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Thursday, November 5 2009
The Messiah's parable of the precious pearls:
"13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 13:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls"
Pearls have been regarded as precious since ancient times, so it was natural for Christ to use them as an analogy of the knowledge of the coming Kingdom of God, just as earlier prophets have done (see also The Rising Of The Prophet).
"28:12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? ... 28:17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. 28:18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies." (Job 28:12,17-18 KJV)
The "kingdom of heaven" will be on earth. That's what The Gospel of The Kingdom of God is all about. Could Jesus Christ have also been referring to literal pearls that will exist in the Kingdom of God? Yes, it's possible. Most people have heard of the famous "pearly gates," although many don't realize that the only genuine Biblical reference to them is on earth, after Christ's return, in the New Jerusalem i.e. "21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl ... and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it" (Revelation 21:21,24 KJV).
"21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away [see also Hydrogen]; and there was no more sea. 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [see also God's Tent] is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death [see Death's Obituary], neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely [see Living Waters]. 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death [see When Will You Be Judged?].
21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues [see Plagues Of The Pharaohs: Past and Future], and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife [listen to the Sermon The Divorce and Remarriage of Jesus Christ from our Sermons page]. 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 21:11 Having the glory of God [see The Throne Of God, From Heaven To Earth]: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 21:13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
21:15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 21:16 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. 21:17 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. 21:18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 21:19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, Sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 21:20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 21:23 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. 21:24 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 honour into it. 21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 21:26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life [see No U Turns On The Road To Life]." (Revelation 21:1-27 KJV)
Fact Finder: What did Christ say about wasting "pearls" on people who are either not yet able to understand the Truth, or who have rejected the Truth after they had it?
See Pearls Before Swine
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This Day In History, November 5
1219: Damietta was captured by the Crusaders.
1414: The Council of Constance (ecumenical council) opened.
1492: Christopher Columbus discovered corn from the natives of Cuba.
1556: Akhbar the Great routed the Hindus under Hemu by turning their elephants against them at the Battle of Panipat in the Hundu Revolt.
1605: Guy Fawkes was arrested for the "Gunpowder Plot" - English Catholics failed in a plan to blow up the British House of Parliament and kill King James I (from whom the King James version of the Bible is named).
1757: During The Seven Years War, Prussian forces under Frederick II defeated French forces at Rosbach.
1854: During the Crimean War, British and French forces defeated the Russian forces at Inkerman.
1911: The first U.S. cross-country airplane flight ended at Pasadena, a flight of 3,417 miles that took 49 days.
1914: At the start of the First World War, France and Britain declared war on the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) which then had control of the territory that is today Israel. At the end of the war 4 years later, control of the land went to the British, who in turn controlled it until 1948 when the modern state of Israel was born.
1922: Howard Carter discovered what turned out to be the tomb of King Tutankhamen.
1928: Mount Etna in Sicily erupted and devastated a large area including the village of Mascali which was completely buried.
1940: Franklin Roosevelt was elected for his third term as U.S. President.
1956: The 8th and last day of the Sinai War. At a cost of 180 men killed and 4 captured, 20 planes and 2,000 old vehicles, Israel in a 100-hour campaign occupied the entire Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, had destroyed 3 divisions, killed 2,000 of the enemy, and took nearly 6,000 prisoners. Israel also captured a huge amount of military equipment, valued at over $50 million.
1968: Richard Nixon was elected President.
1990: Meir Kahane, an American-born rabbi who advocated expelling all Arabs from Israel, was assassinated in New York.
