Genesis 2:15-3:24, Matthew 28:1-20, Revelation 22:1-5: Life and Death and Creation.

Presented to the Community Dinner at the Friendship Center by Major Michael Ramsay, 19 April 2025.

 

Hello,

I am Major Michael Ramsay from The Salvation Army. As well as running The Salvation Army, the Bread of Life Soup Kitchen, shelter and The Salvation Army thrift store, I am a Christian pastor / teacher. This weekend is Easter. That is the most important time on the Christian Calendar.

Christians acknowledge Jesus as God. Our teachings tell us that God, as creator, created the whole world. And when He did it was perfect. Not only did we not harm each other, ourselves or the earth; but we never got sick, we never got injured; and the earth itself – the trees did not fall to the ground and die. Animals did not eat animals. All of creation was in perfect harmony. The Creator even walked in this Garden He created with people He created.

Then something happened. The first people created made a choice.  Because of this choice, death, decay, harm and hurt entered the world. Where there was none before, now there was illness, injury and death for all of creation. Plants, animals and all that is given life now dies. Since that day, Creator would like nothing less than to get us back to what was our life was like in the Garden: with no more death, no more decay.

Today is the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. On Good Friday 2000 years ago something happened: God died. Creator died. Jesus died. Today is called low Saturday. How would you feel if we were around when God died?

Tomorrow is Easter. On Easter God, Jesus, Creator rose from the dead. He came to life again. He vanquished death. He defeated it. That is why we celebrate on Easter: we can get back to the Garden. By overcoming death, Jesus ended the decay, death and disease that came to the world and as a result when Creator returns to earth no one will ever die; no plant will ever decay; no animal will ever eat another… there will be no more blindness, no more deafness, no more addiction, no more violence, no more pain, no more sorrow. Only goodness. Only wholeness.

In the Christian faith, everyone who wants to serve the creator is invited to live and help others live like this today by providing for those in need until the day arrives when there is no more need. Our sacred book, the Bible, even tells us the ‘Sheep and Goats’ story: that the nations which take care of the vulnerable will be with the creator forever in the new world and those who don’t, won’t.

The Bible often compares life with Creator, Jesus, to a banquet, a feast, a meal, like we have here today – where everyone is invited: the rich, the poor, the old, the young, the widow, the foreigner, the stranger, the… everyone.

Today… Who has been here at the Friendship Centre before? Who has been here a lot and feels at home, comfortable here? I invite you to look out for the new people, the stranger, our guests – those who you have not seen around here before. I invite you to – on behalf of Creator – make the people who have not been here before feel comfortable. Extend to them the Creator’s hand of friendship. Let our guests know that we are happy they are here with us for when we welcome the stranger, the foreigner in the Creator’s name, we are indeed welcoming in the Creator Himself.

Let us pray

Genesis 2:15-3:24, Romans 5:11-18, Revelation 22:1-5: Back to the Garden

Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries, Port Alberni BC, 28 July 2019 by Major Michael Ramsay and 30 March 2025

 

This is the 2025 version; to view the 2019 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/07/genesis-215-3-back-to-garden.html

Doctrine 5: We believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocency, but by their disobedience, they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their fall, all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God.

…and/but…

Doctrine 6: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by His suffering and death made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will, may be saved.

 

Doctrine 5 has been referred to as the doctrine of Original Sin (or more precisely ‘originating sin’) and that concept goes back at least to Irenaeus and Augustine. Doctrines 5 & 6 are how TSA explains corporate (as opposed to individual) Salvation; Corporate Salvation is like getting back to the Garden of Eden – what life was like before the Fall.

 

This is the garden. Reading from Genesis 2:15-18:

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

 

Then this is what happened there, Genesis 3:1-6:

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it

 

And as a result of this first/original sin, Genesis 3:21-24:

²¹ The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ²² And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

 

Salvation can be understood then like humanity getting back to the Garden. Salvation is about people and even all of creation returning to our original full and proper relationship with God. In Revelation Chapter 22 it speaks about us being restored to be in the very presence of the Tree of Life (which was in the garden!) and of God Himself.

 

Some people have asked why do we need to be restored? Why do we need to get back? Why were we kicked out, punished for what Adam and Eve did anyway? I never ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge; how come I have to suffer their consequences? I look at the consequences of the original sin like this: Our lives are affected by the choices of Adam and Eve, our original parents, in much the same way that our lives are affected by the choices of our biological or custodial parents and their parents before them. Adam and Eve were evicted and moved from the Garden of Eden; therefore, their children - Cain, Abel, and Seth - weren’t born in the Garden of Eden.

 

I was born and Susan and I were raised on Vancouver Island here – like Adam and Eve were created and raised in Eden. However, Heather was born and our eldest two daughters were mostly raised in Saskatchewan and then Toronto. We left the Island before Sarah-Grace was one year old for our work with The Salvation Army. It wasn’t sin that caused us to move away – like it was with Adam and Eve – but our children had no more say over the fact that they were raised and away from the Island than Cain, Abel, and Seth did that they were raised away from Eden. As our children live with the results of our actions –both good and bad: a life of serving the Lord but also growing up without family nearby – so we all live with the results of our ancestors’ actions – not just moving from one place to another – but the results of all kinds of choices they made over the years: our parents, our grandparents, and their parents, all the way back to our original parents. That is why and how we are suffering the consequences of originating sin. Does that make sense?

 

Walter Bruggemann, one of the foremost OT scholars, has noted that Adam and Eve’s perfect fear here cast out love (Genesis 3:10) and notes that as Jesus sets everything right, perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18-20).[1]          

 

This is the Adamic Covenant. The Bible also speaks about the way in which we can return to perfect love, to the Garden, to Eden. In Genesis 15, through the ceremony of the smoking firepot and the Abrahamic Covenant, we are shown that God (Jesus Christ) will give up His life in consequence of humankind transgressing that agreement with Him; and then Jesus’ death will lead to our Salvation insofar as Jesus receives the consequences for those actions (that of humanity at the time of Abraham, and at the time of Adam, and more) [2] – thus making it possible for us to return to what life was like in the garden.

 

Doctrine 6 of The Salvation Army reads: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by His suffering and death made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will may be saved.

 

Good Friday and Easter is all about this and In the New Testament we are told a little bit about this. A few people today have some scriptures to read for us:

·       Galatians 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

·       1 Peter 2:24: “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

·       Romans 5:6: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

·       Romans 5:17-18: For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.

·       1 John 2:2: He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Again:

·       Galatians 3:13 says Jesus became a curse by dying on the cross

·       1 Peter 2:24 says that He bore our sins and we are healed

·       Romans 5:6 says that He who was righteous died for we who were unrighteous

·       Romans 5:17-18 says that Jesus’ death and resurrection reconciles us all, undoing Adam’s death and banishment.

·       1 John 2:2 says that this atonement was for the whole world, all of creation.[3]

 

And let me read from near the end of the concluding book in this more than a Divine anthology, the Bible. Revelation 22:1-5 speaks about at the end of our age when God will come down with Heaven in the New Jerusalem and there once again will be the Tree of Life (from Eden), freely available to all of us:

 

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

 

Even though sin and death entered into the world through Adam and Eve and we have been living life outside of the garden, Jesus is the light, and because of Good Friday and Easter morning and more He is returning and bringing back with Him when He does at the eschaton, the Tree of Life from Eden.

 

This is what Easter is about. Last time I spoke we chatted about the Mosaic Covenant and the Law. Jesus died on the cross so that we can return to a time before we even had the Law. Jesus died so that we could return to a time before there was even sin; the Law was trying to mitigate sin’s consequences for us. Jesus’ death completes the Mosaic Law. Jesus’ death fulfills the covenant with Abraham. Jesus’ resurrection removes the cherubim and flaming sword from the Garden of Eden. As Jesus has entered new life for eternity so can we; we can re-enter the garden. We can be welcomed back into the garden and see and experience the Tree of Life and reign with Jesus forever. This was made possible through the resurrection and is what we celebrate at Easter.

 

Would you like to reign with God forever? Do you want to be in the eternal city, with the Tree from the Garden of Eden, where there is no more sin, no more hate, no more death, no more deceit; no more decay, no more sorrow, where everyone is honest, and everyone is loving, and serving our Lord? Do you want to? You can. Jesus provided for our Salvation between the Cross and the empty tomb on Good Friday and Easter morning and we can start experiencing the beginning of that very Salvation even today which lasts forever in the eternal Garden of Eden.

 

Today, as we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and leader, we can in essence make our way back to the Garden. If we would like to live forever in this place, where there is no more pain, no more suffering, no more sin, no more hate, no more death, no more deceit; where we are honest and loving and serving our Lord, we can. All we need to do is ask - Jesus has already done the rest.

 

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

https://www.facebook.com/Salvogesis/

 

[1] Walter Bruggemann, Genesis (Interpretation: Westminster John Knox Press, 1982), p 53

[2] Captain Michael Ramsay, Praise The Lord For Covenants: Old Testament wisdom for our world today, (Vancouver, BC: Credo Press, 2010. (c) The Salvation Army). Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com./ptl4covenants.htm

[3] Cf. Terence E. Fretheim, The Book of Genesis, (NIB I: Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1994), 369.

2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:3b-4: Frankenstein's Creation Resurrected

Presented to TSA Alberni Valley Men's Breakfast, 26 October 2024, by Major Michael Ramsay

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 

 

We went to see Frankenstein the Ballet last night. Does anyone knows that story? The beginning is like the book. Dr. Frankenstein makes a creation out of the parts of corpses who had had terrible things happen in their lives - and then he brings life to the new creation and it becomes whole - with a whole new lease on life. A new chance to live. No matter all the awful stuff that had happened before.

 

Now, the book actually ends poorly after that - but the ballet does not. The ballet includes a story of Giselle. This bride, who herself suffered a horrible fate, learned forgiveness and is resurrected. She meets Fromstein's creation, they fall in love - and start off again, this time living a transformed life.

 

Revelation 21:3b-4: God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

 

No matter what we have done in this life. No matter if we mess up after God has already helped us and transformed us once or a million times; no matter what we have gone through, God can still transform us so that we can get through everything - looking forward to that day when indeed there will finally be no more pain and no more suffering 

www.facebook.com/salvogesis 

Matthew 5:10-12, Revelation 2:10-11: Peloris Determination

 Presented to TSA AV Men's and Women's Breakfast, 18 May 2024 by Major Michael Ramsay

  

 

Pelorus Jack was a Risso's dolphin that was famous for meeting and escorting ships through a stretch of water in Cook Strait, New Zealand., a notoriously dangerous channel used by ships travelling between Wellington and Nelson.

 

Pelorus Jack was first seen around 1888 when he appeared in front of the schooner Brindle when the ship approached French Pass, a channel located between D'Urville Island and the South Island. When the members of the crew saw the dolphin bobbing up and down in front of the ship, they wanted to kill him, but the captain's wife talked them out of it. To their amazement, the dolphin then proceeded to guide the ship through the narrow channel. And for years thereafter, he safely guided almost every ship that came by. With rocks and strong currents, the area is dangerous to ships, but no shipwrecks occurred when Jack was present.

 

In 1904, someone aboard the SS Penguin tried to shoot Pelorus Jack with a rifle. Despite the attempt on his life, Pelorus Jack continued to help ships.

 

Many sailors and travellers saw Pelorus Jack, and he was mentioned in local newspapers and depicted in postcards.

 

Jack was last seen in April 1912

 

Like Jack, We have to never weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9). For whoever loses their life for Christ’s sake will gain eternal life (Mattew 10:39). Therefore, like Jack, let us continue on helping others no matter what persecution we suffer for indeed as we are faithful even unto death we will indeed receive the crown of life.

The Lamb at Vimmy Ridge (John 1:29; Revelation 12:7-12a) and the Sunset on the Beach at Dieppe (Hebrews 9:28).

 Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 20 August 2023 by Major Michael Ramsay (Padre. Royal Canadian Legion)

 

The Lamb at Vimmy Ridge

 

 

 

On May 17^th of this year, I walked the short walk from a parking lot to the memorial atop a small ridge, overlooking a small town in France. There were sheep everywhere. I did not see a shepherd. One little lamb had escaped a fence and become separated from the flock; she desperately ran back and forth along the ridge looking, searching, hoping for someway to break through the fence before it is too late; hoping to join her flock, looking for someway to be reunited; looking for safety she bleated, she cried as she looked out terrified over the ridge. This ridge on which she was lost and bleating has a name. It is Vimmy Ridge.

As I stood atop Vimmy Ridge by the memorial to our Canadian soldiers, the symbolism of this bleating lamb running back and forth, looking for someway through the fence was not lost on me.

April 9^th to April 12^th, 1917, a brutal battle was fought as our Canadian soldiers desperately looked for a way to break through the fences and trenches on this very same ridge. Many had tried before. Many had died before. But here they were now, trying to get over those fences and through those trenches, to climb the ridge and bring safety to so many.

After many battles fought by many of our allies. The Canadian Corps were able to secure the high ground and most of the ridge on April 9^th 1917. On April 10^th they secured the village and the crest of the ridge and the final objective, a fortified knoll fell to the Canadian troops on April 12^th. The battle was the first occasion when the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together. Our soldiers climbed through many barbed wire fences, many deep trenches, many hazards and perils and accomplished what had not been accomplished before but at a great cost: By nightfall on 12 April 1917, the Canadian Corps had sustained 10 602 casualties; 7004 soldiers had been wounded, some in the most horrific of fashion, some to never recover, and 3 598 people breathed their last breath on that ridge overlooking that town on that day in April in1917.

It was quite something to stand there in May of 2023 and see that one little lamb bleating as she ran trying to get through the fences more than 100 years after 10 602 Canadians lay bleeding, 3 598 never to be reunited with their families the way the little lamb I watched was finally able to be reunited with hers.

This all reminds me, of course, of Jesus, who himself is the lamb of God. John the Baptist, John 1:29, “…saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And relating to the sacrifice of battle, Revelation 12:7-12a:

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now has come the salvation and the power

    and the kingdom of our God,

    and the authority of his Messiah.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

    who accuses them before our God day and night,

    has been hurled down.

11 They triumphed over him

    by the blood of the Lamb

    and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

    as to shrink from death.

12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens

    and you who dwell in them!

 

Jesus is the lamb of God. As all those soldiers died on that simple ridge more than a century ago, Jesus died on the cross more than 2 millennia ago. The WWI soldiers offered their lives there and many of them died. Ultimately they were victorious. The foe was defeated and as a result of this battle 100 plus years ago and others that followed over the next 100 days, they celebrated victory and experienced a much sought after peace.

The angels in the heavens fought against the devil and his forces. Jesus, The Lamb of God has triumphed in the Ultimate battle. He has defeated not mere mortals but even death itself; therefore we can all rejoice!

 

Sunset on the Beach at Dieppe (Hebrews 9:28)

May 15^th and May 16^th of this year, I walked along the beaches of Dieppe. I looked out across a beautiful beach covered with large smooth rocks that gave way under your feet drawing you back, in towards the sea, and I looked up steep, steep cliffs to see even ancient fortifications, in the evening beautifully lit up by an amazing sunset.

August 19^th, 1944, almost 80 years ago, over 6000 infantry, primarily Canadian infantry arrived at this same beach. The same rocks that gave way under my feet gave way under their feet. Only they were wearing heavy packs and carrying their weapons and supplies; just trying to survive. Balance must have been near impossible. They would have been so heavy, soaking wet as the sea wanted to claim them for her own. As they looked up at the sheer cliffs, I am sure it was not the beauty of the moment that captured their imagination but rather the sheer horror of having to find a way to scale those cliffs, while sopping wet, heavy with gear, and being shot at. The fortifications seemed insurmountable to me months ago; the fortifications for many of the Canadians on the beach then were impenetrable. 3623 Canadians died on this small strip of beach. As I stood there watching the sunset over the water, this fact was not lost on me. 3623 Canadians after visiting this beach never saw another sunset again.

I walked silently along the beach. I looked again at the stones, the cliffs, the fortress, the waves, and the sea and imagined and remembered those who had gone here before me. Then I noticed a monument, a monument, in a garden, in a place now called Canada Square, placed there lovingly and in remembrance by the citizens of the town of Dieppe. It reads:

 

On the 19th of August 1942

on the beaches of Dieppe

our Canadian cousins

marked with their blood

the road to our final liberation

foretelling thus their victorious return

on September 1, 1944.

 

This memorial cast my thoughts to Jesus and His sacrifice -yes- and also the hope that comes with it. This memorial did not talk about the futility of war – we all know about that and the closer to having had experienced a war we are personally the more acutely aware of that we are. This monument does not glorify or justify war pretending that is somehow a noble cause or something we should exalt in. This plaque at this monument notes that those who died, “marked with their blood the road to our final liberation, foretelling thus their victorious return”. These words are so poignant for me that I will probably remind you of them on Remembrance Day and again on Resurrection Day, Easter. These words sum up the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross on Good Friday, and the hope of Easter and beyond. Hebrews 9:28 records, “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” When Jesus died on the Cross on Good Friday it not only foretold His resurrection on Easter; it also foretells His victorious return at the Eschaton, at the end of time, when Heaven comes down to earth and there is new heavens and a new earth. 

This is our hope. Just as the people of Dieppe remembered the sacrifices of the Canadians on their beaches at a future time when they were able to celebrate their victorious return at their final liberation; so too do we even now remember Jesus, each and every week as we gather here for, as the plaque in Dieppe, interpreted, paraphrased, adapted; reads, Jesus “marked with [His] blood the road to our final liberation, foretelling thus [His] victorious return”. At which time there will be no more suffering and no more death in the Kingdom to Come.

 

Thoughts from a Drive around France (Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49; Exodus 12:24-28:24; Genesis 17:15-19; Luke 2:1-2; Revelation 3:15-16)

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 18 June 2023 by Major Michael Ramsay

 

Mont Saint-Michel

Matthew 7:24-27: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

Most of you know that we spent a couple of weeks this May in France. I spoke to you here last week about some of the things the Lord taught me in Lourdes, France. Today I am going to chat about some of the things He showed me through some of the other places we visited. We visited a lot of places!

One place we visited was Mont Saint-Michel. This was an amazing place to visit. This is a city on a tidal island in Normandy that for years and years, if you did not know your tides well, you took your life in your hands to visit; if the tides came in while you were walking out, you would be swept away to sea; they come in so fast and so powerfully!! The city fills the entire island. Walls are around the outside. The city then goes straight up a hill – door to door – small roads, no spaces between the buildings up to a giant church, an Abbey.

Mont Saint-Michel was one of the few places to remain unconquered in the 100 Years War. Louis XI of France founded the Order of Saint Michael in1469 and he intended that the abbey church of Mont-Saint-Michel would become the chapel for the order. During the French Revolution, revolutionaries attacked Church and State; robbing, pillaging, and guillotining as much as they pleased, the island was even turned into a prison because just like assailants could be easily drowned, so could escapees. The prison is gone and the monks returned and they are still there today and it was quite something to see this amazing church and we were there as well as they were leading Mass.

What struck me was the unassailable nature of the rock that Mont Saint-Michel is built upon. The rock protected people for 100 years and more. It is a perfect analogy for Jesus who is our rock, our salvation – and the one who really protected the abbey and the Island. If we remain on The Rock (Jesus and His teaching) we can survive anything, though the tides of life come in sweeping all away who are not on the rock if we remain on the Rock of our Salvation, we will stand. This is my encouragement today – let us never leave the Rock of our Salvation. Let us stay secure in His teaching by reading our Bibles. Let us stay secure in our relationship by praying and mediating on the Word regularly, and let us invite everyone we know to the safety and security that is life with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

 

La Rochelle

Exodus 12:24-28:24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

 

We visited La Rochelle on France. La Rochelle had a very nice harbour. We walked around the downtown. Their city hall was a castle in the middle of town – we thought about talking to Mayor Sharie Minions about maybe making something like that here! It would be great for tourism! La Rochelle: Do you know what the significance of La Rochelle is from a Canadian point-of-view? It the city from which Canada was founded! The Chamber of Commerce in La Rochelle funded the voyages of Cartier and Champlain.

Cartier was the first person to map the St. Lawrence, including what would become Montreal and Quebec and he is the one who named Canada, Canada. We actually saw his house (from the outside) when we were in Saint-Malo in Brittany. It was neat because you could actually see Britain just across the water – I went swimming there – it was not swimming weather! But it was nice.

Back to La Rochelle who funded Cartier and Champlain; we know who Champlain was? He established Quebec City in 1608, three years after he helped to establish the first European settlement in North America at Port Royal in 1605. La Rochelle was so involved in Canada that when France surrendered New France (Quebec) to the British after the Seven Years War, their Chamber of Commerce protested the French surrender, encouraging France to fight for 100 years to keep Canada!

It was interesting to see the roots of Canada and specifically the French in Canada. There, of course, are lots of bad things about colonization that our country is coming to terms with today. It is also important to remember that without Cartier, Champlain, and La Rochelle that none of us might even be here today and Canada probably would not exist – for good or bad, it is important to know and remember our history.

The Bible is very big on remembrances – I am specifically reminded of the Passover where there was an elaborate ceremony so that the Hebrews would never forget how the Lord delivered them out of Egypt and of course tied to that is the Christian ceremony of communion where we are to “do this in remembrance of Him” and never forget Jesus and how his death and resurrection have provided salvation for the whole world. Sad moments such as Israel in slavery and the death of Christ are not to be forgotten; they are to be remembered and they are to be remembered in the context of the victory of delivery from slavery and then delivery from death to life! …Eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!

 

Carcasson and Saint Emilion

Genesis 17:15-19: God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”

19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

 

We walked around Carcassone. This was an amazing city in wine country. You can see the vineyards. It was beautiful. It was massive; It seemed impregnable. We also stopped in Saint Emilion, Bordeaux for lunch. It was a great lunch! There was wine sold everywhere in many of the shops. We obviously didn’t try any but we tried lots of great food. I believe I had shrimp here. I had lots of duck while we were visiting France.

The exciting thing about Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, for me was the church there. Like many places it had been a pilgrimage stop. Like many places it had been attached by the revolutionaries during the French revolution – the French revolutionaries robbed, looted, destroyed, vandalized, attacked many churches. In this amazing church that was very old there were many remarkable things. One was a chair. We were all invited into the church and we gathered in a room and someone stood in front of this ancient chair. I don’t think anyone was sitting in it while we where there. Which is good. You wouldn’t want to sit in this chair by accident: our guide announced that this was a fertility chair! People come from all over just to sit in this chair so that they (or their partner; it works for either) can become pregnant. The person standing next to the chair moved away quickly when this was announced and Susan did not sit in it and I did not go anywhere near it. Apparently people send the those who run the building lots of letters and postcards with birth announcements every year as testimonies to the miracles of God – If God can give an 80 year old Sarah, a baby – look out – don’t sit in the chair! (Unless of course you want a baby)

 

Nimes

Luke 2:1-2: In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

 

Nimes – we found The Salvation Army right next to the Roman Arena and near the Temple to Augustus. I wish it was open when we went there. It would be great to see the kind of outreach that The Army does there. It did certainly strike me that the large cities we have seen in France, England, Scotland, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden do not have the same in-your-face homelessness and addiction that we have in Canada. I have my ideas why that is the case but we won’t go into that here today.

Nimes is an ancient city. In Nimes we saw a temple dedicated to the sons of Caesar Augustus. Do we remember who he was in the Bible? Yes – he was the Roman Emperor when Jesus was born – ruler of Rome; Nimes, Gaul; Jerusalem, Judea; and many other places. We also read references to Herod who was responsible for Caesar’s navy. We know who that was? Herod the Great was ‘King of the Jews’ when Jesus was born. That was neat to see and read.

Further we saw a Roman arena. A Roman arena is like what we think of when we think of the Colosseum. We read about the evolution of the gladiator and the myths and realities of Christians being thrown to the lions and so much more. Seeing places like these brings scriptures and history to life!

We saw a Roman aqueduct built to supply Nimes – at Point Au Guard– these things are amazing. You know what they are for. They are for carrying water great distances for people to drink and use – they are for carrying life saving water to places it wouldn’t otherwise reach.

This reminds me of the church at Laodicea in Revelation. Revelation 3:15-16: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Laodicea was rich in material wealth but Laodicea lacked the good water that her neighbouring cities had: Nearby Hieropolis had great hot mineral springs and there was also the clear cold waters of Colossae but Laodicea, had poor water so water was piped to the city through crusty aqueducts. Laodicea was rich in money but poor in the water it needed to survive. Likewise, Laodicea was rich in temporal wealth but was poor in living water, which we all need to survive. If only Laodicea was spiritually as hot as the waters of Hieropolis or as cool and refreshing as the waters of Colossae that needed to be piped in to Laodicea!

Roman aqueducts, like this one outside Nimes, are amazing for carrying water great distances for people to drink and use – they carry life saving water to places it wouldn’t otherwise reach. This is a great metaphor for the great commission. You and I are to be aqueducts bringing Jesus’ living water to people who have not yet drunk of it; and letting those be refreshed who already have!

This is the final encouragement that I want to leave us with today. Last week we spoke about Jesus as the Living Water. We all need the living water that is Jesus. He can help us get through everything and anything for now and forever! He can help us and He can help our neighbours, our family, and our loved ones. He can do it in ways that none of us ever can. What we do is share the news of Jesus’ love, salvation, and living water; the same way the aqueducts were able to share the life-giving water in Nimes, Laodicea, and throughout the Roman world.

Let us pray.

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Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5: City of God.

Presented to TSA Corps 614 Regent Park, 01 May 2016 by Captain Michael Ramsay

We believe that there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, and who is the only proper object of religious worship.

We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and should and body may be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today we are invited to worship God visually and creatively. We often worship God in church by singing. Today we are invited to worship God by drawing, sketching. There are sheets of paper on the wall and there are pieces of paper up front. You can create your worship picture song on whichever scale you want. Today the worship picture we will be drawing will be a picture or two pictures of the City of God. You may draw your picture as the Spirit leads. There are pens, felts, crayons, pencil crayons. I invite you to move to a spot you want and take the materials you need. As I read from our Scriptures, I will put my pictures on the screen. These are not for you to copy unless you really want to; these are the images that moved in my heart as I was reading through. Yours will probably look different. Let us pray and then I will read through the Scripture again and we will create our worship pictures together.

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

   This passage comes into the end of the NT, the end of Revelation, and the end of time. What happens at the end? The Holy City comes to earth[1].  This is important. We don’t get sucked up into outer space like Star Trek and ‘Beam me up Scotty’ at this point; the Holy City comes from Heaven to earth[2].  It is a holy city: What does it mean to be holy? To be set apart AND to belong to God[3];  in the NT, Christians by definition are holy[4].  What is the name of the Holy City? Jerusalem. We remember that Jerusalem was the name of the capital city when Israel and Judah were one country. What was the most important building in Jerusalem? The Temple. This brings us to our next addition to our pictures and our next verse.

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 

   The Temple was the centre of worship for a unified Judah and Israel and, at times, it was the whole focus of life and worship for the ancient city of Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom of Judah[5].  Some people even believed that God lived [only or primarily] there (cf. 2 Samuel 7; 1 Kings 5:3-5, 8:10-17; 1 Chronicles 22, 28:1-29:9; 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, Joel 3:5). Now there had been a number of temples in the old Jerusalem throughout history. The first one was built by King Solomon and the last by King Herod. Today there is no Temple there but rather a mosque (The Dome on the Rock). 

In our text, when we have a New Jerusalem descending to earth from heaven to replace the old one, you will notice that there is no temple at all. This place that was the centre of worship of the LORD does not even exist when God sends down His new city to His new earth. How can that be? Quite simply the key is that one no longer needs to go to a building to worship God because God himself is there. 

Who is this Lamb? The Lamb is Jesus. Jesus and God are the Temple in the new city. We can all be in the presence of God. This brings us to our next addition to our pictures and our next verse:

23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 

   Jesus as God is with us forever in the New Jerusalem; we don’t need a temple. According to our verse, what else don’t we need because God is with us? (The sun and the moon.) What is the point of the sun and the moon? They give us light and more than that, they give us life. Nothing can survive in our world and our cities today without the sun and the moon but at the eschaton, at the end of this age, in the new age, there will be no need for the sun and moon to sustain us because we will be sustained simply by being in the very presence of Jesus as God. And more than that, there isn’t a need for streetlights or anything like that because Jesus, the Lamb, is the light of God. This brings us to our next addition to our pictures and our next verse.

24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it.   

   Its gates will never be shut. Why did ancient walled cities close their gates? For protection. Now the city doesn’t need protection from enemies or the dark because just like God is their temple and God is their light and life, He is also their protection. At the end of the book, at the end of the age, at the end, we don’t need to worry about any of those things, at the end there is God to protect us and sustain us. This City of God will be so attractive that everyone will want to pour into it. And everyone can. The nations of the earth will walk by its light (remember there is no more sun) and even the world leaders will be subject to it[6].  All the earth will serve God in the New Jerusalem. The Glory and honour of all the nations will pour into it. This brings us to our next addition to our pictures and our next verse.

27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

  God and being in the presence of God provides light, life, and protection for the whole world and each and every one of us are invited to be a part of it but some people will not serve God in His City for eternity. No one needs to but some will choose to perish. In Revelation these people are referred to in a number of different ways, here John underlines that those who are shameful and deceitful choose not to serve the Lord. This is important, Heaven, where the New Jerusalem comes from and the new earth upon which it lands, do not have evil in them[7].  They do not have deceit. They do not have lies, white lies or otherwise[8].  When we walk by the light of the Lamb, we are honest and pure. Do you want to be honest and pure? You can be. Jesus died and rose again so that we can all be a part of this kingdom to come. 

In a moment we will start our second picture of the Capital City but first if you want to be a part of this world where there is no fear because there is no darkness, no night; there is nothing impure but instead the light and the love of God, then I invite you to stand with me and sing, Create in me a Pure Heart. Because as our heart is pure, we can be with God. If you would like a pure heart, stand and pray in song with me, now.

This brings us to our second picture of the city of God. I will only speak for a couple of more minutes here. You can take a new piece of paper if you like or you can continue to add to your first piece. Reading from Revelation 22:1

22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 

2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 

     This verse speaks about the Tree of Life. Does anyone know where the Tree of Life shows up in scripture? In Genesis (Gen 2:9, 3:17-24), remember there were two trees in the Garden of Eden, the tree that brought death, the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. In Genesis, we ate of the tree whose fruit brought death. In Revelation, we have access to the Tree of Life.

And in the eternal presence of God, it is an everlasting harvest. Every season is harvest season. Every month the tree bears fruit. No one starves anymore, no one goes hungry anymore. God’s provision continues forever and more than that; you will notice that the leaves of this tree provide healing of the nations. Our nation is sick. Almost every nation is sick, not just in people being ill and dying but also in all of the sin that flows around us in our world today. In the world to come what flows around us, by contrast, is the river of life, flowing from the very throne of God: there is no more pain, no more tears, no more suffering. The curse we suffered when humanity ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is lifted. (Next slide.)

3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 

 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Do you want to reign with God forever? Do you want to be in this city with no sin, no hate, no death, no deceit; where everyone is honest and loving and serving our Lord? Do you want to? You can. Salvation starts today and last forever.

Look around you. Today, as you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and leader, you are surrounded by the City of God. You are in a representation of the City of God. On every wall before you, behind you, and around you is the City of God and that person sitting next to you, they too are in this city of God. If you would like to live forever in the eternal City of God, where there is no more pain, no more suffering, no more sin, no more hate, no more death, no more deceit; where everyone is honest and loving and serving our Lord then why don’t you join me of singing of this triumph where the Lamb rules forever from the throne of God. Let us sing together, Are You Washed?

Let us sing and let us pray.

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[1] J.B. Moffatt, EGT, 5:477: “From the smoke and pain and heat [of the preceding scenes] it is a relief to pass into the clear, clean atmosphere of the eternal morning where the breath of heaven is sweet and the vast city of God sparkles like a diamond in the radiance of his presence" Quoted from Alan F. Johnson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Revelation/Exposition of Revelation/V. Vision of the New Heaven and the New Earth and the New Jerusalem (21:1-22:5)/A. The New Jerusalem (21:1-27), Book Version: 4.0.2

[2] Cf. N.T. Wright, ‘Farewell to the Rapture!’ Bible Review, August 2001. Available on-line at: http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_BR_Farewell_Rapture.htm

[3] W.E. Vine. . 'Holiness, Holy, Holily.' In Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. (Nashville, Tennessee: Royal Publishers Inc., 1939), 555.

[4] John D.W. Watts. 'Holy.' In Holman Bible Dictionary, general editor Trent C. Butler. Nashville, Tennesee: Holman Bible Publishers, 1991), 660. W.E. Vine. 'Holiness, Holy, Holily.' In Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Word. (Nashville, Tennessee: Royal Publishers Inc., 1939), 555.

[5] Cf. P. Alexander, ‘Temple’ in Lions Encyclopaedia of the Bible (Herts, UK: Lion Publishing, 1986).

[6] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Revelation’ (Interpretation: a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1989), 221.

[7] Cf. Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Book of Revelation (New Testament Commentary: Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2007), 564.

[8] Cf. NT Write, Revelation for Everyone (For Everyone Series, London: SKPC Publishing, 2011),194-195.