The Truth and Nothing But the Truth!
Hi Friends,
I am sharing something I have wanted to write about for quite a while, but the Lord told me to wait. I am excited to say that I can now share with everyone, although I expect that there will be many that will not accept this message. The beliefs we hold dear, are not easily changed. Especially when they are regarded as truth and backed with tradition. When our beliefs are challenged, we can become defensive. I hope that I will not promote defensiveness, but give one cause to take a deeper look and study for oneself.
First Let me share the vision that the Lord gave me as I was praying about this entire topic.
The Suitcase
I saw an old fashioned hard-sided suitcase with a leather covered handle. It was about the size of a briefcase. It was fully opened and filled to overflowing with black dirt, rocks and gravel. I saw a bare forearm and hand reach into the dirt and pull out a clear bottle of pure water. It was pristine, not a bit of dirt was on the bottle itself. The hand then gave me the bottle.
I was praying for clarity about the topic that I have been studying now for about three years. I have read many papers and a few lengthy books on the topic. But there were still things that I could not understand or seemed to be missing. The word of God says:
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
With this vision, I understood that the suitcase represented what we carry around and believe to be important and true. The dirt, the rocks and the gravel are the things that we have heard, and embraced as truth. The dirt comes from the world and is attached to the truth or hides the truth, but is not true. Some rocks represent ideologies and man’s teachings that we have learned from leaders and teachers in the church Some of the dirt and gravel are misconceptions that have been passed down from long, long ago. Some are new ideas that are found in hearsay or passed along from one to another. Some are traditions, some are creeds, some come from imaginations, but none of the dirt, rocks or gravel represent truth. Only the water bottle carrying clean, pure water is true. The water bottle is scripture that is written in its original language to its original audience. The water itself is pure revelation from God, which validates the written word, and is its exact and intended meaning.
I am so thankful that the Lord has given me this vision, for it shows me his willingness to share truth with those who seek it. Several days later, the Lord gave me another vision concerning the sharing of this topic.
The Two Pots
In this vision I saw two pots. There was a large pot with its lid removed and a smaller pot with its lid on. I believe God was showing me that when I understand a little, represented by the small pot, I need to keep a lid on it. I am not to share it until I fully understand and can explain it adequately. The large pot represents a greater understanding, for it can hold more. Its lid was removed. The Lord was saying that when I have a greater understanding I no longer need to keep a lid on it, but share it with others.
So I did not receive the “green light” to share regarding this topic until now. I spent much time in prayer seeking confirmation that now was the appropriate time. So today, I am going to share my understanding of God’s word regarding the “end times.”
I hope that what insights I have received create a hunger and a desire to read and study the word of God for yourself. I pray that you will be released from all preconceived ideas and traditional beliefs that hinder your ability to see things that are spiritually discerned. And I pray that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth will reveal truth to you.
However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you. Everything that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is Mine and disclose it to you. John 16:13-15
And let’s be faithful to seek understanding as Paul said:
“Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
Preterist (Past) and Futurist Views of Eschatology
What I have to share may not go along with what you have been taught, for I once believed as many people do today, that the end time prophecies are yet to be fulfilled. I even wrote about such things before I set my mind to study and understand the topic. But now after having studied for the past three years, I believe that the prophecies in the book of Revelation have already been fulfilled. This is a dramatic change from what I formerly believed.
The majority of evangelical churches have taught their congregations to believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, a seven year tribulation, the complete destruction of heaven and our physical earth, the creation of a new Jerusalem to replace the existing earth, where everyone that is saved will dwell in a physical resurrected body with God on the earth.
I am by no means an expert in the subject, but what I have discovered through my own study, I would like to share. I am convinced that Revelation was written to and for a first century audience. I believe that if we are unable to accept this simple fact, then we will keep needing to reset the dates, re-interpret the book of Daniel, the prophetic symbols, and the text to mean something different. The gap between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel will continue to grow into the next eon. Every age since the destruction of Jerusalem has thought about it in different ways. The current popular idea of Revelation was initiated about 250 years ago with John Darby and made popular by the Scofield Bible. Today we have movies, books and videos all about the rapture, the seven year tribulation, the one thousand year reign on earth, and a resurrection out of the ground in physical bodies.
Many people are completely committed to this view of “end times” so it is difficult for them to accept another viewpoint. Long ago, the church leaders were shocked and refused to believe that the earth revolved around the sun. It was considered heresy to believe such a thing. But eventually the truth won them over.
The futurist view which is popular today, is so deeply entrenched in the minds of its adherents, that most have no interest in reading scripture that supports other views. They are quick to believe what they were taught rather than study for themselves. Anything that does not fit their traditional views are quickly labeled heresy. But it is the truth that sets us free. What makes the futurist view of Revelation popular is the rapture, the escape route. When people fear the mark of the Beast, persecution and possible death by famine, sword or plague they close their ears and hide. But with this view offering a means of escape from all the terrible things they believe are “right around the corner,” they give a sigh of relief.
But all this worry is for nought. It is nothing but hype and a misunderstanding of scripture. The book of Revelation was written as a warning to the 7 churches in Asia Minor. The events within the prophecy have already been fulfilled. This is a paradigm shift for most people. But within scripture, both Old Testament and New Testament, we see the true meaning of the prophecies of Jesus and John’s Apocalypse.
It was the 1st century Church that went through much persecution. According to early Christian historians Eusebius of Caesarea, the Christians in Jerusalem received a divine warning, directing them to leave Jerusalem and flee to Pella before the Roman siege. Eusebius wrote:
“The whole body, however, of the Church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city to a certain town beyond the Jordan called Pella. Here, those who believed in Christ removed from Jerusalem as if holy men had abandoned the royal city itself and the whole land of Judea.” Eusebius, Church History 3, 5, 3
Jesus had previously warned them:
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Luke 21:20-22
This warning was also given in the book of Revelation along with God’s provision of safety.
The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Revelation 12:14
When we are unaware of the history that confirms the scripture, we can use scripture improperly to mean things it never intended to represent. The futurist view interprets scripture in such a way that the facts and the historical evidence are ignored. In order to make it all fit together, the scriptures are sliced and diced and given new meanings. There are 2000 year old gaps, old testament passages that are referenced are ignored, and doctrinal issues become pronounced. I am greatly concerned how this view has affected people’s view of Israel.
Even though the early church was initially made up of Jewish Christians, eventually the evangelistic effort moved towards the Gentiles, for they were open to the gospel and many of the Jews chose not to receive Jesus as their Messiah, as was prophesied by Zechariah. Nonetheless, there is still an open door through the gospel message for everyone Jew or Gentile. It is a standing invitation.
But because of the futurist interpretation of Revelation and a belief in the rapture, many Christians believe that Israel’s salvation will come when the Jewish people go through the tribulation. They believe that the 144,000 Jews of the tribes of Israel, mentioned in Revelation 6, will be miraculously saved by some divine encounter or revelation and so will be converted and will preach the gospel to all the other Jews and Gentiles. This belief is manufactured by necessity, for when the Christians escape the tribulation by being raptured, there will be no one left to witness to the Jews.
This contrivance comes as a result of not accepting the obvious, that Jesus kept his word when he said “I am coming soon.” God is not a man that he should lie. What seems apparent is that If God does not lie, the error is on our part. We must not have understood the nature of his coming. We should not shoehorn the scripture to fit our doctrine. Rather let our doctrine fall in line with what the scripture says. We have to look to God for wisdom and understanding otherwise we have the blind leading the blind and we all know what happens then.
It never was God’s intention to remove the entire church from trials, for in the book of Revelation only one of the seven churches was told that they would be kept from the hour of trial:
“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” Revelation 3:10
The church in Philadelphia had already proven their faithfulness to God so they did not need to be further tested. God spared them as he did with the faithful in Jerusalem who were warned to leave the city, for they had already endured the religious leaders’ persecution. God spared them, of having to face the Roman army, outside the walls, and the famine and Zealots within its walls.
We see the Lord’s intention to test his followers’ faith by this prayer that he prayed to the Father:
“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15
With the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, there is only one way to the Father and it is through Jesus his son.
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
No where in the Bible does it teach that there are two paths to heaven. There is no special path to salvation for Jews. No one should encourage Israel to rebuild the temple for a third time. Nor expect them to breed the red heifer and re-establish the sacrificial system. Just so that it can be destroyed once more. What is the purpose in that? The Lord had the temple destroyed to end the Old Covenant, I don’t think he would be too happy for them to rebuild it again. It will be like the Tower of Babel, and we could hear the same words ringing in our ears that were once spoken in defiance against Edom:
Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.” But this is what the LORD Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish.. Malachi 1:4
This is God’s plan:
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:12
Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
In order to believe in Christ’s 2nd coming and the fulfillment of the prophecies of Revelation, we must see that the historical facts concur with the Bible and verify that what was prophesied was fulfilled. In addition to this we must understand that the scriptures that Paul quoted and used to backup and explain the Lord’s teachings, came from the prophecies in the Old Testament scriptures. If we are not familiar with the Old Testament, as the first century audience had been, then we can easily overlay our contemporary cultural view over the passage we are reading and completely miss the point. I believe that is exactly how we have come to these views to this day.
Time Statements of His Coming
The preterist view supports a past fulfillment of prophecy. It fits the time frame of “this generation,” and recorded history confirms it. There are no gaps in time (2000 + years), and there are no obvious misinterpretations of the meaning “soon,” or “this generation,” as there are in the futurist view. The Lord was not deceived, nor did he deceive anyone when he said:
“For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Matthew 16:27-28
“When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” Matthew 10:23
Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Matthew 24:34
The Book of Revelation begins with many time statements which give a sense of immediacy, and makes its prophetic message urgent. The book ends with the same words showing that the time of his coming is imminent:
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.” Revelation 1:1
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Revelation 1:3
“Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.” Revelation . 2:16
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” Revelation 3:11
“The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” Revelation 22:6
“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Revelation 22:6
“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” Revelation 22:10
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay to each one what he has done.” Revelation 22:12
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’” Revelation 22:20
Most of these phrases came directly from the Lord’s own mouth and recorded by John. Surely we can trust him with his own words. And surely we can trust John to record them properly. And surely we can read the words as the interpreters wrote them. “Soon” to me means “not long from now.” This prophecy was written to the seven churches in Asia Minor, who were already undergoing persecution. The message was given to them to encourage them that Jesus’ was coming soon, to judge the living and the dead. He was coming to destroy his enemies and at that time were also their enemies.
The words “soon,” and “near,” bring hope to the suffering. But the words make no sense if you stretch their meaning to mean something in excess of 2000 years. Some people will quote Peter to deflect criticism:
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8
Peter and everyone in his generation were all waiting and expecting Jesus at any moment. So after waiting several decades, the time was getting very close. Peter and Paul both died under Nero in 64 AD, the very year that Nero started the great fire of Rome. It started on the 19th of July of 64 AD and burned for 3 days. Nero needed someone to blame and his wife who was a Jewish proselyte convinced him to blame the Christians and allow the Jews back into Rome to aid in the persecution. Claudius, the former Emperor, had forced the Jews to leave Rome in order to keep the peace for there was an established law throughout the empire of religious tolerance. Claudius was the restrainer mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:7
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 2 Thessalonians 2:7
Claudius was taken out of the way when he was murdered by Nero. And by his death, Nero became Emperor. Rome’s war with the Jews began in 66 and ended three and one half years later in 70 AD. So when Peter wrote “a thousand years is as a day,” he was attempting to comfort them in such turbulent times. He did not want them to lose hope that Jesus was returning to deal with their enemies. His own death was only a few years before the Lord’s coming in judgment, in the clouds.
So now let’s put on the Biblical mindset of the first century Christians where all the historical details were in place: the beast, the harlot, the false prophet, the persecution, the temple with its sacrificial system and the leaders that Jesus specifically condemned by pronouncing seven woes over them. (See Matthew 23 for the Lord’s strong words as an indictment against them). Seven is the number of completion. So now after Jesus pronounced these charges against them, the scene is set and Jesus gives the verdict:
So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation. Matthew 23:31-36
This is historical. It is factual. Jesus knew that when he left them, that persecution would break out against those who believed in his name. He knew their the religious leaders’, that if they would crucify him, they would do the same to his followers. That is why he pronounced the woes over the Pharisees and religious leaders of his day. Jesus was holding them responsible for all the blood shed from the very beginning of creation with the murder of Adam’s son Abel, all the way to their generation. This generation killed John the Baptist, and Jesus as the Son of God, James (the Lord’s brother), and leader of the church in Jerusalem, and many of Jesus’ followers. Jesus knew all this would happen before he would come again 40 years later, within “this generation.”
The Jewish people were continually testing God’s patience. Malachi, an Old Testament prophet, knew that a spiritual storm was brewing over 400 years before the Lord’s coming. He recorded God’s words:
“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.” Malachi 1:10
Malachi was the last prophet to speak before the 400 years of silence began. John the Baptist was the one to break the silence. He came with his message of repentance, and to announce the coming of the kingdom of God and Jesus the Messiah, who was to be the lamb of God. John warned his generation, the very one that Jesus condemned with his seven woes, that they would suffer the wrath of God if they did not repent. John was beheaded for his faithfulness to God.
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Matthew 3:1-2
People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:5-10
Jesus came to establish his kingdom, to fulfill the law and the prophets, and to demonstrate the Father’s love through his sacrificial death on the cross. But as you can see the brood of vipers were already known for their deeds and their conduct. Their destruction was already prepared. They needed to produce fruit in keeping with repentance, for the axe was already laying at the root of the trees. The forty years between the Lord’s first and second coming, gave them time to repent. But God knew their hearts and what they were capable of:
“Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.” Matthew 23:34
Therefore, judgment was “coming in the clouds” against them, for they were the enemies of God:
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation. Matthew 23:35-36
Jesus came within that generation, to bring judgment against his enemies, to destroy death, and to put an end to the temple sacrificial system, thereby ending the age of the Old Covenant and opening the Age of New Covenant.
The Prophetic Language
The greatest problem I see in coming to an understanding of the preterist (past fulfillment) view is that people are not familiar with the prophetic language. Most people who read the Bible will stick to the Psalms and the New Testament. Most have not read or studied the Old Testament to recognize prophetic language and its purpose. It is highly visual and only symbolic. It is very purposeful in its use of exaggeration. So the average person reading these prophetic words found in Revelation and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (the Olivet Discourse) makes a judgment in his mind – “Hmm– since the sun and the stars have yet to fall from the sky, and the moon is still shining, and the mountains have not yet split apart, then this must all be happening sometime in the future.” They are waiting and expecting the earth to be destroyed and a New Jerusalem to come out of heaven to replace the existing earth.
These are not actual physical events to take place in the future. They are merely words of the prophet that are chosen to represent chaos and trauma. They are chosen for their impact upon the reader or listener. The prophetic language of the prophets is a means of conveying thoughts and messages as graphically as words can depict. The words are chosen to describe what is prophesied: things such as pain, suffering, tragedy, warning, repentance, and judgment. All the prophets and even Jesus used this exaggerated and highly graphic means of giving notice and serious warning.
The Lord’s judgment against Edom is a typical example of the prophetic language.
The LORD is angry with all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will devote them to destruction; He will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood. All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree. When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction....Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat. For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch. It will not be quenched—day or night. Its smoke will ascend forever. Isaiah 34:2-10
The skies and stars are still over the Middle East, the rivers are not full of tar, the soil is not sulfur, and there is no smoke over Edom.
These words of violence and dread given by the prophet were to create such a frightening image in their minds, that it would move them to repent. They needed to see that their behavior and ways were rebellious to God and deserved punishment.
This language sounds very much like Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24-25, the Olivet Discourse:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Matthew 25:29
Jesus’ prophetic words came as a warning to his followers, and a warning to those who opposed him. He fulfilled his promise to that generation in AD 70, but notice – the stars are still in the heavens, and the moon still reflects the light of the sun.
Very similar words are used in John's Revelation. There are numerous examples of this prophetic language throughout the Old Testament: Malachi, Joel, Amos, Zechariah, Isaiah...
The Lord Coming on the Clouds
In the Old Testament we see "the Lord coming on the clouds," bringing judgment to various nations and peoples. As the Lord is said to come in the clouds, he engages the battle spiritually, while overseeing what is taking place on the ground. What is physically seen are armies, plagues, floods and other natural and supernatural phenomena. This is an example of the Lord coming on the clouds against Egypt:
Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom; and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers; and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord God of hosts. Isaiah 19:1-4
The Lord came with clouds against Nineveh.
The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in a whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. Nahum 1:2-3
In the book of 2 Kings, we see on the ground an army surrounding the city, with Elisha’s servant filled with fear. But the prophet prayed that his servant would see as he did, into the spiritual realm:
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-17
Just as the servant’s eyes were open to see into the spiritual realm, an army in the hills full of horses and chariots of fire, in AD 66 a similar phenomenon occurred. An army was seen in the clouds over Jerusalem
Josephus born in AD 37, was a Jewish leader at the time of the Jewish revolt against Rome during the reign of Nero. He commanded from the region of Galilee and was captured by the Romans. He was befriended by the two military Generals of Rome: Vespasian and Titus, and was given Roman citizenship and an opportunity to record the military campaign against Jerusalem, which he did in his book, he entitled The Jewish War. Josephus was an eyewitness to the events and wrote a highly detailed historical record. He was a perfect witness in that he was a non-believer and therefore had no reason to slant the facts to appease Christians.
In the historical account of the destruction of Jerusalem, written by Josephus, he records that people saw an army in the clouds at the very beginning of the war, in AD 66:
[O]n the twenty-first day of the month of Artemisius [Jyar], a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sunsetting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Josephus - The Jewish War
Reading historical documents has great importance for it can validate scripture, and can shed light on how the people of the day may have understood what the prophetic symbols represented. John wrote using symbols that his readers would understand without having to say it in words. My guess is that he did this so as to avoid problems with authorities should the document fall into the wrong hands.
New Heaven, New Earth, New Jerusalem
In the book of Revelation, after judgment comes the new heaven, the new earth and the new Jerusalem. Again we see these as symbols not as actual physical places. The descriptions are so profound, and awe inspiring that if you did not know the Old Testament and the prophetic language, you would say to yourselves: “This has never happened. It must be in the future!” But we need to look more closely at both the Old Testament and the New Testament teachings for they explain it all.
The New Jerusalem is symbolic of the kingdom of God. It is described as a perfect cube, where God dwells with his people. The city is 12,000 stadia in Length, width and height. One face of the cube in terms of its area would be the size of the known world: the Roman empire.
The New Jerusalem is introduced to John in the vision by an angel who said to him:
“Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Revelation 21:9
The angel showed John a vision of a cube shaped city, referred to as “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Here we see what the new Jerusalem represents: the Church. We are the Bride of Christ. We are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit! We are the temple of God and at the same time his Bride. This is clearly symbolic.
The New Jerusalem was to be where God’s presence would dwell with man. It was given the shape of a perfect cube, because it follows the design of the earthly dwelling place of God in the Old Covenant. It was the The Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant resided and the presence of God dwelt there, above the mercy seat. Only the high priest was allowed to come before God’s mercy seat one day out of the year, to bring the sacrifice of blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat, making atonement for the sins of the people.
But today, the Lord is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. And his Holy Spirit lives within each believer here on earth. The Lord’s dwelling place is in the kingdom of God which is now in heaven and on the earth.
"The Most High does not dwell in a house made by human hands." Acts 7:48
Through our faith in the Lord Jesus, we have become the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. We are the New Jerusalem, because it was always God's intention to dwell with us. Adam’s sin brought separation between God and ourselves, but because of Christ’s death, and our acceptance of his death as payment for our sins, we become reconciled to the Father and are filled with the Holy Spirit and become born of the Spirit of God.
"Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22
When we join together as believers in Christ, he promised to be in our midst.
“Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20
Before Jesus came in the flesh, people did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. Only the prophets had the Spirit of God which came upon them. Everyone was carnal - without the Spirit of God. But after Jesus’ death, he breathed on his disciples and said:
“Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22)
We were once dead spiritually but now we are alive spiritually. Because the Holy Spirit lives within us, we can experience the Lord’s presence when we pray and worship and fellowship with him. We have the power and the authority to heal the sick, raise the dead and perform miracles, signs and wonders. Just as the Lord did.
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:12-1
Truly earth has changed, not in a physical way, but because the power of God resides within each believer. We have a new earth.
The Kingdom of God
Right now, while in our physical bodies, we are born again, made alive in Christ, filled with the Spirit of God and are members of the kingdom of God. As believers we have been given authority to bind and loosen and to move in the power of the Spirit of God. At this very moment whether in our physical bodies on this earth or in our spiritual bodies in heaven with the Lord, we rule and reign with him. The word says: “We are seated with him in heavenly places." Notice that this is written in the present tense. it means right now. In its context, it states:
"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus," Ephesians 2:4-6
Notice the change in status. Before we were dead in our sins, and now we are alive in Christ. This is the born again experience, being born of the Spirit and spiritually alive. This is the reason that the earth is new. Because we are new! The Holy Spirit never dwelled in people, but now he does.
Judgment and Death
The white throne judgment is not a future event. The beast and the false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire, at Christ's 2nd coming in AD 70, when he came to judge the living and dead. The sheep were separated from the goats. The dead were judged, Hades or "death" was destroyed, being thrown into the lake of fire. "O death, where is your sting."
These are current realities because Jesus came to destroy death, his last enemy. It is not the physical that matters, for we are members of the kingdom of God, regardless of our physical status. He has made us alive with Christ, therefore death has been swallowed up in victory for when we shut our eyes for the last time, we will open them in heaven, still alive, never having died spiritually.
Our bodies return to dust, and our spiritual bodies are like those of the angels. We are changed, neither male nor female, but as spirit beings with the Lord, we are united with him forever. Just as angels are ministering spirits, we will be like them.
Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Matthew 22:29-32
Jesus came to close out the age of the Old Covenant, putting an end to the sacrificial system, and canceling the covenant God had made with his people, Israel. The blood of animals could no longer atone for or cover sin. The New Covenant was established once the old had been destroyed. Now it is only the blood of Jesus that can take away sin.
In wrath, he put his enemies under his feet, fulfilling the indictments or woes He had declared over them in Matthew 23. He came to destroy death: Hadean death. For the dead prior to the 2nd coming did not go to heaven or hell, but were separated from God and remained in Hades until Jesus came to judge the dead and threw Hades into the lake of fire.
The Gospel and the Church
Jesus said that once the gospel had been preached to the entire world, then the end would come.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14
Paul believed that the Christian faith had thoroughly spread throughout the entire world, that being the Roman empire. These are Paul's words on the matter:
"First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world." Romans 1:8
"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: 'Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.'” Romans 10:17-18
"If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister." Colossians 1:23
And so Jesus' words were fulfilled regarding the sharing the gospel and his return. The gospel was spread throughout the known world prior to the Lord’s coming at the end of the age. Paul and Peter both died under Nero in 64 AD, so their letters and these quotes above occurred before the siege of Jerusalem. John’s revelation was written during Nero’s reign as well. For it was essential to warn all the churches to repent and to be willing to suffer persecution and even death for the gospel, for the rewards were eternal.
The futurists want to base their date around AD 93-96 after the fall of Jerusalem, and after the destruction of the temple. They align themselves with the testimony of Irenaeus who as a young boy met Polycarp who knew the Apostle John. Irenaeus said that Polycarp had said that John had written Revelation in Domitian’s reign. But Gentry’s 459 page document of the research concerning the dating of Revelation, completely destroys this argument for a later date. It is an excellent source: Before Jerusalem Fell by Kenneth Gentry. The date of Revelation’s writing was during Nero’s reign which was between AD 54 and AD 68.
New Heaven
Heaven has changed in one respect. Prior to the 2nd coming, all the Old Testament saints and Christian believers upon physical death would go to Hades/Paradise. For Hades was called death. It was a separation from God. Heaven was not occupied by people, with the exception of Elijah and Enoch, and perhaps Moses, for Elijah and Enoch were taken directly to heaven without dying physically. The word says that Moses with full eyesight and strength climbed a mountain and died and that God buried him. But his tomb was never found. So it is possible that he died, and the Lord took him up to be with him in heaven. For everyone else, the righteous went to Paradise, which is assumed to be a compartment of death, for Jesus promised the thief on the cross:
“Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43
So Heaven is new for the believers who pass from this life to the next. For it has become the dwelling place of the redeemed from the earth, those whose spirits now reside with God forever. Every tear is dried. There is eternal peace with God.
The Defeat of the Futurist View
Formerly, I believed in the future fulfillment of Revelation. However there was a passage of scripture in the book of Revelation that bothered me a great deal. It did not make any sense to me. Now that I have come to realize that the prophecies in Revelation and the prophecies of Christ have been fulfilled, it all makes perfect sense. The passage that perplexed me was Revelation 22:11. In its context, it reads:
Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy continue to be holy. Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each one according to what he has done." Revelation 22:10-12
As Christians, we are to be concerned for those who are living in sin, and who do not know the Lord. We were given the mandate to pray for the lost, to preach Christ and share the gospel with all people everywhere, to all who will listen. But these words in Revelation 22 seem to be in conflict with the Lord’s Great Commission. Why would he say, in effect: Let the sinner remain a sinner? How could this make sense?
I now understand that if we read the context of this passage we see these words: "the time is near," and "I am coming soon, my reward is with me." These words make all the difference. When we read Chapter 23 in Matthew, we see the Lord's purpose was to bring judgment against the wicked religious leaders of Jerusalem, and to destroy the city and the temple ending the Old Covenant age. Jesus’ enemies were the ones over whom he had pronounced the seven woes. He came to destroy them. In the Lord’s eyes, they were already judged, and convicted. They were destined to the lake of fire that was reserved for the devil and his angels.
And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15
He did not want anyone at this point, so close to his return, to change their status. That is why he said:
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each one according to what he has done." Revelation 22:12
The Lord was coming to judge even the compassionate women he saw on his way to Golgotha.
“But turning to them Jesus said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.’” Luke 23:28
The judgment that was to come would be like nothing they had ever experienced. And again, the Lord knows who are his and who are not.
Revelation was written just a short while, perhaps 2-3 years before AD70. He already knew those who would turn to him, and those who would not. That is why the direction in Revelation was not to change the status of those condemned: “Let the evil doer still do evil, and let the filthy still be filthy." Jesus was to come soon, and his reward was with him.
From the futurist view of Revelation, (whether the premillennial dispensation or the “partial” preterist view) this makes no sense. We would have to ignore God’s mandate to fulfill the great commission and leave the lost to themselves for all these 2000 years! Either we believe the Lord kept his word or not. If you still hold to the idea that Jesus’ second coming and all that entails is still to come, then you will have to ignore either the Great Commission or the Scriptures written in red ink in the book of Revelation. For me, this passage alone decides it. I choose to believe God kept his word and that our understanding of scripture, the prophetic language and all the Old Testament prophets whose writings Jesus, Paul and others have quoted give meaning to the messages that are for us to understand. Let us not close the book, but learn from it. Sit at the Lord’s feet, and call to him, for he will bring understanding to you. My people perish for lack of knowledge. Let’s study and learn for ourselves. I am still learning, but what I shared with you today, is what I believe to be true.
Let us be like the Bereans who searched the scriptures to confirm or to disprove what Paul was teaching.
God bless you and thank you for reading and sharing with others.
