The New City (Holy Jerusalem) Conclusion

Revelation 22:1 

"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life,

clear as crystal, proceeding out of the

throne of God and of the Lamb." 

 

        The waters of earthly rivers are not crystal clear. Many of them are muddy and contaminated with sewage. This wonderful river is called the River of the "Water of Life," because of its "life giving" properties. Earthly streams have their source in some mountain spring, but the "River of Life" has its source in the Throne of God. Rev. 22:1. Somewhere on that “Pyramidal Mountain” in the center of the City, probably on its summit, will rest "The Throne of God," from under the seat of which shall flow down in cascades, from terrace to terrace, the crystal stream that shall feed that wonderful "River of Life."  The streets are to be lined with trees, as are also the banks of a wonderful river. These trees are not mere shade trees, but beautiful Fruit Trees, called the "TREE OF LIFE," that bear Twelve Kinds of Fruit, a different kind each month. The fruit of these trees is for Overcomers Only. "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Rev. 2:7b). The leaves of the trees are for the Healing of the Nations that shall occupy the New Earth. Not that there will be any sickness, but to preserve them in health, as Adam would have been preserved in health if he had eaten of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

        Whoever heard of an earthly city without some place of worship, be it heathen or Christian, but the wonderful thing about the New Jerusalem is, that it has no Temple. Why need a Temple when the object of worship is present, for "He Lord God Almighty and the Lamb Are the Temple of It." In fact the whole City itself will be a Temple.  " 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.  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"  (Rev 21:3-4). This means that Heaven shall have come down to Earth, and that this earth will become the RESIDENCE OF GOD.  

              My Friends, Christ Is Coming Quickly!  The rest of this Devotional Study consist of Scripture only. This is for the benefit of Our Readers in Foreign Nations that have no access to God's Holy Word. (Bibles are needed, if you would like to help contact us rlail1974@gmail.com). 

 Christ Final Testimony and Warnings. (KJV)

Rev. 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Rev 22:20  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Rev 22:21  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 

        Amen!!

Reading: (Rev. 22:1-21)
Ref: (HGSB, BSB)
       (C. Larkin)

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

   

The New City (Holy Jerusalem)

Revelation 21:9  

"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." 

         The Angel said to John; "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife."  Some claim that because the word "WIFE" is used here, that Israel instead of the Church, is to be the Bride of Christ. But we must not forget that this offer to show John the Bride, was made after the Wedding of Christ to the Church, and at this time she was no longer the Bride but had become the WIFE of Christ, and should be thus spoken of. But instead of John being shown a Woman, he was shown a CITY, the Holy Jerusalem, and as what makes up a City is not its buildings and parks and business, but its inhabitants, it is clear that the Bride and the City are identical.
        From this we see that there is not only to be a New Heaven and a New Earth, but also a New City. This City is the place Jesus said He was going back to Heaven to prepare for His Bride the Church.  "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 ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." (John 14:2-4)
        It is just such a place as we would expect the Divine Architect to design and build. The description of it is grand. It is of Celestial origin. "It is not Heaven itself, for it comes down out of Heaven."  No mortal hands are employed in its construction. It will take up its abode on the New Earth, and we see in this why this present Earth will have to be renovated by fire, and why there shall be "no more sea," because the New City is 12,000 furlongs, or 1500 miles square, and would reach from Maine to Florida, and from the Atlantic Seaboard 600 miles to the west of the Mississippi River. In other words would occupy more than one-half of the United States.
        We are told that the length and breadth and the height of it are equal. This does not necessarily imply that it is a Cube, for there is another geometrical figure that has equal dimensions, and that is a Pyramid. This is its probable form, for a wall 144 cubits, or 216 feet thick, could not support a wall 1500 miles high, and a wall that high would hide the pyramidal part of the City from view.
The 144 cubits in Rev. 21:17, then must refer to the "height" of the wall. In this wall are 12 gates, 3 on each side, each gate of one Pearl, and these gates are never closed. The wall itself is of Jasper, and the foundations are garnished with all manner of precious stones. The foundations contain the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, and over the gates are the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. What a magnificent spectacle such' a city must present from a distance with its pyramidal top surmounted by the light of the  "Glory of God."
       "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" (Rev. 21:23). "And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there" (Rev. 21:25). This must refer to the City only, and not to the outlying parts of the New Earth, because there will be day and night wherever the light of the City does not reach.
        The Pyramidal part of the City will no doubt be in the center of the City, and probably not occupy over one-half of the surface area, leaving the remainder to be divided up into boulevards and broad avenues, with numerous parks and residential sections. We are told that the City itself is of Pure Gold, Like Unto Clear Glass. (Rev. 21:18). If this refers to the houses and homes of the inhabitants, then the redeemed are to live in palaces of Transparent Gold, and the streets are to be of the same material. (Rev. 21:18; Rev. 21:21). We cannot imagine a city with such dwellings and streets to be unclean or lack beauty.
        Amen!!

Reading: (Rev. 21:9-27)

Ref: (HGSB,BSB)

        (C. Larkin)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

        

The New Heaven And The New Earth (Part 2)

Revelation 21:4  

"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." 

         If, it is as some believe, that the "Seventh Day" of the "Creative Week" corresponds to the Millennium, then we have a prophecy of the Dispensation that follows the "Renovation of the Earth" in the "Morrow After the Sabbath."(Lev. 23:36). The Seventh day of Genesis had to do with the "Old Creation," which was imperfect, but the "Eighth Day" has to do with the "New Creation," which is perfect, for it was on the "Eighth Day," or the "First Day of the week," that our Lord arose from the dead, and 50 days later, on the "Eighth Day," that the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost. The "Eighth Day" cannot point to the Millennium, for that is represented by the "Seventh Day," neither can it point to Eternity, for a day is a Period of Time, while Eternity is Timeless. The “Eighth Day” must then point to a "period of time" between the "Renovation of the Earth" and Eternity, or what we are pleased to call the "Perfect Age."
        It is also called a Dispensation of Fullness of Times in (Eph. 1:10). That is, a "Full-Time Dispensation." The indication is, that all the previous Dispensations were not "Full-Time" Dispensations," because God had to cut them short on account of sin. As to the duration of this Dispensation of the "Fullness of Times" we are not in the dark. Israel is to have a large place in that Dispensation. "For as the New Heavens and the New Earth, which I will make shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain." (Is. 66:22). And as the duration of God's Covenant with Israel was extended in (Deut. 7:9) to a "Thousand Generations" or 33,000 years, we have an indication that the "Dispensation of the Fullness of Times" will last for at least that length of time. Now Let's look at some of the characteristics of that Age or Dispensation.
        There Will Be No Sin. All the powers of Evil will have been expelled from the earth and imprisoned in the"Lake of Fire" forever. The atmosphere of the New Earth will afford no lurking place for disease germs, and there shall be no more sickness or death, and health will be preserved by the use of the leaves of the "Tree of Life." The heavens shall not robe themselves in angry tempests and gloomily blackness, or flash with the thunderbolts of Divine wrath, or cast plagues of hail on the earth, or cause devouring floods of water with destructive wind storms. It may be that in that day a "Mist shall go up from the earth and water the whole face of the ground as in Eden."  
        We read that there shall be "No More Sea," not that there shall not be large bodies of water, because the river that flows through the street of the New City must have an outlet, but that there shall be no great oceans. The Earth shall also put on its "Eden" Beauty and Glory. There shall no longer be thorns and thistles, no parasites or destructive insects, and labor shall be a delight. No serpents shall hiss among its flowers, nor savage beasts lie in ambush to destroy and devour. Its sod shall not be heaped over newly made graves, nor its soil moistened with tears of sorrow and shame, or saturated with human blood from random killings. The meek shall inherit the earth, and from north to south, and from east to west, it shall blossom like the rose and be clothed with the verdure of Paradise Restored. 
        Amen!!  

Reading: (Rev. 21:4-8)
Ref: (HGSB,BSB)
       (C. Larkin)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

The New Heaven And The New Earth

Revelation 21:1

"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." 

         As for the "Departing as a Scroll" of heavens, and the "Flying Away" of  the earth and heavens, that John spoke of in, (Rev. 6:14; 20:11) is not a total disappearance of the material worlds, because he tells us afterwards he saw; The New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, and nations living and walking in the Light of it on the earth, and the Kings of the Earth bringing their Glory and Honor Into It." (Rev. 21:2, 24).
         The Holy Spirit through Solomon said, “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the Earth Abideth Forever.” (Eccl. 1:4).  It is specifically promised that; "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."  (Matt. 5:5), and that the Children of Israel shall dwell in it forever, (Is. 60:21; Is. 66:22), and if God's people are to inhabit it forever, it must EXIST FOREVER.  Amen!!  It is clear then that this earth as a planet is not to be annihilated, but that it is to be Cleansed and Purified by Fire and made fit for the home of those peoples and nations that are to occupy it after its renovation.  
        This earth has been consecrated by the Presence of the Son of God, where the costliest sacrifice that the Universe could furnish was offered up on Calvary to redeem all people who Believed in Jesus Christ, and inherit Eternal Life. It is too sacred a place to ever be blotted out or cease to exist, for it is the most cherished in the mind of God of all His great creation.    
        With the “Renovation of the Earth by Fire,” Time does not end; Eternity begin. We read in the New Testament of a “Perfect Kingdom” that Christ shall surrender to the Father, so that God may be “All in All.” (1Cor. 15:24-28). A Kingdom in which; “At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in Heaven, and things in Earth, and things Under the Earth, and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ "IS LORD.” (Phil. 2:9-11.) This describes a Kingdom in which all things Celestial, Terrestrial and Infernal are to be subject to the SON OF MAN.
        Now this “Perfect Kingdom” cannot be the “Millennial Kingdom,” for that, as we have seen, ends in Apostasy and Rebellion. It must therefore mean another Kingdom on the Other Side of the “Millennial Kingdom,” and as there is to be no other Kingdom between the “Millennial Kingdom” and the “Renovation of the Earth by Fire,” it must mean a Kingdom that is to follow the “Renovation of the Earth by Fire,” and that Kingdom is the Kingdom of the “New Heaven and the New Earth,” which we call the “Perfect Kingdom.” 
        Amen!!

Reading: (Rev: Chap. 18)
Ref: (Scriptures As Noted In Devotional)
       (HGSB, BSB, C. Larkin)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Renovation Of The Earth

Revelation 20:11 

"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, 

from whose face the earth and the heaven  fled away;

and there was found no place for them." 

        Immediately after the destruction of Satan and his armies, John Says,  "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them (Rev 20:11). Then John describes the Judgment of the "Great White Throne;"  However we shall go a little further. 

        The Subjects  are the Wicked Dead. The time is during the Renovation of the Earth by Fire. The place; Before "The Great White Throne." Basis of Judgment will be their Works. The result will be Cast Into the "Lake of Fire." The account is given in Rev: 20:11-15. It will take place at the close of the Millennium a 1000 years after the Judgment of the Nations, and before the "Great White Throne."

        The "Great White Throne" will not be on earth, because the "Great White Throne Judgment" will take place during the renovation of the earth by fire, because the "renovation" of this Earth is reserved or kept until the time of that Judgment, that Peter calls "The Day of  Judgment and Perdition of Ungodly Men" (2Pet. 3:7), because the Judgement of the "Great White Throne" is the Judgment of the Wicked dead.
        All the Righteous dead will arise at the First Resurrection. If any Righteous die between the First Resurrection and the Resurrection of the "Wicked" or Second Resurrection they will rise with the wicked at that Resurrection. The words; Whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life (vs. 15), implies that there will be "some," probably very few, Righteous at the Second Resurrection. At the close 0f the Millennium and just before the renovation of the earth by fire, the living Righteous will probably be transformed, and the living Wicked, and  Ungodly will be destroyed in the flames that will consume the earths atmosphere and exterior surface.
        The Wicked and Ungodly will not be judged to see whether they are entitled to Eternal Life, but to Discover For Certainty the "degree" of their punishment. The sad feature of this Judgment will be that there will be many kind of lovable people "There" who were not "Saved," and who will be classed among the "Ungodly" because they rejected Christ as a their Saviour.  The"Books" will be opened in which the "Recording Angel" has kept a record of every person's life, and they will be judged every man according to his "Works." Some will be sentenced to a more severe punishment than others, but none will escape. The worst of all is, that those who were not so bad must spend Eternity with the ungodly, in the “Lake of Fire.” Their punishment includes the “Second Death,” which means, as we have seen, that they shall lose their resurrection body, in which they were Judged and become “disembodied spirits” again, and so exist in the “Lake of Fire” FOREVER.
        What a Judgment Scene that will be. There will be Cain and the wicked, before The Flood that took place after Noah built the Ark; the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah; Pharaoh, Ahab, Jezebel, Judas and all those Scribes' and Pharisees and Chief Priests who caused the Crucifixion of our Lord, and did not repent, and Ananias and Sapphira, and the great host of the wicked and all those who by choice rejected Christ in all nations and through all ages.
        The “Fallen Angels” (not the Devil's angels) who are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness,” will be Judged at this time, which Jude calls the “Judgment of the GREAT DAY.” (Jude 1:6.) When this Judgment is over the Devil and his angels, and all the ungodly, will have been condemned to the “Lake of Fire,” and the Universe purged of all evil, and righteousness shall reign supreme on the New Earth.
        Amen!!

Reading: (Rev: 20:11-15)
Ref: (HGSB, BSB)
       (C. Larkin)

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry 

The Righteous Judge

Revelation 19:20  

"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that

wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived

them that had received the mark of the beast, and 

them that worshipped his image. These both 

were cast alive into a lake of fire 

burning with brimstone."

          At the end of seven years the allied armies of the ten Federated Nations will gather together in the Vally of Megiddo, north of Jerusalem, to besiege the city. "For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city" Zech. 14:2). " And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn" (Zech 12:10). 

        Then the Lord at the head of  the "armies of Heaven," will come to their rescue. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19: 11-16).

        And the Jews will see Christ descend upon the Mt. of Olives. "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mt. of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south" (Zech. 14:4).

        The Beast (Antichrist) and the Kings of the earth, and their armies will gather together to make war against the Lord and the Beast and the false Prophet will be taken and cast alive into the "lake of Fire." Whats left of the armies will be slain with the sword of Him who sits upon the "White Horse," and the fouls of the air will be summoned unto the "Supper of the Great God" and shall feed on the flesh of the Kings, Captains and the mighty men. Rev. 19: 17-21.

       Amen!!

Reading: (Rev Chapter 19)

Ref: (HGSB, BSB)

        (C Larkin)

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

"Fall Of Babylon," The Great City (Part 2)

Revelation 18:10 

"Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas,

alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! 

for in one hour is thy judgment come."

        In the description of the destruction of the city of Babylon given in Rev. 18, we read that her judgment will come in one hour (vs. 10), and that in one hour she shall be made desolate (vs. 19), and as an illustration of the suddenness and completeness of her destruction, "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all (Rev. 18:21).

        She is to be destroyed by Fire as well (Rev. 18:8, 9, 18, and this is in exact harmony with the words of Isaiah; "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah (Is. 13:19). The prophet Jeremiah makes the same statement; "As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein (Jer. 50:40). The prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah cannot be fulfilled unless there is to be a Future Babylon that shall be destroyed. 
        In Rev. 16:17-19, we are told that Babylon will be destroyed by an Earthquake, with lighting and great thunder. So it appears since, Sodom and Gomorrah were first set on fire and then swallowed up by an earthquake, that the rebuilt city of Babylon will be set on fire, and then an earthquake will cause the burning city to fall into a "Lake of Fire" and the city like a "Millstone" (Rev. 18:21 will sink below the surface of the earth as into the sea, and be swallowed up so that it will be impossible to ever use her stones for building purposes, and the land shall become a Wilderness where no man shall ever dwell. And the Kings of the earth, and the merchants, and the ship-masters, and sailors, and all who have profited by her merchandise, will stand afar off and cry, and wail because of her destruction, but the heavens will rejoice for God will have rewarded her Double according to her work, and BABYLON WILL BE NO MORE
        As to the probability of the ancient city of Babylon being rebuilt, just look at the events in the past years in that part of the world; It looks to be happening. 
        Amen!!

Reading: (Rev. Chapter18) 
Ref: (HGSB, BSB)
       (C. Larkin)

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry