All of us at one time or another, have looked up to the heavens, and viewed the splendor
of creation. Indeed, what the Psalmist writes is very true, in Psalm 19:1, "...The
heavens declare The GLORY OF GOD; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork." The awesome majesty of THE ALMIGHTY GOD is reflected in the very heavens; it's greatness,
it's blueness, it's vastness, and on and on.
Obviously, this writer is short on descriptive statements, therefore, I will leave
it to your resources of mind and heart to fill in the blanks! Do you remember the
last time when it was announced that a 'shooting star' or a 'comet', was about to
be visible in the skies? I don't know about you, but whenever one of these announcements comes
over the radio or television, my expectations of being able to see them, exhilarates
me to the point of excitement! Over the many, many centuries, myths and tales have
found their way into literature of every kind, describing and defining certain objects
in the sky, some of course seen, and others imaginary.
In the last book of The Holy Bible, the book of Revelation, chapter 21:10, we read,
where John The Apostle, was carried in The Spirit and he was shown, "...that great
city, The Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from GOD." Now, that must have
been some sight that The Apostle John was privileged to witness for us, as recorded in Holy
Writ. And what's more, that very sight will be repeated in a Command Performance
for every child of The GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
In Revelation 21, there are several wonderful happenings that I would like to share
with you. First and foremost we find in our narrative:
(1) A NEW HEAVEN, AND A NEW EARTH
(2) THE HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM
(3) THE TABERNACLE OF GOD
(4) THE LAKE OF FIRE
(5) THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL
(6) THE SAVED OF THE NATIONS
(7) THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE
(1) A NEW HEAVEN, AND A NEW EARTH
In Romans 8:22-23, we read, "...For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the first fruits of The Spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."
To begin with, we who are children of GOD, through
Jesus Christ our LORD, have already received our redemption of spirit and soul, the
very moment we believed, and received, THE SON OF GOD into our very hearts and minds.
However, our bodies are yet awaiting their redemption, which means, our mortal bodies, putting on immortality, and our corruptible bodies, putting on incorruptibility.
When this takes place, then the completeness
of our SALVATION
of SPIRIT, SOUL
AND BODY
will be a true reality! The same identical process, by which our triune being, will
be present in the very glories of THE ALMIGHTY GOD, so will, the heaven and the earth
be redeemed, renovated, restituted,
and presented before GOD. Actually, the new heaven and new earth will be the receptacle
for the NEW JERUSALEM.
(2) THE HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM
Today the Holy City is located in Jerusalem, Israel. To think that the "NEW" JERUSALEM
WILL be any where else, I believe is to do a great injustice to The LORD, and His
SOVEREIGN choice, as the place, where He placed His NAME upon. When The LORD sets
forth an edict, He need not change 'HIS MIND', because His first choice is always best!!!
We read in II Chronicles 12:13, "...Jerusalem, the city which The LORD had chosen
out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His Name there."
Here is a poem that I wrote, in dedication to JESUS MY LORD, and Jerusalem, Israel!!!
'JERUSALEM OF GOD'
by
Elias E. Hidalgo
Jerusalem is The City of God,
Where His Holy feet have trod,
Someday soon, we will be there,
And as He promised, in His care,
The GOD of Jacob made His choice,
Where His people would hear His voice,
His Beloved Son, Yeshua cried,
Although heartbroken when He sighed,
On the cross in Jerusalem City,
Indeed, He was a sight of pity,
But when, He arose from the dead,
He conquered all, as He said,
He's coming back as a Lion,
To rule and reign from Zion,
As eternity, He ushers in,
In New Jerusalem, Yeshua our King.
(3) THE TABERNACLE OF GOD
One of my favorite Scriptures, amongst, hundreds and hundreds of others is found in
The Gospel according to John, chapter 1 and verse 13, "...And The WORD was made flesh,
and dwelt (tabernacled
) among us, and we beheld His glory, The glory as of The Only Begotten of The Father,
full of grace and truth."
Here we find, The LORD Jesus Christ, being described as, THE WORD
. The Son of GOD was made flesh, that is, He chose to become a Jewish baby and live
among His Jewish people, and allowed them the privilege to behold Him for approximately
33 years. Indeed, He 'TABERNACLED' (dwelt) among them. And so, this very same One
, will one day soon, and throughout ALL ETERNITY, 'dwell with us', and we shall be
His people and He will be our GOD.
All of us, at one time or another, and for one reason or another, have shed tears:
tears of sorrow; tears of grief; tears of repentance; well, there is coming a day
according to our Scripture in Revelation 21, that, "...GOD shall wipe away 'ALL'
tears."
The reason for this is given: "...there will be no more death; there will be no more sorrow; there will be no more
crying; there will be no more pain; for the former things are passed away."
(4) THE LAKE OF FIRE
We can't even begin to imagine the awfulness of a lake, that is filled with fire,
rather than the customary water. A lake of water, especially during stormy weather
is enough to send chills, up and down one's spine, but can you imagine a 'lake of
fire'?
There is in our Scripture a contrast that might help us to understand the seriousness
of this LAKE OF FIRE. The MESSIAH JESUS, Who is The Alpha and Omega, offers to those
who are athirst, a drink from the fountain of water of life
freely. On the other spectrum, those that have rejected the MESSIAH, are sent into
THE LAKE OF FIRE which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the 'SECOND'
death. The contrast then is: THE FOUNTAIN - is LIFE; THE LAKE - is DEATH.
Therefore, the complete opposite one from the other. That is the only way one can
even begin to comprehend it's horribleness; THE LAKE OF FIRE is the complete opposite
of THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE.
(5) THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL
To those that contend that some, or all of the tribes of Israel were LOST! It would
do them good, to read the inscription of those present, upon each of the 'TWELVE
GATES'. By the way, in the days of our LORD Jesus Christ, the twelve Tribes of Israel
were well, alive and in The Land of Israel, even though many Jewish people were already
dispersed among the Nations (Gentiles).
A FEW EXAMPLES:
JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD - FROM JUDAH
SAUL-PAUL - FROM BENJAMIN
ANNA THE PROPHETESS - FROM ASHER
THE PRIESTS - FROM LEVI
JAMES THE BROTHER OF JESUS - WRITES TO - "ALL"
TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL
Therefore, not only are the twelve tribes of Israel mentioned once in the Book of
Revelation, but several times. By this, I am saying that even, The Apostle John,
was familiar with all 'TWELVE'
.
(6) THE SAVED OF THE NATIONS
How exciting to know, according to The Scriptures, that, when eternity is finally
ushered in, there will be people from every Nation on the face of the earth. These
'SAVED OF THE NATIONS', include people from the Gentiles, as well as from the Jews.
Just imagine, the gates of this beautiful city, will never be closed; and the light there
will be provided by the brightness that proceeds from The ALMIGHTY GOD, and The LAMB,
The LORD Jesus Christ.
That which is excluded from the Holy City, is, any thing that defileth, or is abominable,
or maketh a lie. Praise GOD, that finally, we will be free from the wiles of the
devil and his demons. It's interesting to note that, when one visits or lives in
a Metropolitan City, where there are people from every country, culture, and language;
usually, each particular group keep to themselves.
For example, I grew up in New York City, on the lower east side of Manhattan; and
I remember that every so many blocks would belong to a certain ethnic people. My
neighborhood was made up almost entirely of Jewish people; then as you would walk
about, five or six blocks south from where I lived, the neighborhood became almost entirely
Chinese; as you would continue walking, you would run into an Italian neighborhood;
and on and on.
But, not so in Eternity. The SAVED from every country, culture, language, etc., will
all be together, and, all together worshipping The LAMB of GOD! Amen!
(7) THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE
Obviously, if there are those who are written in The Lamb's Book of Life, then, it
stands to reason that, there are those that are not written in this Eternal Book.
In Revelation 13:8, we read, "...And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship
him (Satan), whose names are not written in The Book of Life of The Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world." These are individuals that worship 'SATAN'
, during the time of The Great Tribulation
period, just prior to The Revelation of Jesus Christ our LORD to this earth!
Therefore, even during the time of TRIBULATION, those that are written
in The Lamb's Book of Life, will not
bow down, nor worship anyone, or anything; but, they will worship The GOD of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. You and I have a grave responsibility to tell forth, "...to the
Jew first, and also to the Gentile", of GOD's GREAT MERCY for all people, through
His Beloved Son, JESUS OF NAZARETH!!!
One day soon, our MESSIAH WILL descend from heaven, for you and me; then we will be
with Him for seven years, while the earth experiences a time of perplexing holocaust.
At the end of these seven years, we will return with our LORD Jesus, and HE
will reveal Himself openly and publicly to the Nation of Israel living at that time,
and they shall 'ALL'
be saved. Then we together with saved Israel, will reign with our MESSIAH for 1,000
years, and afterward, ETERNITY will be ushered in.
We will then, in THAT DAY
, witness, THE HOLY CITY, descending upon Jerusalem, Israel, from heaven! Oh what
a glorious and wonderful moment that will be. "...And let us not be weary in well
doing: for in due season
we shall reap." (Galatians 6:9).
The words of Job 19:25-27, have always been a means of sustenance for me, and I hope
that, they will speak softly to your Spirit, Soul, and Body!
"...For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day
upon the earth; And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh
shall I see GOD: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not
another, though my reins be consumed within me."
"...Now the GOD of Peace (SHALOM
), that brought again from the dead our LORD Jesus that GREAT SHEPHERD of the Sheep,
through The Blood, of The Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work
to do His Will
, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to
Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21).
