The Message Part C

CA. The heavenly Jerusalem, on the other hand, is the heavenly image of Christ [1 Cor 15:47] or the spiritual body of Christ [1 Cor 15:44]: 

CB. Gal 4:26 - But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all; Heb 12:22 - But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels; 

CC. Rev 21:10 - And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 

CD. We should not let the parable about the heavenly Jerusalem in Rev 21:10-23 confuse us. The summary is that it shows how treasurable Jesus is [Luke 12:33-34 - ...a treasure in the heavens that faileth not...for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also]. 

CE. Christ, our inheritance which is treasurable, is eternal life [Mark 10:17-21]. He that will descend from above on the last day [1 Cor 15:47, 1 Thess 4:16, Rev 21:10] is the resurrection and the life [John 11:25]. He will bestow eternal life [John 6:40 - Luke 20:36]. 

CF. Based on our knowledge about the earthy Jerusalem, we can discern that the armies referenced in Luke 21:20 [And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies..] denote the chariots of God or the chariots of Israel [2 Kings 2:11-12, Ps 68:17]. 

CG. We know that these armies can’t be seen with our physical eyes as referenced in 2 Kings 6:17 - the Lord had to open the eyes of the young man to see them. This is one of the reasons I said last-time prophecies can easily be fulfilled without our awareness [AQ].

CH. Perhaps, you may be curious to understand why Elisha was surrounded by the chariots of God and why Elijah ascended into heaven with them. These ensued because they are biblical figures representing Jesus - the narratives about them testify of Christ [BK]. 

CI. For example, the ascension of Elijah into heaven is a parallel prophecy about the ascension of Christ into heaven. It may become more evident if we read this scripture verse: 

CJ. John 3:13 - And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 

CK. Based on the letter, Elijah [2 Kings 2:11-12] and Enoch were men who ascended into heaven. This contradicts His words in John 3:13; however, by the Spirit, it is not contradictory. 

CL. As we’ll eventually discover, Elijah, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Noah, Paul, Peter, Job, John, Sarah, Mary, among others, are biblical figures testifying of Christ. We’ll arrive at this conclusion by exploring one or two narratives about each of them. 

CM. In the meantime, it may be helpful to note that another scripture verse that highlights the knowledge we’ve been discussing [BK & CL] is John 1:14 [And the Word was made flesh…]. 

CN. It is also important to note that the prophecies do not follow the arrangement of the narratives. For example, the narrative about the crossing of the Red sea is written before that about the brass serpent that Moses made for the children of Israel to look upon. 

CO. The narrative about the crossing of the Red sea is a prophecy about the day of judgment [FB - FC] while that about the brass serpent is a prophecy that centers around the children of God and Christ while He is on the cross [ET - EX]. 

CP. However, we’re already aware that judgment will take place after Christ leaves the cross - AJ. 

CQ. It is also not uncommon to have parallel prophecies. The narratives about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, the boarding of Noah’s ark, the crossing of the Red sea, among others, are parallel prophecies about the days of judgment. 

CR. We mentioned the cross in CO. But, what exactly is it? The cross is not at a set location [Luke 9:23]. The cross is known for endurance [Heb 12:2, Matt 24:13]. The cross bears our sins and sicknesses [Heb 9:28, Matt 8:17]. The natural body of Christ is the cross [1 Cor 15:44] 

CS. You may also be curious to understand why we see rainbows if CQ is true - that is, the boarding of Noah’s ark. First and foremost, we have to realize that the scripture has a lot of parables that require discernment. 

CT. Illustrating with a supposedly well-known parable name: The rod referenced in Ps 23:4 [...thy rod and thy staff they comfort me] is a parable name for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter [John 14:26]. 

CU. The rod that Moses lifted to divide the red sea also represents the Holy Spirit [Exo 14:16]. Israel prevailed in a battle when he lifted the rod and failed when he did not [Exo 17:11]. The Holy Spirit is the power of God [Zech 4:6]. 

CV. That is, the bow in the cloud [Gen 9:16 AKJV - And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant...] is a parable name. It is a parable name that denotes the glory of the Lord. 

CW. The best scriptural reference that highlights this knowledge is Eze 1:27-28 [...as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness *round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord...]. 

CX. To establish this point, God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham as well. His promise to Abraham is that he will be the father of many nations [Gen 17:5-7]; however, His promises to Abraham and Noah were not fulfilled at the time of their death [Heb 11:7-13]. 

CY. This emanated because His promise or everlasting covenant to Abraham will come to fruition on the last day [Matt 25:32 - And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them…] which will be the beginning of our days in the new heaven and earth. 

CZ. Likewise, the appearance of the bow in the cloud which signifies the everlasting covenant that God made with Noah will be fulfilled in our everlasting world - the new heaven and earth:  

NEXT: The Message Part D