts 1, a person named Matthias was chosen to replace Judas, and in Acts 6:2 these twelve are noted together. However, Paul is the “apostle to the Gentiles” chosen by Jesus personally. Which will be listed? It is something that is left unstated.
The point of the symbolism is that of the unity of government (the number twelve). Just as there were actually fourteen sons of Israel (Jacob adopted Ephraim and Manasseh for inheritance purposes), and as those sons are variously listed in the rest of Scripture, there are fourteen named apostles (Judas, Matthias, and Paul all reckoned in this). Thus, the “names” of the sons of Israel on the gates, and the “names” of the apostles on the foundation, may not be their actual names at all, but this is simply a way of saying that the proclamation of these is united. That proclamation is JESUS.
Lord Jesus, even in Your words of revelation, you have kept things hidden from us. You do this because You are sovereign. Therefore, help us to explore Your mysteries and love Your word, but also help us to patiently wait on the unveiling of the mysteries yet to come. Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful promises that we have and the anticipation of more to be revealed! Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 19, 2021 0:59:55 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:1 5
Wednesday, August 18th, 2021
And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. Revelation 21:15
With the twelve foundations noted as having the names of the twelve apostles, John now says, “And he who talked with me.”
Again, it is a present participle – “And he who is talking with me.” John is writing as if the events are occurring for us just as they did for him at that moment. This would be the one described in verse 21:9, one of the seven angels. John is writing as if the events are occurring for us just as they did for him at that moment. Of the angel, it next says he “had a gold reed.”
Several times, a man with a reed is noted in Scripture. It is an implement used for measuring. This is seen, for example, in Ezekiel 40 –
“He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze. He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.” Ezekiel 40:3
In this, the line of flax was for measuring greater distances, and the measuring rod for shorter distances. This was also seen in Revelation 11:1 –
“Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.’”
The idea of measuring an area is implied in both the building of the tabernacle and the temple as well. The measurements of those edifices are given, and thus measuring implements were used to measure with. Of this “reed” noted in Revelation, as it is gold, it would be better to call it a “rod” because the word “reed” implies something grown. This is a gold rod that is used “to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.”
Instead of a reed, a wooden rod, or a line of flax, gold is used. Thus, it implies absolute purity. Nothing defiled or defiling will be seen in New Jerusalem. The measurements are taken to demonstrate the order, mathematical precision, and perfection of the edifice. In Ezekiel, the reason for the measurements is stated –
“Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. 11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them. 12 This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.” Ezekiel 43:10-12
There was a perfection to what was described, and Israel was to see that and understand that the wisdom of God was involved in every detail of the design. Likewise, we are given hints of what is coming in New Jerusalem to perceive the magnitude, majesty, and marvel of what lies ahead. The order and divine perfection of what is measured is to show that God has a plan, it is precise, and it is perfect in every detail.
Life application: God, throughout the Bible, can be noted as demonstrating order and harmony. There is both intelligence and wisdom to be found in the things He has created, not random chaos. Nothing orderly can come from what is chaotic either. Paul speaks about such knowledge in Romans 1 –
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:20, 21
When we attribute order to chaos, as evolutionists do, we take the glory that God deserves and accredit it to random chance, thus bringing God’s wrath upon ourselves. This is noted in Revelation because order is once again seen in the New Jerusalem. It is a city with walls and foundations, and it is a set size, determined by God. Because the angel who is talking with John is going to measure it, the city is physical, not spiritual. Its sizes should be taken literally, even if they carry spiritual symbolism. Attempting to totally spiritualize what is provided is then contrary to what God intends for us to understand.
This is the same with other times in the Bible that Jerusalem is measured out. Along with Ezekiel 40, Zechariah 2 also speaks of measuring the city –
“Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 So I said, ‘Where are you going?’
And he said to me, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.’
3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, 4 who said to him, ‘Run, speak to this young man, saying: “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. 5 For I,” says the Lord, “will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.”’” Zechariah 2:1-5
Both accounts in Ezekiel and Zechariah are likely referring to the millennial temple and city. We are being given these specific insights and measurements as indications of reality, not spiritual truths – even if spiritual truths are contained within them.
Because of the order of both of these future cities of Jerusalem, we can also be certain of the order and harmony God is working in our lives. God isn’t preparing cities of specific sizes while overlooking the number of residents that will occupy those cities. In other words, God has it all under control.
The future is known to Him, and if you have called on Him through His Messiah, He has prepared a place for you in that future. Be of good cheer, God is doing something wonderful, and that will become perfectly evident in the time to come. Trust that and be thankful to Him for making it possible through the coming of JESUS!
What comfort it is to know that in the building of a city for Your people You have considered the people for Your city! Thank You, O God, for Your attentive care of us and for the great plans You have laid out for our eternal state. What a wonderful, beautiful Creator You are! Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 19, 2021 15:29:13 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:16
Thursday, August 19th, 2021
The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Revelation 21:16
Before measuring the city, John notes that “The city is laid out as a square.” The word is found only here in the Bible, tetragonus. It is a compound word signifying “four corners.” But a four-cornered city could be rectangular or some other shape, so John next carefully defines what that means, saying, “its length is as great as its breadth.”
In this, one can see calling the tetragonus “square” is correct. Of this, Albert Barnes rightly notes –
“It was an exact square. That is, there was nothing irregular about it; there were no crooked walls; there was no jutting out, and no indentation in the walls, as if the city had been built at different times without a plan, and had been accommodated to circumstances. Most cities have been determined in their outline by the character of the ground – by hills, streams, or ravines; or have grown up by accretions, where one part has been joined to another, so that there is no regularity, and so that the original plan, if there was any, has been lost sight of. The New Jerusalem, on the contrary, had been built according to a plan of the utmost regularity, which had not been modified by the circumstances, or varied as the city grew. The idea here may be, that the church, as it will appear in its state of glory, will be in accordance with an eternal plan, and that the great original design will have been fully carried out.”
As such, it fits the thought of Paul’s words where he speaks of the blindness of Israel happening until “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” God has an exact and precise listing of human souls that are set for certain purposes. Later Paul says –
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22
Building a house implies a builder of a house. And a house is built based on a plan, implying an architect. In this, the builder will know the costs, amounts of materials, and so on that are required to build the house. What God has purposed will be perfectly set forth in New Jerusalem to accommodate those who dwell there.
Even in the seemingly chaotic stream of time in which we live, where things don’t seem to make any sense at all to us, God is working through those things to complete something perfect for His redeemed. With this understood, John next says, “And he measured the city with the reed.”
In this, a long journey would have taken place. Rather than a line of flax or a wheel with a measuring counter on it, or even a GPS to determine the size, it says the city was measured with this golden reed (rod). The measuring would be a long journey because John says it is “twelve thousand furlongs.”
A furlong is 220 yards, and so that distance would equal 2,640,000 yards or 1500 miles. However, the Greek word translated as furlong is stadia. A stadia is 607 feet long, and so the more likely distance is about 1380 miles. As it is squared, this would equate to a footprint of 1,904,400 square miles.
As such, many scholars immediately decry the size as figurative, not literal. If that is so, John could easily have said it was 20 miles square and then given the same other information. Even if symbolism is involved, there should be no reason to not assume that the size of New Jerusalem is not exactly as stated here. If all things are made new, a place for such a city to sit could easily be a part of that renewal.
With this in mind, John finishes the verse with, “Its length, breadth, and height are equal.” As such, this is not just a perfect square, but it is also a perfect cube. It is a whopping amount of space. But the importance of the description takes the reader right back to Exodus 26 where the dimensions of the Most Holy Place can be inferred to be 10x10x10 cubits, or a perfect cube.
This is certainly the case in the temple fashioned by Solomon. In 1 King 6:20, it says, “The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high.” This would be the Most Holy Place of the temple, again a perfect cube. The New Jerusalem is likewise a perfect cube, thus the implication is that the dwelling place of God (the Most Holy Place) is also the dwelling place of man – as was explicitly stated in verse 21:3.
The Most Holy Place, that was forbidden for anyone to enter – except the high priest, and only once a year (and not without blood) – was symbolically opened up for any and all at the death of Christ when the veil was torn upon His death. That symbolism now meets up with the reality in the New Jerusalem. And this then completes the thought of Paul from Ephesians 3:19 where the only other time the words “length,” “breadth,” and “height” are used in a single verse. There it says –
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19
In his words, Paul adds in “depth.” There is a perfect cube coming called New Jerusalem. It encompasses the length, breadth, and height of the symbolic dwelling place of God with men, and within it – in its depth – is that dwelling place. This is where “the love of Christ which passes knowledge” will be explored for all eternity.
As God is infinite, He obviously encompasses and extends throughout all of the universe, but the place where He has chosen to dwell in the fullest sense is in this magnificent structure that was anticipated all the way back in a cubed room in a tabernacle in the desert where no man was allowed to enter, under pain of death. But through the blood shed by the One whom all of those implements of the tabernacle anticipated, eternal life is now found in the glorious, cubed edifice known as New Jerusalem – the Most Holy Place.
Life application: New Jerusalem is one big city. It will be big enough to fit the redeemed of all ages, not only because of its breadth and length, but because of its height as well. Because of Christ’s cross, access to God for fallen man is restored. What is available for anyone who has called on Jesus will be realized in its fullness when the redeemed enter the New Jerusalem.
God has prepared a city with foundations for His people, and some wonderful day, we will be ushered into it and into the presence of God for all eternity. Have you reserved a room yet? If not, call on Jesus and enter into the sure promises of what He has prepared for His people. Come through the shed blood of God’s Son and receive the inheritance that He offers. Yes, come today to God through JESUS.
O God! How wonderful it will be to dwell in Your presence in a city that is perfect in every detail and one that reflects Your wisdom and order. We wait in anticipation for the wonderful day when we first walk through its gates to behold the splendor of Your glory! And then, there in that beautiful place, we shall be filled with the wonder of who You are for all eternity. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 21, 2021 0:31:52 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:17
Friday, August 20th, 2021
Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. Revelation 21:17
The previous verse had John noting the length and breadth of the city, along with its height. The description continues with, “Then he measured its wall.”
It is disputed if this is the wall of the city itself, or a wall that surrounds the city. Verse 21:12 seems to indicate a separate border wall. For now, the description says it is “one hundred and forty-four cubits.” The number 144 is the twelfth number in the Fibonacci series. If this is the actual wall of the city, it is referring to its thickness. The “gates” of the city would be within that thickness, leading to the inside of the city.
Or it could be referring to the height of the wall that surrounds the city. If so, it is actually a teeny border wall in comparison to the actual walls of the city. But it is still rather immense. Some believe it is actually a border wall that is twelve cubits by twelve cubits, or 144 square cubits. That would make the wall even teenier in comparison to the main walls of the city. This would not be a “great and high wall” as was noted in verse 21:12.
Either way, the wall is measured in a different scale than the city itself was. The city was measured in stadia ,a Greek unit, but the wall is measured in the unit péchus, another Greek unit, meaning cubits. It is a Hebrew measuring system where the measurement goes from the tip of the middle finger to the bend in the elbow, or about eighteen inches, though its actual length is debated. In Hebrew, it is called the amah, or “mother” measurement. As the wall’s gates are according to the names of the children of Israel, this could be the reason a Hebrew measuring system is used. As far as the use of the cubit, John says it is “according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.”
Various ideas about what this means are given. A few are –
“It is to be the dwelling-place of men; and even, therefore, when an angel measures it, he measures it according to the measure of a man” (Milligan).
“Men shall then be equal to the angels” (Jamieson-Faucet-Brown).
“According to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel; as men use to measure, and as this angel measured, who appeared as a man in this action” (Matthew Poole).
As can be seen, there is no great consensus as to what John is saying. Robert Young avoids the debate by translating the word literally, saying –
“and he measured its wall, an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, that is, of the messenger.”
The debates concerning these things will be settled for us someday, but John is describing what he sees, and that is sufficient for us to know that certain truths are being conveyed that will be fully appreciated by us in the future.
Life application: Whatever the provided details actually describe, it is interesting that the measurement of the walls reveals a part of the geometric pattern (Fibonacci series) which is found throughout nature This shows an underlying wisdom and intelligence that is not readily apparent.
Such unusual geometric patterns are found elsewhere in the Bible, in both the text itself and also in what the text describes. As these patterns were unknown to those who received them, we can see that there are hidden treasures from God in His word that are as rich and wonderful as His love is for the people He is speaking to. His hand is upon every detail of His creation – from the form of the galaxies to the form of seashells. His wisdom is displayed in the structure of DNA, and it is revealed in each radiant new sunrise.
It is good to search out the mysteries of the universe, and it is good to search out the mysteries of the Bible as well. In so doing we learn more about the mind of God and the enormity of His wisdom. Let us never become so dulled in our thoughts that we could assume we have learned all there is to know about the Bible. Should we do this, the greatest treasure God has given us would sit gathering dust when it could be used to gather even more understanding of His glory.
So, pick up the word, read it, study it, and cherish it. Above all else that it contains, the main subject of it is God working in the stream of time and within the framework of creation to bring us back to Himself, and He is doing that through His Messiah, our Lord JESUS.
O God, give us the desire to pick up Your word, read Your word, and search out its mysteries all the days of our lives. Help us to use the gifts You have given us in a way that will bring out its hidden secrets. Yes, astonish us, O God, with Your wonderful word! Thank You for the Holy Bible. Amen.
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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Aug 21, 2021 23:32:41 GMT -5
Daily Bible Verse, Revelation 21:8
Saturday, August 21st, 2021
The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. Revelation 21:18
John continues describing New Jerusalem, saying, “The construction of its wall.” The word translated as “construction” is found only here in Scripture, endomésis. It refers to the material itself. One might say, “It is constructed of wood,” or “It is constructed of concrete.” In the case of the wall of New Jerusalem, it is constructed “of jasper.”
This is the same material noted in verse 11. As noted then, jasper (Greek: iaspis) is believed to be the same as the last stone mentioned in the breastplate of the high priest in Exodus 28:20. In the Hebrew there, the name is yashepheh. That comes from an unused root meaning “to polish.” It is believed to be jasper because of the same general-sounding name – yashepheh/iaspis/jasper.
Some commentators believe this refers to a blue-white diamond. Jasper was mentioned in verse 4:3 when describing the glory of God in Christ –
“Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.” Revelation 4:3, 4
The connection between the two, Christ and the wall, would then give its own symbolism. Believers are said to be “in Christ” numerous times in the epistles. As the wall is that which surrounds the city, it forms an obvious picture of the eternality of the salvation of the saints, and the absolute security of that salvation. This hard, impenetrable, and beautiful construction speaks out a timeless truth that the saints of the ages can hold fast to, knowing that –
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2, 3
Next, John says, “and the city was pure gold.” Gold is the royal metal. It is a symbol of wealth and purchasing power. In the Bible, it is used as a symbol of royalty and divinity. The city is thus reflective of the One who rules the city. Christ is the King, the divine Son of God.
Elsewhere, Peter says (1 Peter 2:5) that believers are “as living stones” and are being built up as a spiritual house. Thus, the construction of the city speaks of the connection between Christ and His people. We shall be “like” Him, and we shall be – as Paul says – “joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). This then speaks of the sharing of believers in the glory and riches of Christ. Finally, John says the gold is “like clear glass.”
The same adjective is used to describe both the gold and the glass, and it should be rendered the same in both uses, “pure gold, like pure glass.” The word translated as “glass” is only found here and then again in verse 21. It “refers to any transparent substance (like crystal), i.e. ‘see-through stones.’ On both of its occasions in the NT, 5194 (‘pure, transparent glass’) refers to the New Jerusalem – ‘apparently a metaphor (personification) of all the glorified saints, serving as the eternal dwelling place of God’ (G. Archer).” (HELPS Word Studies).
The idea is not necessarily that the gold is see-through. It is that just as glass is bright and reflective, so is the gold. It will be so smooth and polished that it will appear like a mirror. This was anticipated in the temple that Solomon built –
“And he prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold.” 1 Kings 6:19-21
In New Jerusalem, everything will reflect the glory of God. John Gill’s analysis of the symbolism is flowery and beautiful, saying, “the rich and happy state they will be in, as well as their purity and freedom from all sin and corruption, and the clear knowledge of things they themselves will have, and others will have of them; their hearts and actions will be open to all; nor will this gold have any rust upon it anymore, or ever be changed, and become dim.”
The symbolism is given to relay spiritual truths of the glory that lies ahead for all who have come to God through His Christ.
Life application: The earthly tabernacle and temple were representations of Christ and of heavenly things related to Him. Each article, material, dimension, and so on were given to teach us spiritual truths about Him. They also anticipate the place where we will dwell with Him for all eternity.
If you have not read and studied the details of those earthly edifices, take time to do so. The description in Revelation gives a broad brushstroke of the glory to come, but the descriptions of the tabernacle and tent give the finer details. In them, we can see many wonderful truths concerning God’s redemptive process as it is worked out in the stream of human existence through His Messiah, our Lord JESUS.
How wonderful it will be to walk in the New Jerusalem and see what You have created! O God, we have hints of what is coming in Your word, but we can only speculate on much of the marvelous perfection of what lies ahead. Thank You for the beautiful taste of the glory to come as it is revealed in Your word! Hallelujah and Amen.
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