TruthInvestigate

“Oh, the unspeakable greatness of that exchange,—the Sinless One is condemned, and he who is guilty goes free; the Blessing bears the curse, and the cursed is brought into blessing; the Life dies, and the dead live; the Glory is whelmed in darkness, and he who knew nothing but confusion of face is clothed with glory.”

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Location: Kingsland, Georgia, United States

A person God turned around many times.

Monday, November 30, 2015

The bubble of blessedness

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” (Isa. 26:3).
 
When we were kids we like to play “Crack the whip”. We would line up in single file, latching our hands onto our neighbor’s wrists. We would face opposite each other alternately down the line. For this game we would need all the grabbing power possible. Then the leader would begin the forward motion, and the rank would pull with him. He would slowly get the train of kids up to a pretty fast speed, which would contain a lot of momentum. Then he would turn on a dime, bringing the line of kids back onto itself. The kids at the front of the rank would see their compadres pass by them, glee meeting glee, expectancy meeting expectancy, as we would keep pushing hard to keep the speed up. Then, it would happen. The end of the line kids would feel more and more G-force as the line turned on a dime and back onto itself. Finally, the last person felt the most G-force, which overcame his strength to remain holding onto his neighbor. And the last person went flying.
 
This game illustrates the way the devil works this world. Without our realizing it, “the cares of this world” (Mark 4:19) move in and begin to speed up our daily activities. Over time, our days become a whirl of events. We have no time for eternal things. All the natural vitality which we inherited is spent as we try to navigate the obstacles to success, barely averting many catastrophes, and barely surviving many disasters.
 
Even if we have learned of God’s unmerited goodness to us, and spend some time each morning seeking Him, “the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). The rush of life, the chasing after this world’s dreams and the idols that multiply around us, prevent the work of redemption that God desires to do in our hearts.
 
“The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Cor. 4:18). We need to see the things that are unseen and eternal, but we are not able.
 
“And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” (Matt. 13:14,15).

This is Christ’s warning to us. It is the shot over the bow of our ship that is coursing its way to deliver another boatload of merchandise for a big profit in this world. But, all His biddings are enablings; and He only wounds to heal. There is always mercy in His justice; there is always grace in His truth. All of His threats contain hope; and all His curses are blessings, if heeded. They are meant to strike fear into us and to stop us in our tracks before we fly off of His radar, sailing over the ledge of this life’s horizon. We need to throw the throttle to “full reverse” and bring our momentous ship to “All stop”. Once we are dead in the water, then the Lord can speak to us.
 
“A vineyard of red wine.
I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
Fury is not in Me: who would Me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
Or let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.
He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” (Isa. 27:2-6). Precious promise.
 
It isn’t enough for us to have a devotional time each morning. We need to tremble before eternal destruction. Quality, sanctifying time in the morning with Jesus comes only after close calls with eternal judgment. “All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me.” (Ps. 42:7). Without suffering under and submitting to overwhelming trouble and conviction, we can’t appreciate the time with Jesus because we can’t realize the eternity with Him that we almost lost. But, once He has saved us from eternal loss and justified us, then we count it a privilege to sit at His feet and can hear Him from His word.
 
We are Jesus’ vineyard. He saved us from the “great red dragon” (Rev. 12:3). Our red wine represents the blood of His self-sacrifice splashed all over us, because we let Him be our sacrifice. From then onward, the Lord keeps watchful care over us “day and night”. And He waters our soul “every moment…lest any hurt it”.
 
We must choose whether or not to wage war against “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9), “that holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). We can “set the briers and thorns against” against Jesus; or, we can bow our self-will and pour our sorrows on Him. We can receive  “…the promise of the Spirit” (Gal. 3:14), “the blessing of Abraham…through faith”.
 
If we have been seeking Him, He will not overwhelm us with fury. His full fury is toward Leviathan, the great red dragon. But we will certainly feel the heat of their battle over us. “And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.” (Mark 9:26). Yet, we can be of good cheer. In the world we will have trouble, for Jesus is overcoming the world in us.
 
If we will be drawn to Christ’s will and the yoke that He offer us, then He will keep us day and night, protecting us from the sinful world around us. His constant intercession before His Father will be, “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.” (John 17:15-17).
 
When we will finally have enough of our idolatry we will throw away our idols; we will loath them. We will see our apparently beautiful hearts to be really an overflowing ashtray. We will awaken from our drunken stupor; the spell will be broken. The promising wine of our idolatrous celebration will have turned into an embarrassed, gagging mouthful of floor sweepings. We will spew it out of our minds, and never return to it again.
 
“For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee.
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.” (Isa. 30:19-22).
 

Our painful lives will find a healing retreat in our Creator. Our Lawgiver will be our paradise resort. The promise is good for us, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43). We will live in the world, but be protected from its influences that lure us away from the Creator of all life, physical and spiritual. He will be our protective bubble.



When we were kids, my older twin sisters had a way of dodging a lost argument. They would snap their fingers twice, and in delightful unison they would proclaim, “Protective bubble!” Then they would turn and walk away, ignoring the peeved protestations of my brothers and I. My sisters created an imaginary bubble that our complaints could not penetrate. My sisters acted as though deaf to our anger. Our grievances were helpless to get at them.
 
Jesus desires to give us a protective bubble. His bubble is a bubble of love, humility, and faith in Him. We are in our own little world, but part of the great, big world. Our own little world is a sweet world; one under Jesus’ warm guidance and exciting providence. “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3). Our thoughts and intents are from Him and of Him. The cravings and clamorings of our fallen nature sleep the sleep of death. “Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 3:20). “The Father…hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:12-14).
 
“O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” (John 17:5). Jesus desires to be our protective bubble; He wants to wrap us in His arms like His Father wrapped Him in His arms. He wants to give us what He had, He wants us to be “made partakers of the Holy Ghost, …the powers of the world to come” (Heb. 6:4,5).
 
We won’t be oblivious to our surroundings, yet will be unaffected by the anger, selfishness, oppression, pride, and distresses. We will have another reality and future hope, and always be of good cheer. Though living surrounded by the rat race of life, which everyone else suffers under, we will live above it. Jesus will “[raise] us up together, and [make] us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6).We will be blind and deaf to the wicked presence of Satan like Jesus was. “Who is blind, but My Servant? or deaf, as My Messenger that I sent? who is blind as He that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’s Servant? Seeing many things, but Thou observest not; opening the ears, but He heareth not.” (Isa. 42:19,20). Our minds stayed on Him and His word, great peace will accompany our hearts; and nothing will offend us.
 
Jesus was consumed with His Father’s statutes and judgments. He lived by every word that proceeded from His Father’s mouth.
“O that My ways were directed to keep Thy statutes!
Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments….
Thy word have I hid in Mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Ps. 119:5,6,11).
“I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned Thy righteous judgments.” (Ps. 119:7).
 
He lived in His Father’s protective bubble, and He could only be gentle and kind. Even His clear, convicting reproofs came from a heart uninfected by any internal fury and poison. His truth was always mixed with grace. His heart ever remained undefiled, living in the bubble of God’s blessedness. “God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.” (John 3:34).
 
We can all have this.
 
 “All things are yours; whether [it be] Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” (1Cor. 3:21-23).
“For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God…. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Cor. 4:15,18).

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Grace and truth

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14).
“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (Ps. 85:10).
“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” (Rom. 11:22).
“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee.” (Rev. 2:2-4).
 
There are many more examples of these two pillars of polar opposite, which together, perfectly entwined, form the most powerful force in the mind of man—the power of divine love. Please look at my post from May 26, 2011, entitled, The Two Pillars of Divine Love. There you will see a list of the two pillars that I have found in the Bible. And there are no doubt many more.
 
Divine love, divine wisdom, always includes both of these polar opposite dispositions. Grace and truth, mercy and justice, et al, is God’s solution to sin. It was the foundation of His government from eternity past and will forever continue to be His firm foundation. It made up “the everlasting covenant” (Isa. 24:5) and it makes up the “everlasting gospel” (Rev. 14:6).
 
We looked at the parable of a man who left His wealth in the hands of three stewards. The last one who received one talent thought his master was a super-stern and super-demanding master. He looked upon his good master in an evil way, who had trusted him with his wealth. He repaid his trusting master with distrust.
 
Was his master really as he thought of him? No, not at all. He was a man of “an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts” (Dan. 5:12), in whom was “the Spirit of the holy [God]” (Dan. 5:11). His master was as joyful as Boaz, and as capable in his enterprises.
 
“And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.” (Ruth 2:4). He joined together grace and truth, justice and mercy. Therefore, his servants loved him and loved to obey him.
 
Boaz was kind and merciful. He cared for his elderly aunt Naomi who had met with so much loss of loved ones. He obeyed the Law of God given to Moses by giving the gleanings to the poor and especially to his own household, Naomi and her daughter in law. He gave honor to strangers (foreigners), such as Ruth was. And Boaz was evangelistic, spreading the Hebrew faith by inviting the Moabitess into his faith and encouraging her to trust in the protection and salvation of Israel’s God. Therefore, Jehovah blessed him greatly.
 
“Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?
And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:
Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.” (Ruth 2:5-12).
 
This is the perfect picture of the master of the three servants. That is why the first two servants loved to serve their Master Jesus, the great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson of Boaz. (Twenty-eight generations; but, the shortened version of that is “Jesus the son of Boaz”).
 
Then, if Jesus the son of Boaz, the master in the parable, was as good as Boaz, why did the least servant find his master so offensive? It must be that he misjudged his master. Something in the servant’s thinking caused him to see his master as having only justice without any mercy. It must be that instead of worshiping Elohim, he had been worshiping Baalim. Baalim was the other Elohim, the substitute who looked like the true with a few enticements for the flesh, the filthy counterfeit of Elohim. But, Baalim never mixed justice with mercy because Baalim was Satan. He found it easier to his palate to “[smite] the people in wrath with a continual stroke” and to “[rule] the nations in anger.” (Isa. 14:6). He never savors the things that are of God, but the things that are of men. The human mind is the devil’s perfect nesting place.
 
Living under such a terrorist regime as Satan’s realm, the servant saw God in the same light as Satan, and therefore he saw Jesus in the same light, also. Thus, he couldn’t love his master, whose name is “called Faithful and True” (Rev. 19:11) as the servants of Boaz loved their fair master. And therefore he found it impossible to obey his assumed evil master. Serving Baalim caused him to see evil everywhere he looked and in everyone he met. Devoid of love in his soul, he was suspicious of everyone. Serving “Baalzebub” (2 Ki. 1:2)—Beelzebub—leaves a soul permanently conscienceless and listless. Nothing in life pleases them, they are filled of Satan’s dark spirit. They departed from the God of Israel, the faithful God who made Abraham faithful, and He has given them over to the world of spiritualism.
 
“Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.” (Isa. 51:20).
 
Continual service to Satan’s invisible presence left the servant ruined. His resistance to the misperceived character of his lord’s beautiful heart left him unable to cope with any justice, any truth, any accountability, any responsibility. Hence, Baalim made the servant self-indulgent. Pure, unadulterated justice and truth smiting his conscience with a continual stroke, drove him to Ashtoreth, the Cult of Isis, without him even realizing it. Under the promise of peace to the soul, the devil robbed him of all hope of peace. Under the doting Queen of Heaven, he had no appetite for balanced truth and grace, justice and mercy, responsibility and reward. He could desire no truth at all, only grace; no justice and only mercy. Baalim made him hate truth unadulterated with grace; now Ashtoreth makes him indulge grace unadulterated with truth. He went from eating floor sweepings under Baal to drinking corn syrup under Ashtoreth. Thus, Satan drives the whole world to hate the two pillars of God’s loving character. That leaves Him nothing left to offer them.
 
This is the spiritual condition of many today. Because the truth of the Spirit of Prophecy has not been taught to the world and no longer to the Advent movement, the beautiful blend of justice and mercy, of truth and grace, has driven the church and the wor ld to complete self-indulgence. Even in the churches, their warfare against any condemnation from God, and the offense of His Law, has left Protestantism devoid of reverential fear to God. They have disallowed His authority to condemn sin. They have been serving Ashtoreth, the Queen of Heaven, the Mother of God, the Mediatrix who is full of grace, grace and nothing but grace. Even in Adventism this abomination is seen and heard. How many sermons teach truth and justice, versus how many are increasingly teaching “grace, grace, God’s grace”, “Grace.nothing”?
 
Today, Adventism is copying our sister denominations of Protestantism, with no difference at all from the way the southern kingdom of Judah copied her sister tribes composing the northern kingdom of Israel. Today, it’s Baal and Ashtoreth, all over again! Names of the gods have changed to protect Satan’s scheme, but the identical system has for 170 years been foisted upon the Protestantism, and today upon Adventism.
 
We have been given great light, especially has Adventism. Both Protestantism and Adventism have been brethren in the work of taking back the world for light and righteousness. What a blessing with which we have been entrusted! The Bible! Rescued from the pile of burning martyrs, we still have the King James Version. It’s a miracle that Satan couldn’t remove it from the Earth. And, the Spirit of Prophecy, shedding great light upon the Holy Writ! But will we read the Spirit of Prophecy? Will we be strong and of good courage as we open our hearts to its sin-searching standard? Ellen White faithfully divided sin from righteousness, and a holy life from an unholy, just as Jeremiah was sent to do.
 
“Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before Me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.” (Jer. 15:19).
 
And what happened to Judah for rejecting the strong message from Jeremiah? What happened to the nations related to the Hebrews? Because Spiritualism made them weak, not only spiritually and socially, but also militarily, their national defense had departed. Babylon could say what Israel had been able to say when they served Jehovah, “Their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.” (Num. 14:9).
 
The Lord raised up Babylon, “the hammer of the whole earth” (Jer. 50:23) to give a good dose of justice back into the feminized, spiritualized nations. Having disregarded the Law of God, and its strong dose of justice and truth, they were left spiritualistic and weak, unable to stand before their Redeemer and King, or before the king of Babylon. Under the influence of heathen religion, the whole nation followed the same abomination of desolation that Solomon had, and they suffered the same result.
 
“From being one of the greatest kings that ever wielded a scepter, Solomon became a profligate, the tool and slave of others. His character, once noble and manly, became enervated and effeminate. His faith in the living God was supplanted by atheistic doubts. Unbelief marred his happiness, weakened his principles, and degraded his life. The justice and magnanimity of his early reign were changed to despotism and tyranny. Poor, frail human nature! God can do little for men who lose their sense of dependence upon Him.” Prophets and Kings, p. 58.
 
Jehovah punished Israel and her neighboring relatives for serving Satan and his spiritualism. Today, the effeminizing is taking place among the people of God today. Who is there who can speak strongly against sin? Who can call it by its right name? Who tells us the truth like Ellen White did? Nobody because we are effeminate and spiritualized. We are serving Babylon's religion, but the worst is yet to come. The Cult of Isis has escaped its bottomless dungeon of five centuries, and is finalizing its last moves to restore its power from the Dark Ages. Adventism is not a cult; we have the truth of the Bible. But, the Mother of cults has led our Protestant brethren to brand us with the name of cult. The Mother of Abominations in the earth is the cult—the Cult of cults.
 
“Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.” (Jer. 51:7). We have lost our truth and grace. We are spiritually insane and incompetent. Our punishment is due.
 
But, the promise was always held out for Israel, and it is held out to Protestantism and the Advent movement.
 
“Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again.” (Isa. 51:21,22).
 
“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me.” (Jer. 32:40).
 
“Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD.
For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
And I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:
That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.” (Eze. 16:58-63).
 
The Lord will yet save His people, the Protestant and Advent movements. But, He will only save those who were not so ruined by their idols that they could never again listen to truth and justice. But there are yet many thousands “all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (1Ki. 19:18).
 
“And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one King shall be King to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.
And [Jesus] My Servant shall be King over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them.
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and My Servant [Jesus] shall be their Prince for ever.
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” (Eze. 37:22-28).
 
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of [Jesus].
Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.” (Isa. 55:1-4).
 
Jesus, is a strong commander and a wonderful counselor, full of truth and grace. Why should we eat the dirty sweepings of earthly floors and then drink corn syrup, when we can have of the fatness flowing from His heavenly floors? Jesus, our Prince and Saviour, the Son of the God of justice and mercy, will bring us all the way to holiness and righteousness. Lead on, O King eternal.

Friday, November 27, 2015

The Fear of God

“But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap.” (Mal. 3:2).
“For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev. 6:17).
 
Fear of God. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Many people believe it to be bad.
 
Danger, death. Calamity, natural disaster. Tragedy, loss. What do they all have in common to the survivors, the living? Threat. The threat to existence. When the possibility arises that we could suffer and die, we tremble.
 
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:14,15).
 
Are we afraid to die? Yes, our natural mind fears death. “For the living know that they shall die.” (Ecc. 9:5).
 
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:16,17). Adam ate and he died. “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.” (Gen. 5:5).
 
“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” (Gen. 4:8).
“And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died….
And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died….
And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died….
And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died….” (Gen. 5:8,11,14,17). And on and on it went. “Death reigned.” (Rom. 5:14).
 
We tremble before death unless we become new creature in Christ. Then the promise is fulfilled, that Jesus “destroy[s] him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver[s] them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:14,15).
 
The grace of Christ surrounds them and fills them with a peace that prophets had. They have no fear of death. “And [Jonah] said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.” (Jon. 1:12). True, Jonah’s grace was waning because he was walking away from the Source of grace. So when he was sinking deep under the tumult of the Mediterranean storm, then he lost the robe of righteousness the Lord had proffered him. He became afraid to die.
 
“And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and He heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and Thou heardest my voice.
For Thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me.
Then I said, I am cast out of Thy sight; yet I will look again toward Thy holy temple.
The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast Thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto Thee, into Thine holy temple.” (Jon. 2:2-7).
 
But, those prophets who remained in the Lord’s will kept their robe of righteousness. And He was their shield and exceeding great reward.
 
“For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.” (Jer. 1:18,19).
 
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD.” (Isa. 54:17).
 
“And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house…. Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.” (Eze. 2:6;3:8,9).
 
“Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:6-8). Forgiveness of sins, a new heart and new spirit, are such a blessing that they have certainty of salvation and assurance of God’s protection.
 
But, they all trembled before the Lord before He could take away their weak fallen nature and sinful heart of unbelief. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isa. 6:1-5).
 
“Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
His body also was like the beryl, and His face as the appearance of lightning, and His eyes as lamps of fire, and His arms and His feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of His words like the voice of a multitude.
And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
Yet heard I the voice of His words: and when I heard the voice of His words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.…
And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.
For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.” (Dan. 10:5-9,15-17).
 
The comeliness of the finest creature, the most perfect human, is turned into corruption in the presence of the Creator. The fallen nature is disturbed. The kingdom of Satan trembles and so does the human tabernacle of his domain.
 
We tremble when we consciously recognize the King of infinite purity and selflessness. He poses a tremendous threat to our impurity and self-centeredness. Our fallen nature trembles like the elders of Bethlehem did when Samuel came to anoint David. “And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?” (1Sam. 16:4). The kingdom of Satan in us trembles like the contingent of soldiers did when the watcher and holy one touched down from heaven. “Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch….
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.” (Matt. 27:64-66;28:2-4).
 
We tremble like this demoniac did in the presence of Jesus.
 “And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.” (Luke 4:33-35).
 
And this demoniac.
“Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him,
And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the most high God? I adjure Thee by God, that Thou torment me not.
For He said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
And He asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
And he besought Him much that He would not send them away out of the country.” (Mark 5:3-10).
 “So the devils besought Him, saying, If Thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And He said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.” (Matt. 8:31,32).
 
“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (Jas. 2:19).
 
Not only does the presence of God cause trembling, so does His Law. “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.” (Isa. 66:2).
 
We need to tremble before God. And His Law does just that.
“For I was alive without the Law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.” (Rom. 7:9,10).
 
Without the robe of righteousness upon our heart and mind, the fallen human nature becomes greatly unsettled and unnerved in the presence of the Spirit of God. Our conscience was made to be His tabernacle. Adam and Eve had such a tabernacle. Perfect peace and joy with God. When the Prince and Saviour fulfills His promised new covenant, we sing the song of Moses.
“The LORD is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation.” (Ex. 15:2). We become His temple, our soul becomes His habitation. This is what Jesus wants. “Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” (Ex. 25:8).
 
We are His brand new house, which He fills with His Spirit and makes it beautiful, “swept, and garnished.” (Matt. 12:44).
 
“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.” (Eze. 36:25-27).
 
Jesus enters and cleans up our heart and mind, furnishing it with a table where together we eat of His words, and a light to fill the soul with happiness, and unceasing prayer.
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” (Ps. 23:5,6).
 
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put My Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:33,34).
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Heb. 8:12).
 
It’s these precious promises that Peter referred to that bring us to know the goodness of God. And from that we lose our fallen, sinful nature, and receive Jesus’ divine nature, His robe of righteousness. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2Pet. 1:4).
 
It’s the precious promises, like a seed that wilts into death in the ground and then germinates into a tree for food or shade for a thousand people, that lead us to the reproduction of the character of Christ. The seed dies like our old nature must be shaken into shivers; the old man must tremble and fall apart.
 
“Now we know that what things soever the Law saith, it saith to them who are under the Law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” (Rom. 3:19).
“My son, if thou wilt receive My words, and hide My commandments with thee;
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God….
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.” (Prov. 2:1-5,10,11).
“Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” (Ps. 119:165).
 
“Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience.” (Rom. 5:1-3).
 
Peace with God. no more fear of death! So long as we keep with Him, we have certainty of God’s acceptance. He is our shield and exceeding great reward, and we continually prepare for Him a habitation. “In whom [we] also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:22). Our Prince and Saviour who owns a mighty clever, will square and hew our hearts as needed to fit into the temple of God’s building. There will be work for Him to do in our new heart. No, His preparing us to stand in His day of visitation doesn’t end when He give us a new heart. His work has just begun in earnest! As long as we keep close to Him, the cutting off of this idol and that image, will be ever new victories over sin for which to praise Him.
 
His peace gives us the fortitude to endure His hewing. Having peace with the God who remembered us in our strife with the devil, and having forgiveness of sins, we happily endure troubles. “We glory in tribulations” (Rom. 5:3). And if we cease to glory in tribulations, then that should be a loud signal  in us that we ceased our justification by faith. We’ve lost our “patience, experience; and…hope” (Rom. 5:4). And “the love of God” is no longer “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which [was] given unto us.” (Rom. 5:5). We are ashamed of Jesus and He is ashamed of us.
 
But, wait a minute! That doesn’t mean we must be hopeless! Our Prince is also a Saviour and has allowed the loss of His Spirit to wake us up to our backsliding. We need to fear not that He will forsake us. If we humble ourselves like we had been doing, “He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” (Mic. 7:19).
 
Jesus is a jealous God and knows the power of His competing suitor for our hearts and souls. He means what He says when He is appalled at our broken engagement to Him for the devil.
 
“I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (Rev. 2:4,5).
We must face our falling away from Him, and like the above prophet say, “I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness.” (Mic. 7:9). 
Then we can again say like we did the first time. “Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy.” (Mic. 7:18).
 
Then, more and more, day by day, “we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Cor. 3:18). Our mercy that reflects His “mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” (Jas. 2:13). We can stand at His appearing. 
 
Will we tremble before Him? Will we let His truth boil away our pride and self-sufficiency? Will we have the saving faith that takes us all the way to heaven to touch the hem of His garment and receive from Him our own robe?

Monday, November 23, 2015

Radiation Man

There are many comic book super-heroes; and they all have specific super powers by which they get their name. There is Spiderman, who scales up buildings like a spider and shoots webs to catch criminals. There is Thing who looks like a man made from boulders and who is as hard as rock. There is Submariner, who breathes underwater and comes to land to fix social problems because of crime. There is Batgirl who dresses like Batman and Robin dress, and they all do their crime-stopping work at night. There is Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, and Iron Man, and there’s Human Torch who can make himself burn whenever he says, “Flame on!” Then there is Superman, who is the father of them all and who just has unnatural strength and speed. He can jump tall buildings with a single bound, he can run faster than a speeding bullet, and can stop long trains. All of those various specialized heroes do amazing things and stand proudly for all to worship their beauty/handsomeness and strong muscular features.
 
But, putting all that rabble aside, I want to talk about Radiation Man. Radiation Man is more powerful than all of the comic super-heroes put together. Far above those fictional gods of this world, Radiation Man radiates love—love, the strongest force in the universe. He irradiates the hate and self-centeredness which live in men and women, boys and girls, and even babies. And His constant, determined beneficence genetically alters those sinful traits into His love and forgetfulness of self. He has a patience level that is unending; He has such infinite grace and truth that they constantly flow from His mouth and His actions. Radiation Man, as a boy and all His life “manifested a patience that nothing could disturb, and a truthfulness that would never sacrifice integrity. In principle firm as a rock, His life revealed the grace of unselfish courtesy.” Desire of Ages, p. 68. Solid as a rock, He is the 650 foot high Law incarnate. (“An hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel” Rev. 21:17). Yet, that 650 foot tall Law is the Law of love, and He has done the impossible by internalizing all of its infinity of broad and deep precepts of love. Thus, His every word and action are never overbearing and legalistic. Better than anyone—including all of the super-heroes—He understood the difficulties of living a life of godliness. His meekness was not weakness. He did the unimaginable by leaving heaven at the word of His infinitely powerful Father to save and uplift mankind.
 
Being like the infinite King, He never saw Himself as a great person. “Who, being in the form of [the King], thought it not robbery to be equal with [the King]: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:6,7). Being with His Father as Heir to the throne, He was so much like the King that He lived only to serve. He served His Father first, then He served “the whole family in heaven and earth” (Eph. 3:15).
 
Radiation Man is a super-servant. There has never been seen the like ever since. Compared to Him, every other hero has a mountain of selfishness and cool self-sufficiency. But, Radiation Man’s service extended all the way to tasting damnation for every human. He reconciled this criminal world back to His libeled, terrorized Father, who, to prevent destroying all of His human children for their disloyalty to the eternal kingdom of the universe, holed Himself up in His own house because the leader of all organized crime had attempted a hostile takeover of His kingdom. This hostile leader, Mr. Satanic (also known as (a.k.a.) Mr. Devilish, Mr. Demonic the Friendly Assassin) was the combination of all super villains, the Joker, the Riddler, etc. all of their chilling attributes describing this Anti-Radiation Man arch-enemy. All of their dark powers originated from him. The evil of his dead conscience and cold mastermind instantly rob every human heart of love, altering their nature to selfishness and turning their hearts to ice or stone. Some hearts may be melted by Radiation Man, by the wholesomeness and acceptance that they long to see and trust, which are forever emanating from Him. But others evade His inviting sight and avoid the powerful presence of His radiating love. Their hearts become stone, and are doomed to perish forever.
 
The organized crime leader has corrupted the earth with his charms and his own selfishness. Mr. Satanic and his hosts of super locusts have eaten up all the love of the human race. Mr. Devilish has tempted the multitudes of the world into self-indulgence, self-exaltation, self-justification, faked relationships and cold friendships, and pride. Thus, he has transformed them from the original perfect society of self-sacrifice, self-denial, self-forgetful love. And thus, Mr. Satanic has alienated them from his arch-nemesis, the King of comfort and law, mercy and justice.
 
In His kingdom, that the King ever has had and must have, “mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (Ps. 85:10). And because of Radiation Man and His radiant love, one day soon “truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven” (Ps. 85:11) again. He will deliver those who Mr. Satanic held captive in his spells. Mr. Friendly Assassin, the amazing familiar spirit, has wooed billions into his snare by his artful promise of lawless grace. That spell can be broken only by the grace and truth radiating from and practiced by Radiation Man.
 
Grace and truth are the only formula that can win back the hearts and minds spoiled by the lawlessness of Mr. Demonic. The kingdom of grace and truth, justice and mercy—lawful grace, righteous grace— will succeed to overthrow the cheap, baseless kingdom that has no foundation and no defense. Mr. Demonic’s self-indulgence has almost eaten up the human race. Disease is rampant. Distrust is pervasive, even in the families. Hatred and darkness have covered Earth. The world has lost all purpose to exist. They have no vision of goodness, because Mr. Sin has separated them from the King of justice and mercy, their great King who can only rule with both principles of justice and mercy, and the counsel of peace is between them both. The King never dispenses justice without mercy. His justice is never abusive justice. And He never dispenses mercy with justice. His mercy is never syrupy sweet, indulgent mercy. He knows that the perfect formula for happiness in the children who He created dwells in the proper mix of both principles. And His infinite wisdom always dispenses correct solutions of both properties.
 
And His solution to our dark world will reign in the kingdom that will be returned to Him through His only begotten Radiation Man. “Thou, O Tower of the flock, the strong-hold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion.” (Mic. 4:8). The glories of Eden, the glories that the King endowed upon this world, will be endowed again—even after all that we did to destroy the King and His kingdom—and even after all that we did to destroy His only Begotten, Radiation Man.
 
“Who is a [King] like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.” (Mic. 7:18-20).
 
And Mr. Satanic, a.k.a. Mr. Demonic, Mr. Devilish, Mr. Evil, Mr. Friendly Assassin, Mr. Familiar Spirit, Mr. Darkness, Mr. Nemesis, and all of his hosts of soul-eating locusts will be destroyed. Empowered by His self-sacrifice, Radiation Man will destroy Mr. Evil, and the crucifixion-empowered locust hosts from Radiation Man will eat up the locust hosts of His nemesis. “All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.” (Eze. 28:19).
 
“There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away. Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are…. There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?” (Nah. 3:15-17,19).
 
On that next eternal day, there will be no more aliens. Grace and truth will reign without meeting any resistance or dispute. No more blasphemous protests disturbing the government of righteousness and peace, no more cunning artifice undermining the beauty of holiness. Justice and mercy will emanate again from the restored throne of the King and His Radiation Man who radiated love, grace, with peace and good will toward all men, even while He was in the tomb, the Offering burnt by the King’s wrath because of us. Yet, even entombed in the earth, His radiation altered our deformed spiritual genetics. And from heaven, His radiations have continued to send messages of His Father’s acceptance, which have distilled like the dew. He remade us into His Father’s image, and His character will forever be imprinted in our thoughts and natures.
 
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from [the King] out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of [the King] is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and [the King] Himself shall be with them, and be their [the King].
And [the King] shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be [the King], and he shall be My son.” (Rev. 21:1-7).
 
“And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, [Radiation Man’s] wife.
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 [the King],
Having the glory of [the King]: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
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:
On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve [super-heroes] of [Radiation Man].
And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
And the city lieth foursquare, 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.
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
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.
And I saw no temple therein: for the [King] Almighty and [Radiation Man] are the temple of it.
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of [the King] did lighten it, and [Radiation Man] is the light thereof.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in [Radiation Man’s] book of life.” (Rev. 21:9-27).
 
“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of [the King] and of [Radiation Man] shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him:
And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the [King] giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 22:3-5).