Episode Transcript
Are you ready to embark on a thought provoking journey of discovery? Curious to explore an alternative narrative that challenges the theory of evolution? What impact has the war in heaven had on our planet? And what are the implications for humanity? What can we learn from this epic battle that is unfolding between good and evil? Here is your opportunity to unlock a treasure trove of spiritual insights from the Bible that will answer these and many other pressing questions, illuminating the path to eternal life which lies just a choice away. Here is Bill Gates presenting homeward bound. So today I'm taking you on a journey to hopefully inspire you with the prospect of living for eternity with God and the prospect of living in the new homes that Jesus Christ is preparing for those who love and obey him.
Now remember, your home is in heaven. You are just travelling through this world. So for now, walk with Jesus and we won't have to pitch a tent when we get there, because Jesus is preparing a home for us in heaven.
As John 14, verses one to three states, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me.
In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
And so all of us, like Abraham of old, should be excited at the prospect of living in New Jerusalem, God's capital city of the universe, as Hebrews 1110 says, a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. What a pity that the Jews and the Arabs do not seem to know about this city called New Jerusalem. For if they did, they wouldn't need to fight over the bricks and mortar of old Jerusalem.
In fact, we should be looking for God's holy city earnestly. Why? Because this world is now a very different place from just a few years ago. In fact, the world is in crisis, as is evidenced by the much larger number of marriage breakdowns that are occurring.
And then there's the great amount of anarchy that reigns in many places today and the lack of common decency and respect that used to be accepted as normal behaviour and way of life. Also, the pending collapse of the United States of America economy. Mrs.
Yellen stated that unless Congress approved an increase in the debt ceiling, the United States will be flat broke. So by the time the sermon is filmed, either Congress will have authorised an increase in the debt ceiling, or the whole of the United States will indeed be proceeding towards being financially bankrupt. An example of this problem in the United States of America is its national declared debt, which is over $28 trillion.
And then there is the unfunded debt for future commitments such as superannuation, which exceeds $200 trillion plus the fact that several states within the United States of America have already declared bankruptcy. The entire capitalist system is being run on borrowed money that is increasing astronomically to the point where I believe that there has to be another major financial catastrophe ahead of us. Whilst this will come as a shock to the world, God has already predicted a time of financial crisis in revelation 18, verse eleven.
And they shall weep and mourn, for no man buys their merchandise anymore. All of this tells me that the second coming of Jesus cannot be too far away. We can say that because the Bible says that we are not the children of darkness.
Those who read their bibles in spirit of prophecy writings daily are the children of light, and as a result, we know what is coming. World events tell us that we're so close to the prophetic midnight hour when Christ will return to take us home. In fact, Exodus eleven, verse four, and Exodus twelve, verse 29, plus great controversy, page six, three six states that it is at midnight that God manifests his power for the deliverance of his saints.
So what is the great controversy book I referred to just now? It is an inspired Bible commentary book from the collection of spirit of prophecy writings. This gift was promised by God in the Bible book called Joel, chapter two, verse 28 and 29 for the use of christians living in the last days of earth's history. To summarise, the doctrines come from the Holy Bible.
The understanding of the Bible is enhanced when we read the spirit of prophecy writings. And here is the Bible proof of the promised gift, Joel two, verse 28. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions before the great and the terrible day of the Lord.
Notice that God said this would take place just prior to the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. It's a great day for the saved, it's a terrible day for the lost, in other words, the second coming of Christ and the end of this world. And because theologians cannot even agree amongst themselves most of the time as to what the Bible teaches, thus leading to a multitude of interpretations, God in his infinite wisdom, explains why this gift was necessary in these last days of earth's history.
And so I read from an inspired commentary book called the Colporter ministry, page one, two, five. Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light. The Bible is the greater light, and we use the lesser light, which is the collection of spirit, of prophecy books like a torch, in order to understand much better the greater light, which is the Bible.
The book called the great Controversy is one such book from that vast collection of books. And page six, three, six enlightens us on Matthew 25, verse six, which says that it was at midnight that the bridegroom that is Jesus Christ comes back. It is at midnight that God manifests his power for the deliverance of his people.
The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance.
With the potential now available to mass poison water supplies, or to take down the electrical grids of cities through computer hacking to strike suddenly and without warning targets anywhere in the world, there is now a fear in the hearts of men and women that never used to be there. Thus, the only viable solution is for God to step in and resolve the mess we're getting into. And he plans to do exactly that with the true second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So I thought we might be inspired today by using our bibles and the spirit of prophecy books then use computer animations, video clips, sound effects and music as we consider the reality of the glorious future that awaits the faithful saints. But first, we need to notice a warning found in deuteronomy 29, verse 29. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
This warning is given to discourage us from speculating on areas not revealed by God. On the other hand, we're to avoid the opposite extreme, recorded as follows by a famous bible commentator in the book great controversy, page six, seven, four and six, seven, five. A fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many to spiritualize away the very truths which lead us to look upon it as our home.
Those who accept the teachings of God will not be wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. So, as we launch ourselves into the future, let us consider the events associated with the seven last plagues. These plagues are to be poured out against a world that has ignored or constantly disobeyed the creator God of the universe, or who have chosen to follow false gods that are not gods at all.
By this time, the opportunity to be saved into God's first kingdom of grace and then into his second kingdom of glory is over. It's too late to be saved as citizens of God's new planet earth. So now there is to be a special resurrection of two groups of people.
Those that were responsible for the events at Calvary, awake to see the fulfilment of Christ's promise made to the high priest, Caiaphas, and found in Matthew 26, verse 63 and 64. But Jesus held his peace, and the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee, that means swear under oath by the living God that you tell us whether you be the Christ, the son of God. Jesus said unto him, that's Caiaphas you have said.
Nevertheless, I say unto you, hereafter shall you see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. And the book of revelation tells us something interesting as well. Revelation one, verse seven.
Behold, he comes with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also, which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, amen. So caiaphas will be there in that special resurrection, and the soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with his spear will be there.
And then there'll be the one who mocked and spat on Jesus. But they won't be mocking him then, will they? But praise the Lord. There is another special resurrection.
This is for all those who died believing in the three angels messages of revelation, chapter 14, verses six to twelve, and yet did not live to see Jesus Christ's return. They won't miss out. Also, there will be some amazing things happen as Christ approaches the earth.
There'll be rocks being hurled into the sky with tremendous forces of nature at work. I know what it's like to be on an active volcano called White island, off the east coast of the North island of New Zealand. It had just blown up a week before we arrived.
There were still rocks being blown up to the edge of the crater, and then they would fall back into the bottom of the volcano's crater. This would happen every five minutes for the 20 minutes that we were near the mouth of the crater, having been guided there by a trained volcanologist. And as the second coming of Christ nears, even the clouds will be banging into each other and making a loud noise as a result of mother nature being out of kilter at the presence of its creator, God.
The wicked, who are alive at this time, that is, the ones who've rejected God's plan. To save them will look with utter amazement and fear at the scene. But the saints, on the other hand, will be looking for a small black cloud about half the size of a man's hand.
Prophecy has decreed that we'll look upon it in solemn silence. And as it draws nearer and nearer to the earth, which prophecy tells us takes a number of days, the darkness will fade away and become one large cloud of indescribable glory. For on that cloud is Jesus Christ.
So as that cloud gets closer, he's starting to appear. He's getting closer now. And finally, there he is, surrounded by his angels.
He comes back as the king of kings and lord of lords. At the same time, we'll hear strains of beautiful music, anthems of celestial melody growing in volume as Jesus and his angels near the earth. So the first conclusion I'd like to make is this.
The kingdom of glory that Christ is coming back to take us to is a real place to be occupied by real people doing real things and doing it forever and ever. I mentioned earlier that there will be a lot of noise associated with the return of the real Christ. And to try and help you realise this, let us begin.
Those with weak hearts, put your fingers in your ears. And then the rest of us consider the noise that will be produced when there is firstly thunder. And then there will be the falling hailstones the size of two concrete blocks, about 75 pounds, or 34 kilogrammes in weight, falling by the thousands from the sky and destroying all of the cities and towns of the world.
This is what it might sound like it. And then there'll be the sound of the angels trumpets as they announce the arrival of the king of kings and lord of lords. You excited at this prospect? I hope so.
So now we'll enjoy our first video clip describing the appearance of Christ. The narrator is David Gentry, a scientist. And just like revelation one, verse seven says, as he enters the solar system, every person on earth will be able to see him approach at first like a dark storm cloud, growing larger and brighter, until, according to revelation six, verse 14, the atmosphere rips apart and suddenly, there he is.
His brightness, like pure energy, consumes all who turned against him and rebelled. Yet we who are waiting for him will he save from that destruction? The Bible says that every eye shall see him. How that happens is explained in a book called Maranatha, page 287.
Then Jesus took his place on the cloud, where it first appeared to the saints on Earth as a small black cloud. While the cloud was passing from the holiest to the east, which took a number of days. Then every eye on the spinning round planet will indeed see him during those days.
But what about the huge earthquake scheduled to come? It'll be felt right across the whole world. I live in a country where they had lots of earthquakes. That was New Zealand.
But no previous earthquake has ever been felt across the entire world before. But this one will be. Listen to the sounds of cracking and falling buildings caused by earthquakes.
With all of this noise, there cannot possibly be a secret rapture, as some christians claim, can there? This earthquake will shake the earth and the dead in Christ shall awake. So if your faith and trust in God are settled, then you have nothing to worry about. You will be protected when these events occur.
The Bible and the spirit of prophecy both write about these tumultuous events as our next few slides will show. Jeremiah four, verse 26 I beheld and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. Two Peter three, verse ten.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also, and the works that are in shall be burned up. Nevertheless, here's the promise.
We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. No sin, no sickness, no suffering, no pain. So what possible objection could you have for planning on being citizens of God's two kingdoms? God's enemy will put objections in your mind, but Christ has great plans to give you an eternal future.
If, therefore, you can see the potential of that future, grab it with open arms and plan to join God's first kingdom of grace here on the old planet earth, which is his church. God then prepares you for citizenship in the second kingdom of glory in heaven. And if you allow God to do that for you, then you don't have to worry at all about the upcoming destruction of this tired old planet earth.
Councils for the church, page 340 soon I heard the voice of God which shook the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. Buildings were shaken down and fell on every side.
I then heard a triumphant shout of victory, loud, musical and clear. I looked upon this company who a short time before were in such distress and bondage. Their captivity was turned.
A glorious light shone upon them. How beautiful they then looked. All weariness and marks of care were gone.
Health and beauty was seen in every countenance. Their enemies, the heathen around them, fell like dead men. They could not endure the light that shone upon the delivered holy ones.
But I imagine there will also be a time of stunned silence as we hear the great words of Jesus Christ. His voice awakens the righteous dead who are in the graves. With these words found in ephesians five, verse 14.
Awake, awake, you that sleep in the dust and arise, as Matthew 24, verse 31 tells us. And he that is Jesus Christ shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. The saved people will be radiant, happy, and homeward bound, real people in real but spiritual bodies, heading for a real place.
And while this is occurring, the living saints will be experiencing thrills and emotional ecstasy. For as one corinthians 15, verse 51 to 53 says, behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.
For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. No one would need to put on immortality if they already possessed it.
You know, I can imagine myself getting quite a thrill out of standing on the ground 1 minute and then suddenly experiencing the strained sensation of ascending off the ground and moving towards the sky. All of this without an oxygen mask and without a spaceship. We leave just as Jesus left, as recorded in acts one, verses nine to eleven.
And when he had spoken these things while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, you men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven. So when it is our time to ascend, I imagine that our eyes will be working over time as we look at the fabulous spectacle above us and then glance down at the destruction taking place on this planet below us.
You would be glad you had moved from being an atheist to a firm believer in God, because if you had proudly hung on to being an atheist, you would have been destroyed along with this planet. When that day comes, you see, an atheist has a lot to lose, as you will see when I am finished telling you this next true story. An atheist advertised a public meeting to prove in five minutes that God did not exist.
And this picture is simply a representation of that meeting. The hall is packed. The atheist stands up on the stage and he says to God, God, if you exist, strike me dead in five minutes.
Five minutes later he was still alive. And then he said, there you are. I've just proved to you that God doesn't exist.
Then a little old lady stands up and she says, excuse me, sir. She said, I would like to ask you a question. If when I die, I find the Bible is not true, that there is no heaven, no God, what will I have lost? He thought about the question and then he said nothing.
She thanked him and then she said, I'd like to ask you one more question. If when you die, you find that the Bible was true, that there is a God and that there is a heaven, what will you have lost? And when the significance of her question dawned on the packed hall, there was thunderous applause for the logic of her questions. So let us continue our journey to heaven.
As we rise higher and higher, there would have to be great excitement as we recognise loved ones, friends and church members who had been separated from us by death or who had previously moved to far off places. I'm looking forward to seeing my mum and dad and my brother and two sisters, all of whom are resting in peace in their graves. What about you? Many of you will have precious ones that you long to be reunited with.
And mothers and fathers, here is a beautiful promise for you concerning the little infants who died at birth or as little children. Second selected messages, page 260. As the little infants come forth, immortal, from their dusty beds, they immediately wing their way to their mother's arms.
They meet again, never more to part. What a merciful God. Satan, who was God's enemy, thought he had those people tucked away into his kingdom of darkness forever.
But God is faithful and takes the saints away from that kingdom of darkness and takes them to a kingdom of eternal light. Everyone will be a picture of radiant health and happiness. And here's another important point about the future.
Life. Although our bodies will be changed into new and perfect bodies, our personalities, our identities and our characters will be preserved and be instantly recognisable by our family and friends. One corinthians 13, verse twelve tells us this.
For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now we know in part, but then shall I know even as I am known. So that is why you do not have to fear whether you're vaporised by an atomic bomb or sink into the bottom of the sea or be burnt beyond recognition.
God knows every feature about you and will place it in a brand new body. So the second conclusion I'd like to make is this. We will retain our personalities, we will retain our sanctified characters, we will retain our identities, but all placed into a brand new, perfect body if we faithfully follow God.
So prophecy reveals that the journey to the third heaven takes us through the constellation of Orion. As early writings page 41 reveals, dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other. The atmosphere parted and rolled back.
Then we could look through the open space in Orion whence came the voice of God. So there's the constellation of Orion as seen through telescopes. And what has surprised me is that the universe seems to be full of majestic and vivid colours.
No wonder the Bible says in one corinthians two, verse nine. But as it is written, eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. So now we'll enjoy our second video, narrated for us this time by Dr.
Robert Gentry, a scientist and father of David Gentry, who we listened to at the beginning. Fascinating to think about what we would find if we were to travel to the throne itself. So let's take a trip there right now through the magic of computer animation.
And as we prepare to leave Earth's orbit, we see the night sky coming into view with its millions of city lights. Far below, the sun blazes into view along with the constellation of Orion, and we begin to accelerate, passing our sun at ten times the speed of light. Years ago, I suggested in a scientific publication that the Orion Nebula was the space corridor to the throne.
And now, as we approach the stars making up the constellation, each one a different distance from Earth, we're going over 1 million times the speed of light. As the stars of Orion pass behind us, the Orion Nebula, 1500 light years away from Earth, looms larger and larger as we begin our deceleration. This nebula is a vast cloud of rarefied gases and dust.
100 light years across, it is illuminated and being boiled away by this handful of very bright and very hot, blue white giant stars called the trapezium. Hundreds of smaller sunlike stars form a cluster around him. Revelation, chapter eight, verse one, tells us that it takes approximately seven days to travel back to God's dwelling place in the third heaven.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Bible fact that there are three heavens, I will explain. The first heaven is where the birds fly, our atmospheric heaven. The second heaven is known as the starry heavens, where the stars and galaxies are the third heaven is where God dwells, and it is in the centre of the universe.
Now here is a most interesting situation for us to consider. The fact that it will take seven days to travel to the third heaven is very strange. For this reason, on the resurrection Sunday, Jesus would not let Mary touch his feet on that early Sunday morning because he said that he had not yet returned to the third heaven.
Then Jesus ascends to heaven to establish that his sacrifice was acceptable to the Father. Sure enough, God the Father did accept that the sacrifice of Christ's sinless humanity paid the price for sinful mankind's sins. And then Jesus returns to Earth straight away.
After arriving back on planet Earth in the afternoon of that same Sunday, Jesus meets up with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. That is a very fast means of travel unknown to man. It only took Jesus a few hours to travel to the third heaven and back to Earth on that resurrection Sunday.
Hence my question. Why will it take us seven days for us to take the one way trip? I believe there are two reasons. Firstly, one lies in the fact that just as we enjoy taking family and strangers to see new scenic delights, I can imagine our heavenly Father enjoying the same pleasure as he shows us parts of his majestic universe.
I know the pleasure I have received from taking my daughters on a holiday to the South island of New Zealand. The second reason for taking seven days to get to heaven is as follows. No Sunday keeping saint who goes to heaven at the second coming of Jesus will be going through the pearly gates into the holy city, New Jerusalem, until they keep their 1st 7th day Sabbath, which is Saturday, not Sunday.
And they do that on the sea of glass before entering the pearly gates. How do I know that? Isaiah 66, verse 22 and 23 tells us that for as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the Lord. So notice the context.
The new heavens and the new earth verse 23 and it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, not Sunday, shall all flesh come to worship before me, says the Lord. So now we'll enjoy our third video clip as Dr. Robert Gentry, the scientist, takes us on a journey through space.
This is a very long exposure of our galaxy as seen in the night sky. We see it here from inside, looking edge on through its discs of billions of stars, interlaced with vast clouds of dust and gas, hundreds of thousands of light years in size. And this is a supernova, exhibiting what astronomers have called the glowing eye.
Then we have NGC 40 nine's cosmic blast. And then the end, a planetary nebula surrounding the dying sunlike star Menzel three. Another exploding star caused the eskimo nebula.
It's about 5000 light years from Earth in the constellation Gemini. A complex of mixed nebulosity surrounding the triple star Rophocus and the yellow giant and teres. And here's the amazing NGC 346 in the small medellinic cloud.
Another exploding star 3000 light years away in the constellation Draco created the Kazai nebula. B 838. Luna Seratus is from a burst of light travelling outward and illuminate shells of gas and dust ejected from the central star and has been likened to Van Gogh's starry night.
And here are the fabulously exotic pillars of creation in the eagle Nebula. They're actually spires of rarefied gas and dust hundreds of light years long. And here's a close up of the beautiful Orion nebula that we'll see more of later on.
These two closely spaced galaxies, nicknamed the mice, are 300 million light years away in the constellation coma barrettes. The variety of shapes and the sizes of galaxies is unbelievable. Take for example the barred spiral NGC 1300 and then the starburst galaxy.
Here we have Hove's object strange ring galaxy. And here is the antenna galaxy, showing the interaction of two spiral galaxies. Galaxies are so huge, have their distances so great that we can hardly comprehend their existence.
The beauty and majesty of all these celestial wonders captures the imagination. Take a look at the exquisite detail of these astronomically huge lanes of gas and dust that form a belt around this sombrero galaxy. Surely all these galaxies are telling us something of vast importance.
Beautiful, isn't it? And for those who establish a relationship with God, this is what you can look forward to seeing with your own eyes. But in addition to enjoying the celestial sights, we will spend time moving back and forth along the vast expanse of the cloud chariot of angels, talking with old friends and family members. And we won't have to even think about or be worried about Satan.
All that the devil imposed upon us will be a thing of the past because Christ has defeated his and our enemy. As a result, Satan is bound to this earth for a thousand years by a chain of circumstances. And that chain of circumstances simply being that there is no one alive for him to tempt for that 1000 years, for the saved ones will be living in the third heaven with Christ.
And the unsaved humans will either be dead in their graves or dead as dodos lying on the surface of the ground as Jeremiah 25 verse 32 and 33. Teaches. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth, even unto the other end of the earth.
They shall not be lamented, neither gathered nor buried. They shall be dung upon the ground. And another subject of discussion will be the big difference in the size of the saints.
We won't have to guess which saints belong to. The time period before the flood, for those people will be twice our height, but Jesus Christ will be head and shoulders above them all. An exciting from an inspired Bible commentator shows early writings, page 41.
Before entering the city, the saints were arranged in a perfect square, with Jesus in the midst. He stood head and shoulders above the saints and above the angels. His majestic form and lovely countenance could be seen by all in the square.
Well, the journey is almost over now, and a new site comes into view. The holy city, New Jerusalem, the city that God himself has built, as mentioned in revelation 21, verses one to three. But before we enter the pearly gates, the convoy suddenly stops.
Angels come to us carrying a variety of articles. Suddenly our attention is arrested, and Jesus talks to us in a beautiful, melodious voice. It is time for the saints to receive the gifts that God has for them.
Notice the Bible text, revelation two, verse ten. Down the bottom it says, be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. The Bible also says in revelation one, verse six, and has made us kings and priests unto God and his father.
To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. And therefore it is proper that we should receive the emblems of office, and Jesus places on our heads, crowns decked with diadems more glorious than any earthly monarch has ever worn. And while still on the sea of glass, we'll also be presented with special white robes and a victor's palm.
Now, may this next reading from acts of the apostles, page one, five, three, be a source of encouragement to us all. Again and again have the encouraging words of angels renewed the drooping spirits of the faithful, and carrying their minds above the things of earth, cause them to behold by faith the white robes, the crowns, and the palm branches of victory, which overcomers will receive when they surround the great white throne. And then the angelic choir leader gives us the pitch, and we have the privilege of joining with them in choral singing, unmatched, ever perhaps sounding like this representation, but so much better.
Praise God. Raise the rain. Rest assured, however, we will be doing much more than just playing harps in heaven.
We're also to be treated to a special item from the choir made up of the Adventists love special items and this one will be sung from the heart, for it is the song of their deliverance. Having overcome the most horrendous pressures to break God's 7th day Sabbath, the Bible says in revelation 15, verse three, and they shall sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the lamb, saying, great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways, thou king of saints.
So just as God intervened personally and helped Moses through tremendous pressures from the egyptian leaders of his day, so God will personally help the future 144,000 withstand the tremendous pressures from the world's political and religious leaders of their day. Now let us enjoy the next video clip as we pass through the cloud and emerge on the other side, we see heaven itself and the throne of God, described in revelation 20 116 as being a glorious city 350 miles square. Verses 19 and 20 tell us its foundation is made of twelve layers of precious gemstones and surrounded by a 250 foot high wall containing twelve gates, three on each side.
As we enter through one of the huge pearl gates described in verse 21, we see within the city on top of its huge mountain, spoken of in Isaiah 1413 and revelation 14 one, the indescribably glorious and holy throne room of God pictured in revelation four. We reverently enter and approach closer to his throne and there before us, according to Hebrews eight one through six. And revelation 1119 is the same fourth commandment of the ten given to Moses on Mount Sinai, which tells us of God creating the visible universe in six days and resting on the 7th day Sabbath.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 518 that it has never been changed and that he is there now, representing us before God. As revelation 21, verse 21 says, the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each individual gate was of one pearl.
So once we've arrived, Jesus then takes us on a guided tour of the holy city, and he'll be keen to show us our new home. He prepared for us by none other than himself, a home that accommodates our every desire, for he knows what we like. However, when we see our new city homes, we could be shocked at the height of the studs.
For the Bible says in Malachi four, verse two but unto you that fear my name, and shall the son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings, and you shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. The third volume of spiritual gifts, page 84, adds to our understanding of what we've just read in Malachi. All come up as they went down into the graves.
Those who lived before the flood come forth with their giant like stature, more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth and well proportioned. Then when Malachi four, verse two says, we're to grow up as calves in a stall, we too will need our homes with high studs as we grow back into the size God originally had planned for us. But everything sparkles.
There's no bricks, concrete or weatherboards up there. Instead, the streets are of gold, as revelation 21 21 says, it's transparent gold, in fact. And there is at least one table up there made of silver, as early writings page 19 tells us.
And I saw a table of pure silver. It was many miles in length, yet our eyes could extend over it. And just imagine the fabulous colours that will be all around us as the light from God's throne bounces off the jewels that are used to adorn the wall of the city.
Let us notice some of these jewels. We have the Jasper, the sapphire, the Chelseadoni, the emerald, the sardonics, the Sardius, the chrysalite, the beryl, the Topaz, the chrysoprasis, the Jacinth and my favourite, the amethyst. No wonder we'll want to sing.
But it will be better than this one. I uble also says in revelation four, verses two and three. And immediately I was in the spirit.
And behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a Jasper and a sardine stone. And there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight, like unto an emerald.
Our next slide is a representation of what it might look like. This is the everlasting testimony of God's love for man. Yes, heaven is a real place, where real people, living in real bodies, will end up doing real and wonderful things for eternity.
So today I've taken you on a potential journey to the promised land. Now we need to think about what we're going to do with the information. Our destiny beyond the grave is determined by our own choices.
There is a heaven to win and a hell fire to be avoided. And in the name of God's mercy, he offers us heaven and eternal life. And why wouldn't we want this for ourselves? The choice is simple.
Will it be for God and Jesus Christ and everlasting life for ourselves? Or will it be the alternative? God says he will accept whatever decision we make. But for those who decline God's invitation, there can only be hellfire left to experience, followed by an eternal second death. And if your decision is to live just for this world's, joys and hassles.
And in the process you reject God's offer to accept you as a citizen of this new planet earth that is coming. Then don't blame God when you therefore end up experiencing two deaths. The second death is caused by being exterminated by the hell fire after first being resurrected in order to acknowledge the justice of God.
The first death is likened in the Bible to asleep, from which there will be two main resurrections. As I mentioned before, the first main resurrection has the saved ones coming up out of the graves to enjoy eternal life. And that is a real blessing.
As our next slide states, blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power. So who suffers the second death and what is the second death? Revelation 21, verse eight.
But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable and murderers and hormongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Notice that revelation 21, verse eight told us that it is also the unbeliever who will end up experiencing the second death and what that second death is, which is the lake of fire. My question to you is simple.
Can you afford to choose to be an unbeliever, knowing what fate is in store for the unbeliever? I don't think so. But that leads to a second question. Why do the dead who are damned and lost to eternal life have to be resurrected again if they are damned and lost at the second coming? That is a good question, isn't it? The Bible answers that question for us.
In romans 14, verses ten and eleven, we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So if the wicked are dead and in their graves, then they must have a resurrection.
This is so that they can acknowledge that God was just and fair in his dealings with them, leaving them without excuse and without eternal life. So my invitation today is to not make the mistake that others have made in the past. And that mistake is to either reject Christ the Messiah, or to reject God's law of love that governs the universe as spiritual gifts.
Volume four, page 23, states, the great sin of the jews was their rejection of Christ. The great sin of the christian world would be their rejection of the law of God, the foundation of his government in heaven and earth. The penalty threatened is not merely temporal death for all must suffer this.
It is the second death, the opposite of everlasting life. So these people who rejected God and his law when they had the chance here on earth would not be happy up there in heaven. But they must still acknowledge that God was just and fair in excluding them.
Our next Bible reading in Malachi four, verse three, confirms this. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the Lord of hosts. But this is not God's desire for you.
As Jeremiah 29, verse eleven says, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Although the Bible makes it abundantly clear that God wants the very best for you.
But the individual must want it for themselves and for their families and friends. You see, God wants all people to join his family because they've come to love and appreciate him for what he does for them. God gives us free of charge, the very air we breathe, the sun to warm our backs.
And then there is the rain that makes everything vibrant and helps our gardens to grow and provides us with water to drink without which all life would die. Therefore, regular weekly attendance at church on the Sabbath, plus regular prayers of thanks and acts of worship is a fabulous way of showing gratitude to God for the constant blessings he provides. Soon we will enter the promised land and with Jesus as our king, all possibilities will become available to us for learning, achieving travel and happiness.
It only remains for you to grasp the vision and choose to be a part of it. May God bless us all and our loved ones today and forevermore. Amen.
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