A Ring and a Pledge of Faith
Hi Everyone,
I hope you are enjoying the summer days. It is a good time to take a walk with the Lord.
I received a vision a few days ago that I would like to share with you. I believe that the vision was primarily for a young woman at church, but it has significance for all of us. This young woman had just broken off a marriage engagement with her fiance. He had asked her to return the ring, as well as the funds set aside for the wedding. She asked me to be a witness and accompany her when she was to return the money with the ring.
I was praying for the couple who were now going their separate ways, praying for wisdom and discernment for both of them, to understand God’s heart in the matter. We always want to pray for the Lord’s perfect will, in every decision and every situation, for God’s ways are always best.
The Vision
The Ring and Bracelet
In this vision I saw a young woman’s hand wearing a pretty, delicate ring with a pink stone cut in the shape of a heart. It was placed in a white gold setting resembling flower petals. The ring’s band was very simple in form. There was also a bracelet made of white gold with a string of pink heart-shaped stones that matched the ring. I knew that this vision was meant to be shared with this young woman, for these scriptures came to mind.
"For your Maker is your husband; the Lord of hosts is His name." Isaiah 54:5
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, Psalm 68:5-6
God is a father to the fatherless and a husband to the one who has no husband. He is a defender of widows, and he is a friend to those who trust in him. He is our healer, our provider, our defender, our savior and our Lord God and King!
She was giving up an engagement ring but receiving a better ring from the Lord. Because the young woman is a believer, she is therefore part of the body of Christ, the church, the bride of Christ. He is our beloved and we are his.
She had not long ago lost her father, after having already lost her mother. But as a believer she is adopted into the family of God and is Christ’s own. Jesus is her husband, her father, her brother and friend. His mercies are new every morning and so in her disappointment and sadness, over the break up, she can take comfort in Jesus’ promise, that he will never leave her nor forsake her.
When we become born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, we do not go through things alone. The Holy Spirit is our comforter. He is the deposit given to us, that assures us of having eternal life with God in heaven.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
The Holy Spirit is the comforter, the Spirit of Truth, and the seal of a promise, for we belong to the Lord as his own.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3:20
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? John 14:2
There will be trials and disappointments, sadness and grief, for life is uncertain. But our strength and courage comes from God for he knows what we are going through, and he wants us to overcome.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
As Jesus overcame the world and is seated at the right hand of the Father, he wants his church to overcome the flesh and live for him. The Book of Revelation was addressed to the seven churches of Asia Minor. In each of the letters, the Lord made it clear that they were to repent of sin and unfaithfulness, stay the course through their trials, and overcome fear and even death.
An interesting Note:
In the book of Revelation, the Lord had John write to the 1st century believers who were undergoing tremendous persecution at the hands of the Jews and the Roman Emperor Nero. Nero was “the man of lawlessness,” called “the beast,” for his name is calculated to be the number 666. He joined the persecution of Christians by the Jews, under the persuasion of his wife, a convert to Judaism. The Christians were conveniently blamed for the burning of Rome, for which Nero himself was responsible. This pleased his wife, for the Jews were formerly expelled from Rome under Claudius, his father. He was “the restrainer who was to be taken out of the way.”
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 had a policy of tolerance with regards to religion. However, it is believed that he was murdered by his wife, Agrippina, so that her son Nero would become emperor of Rome, instead of Claudius’ own son Britannicus. Nero became the beast for he did outrageous things to the Christians. “The beast” was an appropriate title for him.
We may never experience persecution to this degree, but there are people around the world who are going through tremendous trials of faith: Nigeria, China, North Korea, and the Middle East. We need to pray for their faith to remain strong, and that their persecution would be halted. We need the sovereign Lord to step in and bring peace where there has been turmoil, fear and death.
A Prayer
Lord, we look to you, for you alone can change the hearts of men. We pray that those bound to destructive ideologies and religions will have an encounter with you, give up their evil ways and acknowledge that you alone are God. Lord, we pray for deliverance for those who are your children, who are suffering at the hands of wicked people. Our warfare is against the powers behind these people who are bound to sin, not with the people themselves. So please help the victims and the perpetrators of these crimes. Only you know what it will take to change their hearts. We trust you Lord. Amen.
A Pledge
This vision of the ring and bracelet can represent the idea of a pledge of faith as the wedding ring is a pledge of faithfulness to the betrothed.
We, as the church, are the Bride of Christ, so we pledge ourselves to the Lord, as his alone. We acknowledge that he is God, Savior, and Redeemer. We acknowledge that he died in our place, and purchased our salvation by his sacrificial death on the cross.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
We are temples of the Holy Spirit for he dwells within each believer. The Holy Spirit’s presence in us, is what makes us alive in Christ. Without the Spirit of God we are not true believers, we are spiritually dead in our sins. In the Lord’s parable of the ten virgins, the Holy Spirit is represented by the oil in the virgins’ lamps.
The Ten Virgins
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:1-13
The virgins that were prepared had oil for their lamps. And as I had mentioned earlier the oil represents the Holy Spirit. If indeed we have the Holy Spirit living within us, then we will bear the fruit of the Spirit. We will be seen and recognized as God’s own. Without the Spirit we cannot bear its fruits:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
The virgins that carried oil with them, were carrying the Holy Spirit. They were ready to meet the Lord.
Jesus told this parable as a warning to those of his generation that would experience the tribulation that was to come upon Jerusalem. They needed to be prepared and to keep watch, for they would not know the day or the hour of his visitation, when…
God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger. Romans 2:6-8
Jesus did tell them on many occasions that the Son of man would come within their generation.
“Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” Matthew 23:36
“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
Returning to the Parable
The five wise virgins represent true believers that have the Holy Spirit, for they are born of God, and truly his. The five foolish virgins who did not have oil, represent those who were waiting for the Messiah, but did not recognize Jesus as the one who was to come. That is why in the Parable he said, “I do not know you,” and so he rejected them. Only the wise virgins went into the wedding feast.
False Teachers and False Prophets
Jesus warned the disciples, and the apostles warned the church, that there would be false teachers, false prophets, and false brothers. The Lord told his disciples how to distinguish between the genuine and the false. He said, “you will know them by their fruits.”
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:15-20
The church has been misguided by people like John Darby and Schofield, proposing a dispensational view of eschatology. Even the creeds speak of the Lord as not having come, when he said he would. By failing to recognize the Lord’s return in AD 70, to close out the Old Covenant and inaugurate the New Covenant, they continue to explain, and put off the Lord’s return into the far distant future. By now “soon” “nearly,” and “at the door,” now means 2000 plus years. And “this generation,” has no meaning whatsoever.
We have millions of Christians waiting for what has already taken place. They are waiting for the second coming, for the resurrection, for the final judgment and for a new heavens and a new earth. They don’t understand the scriptures, because they do not understand the teachings or prophetic language of the Old Testament prophets. They ignore the historical facts as well.
The passage of Jesus speaking with Martha explains what the Jewish view of resurrection was and what Jesus was teaching her about the resurrection and eternal life.
Jesus with Martha Regarding the Resurrection
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”
“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.
Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection, at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” John 11:21-27
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Jesus is the resurrection to Israel and to those who believed in him while the Old Covenant was still in force. The resurrection was the hope of Israel. The Jews of Jesus’ day believed that those who died with a true faith in God, as the prophets, and their ancestors had, would go to the grave, called Sheol, or “the bosom of Abraham,” and would sleep until the end of the age. At the time of the end of the age, the dead would rise from their graves and be joined to God in heaven.
What I believe to be true today, is that all those who died from the feast of Pentecost, which was the birth of the Church, until the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem in AD 70 went to “paradise” or Sheol, for the Old Covenant was still in effect. Remember that Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with him in paradise, not heaven. When Jesus came in AD 70, the Old Covenant was terminated because the sacrificial system and the temple were destroyed. No one could practice Biblical Judaism without the altar and the Levitical priests.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Luke 24:44
Jesus fulfilled many prophecies by the cross, but not until the temple was destroyed ending the Old Covenant could the resurrection occur. And not until the New Covenant was established could believers be changed “in a twinkling of an eye” and “to be clothed in immortality.” These prophecies could not be fulfilled until the Lord’s coming to bring judgment to the wicked and immortality to the believers. This was the time when “all things must be fulfilled.”
After AD 70, when the Old Covenant terminated and the New Covenant began, which is the age that was to come and now is the age in which we live, the dead are raised to life spiritually when they are born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. When we die physically, we are immediately received into heaven, never having died spiritually.
Let’s look at the passage above so as to understand more clearly what Jesus was saying.
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
So the Old Covenant Jews who died before AD 70, and even the Christians dying before AD 70 were in the grave, in Sheol, and were raised from the dead on the last day of the Old Covenant Age (AD 70). This is the resurrection of the dead. They entered heaven and were given new spiritual bodies.
“Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”
Jesus was the resurrection to the Old Testament saints, but he is the life, for those who were alive at AD 70.
Those who were alive at the Lord’s coming were changed in a “twinkling of an eye.” They were given eternal life, and would never die spiritually. So even though they would someday die physically, they would not die a spiritual death, which is separation from God. At the time of physical death, they simply shed their mortal bodies, and receive new immortal spiritual bodies. They leave earth and live forever in heaven.
And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.
Daniel prophesied about that day - the end of the age
“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Daniel 12:1-4
The tribulation was the time of Jacob’s Trouble, a period of 3.5 years “time, times, and half a time.”
Daniel was told to seal up the book until the time of the end. This refers not to “the end of time,” but the end of the Old Covenant Age. The knowledge that was to increase was the knowledge of God.
Jeremiah prophesied about the knowledge of God associated with the New Covenant:
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.
“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34
The Old Covenant was to end at the time of “the shattering of the holy people,” for the house of Israel broke their covenant with God. The Lord was to make a new Covenant, a better covenant, an everlasting covenant at that time. And the knowledge of God would increase so that his law would not be on tablets of stone, but written on the tablets of the heart. “They will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.” And today as Christians, we have the Holy Spirit, who dwells with us and in us, the revealer of truth. Hallelujah!
Just as it was declared in the book of Revelation:
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:2-3
The new Jerusalem is the church. We are born from above; we are the bride adorned for her husband.
God dwells with us for the Holy Spirit lives in us. We are his people, and He is our God. The kingdom of God is both on earth and in heaven, for when we are born again we are members of the kingdom of God. There is no more death, (spiritual death, which is separation from God!) When we die physically only the body perishes. We are still alive in the spirit and we will be with God forever in heaven, for his kingdom and his new covenant are without end!
So the Good news is that the earth is not going to be destroyed. The sun and moon will continue to shine, the stars will remain in the heavens. The Lord’s words in the gospels were prophetic words and images used by so many Old Testament prophets to describe impending judgment over many different nations, cities and people groups. So please read your Bible and understand that most of the bible is prophetic and the language used of “smoke rising forever,” “rivers turning to pitch,” and all types of images of disaster are to invoke fear into the hearts of men to cause them to repent.
Jesus used the same prophetic language, when he warned the Pharisees of the impending judgment to fall upon them, and those who did not recognize him as the Son of God. He declared that his coming was to be within their generation. He referred to his coming as “what must soon take place,” “coming quickly,” “soon to come,” “in this generation,” and “at the door.” Jesus did not lie. He came and conducted business. And now we live in his abundant grace, not in fear of the earth collapsing.
The Lord’s coming was in the clouds, the battle was on the ground with the Roman army as his right hand. The resurrection was genuine for those in the grave. And the resurrection was spiritual for those who are born again.
So just to clarify:
Before we are born again, we are “dead in our sins.” We have no spiritual life in us. We cannot access the Father until the Lord quickens our spirits and makes us alive in him.
Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” The Lord declares that if you are spiritually alive, you will not die spiritually, you will not be separated from God. If you are born again right now, you are alive and you are in the kingdom of God, and one with Christ, for his Holy Spirit lives in you. That is why Paul wrote:
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins… Ephesians 2:1
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, in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7
Therefore, you are brought from death to life, when you are born again. This is a spiritual resurrection, for at the very moment that you are raised to life, you are changed “in a twinkling of an eye.” You are clothed with immortality, for your spirit is now alive in Christ. So, when you die physically, you do not die spiritually, for you are still in the kingdom of God, and united with Christ and with the Holy Spirit.
Thanks for reading. I really want people to understand all that Christ has done for us. There are many people making assumptions without knowing the word of God. Even pastors only teach what they were taught. So it is important that each person studies for himself to be “a worker approved.”
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
God bless you in your studies of the word of truth! And please, pass this on!
