Who is the wife of the Lamb, the Lamb who was slain to save the whole world? Scripture says the angel carried John away “in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed him the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” This Jerusalem IS the bride of the Lamb, and she comes DOWN from Heaven - she does not go up. Now think about that for a moment. The Holy City comes DOWN to earth - it’s not the other way around as I once thought. Scripture says, The bride of the Lamb “shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates.” Imagine being invited to this wedding event. Imagine being a spectator in this audience! Imagine watching the Bride of Christ flowing down the aisle, all dressed in white. Imagine the stunning, heart-stopping moment that will be felt. “On the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Revelation 21:10-14 The wife of Christ is a Holy City, and her name is Jerusalem. She is constructed on an apostolic foundation - Apostolic means belonging or relating to the early followers of Christ and closely following the Word of Jesus and His ways. The foundation of Jerusalem is built of 12 people who are named: Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ. The foundation had very high walls, but scripture does not tell us yet who the walls are made out of. But we know that there are 12 gates - twelve gates are divided in four: three gates stand on four sides - the north, south, east and west. The gates also have names. They are also made out of people which are the 12 tribes of Isreal. So this is my question, Are the gates like the foundational stones? Judas, one of the twelve apostles, betrayed Jesus, and was replaced by Matthias - does this also happen with Dan? In Revelation Chapter 7, Jesus does not mention the tribe of Dan. as being sealed with the blood of the Lamb. Instead, Joseph and his son, Manasseh, are both listed - Joseph received a double portion as promised by Jacob, the man who was renamed, Israel, by the Angel of the Lord. So what happened to Dan? Now Ezekiel says, “On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan.” Ezekiel 48:32 So according to Ezekiel, Dan is still included in the New Jerusalem. Honestly I am a little confused. Is there anyone out there who is reading this poem that can shed some light on my question?
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