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| 14th-Century Tapestry |
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.
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. Whoever overcomes shall inherit all this. ‘I will be His God, and to me, He will be like a son.’
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.”
But as for the fearful souls, those who have no faith, who pervert the image of the human being, those who spread death around them, who tread impure paths of soul, make use of dark magic forces and serve demonic powers, as well as all frauds – the fiery swamp of the abyss opens for hem and flames of sulfur blaze. That is the second death.
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 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 human, 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 foundations of the walls 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 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.
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, the 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 that is not spiritualized [is not consecrated], nothing that perverts the image of the human, nothing that remains under the power of the Lie, but rather only those who are written into the Book of Life of the Lamb.
3rd November Trinity
November 15, 2020
Rev 21:1-9
To create a building, we need a clear idea of its purpose so that the architect can create an appropriate design, and the builders can work accordingly.
At earth's beginning, Adam's sons had to learn how to build dwellings on earth in which to live. So too, does humanity as a whole need to learn to build a future collective dwelling place. But this future dwelling place of humankind will not be on the earth. It will exist in the spirit and will include God and His Son.
This dwelling place will arise out of the collective heart of humanity. It is imaged as a place of many mansions, a city. It will be a place where all the beauteous inner treasures of humankind are gathered as gem-like building stones. This heart-city will be a place where the divine enters and dwells like a groom enters the bridal bower.
Paradoxically, this heart-city that we are building also emerges from the heart of God. For all of our noblest thoughts and feelings, all our love and devotion, all our striving and work, we can offer to God. He treasures it in His own great heart until the time comes when humankind's heart-city is complete. It will be a place where Christ's light is our daylight; a place where mercy and comfort abound; a place where grace makes everything anew. For in the words of the poet:
We have not come here to take prisoners,
But to surrender ever more deeply
To freedom and joy.
We have not come into this exquisite world
To hold ourselves hostage from love….
For we have not come here to take prisoners
Or to confine our wondrous spirits,
But to experience ever and ever more deeply
Our divine courage, freedom and
Light!*
*Hafiz, "We Have Not Come to Take Prisoners," in The Gift—Versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky
Paradoxically, this heart-city that we are building also emerges from the heart of God. For all of our noblest thoughts and feelings, all our love and devotion, all our striving and work, we can offer to God. He treasures it in His own great heart until the time comes when humankind's heart-city is complete. It will be a place where Christ's light is our daylight; a place where mercy and comfort abound; a place where grace makes everything anew. For in the words of the poet:
We have not come here to take prisoners,
But to surrender ever more deeply
To freedom and joy.
We have not come into this exquisite world
To hold ourselves hostage from love….
For we have not come here to take prisoners
Or to confine our wondrous spirits,
But to experience ever and ever more deeply
Our divine courage, freedom and
Light!*
*Hafiz, "We Have Not Come to Take Prisoners," in The Gift—Versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky
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