Posted on 12/27/2011 5:04:12 AM PST by Cronos
This does NOT usurp the Jewish Old Covenant or that the Jews have complete right not only to the land of Israel but to the West Bank as well
Rev 21:11-22 gives the exact dimensions of the new city of Jerusalem. Physical dimensions for a physical city.
Ezekiel 40:3-5 New International Version (NIV) 3 He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze; he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. 4 The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”
The East Gate to the Outer Court 5 I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits,[a] each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. He measured the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high.
John says that the city is one giant temple - no divisions (men/women or priests/laity) -- Rev 21:17 "The angel measured the wall using human measurement, " -- what that is referring is that the temple is spiritual but the description of its length is given accoridng to human standards so that the reader will understand.
Incorrect. Revelation 21:22 (last verse I referenced) specifically say "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (emphasis is mine).
And yet you are right that 21:22 says "I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple" - the heavenly Jerusalem in version 15 is described as one giant holy of holies and we learn here WHY all in the heavenly city dwell in the presence of the Lord - He IS the Temple. The righteous dwell within the Lord God and the Lamb.
the promise that the saints would dwell within the Lord Himself was also proclaimed by the prophets. Isaiah 8:13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread.
14 He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
And Psalm 90:1 says "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."
The New Jerusalem is the culmination of God's promise that the righteous would abide in Him
Yes—and it isn’t here yet. Revelation is not about AD 70.
The book of the Apocalypse clearly talks about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 - the end of the Jewish world as they knew it.
revelations 22:20 says that Jesus is coming soon. Jesus repeats that "THIS generation" will see the destruction of the "world" -- Jesus did NOT lie, did NOT get it wrong.
Our Lord said clearly in Matthew 24:34 "Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place" - Gene - the greek generation refers to a period of 40 years. Since Jesus died AD 30 - he predicted that "all these things would take place" by AD 70 and they did
To ancient Israel, the temple was a model of the world - when Solomon built the Temple, he did so in sevens - seven days, months, years as an imitation of how the world was created in 7 days
The temple was the symbol pf the world to Israel
Christians of AD 70 heeded Jesus' warning "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart (Luke 21:21) - the Christians escaped from Jerusalem and fled to Pella just before the Roman legions arrived to besiege Jerusalem. NOt a single Christ-believer perished.
the book of the apocalypse was written during the reign of Nero, before the apocalypse of 70
Revelation 8 to 11 describes the destruction of the earthly city of jerusalem, which causes God's temple in heaven to be opened. Reve 12:12 mentions a short time - the time from Christ's ascension to the destruction of Jerusalem
Another parallel to the 40 years between Jesus' death and the apocalypse is the 40 years of wandering
Furthermore revelation 17:8 describes the 7 "kings" - and people counted the "Kings" or caesars from Julius Caesar (1), augustus (2), Tiberius (3), Caligula (4), Claudius (5), Nero (6) and "the seventh will be in the future and reign only a little while" -- that fits Galba who reigned only 6 months
It needs to be taken in light of this - How Jesus talks of the destruction of the Temple and the coming of the "New Jerusalem" - Christendom -- but do NOT see that as a replacement, rather as the creation of a New. God's covenant with the Jews remains and they are back in Jerusalem.
Sorry. You’re wrong. The description in Revelation is of a physical, actual, city. It is NOT an allegory for Christendom. In fact, most of Revelation should be read quite literally. He wrote down what he saw.
And he wrote about the destruction of Jerusalem, and it happened as Jesus said, in one generation after the Christ’s crucifixion
At the time of the Christ there were a number of Jewish sects - the Essenes, Sadduccees, Samaritans, Pharisees and Christ-followers
The first two depended theologically on the physical presence of the second temple. With it's destruction, their religion was destroyed.
The Samaritans had and HAVE their holy place on Mt Gerizim (incidentally they hold only the Mosaic books and reject modern-day Judaism as innovators)
The Sadducees may be ancestors of the Karazaits and the Mandaens may have some relation to the Essenes, though neither is provable
The Pharasees and Christ-followers didn't depend on the physical presence of the temple so these two survived, evolving into modern day Judaism and Christianity
What did occur in 70 to 196 AD was the competition between Pharasaical Judaism and Christological Judaism. Ultimately with the Bar Kochkba revolt, and the banning of Christians from synagogues, ensured these sister religions were split
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