As we enter 2008 we find that it is dominated by the number 8. In the Bible this number is often connected with a new beginning, and also with resurrection. We are therefore starting the year with the introduction of this new series, entitled The City of God.
In the final two chapters of Revelation the Apostle John gives us a very detailed account of the City, the New Jerusalem. He is instructed to call it the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife. From this we learn that the City is a symbol, a parable, by which we can learn many important things. In this series we shall be looking at the many items displayed in these chapters, and hopefully be able to learn what the Lord wants us to know about His Bride.
We do not plan to make this purely an academic exercise, a mere exposition of the Greek words, though we shall have need to examine the original language where necessary. Our hope is to feed the spirit, and not just the mind. Hence the devotional side will be interwoven with the expositional. Having said that, we do not present ourselves as experts. The series comes as the result of many years of reading and examining the Bible in a prayerful manner, and more particularly just recently, when we sense the Spirit of God leading us to write, and to share with our readers what we have found.
Paul exhorts us to “seek those things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Col.3:1) Where better to look than the passages relating to the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife, of which we desire to be a part?
Come and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord,
and to the House of our God;
Come and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord,
and to the House of our God;
And He will teach us of His ways.
And we will walk in His paths.
And the law shall go forth from Zion,
And the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
(This chorus has been a regular favourite of our fellowship. It was written by Bill and Mary Ann Quigley, and displayed in Volume 1 of “Scripture in Song” in 1981. The words come from Isaiah 2:3 and are very much connected with this present theme of the City of God.)
