Prayer – Lord, I’m holding onto what I’ve got—to what You’ve given me…and using the talents that You’ve given me to invest in the lives of others. Please continue to show me how I can use my talents for You—that more people would not only come to know You, but grow spiritually.
Write this letter to the angel of the church in
Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one
who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes,
no one can open: "I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door
for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word
and did not deny me. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan's synagogue—those
liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They
will acknowledge that you are the ones I love. Because you have obeyed my
command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that
will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am
coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your
crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and
they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God,
and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes
down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name." Anyone
with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to
the churches. Revelation 3:7-13
Meditate. Use your ears and listen to what God is saying.
Where do you stand today in your relationship with the
Lord? In this church in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, they are
obedient to the Lord…and they will hang on to what they have—the promises of
the Lord.
Jesus promised that those who are victorious will become
pillars in the Temple of my (our) God. We know that as believers we
are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
Don't you realize
that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given
to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high
price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Additionally, God claims us for His spiritual temple and
His holy priests.
And you are living
stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you
are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer
spiritual sacrifices that please God. 1 Peter 2:5
Don't you realize that all of you
together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God
will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you
are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (Underlined for emphasis.)
God’s Temple is
an amazing place. I keep hearing over and over that the Temple on earth,
beginning with Moses’ Tabernacle is a replica of God’s Temple in Heaven. The
Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple housed the Ark of the Covenant.
John writes about measuring the Temple and seeing the Ark in the Temple.
Then I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, "Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers.” ... Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm. Revelation 11:1, 19
Revelation
prophecies that a new Heaven and New Earth will descend with a New Jerusalem.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was
also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out
of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ... I saw no temple
in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Revelation
21:1-2, 22
Note that there
will be no temple in the New Jerusalem. God and the Lamb, Jesus, are the Temple. Those who are allowed to go into the New Jerusalem never have to leave
it. What an honor to be a citizen of that new city—God special chosen people
are to inhabit the new city on the new earth. All the old will be destroyed.
And by the same word, the present
heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day
of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed. But you must not forget
this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a
thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn't really being slow about his
promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does
not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of
the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away
with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire,
and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since
everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly
lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along.
On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away
in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he
has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness. 2 Peter 3:7-13
Fire will destroy...
the old earth
and heaven.
Just as Peter wrote… we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness. Glory be to God. He has a plan for a wonderful new home for His followers—His chosen people—His family. Listen to what He says. Obediently repent. Use your ears.
No comments:
Post a Comment