Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 21:1-8 can be divided into three parts as follows:
ad. 3. The new atmosphere.
Revelation 21:4
21:4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
One of the new atmospheres is that there is no more death.
There are three kinds of death as follows:
1 Samuel 20:3
20:3 Then David took an oath again, and said, "Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.' But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death."
The distance between us and the death is but a step or heart-beat.
Where is the place which is safe from the death?
1 Corinthians 15:25-26
15:25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.
15:26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
The place which is free from the death is being at the feet of Jesus, the High Priest, the King of kings, and the Heavenly Bridegroom.
John 12:1-8
12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.
12:2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.
12:3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
12:4 Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said,
12:5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
12:7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.
12:8 "For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."
The facts found in being at the feet of Jesus is like Mary anointing Jesus' feet for remembering and preparing the day of Jesus' burial.
Anointing refers to a ministry. The feet refer to the body of Christ. The burial refers to the last time.
Thus, anointing the feet of Jesus for the burial refers to the revival of Holy Spirit at the latter rain or the last ministry for the edification Christ's body.
We get the longsuffering of God, namely we are given the long age and Jesus has not come a second time yet for being active in the fellowship of the body of Christ.
The requirements of the true fellowship are as follows:
Ephesians 4:3-6
4:3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4:4 There is one body(1) and one Spirit(2), just as you were called in one hope(3) of your calling;
4:5 one Lord(4), one faith(5), one baptism(6);
4:6 one God and Father of all(7), who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
All things can be different, but there must be seven unities as follows:
The fellowship of the body of Christ starts from the marriage, shepherding, inter-shepherding, and so on.
Romans 16:17
16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
Be careful in the fellowship, namely there must be no false teachings, which are contrary to the Bible and gossips which cause division!
The requirements of ministering in the edification of Christ's body are as follows:
God blesses you.
Revelation 21:1-8 can be divided into three parts as follows:
- [verse 1] the new heaven and earth.
- [verse 2-3] the new man.
- [verse 4-8] the new atmosphere.
ad. 3. The new atmosphere.
Revelation 21:4
21:4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
One of the new atmospheres is that there is no more death.
There are three kinds of death as follows:
- The bodily deathor passing away physically. It happens by the authority of God. We can only pray.
- The spiritual death.
Ephesians 2:1
2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
Isaiah 59:1-3
59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
59:3 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.
It is the same as being separated from God because of these two things:- Sins (lies and hatred) up to the peak, namely the sins concerning eating-drinking and marrying-being given in marriage.
- The destructive false teachings.
2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
A little leaven, namely sins and false teaching, is able to destroy the whole lump.
2 Kings 4:38-40
4:38 And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, "Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets."
4:39 So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were.
4:40 Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it.
The strange food, namely gossip and false teachings is put little by little in the fellowship of the servants of God.
2 Kings 4:41
4:41 So he said, "Then bring some flour." And he put it into the pot, and said, "Serve it to the people, that they may eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Nevertheless, there were some flour, namely the true teaching Word.
2 Kings 4:42-44
4:42 Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, "Give it to the people, that they may eat."
4:43 But his servant said, "What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?" He said again, "Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: 'They shall eat and have some left over.'"
4:44 So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.
The functions of the flour or the true teaching Word are as follows- The power of resurrection for reviving the dead spirituality because of sins and false teachings.
- The power of abundant preservation.
- Sins (lies and hatred) up to the peak, namely the sins concerning eating-drinking and marrying-being given in marriage.
- The second deathor the hell, namely the everlasting death.
Revelation 20:14
20:14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
1 Samuel 20:3
20:3 Then David took an oath again, and said, "Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.' But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death."
The distance between us and the death is but a step or heart-beat.
Where is the place which is safe from the death?
1 Corinthians 15:25-26
15:25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.
15:26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
The place which is free from the death is being at the feet of Jesus, the High Priest, the King of kings, and the Heavenly Bridegroom.
John 12:1-8
12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.
12:2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.
12:3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
12:4 Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said,
12:5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
12:7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.
12:8 "For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."
The facts found in being at the feet of Jesus is like Mary anointing Jesus' feet for remembering and preparing the day of Jesus' burial.
Anointing refers to a ministry. The feet refer to the body of Christ. The burial refers to the last time.
Thus, anointing the feet of Jesus for the burial refers to the revival of Holy Spirit at the latter rain or the last ministry for the edification Christ's body.
We get the longsuffering of God, namely we are given the long age and Jesus has not come a second time yet for being active in the fellowship of the body of Christ.
The requirements of the true fellowship are as follows:
- The purpose is to eat together. Therefore, there must be the true spiritual food.
- Not forcing, being forced or persuaded, and so on, but with willing and joyful heart.
- The fellowship is not about similarity. We have many differences, but still become one.
Ephesians 4:3-6
4:3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4:4 There is one body(1) and one Spirit(2), just as you were called in one hope(3) of your calling;
4:5 one Lord(4), one faith(5), one baptism(6);
4:6 one God and Father of all(7), who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
All things can be different, but there must be seven unities as follows:
- One body = one Head, one true teaching Word, or Logos.
- One spirit.
- One hope to become the bride.
- One Lord.
- One faith to Jesus.
- One baptism.
- One Father God.
The fellowship of the body of Christ starts from the marriage, shepherding, inter-shepherding, and so on.
Romans 16:17
16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
Be careful in the fellowship, namely there must be no false teachings, which are contrary to the Bible and gossips which cause division!
The requirements of ministering in the edification of Christ's body are as follows:
- We must experience the reconciliation by the precious blood of Jesus.
John 12:3
12:3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
1 Peter 1:18-19
1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
All men have sinned in their own sins or the sins of heritage, so they are not precious before God.
Therefore, Jesus must die on the cross and pour out His precious blood for redeeming the cheap sinful men to become expensive before God.
The blood of Jesus redeems or forgives and sets us free from our own sins, the sins of heritage, as well as the tradition which is not in line with the Bible, so we can live in righteousness. Do not do the cheap thing or sin again!
2 Corinthians 5:18
5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
We are entrusted for taking part in the ministry of reconciliation. - We must get the sanctification in our heart from the will of money.
John 12:6
12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
It continues until we can feel more blessed to give than to receive. We can give with willing and joyful heart and the sign of blood or sacrifice.
It is also the sanctification from pride that we have. We have something but we feel nothing. Do not feel that you have something when actually you have nothing!
John 12:3
12:3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
We do not feel meritorious until insisting the right and forgetting the duty. We do all things to God as a duty from a person who has been bought or redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Being allowed to minister to God has been the wage from Him like the mother of Moses who could nurse the baby Moses. Do not insist the wage anymore! It is better to minister to God than to minister to Satan or sin.
The hair also refers to the glory. The hair was put at the feet. It means that we must not minister to God for looking for the honor or glory for ourselves until making Him embarrassed.
The hair also refers to the smooth surface, namely trick, hypocrisy, or pretense. Do not cover sin by pretending to do good things or by blaming at others! - We must get the fragrant anointing oil.
John 12:3
12:3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Leviticus 21:12
21:12 'nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
The requirements for receiving the anointing oil are as follows:- Persevering in the Holy Place or sheepfold, namely in the three main services to God. There is guarantee of holiness and anointing oil, so we are not dry spiritually.
- We must bear the cross or suffer in the flesh because of Jesus.
4:12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
4:14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
As a result, the Spirit of Glory makes us joyful in the midst of sufferings.
The functions of the anointing oil upon the head are as follows:- Holy Spirit anoints our mind, so we can hold fast one true teaching Word and obey it. We do not commit any sin. We can firmly reject the false teachings or gossips, so we are set free from the death.
2 Corinthians 11:3-4
11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
11:4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted--you may well put up with it! - Holy Spirit anoints our heart and mind, so we can live together in unity. There is no jealousy or hatred, but peace. All things become easy and light.
Psalm 133:1-3
133:1 <<A Song of Ascents. Of David.>> Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren todwell together in unity!
133:2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.
133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing--Life forevermore.
Romans 15:5-6
15:5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-mindedtoward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
15:6 that you may with one mindand one mouthglorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One heart that is filled by the true teaching Word and one voice that says "Alleluia" will cause all destroyed things to become good. All things become good and beautiful.
The Lord commands the blessings to preserve our life in the midst of the difficulties in the world up to the eternal life. - Holy Spirit changes our life to be the spiritual man, namely being obedient until the flesh does not speak anymore.
1 Peter 5:4-5
5:4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
As a result, we are exalted and glorified in time of need from now on in the world until being as perfect as Jesus is. The anointing on the head becomes the crown of glory or the bride's for entering the marriage supper of the Lamb, the Paradise, and the New Jerusalem.
- Persevering in the Holy Place or sheepfold, namely in the three main services to God. There is guarantee of holiness and anointing oil, so we are not dry spiritually.
God blesses you.