How do the believers in Christ differ from Israel?

[Retrobyter]

Shalom, Marilyn.

REASONS WHY THE NEW JERUSALEM WILL LAND UPON THE NEW EARTH:

2. The river of the water of life has to go somewhere!

We are told that the City has twelve gates, three facing each of the four compass directions.
We are told that the City has a street made of pure gold.
We are told that the gates of the City always stand open.
We are told that the River runs through the middle of the street, beginning from the Throne of God and of the Lamb.

Revelation 21:12-13
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
KJV

Revelation 21:21
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
KJV

Revelation 21:25
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
KJV

Revelation 22:1-2
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.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
KJV

This suggests that the cross section of the street will be ... [street - park of trees (w/ tree of life) - river - park of trees - street].

Now, this is an assumption, but I believe that it is a valid assumption: The street of the City will run to the gates of the City. Most roads go somewhere, and in a walled city, it would only make sense that these roads would lead to the gates of that walled city, much as the Old City of Jerusalem does.

Therefore, the River, too, following the earth's gravitational pull, will run to the gates of the City, and out the gates. If so, then this River will provide water for this area where John said, "There was no more sea," whether this area is locally where John was (since he was separated from his loved ones by the Mediterranean Sea) or globally the whole earth. This is best done if the City has landed on the surface of the New Earth.

[Retrobyter]

Shalom, Marilyn.

One more tonight.

REASONS WHY THE NEW JERUSALEM WILL LAND UPON THE NEW EARTH:

3. Since the Greek word ouranos (translated "heaven") means the "sky," then the New Jerusalem is said to come "down from God OUT OF THE SKY! (EK TOU OURANOU!)" And, since there is nothing between the atmosphere and the ground, this means that the City will land on the ground.

NT:3772 ouranos (oo-ran-os'); perhaps from the same as NT:3735 (through the idea of elevation); the sky; by extension, heaven (as the abode of God); by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specifically, the Gospel (Christianity):
KJV - air, heaven ([-ly]), sky.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

I could have made this the first reason, but while it's more basic, it's not really the most persuasive because people commonly look at the translation word, "heaven," today and naturally assume "the abode of God."

Never mind the fact that the English word "heaven" has meant "the sky" for hundreds of years before this 21st Century! People would say, for instance, that hot air balloon rides (started in 1783) were going "into the heavens."

[Retrobyter]

Shalom, Marilyn.

REASONS WHY THE NEW JERUSALEM WILL LAND UPON THE NEW EARTH:

4. One of the more potent reasons is found in verse 3:

Revelation 21:3
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle (Greek: skeenee = a Bedouin's "tent") 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.
KJV

It's not recorded as "men will dwell with God," but rather "God will dwell with men." The words "will dwell" is the verb form of skeenee, "skeenoosei" from the general, first-person form...

NT:4637 skeeno-oo (skay-no'-o); from NT:4636; to tent or encamp, i.e. (figuratively) to occupy (as a mansion) or (specifically) to reside (as God did in the Tabernacle of old, a symbol of protection and communion):
KJV - dwell.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

So, God is going to come down with men and put up His 1400-mile high "tent!" To be "with men" or "with human beings," He will bring down His tent to THEIR (OUR) level!

[Retrobyter]

Shabbat shalom, Marilyn.

REASONS WHY THE NEW JERUSALEM WILL LAND UPON THE NEW EARTH:

5. The New Jerusalem "lieth foursquare."

Revelation 21:16
16 And the city lieth foursquare (Greek: tetragoonos keitai = "four-angled lies-outstretched"), and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
KJV

Many people make a major mistake thinking that "foursquared" means a cube. It doesn't. With four right angles, and the length = breadth, it means it covers a square plot of ground. Typically, this means that it covers a plot of ground dictated by four right angles in the corners of the square. Therefore, it's only referring to its "FOOTPRINT," not the entire 3-Dimensional structure!

I can remember my dad, a Baptist preacher, telling me that it meant "four squares," as though referring to the four sides, making a cube. But, with all due respect to my father and to those who likewise think this way, that's wrong. The Greek word "tetragoonos" was borrowed into mathematics as a "tetragon" (or "quadrilateral"). See Math Is Fun on polygons.

The key, however, as a reason for landing is the word "LIETH," the Greek word "KEITAI," a form of keimai:

NT:2749 keimai (ki'-mahee); middle voice of a primary verb; to lie outstretched (literally or figuratively):
KJV - be (appointed, laid up, made, set), lay, lie. Compare NT:5087.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

Therefore, the city LIES on something! It will LIE on the New Earth!

[Retrobyter]

Shabbat shalom, Marilyn.

REASONS WHY THE NEW JERUSALEM WILL LAND UPON THE NEW EARTH:

6. Its huge size! Assuming the "furlong" or Greek "stadion" is equivalent to the Latin (Roman) "stadium" or "stad," 12,000 furlongs = 1379.868687 miles or 2220.683392 kilometers. That's how long, wide, and HIGH this city is!

A low earth orbit (LEO) is an object orbiting the earth within the range of the earth's surface to 2,000 km above the earth's surface. Because of atmospheric drag (friction) on objects within that range, the orbit decays rapidly and must be adjusted periodically. The velocity needed to maintain such an orbit results in a orbital period between 84 to 127 minutes, typically about 90 minutes at 7.8 km/s. Therefore, it revolves around the earth once every hour and a half!

Look at the highlighted numbers above; the New Jerusalem is taller than the range for an LEO! Therefore, if it's going to be experiencing atmospheric drag or friction, heating the outer shell of its wall, it may just as well LAND!

[Marilyn C]

31 minutes ago, Retrobyter said:

Shabbat shalom, Marilyn.

 

Hi Retro,

Oh so your dad was a Baptist preacher, my dad was a preacher also, so we`ve had good training, PTL. Now I can see why you believe that the New Jerusalem lands on the earth. Quite a lot of good detail there, bro. You know that I believe differently, but will post so others can see what I`ve been taught also.

Blessings, Marilyn.

[Marilyn C]

          The Jewels of the Foundations – Christ the KingPriest.

 

                                 

 

God promised to Israel that  `Behold, I will lay your stones with colourful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires....and all your walls of precious stones.` (Isa. 54: 11 & 12)

`For he (Abraham) waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.` (Heb. 11: 10)

Foundations – Gk. `themelioo,` to lay a foundation, to appoint, ordain.

God has built this city, the New Jerusalem, and has appointed and ordained the Lord Jesus Christ, heaven`s KingPriest, as its Ruler. The High Priests would wear the breastplate with the 12 precious gems representing the 12 tribes of Israel and each name of a tribe had a meaning. Christ is the eternal High Priest and each precious stone reveals something of His character and office in Rulership.

 

 

[Marilyn C]

The Jewels of the Foundations – Christ the KingPriest.

                   

 

Christ`s Character and Offices.
 

Christ the Voice of God.

Jasper – Naphtali – Conqueror.

Sapphire – Simeon – Voice of God.

Chalcedony – Zebulon – dwelling.

Christ the conqueror, is the Voice of God dwelling with His people.

 

Christ the King.

Emerald – Reuben – Firstborn, heir.

Sardonyx – Asher – Blessing.

Sardius – Judah – King, ruler.

Christ the firstborn & heir, is the King giving blessings.

 

 

Christ the Priest.

Chrysolite – Gad – Righteousness & justice.

Beryl – Levi – Priest.

Topaz – Issachar –Wisdom.

Christ the High Priest, judges with wisdom, righteousness and justice.

 

Christ at God`s Right Hand.

Chrysoprase – Manasseh – forgiveness.

Jacinth – Ephraim – doubly fruitful.

Amethyst – Benjamin – at the right hand of the Father.

Christ the KingPriest, at the right hand of the Father, gives forgiveness & blessings.

 

(The Stones. Ex. 28: 17 – 21,

the tribes. Num. 10: 14 – 27,

the meanings. Gen. 29: 32,  30: 1 – 24,  35: 18     Rev. 21: 19 & 20 )

 

[Retrobyter]

13 hours ago, Marilyn C said:

The Jewels of the Foundations – Christ the KingPriest.

                   

 

Christ`s Character and Offices.
 

Christ the Voice of God.

Jasper – Naphtali – Conqueror.

Sapphire – Simeon – Voice of God.

Chalcedony – Zebulon – dwelling.

Christ the conqueror, is the Voice of God dwelling with His people.

 

Christ the King.

Emerald – Reuben – Firstborn, heir.

Sardonyx – Asher – Blessing.

Sardius – Judah – King, ruler.

Christ the firstborn & heir, is the King giving blessings.

 

 

Christ the Priest.

Chrysolite – Gad – Righteousness & justice.

Beryl – Levi – Priest.

Topaz – Issachar –Wisdom.

Christ the High Priest, judges with wisdom, righteousness and justice.

 

Christ at God`s Right Hand.

Chrysoprase – Manassah – forgiveness.

Jacinth – Ephraim – doubly fruitful.

Amethyst – Benjamin – at the right hand of the Father.

Christ the KingPriest, at the right hand of the Father, gives forgiveness & blessings.

 

(The Stones. Ex. 28: 17 – 21,

the tribes. Num. 10: 14 – 17,

the meanings. Gen. 29: 32,  30: 1 – 24,  35: 18     Rev. 21: 19 & 20 )

 

Shabbat shalom, Marilyn.

This is interesting stuff, but I must ask: Why THIS order for the children of Israel? I'm surprised at the order you've chosen because it is neither in the order of their births nor is it in the marching order of the tribes mentioned in Numbers 10. What determined the order to which you've assigned the interpretation of the meaning of their names?

[Marilyn C]

7 hours ago, Retrobyter said:

Shabbat shalom, Marilyn.

This is interesting stuff, but I must ask: Why THIS order for the children of Israel? I'm surprised at the order you've chosen because it is neither in the order of their births nor is it in the marching order of the tribes mentioned in Numbers 10. What determined the order to which you've assigned the interpretation of the meaning of their names?

Hi Retro,

That is a very good question. Now I haven`t just plucked the order out of the air, (pun intended) but have followed what the Lord says in His word. These are my references as I wrote on the bottom of my post.

(The Stones. Ex. 28: 17 – 21,

the tribes. Num. 10: 14 – 27,

the meanings. Gen. 29: 32,  30: 1 – 24,  35: 18     Rev. 21: 19 & 20 )

The stones on the breastplate of the High Priest are in a certain order. (Ex. 28: 17 - 21)

Match these with the tribes  in Num. 10: 14 - 27. (So now we have the gem stone with the tribe - eg sardius for Judah.)

Then, find out the meaning of the names  next to them, eg. sardius for Judah meaning - to hold out the hand, power.

Finally you then place the `gem stone with the tribe and meaning` in the order of the gem stones in the foundations of the walls of the city. (Rev. 21: 19 & 20) (Note the sardius stone comes 6th in the order and that is where I placed it.

Blessings, Marilyn.