John 11:1-37 Lazarus

John 11:1-37 (New Living Translation)

1 A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who poured the expensive perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, "Lord, the one you love is very sick." 4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, "Lazarus's sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God. I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this." 5 Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days and did not go to them. 7 Finally after two days, he said to his disciples, "Let's go to Judea again." 8 But his disciples objected. "Teacher," they said, "only a few days ago the Jewish leaders in Judea were trying to kill you. Are you going there again?" 9 Jesus replied, "There are twelve hours of daylight every day. As long as it is light, people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. 10 Only at night is there danger of stumbling because there is no light." 11 Then he said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up." 12 The disciples said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, that means he is getting better!" 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was having a good night's rest, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. 14 Then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sake, I am glad I wasn't there, because this will give you another opportunity to believe in me. Come, let's go see him." 16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let's go, too -- and die with Jesus." 17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to pay their respects and console Martha and Mary on their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask." 23 Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 "Yes," Martha said, "when everyone else rises, on resurrection day." 25 Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. 26 They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?" 27 "Yes, Lord," she told him. "I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God." 28 Then she left him and returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, "The Teacher is here and wants to see you." 29 So Mary immediately went to him. 30 Now Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house trying to console Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus's grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell down at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, he was moved with indignation and was deeply troubled. 34 "Where have you put him?" he asked them. They told him, "Lord, come and see." 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, "See how much he loved him." 37 But some said, "This man healed a blind man. Why couldn't he keep Lazarus from dying?"

I copied all this from the NLT to zero in on John 11:35, "Jesus wept."  It is the shortest verse in the bible yet a most powerful one.

What could possibly bring our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to weeping?  Was it because Lazarus was dead?  No, see verse 14, Christ knew (before anyone had told him) that Lazarus was dead.  To go a step further, Jesus announced, in verse 4, it was "for the Glory of God" and then later in verse 11 Jesus said he was going to go wake Lazarus up.  Should we not have had the confidence and assurity that Christ was going to do what he said he would?  That if we just have faith and believe in him, God will be glorified, and that we are given eternal life.  Jesus himself was standing right here with them, they could reach out and touch him and yet they did not believe his words.  When he came to the area where Lazarus was laid and saw all the weeping and mourning even though he, Christ had said he would wake him up, Jesus was "moved to indignation and was deeply troubled" (vs 33).  Why could we just not believe, are we of such little to no faith.  With the Son of God standing right there, the people didn't believe.  Could it be that Christ was weeping for us?  Yes, maybe, and the fight we have against sin and the darkness of this world.  We need to realize, Christ is right here with us today, standing strong at our side.  We need only to believe and stand strong knowing He is here and will do what He said He will do. 

In addition, there was some of His enemies there watching to see what He would do.  Some scholars believe that He was brought to tears for the compassion of those who were in such sorrow around Him, even with him there.  This action showed His enemies the love and compassion He had for his people.  Why is that important?  Because it is another lesson for us in our attempts to become more Christ like.  To show our love and compassion for others as Christ has for us.

Our salvation we have in Christ does not mean we will not suffer hard times or never deal with death, but if we stand strong in Christ we have a guarentee of eternal life with Him.  I believe that the tough times in life are not near as tough when you have Christ to lean on and gain strength from Him that loves us so much. 


Blessings on all,


Calabash

Matthew 21:19-20a

Matt: 21:19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked


This passage has always bothered me.  I come from a place where there are leaves, then blossoms or buds, then fruit.  So, when I heard that Christ saw a full tree of big beautiful leaves and went to find fruit on it and found none, cursed the tree!  Well, as it turns out, fig trees will FIRST produce fruit and then the leaves come.  In addition, the fig fit will remain on the tree between seasons if the fig is not picked.


In this case Christ was not concerned about our education concerning the fruit tree but was trying to make the point that so many "Christians" will parade around as a good and faithful servant while they are in the actual church building or, are around other Christians but, then later while in different company, and under different circumstances, will behave as non-Christians or as a tree that is suppose have fruit on it that sadly, does not.

An additional take on this parable: 

We are commissioned to go "bear fruit".  What does this mean?  We are to go out and make disciples and bring our friends and family closer to Christ, or at least get them curious.  We are at times called to be the "laborers" others pray for to help guide loved ones, friends family and yes even strangers to the correct path. This is our "bearing fruit".  If we profess to be Christ followers and yet do not help those who do not know Christ, we are no better than the fig tree.

It is this little "nugget" of information that has caused me to continue my "Revelation" blog, only I will be blogging about the Revelations I get from the Bible until the Holy Spirit tells me to do otherwise.  I do hope you join me in my new adventure with my old title.  

I encourage you to challenge me and question me along the way so we may all learn.  My sources may not be correct 100% of the time and we all can seek wisdom from one another!




Blessings on all and glad to have a new project!


-Calabash

Revelation 22:1-21

Rev 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 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. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. 6 The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place." 7 "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!" 10 Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy." 12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." 17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. 20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.


It is said that the river of the water of life is the "Holy Spirit's testimony" to our Glorious Jesus' flowing from the throne.  The lfe giving waters we all can drink from, to know Christ is King and never suffer death or pain again.  In addition, try to remember just how precious water was in the East.  It was truly "life giving"  to mention something like this constant flow would be overwhelming.  Which our Lord is, He is overwhelming with love for his children....us!

Ezekiel 47:12 talk of the trees and the abdance of fruit there will be....no, it is not the "fruit of the month" club...it is so much more!  Neverending food, neverending health!

Now read on to see the rest of the promises spelled out here.  No need to "translate" that, it is pretty simple!

Heed the warnings, do not hesitate, and do not change God's word or attempt to false teach from the Bible.  This last warning is ment for you to be prompted to do research.  If our sitting in a church building and if what the person is saying up front does not seem correct to you, DO NOT take his or her word for it, look it up, seek advice, MAKE sure it is correct with our Holy Bible.  There are some teachers, preachers, priest, Christians, non Christians etc...out there who either have not fully understood God's word and are not representing it correctly, have been taught it incorrectly or they mean to mislead you.  It is for you to find the truth in His word.  Even with this blog I have just completed.  I am not the "end all be all" authority on Revelation, and neither are the sources I utilized.  You should reasearch, pray and know the peace of God with what He wants you to understand.  The more you reasearch and seek Him, the more clear things become.  For those who seek to intensionally get it wrong, there will be judgement from God.


My dear friends, I thank you for this journey and I pray it has touched your hearts and that the huge blessing from God be upon you.

I wish to place many thanks to my husband for his continual support, insight, and reading of my blog. Thanks John, I do love you
In addition, I want to thank Mike and Valerie Unverzagt for their support, knowledge and faith in me to complete this task.
And finially, thank you Holy Spirit for the drive, guidance, words and the "Ah Ha" moments given me through this journey.


With tears and a bittersweet final:
Blessing on all,


Calabash
Amen!


The Major References utilized in this blog:

Dake's Annotated Bible
A Light in the Darkness, by Rick Renner
Dispensational Truth, by Clarence Larkin
The Revelation of John Vol 1 and 2, by William Barklay
Lectures on the Book of Revelation, by Ironside
Mike and Valorie Unverzat pastors of The House

Revelation 21:9-27

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

Revelation 21: 1-8

Rev 21:  1Then 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. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 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." 5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." 


The new heaven and the new earth or, The new Jerusalem.  We have heard this in Isa 52:7, 43:18& 19 and 65:17.  The message here is that this will be very new, nothing like we have ever seen before.

Then notice for the first time we find God speaking with the promise of living with us.  Following is the  promise of no more tears, mourning, or pain!  Oh what a time it will be!

All is done, all is taken care of.  He reminds us he is he Alpha (first letter in Greek alphabet) and the Omega (last letter in Greek alphabet), the beginning (of everything not just time) and the end.  He is unchanging and His promises are kept.


There are actually 12 blessings for us in the new Earth:
1.  God will be with us!....let me say YEAH!! and Amen
2.  God will continue to be our God....Yeah again!!
3.  All tears wiped away.
4.  No death....try to imagine that one!
5.  No unhappiness or sorrow.
6.  No pain.
7.  Everything...All Things are made new.
8.  Water.....well, the water of life... and plenty of it!
9.  We will inherit all things.
10.  We will be he son of God!
11.  No curse for us.
12. No more having to deal with "bad neighbors", they will be in the fiery lake.


Okay so who are the "bad neighbors"?

1.The fearful.  This is not how it reads.  It is not fear that is bad, we will be afraid, it is the fear that turns men into cowards and causes them to not stand for the right thing.  We will be afraid, but we are assured by God that he will be with us and if he is with us....Who can be against us!  We need to pull our strength from Him!  
2.  The unbelieving.
3.  The abominable or polluted.  Those who have allowed themselves to be taken over by the lusts of this world.
4.  Murders
5.  Whoremongers, translates to pornois, fornicators.
6.  Sorcerers Greek word for this is pharmakeusin- drug use, charms, enchanted potions, supernatural effects....Think of "crack, LSD, the drunkenness from alcohol, marijuana etc...
7.  Idolaters-the worship of idols, money, wealth in "things", beauty, other gods,etc.....A pasture friend put it this way, "Anything you are spending the majority of your time thinking about is what you are worshiping."   Physical shape, cars, work, money....God needs to be a part of our entire life, not just your nightly prayers!  He wants to be in on every aspect of your life, work, health, wealth, etc.  There are promises there for YOU from Him that covers everything!  Just put Him first!
8.  False prophets and homosexuals.
9.  Liars
10.  The lover of lies.

All of this is kind of heavy duty.  What you need to remember, we have all fit into this "bad neighbor" category at one point is time or another.  So may still be there.  But, there is hope, and there is grace and mercy for any and everyone who comes to the cross!  We fail daily and still we keep trying and God knows that and us.  We need to keep striving for the Christ like qualities that God asks us to try and be like.  No passing judgement on another, just lend a hand and remember God will finish the good work He started in us.  

The second death:  This is the second separation from God, it is the lake of fire.



Blessings on all!!

Calabash

Revelation 20:11-15

Rev 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.


The great white throne signifies the purity of Christ and it is him who is seated on it.  The Earth and sky doesn't really flee...it more like shutters under his great power.

We then see the book of life which all Christians have heard about. This is the book that if you name is not in this book, you will be thrown in the lake of fire. All the dead, great and small will be there for the opening of the books....Which books?  Well, it says there the book of life will be one.  It says that each man was judged according to what he has done, so maybe there was a book of record of the deeds of men.  The Bible will be there because it is declared," that Moses' words and His words should judge men in the last day."

Please!  See John 5:24....Now is the time for you if you're lost...this verse is a great beginning to your new life!

The Dake's bible mentions that there are 7 Judgments of Scripture:
1.  Judgment of the belivers' sins are taken on the cross of Christ.(Jn 12:31-32)
2.  Belivers' preforming self judgment and walking with Christ, being obedient to God's Word.1 Cor 11:31-32)
3.  Judgment of Israel for rebellion. (Ezk. 20:33-44)
4.  Judgment of angels for their rebellion (Jude 6-7)
5.  Judgment of belivers' works (Rom 14:10 & 1 Cor 3:11-15)
6.  Judgment of Nations.  (Mt 25:31-46)
7.  Judgment of wicked dead. (Rev 20:11-15. & Acts 17:31)


Next Blog is chapter 21

Blessings on all !!!

Calabash

Revelation 20:7-10

Rev 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.




It is very clear here, at the end of a thousand years, Satan will be released and start his deception all over again.  Only this time it will be for a final battle with God.  Now see verse 5 again where it speaks of the resurrection  and says Rev 20:5 "(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection."  Some feel there will be a resurrection of the righteous and a resurrection of the wicked.  If so, this is when the wicked dead who were not in the first resurrection, will be resurrected, to immortal bodies to be tormented forever in hell.

This is kind of confusing.  Let me see if I can make it more clear.

There are two kinds of resurrection, Physical and Spiritual
 Once the Physical Body is dead, there can be no spiritual resurrection.  This is why it is so important to make your decision of whom to follow and COMMIT to that.  Once dead, no spiritual resurrection can take place.


There will be two kinds of physical resurrection:
One for the righteous which occurs before the Millennium and then one for the evil or wicked after the Millennium. (see Jn 5:28-29 and Rev 10:4-6 &11-15) 
There will be 1000 years between the two resurrections.

Back to verse 8.  Satan takes off where he was when he was captured.  He starts to pull an army together again for the final attack against God.
What is this Gog and Magog?   The first I saw this mentioned was Eze 38 and 39.  Here Gog was from Magog and is a prince of two places, Meshech and Tubal.  He was getting ready to attack Israel but, is to fail and be destroyed.  Jewish teaching concerning Gog and Magog explains them as all things the are against God.- This works in verse 8 as well.  We read further in verse 8 and 9 that Satan and army come up against Jerusalem, but fail.  It is very clear what happens next.


Next is "The Final Judgment"

Blessings on all !!

Calabash