Bahan Alkitab: John 14:1-7, 15-27, John 16:1-16, Revelations 1:9-18, Revelations 21:1-22:9
Tanggal: 30/08/2020
Ringkasan:
We go back to the time right after Jesus ate His Last Supper with His disciples. Jesus knew that He would leave all the disciples soon, so He gathered all the disciples together, and He said to them that He was going to His Father’s house to prepare rooms for the disciples. The disciples did not truly understand what Jesus meant. One of the disciples, Thomas, then asked, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”. Those are 2 very important questions. Jesus then answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Let us review God’s salvation plan again. God wants to offer admission to His Kingdom. Therefore, He sent Jesus as His First Ambassador to go to mankind to do the salvation work. Jesus obeyed. He descended from the kingdom of heaven to earth as baby Jesus, died on the cross, was resurrected. Finally, Jesus returned to His Kingdom, setting up an Embassy for Christians. Jesus as the First Ambassador has done all the work to re-establish the relationship between God and Man. Now everyone can go Heaven… can’t they? No, we still need a passport to go into the Kingdom of God. This passport is Jesus Christ. Only those who believe in Jesus Christ could be admitted into the Kingdom of God. Those without, will be rejected.
Jesus also promised the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him, and it was fulfilled when it came down upon the disciples during the Pentecost in Jerusalem, 10 days after Jesus ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit granted the apostles with miraculous power and strengthen their faith as they continued to spread the Gospel.
What is the kingdom of God? We glimpsed a little bit of what is to come through the book of Revelation written by John. Jesus came to John on the island of Patmos to show John the visions. The important visions shown are the door and the throne of God in Revelations 4, the multitude of people in Revelations 7, and the new kingdom of heaven and earth in Revelations 21.
How wonderful is the vision that God showed to John! Many apostles and Christians endured hardships for Christ. Many of them were persecuted, or even now, in 2020, many are persecuted. Yet they still endure. Why? Because they believe in Jesus, that they will have a room in the Father’s house, in the eternal Kingdom of God.
Ayat Hafalan:
1 Corinthians 2:9
But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—