JERUSALEM IN THE TIME OF JESUS
"Aerial view of Jerusalem from the south-east with the Mount of Olives to the right. Within the city in the foreground left is the spur of the city of David, the Tyropoeon valley and behind that the Upper City. The Temple and Fortress of Antonia are within the city walls to the right."
(Image source: Free Bible Images)
I love being led by the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD.
Today, He led me to Jerusalem.
Why does Jerusalem matter?
From Scripture, I learned the following:
This is what GOD wants for Jerusalem:
Isaiah 62:1
King James Version
62 For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,
until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness,
and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
God calls Jerusalem the "city of truth".
Zechariah 8:3
King James Version
3 Thus saith the Lord;
I am returned unto Zion,
and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:
and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth;
and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be a "crown of glory" and a "royal diadem" in God's hand.
Isaiah 62:3
King James Version
3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory
in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
God intends for Jerusalem to be a "praise in the earth".
Isaiah 62:7
King James Version
7 And give him no rest,
till he establish,
and till he make Jerusalem
a praise in the earth.
She will be "Sought out" -- a "city not forsaken".
Isaiah 62:12
King James Version
12 And they shall call them,
The holy people,
The redeemed of the Lord:
and thou shalt be called,
Sought out,
A city not forsaken.
God will call Jerusalem by a new name.
Isaiah 62:2
King James Version
2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness,
and all kings thy glory:
and thou shalt be called by a new name,
which the mouth of the Lord shall name.
Jerusalem will be called "Hephzibah" and "Beulah".
Isaiah 62:4
King James Version
4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken;
neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate:
but thou shalt be called Hephzibah,
and thy land Beulah:
The "land shall be married".
Isaiah 62:4
King James Version
for the Lord delighteth in thee,
and thy land shall be married.
The new Jerusalem will be the "holy city" and a "bride" from heaven.
Revelation 21:1-2
King James Version
21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;
and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
She is who is spoken of in the "marriage supper of the Lamb".
Revelation 19:7-9
King James Version
7 Let us be glad and rejoice,
and give honour to him:
for the marriage of the Lamb is come,
and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted
that she should be arrayed in fine linen,
clean and white:
for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9 And he saith unto me,
Write,
Blessed are they which are called
unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
And he saith unto me,
These are the true sayings of God.
For, "the holy Jerusalem" is the "Lamb's wife".
Revelation 21:9-10
King James Version
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels
which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,
and talked with me, saying,
Come hither,
I will shew thee the bride,
the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit
to a great and high mountain,
and shewed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God,
And the Lamb, is JESUS.
John 1:29
King James Version
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him,
and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world.
God will dwell with His people.
Revelation 21:3-4
King James Version
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men,
and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them,
and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow,
nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away.
God's new Jerusalem will finally be worthy of praise, just as the Lord envisioned.
Revelation 21:11-26
King James Version
11 Having the glory of God:
and her light was like unto a stone most precious,
even like a jasper stone,
clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high,
and had twelve gates,
and at the gates twelve angels,
and names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes
of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates;
on the north three gates;
on the south three gates;
and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me
had a golden reed to measure the city,
and the gates thereof,
and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare,
and the length is as large as the breadth:
and he measured the city with the reed,
twelve thousand furlongs.
The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof,
an hundred and forty and four cubits,
according to the measure of a man,
that is,
of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper:
and the city was pure gold,
like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city
were garnished with all manner of precious stones.
The first foundation was jasper;
the second, sapphire;
the third, a chalcedony;
the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx;
the sixth, sardius;
the seventh, chrysolyte;
the eighth, beryl;
the ninth, a topaz;
the tenth, a chrysoprasus;
the eleventh, a jacinth;
the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls:
every several gate was of one pearl:
and the street of the city was pure gold,
as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein:
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon,
to shine in it:
for the glory of God did lighten it,
and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved
shall walk in the light of it:
and the kings of the earth
do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day:
for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring
the glory and honour of the nations into it.
The city will be made pure.
Revelation 21:27
King James Version
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it
any thing that defileth,
neither whatsoever worketh abomination,
or maketh a lie:
but they which are written
in the Lamb's book of life.
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