The City - Revelation 24:16-21

Revelation 24:16-21 ESV 

The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The city has same shape of the Holy of Holies, that of a square. The wall of the city signifies the nation of Israel as indicated by the number 144 and the twelve stones of the wall foundations which both are numbers of God's elect. The twelve pearl gates may remind us of the kingdom of God likened to a pearl of great price. It provides the way to the kingdom of heaven. (Mat 13:45-46). The city is refined and all impurities are absent. (Rev 15:2)

Stood Among Them - Luke 24:36-42, 24:50-53

Luke 24:36-42 ESV 

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish,

Luke 24:50-53

The Ascension

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven as a man in whom the perfect union of mankind and divinity was accomplished. When He returns to earth, our resurrection will be like His and we will be like Him. We are one with Christ, of one flesh and bone, yet are as distinct a person as Eve was from Adam. 

God has chosen to live on earth with man. When we choose to love Him, love is perfected. The foundation of love is choice. 

A Great, High Wall - Revelation 21:12-14

Revelation 21:12-14 ESV 

It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Israel will be the wall around the city that separates the Holy of Holies, the New Eden, from the rest of the earth. Instead of just one way into the Garden, there will be twelve gates. They will remain open to the nations, but nothing unclean or false shall enter the city. 

Israel would camp around the tabernacle in a square with three tribes on each side. Though Israel came first, their sure foundation would be built on the witness of the apostles. (Num 2).

The Holy City Jerusalem - Revelation 21-9-12

Revelation - 21:9-12 ESV 

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 

The Bride of Christ is the New Jerusalem, which is the resurrection of the Garden of Eden. She has the radiance and purity of Christ, for she is the body of Christ. 

Hanged On A Tree - Galatians 3:13

Galatians 3:13 ESV 

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

When Christ was hung on the tree for our sin, it was as if the forbidden fruit taken by Eve was returned to the branch of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Our fate is no longer beyond our control. We now become like Adam and Eve. God restores the choice. 

Now we can each make our own decision whether to obey God. Remember what happened to Adam and choose wisely. Choose the tree of life. 

Overcomes The World - 1 John 5:4-5

1 John 5:4-5 ESV 

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

What is the world we overcome? It is the enemy of God, which separates us from the love of God. It is self. 

How can we overcome the world? By getting beyond self. This is only possible with God's help. Jesus is the way. He allows us to leave the dust of our earth as we are reborn into the life of our Creator. 

The Last Trumpet - 1 Corinthians 15:51-53

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 ESV 

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

Paul speaks of a mystery which applies to all those who believe in the Lord. We don't know the exact time of His coming, but we do know the times and seasons. 

The Lord has appointed an annual appointment to gather for the blowing of the trumpets. It is a feast observed by Israel for thousands of years. Since He came at the time of Passover and Pentecost, it is reasonable to think He will come for the Church on one of the Feast of Trumpets on the Jewish Sacred Calendar as given by God. The last trumpet is blown on the same day of the year when He will return for us. We just don't know the year. 

The day of His coming should not take us by surprise if we are expecting Him to come. He will come like a thief in the night to those not aware of his times and seasons. 

If not this year, maybe next year. We don't know the year, but the time and season we can know. 

1 Thessalonians 5:1-2

The Day of the Lord

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Not Clean - Genesis 7:2

Genesis 7:2 ESV 

Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate,

Both clean and unclean animals were gathered into Noah's ark. This might be a foreshadowing of those who will inhabit the new earth. 

Nothing unclean will enter the New Jerusalem when Christ/God come to the earth, but that doesn't mean there is nothing unclean beyond the gates of the city. Not all the earth dwellers will receive the number of the beast. 

Any Different Doctrine - 1 Timothy 1:3-7

1 Timothy 1:3-7 ESV 

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.  

The word has been given. Swerving and wandering is not compatible with the narrow and straight path to God. There is a plumb line for the Body of Christ which is the temple of the living God. It has been established in truth. Its light serves as a lamp to our feet as we travel in this wilderness of shadows. 

A person can be confident, but not right and can teach without understanding. There is one way to have a right understanding. 

A pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith will come from staying in the word. It will keep us at one with the word: Jesus Christ. 

The Science Of Theology

Theology is a science, therefore there is no room for opposition between the two. 

Science 

1. In a general sense, knowledge, or certain knowledge; the comprehension or understanding of truth or facts by the mind. The science of God must be perfect.(NWD)

Among Us - John 1:14

John 1:14 ESV 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 4:21-24

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The revelation of God has moved from the mountain top to the heart of the believer. He dwells among us. We have become the temple of God, for we have become His dwelling place. 

We experience the continual feast of the Lord as we eat our daily bread from heaven and drink from the fountain of living water. 

A Garden -John 19:41

John 19:41 ESV 

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

It was in a garden that the first Adam died. He was buried outside the garden and the earth received him there. 

Jesus was laid in a stone tomb in another garden. It became an alter on which the Lamb of God was placed as a sacrifice for the sin of the the people. 

The sacrifice was accepted by the Lord and the body disappeared from the confines of the darkness behind the door of the tomb. The stone was rolled away and light would enter through the door that had been opened by Christ. 

The doorway that separates life from death has swung open and no one can close it. We can leave the darkness behind by following after Him. He has made the way. 

Fulfill Your Ministry - 2 Timothy 4:5

2 Timothy 4:5 ESV 

As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

If you are a child of the light, then you have a ministry of light. It will differ from person to person, but the it is the same light in everyone that finds expression unique to each person. 

We must minister to ourselves and others. We all need help as we endure in the faith to the end. We will find Jesus waiting there, for He is the beginning and end. 

Is Everlasting

The beginning and the end only relate to the creation of mankind. 

God is everlasting. 

Come And See - John 1:35-39

John 1:35-39 ESV 

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

The disciples would see where He was staying, but they would come to see something else and through a different way of seeing. He would bring sight to the blind, to those who could see the world, but could not see the things of God. 

He has invited us to do the same. Where He is now is worth the journey. 

"Come and see."

Is Perfected - 1 John 2:3-6

1 John 2:3-6 ESV 

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

He is the word and the word is at the center of all things. When the word becomes the center of our lives, then we are truly with Him. 

This is love perfected. This is the end seen from the beginning. 

The Beginning

A tomb becomes a womb 

A chamber for the beginning of life 

Turning darkness into light 

And tears of mourning 

To tears of joy 

From the end 

To the beginning 

This is what He said

He is true to His word

Not only is Christ the beginning and the end, He is the end and beginning.

Between Light And Darkness

The dust of the earth seems to be the meeting point between God and man. Man is taken from the dust of the earth and God has entered creation through a man. Within us is the boundary between light and darkness when we receive the light of the Holy Spirit. When we overcome the darkness, we will be more than conquerors. 

Groaning Together - Romans 8:22-23

Romans 8:22-23 ESV 

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

We and all creation await the restoration that is coming. We are inextricably drawn to the perfection that has been lost and leaves a hole in our existence. We groan with an eager expectation found deep within us. The word has taken root in the dust of our earth and has revealed the first fruits of the Spirit, which are our own spirits made alive. Our redeemed bodies will follow and made more alive than they have ever been. 

Anchor Of The Soul - Hebrews 6:19-20

Hebrews 6:19-20 ESV 

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus has entered the Holy of Holies on our behalf. He has established the path to God and by persevering in the course before us, we will follow Him into the presence of the Lord. 

There is no genealogy, no list of descendants recorded for Melchizedek. Likewise, there are none for Jesus either. His legacy is comprised of brothers and sisters of the living God. These make up the body of Christ who has ascended and is seated on the right hand of God. 

We are anchored to the sure word of heaven and are tethered by the unfailing comfort and knowledge of the Holy Spirit. 

God's Seed Abides - 1 John 3:8-9

1 John 3:8-9 ESV 

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

This passage tells us the reason Jesus came. Some may ask why didn't God prevent the works of the devil, or just destroy him with just thought?  

It was because of us. God is seeking a particular and special people for His own. He has loosed Satan in the world to test and refine those that would place their faith in God. This is what the book of Job is about. Satan goes to and fro over the earth and is given free reign over man, except for taking his life. 

Job remains faithful and is doubly blessed. In the New Testament, the landowner returns and doubly rewards the faithful servants. The unfaithful lose what they have. 

In the end, we who remain faithful will receive a more abundant life which combines heaven and earth into the image of God, which is His Son Jesus Christ. We are doubly blessed with the life below and above. 

The seed of God has taken root in the soil of our earth, and there He abides. His dwelling place is with man. 

For This Purpose - John 18:37-38

John 18:37-38 ESV 

Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.

The light shines in the world to bear witness to the truth. 

To ask "What is truth?" only means one has not encountered Jesus, for He is the way, truth, and life of God. 

Truth may be understood in part. Pilate then says to the crowd, "I find no guilt in him." That was true, but he failed to see the truth. 

The truth is out there. The difficulty  lies in finding and understanding it. That is where the Holy Spirit comes in. Like the Son, He only speaks what He hears from the Father, because like the Son, He is of the Father. The Spirit enables us to listen and hear the word of truth, who is the Son, who is the Father. 

A Deserted Island

If you find yourself stranded on a deserted island and are given a choice of being with anyone you want, I would suggest Jesus. With Him all things are possible. If you can perceive the world as a deserted island, I would suggest the same thing. Again, with Him all things are possible. He can bring you home. 

From The Beginning - John 8:24-27

John 8:24-27 ESV 

I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.

God has been telling us His word from the beginning. Jesus speaks that word because He is the word, and was with God from the beginning. 

He is the last word in the end. 

The Light - John 3:20-21

John 3:20-21 ESV 

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

From the beginning, God provided for the way for man to join Him. It is through the light that is God, the light of the world. 

It is the light that separates man from the darkness within and allows us to see clearly. 

In The Midst - Luke 17:20-21

Luke 17:20-21 ESV 

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

The kingdom of God has come into the world through the heart of the believer. Wherever two or more are gathered, He is there in our midst.  He is with us individually, but the body of Christ appears and takes shape when we gather. We are one in the Spirit, yet a distinct person in fellowship of believers. 

He has come in an unexpected way. He speaks to each one of us in a personal way, not as a conquering king, but as a savior and friend. 

In the book of Revelation, Christ is standing in the midst of the lamp stands that represents the churches and the Church. In Him we stand before God. 

In The Image

If heaven will be the new earth, then we walk on this earth and in bodies that are being transformed into the newness of life. Our bodies will be resurrected and the earth restored. Heaven and earth are united in man, which is in the image of God, that is in Jesus Christ. 

Purify - Hebrews 9:13-14

Hebrews 9:13-14 ESV 

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

The sacrificial blood of animals only served to sanctify the flesh of man, but did not make him clean on the inside. The flesh could be purified, but the soul was not. Repentance was not required. 

The sacrificial blood of Christ would cleanse the whole man. He began to preach a different word. "Repent." This allows for a cleansing of the inside, because it's what's on the inside of a man that defiles Him. Repentance will make one pure, and only the pure in heart will see God. 

A pure heart is a choice, an ongoing choice. He is faithful even when we are not. 

Passover

Passover is on April 11 this year on the Jewish religious calendar. This is the calendar established by God for the times and seasons. 

This was when Jesus died, to the day and to the hour. Remember Him on this day as He asked us to do. 

We should be aware of the times and seasons so we won't be surprised when they are fulfilled. 

Under The Alter - Revelation 6:9-11

Revelation 6:9-11 ESV 

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

These souls under the alter must be the saints of Israel. The Church is not under an altar, but seated with God and with crowns of life. God has not abandoned Israel, nor forgotten her. A little while remains until the time of the wrath of God is fulfilled and the full number has paid the price, just as the many fell in the desert wilderness long ago. They will be restored once the wrath passes. 

They witnessed to the word of God, bearing the oracles of God through the wilderness and into the promised land. Their testimony is about God. The testimony of the Church is about Jesus Christ. 

God Had Taken Him - Hebrews 11:5

Hebrews 11:5 ESV 

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.

There are two men who did not die before God took them. Elijah was the other one. 

It may be a reasonable proposition to say these men might be the two witnesses that will testify in the last days. They will face death at last, for it is given that every man will die once. What a unique witness they would have!

They will be slain in the streets of Jerusalem, only to be brought back to life after three days and taken back into heaven. This would be the ultimate testimony and witness of Jesus Christ. 

Dwell With Man

The Garden of Eden is replaced by the New Jerusalem which will descend from heaven and rest on earth. Christ and His Bride, the Church, will fulfill the charge of Adam and Eve. God will dwell with man. 

Looked Back - Genesis 19:26

Genesis 19:26 ESV 

But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Luke 14:34-35 ESV 

“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Luke 17:32-33

Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.

We are to be the salt of the earth, the seasoning of that which is holy and offered to the Lord. Turning back to the world makes a follower of Christ unfit to be a disciple, as salt that has lost its taste and is no longer able to serve as an offering. 

Lot's wife now serves as a warning to all those being saved. Salvation is a gift from God and is a gift to be continually received. Follow after Christ and He will lead you to the promised land. Don't turn back. 

The Body

We are the body of Christ here on earth and Christ is our body in heaven. We shall become one when He returns, when heaven and earth are united. 

If We Confess - 1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 ESV 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Is it possible to be pure in heart? Yes! How so?

The Greek word for cleanse also means to purify. If we confess our sins, He will cleanse, or purify, us from all unrighteousness. If you don't have a pure heart, it only means you have unconfessed sin. 

A pure heart is a choice we have and we make. Jesus has made a way.

The Path

Faith is the trajectory of belief. 

Fish And Crawling Things - Habakkuk 1:14

Habakkuk 1:14 ESV 

You make mankind like the fish of the sea,

like crawling things that have no ruler.

Genesis 1:20-25

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

In Scripture one thing might represent another. A horn might represent a power or strong ruler. A mountain might represent an empire. Waters might represent people, and so on. 

Habakkuk likens mankind as fish of the sea. Jesus would make His disciples fishers of men. 

Habakkuk likens mankind to crawling things that have no ruler. Genesis tells of living creatures that creep on the earth. 

Our first interpretation of a given Scripture may not be correct or the only one. If we have the Spirit, we can seek and find the truth. He is the Spirit of truth and the truth will set us free. 

Choices

Just as Moses placed two choices before Israel, that being blessings or curses, Jesus has placed two choices before modern man; that being heaven or hell. 

We participate in the same choice that faced Adam; to believe God or not. 

Some things never change, but we can. 

In Hades - Luke 16:22-23

Luke 16:22-23 ESV 

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

Jesus often spoke of hell. It is just as real as heaven. To believe in one means you believe in both. To not believe in one means you believe in neither. 

Heaven and hell last a long time. Scripture says they both are eternal. 

Matthew 25:46

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”