The New Jerusalem

The New Jerusalem

 

It has been interesting to me to turn on the radio and television and hear that Israel and Jerusalem are still in the spotlight even today.  As I read the Word of God, I read that Israel still has a special spot in the heart of God.  It is so important to our well being as a nation to protect Israel and show our support of these people.  I believe that our future as a nation will be directly related to our relationship to God’s Holy people.  We need to be very careful and attentive to how our government and we as a nation are relating to Israel and Israel’s future.  “Why do I bring this up?” you may be asking.  Sounds very much like a political statement today. Maybe so, but I feel that we may be going down the wrong track right now, and it is time we wake up to what is going on. We need to pray for Israel and its future.  Yes, it is so important that we think about and concern ourselves with the current Jerusalem, and we also need to consider the New Jerusalem.  The New Jerusalem will be very different than the Jerusalem of 2009.  In Chapter 21 of Revelation, we read of this place that John saw.  Oh, how I look forward to the NEW Jerusalem! “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them.  They will be His people, and God himself will be their God.  HE WILL WIPE EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:3-4).”  John saw this vision of the New Jerusalem right after he saw the great white throne judgment, which is believed to be at the end of the millennium (Revelation 20:11-15). This is the judgment of unbelievers in which they are judged according to their works and sentenced to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire, a time of much sorrow and eternal death.  I am so glad that John’s vision did not end there.  After all judgment, both the judgment seat of Christ (for believers) and the great white throne judgment (for non-believers) is complete, the Lord will usher in a time where there will be no more judgment.  A time where there will only be praises to the great I AM.  At the end of Revelation, Jesus gives us a promise “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 22:12-13).”  Is it important how we work out our faith?  According to Jesus’ own words, it is!  “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ (Revelation 22:17).”

Come Quickly Lord Jesus!

Aaron Hodges

Your First Love

Your First Love

As I write this article today, I do so with much hesitance and awe. “Hesitant” because I do not fully understand the book of Revelation. “Awe” because I see the magnitude of my God. Revelation is an incredible book to have at the end of the Bible because it completes all the scripture and points us to what “must soon take place (1:1).” When I read in chapter 4 about the throne of Heaven, I get so excited about our future. I can hardly wait to sit around the throne and join with the angels in saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come (4:8).” Before we get to this incredible description of the throne of God, John takes us through the letters to the seven Asian churches. We get to see their good attributes along with their not so good attributes. The first letter was written to the church in Ephesus. They were commended for their hard work and perseverance. They were able to identify false apostles and endure hardships. That sounds great but what did they do wrong? “You have forsaken your first love (2:4).” This “first” love can mean either their love for each other and/or their love for Christ. This is even relevant for the church in America. I think the same thing can be said about us. I was talking to someone on Tuesday about the church in general and about where that person sees the church of today. One thing he said to me was that he feels the church is so busy loving its programs and tag lines that it has lost its love for Jesus. We get so focused on making our programs attractive that we forget that Jesus is attractive enough. “Remember the height from which you had fallen (2:5).” We have been saved from a life without joy, without hope, without a future. We have been given joy, hope and a future because of Jesus Christ, not any church program. If we have been given such a future, then we should focus all of our love and on one who secured that future for us, Jesus Christ.

Once I was lost in sin’s degradation,
Jesus came down to bring me salvation,
Lifted me up from sorrow and shame,
Now I belong to Him;
Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.

Loving Christ,
Aaron Hodges