STONES

Dual Plan -

New Jerusalem

Daniel saw a man in one of his visions, of whom he says: "Whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphas ; his body also was like the beryl (a stone of bluish green color); and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass." Apply that literally and .you will have a monster.

In Is. 54, an explanation of the glory of the New Jerusalem is found. God speaks to it while it is trodden under the power of Babylon and calls it a barren and childless woman, as compared with Babylon. (See the 46^th and 47^th chapters.) Then he places before them their future prospects, thus:

"Fear not, thou shalt not be ashamed… For thy Maker is thy husband… The God of the whole earth shall he be called… For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee (the scattered tribes)… Oh thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones."

Gospel of The Kingdom To Come

The New Jerusalem

The most noteworthy of all respecting this plan was the fact that even though the different parts of the building were prepared in widely separated places, both inside and outside the territory of Israel, every piece fit so perfectly iw the place determined by the great superior Architect, that the sound of a hammer was not heard when it was built. The testimony is: "And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in build­ing."—1 Kings 6:7.

From this it will be clearly seen that God had a higher purpose in view than that revealed by the prefigure. When we understand that the symbols John saw—the gold and the precious stones in the new Jerusalem—represent the personified gold of faith and the beautiful wisdom of God, it is possible for us to comprehend how the great Master-builder is to make for himself a ruling-ark made up of the children of faith—a living capital city, which will so resemble him in love, virtue, and good deeds, that it will become the bride of the Prince.

The foresqufre. The description of the city shows that it is not made of dead material, like the foursquare castles of kings and emperors, because its height is the same as its length and breadth: "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass."—Rev. 21:16-18.

"The twelve thousand furlongs" remind us of the "sealed twelve thousand" of each of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel referred to in Rev. 7. And he measured the wall of the city to be "an hundred and forty and four cubits." The angel says that these prepared parts of the city have received their glorious garments in the "great tribulation," and number 144,000. They had the name of the Lamb and of the Father written in their fore­heads, and they "were redeemed from the earth… being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb."

The holy city, the new Jerusalem, came down from heaven. Paul was given to know how the glorious company of saints is to come down from heaven. He says that the dead who have died in Christ, who belong to the first resurrection, shall come up out of their graves first, and that "we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thes. 4:13-17.) No hammer blows are heard here. Where do they go afterwards? John saw even more—he saw the whole company come down from heaven to the new earth.

Ezekiel was also permitted to glance at the day of the Son of man, and was permitted to see the resurrection. Thereupon he received careful instructions concerning the distribution of Je­hovah's inheritance among the twelve tribes, which inheritance surrounds the Father's house, which thereafter bears the name, Jehovah-shamma—Jehovah hears—Jehovah is there—the throne of Jehovah is ready. The children will then experience that Jehovah has heard all their prayers—that he longed to have compassion on them. Therefore it says that "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." How glorious it will then be to be a member in the Father's house! Then the disciples will all have come forth out of their graves.

The Lord informs us through John that this city is "the Lamb's wife." And "the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it." (Rev. 21:23, 24.) "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."—Mat. 13:43.

The Appearance of the Bride in the Refining Fire

The Almighty says to the bride, "Awake, awake, stand up, 0 Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out." (Isa. 51:17.) Jehovah likens her to a forsaken wife of youth: "For the Lord hath called thee as a woman for­saken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kind­ness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."­Isa. 54:6-8.

Her prospects are changed by the following wonderful prom­ises: "0 thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy founda­tions with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be es­tablished: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isa. 54: 11-14.) She is of royal origin; Abraham is her father and he was called a prince—the father of the children of faith—whose seed will conquer the world, also death, through the victorious power of faith. He was "the Friend of God" (James 2:23), and was the first one given a view of, and who knew the requirements connected with disrobing in, the wedding chamber.

Armageddon

The Sanctuary of Two Apartments

Paul, in speaking about the temple of Christ, says:

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build .upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he. shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. 3. 11-17.

The House of God

In Isa. 54, where the gathering of the seed of Abraham is spo­ken of, the tents are referred to. The Lord commands the seed of Jacob thus: "Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: Spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes."

In the 11th and 12th verses the house, or city, of Jehovah is also spoken of:

"0 thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, be­hold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy founda­tions with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones."

The decoration of the city is there referred to, the same as John saw and describes in Rev. 21.

That it means a city built of living material is clear to all that read the Scriptures right, and for further proof we may quote from other texts God's message direct to the city:

Christ Riding Up to Jerusalem

It is the war between the Son of man and the "Man of sin," or Anti-Christ, that will be fought to a finish by the Champions on both sides of the line of battle.

When the train started from the mount of Olives, the multitude began to sing the kingly song of jubilee, the song of liberty, and they said: "Hosanna (in the Highest) to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Jehovah). The echo of the same song to be sung as the train is moving onward in the morning of the great day of the Lord was then heard. And Christ says to the Jews at the time He prophesied about the calamity that avaited them: "For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me hence­forth, till ye shall say: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Matt. 23. 39.

It is at that time the following prophecy, foretold by the prophet Isaiah, will be accomplished:

"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, 0 Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and \raise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken." Isa. 62. 6-12.

As the kingly movement meet the opposing power, the repre­sentati': es of the covenant cry to Him that sits on the cloud, the King riding the colt: "Thrust in thy sickle and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap: for the harvest of the earth is ripe." Rev. 14. 15. Then the great drought sets in.

The Ascension and Descension

The ascension and descension of the holy city is, like the rest of the events developing according to the plan of God, of a dual character. It ascends first as the bride meeting the Bridegroom. Of that meeting Paul speaks in 1 Thess. 4. 15-17:

"For this we say unto you by the word of the. Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

The two witnesses slain by the beast will rise first and be caught up as a sign of the Son of man in heaven. Then follows the first resurrection, as Paul describes it. From all parts of the earth, from and with Abel, the first martyr, to the last one slain for righteousness' sake, they come out of their graves immortal and incorruptible. And then those that yet live the natural life and belong to the bride are changed so that also they become immortal and incorruptible. Then they all are caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. Then and there, we understand, that each one is placed in the position for which he or she has been prepared, like as the stones prepared in the different parts of the country were brought up and placed where they belonged in the temple of the first covenant. All have their places assigned to them by the builder, that by His word and Spirit has developed them.

When that act is accomplished, we understand that the King and His bride come down to possess the kingdom the Almighty has taken for their sake, and then they-begin to reign. The judgment of all the criminals will continue during the thousand years, for it is written that Christ "shall reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet." They shall all acknowledge that He is King of kings and Lord of lords and that they have imposed on His rights and abused His holy name.

Book of Revelation

Preface

Prophecy contains the oracular sayings of God, typified by the two oracles, "Urim" and "Thummim," borne by the high-priest when officiating in the typical sanctuary. While God was King over Israel, He made His will known by means of these two oracular stones, set among the twelve precious stones on the breastplate of the high-priest. This oracular saying of God prefigured the words of prophecy sealed up to the time when He again shall link His kingly power with the dispersed tribes of Israel. The special reason why the most important words of prophecy remain under the seal up to the time of the end is brought to light by this. The prophetic movement, which is then to appear, demands the oracular saying, and through it the God of prophecy will lead His people out from those He will destroy. The seal is then broken, and the previously hidden prophecy shines forth as a heavenly torch, indicating that the Messianic King is approaching.

27 The harlot on the beast

2. The beast upon which the harlot is sitting. The beast, upon which the harlot is sitting, has come into existence through the influence and power of the latter. The beast represents the power created by emperors, kings and presidents for the purpose of defending the Chaldean harlot. The harlot represents the dominion of wealth, for due to her rise the very earth became an object of merchandise, and in defense of this dominion the politi­cal power has come up, and by virtue of this power the dragon - the existing armed military force — has been called forth.

When John first saw the ten-horned beast there was no woman sitting upon it. But now he sees a woman arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones, sit upon it. "And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abomina­tions of the Earth."

This woman is the Chaldean Eve, whom the two-horned beast has brought forth by making an image to the ten-horned beast. Every principal part of this woman has, like the original Baby­lon, come forth by means of names and towers. Instead of walk­ing in the faith of God's promises, like Abraham did, awaiting the city he awaited, men, guided by representatives of Baal, have, in the name of Jesus, made themselves a name and built a tower, or a section, of the great Babel. Thus one church-group after an­other has done, until the great Babylonian image now stands ready to carry out the purpose appointed for it by God.

34 The new creation

The "anointed" part constitute the kings and priests in the everlasting kingdom. The national representation, controlling the different departments of the kingdom, has its headquarters in the holy city. Around this center are assembled all those who during the ages, from Adam and down through time, have distin­guished themselves, by virtue of faith, as defenders of truth and righteousness. The host of martyrs, who have been sacrificed for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus, belong to this class, namely, to those who, in the holy joining together represent the wall. These sparkle like precious stones, but the 144,000 — the anointed company — excel them all with their shining glory.

Book of Logos

XXVI. The Logos-Train to Mother Jerusalem

Let us now follow the movement that is to realize these prophetic promises -- the yet undeveloped Logos.

The New Jerusalem will principally consist of the class that now is to go out from the Babylonian condition of slavery and march way up to the boundary, where the promises will be realized in and through them. Today they are condemned to slavery under the Babylonian power, or Ham's seed. In and during the third watch they will be brought by the labor movement to the world war and the general revolution. They then march through the Red Sea toward the land of promise. Under these circumstances the promises of future happiness beyond the storms will carry more and more weight. They will, as it were, be enclosed by them as is the fetus by the womb.

At last they arrive at Zion, which in the Logos-development signifies that the people are gathered around the prophetic center, where the kingly power of heaven is fighting for, in, and through them, vanquishing both their spiritual and secular enemies. Here they are formed into a priestly kingdom; they make an everlasting covenant with their God.

Their course of development extends at least over a period of seven years. During all of this time they are by prevailing circumstances pressed ever deeper into the promises, and the representatives of the people will from time to time personify more perfectly the realization of the promises.

At last they arrive at the boundary, where the faith-obedient host stands as a perfect personification and representation of the whole Logos-power, including the pattern. Then the translation takes place, and, as a consequence, the heavenly Jerusalem will appear on the scene. The representatives of faith will then be changed, not only into incorruptible beings, but will be surrounded by a glory which will sparkle in different colors. A faint reflection of this glory may be seen in precious stones of different colors and in polished gold or incandescent brass. This will be the Bride, the Lamb's wife. This Bride exists today among the toiling masses of the nations. It is this maid-servant, toiling under the Babylonian queen, the heavenly Bridegroom is coming to take and lead into the land of the promises. The journey will lead through a stormy sea of blood and uninhabited wild territories, and will last at least seven years from the time the general exodus takes place.

The Gospel Foundation

Erects the living temple of God.

No material temple of dead construction will be received into glory, but this one living temple will. And the Apostles said to the children of God:

"To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacri­fices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you there­fore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: where unto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:4-10.)

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The immortal foundation and mortal laborers:

"For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and an­other buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." (1 Cor. 3:9-17.)

The Messiah and the Anti-Messiah

The Building of the Tabernacle

A tabernacle founded upon the resurrection from the dead could not in itself be a dead and immovable building, built by the hands of men. Its foundation, the Messiah, was raised from the kingdom of death, and he thereby became the conqueror of its power; hence, the work which he planted on the earth must hold a similar relation to him and to the things belonging to the kingdom of death. I3is work, like himself, must conquer the power of dead objects. Consequently, the tabernacle he builds must consist of living material, and it must, by the power of faith, become a living and movable building, raised up for God to dwell in.

It was this the Lord impressed upon his disciples when he questioned them in regard to their belief concerning himself. He asked them, "But whom say ye that I am!" Peter then answered and said, "Thou, art the messiah (the Anointed), the Son of the living God." Then the Lord spoke the following words, "Than art Petros (a stone), and upon this rock (Petra) I will build my church, and the gates of hell (Hades, the kingdom of death) shall not prevail against it."

That Peter understood him correctly—namely, that the Anointed One was the Rock upon which the tabernacle should be built, and that Peter was only a stone, which belonged to that building—he makes clear in his epistle when he says:

"To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." (1 Pet. 2: 4-6.)

Peter does not mean that lie himself is the living foundation stone upon which time spiritual building is to become erected, and upon which the living stones shall he placed; he means the Anointed One, who was "disallowed of men, but chosen of God" at the time he presented himself as the Crown Prince of the kingdom.

Peter, according to his calling when he received the keys of the kingdom, was the first builder, and at the same time he was the first stone that belonged to the foundation of that building. Under his leading influence the building arose on the foundation of the resurrection. how did that building look as compared with the dead church edifices? The description found in Acts. 2: 44, 45; 4: 34, 35 settles that. Anything like that living tabernacle has never existed before nor since.

The Morning Star

The Entrance of the People of God into the Messianic Kingdom.

He who fails to understand the dual plan of God--that all of God's works appear in prefigures and realities, also that the real developments of this plan are personal, living, movable, and capable of development--finds it difficult to grasp that a Zion and a Jerusalem can be created out of a people. To such a person the developing-power of faith is a mystery; nevertheless, many of these claim to have faith. Peter makes a presentation of the building of faith when be says:

"To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by JesusChrist. Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded."-1 Pet. 2: 4-6.

Christ is the corner stone of the kingdom, and when he develops his kingly power, the spiritual Zion and Jerusalem make their appearance, built by, and through the efforts of, the children of faith in connection with their preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. The first congregation of people in the wilderness make up Zion, with which the living temple is connected, and in the degree faith is subject to trial, the holy city, the new Jerusalem, is developed.

A glimpse at the foreshadowing tabernacle in the camp of Israel shows that it consisted of two parts, the holy and the most holy. The 11th chapter of Revelation proves that the first section is developed under the guidance of the two witnesses of Jesus, referred to in that chapter. They have power to close heaven so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, which eondition occasions the appearance of the Zion gatherings. The 2nd verse of this chapter shows that during the forty-two months these two witnesses operate, the holy city is trampled under foot by the violators, the Baalish temple representatives.

In the prefiguring tabernacle the* curtain, or veil, which shielded the cherubim, was the partition between the two sections. When Christ died, this veil was rent in two parts. This prefigured what is to occur in the living sanctuary when the two temple witnesses of Jesus are murdered. This act evolves according to the dual plan of God--prefigures and realities.

These two temple witnesses, the cherubim of the living sanctuary, make up in their natural and mortal condition the veil of the most holy, and when they are conquered by their opposers and killed, this mortal veil is taken away, the way to the most holy being then open. The sealed company, the 144,000, go through this broken veil and make up the most holy section. Their being sealed makes them sanctified unto God and to the Lamb to such a marked degree that they constitute the first fruits of the multitudes belonging to the first resurrection. Instead of dying and being resurrected they are translated, as Paul says, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump."-1 Cor. 15: 52-54.

From the time the two witnesses of Jesus are murdered, the preaching of the gospel concerning the appearance of the holy city resounds. Then is the time for the fulfillment of the following prophecy: "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, 0 Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger,shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast labored: but they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken."--Isa. 62: 6-12.