The Source of My Life Springs from Jerusalem!

Thursday, June 13, 2013           Revelation 21:2

The Source of My Life Springs from Jerusalem!

“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). One of the enduring images from my trip to Israel was on the Friday evening we drove into Jerusalem. As our bus topped a hill, the gleaming walls of Old Jerusalem, high on Mount Moriah, came into our view. The stereo on the bus began playing The Holy City Hymn and we all sang, “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Hark! How the angels sing, Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna to your King!” (The Holy City Hymn. Lyrics: Frederick Weatherly, 1892. Composer: Michael Maybrick.) Jerusalem is central to God’s people in the Old and New Testament. Psalm 87 proclaims, “Regarding Jerusalem it will be said, “Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there.” And the Most High will personally bless this city. When the Lord registers the nations, he will say, “They have all become citizens of Jerusalem” (Psalm 87:5-6).

In the Apostles’ Creed, we affirm our belief in “the holy catholic church,” which is the universal Body of Christ. The psalmist was looking into God’s future when all people will live in the presence of God. When we read of “the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” all Christians can sing with the psalmist, “The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!” (Psalm 87:7)

This is especially true when you read further in Revelation 21 to John’s measurements of New Jerusalem. They reveal a cube, which connects John’s vision to the other cube mentioned in scripture, the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The Holy of Holies was in the center of the Temple and where the presence of God was located. A priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once per year to make atonement for the sins of the people. John’s description of New Jerusalem reveals that the entirety of the new city will be the Holy of Holies and God will dwell with all of his people, continuously. Interestingly, no Temple is described in this New Jerusalem, suggesting that where at one time worship was limited to a place and a time, now worship will be a state of being, as God is worshiped through everything that a person does, wherever they may be.

The image of New Jerusalem as a bride connotes the commitment of God to His people, or as the Apostle Paul puts it, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

One other point; New Jerusalem has come! Today, we can worship God through everything we do, wherever we may be. Today, nothing is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hallelujah! “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Hark! How the angels sing, Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna to your King!”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will follow soon.

·        The second edition First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.