The gospel, the “good news” that Christ Jesus preached was:
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. (Matthew 4:17)
It was near because it was embodied in Himself.
On The Day of Pentecost it was imparted to His children;
Christ in them the hope of Glory.
Christ Jesus said:
The Kingdom of God does not come visibly,
Nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,'
Because the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20-21)
The Kingdom of God is the realm of His Spirit.
Where His Spirit rules and reigns.
The Kingdom of God is in us positionally
When we make a confession of faith
And are immersed (baptized) in the Spirit of God.
It is then manifested
When the Spirit of God rules and reigns in us;
When He lives in and through us;
Then His Kingdom has come to earth as in Heaven.
Christ Jesus said to His disciples:
This is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come, your will be done
On earth as in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10)
Jesus said:
‘But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness,
And all these things (everything you have need of)
Will be given to you as well.’ (Matthew 6:33)
Above all else in this life we are to seek the Kingdom of God
And His righteousness.
The Father promises that when we seek him (His Kingdom)
With all of our hearts, we will find Him.
The Kingdom Of God Has Multiple Aspects:
The personal aspect:
The Kingdom of God is the “Secrete Place of the Most High God.”
This is where we meet with God privately and personally.
The “Secrete Place” is found in our personal prayer and worship.
It is our personal “Tent of Meeting”
Where we meet with and hear from God.
We must meet with the Father here before the other aspects can be realized.
King David was speaking about the “Secret Place” when he said:
One thing I ask, this is what I seek
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and seek Him in His Temple.
He had been to the “Secret Place” and never wanted to leave.
The “Secret Place” is heaven on earth.
The manifestation in works aspect:
That is the Kingdom of God manifested in our own lives;
Manifested in the works that God does in and through us.
Christ Jesus manifested the Kingdom of God in His ministry;
He healed the sick, raised the dead and cast out demons.
The Kingdom of God manifested is a marvelous evangelistic tool
As can be seen from the ministry of Christ Jesus
And throughout the Book of Acts.
The corporate evangelism aspect:
That is The Kingdom of God manifested
As a pervasive atmosphere produced by His Spirit.
This is commonly called Revival or Renewal where the Spirit of God;
Manifests His Presence and Glory which is felt by many.
Sometimes this atmosphere invades a whole church,
A whole town or a whole region.
This was the atmosphere that invaded Israel
And brought the people to John the Baptist in the desert
The people were compelled by the Spirit of God.
Sometimes this atmosphere comes and remains for a period of time.
The First Great Awakening in America lasted for ten years.
The Second Great Awakening in America lasted for many years.
The Azusa Street Revival lasted for approximately three years,
However, its outworking has never ended evern to this day.
The outworking of the Toronto Renewal which began in 1993 is still is alive.
This aspect is the ultimate evangelistic tool of God.
During these times multitudes come to Christ Jesus
Or are renewed in Christ.
This is the atmosphere that God will work throughout the world,
Through His Bride
For the three and one-half years prior to The Great Tribulation.
It will be the greatest in-gathering
And harvest of souls the world has ever seen.
It will be like The Day of Pentecost, only world wide.
The vision aspect:
The Scriptures teach that without “vision” the people perish.
Prophesy, visions and dreams
Are God given manifestations of the Kingdom of God,
To give His Church vision, direction, motivation,
Strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
Christ Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth;
That He would tell us what is yet to come.
On The Day of Pentecost Peter declared from the Prophet Joel,
That the sons and daughters of God would prophesy.
Christ Jesus is the Spirit of prophesy;
The Spirit of vision, dreams and all necessary illumination for His church.
Heaven Is Our Destination Where We Will Be ONE With The Lord Forever
Today, we are in The Season Of The Last Generation. The Birth Pains that Christ Jesus spoke about are currently under way, including natural and unnatural disasters. They will be ever increasing. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. Social, economic and political turmoil will be ever increasing, causing people's hearts to be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life. An apostasy within the Church of God is currently under way. This will all reach a climax with Satan revealing his Antichrist and requiring that everyone worship him; That every one receive his "mark" in order to buy or sell; The new currency of the New World Order, the New Tower of Babel.
Tom's books include: Called By Christ To Be ONE, The Time Of The END, The Season Of The Last Generation, Worship God In Spirit And In Truth, Daniel And The Time Of The END, and Overcoming The Evil One. They are available at amazon.com. They can also be read without cost by clicking on link: Toms Books.
To receive Christ Jesus as a child by faith is the highest human achievement.
Today, the Bride Of Christ is rising up in every nation in the world! Giving Glory to Her Savior and King, Christ Jesus!
Today, the world is Raging against God, Rushing toward Oblivion! Save yourself from this Corrupt Generation!
Today, America is being ground to powder because of it's SIN against God!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
The woman with a holy, unquenchable passion for her God.
Christ Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world.
He was slain to bring forth a Bride.
After His death and resurrection
God the Father has sent the Holy Spirit to obtain a Bride for His Son.
The Bride He will marry and who will be ONE with Him for eternity.
In what follows we will look at what the Scriptures teach us about this Bride.
In Ephesians 5:25-27, Paul says:
'Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church
And gave himself up for her to make her holy,
Cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
And to present her to himself as a radiant church,
Without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.'
In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul says:
'I promised you to one husband, to Christ,
So that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.'
In Isaiah 62 the Lord speaks of His zeal for His Bride:
'For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
For Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
Till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
Her salvation like a blazing torch.
The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory;
You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
You will be a crown in the Lord’s hand,
A royal diadem in the hand of your God.
No longer will they call you deserted, or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
For the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.
As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you;
As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
So will your God rejoice over you.
I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They will never be silent day or night.
You, who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest,
And give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
And makes her the praise of the earth.'
Examples of women who were types of the Bride of Christ are as follows:
REBECAH
The young woman chosen by God to be the wife of Isaac,
Who bore Jacob, who is in the lineage of Christ Jesus,
And was a demonstrator of the attributes of the Bride of Christ Jesus.
(Genesis 24)
MIRIAM
Miriam was a type of the Bride,
Leading the people of God into praise and worship of the Living God.
After the children of Israel had walked through the sea on dry land, it says:
hen Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister,
Took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her
With tambourines and dancing.
Miriam sang to them;
‘Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted
The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.’ (Exodus 15:20-21)
Here Miriam is exhibiting the nature of the Bride.
She was a prophetess
And Scripture declares that Christ Jesus is the Spirit of prophesy.
DEBORA
Judges 4 is the account of Deborah.
Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel
She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel
In the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her
To have their disputes decided. (Exodus 4:4-5)
Deborah received a word from the Lord
That would save Israel out of the hand of their enemies,
And it required that she risk her life to carry it out.
RUTH
Ruth was a young woman who held steadfast to her faith in the face of hardship.
She obeyed her mother-in-law, a follower of God
And the Lord delivered Ruth and the mother-in-law from ruin.
The child that Ruth subsequently bore was in the lineage of Christ Jesus.
(The Book of Ruth)
ESTER
Ester was a young woman who risked her life
To save the Israelites from extinction.
(The Book of Ester)
PROVERBS
In Proverbs we are introduced to “Wisdom”, she;
A type of the Bride of Christ.
Wisdom calls aloud in the street
She raises her voice in the public squares;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out,
In the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
And fools hate knowledge?
If you had responded to my rebuke,
I would have poured out my heart to you
And made my thoughts known to you. (Proverbs 1:20-23)
The Wife of Noble Character
A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value
She brings him good, not harm,
All the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:10-12)
THE SONG OF SONGS
Introduces us to the intimacy of Christ Jesus and His Bride.
The Song of Songs is a book that describes the love affair
Between Christ Jesus and His Bride.
The following are paraphrases from that book, put into a poetic form:
WHO IS THIS?
(Christ Jesus speaking of His Bride)
Who is this who appears like the dawn?
Fair as the moon
Bright as the sun
Majestic as the stars
All beautiful you are
There is no flaw in you
You have stolen my heart my sister my bride
With one glance of your eyes
How delightful is your love my darling
Better that wine, fragrant as perfume
You are a garden fountain
A well of flowing water
There is no one like you
You have stolen my heart my sister my bride
With one glance of your eyes
For the King is captivated by your beauty
The King is captivated by your love
I BELONG TO YOU MY KING
(The Bride of Christ speaking to her King)
I belong to you my King
My desire is for you alone
Place me like a seal over you heart
Like a brand upon your arm
For my love for you is as strong as death
It burns like a blazing fire
An ocean of water cannot quench my love
A river cannot wash it away
All the wealth of this world
Is as nothing compared to our love
Every delicacy both new and old
I have brought to you my love
For my love for you is as strong as death
It burns like a blazing fire
An ocean of water cannot quench my love
A river cannot wash it away
Come away with me my lover my friend
Let me be your complete contentment
Come away with me my lover my friend
Let me be your complete contentment
Let me be your complete contentment
ARISE MY DARLING
(Christ Jesus calling to His Bride)
Arise my darling my beautiful one
Arise my darling my beautiful one
Come with me
The winter is past and the rains are all gone
The flowers appear, the time for singing has come
Arise my darling my beautiful one
Arise my darling my beautiful one
Come with me
The cooing of doves is heard in our land
The fig tree forms its early fruit
The blossoming vines spread their fragrance
Arise and come with me
Arise and come
Arise and come
Arise and come with me
Arise and come
Arise and come
Arise and come with me
Christ Jesus has been calling forth His Bride in every generation.
The relationship between Christ Jesus and His Bride
Is an exquisite, beautiful, intimate relationship.
A comparison would be the courtship between a man and a woman
When it is as God intended.
This is the nature of the relationship that Christ Jesus has with His Bride.
THE MARRIAGE OF CHRIST JESUS AND HIS BRIDE
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude,
Like the roar of rushing waters
And like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
‘Hallelujah!’
For the Lord our God almighty reigns
And give Him the glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come
And His bride had made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear.
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
Then the angel said to me,
‘Write: Blessed are those who are invited
To the wedding supper of the Lamb!’
And he added, ‘Theses are the true words of God.’
(Revelation 19:6-9)
THE NEW JERUSALEM, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
John goes on to say:
'Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
And there was no longer any sea.
I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem,
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a Bride beautifully dressed for her husband
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
'Now the dwelling of God is with men.
They will be His people,
And God Himself will be with them and be their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,
For the old order of things has passed away.'
He who was seated on the throne said,
‘I am making everything new!’
Then he said, ‘Write this down,
For these words are trustworthy and true.’
He said to me:
‘It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End
To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost
From the spring of the water of LIFE.
He who overcomes will inherit all this,
And I will be his God and he will be my son.
But the cowardly, the unbeliever, the vile, the murderers
The sexually immoral,
Those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--
Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This is the second death.’
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls
Full of the seven last plagues
Came and said to me,
‘Come and I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high,
And showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem,
Coming down out of heaven from God
It shown with the glory of God,
And its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel,
Like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a great, high wall with twelve gates,
And with twelve angels at the gates.
On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south
And three on the west.
The wall of the city had twelve foundations,
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold
To measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide.
He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 1,400 miles in length,
And as wide and high as it is long.
He measured its wall and it was 200 feet thick,
By man’s measurement, which the angel was using.
The wall was made out of jasper,
And the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.
The foundations of the city walls were decorated
With every kind of precious stone.
The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire,
The third chalcedony, the forth emerald, the fifth sardonic,
The sixth carnelian,
The seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz,
The tenth chrysoprase,
The eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl.
The street of the city was of pure gold like transparent glass.
I did not see a temple in the city,
Because the Lord God almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it,
For the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp
The nations will walk by its light,
And the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
On no day will its gates ever be shut,
For there will be no night there.
The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
Nothing impure will ever enter it,
Nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful,
But only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of LIFE.'
(Revelation 21:1-27)
At the point in time spoken of here in Revelation 21:1-27
God has now achieved His purpose in creation,
He has redeemed a people to Himself,
And made them ONE with Himself, by the power of His Holy Spirit;
Living stones built together to comprise the City of God;
A Bride who has fully submitted Her will to His will;
A Bride who has made Her WAY, His WAY, Her TRUTH, His TRUTH
Her LIFE, His LIFE.
A Bride who is LOVE, as He is LOVE.
A Bride who is ONE with Christ Jesus.
THE ROMANCE OF ALL THE AGES
Is now consummated,
The Lord of Glory has His glorious Bride
A Bride commensurate with Himself in character and being
By the power of His Holy Spirit
And they live happily ever after
TODAY
Today God is calling a people to Himself;
Those who have ears to hear Him;
Those who hear His voice;
Those who worship God in Spirit and in Truth;
Who have been crucified with Christ and no longer live,
But Christ lives in and through them;
Those who have the humility of a child;
Those who have guarded their hearts;
Those who seek first the Kingdom of God above all else;
Those in whom the love of Christ lives;
Those who live in the Secret Place of the Most High God;
Those who know God and are known by God;
Those who possess eternal LIFE in the here and now;
Those who God honors with His anointing;
Those who do the will and works of Christ Jesus.
This people who God is raising up today
Will join those from all previous generations
Who made Him their LIFE;
A Bride who will come on the scene as Christ Jesus did
When His ministry began in Israel 2000 years ago;
Startling the whole religious community and the world;
Shaking them out of their complacency;
Making it impossible to sit on the fence;
Making it impossible to be lukewarm;
Requiring that a choice be made;
Bringing the Word of God to LIFE;
Verifying its authenticity;
Revealing Christ Jesus in all His Glory.
The name of Jesus will be upon every heart mind and mouth,
Every man women and child,
In every place and every nation on the face of the earth,
And every person will be invited to make Christ Jesus
Their Savior, Lord and Bridegroom.
Isaiah speaks of the Bride of Christ:
'In that day the Lord Almighty
Will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath
For the remnant of his people
He will be a Spirit of justice
To Him who sits in judgment,
A source of strength
To those who turn back the battle at the gate.' (Isaiah 28:5-6)
Just before the end of time,
The Lord Almighty becomes a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath
For the remnant of His people, the Bride of Christ.
In the strength of her God,
She holds back the battle at the gate,
Until her mission is complete.
Her mission is to proclaim and demonstrate
The reality and power of Christ.
Ready or not, here I come
Give all glory to my Son
Get aboard the glory train
Give praise to His holy name
The wind of my Spirit is blowing over the land
Convicting souls, tell me where do you stand
This is the last and final call
Love Jesus go tell all
Take your stand in the victory He won
Everyone else is going to be undone
Stand for Christ, you will not stand-alone
He’s coming to take you home
MARANATHA, come soon Lord Jesus!
Your Bride awaits you!
*The Scriptures are italicized and from The New International Version.
Christ Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world.
He was slain to bring forth a Bride.
After His death and resurrection
God the Father has sent the Holy Spirit to obtain a Bride for His Son.
The Bride He will marry and who will be ONE with Him for eternity.
In what follows we will look at what the Scriptures teach us about this Bride.
In Ephesians 5:25-27, Paul says:
'Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church
And gave himself up for her to make her holy,
Cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
And to present her to himself as a radiant church,
Without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.'
In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul says:
'I promised you to one husband, to Christ,
So that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.'
In Isaiah 62 the Lord speaks of His zeal for His Bride:
'For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
For Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
Till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
Her salvation like a blazing torch.
The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory;
You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
You will be a crown in the Lord’s hand,
A royal diadem in the hand of your God.
No longer will they call you deserted, or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
For the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.
As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you;
As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
So will your God rejoice over you.
I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They will never be silent day or night.
You, who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest,
And give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
And makes her the praise of the earth.'
Examples of women who were types of the Bride of Christ are as follows:
REBECAH
The young woman chosen by God to be the wife of Isaac,
Who bore Jacob, who is in the lineage of Christ Jesus,
And was a demonstrator of the attributes of the Bride of Christ Jesus.
(Genesis 24)
MIRIAM
Miriam was a type of the Bride,
Leading the people of God into praise and worship of the Living God.
After the children of Israel had walked through the sea on dry land, it says:
hen Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister,
Took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her
With tambourines and dancing.
Miriam sang to them;
‘Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted
The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.’ (Exodus 15:20-21)
Here Miriam is exhibiting the nature of the Bride.
She was a prophetess
And Scripture declares that Christ Jesus is the Spirit of prophesy.
DEBORA
Judges 4 is the account of Deborah.
Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel
She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel
In the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her
To have their disputes decided. (Exodus 4:4-5)
Deborah received a word from the Lord
That would save Israel out of the hand of their enemies,
And it required that she risk her life to carry it out.
RUTH
Ruth was a young woman who held steadfast to her faith in the face of hardship.
She obeyed her mother-in-law, a follower of God
And the Lord delivered Ruth and the mother-in-law from ruin.
The child that Ruth subsequently bore was in the lineage of Christ Jesus.
(The Book of Ruth)
ESTER
Ester was a young woman who risked her life
To save the Israelites from extinction.
(The Book of Ester)
PROVERBS
In Proverbs we are introduced to “Wisdom”, she;
A type of the Bride of Christ.
Wisdom calls aloud in the street
She raises her voice in the public squares;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out,
In the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
And fools hate knowledge?
If you had responded to my rebuke,
I would have poured out my heart to you
And made my thoughts known to you. (Proverbs 1:20-23)
The Wife of Noble Character
A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value
She brings him good, not harm,
All the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:10-12)
THE SONG OF SONGS
Introduces us to the intimacy of Christ Jesus and His Bride.
The Song of Songs is a book that describes the love affair
Between Christ Jesus and His Bride.
The following are paraphrases from that book, put into a poetic form:
WHO IS THIS?
(Christ Jesus speaking of His Bride)
Who is this who appears like the dawn?
Fair as the moon
Bright as the sun
Majestic as the stars
All beautiful you are
There is no flaw in you
You have stolen my heart my sister my bride
With one glance of your eyes
How delightful is your love my darling
Better that wine, fragrant as perfume
You are a garden fountain
A well of flowing water
There is no one like you
You have stolen my heart my sister my bride
With one glance of your eyes
For the King is captivated by your beauty
The King is captivated by your love
I BELONG TO YOU MY KING
(The Bride of Christ speaking to her King)
I belong to you my King
My desire is for you alone
Place me like a seal over you heart
Like a brand upon your arm
For my love for you is as strong as death
It burns like a blazing fire
An ocean of water cannot quench my love
A river cannot wash it away
All the wealth of this world
Is as nothing compared to our love
Every delicacy both new and old
I have brought to you my love
For my love for you is as strong as death
It burns like a blazing fire
An ocean of water cannot quench my love
A river cannot wash it away
Come away with me my lover my friend
Let me be your complete contentment
Come away with me my lover my friend
Let me be your complete contentment
Let me be your complete contentment
ARISE MY DARLING
(Christ Jesus calling to His Bride)
Arise my darling my beautiful one
Arise my darling my beautiful one
Come with me
The winter is past and the rains are all gone
The flowers appear, the time for singing has come
Arise my darling my beautiful one
Arise my darling my beautiful one
Come with me
The cooing of doves is heard in our land
The fig tree forms its early fruit
The blossoming vines spread their fragrance
Arise and come with me
Arise and come
Arise and come
Arise and come with me
Arise and come
Arise and come
Arise and come with me
Christ Jesus has been calling forth His Bride in every generation.
The relationship between Christ Jesus and His Bride
Is an exquisite, beautiful, intimate relationship.
A comparison would be the courtship between a man and a woman
When it is as God intended.
This is the nature of the relationship that Christ Jesus has with His Bride.
THE MARRIAGE OF CHRIST JESUS AND HIS BRIDE
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude,
Like the roar of rushing waters
And like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
‘Hallelujah!’
For the Lord our God almighty reigns
And give Him the glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come
And His bride had made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear.
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
Then the angel said to me,
‘Write: Blessed are those who are invited
To the wedding supper of the Lamb!’
And he added, ‘Theses are the true words of God.’
(Revelation 19:6-9)
THE NEW JERUSALEM, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
John goes on to say:
'Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
And there was no longer any sea.
I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem,
Coming down out of heaven from God,
Prepared as a Bride beautifully dressed for her husband
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
'Now the dwelling of God is with men.
They will be His people,
And God Himself will be with them and be their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,
For the old order of things has passed away.'
He who was seated on the throne said,
‘I am making everything new!’
Then he said, ‘Write this down,
For these words are trustworthy and true.’
He said to me:
‘It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End
To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost
From the spring of the water of LIFE.
He who overcomes will inherit all this,
And I will be his God and he will be my son.
But the cowardly, the unbeliever, the vile, the murderers
The sexually immoral,
Those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--
Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This is the second death.’
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls
Full of the seven last plagues
Came and said to me,
‘Come and I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high,
And showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem,
Coming down out of heaven from God
It shown with the glory of God,
And its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel,
Like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a great, high wall with twelve gates,
And with twelve angels at the gates.
On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south
And three on the west.
The wall of the city had twelve foundations,
And on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold
To measure the city,
Its gates and its wall.
The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide.
He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 1,400 miles in length,
And as wide and high as it is long.
He measured its wall and it was 200 feet thick,
By man’s measurement, which the angel was using.
The wall was made out of jasper,
And the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.
The foundations of the city walls were decorated
With every kind of precious stone.
The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire,
The third chalcedony, the forth emerald, the fifth sardonic,
The sixth carnelian,
The seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz,
The tenth chrysoprase,
The eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl.
The street of the city was of pure gold like transparent glass.
I did not see a temple in the city,
Because the Lord God almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it,
For the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp
The nations will walk by its light,
And the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
On no day will its gates ever be shut,
For there will be no night there.
The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
Nothing impure will ever enter it,
Nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful,
But only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of LIFE.'
(Revelation 21:1-27)
At the point in time spoken of here in Revelation 21:1-27
God has now achieved His purpose in creation,
He has redeemed a people to Himself,
And made them ONE with Himself, by the power of His Holy Spirit;
Living stones built together to comprise the City of God;
A Bride who has fully submitted Her will to His will;
A Bride who has made Her WAY, His WAY, Her TRUTH, His TRUTH
Her LIFE, His LIFE.
A Bride who is LOVE, as He is LOVE.
A Bride who is ONE with Christ Jesus.
THE ROMANCE OF ALL THE AGES
Is now consummated,
The Lord of Glory has His glorious Bride
A Bride commensurate with Himself in character and being
By the power of His Holy Spirit
And they live happily ever after
TODAY
Today God is calling a people to Himself;
Those who have ears to hear Him;
Those who hear His voice;
Those who worship God in Spirit and in Truth;
Who have been crucified with Christ and no longer live,
But Christ lives in and through them;
Those who have the humility of a child;
Those who have guarded their hearts;
Those who seek first the Kingdom of God above all else;
Those in whom the love of Christ lives;
Those who live in the Secret Place of the Most High God;
Those who know God and are known by God;
Those who possess eternal LIFE in the here and now;
Those who God honors with His anointing;
Those who do the will and works of Christ Jesus.
This people who God is raising up today
Will join those from all previous generations
Who made Him their LIFE;
A Bride who will come on the scene as Christ Jesus did
When His ministry began in Israel 2000 years ago;
Startling the whole religious community and the world;
Shaking them out of their complacency;
Making it impossible to sit on the fence;
Making it impossible to be lukewarm;
Requiring that a choice be made;
Bringing the Word of God to LIFE;
Verifying its authenticity;
Revealing Christ Jesus in all His Glory.
The name of Jesus will be upon every heart mind and mouth,
Every man women and child,
In every place and every nation on the face of the earth,
And every person will be invited to make Christ Jesus
Their Savior, Lord and Bridegroom.
Isaiah speaks of the Bride of Christ:
'In that day the Lord Almighty
Will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath
For the remnant of his people
He will be a Spirit of justice
To Him who sits in judgment,
A source of strength
To those who turn back the battle at the gate.' (Isaiah 28:5-6)
Just before the end of time,
The Lord Almighty becomes a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath
For the remnant of His people, the Bride of Christ.
In the strength of her God,
She holds back the battle at the gate,
Until her mission is complete.
Her mission is to proclaim and demonstrate
The reality and power of Christ.
Ready or not, here I come
Give all glory to my Son
Get aboard the glory train
Give praise to His holy name
The wind of my Spirit is blowing over the land
Convicting souls, tell me where do you stand
This is the last and final call
Love Jesus go tell all
Take your stand in the victory He won
Everyone else is going to be undone
Stand for Christ, you will not stand-alone
He’s coming to take you home
MARANATHA, come soon Lord Jesus!
Your Bride awaits you!
*The Scriptures are italicized and from The New International Version.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)