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August 14, 2016 |
| Pearly Gates | ||
I'm sure we've all heard about Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. It's possible we've even sung songs about that. Some people expect that, when they die, they will be welcomed into Heaven, or perhaps rejected, by Saint Peter who will be standing at the entrance to heaven which can only be accessed by going through the pearly gates, gates made from pearl.
Did you ever wonder where that idea came from? Perhaps you are thinking "I don't recall reading about that in my Bible readings." It turns out that almost none of that comes from the Bible. Most of it comes from the Catholic Church, where Saint Peter is a central figure.
In this lesson we will look at what the Bible says about the pearly gates. We'll find that they aren't mentioned until the last two chapters of the last book, Revelation. As we look for that one minor reference we'll cover much more that God reveals about our future.
Beginning in chapter 4 of Revelation and continuing through chapter 19 the message has been heavily symbolized, just as it says in Revelation 1:1 "The Revelation of Yeshua the Messiah, which God gave to him, to show his Servants what had been given to soon occur, and he symbolized it when he sent by his Angel to his servant [John]."
Beginning in chapter 20 however, the symbolization becomes much lighter. This is probably because there is less need for it. By that point in the book, the Messiah is the king over the earth. The plan of salvation for mankind that began in the Garden of Eden is now complete.
Because the symbolization is lighter we can expect that things like pearly gates are references to real pearly gates and not symbols representing something else.
It's important to understand what has happened immediately prior to these two chapters. There was a period of great trouble (tribulation) over all the earth. Billions of people died, Christians were persecuted and killed, and Jerusalem was captured. There were great earth quakes, greater than any seen before.
Then the Messiah returned as he had said he would. The faithful who were dead, were raised to life. The faithful who were alive received new bodies. He destroyed those who refused to have him as king and he set himself to be king of all the earth. Angels poured out vessels of the plagues of God's wrath on the unfaithful of the Earth. Then Satan was stripped of his power to deceive.
For 1000 years the earth lived under the peaceful rule of the Messiah. At the end of that time Satan was released and in no time he had the people in revolt against the Messiah. He was, once again, crushed. Then God sat on his throne to judge the people. All the unbelievers were separated from God forever in the Lake of Fire.
We begin these chapters with God still on the throne of judgment.
1 And I saw new Heavens and a new Earth, for the former Heavens and the former Earth had departed, and the Sea was no more. 2 And I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, descending from Heaven from beside God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
Heaven and Earth are remade. Jesus made us a promise when he was first on earth. From John 14:2-3, "There are many lodgings in my Father's house, and if not, I would have told you, because I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go prepare a place for you, I shall come again and bring you to join me, that where I am you shall be also." The New Jerusalem is the fulfillment of that promise - a home for us to live with him.
The New Jerusalem descends from the presence of God in Heaven to be with us on the New Earth. It is dressed up and pure like a virgin bride when she is joined to her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice from Heaven that said, "Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with the children of men, and he dwells with them and they shall be his people and the same God is with them and shall be their God. 4 And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and from now on there shall not be death, neither grieving, nor clamor, neither shall there be disease again, for His sake.
The "Tabernacle of God" is a reference to the Messiah. Notice how it says "he dwells" and "his people." God will be with his people as their God. No longer will there be any suffering.
5 And I walked and he who sat on the throne said to me, "Behold, I make all things new." And he said to me, "Write: 'These words are trustworthy and true.'" 6 And he said to me, "They are done. I am Alap and I am Tau, the Source and the Fulfillment. I shall give to the thirsty one from the fountain of the water of life without charge."
God states that everything is finished. The plan of salvation for mankind is complete. Moreover God states that he was the beginning of that plan and the end of that plan, the source of everything that was and the fulfillment of everything that was promised.
Where other translations would say "I am Alpha and Omega" this translation says "I am Alap and Tau." Alap and Tau are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, just as Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. There isn't any reason to believe that Jesus spoke Greek.
The faithful now return to an existence that is similar to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Where Adam and Eve needed to eat from the tree of life, the faithful now need to drink the water of life. This reference to the water of life or living water will be seen again in these chapters
7 "And he who is victorious shall inherit these things, and I shall be his God and he will be my son. 8 But to the timid, the unbelievers, the evil, the defiled, murderers, sorcerers, fornicators, idol worshipers and all liars: their part is in the burning Lake of Fire and Brimstone, which is the second death."
Notice how it said "the victorious." This is another statement in the Bible against Eternal Salvation / Once-Saved-Always-Saved / Kingdom Salvation and similar ideas. Only those who are victorious through to the end will inherit these things.
The timid are those who hide their light
9 And one of the seven Angels who had with them the seven vessels full of the seven last plagues, came and he spoke with me saying, "Come; I shall show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10 And he carried me in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and he showed me the Holy City Jerusalem, coming down from Heaven from the presence of God.
The following description of the city is symbolic in the sense that everything is literal but has additional symbolic meaning. This is different from most of Revelation where the description is not literal and only has a symbolic meaning.
11 And it had the glory of God and its light was as the likeness of precious stones, like Jasper red quartz, as the appearance of crystal. 12 And it had a wall, great and high, and it had twelve gates, and at the gates, twelve Angels, and names written which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; 13 From the East, three gates, from the North, three gates, and from the South, three gates, and from the West, three gates. 14 And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them, the twelve names of the Apostles of the Son.
15 And he who spoke with me had with him a measuring reed of gold to measure the City and its wall. 16 And the city was laid out four-sided, and its length like its width. And he measured the City with the reed, with 12,000 stadia [1380 miles] its length; its width and its height are equal.
The city is a cube. This is interesting because Jewish scholars believe the tablets of the 10 commandments, when stacked up, were also a cube that was one cubit (18 inches) on all sides. This was another Old Testament hint about the triune nature of God.
17 And he measured its wall 144 cubits [216 feet] by the measure of a man, that is, of the Angel. 18 The building of the wall was Jasper Quartz, and the city was of pure gold, in the likeness of pure glass. 19 And the foundation of the wall of the city is adorned with precious stones; and the first foundation, Jasper red-blue-yellow Quartz, and the second, Sapphire, and the third, white Chalcedony, and the fourth, Emerald, 20 And the fifth, red and white Sardius and banded Onyx, and the sixth, red and white Sardius, and the seventh, Goldstone, and the eighth, Beryl, and the ninth, Topaz, and the 10th, green and gold Chrysoprasus, the 11th, dark blue Jacinth, the 12th, Amethyst.
As mentioned before, descriptions like these precious stones have deeper spiritual meanings. There is general agreement on that but there is no agreement on what those deeper meanings are.
21 And 12 gates and 12 pearls, one to each, and everyone of the gates was of one pearl, but the street of the city of pure gold, as if there was glass in it.
Finally, here we are, the pearly gates. City gates in the time of the Apostle John were not made of bars as the pearly gates are often shown. Instead they were solid and heavy and that is likely what is described here.
22 And I saw no Temple in it, for the Lord Yahweh God Almighty, he is its Temple. 23 And the Lamb and the City do not need the Sun or the Moon to illuminate it, for the glory of God illuminates it, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 And the nations walk in its light and the Kings of Earth bring glory to it. 25 And its gates shall not be shut by day, for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring to it the glory and honor of the nations.
This idea that the New Earth does not have a Sun is important and deep in meaning. When the gospels say that God is light, they do not mean it figuratively. In the new world, God's glory is light. The lamb (the Messiah) will shine with the glory of God, and that light will illuminate the new universe.
27 There shall not be anything defiled there, or one who makes defilement or lies, but only those who are written in the Book of the Lamb.
1 And he showed me a river of the water of life, pure and clear as crystal, and it went out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 And in the center of the street on this side and on that, upon the river, the Tree of Life which produces 12 fruits, and every month it gives its fruits and its leaves for the healing of the peoples.
3 And no curse shall be there, and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. 4 And they shall see his face and his Name shall be upon their foreheads.
Jesus will receive a new name in this time. By "name" it means something more like character or reputation, in the same sense as a person with a bad name.
5 And there shall be no night there and neither will they need lights, lamps, or the light of the Sun, because the Lord Yahweh God gives them light, and he is their King for the eternity of eternities.
6 And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord Yahweh, God of the Spirit of the Holy Prophets, has sent his Angel to show his Servants what is granted to happen soon. 7 And behold, I come soon. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."
This is one of the seven blessings in the book of Revelation
8 I am [John], who saw and heard these things. And when I saw and heard, I fell to worship before the feet of the Angel who was showing me these things. 9 And he said to me: "Seer, no! I am your fellow servant and of your brothers the Prophets and of those who observe these words of this book. Worship God!" 10 And he said to me, "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near."
This idea of sealing or not sealing the words appears elsewhere in Revelation and also in Daniel. The imagery is of a scroll that is sealed with a wax seal and is not to be opened until a specific time. Much of the Book of Revelation deals with a scroll sealed with seven seals. This scroll describes the last events of the end days and can only be opened by the Messiah at a particular time. For words that are sealed, the idea seems to be that there will be some way to open the book, at a later time, to get the sealed words.
11 "And he who does evil, will do evil again; he who is foul, again will be polluted; the righteous again will do righteousness and the holy will again be hallowed. 12 Behold, I come at once, and my reward is with me, and I shall give to every person according to his work. 13 I am Alap and I am Tau, the First and the Last, the Origin and the Fulfillment. 14 Blessings to those who are doing his Commandments; their authority shall be over the Tree of Life, and they shall enter the City by the gates. 15 And outside are fornicators, murderers, idol worshipers, the defiled, sorcerers and all seers and workers of lies."
Verse 12 makes something clear that Christians need to understand. When the Messiah returns he will pay us according to our works. Salvation is by faith but reward is by works. Therefore, we should be diligent to do the works that God has prepared for us to do.1
16 "I, Yeshua, have sent my Angel to testify these things among you before the assemblies. I Am (the living God), the Root and the Offspring of David, and his Companion, and the Bright Morning Star. 17 And the Spirit and the Bride are saying, 'Come', and let him who hears, say, 'Come', and let him who thirsts come and take the water of life without charge."
And so we shall be for eternity. That's a long time. I think the song Amazing Grace said it best "When we've been there 10000 years, bright shining like the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun." For those with a math background it would be ∞ - 10000 = ∞
Here is a song that has been written about these two chapters. It is called Mayim Chaim, which is Hebrew for Living Water.
2Despite the title of this lesson, the focus hasn't really been on the pearly gates. We have learned some things about them.
1 https://www.youtube.com/embed/GFIZadd2aCM
2 https://skburton.droppages.com/2014-03-30%20TheWorksPreparedForUsToDo/TWPFUTD.html