9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10 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. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 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.
We have seen before that the angels are redeemed men, see whre he tells john that he is a prophen in 1:1 and then again in 19:10 and that he (the angel) is a man in verse 17. We have discussed this before in previous bloggs.
Now though, let's turn our attention to "the bride, the wife of the Lamb". Controversy arises here with who the bride is.
There are some scholars that say they are the 144,000. Others mention the bride as the church, still others say it is the Holy City, the New Jerusalem as mentioned in 19:7. But, who is the New Jerusalem? isn't it the redeemed of all who were in the first resurrection?
We know what the Bride of Christ is not:
1. Not the Old Testiment Isreal
2. Not the 144,000 Jews
3. Not part or all of the New Testiment church
4. Not the tribulation saints
5. Not just one person or a specific group out of the redeemed.
What the Bride of Christ is:
See Verse 2, 9 & 10 it says it there:
"The great city, the holy Jerusalem". Continue to read, the angel said he would show John who the bride is, and he took him to show him the Holy Jerusalem.....
So, if the city is the bride then all of us who are promised to go into the city is the bride, not part of a group or a specific group or number of persons.
ALL the REDEEMED will live in the City!
1. The old testiment saints. Heb 11:10-15
2. Heb 13:14 says the early church as does John 14:1-3
3. Rev 3:12 says EVERY Christian as does Heb 12:23
4. Rev. 7:1-8 mentions the 144,000 will be there.
5. Rev 6:9-11 says the tribulation saints will also be there.
However we have read in scripture that the New Covenant with Christ has us married to Christ and that we have hope of going to the New Jerusalem. It is just not limited to us. It is not that we are just the bride but, that we are to be part of the bride.
In Chapter 19 of Revelation we talked of final marriage festivities. The Hebrew custom has the "consumaiton" of a marriage by entering into the wedding chamber. After that is the concluding ceremony. So the supper of the Lamb mentioned Rev 19 is the conclusion of the ceremony, not the beginning.
Following starts the description of the city.
The 12 names of the 12 apostles are from Acts 1:26. Where we read the 12 name will be Matthias.
A golden reed is 121/2 ft. long.
12 thousand furlongs are 1,500 mi. sq.
144 cubits is 300 ft at 25in. per cubit.
The rest of it well, is kinda easy to get. Just make sure you get YOUR name in that book!
The next blog....Final Chapter!
Blessings on all,
Calabash
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