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Revelation 21:14
And the wall of the city
had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.
The word we see here for foundation means more than just the base of a building. It also represents the fact that there will be 12 levels to this city, similar to floors in a building. Note here that we see another special recognition for the 12 apostles. Since Judas betrayed Jesus, that left 11 faithful apostles, so who is the 12th?
Matthias was chosen by the 11 apostles to replace Judas in Acts 1, but originally the apostles were chosen from among all the believers by Jesus Himself. Later in Acts we see that Jesus chose one other apostle named Paul. This is the 12th name I feel we will see there.
Revelation 21:15-18
And he that talked
with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the
wall thereof. 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. And he measured
the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the
measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure
gold, like unto clear glass.
12,000 Furlongs equals 1,500 Miles. The city of
It would contain enough space to give over 2 acres to every person that has ever lived on the face of the earth since the beginning of time, and that is just on one level. Keep in mind that there will be 12 foundations, or floors, to this city! This means that over 100 miles in the air, there will be a second floor, than over 100 miles above that, a third floor, and so on.
Also the streets are pure gold. Now today in nature, gold appears as a yellow alloy because it cannot exist in nature in a pure state. It only exists in this world in its pure state in a laboratory, and when it does, it is as clear as crystal! Imagine walking on a clear floor over 100 miles in the air! It will literally appear as if we are walking on the clouds in that wonderful time to come!
Revelation 21:19-21
And the foundations
of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The
first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the
fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx;
the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a
topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an
amethyst. And the twelve gates were
twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city
was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
Each of these precious stones has a different color, and some of these stones we no longer even know what they look like. Also, if one pearl is large enough to make a gate, can you imagine the size of the oyster!
Revelation 21:22-23
And I saw no temple
therein: for the Lord God Almighty and
the Lamb are the temple of it. 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.
There will be no night because, in our new immortal bodies, we will never again need to sleep or rest. The Lamb Himself will be the light of this wonderful new home. This fact is also alluded to in…
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was
not any thing made that was made. In him
was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
From the beginning of time, Jesus has been the true light of the world. From the time we were each first saved it was Jesus that was the light that shined into the darkness of each of our hearts. Praise His holy name!
Revelation 21:24-26
And the nations of
them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth
do bring their glory and honour into it.
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be
no night there. And they shall bring the
glory and honour of the nations into it.
In the new earth, there will also be nations and kings, as we have today. However, here there will only be righteous nations and godly leaders. No Hitler will ever raise his ugly head there. No wars will ever break out to devastate the world. No more crooked politicians to deal with and no more ungodly rebellions to put down. What a wonderful, peaceful world that will be.
Revelation 21:27
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.
No more people murdered. No more homes robbed. No more children abused. No more adulterers, fornicators, or homosexuals enslaved by their lusts. No more drugs, alcohol, or pornography. No more men deserting their families for a life of selfishness. You will never have to worry about anyone telling you the truth for no lie will ever exist there. All of this began on the earth when people first made the mistake of listening to a snake, as we see in…
Genesis 3:1-Now the
serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had
made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden?
It was Satan’s rebellion in heaven and Satan’s lie to Adam and Eve on the earth that began all the sin and woe that we see in the earth today. As ridiculous as that lie actually is, Satan believed and still believes today, that somehow he can manipulate things so he can become God.
The new Jerusalem. What else can we say? A city like none ever seen before. A city that is precious to all of us, not for the precious stones or streets of gold, but because Jesus is there. Think on this for a minute though. Just as the church is not a building, so this city is not precious to Jesus for the materials it is made of either. It is precious to Jesus because we are there. He loves us that much, enough to leave heaven for us, enough to die for us, enough to raise from the dead for us, and enough to come back for us. We will tabernacle with God! As Paul says in...
Hebrews 11:8-10--By
faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after
receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he
went. By faith he sojourned in the land
of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and
Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker
is God.
Abraham spent his entire life looking for God’s city and finally found it. This brings me to one final question here. What are you spending your life searching for?
WORLD
HISTORY
|
|
_________|__________
C |
R | YEAR OF THE LORD
E |
A 4,000 YEARS | 2,000 YEARS T
T | O
I BC = BEFORE CHRIST | AD = ANNO DOMINI D
O | A
N | Y
|____________________ ___
______|______________________________|
4000 BC AD 1 AD 20??
|---------OLD TESTAMENT----------|---------REVELATION
1-3-----------|
GREAT
TRIBULATION DAY
OF THE LORD
| 7 YEARS | 1,000 YEARS |
|-------REVELATION 4-19--------|----------REVELATION
20-22----------|
I Peter 2:7-9
Unto you therefore which
believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the
builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of
offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto
also they were appointed. But ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that
ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvellous light:
"The craving to alter the Word of God is accursed; this is the crime of the present day; the Lord preserve us from it."-Charles Haddon Spurgeon-1891
"Where scholarship says one thing and the Bible says another, scholarship can go plumb to the devil."-Billy Sunday
The following section is from THE COMMON MAN'S DEFENSE OF
KJV ONLYISM (BOOK I) by Pastor Joey Faust with
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MODERN SCHOLARS
SOUND LIKE THE OLD SCRIBES
“...they made a translation so magnificent that to this day the common human Britisher or citizen of the United States of North America accepts and worships it as a single book by a single author, the book being the Book of Books and the author being God."1 -George Bernard Shaw
"Whosoever attempts to shake the confidence of the common people in the common version, puts their faith in imminent peril of shipwreck."2-Alexander McClure, The Translators Revived (1858)
“So securely has it established its place in the affections of the English-speaking peoples…that to most of its readers the Authorized Version is The Bible…Although it is often called the ‘Authorized Version,’ it was never ‘authorized’ by any official action on the part of any church or state. On the contrary, its universal reception by the common people of all denominations seems clearly to be another instance of the providence of God…”3-America’s Priceless Heritage: The King James Version of the Bible
If the Bible is in Greek or Hebrew, then it is the responsibility of pastors and teachers to not only learn these languages themselves, but to also teach them to every Christian. The Bible states that every Christian is a priest in Christ (1Pet.2:9, Rev.1:6). It therefore follows that every Christian needs to be able to read the Bible in order to avoid deception:
Ac
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
But how can the majority of ordinary Christians "search the Scriptures" if the Scriptures are still in ancient Greek and Hebrew? Most modern scholars do not believe that any of the various Greek or Hebrew manuscripts are in themselves the "perfect Scriptures". They claim that since all of the original manuscripts have long passed away, every Hebrew and Greek copy now contains some errors. Nevertheless, they still claim that the Hebrew and Greek copies are the closest thing to the original "Bible" that we can possess today. Yet, if this is so, why doesn't every fundamental Christian church make the learning of Greek and Hebrew the first priority for every member? If the tradition is that every pastor or Bible teacher must go to seminary or Bible college to learn Greek and Hebrew, then it follows that only these men who have been taught to read the bible in the original languages can truly function as “priests”. How can the "common people" enter into debate with them? These pastors and teachers will immediately tell them that their "sword" is only a "mere translation".
It should be obvious to anyone that this system is Roman Catholic at the core! Where does the Bible teach that there should be one class of men who can "really" read the "real" Scriptures, while the majority of Christians must content themselves with a "bible" filled with errors that only their "teachers" can find? It is certainly God's will that local churches elect pastors. Yet, can anyone argue that it is God's will that only these pastors read the "real" Bible? If they will be responsible "pastors", and the real Bible is in Greek and Hebrew, then they must exhort every Christian to learn these original languages so every Christian can function as a priest in Christ.
But if the real Bible is now in English (i.e. the international language), then there would be no reason to learn Greek or Hebrew. There would be nothing wrong with learning such ancient languages. There are many Biblical commentaries and other writings in these ancient languages that would then be intelligible. Nevertheless, learning Greek or Hebrew would not give a person more insight into the Bible. Any Christian who knew English (and prayed and studied in faith) could successfully debate Biblical doctrine, and test his or her teachers.
KJV Onlyists claim that God has indeed placed the Scriptures in English through a miracle of His providence. We believe that a Christian would fare better investing in a good set of English dictionaries than a shelf of Greek or Hebrew lexicons!
The KJV Only movement is growing. In response, many scholars have sought to intimidate common, everyday Christians with references to the original languages. Does a person really need to have a seminary degree in ancient languages in order to debate this issue? That is the impression that many modern scholars might wish to convey. Arrogant, liberal scholarship has always ridiculed the KJV as the Bible of the "common people". For too long the dogmatic assumption has been that since the KJV is a translation, it must automatically be deemed inferior to the Greek and Hebrew copies from which it was translated. However, in order to rationally maintain this assumption, one must prove that God has not providentially worked through the King James translators to translate correctly. A miracle working God, involved in the affairs of men, renders the liberal canons of textual criticism obsolete. Thus, if God has performed a miracle of His providence in regard to the KJV, the common man who labors with faith in that English Bible is spiritually enlightened far above those who spend much of their time, effort and money attempting to study the scriptures in the shadows of ancient Greek and Hebrew.
Immediately, the objection is raised that no sober-minded, Greek or Hebrew scholar (properly skilled in the "science" of textual criticism) has ever believed that God providentially blessed the KJV translators with a perfect translation. Such, it is claimed, is only the belief of the "common people" who are unlearned. Yet, is this a rational objection? Certainly, it is not! Suppose God did decide to work through His providence to bless one Bible with perfection above all others.
Would He leave that Bible locked up in the hands of liberal scribes and scholars, or would He somehow place His perfect, preserved Scripture into the hands of the common people who are seeking Him in faith? Based on everything we know about Jesus Christ, what is the answer? It is obvious that if God ever did work a miracle of His providence, to bless one Bible to perfection, such a Bible would be immediately assessable to any common man who is seeking God in faith. It would be reasonable to suspect that God would place that Bible in the language despised by many liberal scholars. Therefore, the very fact that the majority of modern Greek and Hebrew scholars reject the KJV Only viewpoint is simply one more piece of evidence that the view is correct. Such a response from modern scholarship is exactly what any rational man would expect!
It should be remembered that it was the so-called "common people" that originally received Jesus Christ and heard Him gladly! The professional scribes, for the most part, rejected Him:
Mr 12:37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.
38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:
Does this warning of Jesus still apply today? Certainly, it does. Yet, many modern scholars would have us believe the opposite. Many imply that the "common people" are cursed with foolishness in regard to spiritual matters, since they do not study the Bible in the original languages. (Again, this is based on the assumption that the KJV is not presently the perfect, written Word of God.) Things were not much different in the days of Christ. At that time, the scholars and scribes denied that God was walking among them, manifest in the flesh. They esteemed Christ as "too common" to be the Son of God:
Joh
15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
Lu 7:39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
The KJV is rejected today as the perfect Word of God for the same reasons Christ was rejected by the scribes and Pharisees in the 1st-century. There is always some imagined objection. Yet, in trembling, it should be remembered that the 1st-century scribes and Pharisees were just as pleased with their own objections against Christ as modern scholars are pleased with their objections to the authority and perfection of the “Authorized” Version today (Jn.7:52).
Sometimes KJV critics attempt to brand KJV Onlyists as "Pharisees" for holding to the view that only the KJV is the perfect Bible. Yet, this is upside down to the point of absurdity. The "common people" received Christ as the Messiah. They believed that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (Jn.1:14). Yet, the scribes and Pharisees (those supposedly "educated" in the Scriptures) rejected such a miracle. Surely, then, the "scribes and Pharisees" of today are the liberal scholars who reject the KJV as a miracle of God's providence. Many of these modern scribes are indeed saved; yet they are disobedient. They cling in blind faith to their assumption that God would never allow Christians to discover the perfect, preserved Bible (and translate it perfectly in the international language of the last days); yet God has never given them the slightest hint that He would not do so!
No new act of inspiration was required for God, in His amazing power, to insure that the KJV resulted in a perfect translation. If the modern scholar slanders this idea as “double inspiration”, then what is it called when God intervened throughout history to keep every Word of God from being completely corrupted or lost? Was this "inspiration"? Did not God have to work through men, at some point, to preserve His words according to the theory of modern, conservative scholarship? If this is simply our miracle working God, preserving His words by overseeing the affairs of men, then it follows that God’s Spirit blessing the KJV translators to translate correctly is of the same nature. The only difference would be that God decided to organize His perfect words in one place (placing them in one Book), rather than leave them scattered throughout a multitude of imperfect manuscripts, copies and versions. James R. White writes:
"This would leave the text, according to Wescott and
Hort, 98.33 percent pure no matter whether one used the Textus Receptus or
their own Greek text!"4
Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that White is correct. Did this 98.33% purity happen by chance, or did God work in history to insure it? If James White believes God worked in men throughout history to insure this purity, then it must be admitted that there is no argument against the claim that God worked through the KJV translators to insure 100% perfection. Why is 100% perfection mocked as "inspiration", while 98.33% is called "preservation"? Both would require the same miracle of God's magnificent providence.
Modern scholars simply assume that God did not work through the KJV translators. Their whole case against KJV Onlyism is built on such assumptions.
Yet, what is the proof that God did work through the KJV translators? What is the proof that God did organize His words in one Bible and translate them perfectly into English in 1611?
If the Spirit of Jesus Christ ever inhabited a perfect Book, is it not reasonable to argue that such a Book would be regarded in much the same way as Christ Himself was regarded when He first walked the earth? Jesus Christ is called the WORD OF GOD in Scripture (Rev.19:13). It is therefore obvious that wherever the perfect written Word is today, it will be treated by modern "scribes and Pharisees" the same way Jesus Himself was treated by the original scribes and Pharisees of the 1st-century. They will ridicule anyone who exalts the authority of the written Word over the authority of their liberal "scholarship". This is what the original scribes did in the days of Jesus. The KJV critic should stop for a moment and soberly meditate upon these things.
What "Bible" (i.e. version, copy, translation, etc.) is despised the most by witches, homosexuals and new-agers? It is the King James Bible. Notice that Elizabeth Clare Prophet (a new age astrologist) justifies her astrology by attacking the KJV:
"Observe times does not appear in modern
translations, which are considered to be more accurate and literal than the
King James Version."5
Dr. Rembert S. Truluck (a homosexual) also argues against the KJV to justify his sin:
"The term 'sodomite' in the King James Version of
Deuteronomy 23:17 and I Kings 14:24 is an incorrect translation of the Hebrew
word for '"temple prostitute.'"6
Such examples could be endlessly multiplied. Open sinners and heretics despise the KJV more than any other bible; in its place, they promote new versions such as the NIV and NAS, and almost always appeal to the "original tongues". Any rational man must therefore admit that if Christ is present today in a perfect Book, the KJV must be it!
Notice an interesting comparison. Modern
"But what happens if the real Messiah puts in an appearance? It would be highly likely he would be deemed insane. For the authorities this is a pressing dilemma, known as the Jerusalem Question."7
This dilemma faced by these authorities in
KJV critics. The only difference is that the perfect, written Word of God is present today. This is something the KJV critic denies (as will be demonstrated later). Nevertheless, the KJV critic, for the sake of argument, should reflect upon how such a perfect, written Word of God would be viewed today by modern scholarship, if it was indeed present. Certainly, modern scholars and religious leaders would view it in the exact same manner in which they view the KJV today! It would be sarcastically mocked, derided, envied, and feared the same way the early Pharisees and scribes responded to Christ Himself (Mt.12:14, 24, 15;12, 27:18). The common Christian would no longer be dependent on the textual critic to give him the “true reading”. This would be a threat to a very big industry.
It should also be remembered that there was a feigned "respect" that the religious leaders, at times, publicly showed for Christ. Nevertheless, their hearts were secretly against Him:
Lu
14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
It is much the same way today with the KJV. It is often publicly praised; yet, its claim to actually be the Holy Bible (written on the title page of every KJV) is mocked as an absurdity.
If a person is searching for the perfect Word of God today, he simply needs to imagine the authority of Christ Himself present in a Book. How would both religious leaders and rebellious sinners treat such a Book? Reason tells us that such a Book would be treated exactly as the KJV is treated today. When a person supposedly corrects the KJV with some Greek copy, he is "correcting" it with a bible that cannot reasonably qualify as the perfect, written Word of God to the same degree as the KJV. Based on this analogy of Christ Himself, the KJV stands above all other bibles, versions, copies and translations (in any language) as the only Bible the world seeks to either crucify or bow before!
It has been many centuries since the "common people" have heard any Greek manuscript "gladly". Even amidst the delusions and apostasy of these last days, many are still clinging to the KJV as God's perfect Word. It is not some Greek manuscript that homosexuals, witches and astrologers hate. It is the KJV. It is not some Greek or Hebrew manuscript that many "common people" hold to be the perfect Word of God. It is the KJV.
The Greek or Hebrew scholar who seeks to discredit the authority of the KJV is therefore at a disadvantage. The very fact that he despises and mocks the KJV as God's perfect, preserved Word is one primary ground for receiving it as such! Most of the scribes rejected the Divine authority of Jesus in the 1st-century. Wherever the perfect, preserved written Word is today, we will know it by simply observing the Bible that the modern scribes envy, fear and mock the most.
The KJV critic will no doubt claim that it is wrong to start the debate with such a question. But why should we start it anywhere else? Surely it is reasonable to draw a comparison between Christ and His words! To start here is to start at the beginning with no assumptions. Every bible, in any copy, version or translation, has some degree of truth. Multitudes of bible versions throughout history will all reveal that Christ was hated by the world and despised by the conservative religious leaders in His day. It is therefore very reasonable to start from this foundation and look for the perfect, preserved Bible by looking for the one Book that is regarded by both sinners and religious leaders in the manner in which Christ was regarded when He walked the earth. The King James Bible is that Book in these last days.
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Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness' sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is
your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you.
The following report comes from Voice of the Martyrs
ministry. It concerns persecution of
Christians taking place in
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UZBEKISTAN (Compass Direct)-Christians in
a remote village of Uzbekistan are being beaten, publicly humiliated and chased
out of their homes and jobs for converting to Christianity. A local strongman
is orchestrating harsh opposition to the small congregation in Janbashkala
village, near Turtkul in southwestern
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This brings us to our Bible Believers question of the week. Why did God originally drive Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden? God bless. MARANATHA!
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