“When Shall These Things Be?”, St. John 14: 1-3.  Part 18

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

This passage of scripture has been fashioned into numerous sermons, books, evangelical tools, and used in training new converts in many parts of Christendom. On Fox News channel 360, in their 7.00 p.m. program there is segment called “We report—you decide.” As it applies to me, “I write—you decide.” It means that what I am about to share with you should not be seen as an edict issued by the Vatican to all Catholics worldwide. We will offer a different approach to this lesson with two different aspects of religious interpretation in mind. One school of thought insists that all scriptures should be taken at face value and understood the way they were written. We call this aspect the “literal” interpretation of scripture, and the other believes in a spiritual interpretation. What seems to happen among our people is that one born and raised in a Baptist home is likely to say; “My grand Dad was a Baptist, my Dad was a Baptist, I was raised a Baptist, and I will die a Baptist!” Among the greater number of Chinese families in Kingston, Jamaica, their children are entered into Catholic School from a tender age, and remain in that setting and mode of education long into adulthood. Thus, the Catholic Church had no shortage of members. The general consensus is that one is likely to espouse the religion in which one was raised. In earlier times when I was among many young believers, it was deemed ill advised and amounted to being a traitor for one to drop one’s family religion to embrace another.

Back in the 1960s when the “Jesus People” hit the headlines and teens by the droves were joining the movement and getting baptized in swimming pools around Los Angeles, the religious establishment quickly closed ranks against them and criticized them openly on television, on radio, and in the news papers. For as long as I can remember, I had determined to myself that simply because my Mother and Dad were ardent Baptists, I did not feel compelled to be a Baptist as well. I did leave the Baptist Church and joined what is locally called “New Testament Church of God” head quartered in Cleveland, Tennessee. Not long ago, a top official from the Southern Baptist Convention, here in the United States appeared as guest on a television talk show. He was asked how he interpreted the bible. He said that he believed the bible to be the word of God to be understood as it is written. That would mean that a cow in scripture means a cow, salt means salt and nothing else. But we quickly run into severe difficulties if we embrace that form of interpretation. For instance, Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth. So then, my Christian friend, are you actually salt? We are told that we are the sheep of God’s pasture, so are you a sheep? Jesus said that we are to lay up treasure in heaven. So please tell me how am I to get my money, my gold bars, and all my financial assets into heaven’s vault? Jesus said that we are to let our light shine before men, so are you a light bulb, or a lighted torch? It seems to me that before the starting pistol is fired, we are already trudging through a swampland of miscues and small blunders.

We must bear in mind, first and foremost, that the scriptures were not written in English, and the King James Version of the bible contains many “Old English” words that are not familiar to Americans and other peoples around the globe. Every word of scripture is important to the construction of the text and the message being conveyed in the entire lesson. A word or a sentence misplaced can send us on a wild goose chase, and cause us to come to wrong conclusions even though we will swear that we are right. Suppose we try our hand at analyzing the word “house” in our scripture text. Let us suppose that in my Father’s house actually means where he lives with his family. For a moment, let us treat the word as the place where we dwell, and as the Spanish like to say, “My house is your house” we offer a brief overview of what the most popular approach by preachers is. The following is what I was raised on, and what I myself preached and taught from the late 1950s until 1968 when my research began to open up a brand new set of biblical truths unknown to me before. The general idea is that Jesus explained that in his Father’s house there are many mansions. In fact, they tell us, Jesus said that he would go away and prepare our mansions for us, and when they are ready, he will return and take us back with him for us to possess our mansions. To lock in this thought and to add credence to it, they emphasize how Jesus remarked, “If it were not so, I would have told you.” While the preacher giving the sermon repeat this thought, other ministers sitting on the rostrum are likely to join in the refrain by saying loudly, “If it were not so, I would have told you! This puts the entire issue to rest! Jesus said it, we believe it, and that settles it. Preachers add this little nugget to their sermons, and they do so with immense zest and conviction, some with sweat running down their cheeks. Out of that mindset we got songs such as; “Somewhere beyond the blue, there’s a mansion for me. Somewhere beyond the blue, I am longing to be,” and “I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop, in that fair land where we’ll never more roam; and someday yonder, we’ll never more wander, but walk on streets of purest gold.” In fact, some Western artists such as Hank Williams, Roy Clark, and others loved to sing; “Lord build me just a cabin in the corner of glory land; ‘neath the shade of the Tree of Life that it may ever stand. Where I can hear the angels sing and shake Jesus’ hand. Lord build me a cabin in glory land.”   

It is evident that one must do a word search to properly assess the true message being conveyed by our Lord Jesus Christ, simply because we read; “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them.” Matthew 13: 34. Back in London, England, in 1968, the Lord quickened to my spirit the need to watch every word when I read the bible because words have meanings and one word out of place can easily distort the truth. In today’s political climate a politician must be careful of every word he or she speaks; otherwise every prime-time television newscaster will be magnifying the issue of that single misplaced word frequently introducing a negative issue that was not the intent of the speaker.

If we proceed with the thought of a house being where one dwells, God’s house can be traced down through the corridor of time, beginning with the creation story. After both the man and the woman ate of the forbidden fruit, they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the Garden. After Cain killed his brother Abel, God spoke to him to account for his brother’s blood that spoke from the ground. When mankind got too sinful upon the earth, God communicated its demise with Noah and laid out a plan of survival with him. Later on in man’s history, God spoke to Abram in Ur of the Chaldees, located in Southern Iraq, and told him to pack up and leave town for a land that he would later be shown. During Abram’s lifetime, the Lord appeared unto him about 7 times in what is called “theophanes” or bodily appearances. After Israel had been in Egyptian bondage for 430 years, Moses was sent back to Egypt to free his countrymen from bondage. This was about B.C. 1491! So for 1491 years of God’s interaction with mankind, he never expressed a desire to occupy a house with us. About this same time in the early part of their wilderness sojourn God said to Moses; “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8. It was about this time that the “ark of the covenant” was introduced to Israel and it signified the presence of God in their midst. This ark was with them through good times and bad times, and when it was taken by an enemy nation, they suffered because of its presence and they hurriedly returned it to Israel.

At this juncture we fast-forward about 450 years to the time of King David. “Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains.”1 Chronicles 17:1. David’s intent was to build a house for the Lord where his name would rest forever. Because he was a man of war who shed much blood, God forbade David to build the house of the Lord, choosing rather to wait until Solomon who was not yet born to grow up and have him build the house of God. At the dedication of the house of God we read; “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the

pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 11 Chronicles 7:1-3. So it was that from about B.C. 1004 until A.D. 33 the temple in Jerusalem was called the house of the Lord. In the New Testament scriptures when Jesus entered the temple and overthrew the money changers saying, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” Matthew 21:13; this was the last time that any man-made structure anywhere was called the house of the Lord. The apostle Paul came along and wrote this compelling thought that is strong enough to solve this thorny issue among a number of nations. He wrote; “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” Acts 17:24-25.

During my days in London, England, I used to go to St. Paul’s Cathedral and sit quietly in the area roped off for private meditation. Sure, there was a feeling of calm and serenity as if God was much closer to me there than out on the street. But frankly, that was a thought process that I controlled, and in truth, God was not any closer to me because I was in a cathedral, than he was when I walked back on to the street. “In him we live and move and have our being; as certain of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” Acts 17:28-29.

Peter refers to God’s body of believers as lively stones, building up a spiritual house. 1 Peter 2: 5. Therefore as we listen to Jesus speaking of his Father’s house, we are compelled to examine the spiritual aspect of his teachings, rather than thinking like ordinary men grasping for ordinary things. The word house can be relegated to many different aspects of life in general. When we say “the house of Eli, or the house of David, or, me and my house will serve the Lord, we cannot be thinking of a building made of bricks, building blocks, cement and mortar. My house consists of my wife and two sons; one son is now in Los Angeles. We could say that Jacob’s house consisted of two wives and twelve children. Simply because Jesus uttered the word house is no reason for us to begin staring up at the eastern sky that somehow, we think is the way to the Father’s house. All of this is based upon the literal interpretation of scripture, inferring that since Jesus mentioned “house” it must be a building up in heaven that the redeemed saints will one day occupy. That sort of thinking is no better than children setting out their stockings for the coming of Santa Claus the night before Christmas.

For the sake of this study and for the sake of a healthy dialogue, suppose we agree that “My Father’s House” really means a building that we recognize as a house—a single family house; how do we describe a mansion? In reality, a house in general terms means one with 2, 3, or 4 bedrooms, a living room, a dining room and kitchen, 2 ½ or 3 bathrooms, possibly a recreation room and in most cases, a finished basement. In some towns that are flat and sandy the houses are not made with basements. This is a brief description of what a house consists of. But the dictionary describes a mansion as “a large imposing house.” A mansion in any town or village is something that forces us to take a second look. We are talking about multiple rooms, perhaps multiple floors, sitting on acres of land. The inside is fitted with spiral stairs, huge walk-in closets, bathrooms that look like a swimming pool and saunas combined. The living room is so large that an entire apartment can fit into it. Here is the question that we must consider!

If a mansion is much bigger than a house, how can we expect that in the Father’s house are many mansions? How can we fit the larger into the smaller? How many mansions do we call “many”? Would you call 6 people walking down the street, many? Would you see 12 people walking down the street and announce that many people are strolling down the street? We would no doubt call 25, 30, or more, many people. Jesus did not indicate how many mansions make up his version of “many”. What is the major flaw in the presentations made by ministers who teach and preach from John 14:1-3? It is quite simple! These 3 verses were not meant to be amputated and lifted out from the rest of the chapter. The lesson that Jesus taught continued all the way through the chapter, but it is a constant practice by members of the clergy (not with any ulterior motives) to select a

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verse or two that lend power and muscle to any given subject. They then use that verse or passage taken out of its proper context to promote their sermons. After all, if the passage, John 14:1-3 is treated on its own without any regard for the rest of the chapter, then we are offered an open highway for us to run with the main body of our sermon. It is like putting a small part of a big dinner on your plate and walking away telling others how great the dinner is. It is like a child, who, instead of holding the ice cream cone to be filled with ice cream by Mom, runs off with the empty cone, saying, thank you Mom! That is what we do when we embrace John 14:1-3 and fail to treat the passage as part of a bigger lesson to be found in the rest of the chapter. Since a mansion is a large imposing house, which could not possibly fit into a smaller building called a house, and since Jesus said “many” without offering a specific number, we must conclude that to literalize the subject is to completely miss the truth that Jesus had in mind. It should be useful for us to further examine the use of the word house in several passages of New Testament scriptures. Paul wrote in his letter: “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry (God’s vineyard or garden) ye are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3: 9.Paul painted a clear and distinct picture of what are the true components of God’s Church, and what the finished product in reality is. Writing mainly to the Gentiles members in the churches in Ephesus, the apostle wrote: “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building (the Father’s house) fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple (God’s house) in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation (where one lives) of God through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2: 18-22. Being fitly framed together, we can classify ourselves as being God’s framed house. A frame house is different from a stone building or one built with building blocks. To “frame” is to set in order.

Listen to another account of us being God’s house. “And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” Hebrews 3: 5-6.

We are told in no uncertain terms that we, the Body of believers in Christ, are God’s house and God’s building. So in my Father’s house in reality has nothing to do with visions of golden streets and newly built mansions with freshly planted gardens with all manner of flowers bending and weaving in the heavenly breeze. That picture is simply framed within our imagination. God’s house is where he lives! It is his habitation! So where does God live? Jesus pulled the veil back somewhat and offered a bird’s eye view of God’s dwelling place.

“If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” John 14: 23.”Ye are the temple (house) of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 11 Corinthians 6: 16.  These are words uttered in New Testament times by men who came into the Body this side of Calvary. But long ago in previous centuries God himself spoke concerning his house being within his people.

Speaking in about B.C.1004 God said: “For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. (This is where he would live) This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.”  Psalm 132: 13-14. Zion was a hillside or mount located on the southeast side of Jerusalem. The Jebusites had built a fortress there, and when David captured it, he made it his capitol city and named it the City of David. This hill was also called Mount Zion where David built a tabernacle and placed the Ark of the Covenant therein. 1 Chronicles 15: 1; 16: 1. It must be understood that God’s reference to dwelling in Zion speaks volumes beyond a mountainside outside Jerusalem. If we are to abide by the interpretation offered by the literalists we would be confined in our beliefs to the hillside of which we speak. But God invested in much more than a piece of real estate. He equated a class of people who would be elevated in spirit to what Mount Zion represented in the times of King David. Mount Zion speaks of an elevated place in the realm of spiritual growth and maturity, where God sits in place of David. The writer of Hebrews logged his account for posterity and thus we read; “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, (the one John saw coming down out of heaven from God) and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” Hebrews 12: 22-23. Mount Zion in this passage of scripture does not equate with the City of David of old as catalogued in Old Testament scriptures. Rather, it is called the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. So when we open our bibles to the Old Testament scriptures that refer to Zion, we are well within the margin of correctness to point to the people of God as being the reality behind the written word. As we know, much of the Old Testament is filled with types and shadows that were revealed and made clear in their fulfillment in the New Testament. With a clear understanding of the words, the message, and the actual truth behind the message, we can render the words of Jesus this way; “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” But even so, we are not to assume that any of this is beyond the blue somewhere, and this we will prove later on in this study, so stay with it a while longer. At this point in our study, we should now understand that “In my Father’s house” does not speak of a place up in heaven, but rather the body of believers whose lives have been touched and changed by God’s redeeming grace, in whom the fullness of the Godhead has chosen to dwell. That is where God’s mansions or dwelling places are. Let us turn our attention to the next piece of the puzzle: “I go to prepare a place for you.” Deep in the hearts of many of God’s dear children is a solemn belief that Jesus went back to heaven to prepare their mansions, and when they are finished either we will die and go to occupy them, or some of us will wait until Jesus himself after completing the building process will return and personally escort us back to our mansions.

This belief is burned deep and branded in the heart and soul of multitudes of God’s people because that is what they were taught, and that is what even I preached myself for many years. If God took 6 days to create all that was created, why is it taking Jesus more than 2,000 years to build our mansions? Are we sure that he undertook this task when he went back to heaven? Can we be sure of what he did upon his return to glory? The question is, “Where did he go”? “What did he do when he got there?” The bible supplies the answers to all of these questions so that we should not be left in doubt and uncertainty. Speculations and assumptions cannot be embraced as biblical truths, if we are to handle the word of God honestly. Why is it that Jesus had to “go and prepare a place?” For us his believers, it was of paramount importance for Jesus to go away, but not merely to build mansions. Here is Jesus in his own words! “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” John 16: 7.

Instead of separating John 14: 1-3 from the rest of the chapter, if we would treat the entire chapter as it is written, we would quickly see that the sending of the Holy Spirit and setting up his Body as the Church is the real message that Jesus conveyed. He had to go, not to build mansions, but so that the Holy Spirit would come to indwell his people and create many dwelling places. Here are a couple samples of the many dwelling places that Christ has established. “For through him (Christ) we both (Jews and Gentiles) have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household (His Father’s house) of God.” Ephesians 2: 18-19. “But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable with him.” “For all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.” Revelation 15: 4b. As the previous scriptures teach, we, the redeemed Body of Christ are now his dwelling place, his house, as he said in the Psalm, “this is my rest forever” and as he said in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian Church, “I will dwell in them and walk in them.” He seeks no other house and he has established no other mansions. To equate God with a house as we know a house to be, is to make him human and totally squashed and squeezed into minute human fragments. But we are told that “in him we live and move and have our being, and by him all things consist. Acts 17: 28; Colossians 1: 17.He does not dwell in temples made with hands, but he has chosen to indwell his people for in so doing we are made partakers of his divine nature 11 Peter 1: 4.

As he dwells within us, he creates the capacity for love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance to blend into a divine mix of excellence and grace that should captivate the world if properly displayed. Let us borrow from the letter of Paul, the apostle, chronicled in Hebrews 9: 8-11. This will underscore the argument that many things Old Testament signified fulfillment on a grander scale and embrace truths more prominent and enduring. Highlighting the significance of the Mosaic tabernacle in the wilderness, Paul wrote: “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing. Which was a figure (type) for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.” Hebrews 9: 8-11. Here again, we see how God used natural things as types, as metaphors for tangible and unwavering truths that would be unfolded in New Testament times. Back in the wilderness, it would be alarming and even unsettling for the Israelites to recognize the Tabernacle as a type of the Holy Ghost that would come to open up a new way into the holiest. They embraced the limited truth that was afforded them in that time frame and the greater and more profound truths were hid from them. This underscores the fact that when the bible speaks of people as sheep and goats, salt and city, waterless clouds, we cannot interpret them at face value or as they are written. It is evident that Jesus went away in plain view of his disciples, but returned in the form of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. In fact he did allude to this fact earlier. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be IN YOU. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” John 14: 16-18.

In a matter of 50 days since his death and resurrection, Jesus went away as he promised and returned at Pentecost as he promised and ever since then he became, “Christ IN YOU the hope of glory.” Colossians 1: 27.

Many have missed the fact that Jesus, in referring to the Spirit of truth, actually referred to himself. He said the world cannot receive the Spirit of truth because the world does not see him, neither knows him. But to the disciples, he said, “but ye know him.” If he is speaking of the Holy Spirit as a separate Being from himself, and the Holy Ghost was not yet given because Christ was not yet glorified (John 7: 37-39.) he could not have said, “he dwelleth with you.”  But in the same chapter, Jesus said, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” John 14: 6. So as far as Jesus is concerned there is no other way than he; there is no other truth than he; and there is no other source of life than he. It is within this context that he told the disciples that they already know the Spirit of truth who is presently with them in his person, and will be IN them in the future. After his glorification!

A great percentage of believers in Christ hang on to the belief that Jesus went back to heaven to actually prepare (build) our mansions, and upon completion, he will return for us. So what exactly did he do upon his return to glory? Is the bible silent on this vital bit of information? Did God intend to leave his people in the dark, or is it because we prefer to hold on to fables and the tradition of the elders, rather than believing God’s word? His word made no secret of what Jesus did when he went back to glory. But why so many members of the clergy are totally silent on the issue? Why are they afraid to “tell it like it is?”  How often have you heard people in backing the minister’s sermon shout from the floor, “Tell it like it is!” (a frequent practice in Pentecostal Churches) when in truth they are not telling it like it is. Because God will not leave himself without a witness, he made sure that the record would reflect the movements and activities of Jesus Christ after he ascended on high, so the record should inevitably prove if he did set about to construct mansions for the millions of Christians we believe will welcome his return.

First of all, when he ascended up on high, he gave gifts unto men. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors; and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4: 8, 11,12. The writer of Hebrews in writing about Jesus Christ said: “Who being the brightness of his glory (God’s glory) and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1: 3. So when he went back to glory, he sat down! “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: (like a lawyer in court giving his final summary or closing argument of the case) we have such an high priest, who is set (or sitting) on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” Hebrews 8:1. So far after the work of redemption was complete, we see Jesus sitting down. But wasn’t he supposed to be busy preparing the mansions? So when do you think he is going to rise up and go to work? I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you! Paul is saying that every high priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. “But this man (Jesus) after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, SAT DOWN on the right hand of God. From henceforth (where he is sitting) expecting till (until) his enemies be made his footstool.” Hebrews 10: 11-13. Paul added: “For he must reign (from God’s right hand) till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15: 25,26. Peter in the early days of the Apostolic Church declared: And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; Whom the heaven must receive (retain or hold) until the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3: 20,21. Nowhere do we see Jesus building mansions upon his return to glory. He is sitting and will continue to sit until the restitution of all things and all his enemies are made his footstool. So far we have established that Jesus was not referring to a literal house in which people dwell, and the mansions being larger in the literal sense could not fit into the smaller structure. We briefly alluded to the fact that if we are to think in terms of a literal house as those who believe in the literal interpretation of scripture, then we should actually be sheep; we should actually be salt, we should actually be doing our banking in heaven as we lay up our treasures in heaven. It does not take too much of a stretch to see that the literal interpretation lands us into murky waters, and an uncharted course out of which we cannot steer ourselves. Here is a classic example of the difficulties created when we embrace the “literal interpretation” of scripture.

Some time about A.D. 96 on the Island of Patmos, the apostle John being banished on this barren isle was given a complete vision of the final struggle between good and evil, between the true Church of the living God and the false Church portrayed as the whore that sits upon many waters. Among his many visions, here is what he saw: “And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God 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 God IS WITH MEN, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Revelation 21: 2,3. John said he saw the New Jerusalem coming down. He saw God himself dwelling among us! That is the way for a literalists to understand it. But in breaking away from literalism, these folks tell us that the coming down of the New Jerusalem is yet a future event. As if to add muscle and more vivid details to the same story, John repeated what he saw in “real time.”

“And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. So what are we to believe as it pertains to this great city? Are we given any clues as to what this city is really all about? Are we left to speculate and assume endlessly? First of all, John was invited by the angel to come and see the Lamb’s wife. The angel said to John: “Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. (At this juncture, Christians the world over will quickly endorse the idea that the Church of Christ is the Bride of Christ), and here John was shown the Lamb’s wife—the church and for the second time in the same chapter he saw the city coming down from God out of heaven. This should be enough for the literal interpretation because that is how it is written. But these dear folks ignore what is written, and ignore their own adopted form of interpretation and embrace something completely different, only out of a need to support certain traditions set in place by religious dogmas and vain traditions.

In referring to the people of God as light and a city, Jesus said: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Matthew 5: 14. Here we are called light, a city, and salt in verse 13. Where does the literal interpretation fit into these truths? In Hebrews we are told that mount Zion is the city of the living God, it is the heavenly Jerusalem, and the church of the firstborn written in heaven. This city is the same city Jesus referred to in Matthew 5, and it is the same city John saw coming down from God out of heaven. The city that John saw had a single “street” yet multitudes ran off composing songs about the streets of glory. Scores of songs exist using the term “streets” rather than a single street. Why? Because they think like carnal, natural men! In doing so, they ignore and violate the very principle of interpretation they set for themselves. It is hard to conceive that God’s fair city would consist of only a single street, but that is what the Word said. So the literal form of interpretation must be lacking when aligned against the truth of scripture.

To be continued...

Royce O. Kennedy

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