NULL
Illustration
Object:
The Holy City, Jerusalem, can signify where all of God's people will live. It is the ultimate goal of all believers. The 144,000 who are saved will live there. We can see it descend only if we have not arrived there yet.
That tree of life is the one in the Garden of Eden, which was not available to man yet. Adam and Eve had missed the point. They were checking out the fruit for its properties and rewards. They were not listening to the words of God. When I came home from my work, my children always rushed to greet me and followed me into my bedroom where I changed into relaxing clothes. I told them they could touch anything on my dresser except my wallet. There was a mirror on my closet door so I could see them as they approached the dresser. They checked to see if I was looking. They didn't think I was looking at them, so they crept up to the dresser looking puzzled at the wallet lying there, wondering what mysteries it held. Finally the oldest one reached out and touched it and jerked his hand away, quickly checking to see if I was looking. His curiosity drove him to flip it open to see what wonderful contents might be in there. Then he pulled his hand away, disappointed at not finding anything. He had missed the point, just as Adam and Eve had. You obey because "I have said so!" It was only after Christ came and opened the way that we were allowed to check out the fruit on that tree of life.
As the great city was so huge, it took more than a little fountain to water the tree of life. The Rio Grande, where I live, no longer has enough.
The twelve crops of fruit are the twelve apostles, and the leaves are the gospel doctrines by which Gentiles are saved from our sin. We will all be his servants. The evidence will be written on our foreheads. The mark of Cain is forever removed and replaced with the mark of God! His light will be there forever, so we will never fear the dark again. He is our light, so we will never more be lost in the darkness of confusion and shame.
Revelation is never literal. It requires a gift of the Spirit for us to understand. Pray for it!
That tree of life is the one in the Garden of Eden, which was not available to man yet. Adam and Eve had missed the point. They were checking out the fruit for its properties and rewards. They were not listening to the words of God. When I came home from my work, my children always rushed to greet me and followed me into my bedroom where I changed into relaxing clothes. I told them they could touch anything on my dresser except my wallet. There was a mirror on my closet door so I could see them as they approached the dresser. They checked to see if I was looking. They didn't think I was looking at them, so they crept up to the dresser looking puzzled at the wallet lying there, wondering what mysteries it held. Finally the oldest one reached out and touched it and jerked his hand away, quickly checking to see if I was looking. His curiosity drove him to flip it open to see what wonderful contents might be in there. Then he pulled his hand away, disappointed at not finding anything. He had missed the point, just as Adam and Eve had. You obey because "I have said so!" It was only after Christ came and opened the way that we were allowed to check out the fruit on that tree of life.
As the great city was so huge, it took more than a little fountain to water the tree of life. The Rio Grande, where I live, no longer has enough.
The twelve crops of fruit are the twelve apostles, and the leaves are the gospel doctrines by which Gentiles are saved from our sin. We will all be his servants. The evidence will be written on our foreheads. The mark of Cain is forever removed and replaced with the mark of God! His light will be there forever, so we will never fear the dark again. He is our light, so we will never more be lost in the darkness of confusion and shame.
Revelation is never literal. It requires a gift of the Spirit for us to understand. Pray for it!
