11.r. “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Nahum 1:15   Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.

Isaiah 40:9-10     Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”  Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

Acts 10:36    As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),

Romans 10:15   And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Isaiah 52:7    How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

The good news of Jesus Christ is what brings peace to our souls.  What is in this good news that brings peace?  Jesus Christ came to save sinners from their sin, destruction, purposeless lives, fear, anxiousness, unhappiness, loneliness, hopeless lives, meaningless existence, and self-centered reliance.  Nothing in this world has to offer will bring eternal lasting peace.  Nothing, and yet we chase after these false hopes day after day after day.  We chase after peace, hope, happiness, and purpose but we avoid the very person in Jesus Christ that will bring it to our souls.  We seem to avoid what the good news is – Forgiveness of Sin.  Redemption. Salvation.  The good news is not about health, wealth, prosperity, power, strength, or inner peace when sin is not addressed in our lives.  The good news is unwarranted and underserved abounding grace and merciful forgiveness.  When we are not actively conscious of our sinful nature or what is considered sinful in the eyes of God, we will not have a heart that is truly thankful or that is truly seeking to humbly honor, praise, serve, follow, trust, and obey.  The blessings God gives to us as His children are after we experience the life-changing effects of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Praise God, He enlightens our souls to sin and brings the news of Jesus Christ to our hearts and minds.  In this Good News, we will find what our soul longs for, peace.  Inner peace with our Heavenly Father.  If there is no speaking of sin or our sinful nature then there is no need for the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Psalms 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

8.s. “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Revelation 21:9  Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Ephesians 2:19  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,  in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

1 Timothy 3:15   But if I should be delayed [I have written] so that you will know how people ought to act in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Hebrews. 3:6   But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household, whose household we are if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.

1 Peter 2:4-5   Coming to Him, a living stone – rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God – you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Interpretation of Revelation 21 has scholars commenting from both sides who say this is figurative and or that it is literal.  The Bible does tell us about the establishment of the new heaven and earth and new Jerusalem and we see it follows the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the millennium.  Wether or not this is to be take figurative or literal one key point for certain is about those who will live here and those who will not.  The bride of Jesus Christ, the church, those who have acknowledged their sin, sought forgiveness, repented, turned away, and believed and completely served, trusted, followed, and obeyed Jesus Christ for their redemption and salvation.  There is no place here for those who are lukewarm, complacent, and neglectful. Nor is a place for those who have rejected the offer of salvation, repentance, and redemption.  How many will stand at the Great White Throne Judgment with expectation of eternity in heaven only to here, “depart from Me for I never knew you”.  They will come to this judgment with thoughts of being good enough and done enough on their own to deserve entry.  They have not yielded to Jesus Christ.  Oh, they may have said things from their lips but the indwelling desire deep within their hearts and minds to have the Spirit live within them to guide, direct, and lead them in humble service for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ is not present nor was it.  Me, myself, and I have a way of not wanting to fully yield to Jesus Christ.  Yielding means we will put to death our self-centered and self-reliant ways and thoughts.  We need to daily surrender authority of our lives to Jesus Christ and keep our heart, mind, and soul, focused on Him, for He is truly worthy of all honor, power, and glory.