New Jerusalem

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 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”   [Revelation 21:3-4]

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New Jerusalem

John sees the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The fact that it is never said to land on the earth leads some to see it as hovering over the new earth. The fact that the names of the tribes of Israel are on the gates indicates that redeemed Israel will have access to the city, even if they are not part of the church itself. The distinction between the church (the Bride, the Lamb’s wife, v.9), Israel (v.12), and the Gentile nations(v.24) is maintained throughout.

John hears an announcement from heaven that the tabernacle of God is with men and that He will dwell with them. As His people they will enjoy communion with Him closer than ever dreamed of. God Himself will be with them and be their God in a nearer and dearer relationship.

The expression “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” does not mean that there will be tears in heaven. It is a poetic way of saying that there will not be! Neither will there be death, nor sorrow, nor crying. For God’s people, these will be forever ended.
The One who sits on the throne will make all things new. His words are true and faithful, and will surely come to pass.  The ushering in of the Eternal State marks the conclusion of God’s purposes for the earth on which we live.

It is He who blesses the overcomer with total inheritance and a new intimacy as between Father and son. As mentioned previously, an overcomer is one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God(1 Jn. 5:5). By faith he overcomes the world(1 Jn. 5:4).

Every redeemed person responds to the blessed hope, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”





New Heaven and New Earth

 New Heaven and New Earth
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”  [Rev. 21:1-2]

"How long will you waver between two opinions?"

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 “So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.  Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”   [1 Kings 18:20-21]

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"How long will you waver between two opinions?"

  King Ahab went to meet Elijah and accused him of being a trouble-maker for Israel, not realizing that the man of God was one of the best friends Israel ever had. Not fearing for his own life, Elijah answered Ahab fearlessly and accusingly. He blamed the king for mixing the worship of Jehovah with Baal-worship and challenged him to assemble his idolatrous prophets for a contest on Mount Carmel to determine who was the true God.

Addressing the assembled representative of Israel, Elijah accused them of wavering between two opinions; they should choose either the Lord or Baal. Then the contest began. Two bulls were to be killed and laid on kindling wood. Elijah would represent the Lord, whereas four hundred and fifty of Ahab’s prophets would represent Baal. The God who answered by fire would be acknowledged as the true God.
The prophets of Baal cried out to their god and hopped around the altar from morning till noon. Elijah mocked them with helpful excuses for Baal’s failure to answer. In desperation they cut themselves with knives and lances and raved on until the time of the evening sacrifice.  But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

Then Elijah built an altar of twelve stone in the name of the Lord, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then to eliminate any possibility that the altar might be ignited in any way other than by a miracle, he saturated the oxen and the wood with twelve barrels of water.

At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah prayed that God would reveal himself by sending fire from heaven. Immediately the fire of the Lord fell from heaven, consuming not only the sacrifice but also the wood and the stones and the dust, and the water in the trench around the altar. The people were thus compelled to acknowledge the Lord as the real God.

Only after the people acknowledged that Jehovah was God and executed the prophets of Baal could the rain come. Confession of sin and obedience to the Word of God are the steps to blessing.




The God who answers by Fire

 Elijah on Mount Carmel


  “At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command...Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.  When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”  [1 Kings 18:36-39]

The Day and Hour Unknown

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 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.  It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.”   [Mark 13:32-34]

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The Day and Hour Unknown

  Jesus said, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.  It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.” It is well known that this verse has been used by enemies of the gospel to prove that Jesus was nothing more than a man with limited knowledge like ourselves. It has also been used by sincere but misguided believers to demonstrate that Jesus emptied Himself of the attributes of deity when He came into the World as a man.

Neither of these interpretations is true. Jesus was and is both God and Man. He had all the attributes of deity and all the characteristics of perfect manhood. It is true that His deity was veiled in a body of flesh, but it was there nonetheless. There was never a time when He was not fully God. As a perfect  Servant, it was not given to the Lord Jesus to know the time of His Coming. As God, of course, He does know it. But as Servant, it was not given to Him to know it for the purpose of revealing to others.

The fact that we do not know the appointed time should keep us on the alert. A similar situation is common in everyday life. A man goes away from home on a long trip. He leaves instructions with his servant and tells the watchman also to be on the lookout for his return. Jesus likened Himself to the travelling man. He may come back at any hour of the night. His people, serving as night watchmen, should not be found sleeping. So He left this word for all His people:”Watch!”



Watch!"

 Watchman

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.  If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.  What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ” [Mark 13:35-37]

Sojourners and Pilgrims

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 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world,...
Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”   [1Peter 1:1,17]

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Sojourners and Pilgrims

  Peter reminds believers that they are sojourners and pilgrims in the world and that this fact should leave its stamp on all their behavior. They are sojourners in the sense that they are living in a foreign country where they do not have the rights of citizens. They are pilgrims in the sense that they are obliged to live for a while in a place which is not their permanent home.
The meaning here is, that Christians have no permanent home on earth; their citizenship is not here; they are mere sojourners, and they are passing on to their eternal home in the heavens. They should, therefore, act as become such persons; as sojourners and travelers do. They should not:

•    regard the earth as their home.

•    They should not seek to acquire permanent possessions here, as if they were to remain here, but should act as travelers do, who merely seek a temporary lodging, without expecting permanently to reside in a place.

•    They should not allow any such attachments to be formed, or arrangements to be made, as to impede their journey to their final home, as pilgrims seek only a temporary lodging, and steadily pursue their journey.

•    Even while engaged here in the necessary callings of life - their studies, their farming, their merchandise - their thoughts and affections should be on other things. One in a strange land thinks much of his country and home; a pilgrim, much of the land to which he goes; and even while his time and attention may be necessarily occupied by the arrangements needful for the journey, his thoughts and affections will be far away.

•    We should not encumber ourselves with much of this world's goods. Many professed Christians get so many worldly things around them, that it is impossible for them to make a journey to heaven. They burden themselves as no traveler would, and they make no progress. A traveler takes along as few things as possible; and a staff is often all that a pilgrim has. We make the most rapid progress in our journey to our final home when we are least encumbered with the things of this world.


Foreigners and Strangers on this Earth

 You are foreigners and strangers on this earth!
“Dear friends, you are foreigners and strangers on this earth. So I beg you not to surrender to those desires that fight against you. Always let others see you behaving properly, even though they may still accuse you of doing wrong. Then on the day of judgment, they will honor God by telling the good things they saw you do. ” [1 Peter 2:11-12(CEV)]

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

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 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”   [Matthew 7:7-8]

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The Parable of the Persistent Widow

  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

   “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

  And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18 :1-8

  The parable of the praying widow teaches that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. The parable pictures an unrighteous judge who was ordinarily quite unmoved by fear of God or regard for fellow man.  The widow came to the judge persistently, asking him for justice. The unjust judge was unmoved by the validity of her case the fact that she was being treated unjustly did not move him to action. However, the regularity with which she came before him prompted him to act and brought a decision in her favor.

  When an unjust judge would act in behalf of a poor widow because of her persistence, how much more will the just God intervene in behalf of His own people.  Do not give up, but continue in prayer until you see the deliverance.






Persistent Widow & Unjust Judge

 

Persistent Widow & Unjust Judge


  “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’     “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” [Luke 18:2-5]