The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Heavenly Jerusalem, #5

And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (Hebrews 8:11)

The new covenant will continue to work until every member of God's Israel knows the Lord.

The New Testament writings teach clearly that (at least for now) it is the victorious saints, the conquerors, who are the Bride of Christ, the true Church. Those who do not serve Christ with their whole heart will suffer punishment and loss of inheritance—and in some instances their very salvation!

We see this in the parables of the ten virgins, in the servants who were entrusted with talents, in those who worked both miracles and iniquity, and in the case of the individual who was found at the wedding without proper attire.

Also, the second and third chapters of Revelation by inference teach that those who do not overcome will lose most or all of the rewards that we associate with being a Christian. Those who do not overcome are not worthy to walk with Christ in white. They may, in fact, perish in their foolishness, laziness, lack of preparation, and wickedness. "Remember Lot's wife"!

Heaven is the throne of God. The Wife of the Lamb is created in the Throne of God because she is God's ruler, in Christ, of the ages to come.

The land of promise, the rest, the inheritance, the goal of the Body of Christ is spiritual control over the works of God's hands. "The heavens do rule," as Daniel informed Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:26). It is God's will that the nations of the earth be governed by the Spirit of God, not by ambitious, self-seeking individuals.

Therefore the movement of the Church is not from the earth to Heaven. The Church is formed in Heaven and is destined to be located in the earth and to rule the earth.

"Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." This is the concept of the Kingdom of God. It is the rulership of God through Christ through the Church over all the works of God's hands. The new Jerusalem is the center of government of the Kingdom of God.

He who overcomes will inherit all things God has created.

The Church must be prepared. The Church must be made ready for her Lord. It is not possible that the Bride of the Lamb can be received of Him in an unprepared condition.

And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 22:11-13)

The Bride is being adorned today, and will continue to be adorned throughout the period of tribulation that is ahead, with the Virtues of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit of God is preparing the saints to be ever with the Lord, to be with Him where He is.

To be continued.