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Breaking Strongholds Blog
Scripture-Based Poetic Sermons

​Revelation 22 Part 6: The Morning Star

4/7/2022

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In the last chapter of Revelation,
Jesus declares to John -
“I Jesus have sent My angel
to give you this testimony
for the churches.
I am the Root and the Offspring
of David, the bright Morning Star.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22:16‬

“The Morning Star”

Now why would Jesus call himself
the same name that Isaiah gave to Satan?

Why does Jesus refer to himself
as the Morning Star?

Let’s dig in and compare
some other scripture.

Revelation‬ ‭2:26-28‬ says,
“And to the one who overcomes
and continues in My work until the end,
I will give authority over the nations.
He will rule them with an iron scepter
and shatter them like pottery --
just as I have received authority
from My Father.
And I will give him the morning star.”

‭‭
In Revelation, Chapter 22,
the Morning Star is capitalized.
The noun and the name
represent the Risen King
whose name is Jesus.

In Revelation, Chapter 2,
the Angel of the Lord is speaking to John
and asking him to speak to the churches.
The angel says,
“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2:29‬

Father God - give me ears to hear
and understand your Word.

The morning star, in this instance,
probably represents 
a small beautiful light
that breaks the night -
a dawning of sorts -
a reflection of the Son
before He comes.

Peter wrote,
“We also have the word
of the prophets
as confirmed beyond doubt.
And you will do well
to pay attention to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until the day dawns
and the morning star rises
in your hearts.
Above all, you must understand
that no prophecy of Scripture
comes from one’s own interpretation.
For no such prophecy
was ever brought forth
by the will of man,
but men spoke from God
as they were carried along
by the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:19-21‬

According to Peter,
The morning star rises
when the Word of God enters our hearts.
This makes sense,
because as Jeremiah said,
“The heart is deceitful
above all things and beyond cure.

Jeremiah‬ ‭17:9‬

The Word of God is the Light of Christ,
and washes away the deceitful flesh
when we open our hearts to Christ.

But this does not answer the question -
why would Jesus call himself the same name
that once belonged to Satan?

Why does Jesus refer to himself
as the Morning Star?

Well, the answer is simple.

Jesus is the Light of the World,
and before Satan fell out of God’s Will,
he was also referred like any follower of Christ
as a morning star.

Isaiah said,
“How you have fallen from heaven,
O day star, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down
to the ground, O destroyer of nations.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭14:12‬

Day star is often used
to describe the dawning
of the morning - and in Satan’s case,
he had been cut down.

Why?
Well that is easy -
It’s because of pride.

The sons of God are often called stars -
because they give light to the dark.

Lucifer was once one of them.
In fact, I have heard
that he was once a glorious angel.

“You said in your heart:
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God.
I will sit on the mount of assembly,
in the far reaches of the north.
I will ascend above
the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
But you will be brought down to Sheol,
to the lowest depths of the Pit.
Those who see you will stare;
they will ponder your fate:
“Is this the man who shook the earth
and made the kingdoms tremble,
who turned the world into a desert
and destroyed its cities,
who refused to let the captives
return to their homes?”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭14:13-17‬

Satan desired in his heart
to take the place
of the Most High God -
and so he was cast down from Heaven,
and given temporary authority
over this fallen world.

He was placed in a position
to rule over the dark,
at least until the breaking dawn.

We currently live in an age
when Jesus came to take our sin away.

He was the fulfillment
of what the Law of Moses could not do.

He was the spotless Lamb of God
who took away the sins of the world.

And now we just wait for Him to return,
as our King -
and when he does
He will be bringing God’s judgment down.

Our faith in Christ is what brings us back
into relationship with Him.

​I believe “the morning star”
is anyone who believes
and reflects the Light of Christ.
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​Revelation 22 Part 5: The Root of David

4/7/2022

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Jesus said,
“I am the Root and the Offspring
of David, the bright Morning Star.”

Revelation 22:17

What does Jesus mean?

I believe Jesus is saying
that He is the Root of David
which comes from the stump of Jesse:
“Then a shoot will spring up
from the stump of Jesse,
and a Branch from his roots
will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him -
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and strength,
the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
And He will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what His eyes see,
and He will not decide
by what His ears hear,
but with righteousness
He will judge the poor,
and with equity He will decide
for the lowly of the earth.
He will strike the earth
with the rod of His mouth
and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
Righteousness will be the belt around His hips,
and faithfulness the sash around His waist.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭11:1-5‬

The stump of Jesse
and the Root of David
come from the same family tree -
the same genealogy.

The “root” of a family
comes from the same originator,
often known as a forbearer
or an ancestor,
and Jesse was King David’s father.

The genealogy found
in Matthew Chapter 1
and Luke Chapter 3
show that Jesus descended
from the line of Jesse
and his son, King David.

The Hebrew word
used for “root” is sheresh -
and it implies that a root will remain alive
by the branch that shoots up from it.

Now the God of Israel chose their fathers;
and He made them into a great people
during their stay in Egypt -
and with an uplifted arm

He led them out of that land.
He endured their conduct
for about forty years while they were
wandering through the wilderness.

And having vanquished
seven nations in Canaan,
God gave their land
to His people as an inheritance.

All this took about 450 years.

After that, God gave them judges
until the time of Samuel the prophet.
Then the people asked for a king,
and God gave them forty years
under Saul son of Kish,
from the tribe of Benjamin.

After removing Saul,
God raised up David as their king
and testified about him:
‘I have found David son of Jesse
a man after My own heart;
he will carry out My will in its entirety.’
From the descendants of this man,
God has brought to Israel
the Savior Jesus, as He promised.
Before the arrival of Jesus,
John preached a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel.
As John was completing his course,
he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am?
I am not the One -
But He is coming after me
whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’


Children of God -
It is to us that this message
of salvation has been sent!

The people of Jerusalem
and their rulers did not recognize Jesus,
yet in condemning Him they fulfilled
the words of the prophets
that are read on every Sabbath.

And though they found no ground
for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to executed Him.

When they had carried out
all that was written about Him,
they took Him down from the tree
and laid Him in a tomb.

But Death could not hold Him down,
and Jesus rose again!
Hallelujah!

For many days Jesus was seen
by those who had accompanied Him
from Galilee to Jerusalem.

These were the first witnesses
to the resurrection of the Messiah -
and then, after walking the earth
as a resurrected man,
Jesus rose on a cloud
and ascended into Heaven.
His disciples were with Him -
and they testified to His ascension.
And now we proclaim the good news:
What God promised to the fathers of Israel,
He has fulfilled!

By raising up Jesus -
Jesus has become the Messiah
for the Gentiles and the Jews.
As it is written in the second Psalm:
‘You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father.’
The Lamb of God, stood without sin,
and offered himself
as a living sacrifice for us.

Through Jesus
everyone who believes in Him
is justified from everything
that humans could not do
by the Law of Moses.

Now we live by the Law of Christ.

We must remember
Jesus did not come
to abolish the Law or the Prophets.
He came to fulfill them.

He is the Son of God
who stands without sin.
We must be cautious,
because the adversary of God
is crouching at the door,
waiting to find someone to devour.

All Christians are currently
in the Lions Den.
We are all sheep among
ravenous wolves.

We must keep our eyes
focused like Stephen - on Jesus.
Watch out, then, that what was spoken
by the prophets
does not happen to you:
‘Do not spend too much time
denying God because you will perish!
The Lord Jesus
is our Savior and our King,
and He will soon be coming back again.

Will your oil be ready?
Will your lamp be burning?

Most of the words of this poem
come from Acts‬ ‭13:16-41‬.

Tomorrow I will focus in
on the Morning Star.

I believe I wrote about it before.
I will have to go back
in my poems and explore.
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Revelation 22 Part 4:  Jesus Said to Read Revelation

4/7/2022

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In Revelation‬ ‭22:16 Jesus said,
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel
to give you (John) this testimony
for the churches.”


I have to stop and separate
this detailed Word of God.

Within this verse is so much
Holy Spirit inspired knowledge.

First, we must understand
that the Book of Revelation
IS the Word of God!

The information contained in this book
IS the message that was given
by God to His Son to share with us.

Jesus, by the Angel of the Lord,
gave John knowledge and wisdom
that is totally mind-blowing!

In the last chapter of Revelation,
Jesus said,
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel
to give you this testimony
for the churches.”


The first chapter of Revelation
opens with the same information.
John writes as a true witness.

John wrote, 
“This is the revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave Him to show His servants
what must soon come to pass.
He made it known by sending His angel
to His servant John,
who testifies to everything he saw.
This is the word of God
and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1:1-2‬

Don’t you get it?
The Book of Revelation MUST be read!

It is the revelatory knowledge
that brings true wisdom!

There is no book in the Bible
that is more important
to those who love Christ
than the Revelation
that was given by God to Jesus to John,
by the Angel of the Lord.

The information
contained in this book
is designed specifically
for the Body of Christ!

It was written to the Church!

As obedient children,
it is our duty and responsibility to dig in

John was told,
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud
the words of this prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear
and obey what is written in it,
because the time is near.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1:3‬

The Lord desires for us
to read the Revelation.

The Lord desires for us
to speak and believe
the words contained in the Revelation.

The Lord desires for us
to hear the Spirit of Revelation
so that we can have Holy Spirit,
divinely appointed wisdom.

The Lord desires for us
to obey the message
given to the seven churches,
and to have confident hope
that He is coming back for us.

The Lord is not trying to keep secrets.

He wants us to know
exactly how much He loves us.

He loves us so much
that He allowed the Lamb of God
to be sacrificed for us.

The Lord wants us to know
that end of this age is coming soon.

And while the Antichrist
is currently being restrained,
“the coming of the lawless one
will be accompanied by
the working of Satan,
with every kind of power, sign,
and false wonder, and
with every wicked deception
directed against those who are perishing,
because they refused
the love of the truth
that would have saved them.
For this reason
God will send them a powerful delusion
so that they believe the lie,
in order that judgment
may come upon all
who have disbelieved the truth
and delighted in wickedness.”

‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:9-12‬

The Day of the Lord is near.

The Antichrist will soon be revealed.

But do not fear -
because the Lion of Judah
is coming back as our King!

The Lord Jesus will slay the Antichrist
with the breath of His mouth
and annihilate the Antichrist
by the majesty of His arrival.”

‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:8‬

Know this -
God will be bringing His judgement down;
and only those who are covered
by the blood of Christ
will be invited into the Kingdom of God.

The end of the age
and the Day of he Lord
IS recorded in the Book of Revelation.

Followers of Christ
are called to be watchman.

Jesus said,
“Do you think that I have come
to bring peace to the earth?
No, I tell you, but division.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:51‬

He said,
“You know how to interpret
the appearance of the earth and sky.
Why don’t you know
how to interpret the present time?”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:56‬ ‭

Jesus also said,
“Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds on watch
when he returns.
Truly I tell you,
he will dress himself to serve
and will have them recline at the table,
and he himself will come
and wait on them.
Even if he comes
in the 2nd or 3rd watch of the night
and finds them alert,
those servants will be blessed.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:37-38‬

It does not matter if you are 10 or 100,
God is a good, good Father.

He is always ready
to welcome the prodigal son!
He leaves the 99 to chase after the one.
His desire is for you to come home.

Those who love Christ,
I implore you to read
the Revelation of Jesus NOW!

The time has come
for you to wrestle with God.

The time has come
for you to abide in His Word,
and ready yourselves for His arrival.

​Here is some godly wisdom -
Prepare with the end in mind.
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Revelation 22 Part 3: Do you Swear to Tell the Truth, So Help You God?

4/2/2022

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To the Church, those who represent
the Great Witness of Christ,
“Do you solemnly swear
to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth?
So help you God.”


Truth is a noun -

that which is consistent
with the mind, will, character,
glory, and being of God.

Truth IS God's Holy Word -
and through His Word
all things were made new again.
In 
His Word is the light of men -
the light that gives life again;
and the Light
that shines from God’s Holy Word.
The Word brings 
light to the darkest night;
the light pulls out
that which is good, 
right and true.

Therefore I say, test and prove

what is pleasing to the Lord -
live out your faith
according to God’s Holy Word.

Do not be imitators of the world.
Do not exchange
the TRUTH of God for a lie.
Out of respect for Christ,
we are to provide
a powerful witness to humankind; 
that is right,
"t
he world" - the place that David describes
in Pslam 23, as the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

We are to testify to the Truth

and lead people to the Holy Word.
For these words are faithful and true.
“Behold, I am coming soon.
Blessed is the one who keeps
the words of prophecy in this book.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22:6-7‬

The TRUTH is God alone is Lord;

and the Bible is God’s scroll -
the Word of God
that was communicated
by His Holy Spirit
into the hearts and minds of men.

The TRUTH is God is sovereign,

and no matter how much
or hard we try -
unrighteous acts cannot be justified.

The TRUTH is

it’s only the blood of Christ
that can wash away our sin;
it’s only God’s Holy Word
that can make us whole again.
You see, before we were saved,
we stood before God as filthy rags -
slaves to uncleanliness.


Sin sure knows 
how to leave ugly stains;
we are all in desperate need
of God’s cleansing!
But the moment we believe
that Jesus is our Savior and King,

God immediately forgives
all of our sin -
“He is faithful and righteous
to forgive us our sins and cleanse us
from unrighteousness.”

The blood of Jesus

even cleanses our conscience,
the leading part of our human spirit.
Hebrews 9:14 says,

“How much more
will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit
offered Himself to God
without blemish,
purify our conscience
from dead works
to serve the living God?”


The TRUTH is Jesus,

and God’s Holy Spirit;
and the true witness is the one
whose heart is covered
by the blood of the Lamb.

I tell the truth,

when we accept Jesus as Lord,
we become His Children -
adopted into His royal family
and citizens of Heaven.

And the moment we proclaim
Jesus as Lord,
God sends His Holy Spirit
to make us born again.

​The TRUTH will set you FREE!
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Revelation 22 Part 2: The Way Home

4/2/2022

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This may come as a surprise
to people who do not read scripture,
and do not have a biblical worldview.

God is sovereign.

He is One who gives

blessings and curses.
He is the One who determines
our woes and rewards.

God is the One who created
the heavens and earth.
He created all that we see
and all that we breathe -
the clay, the wind, the trees -
everything - including you and me.

God is the One
who gave us breath,
and He is the One
who can take it away -
at any time.

He is the Creator

of both life and death;
and He is the judge.
He determines what is bad or good;
evil or not.

God is the One who spoke a curse
against mankind, and the devil.
If you don’t believe me,
then go and read Genesis 3.

I am not making it up.


Throughout the Bible, 
God administers
blessings and curses;
warnings and judgements.
And they are directly related
to our relationship with God
and our obedience to Him.

The common view of blessing,
according to the American gospel
(which is anti-biblical)
is to be fat, happy and wealthy
like the drunkards of Ephraim.
But the actual meaning
of God’s blessing
is to be saved by grace -
to live in eternity
with our Everlasting King.

The blessed man

is the one who delights
in the law of the Lord;
the one who mediates day and night
on the Kingdom of God.
This is the intimate man
who is faithful and obedient
to Father God.

Now the opposite of blessing

is to be cursed with a woe;
to be judged harshly by God,
and then left alone.

God’s woes are meant for humans

who shut up the Kingdom of God;
those who twist the gospel,
and find many ways
to trip people up with entangled sin.

Jesus calls such people hypocrites -
those who pretend to know God

and be like Him but are really not!

“You traverse land and sea

to win a single convert,
and when he becomes one,
you make him twice as much
a son of hell as you are.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23:15‬

The gospel message is simple -

God is good. We are not.
In fact, without His Holy Spirit,
we are nothing but filthy rags.

And while we were designed
to be imagers of God 
and reflect His light to a dark world,
most humans choose
to express their pride, selfish ambition
and continue to live in sin.

They exchange the truth for a lie,
instead of picking up their cross

and dying inside.

So God sent the Light!
Jesus is meant to be a lamp at our feet
to shed light 
on the path of all who follow Him.

Humans need a Savior
to bring us back -
to bring us back into relationship
with Father God.
Jesus is the promised Seed
found in Genesis 3 -
the faithful and beloved Son of God.

The Sacrificial Lamb

whose blood sets us apart.

Scripture says that road is narrow -

The Highway to Holiness is cut off
for those who choose to be
unfaithful to God.
But for the chosen few
who put their trust in God -
they will be adopted into His family
and live with Him
in the New Jerusalem
with glorified bodies.

“No longer will there be any curse.

The throne of God and of the Lamb
will be within the city,
and His servants will worship Him.
They will see His face, and His name
will be on their foreheads.
There will be no more night in the city,
and they will have no need
for the light of a lamp or of the sun.
For the Lord God will shine on them,
and they will reign forever and ever.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22:3-5‬

To learn more about

biblical blessings and curses,
read Deuteronomy 28,
and don’t forget to read
Genesis 3 and Revelation 22.

The Way Home is laid out for each of us.
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Revelation 22 Part 1: The River of Life

4/2/2022

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Tales of sacred, restorative waters
have existed for many years.
We all remember Ponce de León
and how he supposably found

the Fountain of Youth.
And 
Alexander the Great
was said to have found 
a healing river in paradise
in the fourth century B.C.

During the Middle Ages,
some Europeans even believed
in the mythical man, Prester John the King,
whose kingdom allegedly contained
a fountain of youth and a river of gold.
Of course - all of these stories
are mythical renditions of what people
want to see and believe.

To have a water that restores life

and brings health and prosperity
would be absolutely amazing -
but in this evil physical world,
it is all just a dream.

But in the spirit realm,

there is such a thing.

I invite you to read
what Jesus said

to a sinning woman
who had been

married to many different men...
over and over again.

In the Gospel of John,

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman,
“If you knew the gift of God
and who is asking you for a drink,
you would have asked Him,
and He would have given you
living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said,
“You have nothing to draw with
and the well is deep.
Where then will You get
this living water?
Are You greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this well
and drank from it himself,
as did his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water
will be thirsty again.
But whoever drinks the water
I give him will never thirst again.
Indeed, the water I give him
will become in him
a fount of water springing up
to live eternally.”

‭‭John‬ ‭4:10

“On the last and greatest

day of the feast,
John also recorded Jesus saying,
If anyone is thirsty,
let him come to Me and drink.
Whoever believes in Me,
as the Scripture has said:
‘Streams of living water
will flow from within him.’”
He was speaking about the Spirit,
whom those who believed in Him
were later to receive.
For the Spirit had not yet been given,
because Jesus had not yet
been glorified.”

‭‭John‬ ‭7:37-39

In the New Jerusalem,

the place where God restores
both Heaven and earth;
the place where God and the Lamb,
and all who love them dwell,
there is a river that contains water
that gives life eternally.

“Then the angel showed me

a river of the water of life,
as clear as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God
and of the Lamb
down the middle
of the main street of the city.
And on either side of the river
stands a tree of life,
bearing twelve kinds of fruit
and yielding a fresh crop
for each month.
And the leaves of the tree
are for the healing of the nations.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22:1-2‬

It is the ministry of the Spirit,

flowing out of a heart redeemed by God,
that blesses believers and, through them,
brings life and light to the world.
​

Hallelujah!

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Revelation 21 Part 7: No Temple Needed

4/2/2022

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How would you feel if you created a plan to do something grand for the Lord and then found out by a prophet of God that He did not need you to build it because it was already done?

Would you feel small and insignificant? Would the chastisement of your great plans to build a house for God cause your countenance to crumble and fall down? Would you fall to your knees and give glory to God because He alone is faithful, powerful, sovereign and provides ALL sufficiency?

This is the scenario of King David when he wanted to build a temple to show his adoration for God.  The scripture says, “After King David settled into his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to the prophet Nathan: “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

David wanted to use creation to build God a palace to live in. He wanted to create a magnificent house of adoration for God to rest in. This was an overflow - from his heart for God.  But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell My servant David that this is what the Lord says:  “Are you the one to build for Me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling.”  “In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders I appointed to shepherd My people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar? “Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land. And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more.”  “The Lord declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you. And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.”  “He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.”

These words of God can be found in the 7th Chapter of 2 Samuel‬.

You see, the Lord never asked David for a temple, but he allowed David to make it because it was an overflow of David’s heart. David loved God, so his desire was to honor the Lord by building Him a temple to live in.  

But the Lord did not need it. He allowed it as a way to show His love for David, and His love for Israel. But God never asked for it - He was already with them and He moved all around them. God was the One who showed them where to go!

God is the Creator of the whole universe! Nothing can contain Him! We do not harness God, nor should we try to control. He decides where He wants to go.

Now, God has given us free will - the freedom to choose to love God or not - the freedom to have a healthy fear of the Lord.

Those who receive God’s Holy Spirit have been predestined to live in the City of God. They become rocks that are built on the foundation of the 12 Apostles.

The Holy Spirit is all around! We must get out of the mindset that we alone carry the glory of God! The truth is - all of creation was made for God’s glory. Everything in creation declares His praise. If a human being is not willing to cry out, then Jesus said that the rocks will give Him praise!

You see, in the New Jerusalem, the temple of God does not exist because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

God cannot be contained. The Holy City has no need of sun or moon because the glory of God illuminates it, and the Lamb of God is its lamp.

‭‭These words can be found in Revelation‬ ‭21. I encourage you to go and read them and let the knowledge and love of Jesus come into your heart.

Do not be afraid of today’s false teachers and prophets who, in their foolish minds, “take control of God and demand that God does it.” They do not control God. That is an illusion. It’s vain imagination.
God is sovereign. His Spirit can be found anywhere. Call out to Him. He is looking for His children. He leaves the 99 to find the one lost sheep who is eager to know Him.

​God searches the human heart. The physical temple was thought up by David and built by Solomon as an overflow of their love for God.
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Revelation 21 Part 6: The Revival Breath

4/2/2022

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Picture
For Spring Break 2022,
we went to Asheville, North Carolina.
While we were there
we visited a store
that was full of the most beautiful
radiant gem stones.

They were so breathtaking to see.

And then down the road,
we went into a pawn shop
and my eyes were drawn
to the expensive jewelry.

Obviously,
it was all too pricey for me.


I saw necklaces of gold,

silver and pearls.
I saw tiny specks of emerald greens,
sapphire blues and red rubies
sparkling at me.

They were so lovely, but the price,
even in a pawn shop,
was way too expensive for me -
so I bought fakes
instead of going into debt
and buying the real thing.

All of this just made me think
of how amazing God is
to you and to me!
He has the opposite economy!

What do I mean?


Scripture says,

our riches are stored up in Heaven.
We are not to treasure
the things of this world
(except human souls of course);
and we are not to turn
anything created by God into idolatry.

As soon as a person

thinks that they “own” anything,
the Bible says they have fallen
into the sin of greed -
which is a form of idolatry.

We own absolutely nothing.

We are called to steward

the things that we have -
the things that God has given us
to be able to make a difference
in the Kingdom of Heaven
where Jesus is King.

At anytime, the Lord can take away

our home, our business,
our children, our health and our wealth -
and He will still be a Good.
He is the One who is sovereign-
we are not.

The Most High God sits of the throne

and completely oversees
everything created -
and that includes the birth
of you and of me.

Someday, when followers of Christ
take their last breath on this earth -
they will be revived by the Holy Spirit
and inhale the beauty of Heaven.

They will see and be

in the City of the New Jerusalem.
They will see a giant wall of jasper,
and a city made of pure gold,
that looks like clear glass.
Oh, how amazing it will be!

They will see the wall of the city
built on the foundation stones
of the 12 Apostles!
The foundational stones that are adorned
with the most precious 12 gemstones.

The first will be jasper,

the second sapphire, the third agate
(also called chalcedony)
and the fourth will be
a vibrant emerald green.
The fifth will be onyx,
a stone as black as can be,
the sixth carnelian -
a sweet carnation pink.

The seventh will be beautiful crystal,
and the eighth beryl -
which has many different colors
but usually shows up as aquamarine.

The ninth topaz,

which can present as pale blue,
golden brown or yellowish orange.
Oh, how magnificent it will be!

The tenth chrysoprase,

which can present as an apple green,
the eleventh jacinth,
which presents as a brownish red.
Oh - It’s all so amazing to me!

And the twelfth precious stone
inlaid in the foundation of God
is amethyst - the royal purple
that can be so intoxicating to the soul.

And if inhaling the beauty

of the gold wall
and these 12 precious stones
is not enough,
there will be 12 gates
made out of giant pearls -
each gate from a single pearl!

And the main street will be pure gold,

as clear as glass -
oh, how magnificent it will be!

The City of God will be the place

that we get to take our revival breath -
the first breath of our everlasting life!

Can you even imagine how intoxicating

that revival breath will be?

It will be as if we never died

in the first place!
Oh, I encourage you to read about it
in the message that was given by Jesus
to his best friend John!
It is all recorded in Revelation‬ ‭21.


The things that we see,

the things that we “own” -
are NOTHING compared ​
to our royal citizenship in the City of God.


I implore you -
We would all do well
to let go of control
of the things of this world!
We must be careful
not to hold on so tight
to the creations
that our heart turns to stone!


This is what idolatry does -
it’s causes the human heart to overflow
with a feeling of control.



Little children -
Be careful not to take hold of
the gemstones of this world.
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