Pilgrims!

I am going:

Not to Mecca
Not To Lourdes
Not To Rome or Athens
Not to Old Jerusalem Below
but to New Jerusalem Above

Journey Toward Heaven

John Eldredge

Where do we go from here? "This life," wrote Jonathan Edwards, "ought to be spent by us only as a journey towards heaven." That's the only story worth living in now. The road goes out before us and our destination awaits. In the imagery of Hebrews, a race is set before us and we must run for all we're worth. Our prayers will have been answered if we've helped to lift some of the dead weight so that your heart may rise to the call, hear it more clearly, respond with "eager feet." Our final thoughts echo the advice found in Hebrews 12:2-3:

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed — that exhilarating finish in and with God — he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (Eugene Peterson's translation from The Message
Jesus remembered where he was headed, and he wanted to get there with all his heart. These two themes, memory and desire, will make all the difference in our journey ahead. Without them, we will not run well, if we run at all. 

There are Two Jerusalems: One is Below, One is Above

Time is Multidimensional

The Bible speaks of two Jerusalems, not merely one. As Abraham was promised a heavenly family, as numerous as the stars of the heavens, and also an earthly family, a numerous as the grains of sand on the seas shore, so the coming time of redemption will feature a restored earthly Jerusalem, capital city of the Planet Earth, capital city of Israel. But there is also a great space city, a magnificent gateway city to the rest of the universe, Jerusalem Above, the mother of us all. 

Are the two Jerusalems connected? Probably yes. The Fourth Temple in Jerusalem on earth (yet to be built) may well prove to be the "gateway" for "travel" to and from the orbiting space city New Jerusalem.

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. 

The prophet Isaiah continues to speak of that day,

Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth. The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored; but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary." Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones, lift up an ensign over the peoples. Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him." And they shall be called The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought out, a city not forsaken. (Isaiah 62:1-12)

 

The Rapture of the True Church

Chapters 1-3 of the Book of Revelation are about Jesus and the Glorious Church He has been building for two thousand years now. A break occurs at 4:1, when the aged Apostle John is invited up to the control room of the universe, to Supreme Headquarters. The church is not thereafter mentioned again until the closing chapters of Revelation. Supreme HQ is off-limits to ordinary people, of course.
After this (meta tauta) I (John, the Apostle), looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,

‘Holy, holy, holy,
the Lord God the Almighty,
   who was and is and is to come.’ 
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, 
‘You are worthy, our Lord and God,
   to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
   and by your will they existed and were created.’ (Revelation 4)



We are Marching to Zion

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Robert Lowry (1826-1899)

Verse 1
Come, ye that love the Lord,
And let your joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord,
Join in a song with sweet accord,
And thus surround the throne,
And thus surround the throne.

Chorus
We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful, Zion:
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.

Verse 2
Let those refuse to sing
Who never knew our God:
But children of the heav’inly King,
But children of the heave’inly King
Shall speak their joys abroad,
Shall speak their joys abroad.

Chorus
We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful, Zion:
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.

Verse 3
The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets;
Before we reach the heave’inly fields,
Before we reach the heave’inly fields,
Or walk the golden streets,
Or walk the golden streets.

Chorus
We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful, Zion:
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.

Verse 4
Then let our songs abound,
And ve’ry tear be dry;
We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground
To fairer worlds on high,
To fairer worlds on high.

Chorus
We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful, Zion:
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.

Video

How to Go “Up” to New Jerusalem 

In ancient times pilgrims from the known earth all went on foot “up” to Jerusalem to keep the Passover and other feasts of the Jewish Calendar. Although Jerusalem is only 2500 feet in elevation, every road to Jerusalem is uphill. A trip to Israel today is life-changing.

Directions to New Jerusalem:

Route 777: Place your faith in Jesus now and your will be morphed there instantly--in spirit and soul: Body to Follow. New Jerusalem is Hyper-dimensional.

If you are a runner you can run there and enter via Bema 1.

If you are a Righteous Lawyer (rare) gate Bema 2 is open to you.

If you are a Doer, enter by Gate Bema 3

There is, however, only one Main Gate into Eternal Life.
It's a Narrow Gate

 ‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 
For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

You have come to the New Jerusalem...

From Ray C. Stedman's IVP Commentary on Hebrews

Hebrews 12:18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear." 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken --that is, created things --so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our "God is a consuming fire."

The Blessings Now Possible (12:18-24)

The author has, throughout the letter, been drawing a contrast betsween the old covenant of the law, which was given at Mount Sinai, and the new covenant of grace, which actually preceded the law. It was made fully manifest in the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus. Now, in verses 18-24, he repeats the contrast using striking symbols, drawing from Exodus and Deuteronomy the fearful scene at Mount Sinai when the Ten Commandments were given, and from the prophets various elements of the heavenly Jerusalem which are associated with the new covenant.

The point of his description of Mount Sinai and the giving of the law is that the old covenant aroused unbearable fear. The sight of the burning mountain and the ever-increasing blare of a trumpet, the darkness, storm and fearful threats directed even toward dumb beasts, created such fear in the people that they begged Moses to plead with God for relief Even Moses said, "I am trembling with fear." That is the invariable end of efforts made to obey a law which requires perfection. Fear of God's just condemnation is overwhelming. Most people do not feel this fear because they do not take the law seriously, at least not until they reach the end of their lives and its fearful judgments lie immediately before them. All who seek earnestly to obey the law find themselves confronted with such personal failure that they soon despair of escaping God's fearful condemnation. Mount Sinai stands as the symbol of this despair and fear.

"For what the law was powerless to do-- God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering" (Romans 8:3). That is the triumphant cry of the new covenant! Our author's description of it (vv. 22-24) is one of joyful celebration. It consists of six elements.

1. You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. That is the same city which Abraham and the patriarchs sought (11:10,16). It is what Paul called "Jerusalem that is above" (Galatians 4:26), mother to all believers. Our author views it as already attained by those who have believed the new covenant and come to Jesus. In spirit they were residents of the city already, though in body they were yet pilgrims and strangers on earth. That there is yet to be an earthly manifestation of the city is clear from the later reference in 13:13 to "the city which is yet to come."

2. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly. The myriads of angels are referred to several times in Scripture (Deuteronomy 33:2; Daniel 7:10; Luke 2:13; Revelation 5:11). All of these six elements here are governed by the verb translated, "you have come" (proselelythate). The perfect tense indicates a condition already existent with continuing effect. The thought of the author here is probably that of 1:14: "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" Angels minister, with joy, to believers in many hidden ways, helping them run the race of life with patient endurance. An example of this is found in Acts 27:23-24.

3. You have come to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. Bruce properly sees this as a reference to the whole communion of saints who have come, not merely into the presence of the church, but into its membership by faith in Christ (1964:376-377). The writing of their names in heaven recalls Jesus' words to his disciples, "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). They share with Jesus the title of firstborn (Col 1:18) because they are "heirs of God and coheirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17).

4. You have come to God, the judge of all men. The Greek text properly reads, "to a judge, who is God of all men." Without exception, all humans must stand before God to be judged. But the glory of the gospel is that believers may stand before him without fear, since Jesus himself assures each one that he "has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24). This relief from the fear of judgment is an enormous blessing to those who know themselves to be sinners in word, thought and deed.

5. You have come to the spirits of righteous men made perfect. Commentators have differed over whether this describes "believers of preChristian days" (Bruce) or "New Testament believers" (Bengel). It likely looks back to 11:40 and the Old Testament saints who would be made perfect "together with us." Since it is their spirits which have been made perfect and not their bodies, it suggests that these saints, who lived before the Cross, are waiting with us for the resurrection to come. Jesus spoke to the Jews of "other sheep [Gentiles] that are not of this sheep pen." "They too," he added, "will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd" (John 10:16). As we have already noted, when the heavenly Jerusalem comes to earth, as John sees it in Revelation 21:2, these words will be fulfilled. Its gates are named for the twelve tribes of Israel, and its foundation stones bear the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

6. You have come to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Moses was the mediator of the old covenant and under it, the Aaronic priests sprinkled blood upon the mercy seat to cover over the sins of Israel. This made the continued presence of God among them possible. As our author has ably shown, all this was but a shadow of the new covenant where Jesus would be an eternal mediator, sprinkling his own blood which does not merely cover over sins but take them entirely away. The better word of which his blood speaks is forgiveness, whole and complete. This is in contrast to the blood of Abel, which, as we saw earlier, could only call for vindication but could not offer forgiveness. Let us never forget that we are redeemed, not with perishable things such as silver or gold "but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:19).

To summarize, the advantages of being in Christ consist of (1) living already, in spirit, in the new Jerusalem which Abraham and Old Testament believers longed to see; (2) joining already in praise around the throne of God with myriads of the heavenly host; (3) belonging to a body of believers who are members with each other and who share a heavenly citizenship; (4) having no fear of God's judgment even though standing spiritually before his august throne; (5) sharing with Old Testament believers the certain hope of the resurrection of the body; and (6) possessing Jesus in a new and intimate relationship ("you in me and I in you"), which involves a complete and final solution of the problem of human sin.

The Fifth and Final Warning (12:25-29)

Since believers in Christ now possess such enormous resources for living as those just described, it is of the utmost importance to act in accordance with them. Truth simply understood is never acceptable in and of itself; it is truth done that counts! So, for the fifth time in this epistle, the author warns against turning back from the truth they have learned as professing Christians to a more comfortable and less demanding life in Judaism or to an accommodation to the unbelieving lifestyles around them.

Verses 25-27 take us back to the first warning of 2:1-3. There the Hebrews were in danger of drifting away from that which they had heard; here they also stand in peril of refusing him who speaks. There they were reminded that violations of the law received immediate punishment; here they are also told that those who refused the One who gave commandments from the mountain did not escape. There the question confronted them: "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" Here the question is How much less will we [escape], if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? There the message was one "spoken by angels," in contrast to the salvation "first announced by the Lord." Here the contrast is also between the message spoken on earth from the mountain, and the word which has come to them from him who speaks from heaven (which almost certainly refers to 1:1-2: "God . . . has spoken to us by his Son").

It is clear that the warning passages envision the same peril---that apathy toward spiritual matters and complacency with a religious lifestyle falls far short of what God requires and has made full provision for. But such complacency cannot go unjudged forever. It actually constitutes a refusal of God's grace, a turning of one's back on truth and deliverance. This is where some, if not many, of the recipients of this letter now stand. The last three warnings particularly (6:4-6;10:26-31 and here) envision a deliberate and final rejection of the new covenant as the greatest danger. The shaking of Mount Sinai was designed to arouse serious consideration of the demands of the law on the Israelites. Since such "earthly" shaking was not sufficient to gain their full attention a greater shaking is yet to come; a shaking not merely of earth but of earth and heaven together.

We have already noted that heaven is the realm of invisible realities, of forces and principles which actually govern human life. The word translated "created things" (pepoiemenon) means "things made," but 11:2 reminds us that behind the visible things are invisible forces. This shaking of heaven and earth is both of the visible and of the invisible. Isaiah also declares: "Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger" (Isaiah 13:13). It is this greater shaking from which there is no escape. That shaking began with the preaching of Jesus (Hag 2:6) has been continuing through the Christian centuries, and will culminate in the great judgments described in Daniel and Revelation. The earth and heaven will flee away and be replaced by the new heavens and the new earth.

There is something chilling about the thought of a shaking of heaven and earth. The twentieth century has watched the crumbling of much which we once thought to be stable. Faith in human government has been widely shaken; confidence in science as the savior of the race has waned as the problems of pollution, urban decay, biological warfare and existential despair increase. Long-accepted moral standards have disappeared under the onslaught of divorce, unmarriages, sexual explicitness, homosexuality and abortion.

But there are some things which cannot be shaken and which will remain forever. That which is shaken and removed is so done in order that what cannot be shaken may stand revealed. Such an unshakable thing is the kingdom of God into which those who trust in Jesus have entered. It is present wherever the King is honored, loved and obeyed. The present active participle ("are receiving") indicates a continuing process. We enter the kingdom at conversion, but we abide in it daily as we reckon upon the resources which come to us from our invisible but present King. Such unbroken supply should arouse a continuing sense of gratitude within us and lead to acceptable worship of God. What renders such worship acceptable is the sense of God as incredibly powerful and majestic in person, and yet loving and compassionate of heart. An old hymn puts it well:

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible, hid from our eyes.
How blessed, how glorious, the Ancient of Days
Almighty, Victorious, thy great name we praise!

The proper attitude of Christians must be one of awe that a Being of such majesty and glory could find a way to dwell eternally with such sin-controlled and sin-injured creatures as us. Since our God is a consuming fire, we must cry with Isaiah, "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?" (Is Isaiah 33:14). God's love is just such a fire, it destroys what it cannot purify, but purifies what it cannot destroy. In Jesus we have a relationship that cannot be destroyed (Rom 8:38-39). Our great king is leading us through trials and difficulties in order that we may at last cry with Job, "He knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10 KJV).

The Heavenly Jerusalem has Twelve Gates



Climb to Heaven by Ladder

Climbing Jacob’s Ladder is One Rung at a Time 

Borrow Dave Roper's Ladder

Shape Up or Ship Out: Paint or get off the Ladder

Follow Those Going in Ahead of You: The Quickening

Elijah went to Heaven by Chariot

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind,
Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 
Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But

Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’
So they went down to Bethel. 
The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him,
‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’
And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’ Elijah said to him,
‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’
But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live,
I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho. 

The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him,
‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’
And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’Then Elijah said to him,
‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’
But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’
So the two of them went on. 

Fifty men of the company of prophets also went,
and stood at some distance from them,
as they both were standing by the Jordan. 
Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water;
the water was parted to the one side and to the other,
until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha,
‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’
Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’
He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet,
if you see me as I am being taken from you,
it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ 
As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire
and horses of fire separated the two of them,
and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 

Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father!
The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him,
he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 
He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him,
and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 
He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water,
saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’

When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other,
and Elisha went over.
When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance,
they declared, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’
They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. They said to him,
‘See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants;
please let them go and seek your master;
it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up
and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley.’
He responded, ‘No, do not send them.’ 
But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, ‘Send them.’
So they sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him. 
When they came back to him (he had remained at Jericho), he said to them, ‘Did I not say to you, Do not go?’
(2 Kings 2:1-18)

Enoch Walked Home to Heaven

He was only 365 years old, a youngster in an age when people lived 1000 years.
He probably was bored with his neighbors and just walked on in to heaven.

"When Enoch had lived for sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. 
Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah for three hundred years,
and had other sons and daughters. 
Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 
Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him." (Genesis 5:21–24)

If you are performance oriented relying of good luck and your stellar accomplishments turn back and go get a valid passport.  Don't kid yourself!
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’ (John 14:1-7)
Not Baptized? Jump on in, the Water’s fine.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:8-15)

The Choirs of Heaven

The Apostle Paul visits Paradise

The Irresistible Rapture

A Grain of Wheat



Obstacles and Barriers to Entering the City of God

Pride
Tradition
Love of Money or Power 
False Lovers (gf, bf, self, parents)
Bad Data: I’ll just “Die and Go to Heaven” on Autopilot


The Excluded Ones 

God is Holy 

There are Degrees of Holiness in heaven and
Levels of Sanctification: Justification, Sanctification, Glorification.
Doing the Will of God is a Process: Good, Acceptable, Perfect.
There are Levels of Maturity in heaven: New-born ones, young men, fathers 

There is No entry via an Astronaut's Space Walk

No Entry via the Space Shuttle

No need for an astronauts Space Suit

Christianity is not Rocket Powered

A Power PC is no help nor a Mac


You Can't Get There by "Trying Harder"

But "All who Will May Come"

That Other Place (Hades, Hell) 

The Lake of Fire

Tartarus the Lowest Level 


Resurrection Power 



The Quickening

Resurrection power is like no other power on earth. It is unique, and has no possible rival. It is a power that operates in the midst of death and despair. It operates when the entire world seems, bleak, dead, and barren. It explodes into life and light in the midst of an empty, dark cemetery--for that is where it was first demonstrated. When Jesus Christ was resurrected, He came out from among the dead. So if you learn to live by resurrection power, you can experience life, hope, and vitality when everything and everyone around you is dead, hopeless, and lifeless.

Resurrection power is a "stealth" power--silent and invisible. It makes no sound, it operates below the radar scope of this world. Other forms of power are noisy and obvious--they pound, pulsate, throb, hum, roar, buzz, or explode. But resurrection power is silent. It accomplishes its purpose without ostentation, flash, pizazz, or neon lights. Christians who live by resurrection power don't use it to dazzle others or advertise its affects. That's why the distinguishing marks of Christian character are humility and servant-hood rather than showiness. Genuine Christians demonstrate the reality of resurrection power through the quiet evidence of their lives: love, joy, peace, endurance under hardships, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

God has a marvelous way of illustrating spiritual truth through nature. He demonstrates His resurrection power every year through every returning springtime. Out of the cold, barren, death of winter, God brings new life, color, warmth, and glory by means of a quiet, invisible force which gradually transforms the whole landscape into a fairyland of beauty.

Resurrection power is irresistible. It cannot be thwarted or turned aside. It takes absolutely no account of any obstacles thrown in its path, except to use them for further opportunities to advance its cause. When Jesus came bursting from the grave, He didn't give the slightest attention to the obstacles man had placed in His way. There was a large stone in front of His tomb; He passed right through it. He was wrapped in yard after yard of linen cloth; He left the grave-clothes undisturbed behind Him. There were Roman guards in front of His tomb; He ignored them. He took not the slightest notice of the decrees of Caesar or the orders of Pilate or the fulminations of the Jewish priests. --Ray Stedman, According to the Power.


Anecdotal

Our Great High Leader and Trailblazer is Jesus

Discipleship is Being Disciplined by God

Become a "Prayer Warrior" in New Jerusalem

Tour the Heavenly City

Join A Choir in New Jerusalem

All God's Creatures Gotta Sing in the Choir

All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now

All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now

Listen to the top where the little bird sings
On the melodies and the high notes ringing,
And the hoot owl cries over everything
And the blackbird disagrees

Singing in the night time, singing in the day,
When little duck quacks, and he's on his way
And the otter hasn't got much to say
And the porcupine talks to himself

All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now

The dogs and the cats they take up the middle
While the honeybee hums and the cricket fiddles,
The donkey brays and the pony neighs
And the old gray badger sighs

Listen to the bass, it's the one on the bottom
Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus
Moans and groans with a big t'do
And the old cow just goes moo

All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now

It's a simple song a little song everywhere
By the ox and the fox and the grizzly bear,
The dopey alligator and the the hawk above,
The sly old weasel and the turtle dove

All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now

All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now

All God's creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now

All God's creatures got a place in the choir



A Song of Ascents. Of David.

Psalm 122

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,

Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,

To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.

Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”

For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”

Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, 
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author
(archēgos) and finisher (teleiōtēs) of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Trailblazer is archēgos: The chief leader, prince; one that takes the lead in any thing and thus affords an example, a predecessor in a matter, a pioneer, a trailblazer

Finisher is teleiōtēs: τελειωτής, τελειωτου, ὁ (τελειόω) (Vulgate consummator), a perfecter: τῆς πίστεως,
one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith, Hebrews 12:2. The word occurs nowhere else.

‘See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’ 

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 
Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches.
I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’ 
The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift."
(Revelation 22:12-17)

References

The Psalms of Ascent

Space-Time Bubbles

Jesus Plain and Simple

Time Warps

It's About Time

Tiers

Portals

City Life

The Light Papers

The Choirs of Heaven

Software not Hardware

Forwarding Address

Connections

The Exchanged Life

The Wasted Years

Born Again and Adopted  

The Ego Papers

Earth History

The Exchanged Life

New Bodies  

In the Cross  

God our Healer  

Nekrosis and Thanatos (Dying and Death)  

The Normal Christian Life  

Come, Sweet Death  

Six Hours in Eternity on The Cross 

God and the Quality of Time

Jesus, Judge of All

On the Judgments of God in History by Ray Stedman

The Major Judgments of God in History

Space-Time Bubbles

Portals


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October 30, 2021, July 2, 2022. December 30, 2022. April 3, 2023. June 3, 2023. June 24, 2023. October 3, 2023.