Rick Joyner's Blog, page 4

The New Jerasulem—The Book of Revelation

 

It is apparent that the New Jerusalem, not the old, is the focus of the Book of Revelation. We need to know the purpose of both to understand God’s purposes at the end of the age and for the age to come. I saved the last few weeks of this study to address the place of both and seek a clearer understanding of this crucial subject.

 

         A majority of the advancing church seems aware of and committed to restored Israel’s place in God’s plan. However, this is not the case with much of the institutional church. It also seems that only a very small percentage of Messianic Jews seem to understand the church’s place in God’s plan for the end of this age or the age to come. Their overwhelming focus is on the present Jerusalem, and only a few seem to grasp the “Jerusalem above,” or the “New Jerusalem” that is the focus of the Book of Revelation’s conclusion. This is not so surprising since very few Christians do either.

 

         Just as many Christians wrongly apply some of the promises made to natural Israel to the church—a foundation for what is called “Replacement Theology”—many Jewish believers (and many Christians) wrongly apply promises or prophecies concerning the New Jerusalem to the old. I call this “Replacement, Replacement Theology,” as they replace many of the church’s purpose with natural Israel. Being able to distinguish these is crucial for understanding the end of this age and the age to come.

 

         Consider that there was a period of about two thousand years when God dealt almost exclusively with or through the Jewish people. Now there has been nearly two thousand years when most of God’s work was to and through the Gentiles, which is called “the times of the Gentiles.” Many wrongly assume that when the times of the Gentiles is completed, we will revert to another time of the Jews, but that is not the case. It will be a time when the Jews and Gentiles are united in the “one new man” the Apostle Paul spoke of to the Ephesians. Many from both camps talk about the “one new man,” but it is apparent that few understand it.

 

Israel’s restoration is a miracle and its implications are so huge that it is understandable that many have allowed this to eclipse their understanding of the coming New Jerusalem, which we are told is the bride, the wife of The Lamb. Many Messianic Jews have an understanding of the church’s place in God’s plans, but it is at least as shallow as the understanding many untaught Christians have about Israel’s place. We cannot truly understand Israel, and the present Jerusalem’s place in God’s plan, without understanding the “Jerusalem above,” or the “New Jerusalem” that is the focus of the conclusion in Revelation.

 

It should not be so surprising that few Messianic Jews seem to grasp the place of the New Jerusalem since very few Christians do either. The vision of both is still mostly earthly. Both Christians and Jews have much to learn about the other, and we need to do this because our ultimate destiny is linked. Neither of us can get to where we’re supposed to go without the other, and our ultimate destiny is to be “one new man,” not two.

 

          I have a great respect for Messianic movements. Many would be included in a list of the most courageous people I know. Many of their brethren, the Jews, hate them and persecute them, especially those in Israel. Many Christians consider them at best a forgettable anomaly. The New Testament confirms the place of Messianic Jews as being both believers of Jesus as their Messiah, and yet being called to maintain their Jewish culture and identity. We see this distinction being honored often in the New Testament, and it is one Christians need to understand and honor.

 

         Many evangelical Christians are pro-Israel for biblical reasons, and they also love the Messianic movements. I expect to see all Christians moving in the present purposes of God do this before the end of this age because it is so essential to understanding our own place in these times. However, it is much rarer to find Messianic believers who know, love, and teach God’s place for the church. In fact, there seems to be as high a percentage of Messianic believers who are anti-church as there are Christians who are anti-Jewish (and there are many of these). There are reasons for this on both sides, but they are not good reasons, and both sides must overcome them.

 

         As a Christian leader with a fairly sizable reach, I am often contacted by Messianic groups that want to “partner” with me. I’m always open to any kind of partnership that will further the kingdom, but I am especially open to these because it must happen. When I ask how they see this partnership working, the answer has been focused, with but one exception, 100% on ways we can support them or contribute to their projects. There seemingly is not even a thought about how they can help us or contribute to what we are doing.

 

When I asked what we would get out of this “partnership,” some offered that a way to help us is for them to come and teach our people about God’s purpose for Israel. Now I believe that teaching is important, but I also know how many Christians feel worn out and used because of it, with little or no reciprocation. Most Messianic Jews are just as much in need of a revelation of God’s purpose for the church.

 

         Now if the above were business proposals, no one would take them seriously. However, I do even though they are (for now) almost completely one-sided. When it was prophesied in the Book of Acts that a famine would come upon the whole earth, the church prepared for this not by hording, but by taking up an offering for the needy brethren in Israel. As we are taught in the Book of Romans, those who have received so much spiritually from the Jewish people should be willing to help them with physical needs.

 

         Giving is one thing, but when someone proposes a “partnership,” I still do a very serious “due diligence” before I join with anyone in such a serious relationship. Like any sound organization, I have it spelled out very clearly what the performance in this agreement looks like. Those who do not do business with such clear intent don’t last long, and neither do ministries or churches. This is not my ministry, but I am a steward of The King of kings. So seek to do a better job managing such things for Him than I would do for any organization or government.

 

Now most “partnerships” offered to me by Christian ministries have been the same kind of one way street, being almost entirely about what we can do for them with little or nothing offered concerning that they can do for us. I just take this as an indication that we all have some maturing to do before a true joining is possible. However, as the times progress such unions will not only be possible, they will be essential for any of us to accomplish our full purpose.  

        

The most serious partnership we could ever enter into on this earth is going to come between the church and Israel. It seems both sides have some maturing to do before we are ready, and working together in any way that we can is one good way to get ready for it.

The Big Omission—The Book of Revelation

 

Having completed our study of the Book of Revelation, we’ll take the last few weeks of this year to address some of the most common questions about Revelation.

 

What is considered the biggest omission?

 

There is no mention of the restoration of Israel in this prophecy.

 

How could this be? Many believe this to be the most important sign of the end of the age. However, this not being mentioned in Revelation does not belittle its importance. A major fallacy about Revelation is that it is a revelation of the end of the age—it is a “revelation of Jesus Christ.” Just as John wrote in the beginning of it, these things would “shortly come to pass.” They began to come to pass almost immediately after he had the vision. It is an unfolding of history written in advance from the time that John received it, not just about the end times.

 

Still, Revelation does go to the end of this age and the beginning of the next. It seems that there would be some mention of such an important event. For it to be left out, there must be an important reason.

 

First, as expansive as the Revelation given to John is, it is not comprehensive. The most any know, see, or prophesy is “in part.” The stream of revelation shown was specifically a “revelation of Jesus Christ” and the unfolding anti-Christ system that would dominate much of “the times of the Gentiles” until Christ’s ultimate victory over it.

 

There are so many other biblical prophecies about the exile of the Jews from their Promised Land and then their restoration to it that there was no need to be redundant about this in Revelation. Even so, one would think there would at least be a mention of it, so we do want to understand why it was left out, but first let’s discuss how important Israel is in the prophecy of these times.

 

Restored Israel is one of the major signs marking the end of the age. Israel is a spiritual barometer of humanity and a prophetic clock. Restored Israel is also a basic piece of The Lord’s strategy for restoring the earth and mankind. The entire Bible, with the exception of just six chapters, is about restoration—the restoring of the earth and mankind from all the consequences of the fall. The only chapters in The Bible that are not about this are the first three and the last three. The first three lead up to the fall, and the last three conclude with the complete recovery from the fall. Understanding what has happened, what is yet to happen, and where we are now in this saga is crucial to understanding the times.

 

It would be difficult to impossible to understand some of the major purposes of God in this age without understanding Israel’s place in them because The Bible is full of prophecies about it. It all has to do with God’s heart for restoration, which He links repeatedly to His faithfulness to His promise of restoring Israel to their land. This is one reason why “replacement theology” is considered so harmful. Replacement theology basically applies all of the promises made to Israel to the church, thereby distracting from the basic message that Israel is in relation to the purposes of God.

 

Certainly, many of the promises made to Israel relate to the Jews according to flesh and also those who are according to The Spirit. The promise to Abraham that his seed would be as the sand of the seashore and the stars of heaven was not just about numbers. This was also a prophecy that he would have both earthly and heavenly—or spiritual—posterity. As the Apostle Paul, possibly the greatest theologian and teacher of the church age, explained in Galatians 3:6-9, 26-29:

 

    Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

    Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.

    The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham , saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU."

    So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer….

 

   For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

   For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

   There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

   And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.

 

The New Covenant does not negate any of His former promises to Israel or the Jews according to the flesh, but it does expand some of them to those who are “Jews according to the Spirit.” There are some that are unique to each seed, the natural and the spiritual. Understanding the right distinctions can help us avoid many of the errors that  only cloud our understanding of the times. This has caused some to be arrogant toward those who are also the seed of Abraham, which is warned about very seriously in the Bible. For this reason, we will dig deeper into this in the remaining weeks before the end of this year.

I Am Coming Quickly—The Book of Revelation

 

Now we come to the last verses in the Book of Revelation. These seem to be a summation of how to get ready for the end of this age (see Revelation 22:10-21):

 

       And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

       "Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy."

 

         Daniel was told to seal up the prophecies he was given until the end of the age. One of the signs that we are indeed at the end of this age is the way that the prophecies of Daniel have been opened to our understanding. John was told not to seal the prophecy he was given here because the time was near. As we have covered, what was revealed to John in this revelation did begin to immediately unfold and is still unfolding as we approach the end of this age.

         This also declares that those who do wrong, and those who are righteous, will continue until the end. Neither will fully prevail until the kingdom comes.

         Next we read:

 

       "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 

       "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

       Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

       Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

 

         This reminds us that there will certainly be a Day of Judgment when everyone, the “just and the unjust,” will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to answer for their deeds in this life. This is called “the great and terrible day of The Lord” because it will be great for those who follow Him and terrible for those who do not. There is only one remedy for our sin and that is the blood of Jesus. Those who trust in His atonement will be clean before Him and have nothing to fear on the Day of Judgment—assured that they will be welcome to partake of the Tree of Life in His city.

         “Dogs,” as referred to in this text, were a metaphor in the first century for those who repented and embraced the cross, and then returned to their sinful lives just as dogs return to their vomit. Such are assigned their lot with the evil ones.

         Then we read:

 

       "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

       The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

 

         The call still goes out for the thirsty to come to Him—Jesus, the Water of Life and Life Himself. There is no cost because He already paid the price for us, yet it is the most valuable treasure there is on the earth. The wise pursue it and partake of it like it is the most valuable treasure. There is no lottery prize that can compare to a single word from Him. The wise pursue this “water of life” more than any prize because its reward is eternal life, not just the temporary pleasures of this life.

Next we read:

 

       I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;

       and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

   

         What could be a greater presumption than to change a word that was given by God? The end of this age will be a time of the greatest light and the greatest darkness. Those who walk in the light will be known for their esteem for His words. Those who walk in darkness will be known by their rejection of His word, or their presumption with it. The first tactic of the devil against Adam and Eve was to get them to doubt what God had clearly said. It is still his most effective tactic to get men to fall and no doubt will be until the end of the age.

         Then we have the last words of this Revelation and of the entire Bible:

 

       He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

       The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

 

         The Lord is coming quickly. Those who love Him are growing increasingly expectant of that glorious day. As we are told, even the trees will be “clapping their hands” because the whole creation is about to be restored to union and harmony with the Creator.

 

The final words are for the grace of The Lord Jesus to be with us all, as there could be nothing greater that we could ever possess.

 

Are We Bondservants? The Book of Revelation

       Now we come to the last chapter of Revelation, Chapter 22:

       Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street (Revelation 22:1-2).

       This is a river, not a lake or a pond. As this water of life is God’s Word, this speaks of how His Word is always moving—it’s never stagnate. So also is the nature of all who are led by The Spirit.

         This living water comes from the very throne of God, or from His authority. It is in the middle of the street, which speaks of how the living water, or water that brings life, is usually found between the extremes on either side.

       On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2).

       The Tree of Life is Jesus, and those who abide in Him do not have seasonal fruit, but rather they bear fruit continually. Leaves are where photosynthesis takes place, which is the process of turning light into life. That is what we are each called to be, those who turn truth into life.

       There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him.

       They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

       And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever (Revelation 22:3-5).

       The reason why the beast could not put his mark on these is because His bondservants have the name of The Lord on their foreheads, and Satan cannot put his mark over God’s mark. Those who have stood resolutely against the darkness will have eternal life and eternal light from The Lord Himself.

       And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place (Revelation 22:6).

       Here we see again the emphasis on how it is His bondservants who are given the revelation of the things to take place. This creates an important question: Are we bondservants or are we still living for ourselves?

       "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."

       I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

       But he said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God" (Revelation 22:7-9).

       Here we again see John falling down to worship an angel. If he, the most mature of all the apostles as the only original one still alive, would have this tendency, how much more do we need to be careful to only worship God? Angels are not Gerber babies, and there can be a tendency when we see such awesome beings to fall down before them. We must resist this as they are ministering spirits sent to serve the heirs of salvation.

       Neither should we be so presumptuous to think that we have the authority to order them about. When Jesus walked as a man, He did not even presume to do this. Rather, He said that if He asked His Father, would He not send twelve legions of angels? We are made lower than the angels at this time, and we should treat them with all the dignity and respect they deserve. However, we neither worship nor presume authority over them. We look to our Father for what we need, and only worship Him.

 

A Cleansing Fire—The Book of Revelation

 

Revelation is the only book in the Bible that we are promised a blessing just for reading. As it would be too lengthy to go into the meaning of all the details about the New Jerusalem described, let us read it and ask The Lord for insight. This is not just to understand it, but to take our place in it as one of the great souls who lived by faith in God and gave all to be a part of what He is building.

 

       The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall.

       The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.

       And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.  

       The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

       The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;

       the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; 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 one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

       I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

       And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

       The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

       In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;

       and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;

       and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life (Revelation 21:15-27).

   

         This is what the church, the bride of Christ, will be in the age to come. Like the stones on the High Priest’s breastplate that represented the tribes of Israel, these stones are a revelation of the character of those who become a part of this city of “living stones.”

 

         After the flood, The Lord promised to never again destroy the earth with water. As we have previously discussed, the earth was not actually destroyed by the flood, but all of the works of man were. The words often translated “earth” or “world” are not implying terra firma, but the arrangement on the earth, or what man built. These will never again be destroyed by a world-wide flood, but as we see in II Peter 3:7:

 

“ 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.”

 

A revelation of what this fire that the present heavens and earth are being kept for is in I Corinthians 3:10-17:     

 

       According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.

       For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

       Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,

       each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.

       If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.

       If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

       Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

       If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

 

 We have in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians the gold, silver, and precious stones being related to the church, just as we see the New Jerusalem built out of them. Then Paul explains how any man’s work will be tested by fire to be sure he built out of these, or wood, hay, and straw. This fire to test the quality of everyone’s work will come upon the church first, as we are told in I Peter 4:17: “judgment begins with the household of God.” It begins with the household of God, but it will come upon the whole earth.

 

This fire is not literal fire. As fire is often used in biblical prophecy as a metaphor for trials or tribulation, this is a prophecy of how the tribulation at the end of the age will test the quality of everyone’s work. All not built upon the only Foundation that will remain, Christ, will be consumed in it.

 

The city of God is built out of living stones, those who built with Him instead of trying to build without Him. How much of what we have built in our own lives has been with Him or without Him will be an ultimate question at the end. We cannot run this world without Him, and we cannot build anything that will last without Him. As we are told in Ecclesiastes 3:14:

 

“I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.”

The Highest Quest—The Book of Revelation

 

Next we come to Revelation 21:10-14:

 

         And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

       Having the glory of God, her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.

       It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.

       There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west.

       And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

 

John saw Babylon when he was in the tribulation, but when he was carried to a high mountain, he saw the New Jerusalem. What we see is often determined by our perspective. Throughout Scripture, the “high mountain” is often a metaphor for the place of revelation, such as the Mount of Transfiguration. We too must be taken to this high perspective to see the New Jerusalem.

 

It is more important that we see and understand what God is doing than what man is doing, or what the devil is doing. However, this does not mean that it is not important at times to seek understanding of what man or the devil is doing. It was important for John to see Babylon and to describe it for all the sojourners of this age. It is likewise important for us to know the signs of the times and to understand current events. This will never be as enjoyable or edifying as seeing God’s work, but it is necessary for us to be the salt and light that we are called to be, and if called, to speak prophetically into the times.

 

         I understand the struggles many have who see all of the terrible things unfolding in our time. We must be careful to know when to turn away from it. We become what we behold, and if we give too much attention to the evil we will start to take on its dark nature. We should spend much more time seeking an understanding of the New Jerusalem. However, we need to understand the earthly one too.

 

Because of the level of evil and corruption in the world today, it is understandable why many Christians want nothing to do with human politics and government. You can feel slimed just being around it. However, just as the full revelation given to Jesus to give to His bondservants in this book included a lot about the evil and depravity mankind would fall into—and the dark forces behind it—it is something we must see to fully understand what God is doing. Understanding the ultimate evil man has descended to is required to fully understand the ultimate remedy God will bring to it.

 

Mankind falls to its ultimate depravity by seeking to run this world without God. The biblical prophecies about the end of this age reveal how mankind will be desperately trying to sever all ties with God, which we are seeing in our time. The ultimate calamity of mankind’s attempt to build without God will be a witness to the creation forever. Likewise, this most glorious city, built by Him out of “living stones” (those who remained faithful to Him), will be a revelation to all for eternity of the unfathomable privilege it is for God to let us be a part of what He is building.

 

It was by seeing this city that Abraham was compelled to leave everything he had ever known and wander in places not knowing where he was going. He did this because above all things he wanted to be a part of what God was building, not men. To be a part of this city has been the vision of every true sojourner since. Even a glimpse of God’s city will make the greatest cities of men seem pale and trivial. A vision of this city will cause all who have seen it to become willing to leave everything else behind to seek it. There is no higher quest. There is no greater adventure.

 

There is great revelation in every detail of this city as it is described here, but it would likely take another year in this format to elaborate on it as it deserves. Even so, next week we will touch on some of the highlights of the city of God before moving on to the glorious conclusion of Revelation.

The Faithful and True—The Book of Revelation

 

Next we come to Revelation 21:5-8:

 

And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He * said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."

Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

“ He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

 

         The Lord here reiterates that He is going to make all things new, as He speaks here of being the Beginning and the End. This could also be interpreted as He is the One who created all things, and He will be the One to complete all things. The Lord is the One who will write the end of this story, and it is going to be a great ending!

 

Even so, there is still business to take care of. First, He appeals to the thirsty to come to the "spring of the water of life", which is Jesus. There is no cost because He already paid for everything, in full—just come. No one will ever deserve it, or be given it because they are so righteous, wise, or faithful. It can only be received freely. It is His gift.

 

Then He speaks to the overcomers who will inherit these things—He will be their God and they will be His own children. All will be subjects of the kingdom, but the overcomers will be His heirs.

 

Then He lists all who will have their place in the lake of fire. This is a list that none of us want to make. This is the ultimate punishment that is final and a permanent destruction, and it begins with the cowardly. These are the ones that feared men more than they feared The Lord, as we are warned about throughout the Scriptures. When it was their opportunity to be His witness, and when such a witness was so desperately needed, they heeded their fear of man rather than the fear of The Lord. It will be better to have never known the truth than to have known it, but not stand for it.

 

When the evil has been vanquished and utterly destroyed, the attention is given to the main purpose for the last age—the bride, the wife of The Lamb.

 

 

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb" ( Revelation 21:9).

 

This bride has been one of the primary reasons why The Lord created the earth and mankind. His union with His bride will be one of His chief joys, as well as a chief joy of the earth. The first Adam and his bride lived in a perfect world, but chose to disobey. The last Adam will have a bride that will have walked the earth during the darkest of times. When all of the evil in creation has been cast down to the earth and opposes her with the most terrible onslaught, she will still chose to obey. For this reason, even the greatest angelic majesties will acknowledge that she is worthy to be their judges.   

 

There is no higher calling in the universe or eternity than to be a part of the bride of Christ. How could this fail to be the chief endeavor of all who know Him? How could there be any purpose higher than helping her to “make herself ready.”

Renewing the Earth—The Book of Revelation

         We now come to Revelation 21:1-4:

 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 

and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

 

         The word “new” in verse one above could have been translated “fresh,” or even “renewed.” Likewise, the word “heaven” could be translated “elevation” or “sky.” The word “earth” could have been translated “ground.” The point is that this is not saying there will be a new planet or heaven, but that there will be fresh, new ground and sky. The curse and all pollution will be removed from the ground and the air.

         The Lord asked me in a prophetic experience if I believed that He had to return lest no flesh survive because of our weapons. When our all-knowing God asks us a question, it is not because He is seeking information. He was obviously challenging my perspective. I answered “yes” to His question, and He asked me another one: “Did you consider that it might be because of the way the earth is being destroyed?” That was the end of the conversation.

         A couple of years later, I was shown in a dream the anger of The Lord because of the plastic pollution. The Lord so loved “the world” that He sent His Son for our redemption and salvation. The world has also been redeemed, and it will also be saved. He loves this earth, and as He warned in Revelation 11:18, He would “destroy those who destroy the earth." As we are told in Psalm 24:1 and in I Corinthians 10:26, “The earth is The Lord’s, and all that is in it.” For this reason, we should in every way endeavor to treat it with the utmost care and respect, and convey the warning that those who destroy it will be destroyed.

         In this week’s text, we see the New Jerusalem coming down to the earth as the bride. The New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ, the heavenly city of God that will rule over the earth spiritually, just as the physical Jerusalem will rule over the nations from the physical realm. This New Jerusalem is also called “Jerusalem above” and “our mother” in Galatians 4:26. She is the mother of those who are born from above.

         The Lord promised Abraham that his seed would be as the stars of heaven and the sand of the seashore. This speaks of the heavenly and the earthly seed. In His reign the heavenly Jerusalem will be joined to the natural, physical Jerusalem as the bridge between the heavenly realm and the earthly. We are a “new creation” in Christ, and this is the bridge we are called to be a part of—and at home in—in both realms. In the age to come, these two realms will be joined.

         As we see in the rest of this text, the earth will be restored to the paradise it was originally, just as the prophets foretold. All the consequences of the fall, even death and all pain and mourning, will be removed from the earth. We cannot comprehend how wonderful this will be, but the best part of all is that God will dwell on the earth among men. He created us for His pleasure, and He will get great pleasure from mankind and the earth that He created.

         So, let’s determine to be a part of building this bridge between heaven and earth by worshipping our God, who is Spirit, in Spirit and truth. Let’s also resolve to honor Him by honoring the great gift that He gave to us with this earth. Let us resolve to fulfill the first command He gave to man—to tend this garden as it is The King’s own garden that He has entrusted to us.

True Grace—The Book of Revelation

 

We are told in Scripture that if we have confessed our sins, He has not only forgiven them, but He has also forgotten them. No confessed sin will be held against anyone on that great day. As I John 1:9-10 says:  

 

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

If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

 

We previously discussed how the day of The Lord is called “the great and terrible day of The Lord.” We may ask, “Well, which is it?” It is great for some and terrible for others. Obviously, it will be great for those who have confessed their sins and been cleansed, and it will be terrible for those who have not.

 

So how do we live in order to be prepared for the judgments of God that come in our own time and for the Great Judgment Day? Some of the things that will be hard on us now will make it much easier on us then. Those who can only hear the things that “tickle their ears,” or make them feel good now, will likely have it very hard then, even “terrible.”

 

As we touched on before, some extreme “hyper-grace” teachers have said that not only does God no longer judge, but repentance is no longer needed after the crucifixion because Jesus already paid for our sins—past, present, and future. That may make sense to those who have not read their Bibles, but it is an ultimate folly and deception that has already led to many to suffer shipwreck with regard to their faith.

 

A primary way that we prepare for the times and for the ultimate Day of Judgment is we build into our lives and nature a lifestyle of repentance. If the “hyper-grace” foolishness teaches that we no longer need to repent since the cross has already paid for our sins, why then did Jesus call the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 to repent years after His resurrection? The New Testament is clear that God will forgive our sins if we confess them. Confessing them is a beginning, but to repent is to turn away from the sin.

 

         Repentance had to be preached before Jesus was revealed, and Jesus Himself preached repentance. One of the purposes for which The Holy Spirit was given is to convict of sin. This is so we can repent of our sin and turn to the only remedy that can save us from our sin and deliver us from the judgments of God that come because of sin—the cross. However, He “came to save us from our sin,” not just the consequences of sin. He has come, and The Holy Spirit was given, to deliver us from our sinful nature and replace it with His nature.

 

         As we are told in Hebrews 6, we do not lay again a foundation of repentance, but that does not mean that we do not continue to repent. Repentance is a foundation of the Christian life. A foundation is something that you only lay once because you only have one in a building. That does not mean that we no longer use it, but the foundation is what we walk on every day and is what holds the entire building up. That is how repentance is a foundation for the true Christian life.

 

We must always keep a tender, humble, and contrite heart that is quick to repent when we are convicted by The Holy Spirit. As James wrote, we all stumble in many ways, and as we see in The New Testament, even the most eminent apostles fell into sinful traps right until the end of their lives. It is written, “the righteous fall seven times, but rise yet again” (see Proverbs 24:16). However, you cannot rise up if you do not know that you have fallen.

 

Virtually every biblical truth does get carried to extremes by some, and even though there are extreme teachings that pervert the grace of God, we need more of His grace, not less. Many are far too sin conscious, too focused on their failures, than they are on the vision we need of His glory that we must have to become what we are called to be.

 

No doubt many of the extreme teachings on grace are the result of some overreacting to other extreme teachings that keep men under condemnation and striving to accomplish what has already been accomplished for us at the cross. As we discussed, there is a ditch on either side of the path of life, and those who are reactionary often fall into one ditch, and then overreact and fall into the other ditch. The two ditches are usually legalism on one side and lawlessness on the other. Let’s stay on the path of life that is between these ditches.

 

There is yet a little more to cover about the judgments of God in Revelation, and we do not want to gloss over them, much less discount that which He gave so much attention to. We then come to the glorious vision He has for us, which we are about to cover.

The Judgment of God—The Book of Revelation

         This is a subject I’m sure everyone is excited about covering. Actually, if we really understood the judgment of God, it would be exciting and encouraging. We would look forward to it rather than trying to pretend it will not come.

         The next text to be covered is Revelation 20:11-15:

       Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.

       And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

       And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.

       Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

       And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

 

         When Jesus was asked about the signs of the end of this age, the first thing He said was “Don’t be deceived.” As we see in Revelation and through the prophecies of the New Testament apostles and prophets, deception is a primary problem at the end of the age. When we see doctrines that are so fundamentally contrary to Scripture, such as those called “hyper-grace” that are being embraced by so many Christians, we have to conclude that this is indeed a time of great deception. As the text we are now covering in Revelation addresses these errors so directly, we will briefly address them here.

         “Hyper-grace” teachers say that God no longer judges since all sin was paid for at the cross. If this is the case, then what is this we just read at the end of the Book of Revelation? The judgments of God are addressed throughout the Bible and from the beginning to the end of the New Testament. The judgment of God is covered far more than such important subjects as God’s love, mercy, and even salvation. Why? Because His love, mercy, and even our salvation are the result of the judgments of God, and if we really understood them, we would not run from them but to them.

         As Paul wrote, we must all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, and we see this at the end of John’s Revelation—this will happen and no one will escape it. This tends to be a fearful thing to everyone who hears it, as we see with the Roman Governor Felix in Acts 24:24-25:

       Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.

       As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you."

         Because something makes you afraid does not mean that it is wrong. As we see repeatedly in Revelation, even the Apostle John, who was the oldest living of the original apostles of The Lord at this time, was often falling down in fear when he saw The Lord. The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and it is one of the most serious lacks we tend to have in our times. Therefore, a primary reason why there is so little wisdom and such bizarre foolishness as some modern false doctrines.

         If we have wisdom, which starts with the fear of The Lord but matures into understanding His love, we will approach His judgment like the psalmist in Psalm 98:7-9:

Let the sea roar and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands and let the mountains sing together for joy

before The Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

 

         When The Lord comes to judge the earth, the whole world will learn righteousness and justice. We know that our God is not only utterly just, but also merciful. His judgments of our deeds will be completely right and just, and we can completely trust Him in this. Those who have already lived their lives before The Judge will have no fear of The Judgment Day. If we do have fear of this, then there are some things in our life that we must face or that great day will be much harder than it needs to be for us.