Thursday, May 31, 2007
Decaf - Handmotions in Heaven
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
“You Don’t Have to Go To Church To Get To Heaven”
“Why do you say that?”
“Jesus is the way to heaven. Jesus died for all so all can go to heaven. “
“Well that might not be exactly right. It might be a bit narrower than that!”
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
“Christ died for the Church!”
“Oh.. so I better go to church to get to heaven?”
“Well you better enter the church.
But the entrance isn’t in Laman street. It s not our front door. Its not in Hunter street. Its not the front door to the Sacred heart Cathedral. Its not in Church street. Its not the front door to the Anglican cathedral.”
Cyprian an early bishop said that "You cannot have God as your Father unless you have the church for your mother."
“The front door of the church is by being born again.”
Washing of water with the Word.
A picture of the laver at the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.
The Laver consisted of a brazen circular basin filled with water which was fitted to a brazen pedestal or base to comprise one piece of furniture. No measurements are given. The Laver was constructed from the looking glasses or mirrors, of the women in the Camp of Israel who spent a great deal of their time fasting and praying at the door of the Tabernacle. Ex. 38:8. (Septuagint)
Description of the Laver Ex 38:8 Moreover, he made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
It was Necessary for the person to be washed all over before they entered the Presence Of God.Ex 40:12 "Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.13 "You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me.14 "You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them; 15 and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations."
As indicated by its name it was designed for washing and cleansing. The priests were commanded to wash their hands and feet every time they went to minister at the Brazen Altar or the Holy Places. It was only for the priests, no other Israelite was allowed. The washing was specifically a preparation for coming into the presence of God. There is a deeper responsibility and relationship required of those who press further into God's presence.
“Washed” a symbol of regeneration /new birth.
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
It happens through the instrumentality of the Word of God1 Peter 1: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower drops off, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached as the gospel to you.
James 1:18 By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures.
James 1:18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. NASB
It was necessary to be cleansed by all over by washing just once.
But then it was necessary every day to cleanse the hands and cleanse the feet.
Ex 40:30 He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 31 From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Washing the hands is something we now take for granted.
Long before the germ theory was established as fact by the work of Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) of Vienna was able to suggest the contagious nature of infections in women who had just given birth. Semmelweis observed that when his resident physicians and students washed their hands with soap and water before each examination of a new mother there was a dramatic decline in the infection rate on the ward.
Dr Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis of Vienna recognised the value of clinicians washing their hands in 1847. Dr Semmelweis, as a medical student, worked on a study in a hospital ward where physician-attended births had a mortality rate as high as 31%. This mortality rate contrasted sharply with the low mortality rate in the midwives' ward that was located nearby. The doctors were coming from performing post mortums in the mortuary.
Dr Semmelweis reported to his physician associates an incredible idea – washing hands could save lives. His research showed that pregnant women often developed fatal infections following hospital births – when treated by doctors with unwashed hands. However, mothers who were treated by doctors that scrubbed their hands thoroughly with soap and water before being examined and treated rarely developed the same type of fatal infections.
Were his peers excited about the research and willing to change their bad habits to save their patient's lives? Unfortunately, his peers thought he was crazy and forced him out. It would be years before washing hands was adopted as a standard practice amongst clinicians. However, handwashing did finally catch on. Most clinicians adopted hand washing and infection rates came down.
But in the Old Testament world, although dangers of infection through transmission of germs were unknown, the Lord had directed the people of Israel to several safe practices.
Once having been cleansed it is never to be repeated. Once saved always saved.
We are instantaneously positionally sanctified.
Once having been cleansed, a daily washing of hands and feet were necessary. We are to bepractically sanctified daily.
This makes sense of Jesus’ statements in John 13: So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. 5 Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t understand now, but afterwards you will know.” 8 “You will never wash my feet—ever!” Peter said. Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 “One who has bathed,” Jesus told him, “doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him. This is why He said, “You are not all clean.”
The priests were involved in a demanding and dirty work. Even spiritual work will often produce a certain 'amount of a defilement. working for God will expose our motives, energies and ambitions. The burden of the people, their depressions and defilements etc. need to be cleansed away from us by the refreshing word.
Moses and the priests were barefoot. They maintained personal contact with the earth. Jesus said that even though we were not of the world we are in it and though we are cleansed by the redemptive work we will need to wash our feet from worldly defilement frequently.
The priests first act every day was to go to the Laver. Before he could minister to the people or minister to God he needed a cleansing and a refreshing from sleep. The Word of God must have this place in the life of the believer. It will refresh him and awaken him to his responsibilities to God and man.
No Holiness No happiness No Effectiveness in ministry for God.
Abiding in Him, not our strength is vital for ministry.
Although our sins are forever forgiven as a result of the sacrificial work of Christ (pictured in the brazen altar), we need daily cleansing (pictured by the laver) from the defiling effects of sin. In our everyday lives, the dust and dirt of this ungodly world "rubs off" on us. Every day we become defiled by sin--sometimes without realizing it, because we have become so desensitized to what sin really is! Think about it--do I recognize it's sin when my rushed lifestyle makes me angry at a slow driver, or impatient with my family? Do I recognize that it's my worldly values that make me "covet" my friends' homes or gardens or cars or sports equipment? Am I discontented (a sin!) with where God has placed me? Do I selfishly insist on "doing it my way" in my family or church life? Is there unrecognized spiritual pride in my life? Has Satan subtly convinced me that I'm slightly superior to other believers in my doctrine or my church or my lifestyle?!
Ex 38:8 He made the bronze basin and its stand from the [bronze]mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
James 1:23 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror; 24 for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts—this person will be blessed in what he does.
Sin in the life, no communion with God.He died to make us clean He lives to keep us clean.
Psa 51: Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. 2 Wash away my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. 5 Indeed, I was guilty [when I] was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. 9 Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. 10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit.
“Jesus is the way to heaven. Jesus died for all so all can go to heaven. “
“Well that might not be exactly right. It might be a bit narrower than that!”
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
“Christ died for the Church!”
“Oh.. so I better go to church to get to heaven?”
“Well you better enter the church.
But the entrance isn’t in Laman street. It s not our front door. Its not in Hunter street. Its not the front door to the Sacred heart Cathedral. Its not in Church street. Its not the front door to the Anglican cathedral.”
Cyprian an early bishop said that "You cannot have God as your Father unless you have the church for your mother."
“The front door of the church is by being born again.”
Washing of water with the Word.
A picture of the laver at the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.
The Laver consisted of a brazen circular basin filled with water which was fitted to a brazen pedestal or base to comprise one piece of furniture. No measurements are given. The Laver was constructed from the looking glasses or mirrors, of the women in the Camp of Israel who spent a great deal of their time fasting and praying at the door of the Tabernacle. Ex. 38:8. (Septuagint)
Description of the Laver Ex 38:8 Moreover, he made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
It was Necessary for the person to be washed all over before they entered the Presence Of God.Ex 40:12 "Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.13 "You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me.14 "You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them; 15 and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations."
As indicated by its name it was designed for washing and cleansing. The priests were commanded to wash their hands and feet every time they went to minister at the Brazen Altar or the Holy Places. It was only for the priests, no other Israelite was allowed. The washing was specifically a preparation for coming into the presence of God. There is a deeper responsibility and relationship required of those who press further into God's presence.
“Washed” a symbol of regeneration /new birth.
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
It happens through the instrumentality of the Word of God1 Peter 1: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower drops off, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached as the gospel to you.
James 1:18 By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures.
James 1:18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. NASB
It was necessary to be cleansed by all over by washing just once.
But then it was necessary every day to cleanse the hands and cleanse the feet.
Ex 40:30 He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 31 From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Washing the hands is something we now take for granted.
Long before the germ theory was established as fact by the work of Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) of Vienna was able to suggest the contagious nature of infections in women who had just given birth. Semmelweis observed that when his resident physicians and students washed their hands with soap and water before each examination of a new mother there was a dramatic decline in the infection rate on the ward.
Dr Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis of Vienna recognised the value of clinicians washing their hands in 1847. Dr Semmelweis, as a medical student, worked on a study in a hospital ward where physician-attended births had a mortality rate as high as 31%. This mortality rate contrasted sharply with the low mortality rate in the midwives' ward that was located nearby. The doctors were coming from performing post mortums in the mortuary.
Dr Semmelweis reported to his physician associates an incredible idea – washing hands could save lives. His research showed that pregnant women often developed fatal infections following hospital births – when treated by doctors with unwashed hands. However, mothers who were treated by doctors that scrubbed their hands thoroughly with soap and water before being examined and treated rarely developed the same type of fatal infections.
Were his peers excited about the research and willing to change their bad habits to save their patient's lives? Unfortunately, his peers thought he was crazy and forced him out. It would be years before washing hands was adopted as a standard practice amongst clinicians. However, handwashing did finally catch on. Most clinicians adopted hand washing and infection rates came down.
But in the Old Testament world, although dangers of infection through transmission of germs were unknown, the Lord had directed the people of Israel to several safe practices.
Once having been cleansed it is never to be repeated. Once saved always saved.
We are instantaneously positionally sanctified.
Once having been cleansed, a daily washing of hands and feet were necessary. We are to bepractically sanctified daily.
This makes sense of Jesus’ statements in John 13: So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. 5 Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t understand now, but afterwards you will know.” 8 “You will never wash my feet—ever!” Peter said. Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 “One who has bathed,” Jesus told him, “doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him. This is why He said, “You are not all clean.”
The priests were involved in a demanding and dirty work. Even spiritual work will often produce a certain 'amount of a defilement. working for God will expose our motives, energies and ambitions. The burden of the people, their depressions and defilements etc. need to be cleansed away from us by the refreshing word.
Moses and the priests were barefoot. They maintained personal contact with the earth. Jesus said that even though we were not of the world we are in it and though we are cleansed by the redemptive work we will need to wash our feet from worldly defilement frequently.
The priests first act every day was to go to the Laver. Before he could minister to the people or minister to God he needed a cleansing and a refreshing from sleep. The Word of God must have this place in the life of the believer. It will refresh him and awaken him to his responsibilities to God and man.
No Holiness No happiness No Effectiveness in ministry for God.
Abiding in Him, not our strength is vital for ministry.
Although our sins are forever forgiven as a result of the sacrificial work of Christ (pictured in the brazen altar), we need daily cleansing (pictured by the laver) from the defiling effects of sin. In our everyday lives, the dust and dirt of this ungodly world "rubs off" on us. Every day we become defiled by sin--sometimes without realizing it, because we have become so desensitized to what sin really is! Think about it--do I recognize it's sin when my rushed lifestyle makes me angry at a slow driver, or impatient with my family? Do I recognize that it's my worldly values that make me "covet" my friends' homes or gardens or cars or sports equipment? Am I discontented (a sin!) with where God has placed me? Do I selfishly insist on "doing it my way" in my family or church life? Is there unrecognized spiritual pride in my life? Has Satan subtly convinced me that I'm slightly superior to other believers in my doctrine or my church or my lifestyle?!
Ex 38:8 He made the bronze basin and its stand from the [bronze]mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
James 1:23 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror; 24 for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts—this person will be blessed in what he does.
Sin in the life, no communion with God.He died to make us clean He lives to keep us clean.
Psa 51: Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. 2 Wash away my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. 5 Indeed, I was guilty [when I] was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. 9 Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. 10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 10:55 AM
Sunday, May 27, 2007
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HEAVEN
Former British prime minister Lloyd George once said: "When I was a boy the thought of heaven used to frighten me more than the thought of hell. I pictured heaven as a place where time would be perpetual Sundays, with perpetual services from which there would be no break. It was a horrible nightmare and made me an atheist for ten years."
I have a friend in Sydney who is fairly high up in AMP. Did you know that the AMP was formed by a Christian? David Short’s great great grandfather. A congregationalist. AMP stands for Australian ..what? Mutual Provident society. It was a mutual society.> people put money in and get interest. It builds great buildings. Its purpose was to be a savings society to help people who were unemployed ina time when there was no dole for the unemployed. I asked an executive of a great mutual company I said to him, “Who is it that would own the great, vast, extensive investments of this mutual company?” And, he said, “Well, actually the last living survivor.” This company AMP has billions and billions of assets. And, the man that will own it all would be the last living survivor.
And, I could just picture that man. He has come into the inheritance and into the possession of all of those vast assets. So, he walks around our great cities and these tall skyscrapers around our church. They belong to him. And, these great railroad systems, they belong to him. And, those vast real estate possessions, they're all his. And, he walks around and looks at them. He's by himself. There's nobody with him. There's nobody in the streets and nobody in the house and nobody in the home. What a poor and poverty- stricken prospect!
We are social creatures, being together. And, what we are here, we're there. We are social creatures there.
I. WILL WE KNOW EACH OTHER IN HEAVEN? REUNION
Compare: A baby is born in the home.
The grandmother dies - she is expecting to see a baby in heaven.
A little brother dies - he is expecting to see a baby in heaven.
Years pass, the mother dies - she is expecting to see a youth in heaven.
Years pass, the wife dies - she is expecting to see a husband in heaven.
Years pass, a grandchild dies - he is expecting to see a grandfather in heaven.
1. The answer, each will know by intuitive knowledge who the heavenly arrival is:
Intuitive knowledge: Luke 9:31 Moses and Elijah know Peter, James and John on Mt. of Transfiguration.
Matthew 8:11 “Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” How do they known Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
I Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
We shall not know less of each other in heaven than we know here. In fact we shall not really know the full circumference and parameter of life till we get there.
Revelation 3:5 “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confirm his name before My Father, and before His angels.”
We shall possess our individual names in heaven; we shall be known by our names - you, you, we, we. Personality exists beyond the grave.
Including our children that die in infancy.
2 Sam 11:15-23 The Lord struck the baby that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went [home], and spent the night lying on the ground.
17 The elders of his house stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them. 18 On the seventh day the baby died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him the baby was dead. They said, “Look, while the baby was alive, we spoke to him, and he wouldn’t listen to us. So how can we tell him the baby is dead? He may do something desperate.”
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering to each other, he guessed that the baby was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the baby dead?” “He is dead,” they replied. 20 Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the Lord’s house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested [something to eat]. So they served him food, and he ate.
21 His servants asked him, “What did you just do? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.” 22 He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let him live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”
Baptists, unlike many pedo Baptists believe there is an age of accountability, before children are held accountable for their sins. Their sinfulness is covered by the atoning death of the Lord Jesus until that time. Likewise it may be true that some never reach that age of accountability due to various forms of illness. These are special people who go to be with the Lord, because they are limited and cannot turn to Jesus as Saviour because of physical limitations.
2. In heaven, we shall have a knowledge of what is developing on earth.
Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
The passage certainly does not deny the thought that the saints in heaven look down upon us.
I Samuel 28:16-18 Samuel in the other world knew what was developing about King Saul and Israel in this world.
Luke 15:7 “I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over a sinner that repenteth.”
Who are these rejoicing over in the presence of the angels in heaven? The redeemed saints in heaven.
Luke 16:23 The rich man died “and in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.”
:27,28 “I pray then therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my fathers’ house for I have five brothers, lest they also come to this place of torment.” He knows his five brothers are still lost.
Revelation 6:9,10 “And when he had opened the fifth seal. I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God; and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, dost thou not judge them that dwell on the earth?”
They know what is happening on the earth, and follow it with intense interest.
3. If our loved ones do not arrive in heaven will we know? How can we be happy if someone dear to us in this life dies without Christ? They will not be remembered. They will be as if they never lived. There is no life or existence outside Christ.
Deuteronomy 25:19 “Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
Psalm 9:5 “Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast put out their name, forever and ever.”
Psalm 69:28 “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living.”
Psalm 109:13 “Let their name be blotted out.”
4. If a man had two wives on earth, or a woman had two husbands on earth, in heaven will he have both wives or she both husbands?
This question was asked of the Lord Jesus by the Sadduces in their scorn for the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. In Matthew 22:23-30 they used the law of the Levirite marriage which the next male relative of a man who died was required to marry the widow to raise up children to the divorced. In the instance the widow had seven different brothers as her husbands. Matthew 22:28.
“Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her.”
The answer of Jesus, Matthew 22:30, “In the resurrection they neither marry, or are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”
Angels do not have sex. They are persons but not sexes. Angels do not procreate. Angels do not share special intimacy. Nor shall we in heaven.
That alone, sexual intimacy, is taken away.
Is sexual intimacy necessary for our knowledge of and enjoyment of each other?
I loved my mother with no thought of sexual intimacy.
I loved my father with no thought of sexual intimacy.
It won’t be necessary then. There will be intimacy without sexuality.
II. WILL WE SEE JESUS IN HEAVEN? REJOICING 1. Yes. There is one God and only one. We shall not see three Gods in heaven.
The only God there is, is God. Deuteronomy 6:4 the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” The only God we shall feel is the Holy Spirit. Being “filled with the Holy Sprit” we shall experience Christ living in us.
The only God we shall ever see is Jesus. John 14:8 “He that hath seen Me hath see the Father.”
2. Will He have the nail scars in His hands?
Yes. Luke 24:39 “Behold, My hands and My feet that it is I myself.”
:40 “And He showed them His hands and His feet.”
John 20:25 “We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, except I shall see in His hands the prints of nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hands into His side, I will not believe.”
:27 “Then He saith to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger and behold My hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into My side, and be not faithless but believing.”
:28 “And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and My God.”
I AM HAPPY IN HIM
My soul is so happy in Jesus For He is so precious to me.
His voice, it is music to hear it, His face, it is heaven to see.
His love and His mercy surround me, His grace like a river doth flow,
His Spirit to guide and to comfort Is with me wherever I go.
They say, I shall someday be like Him, My cross and my burden lay down,
Till then, I shall ever be faithful In gathering gems for His crown.
For I am happy in Him My soul with delight He fills day and night For I am happy in Him.
III. CAN YOU EAT ALL YOU WANT IN HEAVEN AND NOT GET FATYes. Jesus ate. Luke 24:41-43 “Jesus said, Have ye here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb, and He took it and did eat before them.”
Revelation 19:9 “As he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Revelation 22:2 “In the midst of the street of it, was there the tree of life which bore twelve manner of fruits and yielded her fruit every month.”
This brings to mind the miracle of assimilation. You are what you eat. Dead, inanimate matter by a miracle of assimilation becomes live stuff, becomes us!
IV. QUESTIONS ABOUT GOING TO HEAVEN
1. Will angels escort us to heaven?
Yes. Luke 16:22 “And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.”
2. Will we go to heaven when we die or to an intermediate state?
We go to our intermediate state when we die, called, Paradise, waiting for the resurrection of our bodies. But Paul in I Corinthians 12:2,4 used the word “Paradise” for “Heaven”. Where Jesus is will be heaven enough.
3. Do people who commit suicide go to heaven?
Yes. If they are saved. Some strugglewith bipolar depression. This is a physical illness. Some famous bipolars have been wonderful Christian people. William Cowper wrote “there is a fountain filleed with blood flowing from Emmanuel’s veins, and sinners washed beneath the flood lose all they guilty stains. He ahd numerous suicide attempts before he was successful. Bipolar illness is a ohysical illness. Thankfully now there is mediation to help. And if you are struggling with bipolar disorder I would encourage you strongly to keep taking any medication the doctor prescribes you. Its there to help.
We can be sick in any part of our living existence head, heart, feet, hand, torso. We can also be sick in our mind, in our soul. Does God hate us because we are sick? Disown us?
Jesus is the Great Physician.
4. Will animals go to heaven?
The Garden of Eden was filled with animals. The Millennium is described as being at peace with the whole animal world. Isaiah 11:6-9 “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion together.” Romans 8:19-23 Avows to deliverance of the whole creation. Your beloved pet will be there also.
V. WHY DO I FEAR DEATH AND GOING TO HEAVEN?
"They advertised a dramatic innovation in burial services. For about $4,000 they would cremate your body, put it into a small rocket, and fire it into orbit! It was guaranteed to circle the earth for 2,300 years! Isn't that wonderful? Think about having your ashes in orbit for 2,300 years. Part of the pitch is that you are guaranteed to get up there. The problem, of course, is that heaven isn't up there and that happiness isn't up there at all. Perhaps, one of the selling points of the new idea would be that on a clear night people could come out, look up at the heavens and watch you go by. I am sure that someone will even put identifying blinking lights on the satellites so that people can say, `There goes George! There is Mary! There is Bill! They are all up there with their friends.' "They advertised a dramatic innovation in burial services. For about $4,000 they would cremate your body, put it into a small rocket, and fire it into orbit! It was guaranteed to circle the earth for 2,300 years! Isn't that wonderful? Think about having your ashes in orbit for 2,300 years. Part of the pitch is that you are guaranteed to get up there. The problem, of course, is that heaven isn't up there and that happiness isn't up there at all. Perhaps, one of the selling points of the new idea would be that on a clear night people could come out, look up at the heavens and watch you go by. I am sure that someone will even put identifying blinking lights on the satellites so that people can say, `There goes George! There is Mary! There is Bill! They are all up there with their friends.'
Scotty from Star trek recently died. They cremated him and sent him to go where no man has gone before. They hoped to send him to heaven. Beaming Scotty up won’t work. Of course, it is ridiculous."
There is only one way fo a person to get to heaven.
The Lord Jesus said John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
God ahs provided the way to get you to heaven. It’s through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He that blotted out thy transgressions for My own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
Isaiah 44:22 “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins, for I have redeemed thee.”
Glory, I’m saved. Glory, I’m saved. My sins are all pardoned. My guilt is all gone.
Glory, I’m saved. Glory, I’m saved. Saved by the blood of the Crucified one.
There is life for a look at the Crucified one. There is life at this moment for thee.
Then look, sinner, look unto Him and be saved, Unto Him Who was nailed to the tree.
I have a friend in Sydney who is fairly high up in AMP. Did you know that the AMP was formed by a Christian? David Short’s great great grandfather. A congregationalist. AMP stands for Australian ..what? Mutual Provident society. It was a mutual society.> people put money in and get interest. It builds great buildings. Its purpose was to be a savings society to help people who were unemployed ina time when there was no dole for the unemployed. I asked an executive of a great mutual company I said to him, “Who is it that would own the great, vast, extensive investments of this mutual company?” And, he said, “Well, actually the last living survivor.” This company AMP has billions and billions of assets. And, the man that will own it all would be the last living survivor.
And, I could just picture that man. He has come into the inheritance and into the possession of all of those vast assets. So, he walks around our great cities and these tall skyscrapers around our church. They belong to him. And, these great railroad systems, they belong to him. And, those vast real estate possessions, they're all his. And, he walks around and looks at them. He's by himself. There's nobody with him. There's nobody in the streets and nobody in the house and nobody in the home. What a poor and poverty- stricken prospect!
We are social creatures, being together. And, what we are here, we're there. We are social creatures there.
I. WILL WE KNOW EACH OTHER IN HEAVEN? REUNION
Compare: A baby is born in the home.
The grandmother dies - she is expecting to see a baby in heaven.
A little brother dies - he is expecting to see a baby in heaven.
Years pass, the mother dies - she is expecting to see a youth in heaven.
Years pass, the wife dies - she is expecting to see a husband in heaven.
Years pass, a grandchild dies - he is expecting to see a grandfather in heaven.
1. The answer, each will know by intuitive knowledge who the heavenly arrival is:
Intuitive knowledge: Luke 9:31 Moses and Elijah know Peter, James and John on Mt. of Transfiguration.
Matthew 8:11 “Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” How do they known Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
I Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
We shall not know less of each other in heaven than we know here. In fact we shall not really know the full circumference and parameter of life till we get there.
Revelation 3:5 “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confirm his name before My Father, and before His angels.”
We shall possess our individual names in heaven; we shall be known by our names - you, you, we, we. Personality exists beyond the grave.
Including our children that die in infancy.
2 Sam 11:15-23 The Lord struck the baby that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went [home], and spent the night lying on the ground.
17 The elders of his house stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them. 18 On the seventh day the baby died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him the baby was dead. They said, “Look, while the baby was alive, we spoke to him, and he wouldn’t listen to us. So how can we tell him the baby is dead? He may do something desperate.”
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering to each other, he guessed that the baby was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the baby dead?” “He is dead,” they replied. 20 Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the Lord’s house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested [something to eat]. So they served him food, and he ate.
21 His servants asked him, “What did you just do? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.” 22 He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let him live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”
Baptists, unlike many pedo Baptists believe there is an age of accountability, before children are held accountable for their sins. Their sinfulness is covered by the atoning death of the Lord Jesus until that time. Likewise it may be true that some never reach that age of accountability due to various forms of illness. These are special people who go to be with the Lord, because they are limited and cannot turn to Jesus as Saviour because of physical limitations.
2. In heaven, we shall have a knowledge of what is developing on earth.
Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
The passage certainly does not deny the thought that the saints in heaven look down upon us.
I Samuel 28:16-18 Samuel in the other world knew what was developing about King Saul and Israel in this world.
Luke 15:7 “I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over a sinner that repenteth.”
Who are these rejoicing over in the presence of the angels in heaven? The redeemed saints in heaven.
Luke 16:23 The rich man died “and in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.”
:27,28 “I pray then therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my fathers’ house for I have five brothers, lest they also come to this place of torment.” He knows his five brothers are still lost.
Revelation 6:9,10 “And when he had opened the fifth seal. I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God; and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, dost thou not judge them that dwell on the earth?”
They know what is happening on the earth, and follow it with intense interest.
3. If our loved ones do not arrive in heaven will we know? How can we be happy if someone dear to us in this life dies without Christ? They will not be remembered. They will be as if they never lived. There is no life or existence outside Christ.
Deuteronomy 25:19 “Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
Psalm 9:5 “Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast put out their name, forever and ever.”
Psalm 69:28 “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living.”
Psalm 109:13 “Let their name be blotted out.”
4. If a man had two wives on earth, or a woman had two husbands on earth, in heaven will he have both wives or she both husbands?
This question was asked of the Lord Jesus by the Sadduces in their scorn for the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. In Matthew 22:23-30 they used the law of the Levirite marriage which the next male relative of a man who died was required to marry the widow to raise up children to the divorced. In the instance the widow had seven different brothers as her husbands. Matthew 22:28.
“Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her.”
The answer of Jesus, Matthew 22:30, “In the resurrection they neither marry, or are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”
Angels do not have sex. They are persons but not sexes. Angels do not procreate. Angels do not share special intimacy. Nor shall we in heaven.
That alone, sexual intimacy, is taken away.
Is sexual intimacy necessary for our knowledge of and enjoyment of each other?
I loved my mother with no thought of sexual intimacy.
I loved my father with no thought of sexual intimacy.
It won’t be necessary then. There will be intimacy without sexuality.
II. WILL WE SEE JESUS IN HEAVEN? REJOICING 1. Yes. There is one God and only one. We shall not see three Gods in heaven.
The only God there is, is God. Deuteronomy 6:4 the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” The only God we shall feel is the Holy Spirit. Being “filled with the Holy Sprit” we shall experience Christ living in us.
The only God we shall ever see is Jesus. John 14:8 “He that hath seen Me hath see the Father.”
2. Will He have the nail scars in His hands?
Yes. Luke 24:39 “Behold, My hands and My feet that it is I myself.”
:40 “And He showed them His hands and His feet.”
John 20:25 “We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, except I shall see in His hands the prints of nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hands into His side, I will not believe.”
:27 “Then He saith to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger and behold My hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into My side, and be not faithless but believing.”
:28 “And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and My God.”
I AM HAPPY IN HIM
My soul is so happy in Jesus For He is so precious to me.
His voice, it is music to hear it, His face, it is heaven to see.
His love and His mercy surround me, His grace like a river doth flow,
His Spirit to guide and to comfort Is with me wherever I go.
They say, I shall someday be like Him, My cross and my burden lay down,
Till then, I shall ever be faithful In gathering gems for His crown.
For I am happy in Him My soul with delight He fills day and night For I am happy in Him.
III. CAN YOU EAT ALL YOU WANT IN HEAVEN AND NOT GET FATYes. Jesus ate. Luke 24:41-43 “Jesus said, Have ye here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb, and He took it and did eat before them.”
Revelation 19:9 “As he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Revelation 22:2 “In the midst of the street of it, was there the tree of life which bore twelve manner of fruits and yielded her fruit every month.”
This brings to mind the miracle of assimilation. You are what you eat. Dead, inanimate matter by a miracle of assimilation becomes live stuff, becomes us!
IV. QUESTIONS ABOUT GOING TO HEAVEN
1. Will angels escort us to heaven?
Yes. Luke 16:22 “And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.”
2. Will we go to heaven when we die or to an intermediate state?
We go to our intermediate state when we die, called, Paradise, waiting for the resurrection of our bodies. But Paul in I Corinthians 12:2,4 used the word “Paradise” for “Heaven”. Where Jesus is will be heaven enough.
3. Do people who commit suicide go to heaven?
Yes. If they are saved. Some strugglewith bipolar depression. This is a physical illness. Some famous bipolars have been wonderful Christian people. William Cowper wrote “there is a fountain filleed with blood flowing from Emmanuel’s veins, and sinners washed beneath the flood lose all they guilty stains. He ahd numerous suicide attempts before he was successful. Bipolar illness is a ohysical illness. Thankfully now there is mediation to help. And if you are struggling with bipolar disorder I would encourage you strongly to keep taking any medication the doctor prescribes you. Its there to help.
We can be sick in any part of our living existence head, heart, feet, hand, torso. We can also be sick in our mind, in our soul. Does God hate us because we are sick? Disown us?
Jesus is the Great Physician.
4. Will animals go to heaven?
The Garden of Eden was filled with animals. The Millennium is described as being at peace with the whole animal world. Isaiah 11:6-9 “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion together.” Romans 8:19-23 Avows to deliverance of the whole creation. Your beloved pet will be there also.
V. WHY DO I FEAR DEATH AND GOING TO HEAVEN?
"They advertised a dramatic innovation in burial services. For about $4,000 they would cremate your body, put it into a small rocket, and fire it into orbit! It was guaranteed to circle the earth for 2,300 years! Isn't that wonderful? Think about having your ashes in orbit for 2,300 years. Part of the pitch is that you are guaranteed to get up there. The problem, of course, is that heaven isn't up there and that happiness isn't up there at all. Perhaps, one of the selling points of the new idea would be that on a clear night people could come out, look up at the heavens and watch you go by. I am sure that someone will even put identifying blinking lights on the satellites so that people can say, `There goes George! There is Mary! There is Bill! They are all up there with their friends.' "They advertised a dramatic innovation in burial services. For about $4,000 they would cremate your body, put it into a small rocket, and fire it into orbit! It was guaranteed to circle the earth for 2,300 years! Isn't that wonderful? Think about having your ashes in orbit for 2,300 years. Part of the pitch is that you are guaranteed to get up there. The problem, of course, is that heaven isn't up there and that happiness isn't up there at all. Perhaps, one of the selling points of the new idea would be that on a clear night people could come out, look up at the heavens and watch you go by. I am sure that someone will even put identifying blinking lights on the satellites so that people can say, `There goes George! There is Mary! There is Bill! They are all up there with their friends.'
Scotty from Star trek recently died. They cremated him and sent him to go where no man has gone before. They hoped to send him to heaven. Beaming Scotty up won’t work. Of course, it is ridiculous."
There is only one way fo a person to get to heaven.
The Lord Jesus said John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
God ahs provided the way to get you to heaven. It’s through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He that blotted out thy transgressions for My own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
Isaiah 44:22 “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins, for I have redeemed thee.”
Glory, I’m saved. Glory, I’m saved. My sins are all pardoned. My guilt is all gone.
Glory, I’m saved. Glory, I’m saved. Saved by the blood of the Crucified one.
There is life for a look at the Crucified one. There is life at this moment for thee.
Then look, sinner, look unto Him and be saved, Unto Him Who was nailed to the tree.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 2:35 PM
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Propositional Revelation And Relationship With God
**The link on the title above references D B Knox's article on Propositional Revelation
The use of particular terminology in any given field is meant to clarify rather than obscure. Terms are only useful as far as they communicate accurately the concepts they signify. When, owing to shifts in culture or context, terminology becomes confusing, then people need to be reminded of what those terms meant in their original historical and theological context.
Speaking of the term "Propositional Revelation" Dr.Muriel Porter spoke of Broughton Knox, "who developed this notion of propositional revelation, that we only know about God and can know God through our rational minds, and that anything else, from ritual, music in some aspects, ceremonials, ceremonial dress, any of those sort of things, even a cross inside a church building, is a distraction, it’s an inferior form of revelation, if you like, it’s a distraction from that pure mental rational understanding of who God is."
DB Knox Principal of Moore theological college found himself combatting a view of Scripture that presented the Scriptures as not the word of God but as reflections on the deeds of God in which he reveals himself.
That is, the Bible itself is not inspired, it is just a record of inspiring acts of God, recorded by errant men.
The denial of “propositional revelation” is the denial that God reveals himself to men through the medium of words, that is to say, through meaningful statements and concepts expressed in words, for such is the only sense that can be given to the word “propositional” in this phrase. (The Collected Works of DB Knox 1.308).
Words written meaningfully are, of course, propositions. (CW of DBK 1.309)
A monograph on the Doctrine of Revelation written by PF Jensen continues the use of the term “propositional revelation” on p.87ff, “Christian revelation is basically verbal”, in that it conveys both relationship and information. In no way is this idea intended to surpass the affective or aesthetic dimension in the texts of scripture, but it does convey the same idea, that God has spoken by the Word of God. The meaning of different passages is not changebale as to how I may or may not feel about a text at the the time. The meaning of the passage is in the text.
The text has a meaning and that meaning is apparent. Now that meaning might not be fully apparent, but the text itself carries intrinsic meaning.
Some holding to a theory of Dynamic inspiration say that the text itself has no intrinsic meaning: it has meaning as we read it, and the meaning of a text will vary from person to person according to how the Spirit inspires them to understand it.
Revelation is a divine activity, "God . . . hath . . . spoken". (Heb. 1:1,2). It was a verbal ("hath spoken") and cumulative ("by the prophets . . . by his Son"). Revelation is not, therefore, a human flash of insight or the emergence of a bright idea.
The bottom line for believers is that God has spoken in His Word, and He spoke to be understood. His Word has the meaning that He intended for it to have when it was written.
Carl Henry, in God, Revelation and Authority argued vigorously that propositional revelation was essential: "it is the nonetheless wholey necesssary to insist that divine disclosure does indeed take propositional form.. that divine disclosure is cognitive and intelligible.. is intrinsic to Judeao Christian revelation." GRA v.3 pg 481
Carl Henry uses this term synonymously with Henry's entire discussion of verbal revelation which he repeatedly declares to be fully intelligible, precise, factual, conceptual, cognitive, rational, valid and literally true (1:68,69) "God's revelation is rational and objectively true" (3:455)
In the Journal of JETS 46/2 (June 2003) 269–98
IS PROPOSITIONAL REVELATION ESSENTIAL TO EVANGELICAL SPIRITUAL FORMATION?
Gordon R. Lewis senior professor of theology and philosophy at Denver Seminary,
states in his conclusion
A resurgence of evangelical convictions began around the middle of the
twentieth century. In the early 1900s non-evangelicals had dominated most
of the large denominations, publications, schools and missions. Several evangelicals
with earned doctorates, like Gordon Clark, Carl Henry, Edward John
Carnell, and others answered the assumptions of the liberal critics and gave
sound reasons for holding to the truth of all that the Bible asserts. By December
28, 1949, sixty scholars from varied schools and affiliations formed
the Evangelical Theological Society. It included those who held that “The
Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety [including its explicit and implied
propositions] is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the
autographs.”53
Then came the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Christianity
Today, and many other publications. In 1974, at the International Congress
on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, Christian leaders
from 150 countries accepted “The Lausanne Covenant.” It affirmed “the divine
inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both the Old and New Testament
Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God, without
error in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.”54
From 1977–1987, the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy produced
some six scholarly books, numerous pamphlets, and the influential Chicago
Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.55
During the second half of the twentieth century, as a result of educated
confidence in the divine origin and authority of biblical assertions (and other
factors), another evangelical distinctive—evangelism—became more vibrant.
With new fervor, evangelicals reminded people of God and his moral principles
and called people to accept the gospel’s affirmations concerning the person
and work of Christ, repent of their sins, and trust the living Savior.
Globally, Billy Graham and others declared with conviction, “The Bible says.”
Countless people received Christ, youth and campus ministries flourished.
Evangelical colleges and seminaries grew. Missions agencies sent numerous
alumni to fields around the world. A plethora of evangelical magazines, journals,
and books flooded the market. To live and teach during the resurgence
of evangelicalism during the last half of the twentieth century has been exciting
indeed!
My eyes have seen, not only evangelicalism’s phenomenal recent rise,
but now the beginnings of its apparent demise. Some “evangelical” leaders
appear to be departing from a spirituality based on the universal veracity of
revealed ontological, moral, and historical propositions. In place of that firm
foundation, some leaders, authors, and publishers seem to prefer spiritualities
based on feelings, social activism, mystical experiences, personal encounters,
and interpreters of communal experiences.
I pray that the Holy Spirit here and now will summon you, enduring
reader, to rededicate yourself to defending two primary evangelical distinctives:
(1) Believe divinely revealed propositional truths and trust and obey
the Lord of all; (2) be ready to pray, preach, or die to evangelize the world
with objective truth. Whatever people’s felt need, their most profound need
is for divine mercy and grace. Deliver the divine indictment. Call them to
repent of their sin and trust the Jesus of history as both Messiah and Lord.
When facing the threats of terrorists, remember that though “Heaven and
earth will pass away,” Jesus promised [the propositional meaning of ] “my
words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31).
How Does Propositional Revelation Become Relevant?
Dr. Danny Akin discribes the process of taing the inerrant Word of God, and making it relevant today:
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable... for doctrine
for reproof
for correction
for instruction in righteousness:
“THAT the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
This means that the purpose of the Bible is life change. Specifically,
to change our character (perfect, mature, complete)
to change our conduct (good works)
to change our convictions
“The Word of God is not to teach us to prattle or be eloquent and subtle... It is to reform our lives, so that we desire to serve God, to give ourselves entirely to him, and to conform ourselves to his good will.”
- John Calvin
“The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives.” - D.L. Moody
Implication: If I intend to be a biblical preacher, my messages must always be life oriented not just knowledge oriented, application oriented not just information oriented.
The challenge of preaching:
To declare eternal truths that never change and apply them in a world that is always changing.
“If you preach the Gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your times - you are not preaching all the Gospel.” - Martin Luther
Four stages of bridge-building
1. Study the text. (Exegesis: Investigation, Observation and Interpretation) What does it mean?
2. Find the timeless truth. (Implication: Universal Principle) *Ask: What response is called for by this text?
3. Think of your audience, (Contextualization) their needs, their hurts, sins, pains, etc.
6 things I know about every audience:
Everybody wants to be loved.
Everybody wants their life to count (meaning, purpose, significance.)
No matter how wealthy or successful life is empty without Christ.
Many of these people are carrying a load of guilt.
Many are consumed with bitterness (from past offenses.)
There is a universal fear of death.
4. Apply the truth to their need. (Personalization)
The quest for relationship with God and communication that connects begins with the unchanging truth (propositional revelation) of God's Word.
Understanding God's Word is central to lifechanging preaching.
“The essential secret is not mastering certain techniques but being mastered by certain convictions. In other words, theology is more important than methodology... Technique can only make us orators; if we want to be preachers, theology is what we need.” -(John Stott, Between Two Worlds, 93.)
“…the church that does not take theology seriously is unwittingly encouraging understandings of the faith that are warped or unbalanced.” -(Donald Bloesch, Crumbling Foundations: Death and Rebirth in an Age of Upheaval, 107.)
The use of particular terminology in any given field is meant to clarify rather than obscure. Terms are only useful as far as they communicate accurately the concepts they signify. When, owing to shifts in culture or context, terminology becomes confusing, then people need to be reminded of what those terms meant in their original historical and theological context.
Speaking of the term "Propositional Revelation" Dr.Muriel Porter spoke of Broughton Knox, "who developed this notion of propositional revelation, that we only know about God and can know God through our rational minds, and that anything else, from ritual, music in some aspects, ceremonials, ceremonial dress, any of those sort of things, even a cross inside a church building, is a distraction, it’s an inferior form of revelation, if you like, it’s a distraction from that pure mental rational understanding of who God is."
DB Knox Principal of Moore theological college found himself combatting a view of Scripture that presented the Scriptures as not the word of God but as reflections on the deeds of God in which he reveals himself.
That is, the Bible itself is not inspired, it is just a record of inspiring acts of God, recorded by errant men.
The denial of “propositional revelation” is the denial that God reveals himself to men through the medium of words, that is to say, through meaningful statements and concepts expressed in words, for such is the only sense that can be given to the word “propositional” in this phrase. (The Collected Works of DB Knox 1.308).
Words written meaningfully are, of course, propositions. (CW of DBK 1.309)
A monograph on the Doctrine of Revelation written by PF Jensen continues the use of the term “propositional revelation” on p.87ff, “Christian revelation is basically verbal”, in that it conveys both relationship and information. In no way is this idea intended to surpass the affective or aesthetic dimension in the texts of scripture, but it does convey the same idea, that God has spoken by the Word of God. The meaning of different passages is not changebale as to how I may or may not feel about a text at the the time. The meaning of the passage is in the text.
The text has a meaning and that meaning is apparent. Now that meaning might not be fully apparent, but the text itself carries intrinsic meaning.
Some holding to a theory of Dynamic inspiration say that the text itself has no intrinsic meaning: it has meaning as we read it, and the meaning of a text will vary from person to person according to how the Spirit inspires them to understand it.
Revelation is a divine activity, "God . . . hath . . . spoken". (Heb. 1:1,2). It was a verbal ("hath spoken") and cumulative ("by the prophets . . . by his Son"). Revelation is not, therefore, a human flash of insight or the emergence of a bright idea.
The bottom line for believers is that God has spoken in His Word, and He spoke to be understood. His Word has the meaning that He intended for it to have when it was written.
Carl Henry, in God, Revelation and Authority argued vigorously that propositional revelation was essential: "it is the nonetheless wholey necesssary to insist that divine disclosure does indeed take propositional form.. that divine disclosure is cognitive and intelligible.. is intrinsic to Judeao Christian revelation." GRA v.3 pg 481
Carl Henry uses this term synonymously with Henry's entire discussion of verbal revelation which he repeatedly declares to be fully intelligible, precise, factual, conceptual, cognitive, rational, valid and literally true (1:68,69) "God's revelation is rational and objectively true" (3:455)
In the Journal of JETS 46/2 (June 2003) 269–98
IS PROPOSITIONAL REVELATION ESSENTIAL TO EVANGELICAL SPIRITUAL FORMATION?
Gordon R. Lewis senior professor of theology and philosophy at Denver Seminary,
states in his conclusion
A resurgence of evangelical convictions began around the middle of the
twentieth century. In the early 1900s non-evangelicals had dominated most
of the large denominations, publications, schools and missions. Several evangelicals
with earned doctorates, like Gordon Clark, Carl Henry, Edward John
Carnell, and others answered the assumptions of the liberal critics and gave
sound reasons for holding to the truth of all that the Bible asserts. By December
28, 1949, sixty scholars from varied schools and affiliations formed
the Evangelical Theological Society. It included those who held that “The
Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety [including its explicit and implied
propositions] is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the
autographs.”53
Then came the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Christianity
Today, and many other publications. In 1974, at the International Congress
on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, Christian leaders
from 150 countries accepted “The Lausanne Covenant.” It affirmed “the divine
inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both the Old and New Testament
Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God, without
error in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.”54
From 1977–1987, the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy produced
some six scholarly books, numerous pamphlets, and the influential Chicago
Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.55
During the second half of the twentieth century, as a result of educated
confidence in the divine origin and authority of biblical assertions (and other
factors), another evangelical distinctive—evangelism—became more vibrant.
With new fervor, evangelicals reminded people of God and his moral principles
and called people to accept the gospel’s affirmations concerning the person
and work of Christ, repent of their sins, and trust the living Savior.
Globally, Billy Graham and others declared with conviction, “The Bible says.”
Countless people received Christ, youth and campus ministries flourished.
Evangelical colleges and seminaries grew. Missions agencies sent numerous
alumni to fields around the world. A plethora of evangelical magazines, journals,
and books flooded the market. To live and teach during the resurgence
of evangelicalism during the last half of the twentieth century has been exciting
indeed!
My eyes have seen, not only evangelicalism’s phenomenal recent rise,
but now the beginnings of its apparent demise. Some “evangelical” leaders
appear to be departing from a spirituality based on the universal veracity of
revealed ontological, moral, and historical propositions. In place of that firm
foundation, some leaders, authors, and publishers seem to prefer spiritualities
based on feelings, social activism, mystical experiences, personal encounters,
and interpreters of communal experiences.
I pray that the Holy Spirit here and now will summon you, enduring
reader, to rededicate yourself to defending two primary evangelical distinctives:
(1) Believe divinely revealed propositional truths and trust and obey
the Lord of all; (2) be ready to pray, preach, or die to evangelize the world
with objective truth. Whatever people’s felt need, their most profound need
is for divine mercy and grace. Deliver the divine indictment. Call them to
repent of their sin and trust the Jesus of history as both Messiah and Lord.
When facing the threats of terrorists, remember that though “Heaven and
earth will pass away,” Jesus promised [the propositional meaning of ] “my
words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31).
How Does Propositional Revelation Become Relevant?
Dr. Danny Akin discribes the process of taing the inerrant Word of God, and making it relevant today:
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable... for doctrine
for reproof
for correction
for instruction in righteousness:
“THAT the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
This means that the purpose of the Bible is life change. Specifically,
to change our character (perfect, mature, complete)
to change our conduct (good works)
to change our convictions
“The Word of God is not to teach us to prattle or be eloquent and subtle... It is to reform our lives, so that we desire to serve God, to give ourselves entirely to him, and to conform ourselves to his good will.”
- John Calvin
“The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives.” - D.L. Moody
Implication: If I intend to be a biblical preacher, my messages must always be life oriented not just knowledge oriented, application oriented not just information oriented.
The challenge of preaching:
To declare eternal truths that never change and apply them in a world that is always changing.
“If you preach the Gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your times - you are not preaching all the Gospel.” - Martin Luther
Four stages of bridge-building
1. Study the text. (Exegesis: Investigation, Observation and Interpretation) What does it mean?
2. Find the timeless truth. (Implication: Universal Principle) *Ask: What response is called for by this text?
3. Think of your audience, (Contextualization) their needs, their hurts, sins, pains, etc.
6 things I know about every audience:
Everybody wants to be loved.
Everybody wants their life to count (meaning, purpose, significance.)
No matter how wealthy or successful life is empty without Christ.
Many of these people are carrying a load of guilt.
Many are consumed with bitterness (from past offenses.)
There is a universal fear of death.
4. Apply the truth to their need. (Personalization)
The quest for relationship with God and communication that connects begins with the unchanging truth (propositional revelation) of God's Word.
Understanding God's Word is central to lifechanging preaching.
“The essential secret is not mastering certain techniques but being mastered by certain convictions. In other words, theology is more important than methodology... Technique can only make us orators; if we want to be preachers, theology is what we need.” -(John Stott, Between Two Worlds, 93.)
“…the church that does not take theology seriously is unwittingly encouraging understandings of the faith that are warped or unbalanced.” -(Donald Bloesch, Crumbling Foundations: Death and Rebirth in an Age of Upheaval, 107.)
# posted by Groseys messages @ 5:08 PM
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
More Bible Studies On the Book Of Zechariah.
Zechariah 7 Traditions and Traditionalism 1st of 4 Messages
Occurs midway, 2 years, into the temple rebuilding programme.
The Law of Moses only commanded one fast day, on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29-34). In addition to this day, during the exile the Jewish people instituted four more feasts to remember key dates in the tragic defeat of their nation. Here are the additional feasts:
17day/4month Mourning the capture of Jerusalem Jer 52:6-30
9/5 Burning of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple 2Kings 25:2-10
3/7 Assassination of Gedaliah and the massacre of 80 men Jer 4:1-10
10/10 Beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's siege against Jerusalem 2Kings 25:1
How long should we remember and mourn over our past? Should we do things to remember either our sin or the tragedies of the past?
"There is no need to observe the sad anniversaries of our sins and their accompanying punishment, if once we are assured of God's free forgiveness. When He forgives and restores, the need for dwelling on the bitter past is over . . Too many of us are always dwelling beside the graves of the dead past." (Meyer)
Hypocrisy in fasting is rebuked. (4-7) God's word through Zechariah rebuked the people of God for what their fasting had become - indulgent pity-parties instead of a time to genuinely seek God. Their lives were not right when they did eat and drink - that they did for themselves, not for the LORD. A few days of fasting every year could not make up for the rest of the year lived for yourselves. Zechariah wasn’t condemning traditional faster, just the notion that spirituality could be turned on and off at will.
(8-10) The conduct God desires.
(11-12) The rebellious reaction of God's people.
(13-14) God's judgment on their disobedience. Shrugging shoulder
Name some good traditions we have nationally.
Name some good traditions we have in church.
What is the danger in tradition?
Matthew 15:1-14
Form is not a problem formalism is.
Zechariah 8 The Promise of Covenant Blessings in The Millenium
Chapter 8 not only contains two major messages from the Lord (vv. 1-17, 18-23) but 10 minor messages, that make up the two major ones." Thus says the Lord" introduces each of these minor messages each of which contains a promise of future blessing for Israel. In ch. 7 Israel was to repent and live righteously after the punishment of her captivity; here in ch. 8 she is to repent and live righteously because of the promise of her future restoration. Of a total of 36 occurrences of 'YHWH of hosts' in Zechariah, 15 are in this one oracle, which shows us its impossibility without the direct intervention of the Lord.
1. What does the jealous nature of God (Ex. 20:5) mean for us today, negatively and positively?
2. One day Jerusalem would be called the City of Truth and Mount Zion the Holy Mount. Discuss the significance of this. Isaiah 2:1-5, Micah 4:1-7, Zech 14:16,21.
3. In the millennial kingdom there will be peace (Isa. 65:20-25). How should we regard world peace today?
4. Sovereignly the Lord promised to deliver His people from the distant places
in the world where He had scattered them and to bring them back to live in
Jerusalem (cf. Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 30:7-11; 31:7-8). Some organizations exist today to bring this about. To what extent should this be important for us today?
5. 'They will be my people, and I will be . . . their God' is covenant terminology, pertaining to intimate fellowship in a covenant relationship. How is this important for you today (Gen 17:7-8; Exod 6:7; 19:5-6; 2 Cor 6:16; Rev 21:3) ?
6. God has purposes in our afflictions and in our blessings (Zech 8:10-12). What are they?
One theological rationale for ethics, then, is awareness that God hates attitudes and actions contrary to his character. We are to love what God loves and hate what he hates.
Zechariah 9 The Coming Of The King
A. The Preparation For The King. Zech 9:8 I will set up camp at My house against an army, against those who march back and forth, and no oppressor will march against them again, for now I have seen with My own eyes.
Alexander the Great is predicted here. He destroyed Tyre Ezek 26:2 "Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, {now that} she is laid waste,'3 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4 'They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock. Ezek 26:7 For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry and a great army.
1. But he didn’t destroy Jerusalem. What does this tell us about Prophecy?
God’s purposes? 1Peter 1:20 Ephesians 1:11 Romans 8:28
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
2. Why was Alexander the Great’s conquest necessary to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ?
B. The Presentation of the King. Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Matt. 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-38.
In the ancient Near East rulers commonly rode donkeys if they came in peace (Judg. 5:10; 10:4; 12:14; 2Sam. 16:2; 1 Kings 1:32And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. 33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
But they rode horses into war.
3. How would the coming of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem in 33 AD be unlike the coming of Alexander the Great?
C. The Peace Of The King Zech 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
4. How will this eventuate at the Second Coming?
5. How will this eventuate practically for Israel at the Second Coming? (Zechariah 14)
6. Several passages speak of the Lord as being a refuge for His people. How do we find this working out in our own lives? Ps. 18:2; 31:3; 71:3; 91:2; 144:2; Jer. 16:19; Nah. 1:7
Occurs midway, 2 years, into the temple rebuilding programme.
The Law of Moses only commanded one fast day, on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29-34). In addition to this day, during the exile the Jewish people instituted four more feasts to remember key dates in the tragic defeat of their nation. Here are the additional feasts:
17day/4month Mourning the capture of Jerusalem Jer 52:6-30
9/5 Burning of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple 2Kings 25:2-10
3/7 Assassination of Gedaliah and the massacre of 80 men Jer 4:1-10
10/10 Beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's siege against Jerusalem 2Kings 25:1
How long should we remember and mourn over our past? Should we do things to remember either our sin or the tragedies of the past?
"There is no need to observe the sad anniversaries of our sins and their accompanying punishment, if once we are assured of God's free forgiveness. When He forgives and restores, the need for dwelling on the bitter past is over . . Too many of us are always dwelling beside the graves of the dead past." (Meyer)
Hypocrisy in fasting is rebuked. (4-7) God's word through Zechariah rebuked the people of God for what their fasting had become - indulgent pity-parties instead of a time to genuinely seek God. Their lives were not right when they did eat and drink - that they did for themselves, not for the LORD. A few days of fasting every year could not make up for the rest of the year lived for yourselves. Zechariah wasn’t condemning traditional faster, just the notion that spirituality could be turned on and off at will.
(8-10) The conduct God desires.
(11-12) The rebellious reaction of God's people.
(13-14) God's judgment on their disobedience. Shrugging shoulder
Name some good traditions we have nationally.
Name some good traditions we have in church.
What is the danger in tradition?
Matthew 15:1-14
Form is not a problem formalism is.
Zechariah 8 The Promise of Covenant Blessings in The Millenium
Chapter 8 not only contains two major messages from the Lord (vv. 1-17, 18-23) but 10 minor messages, that make up the two major ones." Thus says the Lord" introduces each of these minor messages each of which contains a promise of future blessing for Israel. In ch. 7 Israel was to repent and live righteously after the punishment of her captivity; here in ch. 8 she is to repent and live righteously because of the promise of her future restoration. Of a total of 36 occurrences of 'YHWH of hosts' in Zechariah, 15 are in this one oracle, which shows us its impossibility without the direct intervention of the Lord.
1. What does the jealous nature of God (Ex. 20:5) mean for us today, negatively and positively?
2. One day Jerusalem would be called the City of Truth and Mount Zion the Holy Mount. Discuss the significance of this. Isaiah 2:1-5, Micah 4:1-7, Zech 14:16,21.
3. In the millennial kingdom there will be peace (Isa. 65:20-25). How should we regard world peace today?
4. Sovereignly the Lord promised to deliver His people from the distant places
in the world where He had scattered them and to bring them back to live in
Jerusalem (cf. Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 30:7-11; 31:7-8). Some organizations exist today to bring this about. To what extent should this be important for us today?
5. 'They will be my people, and I will be . . . their God' is covenant terminology, pertaining to intimate fellowship in a covenant relationship. How is this important for you today (Gen 17:7-8; Exod 6:7; 19:5-6; 2 Cor 6:16; Rev 21:3) ?
6. God has purposes in our afflictions and in our blessings (Zech 8:10-12). What are they?
One theological rationale for ethics, then, is awareness that God hates attitudes and actions contrary to his character. We are to love what God loves and hate what he hates.
Zechariah 9 The Coming Of The King
A. The Preparation For The King. Zech 9:8 I will set up camp at My house against an army, against those who march back and forth, and no oppressor will march against them again, for now I have seen with My own eyes.
Alexander the Great is predicted here. He destroyed Tyre Ezek 26:2 "Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, {now that} she is laid waste,'3 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4 'They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock. Ezek 26:7 For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry and a great army.
1. But he didn’t destroy Jerusalem. What does this tell us about Prophecy?
God’s purposes? 1Peter 1:20 Ephesians 1:11 Romans 8:28
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
2. Why was Alexander the Great’s conquest necessary to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ?
B. The Presentation of the King. Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Matt. 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-38.
In the ancient Near East rulers commonly rode donkeys if they came in peace (Judg. 5:10; 10:4; 12:14; 2Sam. 16:2; 1 Kings 1:32And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. 33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
But they rode horses into war.
3. How would the coming of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem in 33 AD be unlike the coming of Alexander the Great?
C. The Peace Of The King Zech 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
4. How will this eventuate at the Second Coming?
5. How will this eventuate practically for Israel at the Second Coming? (Zechariah 14)
6. Several passages speak of the Lord as being a refuge for His people. How do we find this working out in our own lives? Ps. 18:2; 31:3; 71:3; 91:2; 144:2; Jer. 16:19; Nah. 1:7
# posted by Groseys messages @ 4:45 PM
Monday, May 21, 2007
“Deluxe Accommodations in Heaven” Jn. 14:1-6
Yesterday I talked with our brother Emlyn in the nursing home. A little down we talked about the glories of heaven. I asked Emlyn what would be the most important thing about heaven for him. "Meeting my Saviour."
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places…” Vs. 2a NASB
The Bible seems to teach there are "three heavens," rout only one is the abode of God.
The first heaven is the atmosphere. "Heaven" refers to the air and atmosphere that surrounds every human being and all created life upon earth. "Behold the fowls of the air: they sow not, neither do they reap" (Matt. 6:26). "And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain" (James 5:18).
The second heaven is the stellar spaces. This is what we call outer space. "The stars shall fall from heaven" (Matt. 24:29) God described this space to Abraham, "Look now Inward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them" (Gen. 15:5).
The third heaven is the dwelling place of God. No one knows the location of God's throne and localized presence. All we can say is that heaven is where God is located. "And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them" (Rev. 20:9). "I will write upon him the name of my God... and the name of the city of my God, which is now Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God" (Rev. 3:12).
References to the three heavens. The fact that "Jesus passed through the heavens" (Heb. 4:14) indicates there is more than one heaven. Also, Jesus "ascended up far above all heavens" (Eph. 4:10) means one heaven is above another. Paul taught that there were three heavens. "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot Toll; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such it man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor. 12:2-4). The Bible teaches that all of these heavens shall pass away, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Pet. 3:10). Then the Bible describes "a new heaven" because the "first heaven" was passed away (Rev. 21:1)
I. The Description of Heaven “In My Father’s house are many mansions…” Vs. 2a KJV
The splendor and beauty of heaven far outshines anything the human mind can comprehend. It will be impossible to comprehend heaven until we arrive on location, but we do know that heaven is a huge and colorful city.
The assets of heaven are incalculable
We need to juggle three things here.
There will be the passing away of the present heavens and earth, and the bringing in of the the New heavens and earth after the judgement day (Rev 20, 21)
One term for heaven is that called Paradise.
The Lord Jesus said to the h=dying thief "This day you shall be with me in . .(where?) paradise!.
In the Old Testament the place where the dead went was called...? Sheol!
Sheol was divided into basically two parts, a place of suffering and a place of blessing. Remember when the Lord Jesus told the parable or story of the rich man and Lazarus? The poor beggar lazarus died and went to paradise, Abraham's Bosom.
The rich man died and found himself in a place of suffering. Luke 16:19 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 24 ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’
John was imprisoned as a slave on a rock island quarry in the middle of the Aegean Sea. He saw a Vision of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. Now there is a time factor here. The New Jerusalem appears after the Great White Throne of Judgement. The New Jerusalem is created after the 1000 year millennial reign of Christ in Old Jerusalem on this earth after the 7 years of tribulation. The New Jerusalem isn’t around yet. It hasn’t been created yet. Pastor are you telling us that Heaven hasn’t been created yet? No, in fact the Lord Jesus spoke of heaven as having many dwelling places. The Lord Jesus has been preparing that for 2000 years.
There is a part of heaven where people go to now when they die. Paul called that part Paradise.
“And I know that this man – whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows – was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.” 2 Cor. 12:3-4
The Lord Jesus said to the thief dying on the cross Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
In Rev 21 all was pictured under the aspect of a city, the New Jerusalem, as the antitype and fulfillment of the old city of earthly Jerusalem. But in Revelation 22 something is added.
Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
In this section the life and blessedness of the glorified church is described under the imagery of the original garden of Eden, Paradise the First. The symbolism of the city is not abandoned, as is evident from the reference to the street of the city and to the throne of God and of the Lamb and to the nations. But into this vision of the New Jerusalem is injected the symbolism of Paradise. There was mention of this already in the letter to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:7: "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." And here the Paradise of God is presented as the final realization of the promise, the fullness of joy of eternal life for the church, the New Jerusalem.
So the three things to juggle.. paradise in Sheol, paradise now in heaven where our loved ones who trusted the Lord Jesus are gone now, and, after the tribulation and the millenial reign of Christ on earth, after the Great white throne Judgement, Paradise in the new heavens and new earth where we will live forever.
The terms described here remind us of the Garden of Eden, paradise.
Consider the beauties of earth.. beautiful waterfalls as Ebor falls, beautiful regions like Nelson Bay, beautiful places like the deserts of central Australia, the beauty of the barrier reef, .. if God could create that in 7 days what could He have done in 2000 years?
The universe so far out so beautiful, yet there is more and more beyond.
What is the purpose of it? He ahs created it all for His enjoyments and for the enjoyment of those who will be with Him forever. You’ll never run out of interesting adventuresome new learning experiences, and you’ll never get tired doing it. Heaven will be more fun than you’ve ever had anytime.
II. The Assurance of Heaven “… if it were not so, I would have told you.” Twas the Master Himself who said it to the sorrowful little band
Facing an hour of darkness That they could not understand.
The light of their lives was fading, their eyes with tears were dim,
The rugged men were shaken At the thought of losing Him.
‘Let not your heat be troubled!’ Never was voice so sweet,
Never was look more kindly Nor assurance more complete.
‘Let not your heart be troubled!’ You believe in God most high?
And One with God the father, Equal with Him am I.
Vs. 2b “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” Jn. 20:31
BELIEVERS ARE WITH CHRIST IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH: 2 Cor. 5:8. "We are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord."
Phil. 1:23. "But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better."
UNBELIEVERS CONTINUE TO EXIST AFTER DEATH: Matt. 25:46. "And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life." Luke 12:47-48. "And that servant, who knew his lord's will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." Rev. 14:11. "And the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name."
III. The Accommodations in Heaven “I am going there to prepare a place for you…” Vs. 2c
· Redeemed Creation See Rom. 8:18-21 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
· Renovated Construction “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.” Rev. 21:1
· Royal City “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Rev. 21:2
· Resplendent Condition “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 shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” Rev. 21:10-11
· Remarkable Capacity See Rev. 21:15-16 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
IV. The Transportation to Paradise “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me…” Vs. 3a
Dr. RW Dale lay dying, a deep horror of darkness came over him. Happily, he lived long enough to conquer and to tell the story of his victory.
The house was quiet. Soon after midnight I awoke in great pain, and a terrible distress came over me. I was full of fear. .. I lay silently struggling against the indescribable terror of an unknown dread. When the conflict reached its worst, it seemed as though Christ Himself came and was standing close beside me said ‘:et not your heart be troubled. You believe God, believe me also.” That steadied me and I felt safe and strong in the arms of Christ.
Sometimes there is the horrible darkness that meets as we meet death, but always for believers there is the the Lord who meets us to take us home.
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Vs. 6
The glories of heaven are incomparable
The most important thing about heaven is the lamb, and His glories
Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of Heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for—the fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
O Christ, He is the fountain, the deep, sweet well of love!
The streams of earth I’ve tasted more deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fullness His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
There the Red Rose of Sharon unfolds its heartsome bloom
And fills the air of heaven with ravishing perfume:
Oh! To behold it blossom, while by its fragrance fanned
Where glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
The King there in His beauty, without a veil is seen:
It were a well spent journey, though seven deaths lay between:
The Lamb with His fair army, doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
O I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved’s mine!
He brings a poor vile sinner into His “house of wine.”
I stand upon His merit—I know no other stand,
Not even where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
I shall sleep sound in Jesus, filled with His likeness rise,
To love and to adore Him, to see Him with these eyes:
’Tween me and resurrection but Paradise doth stand;
Then—then for glory dwelling in Immanuel’s land.
The Bride eyes not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory but on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth but on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.
I asked Emlyn what would be the most important thing about heaven for him. "Meeting my Saviour."
V. The Splendor of Paradise “… that you also may be where I am.” Vs. 3b
“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 was passed away.” Rev. 21:4
“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him.” Rev. 22:3
The benefits Of Heaven are Inexhaustible rev 21:4
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
There will be no sepulcher no death.
No need for casket or tomb.
The “deceased”, no your mum,. Your dad, etc.
A reminder that you too must face death. But there is no more sepulcher in heaven.
There will be no more sorrow.
No more suffering
Dreams no more crushed.
Rev 21 :23 No more searching And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Learning for all eternity.. but no longer sorrowfully, no more grievous searching..
Rev 21:27 no more sinning there And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
I get more perturbed at me than you.
I cry out with Paul rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
No more scourge Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
John Atchison
I have read of a beautiful city, Far away in the kingdom of God; I have read how its walls are of jasper,
How its streets are all golden and broad; In the midst of the street is life’s river,
Clear as crystal and pure to behold; But not half of that city’s bright glory To mortals has ever been told.
I have read of bright mansions in Heaven, Which the Savior has gone to prepare;
And the saints who on earth have been faithful, Rest forever with Christ over there;
There no sin ever enters, nor sorrow, The inhabitants never grow old;
But not half of the wonderful story To mortals has ever been told.
I have read of white robes for the righteous, Of bright crowns which the glorified wear,
When our Father shall bid them, “Come, enter, And My glory eternally share”;
How the righteous are evermore blessed As they walk through the streets of pure gold;
But not half of the wonderful story To mortals has ever been told.
I have read of a Christ so forgiving, That vile sinners may ask and receive
Peace and pardon for every transgression, If when asking they only believe.
I have read how He’ll guide and protect us, If for safety we enter His fold;
But not half of His goodness and mercy To mortals has ever been told.
I have read of bright mansions in heaven There no sin never enters nor sorrow
I have read of white robes of the righteous..
Not half has been told not half of the cities bright glories has ever been told
Not half has ever been told; Not half has ever been told;
Not half of that city’s bright glory To mortals has ever been told.
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places…” Vs. 2a NASB
The Bible seems to teach there are "three heavens," rout only one is the abode of God.
The first heaven is the atmosphere. "Heaven" refers to the air and atmosphere that surrounds every human being and all created life upon earth. "Behold the fowls of the air: they sow not, neither do they reap" (Matt. 6:26). "And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain" (James 5:18).
The second heaven is the stellar spaces. This is what we call outer space. "The stars shall fall from heaven" (Matt. 24:29) God described this space to Abraham, "Look now Inward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them" (Gen. 15:5).
The third heaven is the dwelling place of God. No one knows the location of God's throne and localized presence. All we can say is that heaven is where God is located. "And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them" (Rev. 20:9). "I will write upon him the name of my God... and the name of the city of my God, which is now Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God" (Rev. 3:12).
References to the three heavens. The fact that "Jesus passed through the heavens" (Heb. 4:14) indicates there is more than one heaven. Also, Jesus "ascended up far above all heavens" (Eph. 4:10) means one heaven is above another. Paul taught that there were three heavens. "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot Toll; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such it man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor. 12:2-4). The Bible teaches that all of these heavens shall pass away, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Pet. 3:10). Then the Bible describes "a new heaven" because the "first heaven" was passed away (Rev. 21:1)
I. The Description of Heaven “In My Father’s house are many mansions…” Vs. 2a KJV
The splendor and beauty of heaven far outshines anything the human mind can comprehend. It will be impossible to comprehend heaven until we arrive on location, but we do know that heaven is a huge and colorful city.
The assets of heaven are incalculable
We need to juggle three things here.
There will be the passing away of the present heavens and earth, and the bringing in of the the New heavens and earth after the judgement day (Rev 20, 21)
One term for heaven is that called Paradise.
The Lord Jesus said to the h=dying thief "This day you shall be with me in . .(where?) paradise!.
In the Old Testament the place where the dead went was called...? Sheol!
Sheol was divided into basically two parts, a place of suffering and a place of blessing. Remember when the Lord Jesus told the parable or story of the rich man and Lazarus? The poor beggar lazarus died and went to paradise, Abraham's Bosom.
The rich man died and found himself in a place of suffering. Luke 16:19 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 24 ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’
John was imprisoned as a slave on a rock island quarry in the middle of the Aegean Sea. He saw a Vision of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. Now there is a time factor here. The New Jerusalem appears after the Great White Throne of Judgement. The New Jerusalem is created after the 1000 year millennial reign of Christ in Old Jerusalem on this earth after the 7 years of tribulation. The New Jerusalem isn’t around yet. It hasn’t been created yet. Pastor are you telling us that Heaven hasn’t been created yet? No, in fact the Lord Jesus spoke of heaven as having many dwelling places. The Lord Jesus has been preparing that for 2000 years.
There is a part of heaven where people go to now when they die. Paul called that part Paradise.
“And I know that this man – whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows – was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.” 2 Cor. 12:3-4
The Lord Jesus said to the thief dying on the cross Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
In Rev 21 all was pictured under the aspect of a city, the New Jerusalem, as the antitype and fulfillment of the old city of earthly Jerusalem. But in Revelation 22 something is added.
Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
In this section the life and blessedness of the glorified church is described under the imagery of the original garden of Eden, Paradise the First. The symbolism of the city is not abandoned, as is evident from the reference to the street of the city and to the throne of God and of the Lamb and to the nations. But into this vision of the New Jerusalem is injected the symbolism of Paradise. There was mention of this already in the letter to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:7: "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." And here the Paradise of God is presented as the final realization of the promise, the fullness of joy of eternal life for the church, the New Jerusalem.
So the three things to juggle.. paradise in Sheol, paradise now in heaven where our loved ones who trusted the Lord Jesus are gone now, and, after the tribulation and the millenial reign of Christ on earth, after the Great white throne Judgement, Paradise in the new heavens and new earth where we will live forever.
The terms described here remind us of the Garden of Eden, paradise.
Consider the beauties of earth.. beautiful waterfalls as Ebor falls, beautiful regions like Nelson Bay, beautiful places like the deserts of central Australia, the beauty of the barrier reef, .. if God could create that in 7 days what could He have done in 2000 years?
The universe so far out so beautiful, yet there is more and more beyond.
What is the purpose of it? He ahs created it all for His enjoyments and for the enjoyment of those who will be with Him forever. You’ll never run out of interesting adventuresome new learning experiences, and you’ll never get tired doing it. Heaven will be more fun than you’ve ever had anytime.
II. The Assurance of Heaven “… if it were not so, I would have told you.” Twas the Master Himself who said it to the sorrowful little band
Facing an hour of darkness That they could not understand.
The light of their lives was fading, their eyes with tears were dim,
The rugged men were shaken At the thought of losing Him.
‘Let not your heat be troubled!’ Never was voice so sweet,
Never was look more kindly Nor assurance more complete.
‘Let not your heart be troubled!’ You believe in God most high?
And One with God the father, Equal with Him am I.
Vs. 2b “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” Jn. 20:31
BELIEVERS ARE WITH CHRIST IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH: 2 Cor. 5:8. "We are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord."
Phil. 1:23. "But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better."
UNBELIEVERS CONTINUE TO EXIST AFTER DEATH: Matt. 25:46. "And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life." Luke 12:47-48. "And that servant, who knew his lord's will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." Rev. 14:11. "And the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name."
III. The Accommodations in Heaven “I am going there to prepare a place for you…” Vs. 2c
· Redeemed Creation See Rom. 8:18-21 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
· Renovated Construction “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.” Rev. 21:1
· Royal City “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Rev. 21:2
· Resplendent Condition “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 shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” Rev. 21:10-11
· Remarkable Capacity See Rev. 21:15-16 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
IV. The Transportation to Paradise “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me…” Vs. 3a
Dr. RW Dale lay dying, a deep horror of darkness came over him. Happily, he lived long enough to conquer and to tell the story of his victory.
The house was quiet. Soon after midnight I awoke in great pain, and a terrible distress came over me. I was full of fear. .. I lay silently struggling against the indescribable terror of an unknown dread. When the conflict reached its worst, it seemed as though Christ Himself came and was standing close beside me said ‘:et not your heart be troubled. You believe God, believe me also.” That steadied me and I felt safe and strong in the arms of Christ.
Sometimes there is the horrible darkness that meets as we meet death, but always for believers there is the the Lord who meets us to take us home.
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Vs. 6
The glories of heaven are incomparable
The most important thing about heaven is the lamb, and His glories
Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of Heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for—the fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
O Christ, He is the fountain, the deep, sweet well of love!
The streams of earth I’ve tasted more deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fullness His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
There the Red Rose of Sharon unfolds its heartsome bloom
And fills the air of heaven with ravishing perfume:
Oh! To behold it blossom, while by its fragrance fanned
Where glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
The King there in His beauty, without a veil is seen:
It were a well spent journey, though seven deaths lay between:
The Lamb with His fair army, doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory—glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
O I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved’s mine!
He brings a poor vile sinner into His “house of wine.”
I stand upon His merit—I know no other stand,
Not even where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
I shall sleep sound in Jesus, filled with His likeness rise,
To love and to adore Him, to see Him with these eyes:
’Tween me and resurrection but Paradise doth stand;
Then—then for glory dwelling in Immanuel’s land.
The Bride eyes not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory but on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth but on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.
I asked Emlyn what would be the most important thing about heaven for him. "Meeting my Saviour."
V. The Splendor of Paradise “… that you also may be where I am.” Vs. 3b
“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 was passed away.” Rev. 21:4
“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him.” Rev. 22:3
The benefits Of Heaven are Inexhaustible rev 21:4
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
There will be no sepulcher no death.
No need for casket or tomb.
The “deceased”, no your mum,. Your dad, etc.
A reminder that you too must face death. But there is no more sepulcher in heaven.
There will be no more sorrow.
No more suffering
Dreams no more crushed.
Rev 21 :23 No more searching And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Learning for all eternity.. but no longer sorrowfully, no more grievous searching..
Rev 21:27 no more sinning there And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
I get more perturbed at me than you.
I cry out with Paul rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
No more scourge Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
John Atchison
I have read of a beautiful city, Far away in the kingdom of God; I have read how its walls are of jasper,
How its streets are all golden and broad; In the midst of the street is life’s river,
Clear as crystal and pure to behold; But not half of that city’s bright glory To mortals has ever been told.
I have read of bright mansions in Heaven, Which the Savior has gone to prepare;
And the saints who on earth have been faithful, Rest forever with Christ over there;
There no sin ever enters, nor sorrow, The inhabitants never grow old;
But not half of the wonderful story To mortals has ever been told.
I have read of white robes for the righteous, Of bright crowns which the glorified wear,
When our Father shall bid them, “Come, enter, And My glory eternally share”;
How the righteous are evermore blessed As they walk through the streets of pure gold;
But not half of the wonderful story To mortals has ever been told.
I have read of a Christ so forgiving, That vile sinners may ask and receive
Peace and pardon for every transgression, If when asking they only believe.
I have read how He’ll guide and protect us, If for safety we enter His fold;
But not half of His goodness and mercy To mortals has ever been told.
I have read of bright mansions in heaven There no sin never enters nor sorrow
I have read of white robes of the righteous..
Not half has been told not half of the cities bright glories has ever been told
Not half has ever been told; Not half has ever been told;
Not half of that city’s bright glory To mortals has ever been told.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 3:21 PM
The Brazen Altar
(There are powerpoint files that go with each message available through contacting me)
The Brazen Altar was the first article of furniture to be approached after passing through the Gate of the Outer Court. It was hollow and box-1 constructed out of Acacia Boards which were overlaid on both sides by brass (bronze). It measured 5 cubits on each side and 3 cubits in height. A brazen mesh grate was suspended in it 1" cubits from both top and bottom. Attached to this grate were 4 rings which protruded through the boards to hold the staves by which the Levites carried it from camp to camp.
Lev. 9:22 indicates that the Altar was raised up a little and speaks of God's hill of sacrifice - Golgotha. The Brazen Altar, which speaks of Christ in His Redemptive work on Calvary was inside the Gate which speaks of Christ the Way. The Brazen Altar blocked any further progress until its demands had been completely satisfied. There could be no worship, fellowship, illumination or contact with God's Shekinah glory until sin had been specifically dealt with at this gruesome altar. We are unable to proceed into God's presence until a right foundation has been laid -
THE BRAZEN ALTAR (Exo.27:1-8) Foreshadows Christ’s sacrificial death for us on the cross
Exodus 27:1-8 "Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. 2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. 3 Make all its utensils of bronze--its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.
Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. 5 Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. 6 Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
Acacia Wood Brass
The Lord Jesus Christ has paid it all for us on the Cross
Acacia wood –the humanity of Christ. the desert tree which, because of its indestructability speaks of the incorruptible humanity of Christ.
Bronze – judgment. The boards of Shittim (acacia) wood were overlaid with brass (bronze). The brass is symbolic of judgement.
God said that if they disobeyed the heavens would be as brass. Duet. 28:1-3. Samson was bound with fetters of brass. Judges 16:21. The brass is particularly typical of the Cross as an instrument of the judgement of God against sin. He who knew no sin was made sin for us. 2 Cor. 5:21. He was the incorruptible acacia wood overlaid with the brass of our sin and judgement.
Four horns
The Four horns were for tying the sacrifice down to the altar. Ps. 118:27. The Lord is God and has given us light. Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
Though Christ went willingly to the Cross He was held there by the Judicial authority of God. The whole of His offering was to God and not to sin, Satan or the law. Jesus was held to the Cross by 4 nails. He was held there by love.
The four equal sides, representing the four points of the compass, speak of the provision of salvation for all who will receive it, through Christ's sacrifice.
4 Horns - speak of power to the uttermost part of the earth.The horns point to the four intermediate points of the compass. SE, NE, SW, NW and with the 4 sides of the altar cover the entire earth'. They were sprinkled with blood and speak to us of the gospel with blood and speak to us of the gospel which is the "power of God" to all who will believe.
Grate ½ way
The Fire was down in the midst of the Altar, not on top, - speaking of the fact that sin is not outward but inward. The dealings of God against our sin are inward also - reaching the heart and motives. Christ suffered at man's hands initially but for the last 3 hours He suffered at the hands of God. It was not His physical sufferings only which made Him the Redeemer but the burning in His bones. Ps. 102:3, 31:10.
Lev 6:13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
The fire at the altar was to continue burning day and night (Lev.6:12-13) – Calvary’s cross and Christ’s sacrifice is open to us all the time.
. The fire was never to go out. This speaks of the sacrifice of Jesus being forever efficacious and available.
The ashes
1. Pans. - removing the ashes to the outside of the Camp.
2. Shovels. for getting the ashes out of the Altar.
3. Basins. for receiving the blood of the sacrifices.
4. Flesh-hooks. - for arranging the sacrifices in place upon the Altar.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The ashes speak of two things.
(a) The finished work of Christ at the Cross. He submitted Himself to the judgement of God against our sin till no more could be demanded. He said on the Cross "It is finished". when Isaiah was confronted with his uncleaness his lips were cleansed with a coal or ash from the altar. The ashes were used for the sprinkling of the unclean. Heb. 9:13. A proper appropriation of the finished work of redemption is essential to our on going relationship with the Lord.
(b) When the ashes were carried out of the camp to a clean place it was a soleum funeral procession. This typifies the burial if Christ in a new tomb wherein never man was laid before. Luke.23:53, Lev.6:10-11.
5 Offerings Made At The Brazen Altar
. Various types of sacrifices were performed at the Brazen Altar. The main ones being listed in Lev. 1 - 9.
(a) The Burnt offering either a bullock, a sheep, a goat or birds such as turtle doves or pigeons.
(b) Meat Offering - Flour, oil and frankincense, baked in a pan.
(c) The Peace offering - a male or female of the herd.
(d) The Sin offering. (through ignorance of the commandment) - a young bullock for a priest, or the whole congregation, or a male kid of the goats for a ruler of the people, or a female goat for one of the common people.
(e) The Trespass offerings - either a female lamb or kid or 2 turtle doves - used mainly for cleansing from defilement.
(f) Consecration Offerings - at the ordination of a priest or High Priest.
(g) The Day of Atonement - once a year.
The Sin offering. Lev.4:1-5:13
The Trespass / guilt offering. Lev. 5:14-6:7
Heb 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The Cross paves the way for us to be accepted by God – Burnt Offering (Lev.1; 6:9-13)
The Cross empowers us to offer our lives to God in worship and service as a fragrant offering - Meal / Grain Offering (Lev.2; 6:14-22)
The cross enables us to enjoy sweet fellowship with God - Peace / Fellowship Offering (Lev.3; 7:11-21, 29-34)
5 OFFERINGS
Trespass / Guilt Offering – In Christ our trespasses are forgiven.
Sin Offering – In Christ the power of sin is broken.
Burnt Offering – In Christ, God the Father accepts us.
Meal / Grain Offering – In Christ, we have a perfect sacrifice.
Peace / Fellowship Offering – In Christ we have fellowship with God.
The Brazen Altar was the first article of furniture to be approached after passing through the Gate of the Outer Court. It was hollow and box-1 constructed out of Acacia Boards which were overlaid on both sides by brass (bronze). It measured 5 cubits on each side and 3 cubits in height. A brazen mesh grate was suspended in it 1" cubits from both top and bottom. Attached to this grate were 4 rings which protruded through the boards to hold the staves by which the Levites carried it from camp to camp.
Lev. 9:22 indicates that the Altar was raised up a little and speaks of God's hill of sacrifice - Golgotha. The Brazen Altar, which speaks of Christ in His Redemptive work on Calvary was inside the Gate which speaks of Christ the Way. The Brazen Altar blocked any further progress until its demands had been completely satisfied. There could be no worship, fellowship, illumination or contact with God's Shekinah glory until sin had been specifically dealt with at this gruesome altar. We are unable to proceed into God's presence until a right foundation has been laid -
THE BRAZEN ALTAR (Exo.27:1-8) Foreshadows Christ’s sacrificial death for us on the cross
Exodus 27:1-8 "Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. 2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. 3 Make all its utensils of bronze--its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.
Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. 5 Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. 6 Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
Acacia Wood Brass
The Lord Jesus Christ has paid it all for us on the Cross
Acacia wood –the humanity of Christ. the desert tree which, because of its indestructability speaks of the incorruptible humanity of Christ.
Bronze – judgment. The boards of Shittim (acacia) wood were overlaid with brass (bronze). The brass is symbolic of judgement.
God said that if they disobeyed the heavens would be as brass. Duet. 28:1-3. Samson was bound with fetters of brass. Judges 16:21. The brass is particularly typical of the Cross as an instrument of the judgement of God against sin. He who knew no sin was made sin for us. 2 Cor. 5:21. He was the incorruptible acacia wood overlaid with the brass of our sin and judgement.
Four horns
The Four horns were for tying the sacrifice down to the altar. Ps. 118:27. The Lord is God and has given us light. Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
Though Christ went willingly to the Cross He was held there by the Judicial authority of God. The whole of His offering was to God and not to sin, Satan or the law. Jesus was held to the Cross by 4 nails. He was held there by love.
The four equal sides, representing the four points of the compass, speak of the provision of salvation for all who will receive it, through Christ's sacrifice.
4 Horns - speak of power to the uttermost part of the earth.The horns point to the four intermediate points of the compass. SE, NE, SW, NW and with the 4 sides of the altar cover the entire earth'. They were sprinkled with blood and speak to us of the gospel with blood and speak to us of the gospel which is the "power of God" to all who will believe.
Grate ½ way
The Fire was down in the midst of the Altar, not on top, - speaking of the fact that sin is not outward but inward. The dealings of God against our sin are inward also - reaching the heart and motives. Christ suffered at man's hands initially but for the last 3 hours He suffered at the hands of God. It was not His physical sufferings only which made Him the Redeemer but the burning in His bones. Ps. 102:3, 31:10.
Lev 6:13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
The fire at the altar was to continue burning day and night (Lev.6:12-13) – Calvary’s cross and Christ’s sacrifice is open to us all the time.
. The fire was never to go out. This speaks of the sacrifice of Jesus being forever efficacious and available.
The ashes
1. Pans. - removing the ashes to the outside of the Camp.
2. Shovels. for getting the ashes out of the Altar.
3. Basins. for receiving the blood of the sacrifices.
4. Flesh-hooks. - for arranging the sacrifices in place upon the Altar.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The ashes speak of two things.
(a) The finished work of Christ at the Cross. He submitted Himself to the judgement of God against our sin till no more could be demanded. He said on the Cross "It is finished". when Isaiah was confronted with his uncleaness his lips were cleansed with a coal or ash from the altar. The ashes were used for the sprinkling of the unclean. Heb. 9:13. A proper appropriation of the finished work of redemption is essential to our on going relationship with the Lord.
(b) When the ashes were carried out of the camp to a clean place it was a soleum funeral procession. This typifies the burial if Christ in a new tomb wherein never man was laid before. Luke.23:53, Lev.6:10-11.
5 Offerings Made At The Brazen Altar
. Various types of sacrifices were performed at the Brazen Altar. The main ones being listed in Lev. 1 - 9.
(a) The Burnt offering either a bullock, a sheep, a goat or birds such as turtle doves or pigeons.
(b) Meat Offering - Flour, oil and frankincense, baked in a pan.
(c) The Peace offering - a male or female of the herd.
(d) The Sin offering. (through ignorance of the commandment) - a young bullock for a priest, or the whole congregation, or a male kid of the goats for a ruler of the people, or a female goat for one of the common people.
(e) The Trespass offerings - either a female lamb or kid or 2 turtle doves - used mainly for cleansing from defilement.
(f) Consecration Offerings - at the ordination of a priest or High Priest.
(g) The Day of Atonement - once a year.
The Sin offering. Lev.4:1-5:13
The Trespass / guilt offering. Lev. 5:14-6:7
Heb 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The Cross paves the way for us to be accepted by God – Burnt Offering (Lev.1; 6:9-13)
The Cross empowers us to offer our lives to God in worship and service as a fragrant offering - Meal / Grain Offering (Lev.2; 6:14-22)
The cross enables us to enjoy sweet fellowship with God - Peace / Fellowship Offering (Lev.3; 7:11-21, 29-34)
5 OFFERINGS
Trespass / Guilt Offering – In Christ our trespasses are forgiven.
Sin Offering – In Christ the power of sin is broken.
Burnt Offering – In Christ, God the Father accepts us.
Meal / Grain Offering – In Christ, we have a perfect sacrifice.
Peace / Fellowship Offering – In Christ we have fellowship with God.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 3:19 PM
The Brazen Altar
(There are powerpoint files that go with each message available through contacting me)
The Brazen Altar was the first article of furniture to be approached after passing through the Gate of the Outer Court. It was hollow and box-1 constructed out of Acacia Boards which were overlaid on both sides by brass (bronze). It measured 5 cubits on each side and 3 cubits in height. A brazen mesh grate was suspended in it 1" cubits from both top and bottom. Attached to this grate were 4 rings which protruded through the boards to hold the staves by which the Levites carried it from camp to camp.
Lev. 9:22 indicates that the Altar was raised up a little and speaks of God's hill of sacrifice - Golgotha. The Brazen Altar, which speaks of Christ in His Redemptive work on Calvary was inside the Gate which speaks of Christ the Way. The Brazen Altar blocked any further progress until its demands had been completely satisfied. There could be no worship, fellowship, illumination or contact with God's Shekinah glory until sin had been specifically dealt with at this gruesome altar. We are unable to proceed into God's presence until a right foundation has been laid -
THE BRAZEN ALTAR (Exo.27:1-8) Foreshadows Christ’s sacrificial death for us on the cross
Exodus 27:1-8 "Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. 2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. 3 Make all its utensils of bronze--its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.
Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. 5 Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. 6 Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
Acacia Wood Brass
The Lord Jesus Christ has paid it all for us on the Cross
Acacia wood –the humanity of Christ. the desert tree which, because of its indestructability speaks of the incorruptible humanity of Christ.
Bronze – judgment. The boards of Shittim (acacia) wood were overlaid with brass (bronze). The brass is symbolic of judgement.
God said that if they disobeyed the heavens would be as brass. Duet. 28:1-3. Samson was bound with fetters of brass. Judges 16:21. The brass is particularly typical of the Cross as an instrument of the judgement of God against sin. He who knew no sin was made sin for us. 2 Cor. 5:21. He was the incorruptible acacia wood overlaid with the brass of our sin and judgement.
Four horns
The Four horns were for tying the sacrifice down to the altar. Ps. 118:27. The Lord is God and has given us light. Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
Though Christ went willingly to the Cross He was held there by the Judicial authority of God. The whole of His offering was to God and not to sin, Satan or the law. Jesus was held to the Cross by 4 nails. He was held there by love.
The four equal sides, representing the four points of the compass, speak of the provision of salvation for all who will receive it, through Christ's sacrifice.
4 Horns - speak of power to the uttermost part of the earth.The horns point to the four intermediate points of the compass. SE, NE, SW, NW and with the 4 sides of the altar cover the entire earth'. They were sprinkled with blood and speak to us of the gospel with blood and speak to us of the gospel which is the "power of God" to all who will believe.
Grate ½ way
The Fire was down in the midst of the Altar, not on top, - speaking of the fact that sin is not outward but inward. The dealings of God against our sin are inward also - reaching the heart and motives. Christ suffered at man's hands initially but for the last 3 hours He suffered at the hands of God. It was not His physical sufferings only which made Him the Redeemer but the burning in His bones. Ps. 102:3, 31:10.
Lev 6:13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
The fire at the altar was to continue burning day and night (Lev.6:12-13) – Calvary’s cross and Christ’s sacrifice is open to us all the time.
. The fire was never to go out. This speaks of the sacrifice of Jesus being forever efficacious and available.
The ashes
1. Pans. - removing the ashes to the outside of the Camp.
2. Shovels. for getting the ashes out of the Altar.
3. Basins. for receiving the blood of the sacrifices.
4. Flesh-hooks. - for arranging the sacrifices in place upon the Altar.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The ashes speak of two things.
(a) The finished work of Christ at the Cross. He submitted Himself to the judgement of God against our sin till no more could be demanded. He said on the Cross "It is finished". when Isaiah was confronted with his uncleaness his lips were cleansed with a coal or ash from the altar. The ashes were used for the sprinkling of the unclean. Heb. 9:13. A proper appropriation of the finished work of redemption is essential to our on going relationship with the Lord.
(b) When the ashes were carried out of the camp to a clean place it was a soleum funeral procession. This typifies the burial if Christ in a new tomb wherein never man was laid before. Luke.23:53, Lev.6:10-11.
5 Offerings Made At The Brazen Altar
. Various types of sacrifices were performed at the Brazen Altar. The main ones being listed in Lev. 1 - 9.
(a) The Burnt offering either a bullock, a sheep, a goat or birds such as turtle doves or pigeons.
(b) Meat Offering - Flour, oil and frankincense, baked in a pan.
(c) The Peace offering - a male or female of the herd.
(d) The Sin offering. (through ignorance of the commandment) - a young bullock for a priest, or the whole congregation, or a male kid of the goats for a ruler of the people, or a female goat for one of the common people.
(e) The Trespass offerings - either a female lamb or kid or 2 turtle doves - used mainly for cleansing from defilement.
(f) Consecration Offerings - at the ordination of a priest or High Priest.
(g) The Day of Atonement - once a year.
The Sin offering. Lev.4:1-5:13
The Trespass / guilt offering. Lev. 5:14-6:7
Heb 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The Cross paves the way for us to be accepted by God – Burnt Offering (Lev.1; 6:9-13)
The Cross empowers us to offer our lives to God in worship and service as a fragrant offering - Meal / Grain Offering (Lev.2; 6:14-22)
The cross enables us to enjoy sweet fellowship with God - Peace / Fellowship Offering (Lev.3; 7:11-21, 29-34)
5 OFFERINGS
Trespass / Guilt Offering – In Christ our trespasses are forgiven.
Sin Offering – In Christ the power of sin is broken.
Burnt Offering – In Christ, God the Father accepts us.
Meal / Grain Offering – In Christ, we have a perfect sacrifice.
Peace / Fellowship Offering – In Christ we have fellowship with God.
The Brazen Altar was the first article of furniture to be approached after passing through the Gate of the Outer Court. It was hollow and box-1 constructed out of Acacia Boards which were overlaid on both sides by brass (bronze). It measured 5 cubits on each side and 3 cubits in height. A brazen mesh grate was suspended in it 1" cubits from both top and bottom. Attached to this grate were 4 rings which protruded through the boards to hold the staves by which the Levites carried it from camp to camp.
Lev. 9:22 indicates that the Altar was raised up a little and speaks of God's hill of sacrifice - Golgotha. The Brazen Altar, which speaks of Christ in His Redemptive work on Calvary was inside the Gate which speaks of Christ the Way. The Brazen Altar blocked any further progress until its demands had been completely satisfied. There could be no worship, fellowship, illumination or contact with God's Shekinah glory until sin had been specifically dealt with at this gruesome altar. We are unable to proceed into God's presence until a right foundation has been laid -
THE BRAZEN ALTAR (Exo.27:1-8) Foreshadows Christ’s sacrificial death for us on the cross
Exodus 27:1-8 "Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. 2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. 3 Make all its utensils of bronze--its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.
Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. 5 Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. 6 Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
Acacia Wood Brass
The Lord Jesus Christ has paid it all for us on the Cross
Acacia wood –the humanity of Christ. the desert tree which, because of its indestructability speaks of the incorruptible humanity of Christ.
Bronze – judgment. The boards of Shittim (acacia) wood were overlaid with brass (bronze). The brass is symbolic of judgement.
God said that if they disobeyed the heavens would be as brass. Duet. 28:1-3. Samson was bound with fetters of brass. Judges 16:21. The brass is particularly typical of the Cross as an instrument of the judgement of God against sin. He who knew no sin was made sin for us. 2 Cor. 5:21. He was the incorruptible acacia wood overlaid with the brass of our sin and judgement.
Four horns
The Four horns were for tying the sacrifice down to the altar. Ps. 118:27. The Lord is God and has given us light. Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
Though Christ went willingly to the Cross He was held there by the Judicial authority of God. The whole of His offering was to God and not to sin, Satan or the law. Jesus was held to the Cross by 4 nails. He was held there by love.
The four equal sides, representing the four points of the compass, speak of the provision of salvation for all who will receive it, through Christ's sacrifice.
4 Horns - speak of power to the uttermost part of the earth.The horns point to the four intermediate points of the compass. SE, NE, SW, NW and with the 4 sides of the altar cover the entire earth'. They were sprinkled with blood and speak to us of the gospel with blood and speak to us of the gospel which is the "power of God" to all who will believe.
Grate ½ way
The Fire was down in the midst of the Altar, not on top, - speaking of the fact that sin is not outward but inward. The dealings of God against our sin are inward also - reaching the heart and motives. Christ suffered at man's hands initially but for the last 3 hours He suffered at the hands of God. It was not His physical sufferings only which made Him the Redeemer but the burning in His bones. Ps. 102:3, 31:10.
Lev 6:13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
The fire at the altar was to continue burning day and night (Lev.6:12-13) – Calvary’s cross and Christ’s sacrifice is open to us all the time.
. The fire was never to go out. This speaks of the sacrifice of Jesus being forever efficacious and available.
The ashes
1. Pans. - removing the ashes to the outside of the Camp.
2. Shovels. for getting the ashes out of the Altar.
3. Basins. for receiving the blood of the sacrifices.
4. Flesh-hooks. - for arranging the sacrifices in place upon the Altar.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The ashes speak of two things.
(a) The finished work of Christ at the Cross. He submitted Himself to the judgement of God against our sin till no more could be demanded. He said on the Cross "It is finished". when Isaiah was confronted with his uncleaness his lips were cleansed with a coal or ash from the altar. The ashes were used for the sprinkling of the unclean. Heb. 9:13. A proper appropriation of the finished work of redemption is essential to our on going relationship with the Lord.
(b) When the ashes were carried out of the camp to a clean place it was a soleum funeral procession. This typifies the burial if Christ in a new tomb wherein never man was laid before. Luke.23:53, Lev.6:10-11.
5 Offerings Made At The Brazen Altar
. Various types of sacrifices were performed at the Brazen Altar. The main ones being listed in Lev. 1 - 9.
(a) The Burnt offering either a bullock, a sheep, a goat or birds such as turtle doves or pigeons.
(b) Meat Offering - Flour, oil and frankincense, baked in a pan.
(c) The Peace offering - a male or female of the herd.
(d) The Sin offering. (through ignorance of the commandment) - a young bullock for a priest, or the whole congregation, or a male kid of the goats for a ruler of the people, or a female goat for one of the common people.
(e) The Trespass offerings - either a female lamb or kid or 2 turtle doves - used mainly for cleansing from defilement.
(f) Consecration Offerings - at the ordination of a priest or High Priest.
(g) The Day of Atonement - once a year.
The Sin offering. Lev.4:1-5:13
The Trespass / guilt offering. Lev. 5:14-6:7
Heb 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The Cross paves the way for us to be accepted by God – Burnt Offering (Lev.1; 6:9-13)
The Cross empowers us to offer our lives to God in worship and service as a fragrant offering - Meal / Grain Offering (Lev.2; 6:14-22)
The cross enables us to enjoy sweet fellowship with God - Peace / Fellowship Offering (Lev.3; 7:11-21, 29-34)
5 OFFERINGS
Trespass / Guilt Offering – In Christ our trespasses are forgiven.
Sin Offering – In Christ the power of sin is broken.
Burnt Offering – In Christ, God the Father accepts us.
Meal / Grain Offering – In Christ, we have a perfect sacrifice.
Peace / Fellowship Offering – In Christ we have fellowship with God.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 3:19 PM
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Outer Court Exodus 27:9-19
The Court of the Tabernacle was a large open space surrounding the Tabernacle proper, and fenced in by a wall of linen curtains, 100 cubits long by 50 cubits wide (150' x 75'). This wall was supported by 60 pillars of which there were 20 on each side (N & S) and 10 on each end (E & W). There was only one gate - at the Eastern end of the Court. It was 20 cubits wide
LINEN CURTAINS.
The curtains were the principal part of the wall which formed the enclosure. They were 7'6" high - too high for anyone to look over. They reached to the ground - too low for anyone to look under. They effectively denied access to the provisions and presence of God to all who avoided the gate.
In approaching the Tabernacle the very first thing seen was this linen fence. So it is with our approach to God. The first thing obvious to us is the absolute purity and righteousness of God. It is this which exposes our sin.
All the Israelites were camped in tents made of goatskins which were black but the Tent of the Lord was fenced in spotless white. It stood out as a contrast and speaks of the total opposition between God and the natural man.
The dimensions of the curtains were 1500 sq. cubits. (100xl00x 50x50 x5 = 1500). This is the length of the Age of Law. Moses lived 1500 years before Jesus. -Note that it is the Law which was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. -Gal. 3:24.
60 PILLARS of Brass?
The brass speaks of judgement
FILLETS AND HOOKS AND CHAPITERS.
These were of silver. The Fillet was a rod which tied each pillar together and the hooks suspended
the curtains. Silver speaks of redemption -
Num. 3:49-51So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. 50 He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 [shekels measured]by the standard sanctuary shekel. 51 He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Ex. 38:25-29The silver from those of the community who were registered was 7,544 pounds, according to the sanctuary shekel— 26 two-fifths of an ounce per man, that is, half a shekel according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone 20 years old or more who had crossed over to the registered group, 603,550 men. 27 There were 7,500 pounds of silver [used]to cast the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil—100 bases from 7,500 pounds, 75 pounds for each base. 28 With the [remaining]44 pounds he made the hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and supplied bands for them. 29 The bronze of the presentation offering totaled 5,310 pounds.
The firstborn of Israel were replaced by the Levites in the service of God and were redeemed from that responsibility brought on them in Egypt when the rest of the firstborn were slain, by ½ shekels of the sanctuary which was the shekel of silver. Ex.30:11-16 tells of the half shekel of atonement money which every man in Israel had to give to be preserved from plaque.
1 Pet 1:18For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things, like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.
Zech. 11:12-13 Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep [them].” So they weighed my wages, 30 pieces of silver. 13 “Throw it to the potter,” the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
The Outer court was Founded upon the judgement of God (brass) it was suspended by the hooks of redemption (silver) and the whole frame work of pillars was tied together by horizontal bars of silver, so that an unbroken line of silver ran around the entire perimeter of the Tabernacle. This speaks of the purpose for which Christ came - Gal.4:4-5 says 'that God sent His Son "to redeem" them that were under the law'.
THE GATE.
The only entrance to the Outer Court and subsequently to the Holy Places was through a gateway 30 feet (20 cubits) wide at the Eastern end.
It was different to the rest of the outer wall in that its hangings were beautiful fine twined linen plus the colours of blue, purple and scarlet. These colours occur frequently throughout the Tabernacle and speak of Christ,
as to His heavenly origin (blue),
His royalty (Purple)
His sufferings (scarlet)
His righteousness intertwined with them (white.)
This colour speaks to us of Christ the WAY.
John 10: 7 So Jesus said again, “I assure you: I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before Meare thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
In bold language, Jesus declare Himself to be the door of the sheep.(Ill. The sheepfold was usually a circular enclosure surrounded by stone walls. There was only one opening in thiswall allowing access into this enclosure and at night, when the sheep were all gathered in, the shepherd would lay himself in that opening and in effect, he would become the door. Nothing could get in or out without passing through the shepherd.) Sometimes in John’s gospel there are double allusions. I think this may be one of them. Every Jewish person knew there was only one access way into Jewishness, the doorway through the outer court into the tabernacle, and alter similarly into the temple. I think this is one of those double allusions, to the sheepfold, and larger, to the tabernacle.
"Knock knock Knocking On Heaven’s Door." THIS DOOR IS A PERSON
A Gate For Sinners
In this statement from the lips of Jesus, we find a tremendous offer given to sinners. In these words, Jesus offers hope to everyone who is wandering in a life of sin. While Jesus wants to save you, He will never force Himself upon you! However, He gives you opportunities to come to Him. Notices what He proposes to us sinners: "he shall be saved." -- When a person comes to Jesus for salvation, they find themselves completely transformed and eternally saved! They are instantly liberated and made new in Jesus. This is a very descriptive word and was used to describe a person who had recovered from a serious illness, one who had survived a war, one who had come safely through a bad storm or someone who had won at court. What is means for us is that we have, in a spiritual sense, all of the above and now, we are rescued from all harm and danger. This one little word is a glorious declaration of the security we enjoy in the Lord Jesus Christ. In this "Pasture" we find:
Rest -- No longer are we searching for what we needed. We have found what our heart was longing for and His name is Jesus. Now, we are permitted to rest in His grace and anticipate our heavenly homecoming! I’m not trying to be saved! Are you? I’m just resting on grace. It was grace that sought me, grace that bought me and grace that will lead me home! After all, what did Jesus say? Matt. 11:28!)
Refreshment -- In Jesus, the saint of God finds all that his or her heart needs for absolute and perfect contentment, Psa. 107:9. When we taste and find that the "Lord is good", Psa. 34:8, we loose our appetite for other things!
Rejoicing -- In Jesus, we find that fullness of joy that was lacking when we wandered out in sin. He has promised us "fullness of joy", 1 Pet. 1:8You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, Psa. 16:11 You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures. Yes, the child of God has ample reason to rejoice! Luke 10:20 However, don’t rejoice thatthe spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In His pasture, there is "fullness of joy."
We go in and out and find pasture.. every need is supplied: He deals with us about the problems of
1. The Penalty Of Sin -- Ill. Rom. 6:23. However, in Jesus, the curse of death is removed and we are set free from the awful wrath of God, Rom. 5:9
The Prodigal Son -- When he returned home, the Father ran out to meet him and fell upon him,
2. The Power Of Sin -- According to Rom. 6:14, Jesus breaks sins power in the life of the saint of God. After we come to Christ, we are no longer slaves to the whims of the flesh and the devil, Eph. 2:1-3). We are made free in Jesus and are given the liberty to withstand temptation and to live for God! (Ill. 1 Cor. 10:13) (Ill. One of the greatest wonders of salvation is the great change that comes into the Christian’s life, 2 Cor. 5:17. It seems that we just don’t want many of the things we used to think we couldn’t live without!)
3. The Presence Of Sin -- One day, when we leave this world, we will forever be free from sin’s presence. In heaven, it will not be allowed -- Rev. 21:27. Not only that, but we will receive new flesh and we will no longer have any desire toward sin -- 1 Jn. 3:1-3.
The Only Gate Jesus is saying that He is the Door! No one gets into God’s flock without going through Him. Simply stated, there is only one way to the Father and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ -- John 14:6. Salvation only comes about through faith in Jesus. Baptism won’t do it, church membership won’t do it, ritual and religious activity won’t get the job done. There is only one plan for man’s salvation and that is through faith in the finished work of Christ at Calvary.
Salvation is simple, it is just very exclusive -- Rom. 10:9-10 if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.
John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Rom. 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved !) The big question is this, "Have you ever been through the Door?"
A Wide gate The Gate was 30 feet wide - large enough for whoever would come. Each section of that gate was 7'6" between pillars. John 6:37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. The Scope Of It -- "any man" -- Salvation is not a club for an elite few saints, but it is an offer of God to every man. No person alive today is beyond the reach of God’s saving love! (Ill. Rev. 22:17 Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Anyone who hears should say, “Come!” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift. Many feel that there is no hope for them, yet the Bible is clear that God loves all men, John 3:16, and offers them salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. You can be saved today if you are lost in sin!
A Gate to Step Through The Scheme Of It -- "If any man enter in" -- A door serves one of two purposes. It can be a barrier designed to keep people out, or it can be a means of access allowing people in. Salvation is God’s gift to a fallen race! However, before this gift can be realized, it must be received! No one will ever be saved unless they personally and consciously come to Jesus and receive Him into their heart and life. What I am saying is this, God offers you salvation and He means it, but you will not be saved until you come to Him by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!) John 5:24 “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. Where do you find yourself today? Are you wandering around outside the blessings and family of God, but want to come inside where the blessings are? If that describes you, if you feel a lack of something in your life, or if you know for sure that you are unsaved, then I invite you to come to Jesus right now. If you will come to Him and confess yourself a sinner and receive Him as your Savior, then He will save you right now and forever. Will you do what you need to do tonight?
When I was a teenager, the students in our high school were called together and each given a sugar cube with pink syrup on it. It was serum that had been developed by Dr. Jonas Salk to keep us from getting polio in a time of a polio epidemic all across our country. Now, did we turn up our noses and say, "I don't really think I want to avoid polio this way. I'm going to wait until another means is made possible?" That would be crazy. That's the sense in which we have to see what God has done for us in Christ.
LINEN CURTAINS.
The curtains were the principal part of the wall which formed the enclosure. They were 7'6" high - too high for anyone to look over. They reached to the ground - too low for anyone to look under. They effectively denied access to the provisions and presence of God to all who avoided the gate.
In approaching the Tabernacle the very first thing seen was this linen fence. So it is with our approach to God. The first thing obvious to us is the absolute purity and righteousness of God. It is this which exposes our sin.
All the Israelites were camped in tents made of goatskins which were black but the Tent of the Lord was fenced in spotless white. It stood out as a contrast and speaks of the total opposition between God and the natural man.
The dimensions of the curtains were 1500 sq. cubits. (100xl00x 50x50 x5 = 1500). This is the length of the Age of Law. Moses lived 1500 years before Jesus. -Note that it is the Law which was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. -Gal. 3:24.
60 PILLARS of Brass?
The brass speaks of judgement
FILLETS AND HOOKS AND CHAPITERS.
These were of silver. The Fillet was a rod which tied each pillar together and the hooks suspended
the curtains. Silver speaks of redemption -
Num. 3:49-51So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. 50 He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 [shekels measured]by the standard sanctuary shekel. 51 He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Ex. 38:25-29The silver from those of the community who were registered was 7,544 pounds, according to the sanctuary shekel— 26 two-fifths of an ounce per man, that is, half a shekel according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone 20 years old or more who had crossed over to the registered group, 603,550 men. 27 There were 7,500 pounds of silver [used]to cast the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil—100 bases from 7,500 pounds, 75 pounds for each base. 28 With the [remaining]44 pounds he made the hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and supplied bands for them. 29 The bronze of the presentation offering totaled 5,310 pounds.
The firstborn of Israel were replaced by the Levites in the service of God and were redeemed from that responsibility brought on them in Egypt when the rest of the firstborn were slain, by ½ shekels of the sanctuary which was the shekel of silver. Ex.30:11-16 tells of the half shekel of atonement money which every man in Israel had to give to be preserved from plaque.
1 Pet 1:18For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things, like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.
Zech. 11:12-13 Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep [them].” So they weighed my wages, 30 pieces of silver. 13 “Throw it to the potter,” the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
The Outer court was Founded upon the judgement of God (brass) it was suspended by the hooks of redemption (silver) and the whole frame work of pillars was tied together by horizontal bars of silver, so that an unbroken line of silver ran around the entire perimeter of the Tabernacle. This speaks of the purpose for which Christ came - Gal.4:4-5 says 'that God sent His Son "to redeem" them that were under the law'.
THE GATE.
The only entrance to the Outer Court and subsequently to the Holy Places was through a gateway 30 feet (20 cubits) wide at the Eastern end.
It was different to the rest of the outer wall in that its hangings were beautiful fine twined linen plus the colours of blue, purple and scarlet. These colours occur frequently throughout the Tabernacle and speak of Christ,
as to His heavenly origin (blue),
His royalty (Purple)
His sufferings (scarlet)
His righteousness intertwined with them (white.)
This colour speaks to us of Christ the WAY.
John 10: 7 So Jesus said again, “I assure you: I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before Meare thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
In bold language, Jesus declare Himself to be the door of the sheep.(Ill. The sheepfold was usually a circular enclosure surrounded by stone walls. There was only one opening in thiswall allowing access into this enclosure and at night, when the sheep were all gathered in, the shepherd would lay himself in that opening and in effect, he would become the door. Nothing could get in or out without passing through the shepherd.) Sometimes in John’s gospel there are double allusions. I think this may be one of them. Every Jewish person knew there was only one access way into Jewishness, the doorway through the outer court into the tabernacle, and alter similarly into the temple. I think this is one of those double allusions, to the sheepfold, and larger, to the tabernacle.
"Knock knock Knocking On Heaven’s Door." THIS DOOR IS A PERSON
A Gate For Sinners
In this statement from the lips of Jesus, we find a tremendous offer given to sinners. In these words, Jesus offers hope to everyone who is wandering in a life of sin. While Jesus wants to save you, He will never force Himself upon you! However, He gives you opportunities to come to Him. Notices what He proposes to us sinners: "he shall be saved." -- When a person comes to Jesus for salvation, they find themselves completely transformed and eternally saved! They are instantly liberated and made new in Jesus. This is a very descriptive word and was used to describe a person who had recovered from a serious illness, one who had survived a war, one who had come safely through a bad storm or someone who had won at court. What is means for us is that we have, in a spiritual sense, all of the above and now, we are rescued from all harm and danger. This one little word is a glorious declaration of the security we enjoy in the Lord Jesus Christ. In this "Pasture" we find:
Rest -- No longer are we searching for what we needed. We have found what our heart was longing for and His name is Jesus. Now, we are permitted to rest in His grace and anticipate our heavenly homecoming! I’m not trying to be saved! Are you? I’m just resting on grace. It was grace that sought me, grace that bought me and grace that will lead me home! After all, what did Jesus say? Matt. 11:28!)
Refreshment -- In Jesus, the saint of God finds all that his or her heart needs for absolute and perfect contentment, Psa. 107:9. When we taste and find that the "Lord is good", Psa. 34:8, we loose our appetite for other things!
Rejoicing -- In Jesus, we find that fullness of joy that was lacking when we wandered out in sin. He has promised us "fullness of joy", 1 Pet. 1:8You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, Psa. 16:11 You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures. Yes, the child of God has ample reason to rejoice! Luke 10:20 However, don’t rejoice thatthe spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In His pasture, there is "fullness of joy."
We go in and out and find pasture.. every need is supplied: He deals with us about the problems of
1. The Penalty Of Sin -- Ill. Rom. 6:23. However, in Jesus, the curse of death is removed and we are set free from the awful wrath of God, Rom. 5:9
The Prodigal Son -- When he returned home, the Father ran out to meet him and fell upon him,
2. The Power Of Sin -- According to Rom. 6:14, Jesus breaks sins power in the life of the saint of God. After we come to Christ, we are no longer slaves to the whims of the flesh and the devil, Eph. 2:1-3). We are made free in Jesus and are given the liberty to withstand temptation and to live for God! (Ill. 1 Cor. 10:13) (Ill. One of the greatest wonders of salvation is the great change that comes into the Christian’s life, 2 Cor. 5:17. It seems that we just don’t want many of the things we used to think we couldn’t live without!)
3. The Presence Of Sin -- One day, when we leave this world, we will forever be free from sin’s presence. In heaven, it will not be allowed -- Rev. 21:27. Not only that, but we will receive new flesh and we will no longer have any desire toward sin -- 1 Jn. 3:1-3.
The Only Gate Jesus is saying that He is the Door! No one gets into God’s flock without going through Him. Simply stated, there is only one way to the Father and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ -- John 14:6. Salvation only comes about through faith in Jesus. Baptism won’t do it, church membership won’t do it, ritual and religious activity won’t get the job done. There is only one plan for man’s salvation and that is through faith in the finished work of Christ at Calvary.
Salvation is simple, it is just very exclusive -- Rom. 10:9-10 if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.
John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Rom. 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved !) The big question is this, "Have you ever been through the Door?"
A Wide gate The Gate was 30 feet wide - large enough for whoever would come. Each section of that gate was 7'6" between pillars. John 6:37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. The Scope Of It -- "any man" -- Salvation is not a club for an elite few saints, but it is an offer of God to every man. No person alive today is beyond the reach of God’s saving love! (Ill. Rev. 22:17 Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Anyone who hears should say, “Come!” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift. Many feel that there is no hope for them, yet the Bible is clear that God loves all men, John 3:16, and offers them salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. You can be saved today if you are lost in sin!
A Gate to Step Through The Scheme Of It -- "If any man enter in" -- A door serves one of two purposes. It can be a barrier designed to keep people out, or it can be a means of access allowing people in. Salvation is God’s gift to a fallen race! However, before this gift can be realized, it must be received! No one will ever be saved unless they personally and consciously come to Jesus and receive Him into their heart and life. What I am saying is this, God offers you salvation and He means it, but you will not be saved until you come to Him by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!) John 5:24 “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. Where do you find yourself today? Are you wandering around outside the blessings and family of God, but want to come inside where the blessings are? If that describes you, if you feel a lack of something in your life, or if you know for sure that you are unsaved, then I invite you to come to Jesus right now. If you will come to Him and confess yourself a sinner and receive Him as your Savior, then He will save you right now and forever. Will you do what you need to do tonight?
When I was a teenager, the students in our high school were called together and each given a sugar cube with pink syrup on it. It was serum that had been developed by Dr. Jonas Salk to keep us from getting polio in a time of a polio epidemic all across our country. Now, did we turn up our noses and say, "I don't really think I want to avoid polio this way. I'm going to wait until another means is made possible?" That would be crazy. That's the sense in which we have to see what God has done for us in Christ.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 9:43 PM
When The Thief Saw Jesus - Luke 23:39-43 'Glimpses of Glory'
What the Bible has to say about heaven will inevitably, over these weeks, give us a glimpse, many glimpses hopefully, into glory. Now 'heaven' as a word is found 582 times within the Bible. It has different senses and meanings, and we'll not be considering them all throughout this Bible study series. Of course, 'heaven' can refer to the atmospheric heaven, the place where the clouds are and the birds fly - that's not the heaven we'll be considering. Then there is the planetary heaven, outer space, and that is not what we will consider. Rather we will be considering God's dwelling place, which is also called 'heaven'. Glimpses of Glory.
When the dying thief was on the cross, he saw a Glimpse Of Glory.
Mother’s day.
That fellow on the cross had something in common with us all: he had a belly button.. which means he had a mother.
That thief was one of 3 thieves to be crucified that day.
Perhaps they were part of a gang.
Mark 15:7 There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion.
Luke 23
John 18 . They shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.[10]
Perhaps his mother had taught him well from a babe.
But she had passed away, and her influence had diminished with the years.
Perhaps he had gone from stealing donkeys, to burglary, to something worse.
Somewhere down his life things did not go well
Perhaps his mother had died when he was still a child.
When as man is dying he remembers many things. Perhaps this robber who had blasphemed the Lord Jesus had begun to remember some of the things he had said or done.
Perhaps his mother’s face had come back to him as he hung there on that cross.
And he began to feel regret for the life that he had lived.
'Just one glimpse of Him in glory Will the toils of life repay'.
Now, we're tempted to think, especially those who are perhaps younger, that heaven is really for the old folk, those in the waiting room of Glory, those who are sick and want rid of all these diseases and ailments in their body, those who are dying perhaps with terminal illnesses. Heaven is something that you want to think about if you're in those circumstances, but what relevance has it to me in my twenties or my thirties or forties, or in midlife? Well, the aim that I have in preaching this series on heaven is that I want all of us, whoever we, whatever age we may be, whatever health we might have, I want us to become more heavenly minded!
Why is every culture fascinated with the after life..Eccles 3:11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end.
There is more to lie than pleasure and pain joy and entertainment.
Pressures.. no time for heaven… and the next life. So focused on now.. yet we will be there forever.
Philip Yancey although most of us believe in the afterlife, very few talk about it. Isn’t it a little bazaar that we ignore heaven living as though it doesn’t matter.
Why is it important to study heaven? First of all: because Christians are going there.
Let me challenge you: many Christians, I think, who have attended church all their lives, especially those in middle age, around 50 and under, can't recall hardly ever hearing a sermon on the subject of heaven - and if it is even mentioned in passing, seldom is the subject developed and explained.
I'm always encouraging you to study Christian history, and it's only recently that the doctrine of heaven seems less important to Christians and the church. For centuries, almost 2000 years of our Christian history, heaven was an important, vital focal point to every believer and to the Church militant as a body. But for some reason today, as one author has very perceptively said, heaven has fallen off our radar screens. It's remarkable when you think about it for a moment, when we consider that there could be no more important subject for the child of God than where we will spend life, eternal life, forever, for all eternity - yet Christians pay little attention to the details concerning their eternal destiny. It was J. C. Ryle, that great Anglican evangelical Bishop of Liverpool, who said these words, listen very carefully: 'The man who is about to sail for Australia or New Zealand as a settler is naturally anxious to know something about his future home. Its climate, its employments, its inhabitants, its ways, its customs, all these are subjects of deep interest to him. You're leaving the land of your nativity, you're going to spend the rest of your life in a new hemisphere, it would be strange indeed if you did not desire information about your new abode. Now surely, if we hope to dwell forever in a better country, even a heavenly one, we ought to seek all the knowledge we can about it, before we go to our eternal home we should try to become acquainted with it'.
Not every one is going to heaven.
I. When The Thief Saw Jesus He saw PARADISE GOD’S PRESENT HOME “Our Father which art in heaven….” Lk. 11:2b “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day He was taken up to heaven.” Acts 1:1-2a “Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” 1 Ki. 8:30 “If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Ch. 7:14 “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55
We want to be in a place where God is. Heaven starts with beginning and building a loving relationship with God.
Heaven is a real place. Paul 2 Cor 12:2 I know a man in Christ who was caught up into the third heaven 14 years ago. Whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don’t know; God knows. 3 I know that this man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 was caught up into paradise.
Heaven is often described in metaphors.
· A banquet (Matt. 8:11)
· A wedding feast (Rev. 19:9)
· A city of incredible beauty (Rev. 21)
II. When The Thief Saw Jesus He saw GOD’S PERFECT PROMISE
The Promise of Unlimited Forgiveness
“‘We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” Vs. 41-42
“‘The time has come,’ He (Jesus) said. ‘The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.’” Mk. 1:14-15
Thou art gone to the grave! but we will not deplore thee, Though sorrow and darkness encompass the tomb;
Thy Savior has passed through its portals before thee, And the lamp of His love is thy guide through the gloom.
"Thou art gone to the grave! We no longer behold thee, Nor tread the rough paths of the world by thy side;
But the wide arms of Mercy are spread to enfold thee, And sinners may die, for the Sinless has died
The Promise of Unhindered Access“Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Vs. 43
“And Jesus said, ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise. This is a solemn promise.’” Vs. 43 LB
o No Purgatory
o No “Soul Sleep”
o No Waiting Whatsoever
“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” Rom. 11:5, 6
"Over the river they beckon to me, Loved ones who've crossed to the farther side;
The gleam of their snowy robes I see, But their voices are drowned in the rushing tide.
There's one with ringlets of sunny gold, And eyes, the reflection of heaven's own blue;
He crossed in the twilight gray and cold, And the pale mist hid him from mortal view.
We saw not the angels who met him there, The gates of the city we could not see;
Over the river, over the river, My brother stands waiting to welcome me."
III When The Thief Saw Jesus He saw MAN’S PRESENT HOPE“Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Vs. 43
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” Col. 3:1-2
Col 3:1 So if you have been raised with the • Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. 4 When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
In 1952 there was a young girl called Florence Chadwick who stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island determined to swim from it to the shore of the state of California. She had already been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways, and on that day she decided to swim from California to that Catalina Island the weather was very foggy, it was freezing cold, she could hardly see even the boats that were around her accompanying her on that journey. She swam and she swam and she swam for 15 hours, and eventually she had had enough, she couldn't take it any more and she begged to be taken out of the water along the way. Her mother was in the boat right beside her, and she said: 'Mother, get me out!', and her mother told her that she was very, very close to the shore, and that she could make it if she just kept going. Finally she was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, and she stopped swimming, and she had to be winched out of the water. It wasn't until she got onto that boat that she discovered that the shore was less than half a mile away. At the news conference the next day, this is what she said: 'All I could see was the fog, I think if I could have seen the shore I would have made it'.
Ephesians 2:6 He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus,
“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.” Rev. 21:27
Airplane “People look like ants from here.! Dummy they are ants, we haven’t taken off yet.”
Challenges of life look unsurpassable, but when you see it from heaven’s perspective its not such big deal.
Tozer we do well to think of the long tomorrow.
The church is constantly being tempted to accept this world as her home. And sometimes she has listened to those who would woo her away and use her for their own ends. But if she is wise she will consider that she stands in the valley between mountain peaks of eternity past and eternity that is to come. And the past is gone forever and the present is passing as swift as the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz,
Even if the earth should continue a million years not one of us could stay to enjoy it. We do well to think of the long tomorrow where we will spend most of our existence.
John Owen, in his book 'The Glory of Christ', says these profound words that relate to us regarding heaven: 'No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven who does not in some measure behold it by faith in this world'.
'Rejoice not that the devils are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven' - our names are in heaven. Our inheritance, the Bible says, is in heaven, incorruptible and undefiled, that fades not away. Our citizenship is there, our eternal reward - if we have much of it - will be there, and our treasure - if we are building it up in heaven - will be there waiting for us. That's why we should focus on heaven on earth!
Jonathan Edwards, that great American theologian and man of God, often spoke about heaven. This is what he said concerning heaven as the focus of our earthly existence: 'It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward heaven, to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labour for, or set our hearts on, anything else but that which is our proper end and true happiness?'.
In Matthew 6 Jesus said: 'Build up treasures in heaven' - not on earth.
Matthew 6 :19 - Jesus speaking, as much to us as He was to those in the multitude on the Mount, as He delivered this great sermon says: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also".
C. S. Lewis said regarding this, listen, this is profound: 'If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither'. What do you focus on in your life here on earth as a believer? That's why we need to study heaven, it ought to be our focus on earth.
Schindler’s list final scene depicts him as looking on the faces of those he has rescued, a moment of clarity, I wish we could have saved more. Look at the generations of the people you’ve saved, we could have saved more. That car..10 people, that gold pen, 2 people, and he compares what we value here on earth to what is truly valuable in eternity.
What is really valuable in your life?
When the dying thief was on the cross, he saw a Glimpse Of Glory.
Mother’s day.
That fellow on the cross had something in common with us all: he had a belly button.. which means he had a mother.
That thief was one of 3 thieves to be crucified that day.
Perhaps they were part of a gang.
Mark 15:7 There was one named Barabbas, who was in prison with rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion.
Luke 23
John 18 . They shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.[10]
Perhaps his mother had taught him well from a babe.
But she had passed away, and her influence had diminished with the years.
Perhaps he had gone from stealing donkeys, to burglary, to something worse.
Somewhere down his life things did not go well
Perhaps his mother had died when he was still a child.
When as man is dying he remembers many things. Perhaps this robber who had blasphemed the Lord Jesus had begun to remember some of the things he had said or done.
Perhaps his mother’s face had come back to him as he hung there on that cross.
And he began to feel regret for the life that he had lived.
'Just one glimpse of Him in glory Will the toils of life repay'.
Now, we're tempted to think, especially those who are perhaps younger, that heaven is really for the old folk, those in the waiting room of Glory, those who are sick and want rid of all these diseases and ailments in their body, those who are dying perhaps with terminal illnesses. Heaven is something that you want to think about if you're in those circumstances, but what relevance has it to me in my twenties or my thirties or forties, or in midlife? Well, the aim that I have in preaching this series on heaven is that I want all of us, whoever we, whatever age we may be, whatever health we might have, I want us to become more heavenly minded!
Why is every culture fascinated with the after life..Eccles 3:11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end.
There is more to lie than pleasure and pain joy and entertainment.
Pressures.. no time for heaven… and the next life. So focused on now.. yet we will be there forever.
Philip Yancey although most of us believe in the afterlife, very few talk about it. Isn’t it a little bazaar that we ignore heaven living as though it doesn’t matter.
Why is it important to study heaven? First of all: because Christians are going there.
Let me challenge you: many Christians, I think, who have attended church all their lives, especially those in middle age, around 50 and under, can't recall hardly ever hearing a sermon on the subject of heaven - and if it is even mentioned in passing, seldom is the subject developed and explained.
I'm always encouraging you to study Christian history, and it's only recently that the doctrine of heaven seems less important to Christians and the church. For centuries, almost 2000 years of our Christian history, heaven was an important, vital focal point to every believer and to the Church militant as a body. But for some reason today, as one author has very perceptively said, heaven has fallen off our radar screens. It's remarkable when you think about it for a moment, when we consider that there could be no more important subject for the child of God than where we will spend life, eternal life, forever, for all eternity - yet Christians pay little attention to the details concerning their eternal destiny. It was J. C. Ryle, that great Anglican evangelical Bishop of Liverpool, who said these words, listen very carefully: 'The man who is about to sail for Australia or New Zealand as a settler is naturally anxious to know something about his future home. Its climate, its employments, its inhabitants, its ways, its customs, all these are subjects of deep interest to him. You're leaving the land of your nativity, you're going to spend the rest of your life in a new hemisphere, it would be strange indeed if you did not desire information about your new abode. Now surely, if we hope to dwell forever in a better country, even a heavenly one, we ought to seek all the knowledge we can about it, before we go to our eternal home we should try to become acquainted with it'.
Not every one is going to heaven.
I. When The Thief Saw Jesus He saw PARADISE GOD’S PRESENT HOME “Our Father which art in heaven….” Lk. 11:2b “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day He was taken up to heaven.” Acts 1:1-2a “Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” 1 Ki. 8:30 “If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Ch. 7:14 “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55
We want to be in a place where God is. Heaven starts with beginning and building a loving relationship with God.
Heaven is a real place. Paul 2 Cor 12:2 I know a man in Christ who was caught up into the third heaven 14 years ago. Whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don’t know; God knows. 3 I know that this man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 was caught up into paradise.
Heaven is often described in metaphors.
· A banquet (Matt. 8:11)
· A wedding feast (Rev. 19:9)
· A city of incredible beauty (Rev. 21)
II. When The Thief Saw Jesus He saw GOD’S PERFECT PROMISE
The Promise of Unlimited Forgiveness
“‘We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” Vs. 41-42
“‘The time has come,’ He (Jesus) said. ‘The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.’” Mk. 1:14-15
Thou art gone to the grave! but we will not deplore thee, Though sorrow and darkness encompass the tomb;
Thy Savior has passed through its portals before thee, And the lamp of His love is thy guide through the gloom.
"Thou art gone to the grave! We no longer behold thee, Nor tread the rough paths of the world by thy side;
But the wide arms of Mercy are spread to enfold thee, And sinners may die, for the Sinless has died
The Promise of Unhindered Access“Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Vs. 43
“And Jesus said, ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise. This is a solemn promise.’” Vs. 43 LB
o No Purgatory
o No “Soul Sleep”
o No Waiting Whatsoever
“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” Rom. 11:5, 6
"Over the river they beckon to me, Loved ones who've crossed to the farther side;
The gleam of their snowy robes I see, But their voices are drowned in the rushing tide.
There's one with ringlets of sunny gold, And eyes, the reflection of heaven's own blue;
He crossed in the twilight gray and cold, And the pale mist hid him from mortal view.
We saw not the angels who met him there, The gates of the city we could not see;
Over the river, over the river, My brother stands waiting to welcome me."
III When The Thief Saw Jesus He saw MAN’S PRESENT HOPE“Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Vs. 43
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” Col. 3:1-2
Col 3:1 So if you have been raised with the • Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. 4 When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
In 1952 there was a young girl called Florence Chadwick who stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island determined to swim from it to the shore of the state of California. She had already been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways, and on that day she decided to swim from California to that Catalina Island the weather was very foggy, it was freezing cold, she could hardly see even the boats that were around her accompanying her on that journey. She swam and she swam and she swam for 15 hours, and eventually she had had enough, she couldn't take it any more and she begged to be taken out of the water along the way. Her mother was in the boat right beside her, and she said: 'Mother, get me out!', and her mother told her that she was very, very close to the shore, and that she could make it if she just kept going. Finally she was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, and she stopped swimming, and she had to be winched out of the water. It wasn't until she got onto that boat that she discovered that the shore was less than half a mile away. At the news conference the next day, this is what she said: 'All I could see was the fog, I think if I could have seen the shore I would have made it'.
Ephesians 2:6 He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus,
“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.” Rev. 21:27
Airplane “People look like ants from here.! Dummy they are ants, we haven’t taken off yet.”
Challenges of life look unsurpassable, but when you see it from heaven’s perspective its not such big deal.
Tozer we do well to think of the long tomorrow.
The church is constantly being tempted to accept this world as her home. And sometimes she has listened to those who would woo her away and use her for their own ends. But if she is wise she will consider that she stands in the valley between mountain peaks of eternity past and eternity that is to come. And the past is gone forever and the present is passing as swift as the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz,
Even if the earth should continue a million years not one of us could stay to enjoy it. We do well to think of the long tomorrow where we will spend most of our existence.
John Owen, in his book 'The Glory of Christ', says these profound words that relate to us regarding heaven: 'No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven who does not in some measure behold it by faith in this world'.
'Rejoice not that the devils are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven' - our names are in heaven. Our inheritance, the Bible says, is in heaven, incorruptible and undefiled, that fades not away. Our citizenship is there, our eternal reward - if we have much of it - will be there, and our treasure - if we are building it up in heaven - will be there waiting for us. That's why we should focus on heaven on earth!
Jonathan Edwards, that great American theologian and man of God, often spoke about heaven. This is what he said concerning heaven as the focus of our earthly existence: 'It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward heaven, to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labour for, or set our hearts on, anything else but that which is our proper end and true happiness?'.
In Matthew 6 Jesus said: 'Build up treasures in heaven' - not on earth.
Matthew 6 :19 - Jesus speaking, as much to us as He was to those in the multitude on the Mount, as He delivered this great sermon says: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also".
C. S. Lewis said regarding this, listen, this is profound: 'If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither'. What do you focus on in your life here on earth as a believer? That's why we need to study heaven, it ought to be our focus on earth.
Schindler’s list final scene depicts him as looking on the faces of those he has rescued, a moment of clarity, I wish we could have saved more. Look at the generations of the people you’ve saved, we could have saved more. That car..10 people, that gold pen, 2 people, and he compares what we value here on earth to what is truly valuable in eternity.
What is really valuable in your life?
# posted by Groseys messages @ 9:39 PM
