The prophet sees in a vision a man with a measuring line who
says he is going up to measure the city of Jerusalem. We see this time and again in the prophetic
literature like Ezekiel and the book of the Revelation. It is a sign that there will be a new
Jerusalem built to the specifications of God.
Another angel comes and is told to tell the other angel that the new
Jerusalem is going to be so large that walls won't contain it, the Lord will be
like a hedge of fire all around as a wall.
This is similar to the vision of Isaiah regarding extending the borders
and tent pegs. His announcement is that
He has roused Himself and is preparing to act in such a way that the nations
will see and know that the Lord has done this thing. Jerusalem will be the center of the world and
the Lord will restore its fortunes more powerfully and larger than ever before.
What does Jesus mean when he says that this generation will
not pass away before these things come to pass?
He clearly doesn't mean the end times and it seems unlikely that Matthew
would have recorded His saying this if He meant the end since it clearly had
not come to pass. It is certain then
that what this refers to is the overthrow of the temple and the persecution of
the Jews and then the church by Rome which did indeed occur within the
generation. Jesus also says that no one
knows the day or hour of His coming again but that we can be certain this will
happen. The prophetic words always have
an immediacy to them when we hear them but the timing of things is more
difficult to establish and the prophets rarely give a time certain. We need to believe the Word is real, of God,
and therefore trustworthy no matter how long it seems to delay. We know that He is sovereign over all things
and when His time is right we will see His will being done.
Things aren't always as they seem. This letter could be written to the church in
the United States today. I am afraid the
truth is that we do see at least pockets of the church where it seems all is
well and prosperous and in reality there is no life because God isn't the life
of the church. There are places where
worship seems extravagant but where it is offered with the idea that this will
bring some great blessing to either the person or the church in the form of an
earthly blessing. There is no repentance
for sin, no recognition that seeking earthly blessing is out of line with the
entirety of the New Testament. There is
an expectation not of suffering but of material comfort. We are largely lukewarm and, like most of
Europe, are actually dying whether we acknowledge it or not. We need to heed the warning and the promise
of 2 Chronicles 7 and of all the witness of the prophets to God's people in
times of prosperity, we need to hit our knees.
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