Stormcrow
Member
{18} "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Matthew 5:18 (NASB)
{1} And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1 (KJV)
There has been much speculation about what these verses mean and whether their fulfillment is literal or symbolic, or whether said fulfillment is past or future. In combing through the Old Testament again for clues as to that which John is referring, I came across this passage, from Second Chronicles regarding the furnishings in the Holy of Holies:
1 Then he [Solomon] made a bronze altar, twenty cubits [30'] in length and twenty cubits [30'] in width and ten cubits [15'] in height. 2 Also he made the cast metal sea, ten cubits [15'] from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits [7.5'] and its circumference thirty cubits [45'].
3 Now figures like oxen were under it and all around it, ten cubits, entirely encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast in one piece. 4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inwards. 5 It [the sea] was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold 3,000 baths [12,000 gallons].
6 He also made ten basins in which to wash, and he set five on the right side and five on the left to rinse things for the burnt offering; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. 2 Chronicles 4:1-6 (NASB)
There can be no further doubt in my mind that when Jesus refers to the passing of "heaven and earth", He's referring to the eventual passing (or destruction) of the Temple, as He also prophesies later in Matthew.
And when John - in Revelation - refers to the passing of heaven and earth and mentions that there was "no more sea", it's this large basin in the Temple in which the priests ceremonially washed for "cleansing" before performing their priestly duties.
Furthermore, if we look at Revelation 21:22, John writes this of the New Jerusalem:
{22} I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. {23} And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 21:22-23 (NASB)
This again points to the fact that the ancient, physical Temple of Jerusalem - destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD - is gone NEVER TO RETURN and that we - Christ's church - is where the glory of God now rests; the same glory that once caused the priests to stay out of the tabernacle when Gods' presence filled it (lest they die) is the same glory that welcomes us - His church - into His presence and fills us: His new and holy priesthood.
And make no mistake: we have already come to this New Jerusalem, where the sea is no more! We do not bathe in the water of the old sea for cleansing: we are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb! That's what John is saying in Revelation 21!
In closing, the sea mentioned by John was - in fact - a large basin filled with water in which the priests in Temple service cleansed themselves. That sea was destroyed with the "heaven and earth" that was the Temple.
{22} let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 (NASB)
That pure water - all cleansing and life-giving - comes from Christ Himself.
I pray that this revelation I received touches your heart as it has touched mine.
Peace. Out.
{1} And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1 (KJV)
There has been much speculation about what these verses mean and whether their fulfillment is literal or symbolic, or whether said fulfillment is past or future. In combing through the Old Testament again for clues as to that which John is referring, I came across this passage, from Second Chronicles regarding the furnishings in the Holy of Holies:
1 Then he [Solomon] made a bronze altar, twenty cubits [30'] in length and twenty cubits [30'] in width and ten cubits [15'] in height. 2 Also he made the cast metal sea, ten cubits [15'] from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits [7.5'] and its circumference thirty cubits [45'].
3 Now figures like oxen were under it and all around it, ten cubits, entirely encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast in one piece. 4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inwards. 5 It [the sea] was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold 3,000 baths [12,000 gallons].
6 He also made ten basins in which to wash, and he set five on the right side and five on the left to rinse things for the burnt offering; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. 2 Chronicles 4:1-6 (NASB)
There can be no further doubt in my mind that when Jesus refers to the passing of "heaven and earth", He's referring to the eventual passing (or destruction) of the Temple, as He also prophesies later in Matthew.
And when John - in Revelation - refers to the passing of heaven and earth and mentions that there was "no more sea", it's this large basin in the Temple in which the priests ceremonially washed for "cleansing" before performing their priestly duties.
Furthermore, if we look at Revelation 21:22, John writes this of the New Jerusalem:
{22} I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. {23} And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 21:22-23 (NASB)
This again points to the fact that the ancient, physical Temple of Jerusalem - destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD - is gone NEVER TO RETURN and that we - Christ's church - is where the glory of God now rests; the same glory that once caused the priests to stay out of the tabernacle when Gods' presence filled it (lest they die) is the same glory that welcomes us - His church - into His presence and fills us: His new and holy priesthood.
And make no mistake: we have already come to this New Jerusalem, where the sea is no more! We do not bathe in the water of the old sea for cleansing: we are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb! That's what John is saying in Revelation 21!
In closing, the sea mentioned by John was - in fact - a large basin filled with water in which the priests in Temple service cleansed themselves. That sea was destroyed with the "heaven and earth" that was the Temple.
{22} let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 (NASB)
That pure water - all cleansing and life-giving - comes from Christ Himself.
I pray that this revelation I received touches your heart as it has touched mine.
Peace. Out.
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