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CHURCH LETTER
'How does the city sit solitary . . . . that was full of people? '
As we approach the end of the `Church Age' it seems right and proper that we look afresh at what lies ahead for the Covenanted People of Israel. For too long much of `the Church of the Redeemed' has been concerned with itself, whilst those concerned with Israel are in danger of being drawn into seeing Israel in the abstract rather than as a People chosen by God, drawn out, separated, set apart from all the nations of the world and betrothed to Him as a Bride who will become His Wife. Whilst it is right and proper for us to consider afresh our `Hebraic roots' of defending Israel against all criticism, and worrying as prayer warriors over the threat of militant Islam or of other `democratic' nations in their seeking for a two-State solution and the status of Jerusalem, there is the danger that Israel moves into an `impersonal' object in our thinking and actions. Here we seek to re-address that problem!
Our title comes from `The Lamentations of Jeremiah', which in the Hebraic text begins with `alas':
" Alas, the city that was once full of people! How she has become as a
widow! She that was great among the nations, and a Queen among the
provinces, has become as a slave. "
It is difficult to convey to modern readers the full depth of utter despair in that opening word `alas'. Here Jeremiah is likening Jerusalem to a widowed queen, once proudly standing beside her king only to find that her great beauty, wealth and prosperity had been bestowed on her through her relationship with her great King. Now all was lost as she was `put away' because of her adultery. Now she, Jerusalem, lay deserted, empty and in ruins, for she had become no more than a worthless slave! `Alas, alas', how desolate, how filled with bitter regret over her adultery - this was the utter despair that Jeremiah felt! This `alas' was a cry of pain and grief, a wailing cry as Jeremiah takes on the burden and becomes a representative of Jerusalem and the whole nation of Israel under judgement. Jeremiah points forward prophetically to the Messiah Jesus who took on Himself the whole burden of not only Israel's sin but the sin of the whole world. The Talmud sees this `alas' as a dirge or an elegy, a lament for the dead, whereas the Septuagint, nearer to the feeling of the word, calls is a `lamenting lament', a deep wailing cry coming from the very depth of Jeremiah's soul. Mere words cannot express this for it is a deep personal experience of utter loss. Jersualem . . . the Temple containing the very Presence of the LORD centered on the Ark of the Covenant covered by the golden Mercy Seat . . . the priesthood who alone could make atonement each year for the nation . . . the promise for the House of David of an eternal throne . . . a national life totally bound up with the LORD in the Temple . . . all gone! Desolate and solitary Jeremiah sat, and as Israel he lamented his lament.
In the midst of utter despair, and seeing all this as a righteous judgement, Jeremiah enters into a confession of his nation's sin, and at last he is able to look beyond his despair as he remembers that it is Israel's LORD God Who has allowed this calamity in order to purge the nation's adultery and bring her back to Himself: (Lamentations 3:21-24)
" Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. Because of the LORD's
great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are
new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, the LORD
is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him. "
Jeremiah remembers that Israel was called out of slavery and separated from the nations to be God's chosen people and to be His witness. He led them into the Wilderness of Testing and finally `Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan . . . in the fourtieth year on the first day of the eleventh month Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them'.
There in the desert, just before they crossed over into the Promised Land, the LORD entered into a Covenant of Love with His chosen people. As we have said many times, the Book of Deuteronomy is set out as a Marriage Covenant, as used in those times - and indeed it forms the basis for all marriage contracts which are formally entered into to this day. However this is a Marriage Covenant between the LORD and His people when Israel was `betrothed' as a Bride to her Husband in an unbreakable relationship, undergirded by the Everlasting Covenant between God the Father and God the Son. Jeremiah and all the prophets understood this Covenanted relationship, and you will find this understanding in all their words to adulterous Israel and Judah. We read of Jeremiah's indignation to faithless Judah in his Book: (Jeremiah 3:11-14 in part)
" The LORD said to me: `Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful
Judah. Go, proclaim this message towards the north:
" `Return, faithless Israel,' declares the LORD, `I will frown
on you no longer . . . . `Return, faithless people,' declares
the LORD, `for I am your Husband'. "
As you read through Lamentations 15:21-24 you will understand further Jeremiah's certainty of this, when in the midst of his lamenting he can say: (verse 22)
" Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed;
for His compassions never fail. "
One hundred years or so earlier Isaiah also spoke of Judah's adultery: (Isaiah 50:1)
" This is what the LORD says, `Where is your mother's certificate of divorce
with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you?' "
During this same time Hosea also spoke to Israel as well as warning Judah:
" Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not My wife and I am not
her Husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face . . . . .
How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? . . . .
They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria
In that Day,' declares the LORD, `you will call Me Ishi (my Husband)
for you will no longer call Me Baali (my master)'. "
That Day is beautifully described in Psalm 45: (v 13-14)
" All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven
with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the King. Her virgin
companions follow her and are brought to You. "
King Hezekiah saw this in his bride Hephizibah and wrote this Psalm to honour her. Isaiah also saw this in `the vision he gazed upon': (Isaiah 62:3-5)
" You shall be also a crown of Glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal
diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,
neither shall your land be called Desolate, but you shall be called Hephzibah,
My Delight, and your land shall be called Beulah, married. For as a young
man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as a bridegroom
rejoices over the bride so shall your God rejoice over you. "
It was with this understanding of the LORD's given Word that at the end of his Lamentations Jeremiah could say, `Turn us, O LORD, and we shall return to You. Renew our days as of old'. The nation, the people of Israel, could only be brought back into the blessings of a betrothed bride through a deep heart-rending repentance, which could only happen through a sovereign work of the LORD - `Turn us, enable us, to see You and we will return, for Your Covenanted Word has been spoken'!
As Scripture shows, anger and frustration spoke of divorce, but were then turned aside as unthinkable: `How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?' And yet a separation has occurred, but the time will come, and come soon, for the full restoration of `the Wife of your youth', for this long separation is all within the LORD's purposes as He finally brings His betrothed Bride into the consummation of a Wife. There is a purpose for this long separation of Israel from her Husband, which is to bring forth a Bride for His Son and the `catching away' for her consummation as His Wife. This is His-tory, the revelation of the LORD's Delight, His Hephzibah, together with `the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband'.
For this we must turn to the Book of Revelation, `the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must shortly come to pass', for it is here that we shall find the words which were spoken by Jeremiah outworking for Israel: `Turn us, O LORD, and we shall return to You. Renew our days as of old'. The Bride of Christ has been `caught away' to the Judgement Seat of Christ to receive her rewards, leaving on earth the separated Wife of the LORD to enter the judgement of `the Day of Jacob's Trouble', through which the LORD will turn her to return to Him, thus bringing Israel into the fulness of the Marriage Covenant of Love. The first thing to notice in this `Revelation of Jesus Christ' is that it is prophecy and is yet to be seen: `Blessed is he who reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written there, for the time is at hand'. Next we need to understand that although ` Revelation' is written in Greek its thinking, idioms and symbolism are totally and thoroughly Hebraic and clearly link it with `the Covenanted people of Israel'. Throughout this Book the imagery is clear . . the Temple, the Tabernacle, the trumpets, the candlesticks and the constant use of the sacred number `seven', also the Book of Life and the Books of the Dead have no place in the Age of the Church of the Redeemed.
There is ever-present in Scriptural exposition the danger of crossing over into different Dispensations, or other Ages, which distorts and confuses the Word and often leads to erroneous teaching. Such is the danger when reading the Book of Revelation, for its purpose is to reveal the King and Kingdom of Israel - as promised to the people of Israel that `the House of David' would be an everlasting Kingdom with its enthroned King ruling over His people. It therefore follows that the `Ekklesia' of the Pauline Letters is not the subject of this `unveiling' of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 4 of the first chapter opens thus:
" John, to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace and peace to you
from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, and from the
seven spirits before His throne. "
Here in Revelation confusion can quickly enter over the words `churches'. Therefore we need to remember that the `Old Testament' Scriptures come from the Septuagint, that is they are translated from Hebrew into Greek, whereas the Book of Revelation was finally written down in Koine Greek. In saying `finally written down', we need to remember that Revelation constantly alludes to the `Old Testament' - that is to say, words are written without further explanation - and because of these allusions rather than direct quotes it is difficult to know when John used the original Hebrew words or the Septuagint translation. Indeed there are many instances of a direct `lifting out' of ancient Hebrew words interjected with `Christian words'. For example, in the Septuagint translation the Greek `Ekklesia' is used seventy times as synonymous with the Hebrew word `Kahal', from which comes the word `Synagogue'. Very early on in the `New Testament Age' this word Synagogue
was solely associated with Jewish worship and the word was finally dropped from use by the early Christians in favour of `Ekklesia' so as to further complete the break with Judaism.
The Greek word Ekklesia has its roots in the word `Kuriakes', meaning `belonging to the LORD's House'. Thus did error in translation occur and it is repeated to this day, particularly in Revelation where the original meaning of Synagogue is completely removed, surplanting it with Ekklesia and thus distorting the whole revelation of `the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ which God gave Him'. The word `Kahal', which translates as `Synagogue', refers to a distinct group of a long line of people whose lineage stretches back into antiquity, who long ago were called out - to the exclusion of all others - to be separated unto the LORD, a Covenanted People, whereas the `Ekklesia' is the assembly of all the Redeemed People of God, the Church of the First Born'. The opening verses of the Book of Revelation reveals John writing to the Synagogues or Seven Kahals in Asia, the assemblies of Jews who were scattered into Asia in the Great Diaspora, and the structure of the whole Book of Revelation shows this distinction.
The Book opens with an `introduction' in the first chapter revealing the wondrous Person whom John saw, to whom was given `the Revelation of Jesus Christ'. In the following chapters 2 and 3 the Book then reveals `the People of the Earth', the Seven Kahals, using them to illustrate how the LORD sees His called-out chosen people and why John was told to `Come up here, and be shown what must take place after this' - in order to `Turn us, O LORD, and we shall be turned'. The words to the first three Kahals show Israel's time in the Wilderness following their delivery from slavery, seen in chapter 2:4-16 as below:
To Ephesus: `You have left your first love' - wherein you were betrothed to Me
To Smyrna: Israel's testing in that Wilderness: `Fear none of these things, be faithful'
To Pergamum: Israel's failure in that testing, the beginning of adultery and worhsip of Baal: `Repent or else I will soon come to you with the sword in My mouth'
Apart from a remnant they all died in the Wilderness, and so we move on into Israel's time in the Land of Promise:
To Thyatira: And the time of Israel's kings: `I know your works, your love and faith, your service and patience' (2:19)
To Sardis: It didn't last for the seeds of adultery were showing in the Age of Thyatira which would lead to Israel's removal from the Land:
`Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die' (3:2)
To Philadelphia: The Age of Judah's kings: `I know your works, and behold I have set before you an open door that no man can shut. Behold, I come quickly. Hold fast to what you have, that no man may take your crown'. (3:8)
To Laodicea: Judah's failure and removal from the Land: `You are neither hot nor cold. Therefore I will spit you out of My mouth'. (3:16)
The setting here is a Court Room, and in chapters 2 and 3 the Judge is setting out the reasons for His judgement against His Covenanted People Israel. The Judge uses Seven Synagogues (Kahals) and we use one prominent failure within each one to illustrate Israel's continual faithlessness to the `Marriage Covenant' they had willingly entered into, first in the Wilderness and then in the Land. There is no defence to be given as the evidence has been clearly seen in the wording of the message to the Seven Kahals. Following the reasons for His judgement - which we call `the Tribulation' or `the Day of the Lord' or especially `the Day of Jacob's trouble' - there comes the opening words of chapter 4:
" After this (the reasons for the Judgement) I looked and behold,
a door was opened in Heaven (and so the judgement began). "
However in every message to the seven synagogues there is a message of certain hope - `to him who overcomes' - for there is a remnant in every Age with a given promise. That promise can be seen at the end of chapter 11 of the Letter to the Hebrews when referring to `the great cloud of witnesses: (Verse 40)
" God had planned something better for us, so that
they together with us should be made perfect. "
The Church of the Redeemed has a responsibility towards that great cloud of witnesses who are the overcomers of the Seven Ages of those synagogues! And so we move on to what John saw `which must soon take place'. In the following chapters of this Revelation of Jesus Christ, from chapter four through to chapter twenty, there are Seven Revelations in couplets, making fourteen in all. All Seven Revelations follow the same structural pattern of `things in Heaven' followed by `things on earth'. There is no hiatus, there are no breaks but seven continuous revelations culminating in the final Five Judgements on Earth. We have no space to set out `chapter and verse' of these Seven Revelations, broken as they are by chapter numbers, but have attached an Appendix to the end of this Letter so as to avoid disturbing the flow of these seven revelations.
In brief, the seven couplets can be seen as:
One: In heaven, the Throne, the Scroll and the Lamb
On earth, the six seals and the 144,000
Two: In heaven, the great multitude and the seventh seal
On earth, the six trumpets
Three: In heaven, the seventh trumpet
On earth, the earthquakes
Four: In heaven, the woman, child and dragon
On earth, the dragon and the two beasts
Five: In heaven, the Lamb and the 144,000
On earth, the six angels
Six: In heaven, the seven angels with vials
On earth, The seven vials
Seven: In heaven, the marriage of the Lamb
On earth, the final five judgements and the Millenium Reign
The Book of Revelation now closes as it began, but this time instead of referring to the People of the Earth it refers to the People of the New Earth. Finally in the closing chapter all is brought to a conclusion:
" These words are faithful and true. The LORD God of the holy prophets sent
His angel to show His servants the things that must be shortly done . . . . .
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen! "
As we have said, this final Book of our Scriptures is wholly Hebraic in thought and acts, and the Church of the First Born, the Ekklesia of God, does not appear in it until the closing (in part) chapters 21 and 22 - `the People of the New Earth'.
We now turn first to the controversial fourth revelation. This couplet concerns, in heaven the Woman, the Man-child and the Dragon, and on earth the Dragon and the two Beasts. The second half of the couplet presents little difficulty for it concerns the great earthly powers which control the affairs of man throughout history (we have described this in another Letter, `Throne and Altar') and here they are seen in their fulness as the Antichrist and the False Prophet, both of whom are under the `direction' of the Dragon. And so we turn to the first part of this fourth couplet which traditionally is always seen as an hiatus, an intermission in the flow of continuous narrative. However in looking at this we need to keep in mind the opening words of the earlier chapter 4:
" After this I looked and behold, a door was opened in Heaven. And a
voice I heard . . . . . said, `Come up here, and I will show you
things which must take place hereafter. "
The `after this' comes after the recording of Israel's failure in the Wilderness and in the Land and the purpose of the Judgement that `must take place hereafter'. Therefore there is no reason to consider the first part of this fourth couplet to be an hiatus, for if this was so it would break up the wholeness of the seven couplets containing fourteen prophecies. Chapter 12 opens with the words: `And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven . . .'. Although we have dealt with the second part of the fourth couplet above - that of the Dragon, the Antichrist and the False Prophet - the `great wonder in Heaven' and `the Dragon cast down to the earth' are within a couplet of one complete fourth revelation and cannot be separated if we are to understand the revelation. Man separates the two with the insertion of a heading and so distorts the meaning - and in this fourth revelation it causes prophetic confusion.
The opening of this fourth revelation begins with the words: `And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven'. The Greek word `Horao' translated as `appeared' has a meaning of `a sign perceived with the eyes'. The wonder was seen in order to understand what was to follow. It is descriptive of something which `is' in Heaven and not some past happening on earth. Clearly the words, `a woman and a moon and a crown of twelve stars travailing in birth and about to be delivered' is `seeing' Israel, betrothed as a Bride to God in the Wilderness. Israel is the `womb' in which she `carries' the Man Child, born at God's appointed time and then `caught unto God and to His Throne'. In John's Gospel Jesus talks of this to His disciples concerning His departure and return: (John 16:21)
" A woman when she is in travail has sorrow, because her hour has come;
but as soon as she is delivered of the child she remembers no more the
pain but has joy because a man is born into the world. "
In verse 2 of chapter 12 it is recorded: `Then being with child she cried out, travailing in birth and in pain to be delivered'. With our natural understanding we know that `a woman travailing in birth and in pain' is at her weakest point, and Israel, as this woman, has been in travail and in pain ever since she was chosen by God as His Wife and has carried in her `womb' the `Man Child' Who one day would be delivered. Through her journey over the long centuries the `Man Child' has been carried in the centre of Israel, in her very heart! In the Wilderness Israel carried the Ark of the Covenant always in her `womb'! Once she was in the Land and with the building of the Temple the Presence of the `Man Child' was in her very heart, in the Most Holy Place in that Temple! When taken into captivity Israel took the Torah scrolls containing the Promise of God of a `Man Child' Who would rule on the Throne of David for ever! On release from that captivity they brought back within them the Word of God hedged around by the Talmud as one complete Presence of God in their midst! At God's appointed time the Man Child was delivered in the Person of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel in their midst, only to be rejected by His people! We read in chapter 12 verse 5: `She (Israel) bore a male Child . . . . her Child was caught up to Heaven up to God and His Throne'. History records the great Diaspora that followed in AD 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed and her people were scattered. And so the promise of `a Man Child Who would rule all nations with a rod of iron' awaits His Second Coming to earth. Israel still carries in her `womb' the Promise of a Messiah, and she is still travailing in birth and in pain - which is clearly seen in what is called `the Middle East problem'!
In this fourth revelation John is seeing with his spiritual eyes the time when Lucifer rebelled against God and together with those who followed him was cast down to the earth. Now he seeks to destroy God's chosen people, Israel, through whom will come One Who will `rule all nations with a rod of iron' and who wait for Him (the Messiah) to return to Jerusalem to take up His throne and rule and reign with His consort, Israel, the Hephizibah of Psalm 45. Lucifer in his continual seeking to usurp God's Purpose will use the Judgements of `the Day of Jacob's Trouble' to try to destroy Israel, through whom her King has already come, and will come again, and so Israel is `the woman (who) fled into the wilderness prepared by God . . . . for 1,260 days'.
This takes us to the Book of Daniel and to his `70th week' in chapter 9:7 - known as the seven years of the Tribulation. In the final onslaught on Israel this 1,260 days refers to the second half of that Dreadful Time, known as the Great Tribulation of Revelation 12: v 7-9:
" And there was war in Heaven. Michael and his angels fought against
the Dragon . . . . who was cast down to earth. "
Lucifer rebelled, and although his throne was no longer in Heaven he still had full access to it, but here in this Scripture Lucifer is finally cast down to the earth where he continues his rebellion to the end, always seeking to destroy Israel, God's chosen vessel to `bring forth' her Messiah. This now leads on to the second part of the fourth couplet - the Dragon and the two Beasts on earth! What John `saw' in this fourth revelation was not an hiatus, for it was given to him to `see' God's spiritual world - that which is and will be seen on earth in this final Judgement or Tribulation - which in man's time will be soon.
Now we turn to the seventh revlation, and to the first part in this couplet - the marriage of the Lamb in Heaven: (19:1-7)
" After this I heard the great voice of many people in Heaven, saying,
`Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belongs to the LORD our
God . . . . Let us rejoice and give honour to Him! For the marriage of
the Lamb has come and His Wife has made herself ready'. "
We need now to step back to a previous remark in our opening notes concerning the Israelite's Marriage Covenant. At a point in time the Kingdom of Israel had been split into two and the northern kingdom of Israel had been given a Certificate of Divorce (as seen in Jeremiah 3:8). However the southern kingdom of Judah had only been separated in their Covenant relationship with God (as seen in Isaiah 50:1). According to Mosaic Law no woman could issue a Certificate of Law, although in practise a woman could ask, persuade, the Rabbinical Court to instruct the man to issue such a certificate. Also under Rabbinical Law no woman could re-marry as long as her husband was alive, neither could she re-marry her previous husband. Therefore this meant that both kingdoms, Israel and Judah, were seen to be under the very heavy yoke of the Law for any future relationship because Israel was divorced and Judah was separated from God. Therefore God in human form, in the Person of Jesus, had to die in order that Israel and Judah could be freed from the sin of breaking the Marriage Covenant and to free them ready for another marriage relationship.
That death came with the crucifixion of Jesus! The new relationship came at the following Feast of Pentecost when the LORD fulfilled a promise He had made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah: (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
"Behold, the day will come, says the LORD, when I will make a new (marriage) Covenant . . . . not according to the (marriage) Covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, although I was a Husband to them. I will put My Law in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God and they will be My people. "
That promise waits for `the Times of the Gentiles' to be completed in order to bring forth the fulness of that earlier Pentecost, bringing in the Harvest of `the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, descending out of Heaven from God' (Revelation 21:9). Modern usage of words can often hide Scriptural truths and cause great problems when people read Scripture with modern eyes and fall into the danger of `losing' the beauty of Scriptural truths which have been lost in behavioural patterns of modern life. The word `bride' is attributed only to a betrothed virgin, for when the legal marriage ceremony takes place, directly afterwards she is no longer a bride, she has legally become a wife, even though the actual consummation of the marriage is delayed. Revelation 19 shows this: `For the marriage of the Lamb has come and His Wife has made herself ready'.
We have seen earlier the agonised cry of the LORD when speaking through Hosea concerning Israel's adulterous behaviour: (Hosea 2:2 and 14-16)
" `Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not My Wife and I am not
her Husband . . . . Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead
her into the desert . . . . There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt. In that Day' declares the LORD,
`you will call Me Ishi, `my Husband', you will no longer call Me
Baali, `my Master'. "
The words `came up out of Egypt' directly refer to the Marriage Covenant of the Book of Deuteronomy. Israel, betrothed, that is, chosen, became a wife even though the consummation was delayed, but here in Revelation 19 we see that the consummation has taken place for the believing remnant of Israel. The wording of Revelation 19:7 makes no mention of a Bride (the Greek for that would be `Numphe') but speaks of `His Wife who has made herself ready' (the Greek word here is `Gune'). Jeremiah 3:14 shows that this marriage ceremony had taken place - `For I am married to you' - even though the consummation had been delayed until here in Revelation 19:7 that consummation has arrived, for `His Wife has made herself ready' and `blessed are they who are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb', which is also seen as the fulfillment of the parable of the Marriage Feast of Matthew 22. This consummation of the Wife of God concerns `the Israel of the Wilderness', where she was espoused to the LORD. Now this remnant of Israel, those who have held fast to the Promise, this `great cloud of witnesses' of Hebrews 11, and the remnant of the Tribulation saints are called to `the Marriage Supper of the Lamb' and to enjoy blessings in the Land of the Millenium Kingdom as the earthly Consort of the Great King This is still Israel, the remnant of those who were called out from among the nations of the world for blessings in the Land and who held fast to the LORD. This is the first resurrection whereupon after the Millenium Kingdom this Land together with the whole earth will be destroyed and a new earth with a new Jerusalem will come forth.
This, then, completes the seventh couplet. In the first part the Marriage of the Wife of the Lamb in Heaven is revealed, whilst the second part contains the final five Judgements, the Millenium reign and the `great white throne' judgements with the Books of the Dead and the Book of Life. None of these will concern the Bride (who has now become a Wife) of Revelation 21, for she is included in `the People of the New Earth', contrasting with `the People of the Old Earth' of chapters 2 and 3, for here in chapter 21 are the people of a Heavenly calling! The Bride of Revelation 21 is of that new Jerusalem which John saw . . `the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband'. The Bride (who has become the Lamb's Wife) which John saw, is `the Church of the Firstborn', together with the remnant of the Consort of the Great King. This is the second resurrection when all is fulfilled and completed in the Lamb of God, Jesus. As the writer to the Hebrews says: (Hebrews 11:16 and 40)
" But now they desire a better country - a Heavenly one. Therefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a country
for them . . . . . God has prepared something better for us so that they
together with us should be made perfect. "
This leaves us with the glorious conclusion which completes the `structure' of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, `Those things which must surely come to pass'. (22:12-13)
" Behold, I come quickly and My reward is with Me to give every man
according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and
the Last . . . . . Surely I come quickly. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. "
-
We wait only for those closing words of Jeremiah as he sat lamenting his Lament for his people Israel, who were broken-off branches through unbelief but who will be re-grafted into God's Israel:
" Turn us to You, O LORD, and we shall be turned. Renew our days as
of old, but You have utterly rejected us and are very angry against us. "
The Judgement Seat of Christ in Heaven for His redeemed people is as certain as is the Judgement or the Great Tribulation on earth for `His Wife in the Wilderness. It is therefore the responsibility of His redeemed people to care for this `Wife', trusting that some will hear His `turning to Him' in that Great Tribulation.
Selah!
APPENDIX
Scripture references for the seven couplets of Revelation Chapter 4 through to Chapter 20. The couplets alternate between Heaven and earth - 14 revelations in all.
No. 1 In Heaven: Chapters 4 and 5
On earth: Chapter 6:1 through to Chapter 7:8
No.2 In Heaven: Chapter 7:9 through to Chapter 8:6
On earth: Chapter 8:7 through to Chapter 11:14
No. 3 In Heaven: Chapter 11:15 through to Chapter 11:19
On earth: Chapter 11:19
No.4: In Heaven: Chapter 12:1 through to v12
On earth: Chapter 12:13 through to Chapter 13:18
No.5: In Heaven: Chapter 14:1-5
On earth: Chapter 14:6-20
No.6: In Heaven: Chapter 15:1-8
On earth: Chapter 16:1 through to Chapter 18:24
No.7: In Heaven: Chapter 19:1-16
On earth: Chapter 19:17 through to Chapter 20:15
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