4th November Trinity
Revelations 21: 1-27
And I beheld the
events in the spirit out of which a new heaven and a new earth proceeded. For
the earlier heaven and the earlier earth were gone, and the billowing ocean is
no more. And further I saw the Holy City, untouched by the earthly, coming
forth out of the being of God, descending out of the spiritual worlds: the New
Jerusalem. She appeared in her beauty like a bride who has adorned herself for
the bridegroom. And I heard a powerful voice coming from the throne that said:
“Behold the Dwelling of God in the midst of humanity. For He will indeed dwell
in your midst, and the people will be His people. God himself will be with
them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eye. There will be no more
[bodily pain, nor soul pain, nor any other burdens of the inmost being] death,
nor sorrow, nor weeping [uproar] nor any other sound of pain, for the old world
is gone.” And He who was seated on the throne said: “Behold: I am creating all
anew.”
And He said, “Write, for it is these words that shall
make faith and knowledge into true reality.” And He said to me: “It is accomplished!
I AM the Alpha and the Omega, World Beginning and World Goal. To the thirsty I
will give from the springs of the waters of life, outside the workings of
destiny, as grace. He who overcomes, he shall inherit all this. ‘I will be His
God, and to me He will be like a son.’
“Those however who were cowardly [the spineless], and who
had no trust [the faithless, unbelieving], who were servants of evil and
perverted the image of Man [the despicable, vile, foul], who wanted to destroy
the sacred [murderers], who went along impure paths of soul [sexually immoral,
whoremongers], who worked with forces of evil [witches, practitioners of the
magic arts], who bound themselves to evil beings [idolaters,
idol-worshippers]—and all who served the Lie [liars of every kind]—their share
will be on the lake which burns as with fire and sulfur; that is the second
death, the death of the soul [the death after death].”
And there came to me one of the seven angels who have the
seven bowls filled with the last seven plagues of the world; and he spoke with
me and said, “Come, I will show you the eternal Feminine, the bride, the wife
of the Lamb.” And he carried me in
spirit-form up to a great high mountain, and let me see how the Holy City,
Jerusalem, the City of Peace, descended out of the spiritual worlds, coming
forth from the being of God, wrapped in the most intimate splendor of the
revelation of God.
Her shining [gleaming] is like that of a precious
gemstone, like the stone jasper, clear as crystal.Her walls are of mighty size and height; she has twelve
gates and at the gates stand twelve angels. On the gates are written the names
of the twelve sons of Israel; three gates from the East, three gates from the
North, three gates from the South, and three gates from the West. And the wall
of the City rests on twelve sacred foundations, and the names of the twelve
Apostles of the Lamb work in them. And
he who spoke with me carried a golden measuring rod, in order to measure the
City and her gates and her walls. And the City is spread out in a square; her
length is the same as her width. And he measured the City with the measuring
rod. It measured twelve thousand miles; the length and breadth and height were
alike. And he measured her walls at one hundred forty-four cubits [ells], the
measure of a man, which now the angel was using.
The covering of her walls was of jasper, and the City
herself of purified gold, clear as glass. And the sacred foundation of the wall
were adorned with every precious stone:
the first, a jasper,
the second, a sapphire,
the third, a chalcedony,
the fourth, emerald,
the fifth sardonyx,
the sixth, carnelian,
the seventh, chrysolite,
the eighth, beryl,
the ninth, topaz,
the tenth, chrysoprase
the eleventh, hyacinth,
the twelfth, an amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, and each of the
gates made of a single pearl. And the city was of purified gold, like a
transparent crystal. I did not see a temple in the City, for the Lord God,
Ruler of All, is her sanctuary, and the Lamb. And the City needs neither sun
nor moon, for she shines from within; for the shining revelation of God is
streaming brightness in her, and her light is the Lamb. And all nations shall
walk in her light, and the rulers of the earth will carry their spiritual
treasures into her. And her gates will never be closed by day, for there, night
will be no more. And all the shining
treasures of the revelations of the world, and all the spiritual worth of the
nations and all achievements of the soul will be brought into her. And nothing can enter which is not
spiritualized [consecrated], nothing which perverts the image of Man, nothing
which remains under the power of the Lie, but rather only those who are written
into the Book of Life of the Lamb.
4th November Trinity
November 23, 2014
Revelations 21: 1-27
We have arrived at a kind of seam in the cycle of the year.
This is the last Sunday of the liturgical year; next Sunday starts a new
beginning. The reading offers both comfort and joy. At the end of the cycles of
time, God will collect all our tears of suffering. Like the Prodigal son returning
we will be showered with the grace of the living waters, filled with God’s
living essence. And the meaning of all our lives will be revealed to us. For we
will see the Great City of Peace, built out of human suffering. Our tears will
be transformed into gates of pearl. Suffering becomes the gateway. The interior
of the city will also be built by human virtue, ‘all the spiritual worth of
nations and all achievements of the soul.’ Rev.
21:26 And it will be illuminated by the transparent gold of the Light of
Christ.
We have come to the end of the year’s cycle. But the end
also always signals a new beginning. For Christ is always ‘creating all anew.’ Rev. 21:5
A mighty vista of our future home has been revealed to us. And here we are
graced with yet another cycle, another year in which to continue to work to build
the divine city, the city in which we will all dwell at the end of time.
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