Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 15: Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23.

Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:22-24).

On February 16, 1832, Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, claimed the Lord gave him a series of visions revealing that the “many mansions” to which Jesus refers in John 14:2 – “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (KJV) – are divided into three general categories: the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms.

More than a decade later, Smith revealed additional detail: “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees.” In other words, in the celestial, or highest, kingdom, faithful Mormons may aspire to one of three levels of glory. 

From these visions, the LDS Church draws its doctrine of the “Church of the Firstborn.” The highest level of the celestial kingdom is reserved for those who “gain exaltation,” or godhood, by keeping all the commandments of the Lord. As Joseph Fielding Smith, sixth president of the church and nephew of its founder, wrote, “There will be many who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who shall never become members of the Church of the Firstborn.”

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The Parable of the Ten Virgins

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

In the previous post, we looked at the contract that plays a vital role in a Jewish wedding. Now, we see how Jesus illustrates the erusin in his parable of the ten virgins.

In the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to this special time at the end of erusin, when the groom comes for his bride (Matt. 25:1-13). It’s a riveting story, which begins with ten virgins (or bridesmaids, likely twelve to sixteen years of age) taking their lamps and going out to meet the groom.

By most accounts, these lamps resemble torches, with oil-soaked cloth on the end of poles. Jars of olive oil are carried along as well, with bridesmaids dipping the fabric end of the poles in oil before lighting them. Five of the bridesmaids take extra oil along with their lamps, since the typical oil lamp would burn for only about fifteen minutes without additional fuel. So, the bridesmaids bring their lamps, but only half of them are adequately prepared.

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Rejoice in the Lord Always

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 14: Coworkers in the Book of Life: Philippians 4:3.

In the previous post, we began to explore Paul’s reference to the book of life in Philippians 4:3. Here, we complete our study of this passage.

The book of life

In Philippians 4:3, Paul declares that Euodia, Syntyche, Clement, and the rest of Paul’s coworkers have their names written in the book of life. This is cause for great rejoicing – a jubilation that transcends the challenges facing believers in Philippi. “Rejoice in the Lord always,” Paul urges them. “I will say it again: Rejoice!” (4:4). 

Assurance of our salvation produces an inward peace that projects an outward confidence. Reminding the Philippians of their security in Christ, Paul encourages them to live out their faith. “Let your graciousness be known to everyone,” he writes. “The Lord is near” (4:5). 

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Our Betrothal to Christ

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

In the last post, we began to look at the ancient Jewish wedding as a parable for God’s work of redemption in Christ. We continue this study now.

After the shiddukhim, the second element of ancient Jewish weddings is engagement, or betrothal, known as erusin in Hebrew. After their immersion in the mikvah, the bride and groom enter a shelter known as the huppah, or marriage canopy. This symbolizes the couple entering into a contract to establish a new household. 

Beneath the canopy, the groom offers the bride money or a valuable object such as a ring, and the couple shares a cup of wine to seal their vows. This parallels the cup Jesus and the apostles share in the last supper as a sign of the new covenant. As Matthew records:

Then he [Jesus] took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom (Matt. 26:27-30).

Later, Paul writes that, in the Lord’s Supper, we remember Christ’s death until he comes again (1 Cor. 11:23-26).

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Coworkers in the Book of Life: Philippians 4:3

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 14: Coworkers in the Book of Life: Philippians 4:3.

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil. 4:2-4).

Habit 2 in Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is “Begin with the End in Mind.” Imagination is the root of this habit – the ability to envision in the mind what they eye doesn’t see. It’s based on the principle that all things are created twice: first, a mental creation, and then, a physical one. Just as a building follows a blueprint, reality follows imagination.

As Covey notes, “People are working harder than ever, but because they lack clarity and vision, they aren’t getting very far. They, in essence, are pushing a rope with all of their might.”

Paul understood this principle long before Covey articulated his seven habits. The apostle’s concern for all the churches – he calls it “the daily pressure” – sometimes places him in the middle of squabbles in local communities of faith (see 2 Cor. 11:28). When possible, Paul seeks to repair these fissures before they split congregations apart. A case in point: the church at Philippi.

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