Encouragement

[hummer]

Rev 5:10  You have made them a kingdom of priests to serve our God, and they shall rule on earth."

1Pe 2:5  Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6  For the scripture says, "I chose a valuable stone, which I am placing as the cornerstone in Zion; and whoever believes in him will never be disappointed."
1Pe 2:7  This stone is of great value for you that believe; but for those who do not believe: "The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all."
1Pe 2:8  And another scripture says, "This is the stone that will make people stumble, the rock that will make them fall." They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God's will for them.
1Pe 2:9  But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light.

Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and the jurisdiction and the majesty of the kingdom under the entire heavens will be granted to the people of the saints of the supremacies. Their kingdom is an eonian kingdom, and all other authorities shall serve and hearken to them."

Rev 22:5 And night shall be no more, and they have no need of lamplight and sunlight, for the Lord God shall be illuminating them. And they shall be reigning for the eons of the eons."

Thank you,
Hummer

[Kat]

Hi hummer, we all should be encouraged by what the Scripture say the elect will come to be, thanks for those you put together. I will add something too.

Oba 1:21  Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

Here is a passage in Joel that I think is extraordinary about how the next age begins and what the elect will do.

Joel 2:1  Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,
v. 2  a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.

I believe these next verses is speaking about the resurrected glorified elect.

v. 3  Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.
v. 4  Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run.
v. 5  As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle.
v. 6  Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale.
v. 7  Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths.
v. 8  They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted.
v. 9  They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief.
v. 10  The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
v. 11  The LORD utters His voice before His army, for His camp is exceedingly great; He who executes His word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it?

Joel 2:18  Then the LORD became jealous for His land and had pity on His people.
v. 19  The LORD answered and said to His people, "Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

Joel 2:21  "Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things!
v. 22  Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
v. 23  "Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given the early rain for your vindication; He has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.

Joel 2:26  "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And My people shall never again be put to shame.
v. 27  You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And My people shall never again be put to shame.
v. 28  "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

Joel 2:32  And it shall come to pass, whosoever, shall call on the name of Yahweh, shall be delivered,—For in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, shall be a delivered remnant, just as Yahweh hath said, and among the survivors, whom Yahweh doth call. (this last verse is from Rotherham)

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[lurquer]

Thanks to you both for the awesome words of encouragement! 

I myself have thought much on these things of late.  I wish I understood more of the age to come.  I do believe that nothing we've experienced in this age will even compare to the magnificent Change that will occur.  These scriptures you've shared, as wonderful as they are, only hint at the reality that shall be.  And it will be glorious.

But Kat, one thing I've wondered about-- who are the "survivors" of Joel 2:32?  Literal, or metaphorical?  So cryptic... And such a big puzzle piece for me.

Michael

[Kat]

Hi Michael, look at 31 and 32 in the American Standard Version.

Joel 2:31  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh.
v. 32  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call.

Now in verse 31 it shows that this is "before" the day of the Lord, "the moon turned into blood," Ray explained that is the apostasy of the church that started at Pentecost.

Going on to verse 32 I think it is talking about the elect being "whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered," we only can come if we are drawn in this age, but those that do certainly are delivered out of the darkness. You can see "there shall be those that escape," this too is talking about the elect, also called  "survivors" in the ESV that I used in the last post, many translations have "remnant." But I believe verse 32 is all about the elect.

Hope this is helpful.

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[indianabob]

Another "friend" sent this to me and I'm sharing it as encouragement.
Indiana Bob

Well, I decided to give social networking a try, seeing it as a possible way to spread the gospel message.
   One of the first things I discovered about social networking was that you need friends. No sooner did my name appear on FaceBook, than people I had never heard of wanted to be my friend. "Why?" I wondered. "Who is Joe DragonBreath, and why should I be his friend?" I declined his offer.
   Then, one of my relatives asked to be my friend. Now, how could I turn down a favourite cousin? So I agreed. Soon others wanted me on their friends list, and when I saw a picture of someone I knew, I asked him to be my friend. At last count I had 42 FaceBook friends, all of whom I know in one way or another.
   But what is a friend? Is it someone who has agreed to be on your list, whether you know him or not? One fellow has more than 200 friends from as near as his Canadian hometown, to as far away as Zanzibar. Does he really know someone in Zanzibar? It's doubtful.
   Many FaceBook members – and likely members of other social networking sites – are friends because they have played internet games with them. Games with names such as Threads of Mystery, JetSet Secrets, and Bubble Safari. When I find people playing three and four games at once, I wonder when they have time to do anything for the betterment of the world?
   We're not told everything about Jesus, but it wouldn't surprise me if he carried a small ball in his travel bag, to sometimes play catch with his disciples, or with some of the children he met during his journeys. He needed R & R, just like we all do. In fact, in one place we read of him sleeping (Mark 4:38). But fun and games never took precedence over his goal of teaching his listeners the message of God's coming kingdom (Luke 4:43).
   "Now waitaminit, Les. Everybody on FaceBook aren't Christians, so do you expect them to preach the gospel?"
   No I don't. And I don't expect them all to give up their quest for another gem in Gardens of Time. But, to them, life seems to be a matter of gathering as many friends as possible, by whatever means they can. Yet, are they really friends? Ask them for a dollar to help meet your expenses, and most of them will melt away like an icicle on a warm winter day.
   So what is a friend – a real friend? The Urban Dictionary says, "A friend is someone you love and who loves you, someone you respect and who respects you, someone whom you trust and who trusts you. A friend is honest and makes you want to be honest, too. A friend is loyal.
   "A friend is someone who is happy to spend time with you doing absolutely nothing at all; someone who doesn't mind driving you on stupid errands, who will get up at midnight just because you want to go on an adventure, and who doesn't have to talk to communicate with you.
   "A friend is someone who not only doesn't care if you're ugly or boring, but doesn't even think about it; someone who forgives you no matter what you do, and someone who tries to help you even when they don't know how. A friend is someone who tells you if you're being stupid, but who doesn't make you feel stupid.
   "A friend is someone who would sacrifice their life and happiness for you. A friend is someone who will come with you when you have to do boring things like watch bad recitals, go to stuffy parties, or wait in boring lobbies. You don't even think about who's talking or who's listening in a conversation with a friend.
   "A friend is someone for whom you're willing to change your opinions. A friend is someone you look forward to seeing, and who looks forward to seeing you: someone you like so much, it doesn't matter if you share interests or traits. A friend is someone you like so much, you start to like the things they like.
   "A friend is a partner, not a leader or a follower."

   How many friends do you really have?