Posted by AU on 12/28/2001, 8:56 pm The Church of the First Born—Mount Zion We know that in prophetic Scripture the terms Mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem are used to represent the glorified church. “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect” (Hebrews 12:22-23, NIV). The 144,000 in Revelation 14:1-4 observed with the Lamb on Mount Zion and this last verse in Hebrews have parallel connotations. The same expressions used to describe the glorified Church are also used to describe the 144,000. There are other, more direct ways to indicate that the 144,000 company is the bride city that comes down from heaven to earth with Christ at the start of his kingdom. Remember the heavenly “Mount Zion” where the 144,000 were standing on in Revelation 14:1? With that mountain in mind, we will go to our next text; “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem” (Rev 21:10-12, NIV). The bride city, which is the Church that goes up in the Rapture, is standing on a mountain great and high. Could this be the same mountain that the 144,000 were standing on in Chapter 14:1? --------- Posted by Author Unknown on 10/29/2001, 10:26 pm , in reply to "Re: As A Former JW, Is It Possible That I May Understand This Subject, More " Let us look at one more set of parallel Scriptures concerning the 144,000 and the bride city. “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God” (Revelation 7:3, NIV). And now a parallel verse depicting the bride company of Christians: “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4, NIV). Something was written in the “foreheads” of these assemblies in both illustrations. The second passage indicates that the Father's name is what is written in the foreheads of the bride city. That brings us to a third text, “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1, NIV). The scriptural indications that the bride-company of overcoming Christians is one and the same as the 144,000 are overwhelming. The 144,000 have the same name on their foreheads as the overcoming bride. The 144,000 are observed standing on the same mountain that is lowered down from heaven as the bride. The 144,000 have the same exact numerical symbolism as the bride city. The 144,000 have the same tribes written upon them, as does the bride city. The 144,000 are caught up in the same Rapture as the Christian bride. The 144,000 rule with Christ during his kingdom as does the bride. The House of Israel Jesus Christ's ministry was to the house of Israel. Christ never preached a sermon to the Gentile nations. We can be sure he was addressing the tribes of Israel when he said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14, NIV). This hill Christ is alluding to is Mount Zion, and the city is Jerusalem. In Isaiah it is written, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3, NIV). The primary application of our text in Isaiah has its fulfillment in the Millennium, but this verse also has an application to the church at the end of this age. This verse shows a city; it depicts a great company preaching the Word; therefore, Christians of both Jewish and non-Jewish descent are called to fulfill this Old Testament prophecy.
Posted by Author Unknown on 10/29/2001, 10:24 pm , in reply to "As A Former JW, Is It Possible That I May Understand This Subject"
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