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Who is the New Jerusalem?

...saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:9-10Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.   Here we see the new heaven and earth, with the “holy city” – the new Jerusalem – coming...

The Coming of Jesus: Coming on the clouds

...Coming on the clouds of heaven Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. When people read Jesus saying that he will be "coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" in Matthew 24:30, it often taken to mean that he will be doing that literally as opposed to figuratively. Kinda like this, but on clouds.   Careful now, before you put on your heretic hunting hats and grab your pitchforks — let me explain why I say that Jesus wasn't telling his fol...

Coffee with Jesus: John 1

...powers in heaven”: V.18 (CSB)No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side — he has revealed him. It’s interesting that John the Baptist didn’t know about who Jesus truly was, despite being cousins, until he baptised him, as it appears that the Father had spoken to John at some prior point telling him what to look out for: John 1:32–33And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptises wit...

The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 2

...he “new heavens and new earth” and the probable nature of heaven, in an essay here. In short, it’s more in line with much of the rest of the New Testament texts in that Creation is to be renewed and reconciled, rather than scrapped and rebuilt. The prophet Joel also spoke of this “Day” and that this meant it was the “last days” - a fact which Peter confirms in his famous sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Joel 2:31 says that “[t]he sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” Peter ties this prophecy to the Pentecost event when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them, by te...

The Deity of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew - Part 2

...? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! 28 Nevertheless, turn Your attention to the prayer of Your servant and to his plea, Lord, my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today, 29 so that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant will pray toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive!” There are three...

What are the Seraphim, and was the devil one of them?

...Have you ever wondered about what the devil is — or was, pre-Fall? You’ve probably been told that he used to be an angel with God, so then why is he often described as a snake, serpent or dragon? Though there isn’t a great deal given away in Scripture as to the nature of angels, or the heavenly realms in general, we get some glimpses from the visions of the prophets. But what we can also look at is the words which the Bible uses; some of which aren’t translated and so lose their original meaning in English. The Seraphim The word “seraphim” is a transliteration of a Hebrew word, rather than a translation, so in English we often will miss the me...