Dale sent us a lengthy WRAP AROUND dealing with the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21 and 22. The WRAP is filled with links going to his web site. In his WRAP he concludes that the New Jerusalem is not an actual city coming down out of the sky, but the Saints of God returning to the earth. This conclusion agrees with most fundamental teachings that I've encountered; however, I have some problems with the "tone" of his WRAP and with the "tone" and conclusions he makes on the pages linked to from his WRAP. Although we have decided not to put up his WRAP (The purpose of our WRAP AROUND feature is edification, not debate), nevertheless, we will make some comments in general about his WRAP in the hopes that it will edify.

DON WROTE:

Hello Dale,

As you've noticed, I have been a while in answering your WRAP. In fact, I wasn't going to answer it--but after much prayer, I do feel that I should. You will have to decide for yourself if I have the mind of the Lord in my decision--but do grant me this, that if I do, then it can be profitable.

When I began working on the elements of DOWEKNOW.COM, I had no idea where it was going. In fact, the Internet was still struggling to become an identity. When everything began coming together and I actually started putting things upon the Web, out of curiosity, I checked out other sites dealing with our subject matter. To my surprise, there were already utterly thousands of sites using the same search words that we were using; and rarely could I find two sites in agreement--yet, they all set themselves up as experts, many of them claiming to be infallible because they were speaking for the Holy Spirit. (If you put the word "revelations" in the Yahoo Search Engines today, you'll see that there are now about 2,950,000 web pages using that search word.) "My God," I thought, "our web site will appear to be just another piece of driftwood on a vast sea of confusion." Nevertheless, we still had it to do.

While we were still compiling the things that we would one day put up on the web, the Lord showed B'Ann that we were to name our site DOWEKNOW. At first, I wasn't impressed with the name; but after having made several changes in our pages, I soon realized it was very appropriate. (We are still making changes today when we gain more understanding, or when we realize that we were inaccurate in some statement.) In addition, the wisdom of the name became more and more apparent as we would try to read some of the contradicting web sites dealing with our topics. I say this because there are a couple of things that most of these contradictory sites had in common: i.e., the authors wrote as if they were the expert on the matter and they would put everyone down who might have an opinion that differed from theirs. Another trait common to these web sites that I consider to be "driftwood" is that their authority seems to be their declaration that they are the authority on the matter.

Having said all of this, let me pull out a couple of quotes from your WRAP AROUND.

"I feel sorry for those who think the New Jerusalem is a physical city that will descend
from the sky and perhaps hover over the tiny nation of Israel in the Middle East! There
is so much about it that plainly shows us that, like everything else in the book of
Revelation, it is 'signified.' "...

It is also a little amazing that Christians, presumably well versed in the Scriptures cannot
see clearly the symbolism and where it is take from. It is in fact, one of the easier
Revelation pictures to understand when comparing spiritual things with spiritual...

These quotes are from the second and third paragraphs of your WRAP, and their condescending tone were a "red flag" to me that made the rest of what you have to say very "suspect." As I followed some of your links and read some more of what you have to say, my suspicions were justified. As one trying to understand your work, I felt that you were trying to put me down, or at least chastise me because I do not think as you do! And by the way, I see another thing in your writing that I find common to the "driftwood" of the Web: and that is your tendency to quote other men instead of the Bible. To me, there is nothing wrong with quoting another's work to make a point from the Bible, but I don't want to feel like I'm studying "the works of men" when I'm looking for some insight from the Word.

I'm not sure why you sent me your WRAP AROUND. If you did so to get my opinion, then let me share with you the guidelines that I feel are necessary for a work such as the one you are attempting.

To write/teach for the Lord:

1. one must be born-again and know that they are the Lord's
2. one must know that they are called of the Lord Jesus to do the work
3. one should go to the Bible before going to the writings of other men lest they read the Bible trying to make it line up with what men have said
4. one must prepare himself/herself before attempting the work by studying the Bible to show themselves approve unto God (Studying the Bible to try to prove something will abort this process.)
5. one must learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit--and to recognize Lucifer when he comes sniffing around

It is my opinion that if all of those who teach in the name of Jesus were to follow these guidelines, then they all would speak with one voice concerning the truths of the Scriptures. I know that the odds are against this happening, especially if we are in the last days when "every wind of doctrine" will be blowing from the pulpits/ministries. Nevertheless, that is the prayer of my heart. It is also my prayer that the Lord will help me not to be a part of the problems in today's world, but a part of the answer to those problems.

I don't know how to end this WRAP for it is not my intention to come off sounding like an expert. I do hope, however, that you will seek of the Lord if there is any wisdom in what I've had to say.

Thanks for taking the time to send us your WRAP,

Don

B'Ann wrote:

Thoughts

I am constantly amazed at how little we have learned throughout the ages. Maybe it is just our nature to "elevate" ourselves by constantly giving the impression of "I'm so glad I'm not like those people..." which seems to put us in a self-imagined higher place in life. Perhaps we would do well to remember that it was this "pride" that caused Lucifer to be cast down from heaven. These Scriptures help explain this:

Luke 18
⁹And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
¹⁰Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
¹²I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
¹³And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Pride would cause leaders of today to want to stand up in front of the congregation and declare/write/preach that they had received some wonderful revelation from God; that they were privileged beyond all other church members to be more "anointed." Pride...Pride...Pride. There is such a difference in some basic statements. A person will stand up in church and say, "I can do this / I received this"; another person will stand up and say, "we can do this / we received this unction." Here lies the mystery of putting ones pride under subjection. Teamwork is the key. If a person cannot work as part of the team, but always has to be the "head" or the "leader" or the "prophet" or "final authority" for a group; then, the organization is going to stop listening to the the "small, still voice of God" and follow a earthy, fleshly man/woman. The Voice of God through His Holy Spirit is not a bully. It woos with gentleness; is instant in season and out of season. However, when strong-willed individuals bind the fellowship to themselves for guidance, the people learn to rely upon these leaders for their help. In cases of personal crises, both the people and the leader are in trouble for at such times the help of man is in vain. This is why those in leadership should always point people away from themselves and towards Christ.

Bottom Line

We are not to worry about understanding the "building materials" for the New Jerusalem. God didn't consult us when He made worlds without end. He doesn't have to consult us now. NEW JERUSALEM IS A PROMISE! If someone promised us a birthday party, how foolish we would be to worry, search, imagine, strive, fret or debate about what type of party it would be. All the joy would be gone for the coming expectation. OUR JOB IS TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT JOHN 3:16. WE SHOULD ASK, HOW IS OUR RECORD ON SOUL WINNING??? THAT IS OUR CALL. THAT IS WHAT WE ALL SHOULD TAKE INTO HEAVEN WITH US IN THE WAY OF REWARDS! The time spent on articles about how God is going to do this and that is often just a busy task we give ourselves to keep from going out into the highway and the hedges and experiencing the ENCOUNTER OF SOUL-WINNING. It is an ENCOUNTER OF THE THIRD KIND. Sometimes one is elated; other times treated with scorn. Such is life!!!

Summation

2 Peter 1
¹Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
²Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
³According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
⁴Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
⁵And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
⁶And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
⁷And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
⁸For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁹But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
¹⁰Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
¹¹For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
¹²Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
¹³Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
¹⁴Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
¹⁵Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
¹⁶For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
¹⁷For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
¹⁸And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
¹⁹We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
²⁰Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
²¹For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Question-Comment: are you ready for the coming of christ? are you saved? I am saved I have been saved since 1996

Hello Whoever You Are,

Let me address your second question first: i.e., "Are you saved?"; for it is an ambiguous question with many possible answers.
FOR THE MUSLIM homicide/suicide bomber who is just about to blow himself into a million pieces, unlike his fellow Muslims who are taught that they can only hope Allah will accept them, this question would be answered that as soon as he destroys himself, his "salvation" will be guaranteed.
FOR THE HINDU, the answer would be that they will achieve salvation when they finally deny the body enough that their soul becomes one with God. Of course, they can be reincarnated numerous times if need be so that they can achieve this "oneness" with God and be "saved."
FOR THE CATHOLIC, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus is necessary, but incomplete. In Roman Catholic teaching there is no salvation apart from participation in the sacraments mediated through its priesthood. So, they are taught that they are "saved" by partaking of the Sacraments. (The mumbo jumbo of superstitions that have infiltrated the Catholic Church down thru the centuries are too numerous to mention. This author is convinced, however, that the priesthood does not have the hold on the minds and souls of their membership that they desire; and that many Catholics have come face to face with their sin, and taken them directly to Cross, where they were met with forgiveness and eternal life.)
FOR THE PENTECOSTAL with their saved and lost, hot and cold, on and off religion, no one is actually saved until they breathe their last breath and have died in God's good graces. (As with the Catholics, this author believes that there are those in Pentecostal Churches who know Christ Jesus and are known of Him--and this in spite of their "salvation by works." The difference between their real and their tare has to do with what the church member understood when he/she "came" to Christ. For example, if someone were raised under the Pentecostal teaching that Christ only began the salvation process and that we must finish it by living up to certain standards--which can vary with each minister, such a person does not accept God's gift of eternal life, but feels that he or she must earn it. Such people are tares in the church. However, if someone comes to a Pentecostal Church not being indoctrinated with the Pentecostal errors, and this person hears enough of the Gospel to be convicted of his/her sin. and receives Jesus as Lord and Savior; this person becomes the Lord's. If such a person stays in a Pentecostal Church where they are fed a steady diet of the beggarly elements of the law, they may bring forth little fruit unto perfection. Nevertheless, the Lord knows those who are His.)
FOR THE BAPTIST with their "once saved, always saved" stance, people are "saved" in the following manner. When being convicted of their sin by the Holy Spirit, and believing in their heart that Jesus was raised from the dead, and then confessing with their mouth their faith in the Lord Jesus, men and women are saved. (This author understands the Baptist's approach to salvation to be the one presented in the Scriptures. Unfortunately, however, it is too often presented as a "ticket" to heaven in that the believer receives the gift of eternal life which he will enter into when he dies. In the meantime, his life is his to live for himself. This mindset ignores such Scripture as: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" [I Cor. 6:19-20]. Because so many are not taught that their life is the Lord's and that they are to walk daily being led of His Spirit, they become absorbed with their day to day existence and give little thought to the Great Commission. Consequently, serving the Lord becomes simply a matter of church attendance and tithing; and worship becomes the maintenance of their buildings. Unfortunately, in our travels we have found too many small Baptist churches that have died on the vine because their focus has been on their church buildings and not the Great Commission. We've even come across churches whose members frown at bringing in young children lest they soil their carpets and their padded pews; and not only have we found this stagnation in some Baptist churches, but in churches of all denominations that have left their first love.)

So, am I saved? That might very well depend upon your definition of "saved." Also, before I can answer this question, I need to qualify my understanding of the Scriptural term "saved." As I read the Scriptures, the salvation that Christ provided for us on the Cross of Calvary is a package that will take care of all of our spiritual needs from the moment of our new birth to the day that we leave this earth. This package includes our being saved from the consequences of sin when we received Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior and His righteousness was put to our account in heaven. At this time we were also made to be new creatures in Christ--our bodies becoming the temples of the Holy Ghost and our names being written in the Lamb's Book of Life. In addition to the eternal aspects of our salvation, we also need to be saved daily as we sojourn in this life. Each day we need to be delivered from the fallen nature that is within each of us, from the fiery darts of the devil and the temptations that abound, from the ungodly around us, and from the pressures that come from simply living in a world were sin seems to be everywhere. So, am I saved? No, not yet! Oh, I have surrendered my life to Christ and been "born again;" and I have the righteousness of Christ put to my account. But I will need the salvation of God until the day that He takes my spirit up to be with him.

And as to my being ready for the coming of Christ, I have mixed feelings. Part of me wants Him to come today; but another part of me cries out with the songwriter: "Wait a little longer, please Jesus--a few more days to get our loved ones in."

Thanks for your questions for they have given me opportunity to sound off.

Don

my name akintola akinsanya from nigeria and i need ur help i love reading i believe if u can help tru this tola.
am a christain and i love reading my bible even my bible is old just bcos i came from a muslim family

Don Wrote:

Hello Akintola,

Thanks for taking the time to WRAP with us. Since you were able to send us your E mail, can I assume that you are able to get a hold of a computer? If so, then might I suggest that you get familiar with our BIBLE STUDY page. The Bible Study tools there use the best of our space-age technology, and they are fast, convenient, and easy to use. In addition, those who have built the study sites offer them free of charge. (Click here to visit our BIBLE STUDY page.)

I notice that you are in the process of learning English; so might I suggest that you take advantage of the on-line Dictionary to find the meaning of any word that you do not understand. This will not only help you to understand what you're reading, but it will help you to learn the English language as well. To put a word into the dictionary, you can type the word into the search box or simply double click (or drag your curser across) the word to highlight it; copy the word; and then open up the dictionary; paste the word in the dictionary; and then hit the "go" button (or the "enter" key on the keyboard). If you would like to hear how the word sounds, you can click on the little red "speaker" above the definition(s) and listen to the pronunciation.

Also, might I suggest that you begin your studies by reading the Gospel of John for it is filled with the "milk of the Word."

Maranatha,

Don

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