PRAYER FOR A BRAND NEW WEEK - MAY 17, 2021

Most kind and gracious Heavenly Father, we are grateful at the end of another day for Your kindness, mercy, grace and long suffering.

In Your Mercy You looked down on the poor estate of Your people, had pity on us so much so that Your Son stepped off His Throne, to become sin, Who knew no sin.
In Your kindness therefore You allowed Him, Who willingly did not consider equality with You a thing to be held on to, to sacrifice Himself according to Your divine plan.
In Your long suffering, You hold back Your final wrath not wanting many to be lost, but everyone to come to repentance.

In Your grace, You reached down from Heaven and pulled sinners such as I, out of the fiery pit, cleaned us off, put a new robe of righteousness on us and set us on a course to live in the Eternal Realm, even now, amongst a lost and dying world.

We are so grateful for Your love, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, oh Lord my God in Heaven.

We are humbled by Your goodness in that You provide for us, not just food and shelter in the natural, but supernatural nourishment which is new every morning.

We are mystified that even when things do not add up, and we feel adrift in a sea of loneliness, confusion and chaos, Your Grace is sufficient for us.

We are overwhelmed that You, my God, not just know the very hairs on our heads, but You call us by Name to such an incredible extent, You sent the same Spirit Who raised Christ from the dead, to live in us.

Most glorious and wonderful God, we ask in the same vein as Your long-departed servant Spurgeon, who now abides with thee...we ask "Christian, lovest thou thy Savior? Is His name precious to thee? Is His cause dear to thee? Wouldst thou see the kingdoms of the world become His? Is it thy desire that He should be glorified?"

Lord, the answer is YES to all those questions!

You are our delight. We love You, Your amazing Son, the Creator and the Powerful Holy Spirit.
You are the Pearl of Great Price....more precious than gold or silver.

Your cause is more dear to us than life itself. We are committed to the end.

Your wish is our desire that we live out our days in righteousness, holiness and humility, seeking justice for all, but Your Kind of Justice not the world's. Seeking the good life for all, not the prosperity heresy of the modern church, but the abundant life which cometh from abiding in Thee. Our desire is Your command, to goeth forth and make disciples of all men, women and children and to bring them to the Foot of the Cross.

You are our first love - we shall never abandon Thee for the corrupt, evil and perishing things of this world.

Therefore Lord, as we begin a new week and head to a new day, may we rest in the everlasting Arms. May we surrender all that we are, which is absolutely nothing compared to all that You are.....and Lord, may we awake each and every day of the next week, to love, serve and obey Thee in all that we say, think and do, in Jesus' Most Precious and Holy Name, AMEN AND AMEN!

ARCHITECT AND ARROWS

TEXT: PSALM 127

 1  Unless the Lord builds the house,

    those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

    the watchman stays awake in vain.

2   It is in vain that you rise up early

    and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

    for he gives to his beloved sleep.

3   Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

    the fruit of the womb a reward.

4   Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

    are the children of one's youth.

5   Blessed is the man

    who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

    when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

THE 3:16 VERSES OF THE BIBLE, PART 18: "1000 YEARS IN JERUSALEM"

15 “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. 16 It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. (Jeremiah 3:15-17)
The old Gospel song has a great line “Every day with Jesus, is sweeter than the day before”. Every day with Jesus also brings us one day closer to the Return of the King and the Millennial Kingdom or the 1000 years Reign of Jesus Christ on earth. Yes, God Who became man and dwelt among us will be returning to the Creation He gave His life for, but not as the sweet baby born in a manger over 2000 years ago, but as He is. His Eyes will be full of fire and Judgment will be in His Hands. However, more importantly, He will be coming back – just as He promised.

Most of the concepts and mind pictures we have of the Coming Millennial Reign of Christ, come directly from the Old Testament and the major prophets (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and others) are the chief proclaimers of the Truth of the Coming King, to a lost a perishing world.  Jeremiah is one of those major prophets and his words from Chapter 3, directly from the Throne Room of God, predicting an event 2600 years ago, which is yet to come!

Most casual Bible readers know a little of the coming 1000 year reign of the Son of God directly from the rebuilt new Jerusalem in the Holy Land, on Mount Zion. Whether they believe it or not, reflects on their level of biblical discernment. What humans believe really has no bearing on The Eternal God’s plans and purposes. What is going to happen, is going to happen. 

Scripture explains Scripture. The Bible is an unbroken thread written by over 40 authors, over a period of 1500 plus years, under the inspiration of God. Most of these men never knew each other, yet the Bible has one theme, one narrative and one account with many sidebars of the same One God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We all know the King was born in a cold dark stable in Bethlehem to a poor couple, lived thirty three years, ministered and taught for three and then gave His life as a ransom for all the world (John 3:16).

After Jesus, the Son of God was crucified, died, Resurrected and seen all around Jerusalem before He ascended into the clouds, the Apostle John wrote of His Second Coming.  Jeremiah 3:16 and its surrounding in-context verses above, do not specifically describe THIS Second Coming which immediately precedes the 1000 year reign of Christ in Jerusalem after He has destroyed the kings, leaders and armies of the unsaved world of all the other “religions”. What Jeremiah chapter 3 does give a glimpse of are facts on the ground AFTER Jesus has returned, at the End of the Age. Here is the scene of the actual descent from Heaven and Return of the King:

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid-heaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. (Revelation 19:11-19)

This is the actual visual evidence of an event which is coming so fast, you can feel the winds of change blowing. Verse 14 above describes the "armies in Heaven in fine white shiny linen". Expect the following Bible heroes to be riding in the Celestial Cavalry:  King David, Uriah the Hittite, Joshua (God’s General), Benaiah among many other recognizable names!  This is the final battle scene of ALL HISTORY! Let this soak in for a minute, then let us return to our original text: Jeremiah 3:16.

What Jeremiah 3:16 says in point is:
- Old things are passed away. We don’t need relics which have long since served its appointed purposes  Just as God says in the verse that Israel did not need the Ark of the Covenant again, there is also no need for communion, church buildings, church staff, Christian TV or this very blog you’re reading! Why? Because Jesus is Lord and is live and alive in person in the same air as we are breathing in our supernatural bodies, and the paradigm has shifted. We are now in the Kingdom we were preaching about during the Church age, and those particular books are closed.

- Jerusalem will be the Capitol of the Kingdom. Jesus’ Throne will be there and there will be no question about it. There will be no temple mount problems….no conflict over which “religion” owns which spot on the Hill where God’s Temple sits. The new golden Jerusalem will not put up with any…and that means absolutely NONE of the garbage you see today. There will be one Faith only – Jesus and Jesus alone. Everything else will have gone up in smoke.

- All nations will be recognize just WHO is sitting on the Throne Jerusalem and all eyes will always be on Israel. Zechariah   tells us that believe it or not, there will be rebels who will refuse to go up and honor Jesus each year at the Feast of the Tabernacles as required. How, you ask, can this still happen? Well, even in the Millennial kingdom, babies will be born in our local hospitals who will not have Faith yet, and grow up to be against God Himself, even though He is right here on earth! They will be dealt with as rain will be withheld which will adversely affect their crops and food supply. At the Final Judgment (Revelation  )Jesus will complete the transition of His people into the Heavenly realm, while all rebels will be cast into a fate they will regret forever – the Lake of Fire.

The facts are this – first of all, Jesus is set to return and each day is one day closer. Secondly, if anyone reading this is on the ground of planet Earth when the eastern sky cuts open and the White Horse leaves Heaven with an army of Bible heroes in white fighting gear, it is going to be too late. 

Thirdly, in light of this and knowing this is going to happen, regardless of what any human believes, don’t you think it is encumbent upon each soul to make 100% sure that they are right with God, and Jesus is the Lord and Master of their lives? There is no mulligan and no middle way. It is Jesus plus Nothing. It is Jesus MINUS nothing. It is all Jesus or you are eternally lost and in huge danger should you be sitting watching Netflix and eating pizza and drinking beer, when the Lord puts a stop EVERYTHING on earth. Do not incorrectly assume "everything will work out in the end". Everything WILL work out in the End, as God planned it in general. For the soul who has lived an unforgiven, rebellious life with these incorrect assumptions - big trouble ahead. DO NOT LEAVE THIS TO CHANCE!.

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY TWENTY SIX:
VERSES:

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me."....John 14:1

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, we remain persuaded, convinced, sure, know that we know and are confirmed, affirmed and firm in our Belief, Trust and Faith in You as Sovereign God and Lord of our lives. We believe in You, trust in You and love, obey, honor, magnify, lift up and glorify the Name of King Jesus all the days of our lives, now and always.

Father my heart is not troubled.  My spirit is at peace. My trust is in You. My Hope is built on nothing less but Jesus' Blood and Righteousness and I bow before His Throne, as I dare not, could not, don't want to and will not see any other, any thing, any distraction, any philosophy or any ungodly perverted corrupt or evil thing which this world offers, than the sweet refrain of Jesus' Name and His Word. His Word, which is Thy Word, liveth in my heart, my mind, my body, my finger tips and go with me as I walk, talk, eat, sleep, and breathe.

Lord, let me walk with Thee all the while, closer and closer, until I see the things You see, until I discern the matter such as You do, until I walk in the doctrines and manner of the Lord, according to His Great and Mighty Will. No one can know the Mind of the Lord, no one can know Your Ways, because they are so much more, well....amazing than ours. But Lord, when we ask, and we seek in fasting and prayer and with every fiber of our being, You reveal. You have revealed so many things which cannot be truly communicated as You meant them for Your Glory and my edification. 

So let me, this day and always, and not just me but all who call upon the Name of the Lord - and who declare Him as Lord of their lives - may we all see that bond. It is a bond way beyond the inseparable. It is a bond which Holy Spirit has sealed until the day of redemption as the guarantee, but it is also a bond which longs and yearns and desire and more intimate, a more dynamic, a more fluid and interactive relationship with You than even the close one we have right now. Draw me closer, Heavenly Father, as I seek Thy Holy Countenance moment by moment. So while my heart may be perturbed by the evil and things and concerns of this world for family and foundations falling apart, my spirit jumps for joy at the worship in Holy Heavenly Tabernacle as our prayers and praise rise up to the Temple and before Your Throne, this very hours...and this can only be done, through the Faith given to all of us, who believe in You, Lord Jesus, amen. 

LOOKING FOR A CITY .....(OUTSIDE THE CAMP)

12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
Hebrews 13:12-14
(Bible Gateway- NASB)

Any study of the history of Christianity will reveal the sheer brutality which the persecutors of the Lord Jesus visited on those who followed His teachings, His Truth and His Way. The first three centuries were highlighted by the blood of the martyrs, who laid the cornerstone for the Faith we enjoy today. The first to shed His Blood was the Master Himself - the Ancient of Days, the Great I Am - YHWH - Who descended to reconcile man back to God. He was nailed to a Cross, suffered and died by evil men - Romans and Jews. 

Stephen was the first martyr of the modern church, led outside the gates (outside the camp as verse 13 above says) to be stoned by priests. Present was one zealot by the name of Saul. When Christ saved Saul on the Road to Damascus and changed his name to Paul, the latter spent and give his life in hot pursuit of souls to make up for what he had done to followers of the Way in the past. Every disciple of Jesus Christ was martyred except John. He wrote the Books of John, 1/2/3 John and the Revelation of Jesus Christ and died of natural causes at the ripe old age of 95.

The protective valley of Pella, Jordan,  where God sent the first

Christians from Jerusalem to save them from Titus (AD 70)

Photo Credit: www.bibleistrue.com

CHRISTIANS SAVED FROM ROMAN DESTRUCTION IN AD 70
When Jerusalem fell to the Roman General Titus in 70 AD as prophesied by Jesus Himself in detail in Matthew 24, not one Jewish Christian was killed because the Lord had removed His remnant and hidden them in a place called Pella. The Book of Hebrews was written, before this crucial event, to some of these same brethren to encourage them as they were persecuted by the Pharisees. The Lord knew this was coming down and wanted His elect to be fully aware of what they believed. The majority heeded the advice of the Apostle Paul in this Book and while the Romans killed millions at Masada and by starvation etc. in Jerusalem, King Herod Aggripa II welcomed the Elect to Pella. Pella is a city in the Decapolis which is just beyond the Jordan River.

To the Jew of the period, Jerusalem was the sacred and eternal City of God. The Good News is - Jerusalem STILL IS and will always be! But verse 14 above instructs those of us who are now in a spiritual "Pella" that this city is still to come. It is known in Scripture as the "NEW JERUSALEM".  This is a part of our history, as believers, to which scant attention is paid. 

We can look at End Times prophesy, as pre-Wrath/pre-tribulation believers, and

Petra, Jordan, future hiding
place of the Jewish Remnant
Photo: www.gomadnomad.com

are certain as to the taking out (rapture) of the church. Scripture tells of the hiding of the Jewish remnant which will be saved during the Tribulation, in the protected city of Petra. Just as the Lord saved the first Jewish Christians from the rampaging Romans in AD 70 by sending them to Pella, the one third of modern Israel which will be saved (during the Great Tribulation) will be housed in Petra - both being in the area of Jordan...both being "outside the camp"!

OUTSIDE THE CAMP
But what does this "outside the camp" really mean? Well, the answer is actually in the brief passage above! Followers of Jesus Christ know His Word and His Word dwelleth within. Therefore, we instinctively know that Scripture explains Scripture, because the Same Holy Spirit Who inspired the writers of the Bible to physically write down these words, lives inside everyone who is truly born again and rejuvenated, as adopted son or daughter of Abba.

Verse 12 (Hebrews 13) says Jesus suffered outside the gate...that He may continue to mold us into His Image (sanctify). We know He was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem and died for the sins of all mankind, for all time. Therefore we are to "remain outside the gates" of the world as well, so that we remain worthy of being continually cleansed into spiritual growth, by His Precious Cleansing Supernatural Blood.
This means while we live in this world, our entire being - body/mind/soul - are to be set apart OUTSIDE of this corrupt system of the evil one in order to be aligned with His Holiness, His Truth, His Cleansing Power and His Righteousness. Anything else is anathema. Any other doctrine is the doctrine of demons. Any compromise to co-exist outside of the Will of God is idolatry and all three of these will be punished in the Judgment. We must NOT defile the sacrifice He made outside the Gate on Calvary, by running back into the City of Sin and its closed walls of death.

Verse 13 (Hebrews 13) gives us the road map of where we are to land, once we have made the conscious and intellectual decision to allow His Sanctification into His Image and Likeness. There is a work to be done. This work is not for the purpose of salvation but for the principle of submission. Here is where the majority of professing Christians in the western hemisphere (mostly North America and even Australia/the UK) have a problem. The verse says "let us go to Him outside the camp BEARING HIS REPROACH"!
There is a cost to this. We are not going to be loved and tolerated, even by those who like to talk about "love and tolerance". The biggest enemy of the true church is, get this - the apostate church! We already know who the atheists are and their modus operandi. We already see what false religions are doing to God's people in the Middle East, Nigeria, North Africa and Asia. But it is those who claim the Name of Jesus and constantly select out of context phrases from the Sermon on the Mount, while rejecting the Diety of Christ and the Inerrancy of the Word, are stumbling blocks. You and I will lose many of these as friends. Some of them walked with us, ate with us, and even went to church with us....but when the rubber met the road and then it came to the point of going outside the Culture and the demands of the Corrupt modern societal norms, they walked from Jesus just like those "disciples" of John 6:66. Are you ready to bear the reproach...which in today's definition means - the insults, mocking and cursing by the lost because you and I have Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior? Only those to whom Jesus is LORD will persevere to the end.

Verse 14 (Hebrews 13) is the reward as well as the exhortation to not look back on the door that just slammed behind us as we walked away from the perishing of this evil world (in spirit and in truth). He says "we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come". Therefore what He (the Spirit) means is what the old baseball legend, Satchel Paige from the old Negro Leagues of 100 years ago once said "Don't look back, something mighty be gaining on you"!
This word specifically implies that the former abode from which Christ rescues us - IS NOT GOING TO LAST! Thus, He wants us, because we are now being molded and shaped into what Christ wants ....and because we have gone outside the gates, and turned from the fleeting/useless love and praise of mortal men into the growing in grace and maturity of the True Worshipper by taking the heat as a Disciple, we can now keep our eyes up to the skies, from whence cometh our help!

That help is the home which He first promised us in John 14:1 ("in My Father's House there are many rooms"). Those "rooms" reside in the Eternal City of the New Jerusalem! This eternal and everlasting city, where none of the filth, corruption, political correctness, distractions and diabolical plans of this current system exist, is the 100% REAL hope of the Believer. 
This will be the home of Stephen, stoned outside Jerusalem while the future Apostle Paul held the coats of his murderers. 
This will be the home of Paul, beheaded in Rome by Nero. 
This will be the home of Polycarp who refused to bow and burn incense to an evil one like Caesar. 
This will be the home of Athanasius, St. Nicholas, John Hus, Tyndale, Wightman, Jim Elliott, Pastor Saeed and the millions and millions of Christians from 100 AD until now whose names are only known to our Great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This will be the home of those of us, who take up our Crosses daily, live outside their gates, knowing Who bought us with His Life, and is now maturing us into the men and women of God, that He wishes all could be. Amen

KEYS TO A GODLY LIFE PART 12/12 - JUDGMENT DAY COMING

THE DAWN OF GLORY SERIES:

PLEASE READ THE PASSAGE, THEN - WATCH THE BRIEF EXPOSITION FROM THE PLUMBLINE VIDEO:

2 Peter 3:1-16

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Coming Day of the Lord

3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” 5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people 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 destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 

17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away bythe error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

ALL SCRIPTURE FOR PARTS 1-12 OF THIS SERIES FROM BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

THINK ON THESE THINGS - WEDNESDAY

HEBREWS 11:10 - THE NEW JERUSALEM

PART 2

Yesterday we saw in our verse (10) that Abraham was looking CONFIDENTLY forward to the Eternal City of God, whose very Foundations were designed, constructed and appointed by the Lord.  In the verse, the Bible uses the word CONFIDENTLY for a reason. Confidence is derived from two words: con (with) and fide (faith). Therefore, it is WITH FAITH that Abraham anticipated.


When Old Testament (or pre-Calvary) saints died, they went directly to Paradise. Christ called it "Abraham's bosom" which is a place of Comfort and Rest for those who died in Faith. They obviously did not have a chance to believe in and accept Jesus as Lord of their lives, because He was not crucified on the Cross yet. Jesus' death on the Cross made atonement for every believer from Adam until the end of time.


Several passages in the Bible describe what Heaven is like. The goal of this message is not to look into every passage on heaven but to give the flavor of the Eternal City. But I must tease with this verse from Isaiah 35:5 NASB "A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it". 


Wow! This is an important verse because it prophesied over 700 years before Christ, just who is going to be a resident of the eternal city of God. From here on out, the Bible describes the City, which both Abraham and John the Apostle were allowed to see, according to the Word of God. I present it without comment for your meditation, illumination and instruction. May it comfort and bless you this day, as we see ourselves surrounded by such a troubled world, which is perishing in sin and evil. 
Glory to His Name:

Revelation 21 (PHILLIPS)

All things made new

 ^1-4 Then I saw a new Heaven and a new earth, for the first Heaven and the first earth had disappeared and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride dressed in beauty for her husband. Then I heard a great voice from the throne crying, “See! The home of God is with men, and he will live among them. They shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death shall be no more, and never again shall there be sorrow or crying or pain. For all those former things are past and gone.” ⁵ Then he who is seated upon the throne said, “See, I am making all thing new!” And he added, “Write this down for my words are true and to be trusted!”
 ^6-8 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the thirsty water without price from the fountain of life. The victorious shall inherit these things, and I will be God to him and he will be son to me. But as for the cowards, the faithless and the corrupt, the murderers, the traffickers in sex and sorcery, the worshippers of idols and all liars—their inheritance is in the lake which burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”

The vision of the new Jerusalem

 ⁹ Then one of the seven angels who hold the seven bowls which were filled with the seven last plagues, came to me and said, “Come, and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ^10-14 Then he carried me away in spirit to the top of a vast mountain, and pointed out to me the city, the holy Jerusalem, descending from God out of Heaven, radiant with the glory of God. Her brilliance sparkled like a very precious jewel with the clear light of crystal. Around her she had a vast and lofty wall in which were twelve gateways with twelve angels at the gates. There were twelve names inscribed over the twelve gateways, and they are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. On the east there were three gateways, on the north three gateways, on the south three gateways and on the west three gateways. The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on these were engraved the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The measurement of the city

 ^15-17 The one who was talking to me had a golden rod in his hand with which to measure the city, its gateways and its wall. The city lies foursquare, its length equal to its breadth. He measured the city with his rod and it was twelve thousand furlongs in each direction, for its length, breadth and height are all equal. Then he measured its wall, and found that to be one hundred and forty-four half-yards high by human measurement, (which the angel was using).

The splendor of the city’s building

 ¹⁸ The wall itself was built of translucent stone, while the city was of purest gold, with the brilliance of glass. ^19-20 The foundation stones of the wall of the city were fashioned out of every kind of precious stone. The first foundation-stone was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth cornelian, the seventh goldstone, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth green goldstone, the eleventh zircon, and the twelfth amethyst.
 ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The street of the city was purest gold gleaming like glass.

The splendor within the city

 ^22-26 I could see no Temple in the city, for the Lord, the Almighty God, and the Lamb are themselves its Temple. The city has no need for the light of sun or moon, for the splendour of God fills it with light and its radiance is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. The city’s gates shall stand open day after day—and there will be no night there. Into the city they will bring the splendours and honours of the nations. ²⁷ But nothing unclean, no one who deals in filthiness and lies, shall ever at any time enter it—only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.


(CREDITS: IMAGES by Bing
Bible passages by www.biblegateway.com
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)J. B. Phillips, "The New Testament in Modern English", 1962 edition by HarperCollins)

THINK ON THESE THINGS - TUESDAY

HEBREWS 11: 10 - THE NEW JERUSALEM  

Part 1

We are all looking, with nervous anticipation, to Heaven! If someone tells me they are not the least bit anxious etc about Eternity, they are not telling the Truth. Revelation chapter 21 (which we will flesh out tomorrow) gives a small glimpse about what the new Heaven and Earth will look like!  The Bible calls this "New Jerusalem" - the City of our God...where there is no day or night because the LORD HIMSELF will shine so brightly in His Glory, we won't need a sun or moon!


So then, you imagine this - two thousand years BEFORE Christ was born, His servant Abraham already envisioned the Eternal City, Which dimensions are already set and ready to roll after the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth! This was around 2000 BC! This also tells me that Jesus gave Abraham the same vision which Apostle John had in Revelation.  

As we move on to our next installment in the Faith Chapter of Hebrews 11:10, I put back up verse 9 to show the context of verse 10. This has to be so since the way Abraham and his descendants lived at first - as strangers/foreigners in pagan land, was a recognition of their temporary earthly status. These were a people whose vision was clear about WHOSE they were - God, and their fallen, forgiven condition. Many say, "well Christ was not born yet, how could these Hebrews be saved?"

Good question - "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Romans 4:3)! He was saved by Faith. When the bible said he was made righteous - it means exactly that: Abraham was made right before God because he believed and then obeyed. ALL Old Testament saints were saved by Faith and NOT the blood of the animals they sacrificed at an altar. It was only when Christ was killed on the Cross and the first Drop of Divine Blood hit the tree He was nailed to, that retroactive and FUTURE Atonement was made for ALL mankind! This may sound confusing, but I can explain this at a future date.


Here are both verses 9 and 10 of Hebrews 11 (NLT):
9:  And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith--for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.
10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.


Abraham KNEW Christ! You say - WHAT?! 
Who do you think was walking in the cool of the evening in the Garden of Eden (which He created)....way back in Genesis 3, asking Adam where he was hiding? 
Who do you think was in the Pillar of Cloud and the Fire Which led the Israelites out of Egypt? 
Who do you think appeared to Samson's mother in the book of Judges...and His Name was Wonderful and on and on....!!!!! HIS NAME IS JESUS! KING OF THE UNIVERSE! 


Christ and two of His top angels (Genesis 18) visited Abraham just before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah! Abraham tried to make a deal with Jesus to spare Sodom as Lot lived there! 
It was Jesus Who constantly spoke to Abraham as He led him out of Southern Iraq at age 75. 
It was Jesus Who showed Abraham His Face in Genesis. 
It was Jesus Who gave Abraham the vision of the Eternal City where you and I will live forever with Him! 
RIGHT NOW: I had such a download of Holy Spirit and am still slain in Him right now, while writing this, I can't believe God would choose to allow someone such as I to write these Truths! Glory to His Name! My entire body is on Fire -literally - for Christ at 3:28am writing this! I had to stop a  few minutes ago and just thank and worship Him and say Hallelujah!


I hope you know Christ - deeply and personally. You can know Him as Abraham does - just let yourself go! Loose yourself in Jesus. It is Christ and Christ Alone! Faith is only the beginning of the Journey with Jesus. 

Love HIM NOW! LIVE HIM NOW! LIVE WITH HIM - FOREVER!

AMEN