A City is coming...

We all live in a tent city. Temporary, half-baked, unfixable. But the vision of Abraham persists. "A City with foundations". Many long for it. Is it a vain hope? An impossible dream? The end of death; a global resurrection. 
Even the findings of physics and astronomy -- that all the heavier atoms that make life possible, literally came from heaven to earth. Supernovas that happened billions of years ago sowed the seeds of human life and flourishing. 
How strange, then, that the final vision of the Bible shows a completed city, made of one of the heaviest metals (metaphorically) descending to earth, with God and man to be reunited and reconciled? 
We keep walking down this path, examining evidence as we go....

It is Near focuses on the alarming and the hopeful; the frightful and the forgotten; the blinding glare of giant problems, and the dark secrets that lurk even more menacingly in the shadows of global trends. "Amazing Grace" may have taught our hearts to fear, but for most Christians and non-Christians alike, divine grace as commonly conceptualized does not those fears relieve. It is Near will be informative, accessible, comforting, and challenging to every thinking person. It will call Christians to account and provide a breath of fresh air for secularists who, for once, would like to hear a conciliatory and intellectually honest message from a thoughtful Christian voice. Owen Kindig of Sitka, Alaska is your host, and is responsible for the content.

"Even the bad news is good news."

Transcript

Owen Kindig: 0:06

Welcome to it is near. This is episode four, and it picks up where we left off in Episode Three. We've just finished reviewing a number of surprising tragedies in Jewish history. That all occurred on the ninth of Av or Ab, and linked it to the impact of Abraham, both to the Jewish people and to Christians. As a leader of the principle that an invisible God created all things and is the teacher of the human race, we pick up at the end of a list of shocking tragedies that all struck the Jewish people on their ninth day of the fifth month of their calendar. All of those coincidences could not possibly be accidents, but rather are evidence of divine love for the Jewish people, and a commitment on the part of Hashem to carefully guard their collective experience for the purpose of preparing them for future service and blessings that are in store for the Jewish people -- as a separate and distinct entity from the Christian people who have come from both Jewish and non Jewish cultures. Thanks for tuning in, and I hope you enjoy this continuation of It is Near! WHAT DOES THE "NINTH OF AB" MEAN? From 587 BCE, until now, every year on the ninth day of the fifth month, Jewish people are united in their sorrow about what has happened to them with shocking regularity on the same day of the year. What does it mean? To me it means that the God of Israel has kept the Jewish people in the palm of his hand. And even though he has allowed, and, according to the prophets, even caused the wheels of history to keep grinding and hurting the Jewish national aspirations for all these years, the promises and hopes that are laid down in the Bible still remain. And the precision with which the suffering has been inflicted, gives the idea that it's a calibrated, disciplinary, hopeful administration of national discipline to the individuals in any given generation of the Jewish people. Who am I to be so presumptuous as to say that God has punished the Jewish people? IS JEWISH "CORRECTION" A SIGN OF GOD'S LOVE?

Well, the Jewish prophets are who informed me on this. Jeremiah 30, verse 11, for example: 2:48

"... For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord, I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you, I will not make a full end. I will correct you in measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished." IS CHRISTIANITY IN TROUBLE FOR NOT TREATING THE JEWS WELL?

The message that Isaiah gives is even more pointed, because it describes the sins of Babylon in whom the Jewish people have been held captive, and punished. Isaiah 47: 3:17

1 -- "Come down and sit in the dust, oh virgin daughter of Babylon -- sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans, for you shall no more be called 'tender and delicate'". \

Skipping down to verse five, "Sit in silence and go into darkness, oh daughter of the Chaldeans, for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms. I was angry with my people. I profaned My heritage, I gave them into your hand. You showed them no mercy. On the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy. You said I shall be mistress forever so that you did not lay these things to heart, or remember their end." And then Isaiah says in a verse that is echoed in the book of Revelation, "Therefore" [referring not to ancient Babylon, but to something much more recent]. "He (Hashem) says: 3:51

'Now therefore, hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, "I am and there is no one besides me. I shall not sit as a widow or no the loss of children." These two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children and widowhoo.'" Okay. so, the important thing to understand is that all of the things that God has put this Jewish people through were intended to bring blessings to some people, at the same time that they brought educational experiences to others. And in the end, both peoples will be blessed by the experience that they have had. WHO ARE "JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES", REALLY?

In the 43rd chapter of Isaiah, we have a verse that is written about Israel, and unfortunately, is misapplied by a Christian denomination: 5:22

"You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen,..." These are words spoken to the nation of Israel, "so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me, no God was formed, nor shall there be any other after me. I am the Lord. God is trying to show through a long standing multi-thousand-year experience with an entire people that he really is an invisible god who moves the chess pieces on the board of human history. He really does accomplish His will, in the great wheels of human events, and the selection of human leaders. He doesn't pick good people to be the leaders of the human race. He allows sometimes, in the words of Daniel, the "basest of men" to be the leaders. Just this week, one of the possible candidates for the office of president said, "What's wrong with us? We keep electing idiots!" Ha ha ha. Well, that's true. Doesn't matter which party you favor, and I don't favor either [party]. Everybody that gets the opportunity to run displays some serious shortcomings. Let's put it that way. ha ha ha.

Now, look at Isaiah 51. And this really shows the heart of God and the foreshadowing in the Bible of the horrendous experience that the Jewish people would face in the Holocaust. He says in verse 17, "Wake yourself, wake yourself. Stand up, Jerusalem, you have drunk from the hand of the Lord, the cup of his wrath! who have drunk to the dregs, the bowl -- the cup of staggering, there is no one to guide her. Among all the sons she has born, there is none to take her by the hand, among all the sons she has brought up. These two things have happened to you: (who will console you?) devastation and destruction. Famine and sword. Who will comfort you? Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net. They are full of the wrath of the Lord, the rebuke of their God. Therefore here this, you who are afflicted: Thus says your God, the Lord, your God, who pleads the cause of his people: 7:02

"Behold, I have removed from your hand, the cup of staggering -- the bowl of my wrath. You shall drink [it] no more. And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, "bow down that we may pass over and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over." It reminds me of the scene in Schindler's List where a Nazi general's car rolls down a street that's paved with the gravestones of Jewish victims, from a cemetery -- from a Jewish cemetery."Lie down so that we can roll over..." And yet something changes. And he says in chapter 49, verse eight he says, "Thus says the Lord, in a time of favor, I have answered you, in a day of salvation I have helped you. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people to establish the land..." (I'm sure the Hebrew word here is eretz, which is the Hebrew word that is used when they talk about the land of Israel) "...to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages. Saying to the prisoners, 'come out!' ... to those who are in darkness, 'Appear!' They shall feed along the ways -- on all bare heights shall be their pasture! They shall not hunger or thirst. Neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them; for He who has pity on them will lead them..." [that's God!] "...and by springs of water will guide them; and I will make all my mountains a road and My highways shall be raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar...." WHAT DOES THIS RETURN OF ISRAEL TO ITS HOMELAND MEAN FOR THE WORLD OF MANKIND?

These people, these Jewish refugees: 10:06

"they shall come from afar and behold, these from the North and from the West, and these from the land of Syene! Sing for joy, Oh heavens and Exult, oh Earth! Break forth, oh mountains into singing -- for the Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted! But Zion said, 'The Lord has forsaken me.'" And that's true. So many Holocaust survivors, were just totally cast down, and they felt God had betrayed them. And he responds, "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands and your walls are continually before me. Lift up your eyes around and see!"

Verse 18: "They all gather! They come to you! As I live, declares the Lord, you shall put them all on as an ornament." Verse 19: 10:56

"Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land, surely now it will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away. The children of your bereavement will say yet in your ears, 'The place is too narrow for me! Make room for me to dwell in!'" That's the current reality in Israel, isn't it? They hardly have enough room for all the people that have grown up there. We're now on the sixth, seventh, generation of sabras. And we've gone from 6 million people who were killed in the Holocaust (Jewish people) to now 6 million Jewish people living in the nation of Israel. Not until the Messiah sets up His Kingdom and resurrects all of those 6 million will we really recover. But the descendants of the survivors of the Holocaust have filled the land of Israel to a large extent with children."They shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens, your nursing mothers."

I want to read one more passage. And this is a message I think, to all of the Christians who are listening to me: 12:12

"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 voice of your watchmen, they lift up their voice! Together they sing for joy, for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion!"

They can see that God is active in Israel again: 12:43

"Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem." Okay, so, as Christians, we need to be announcing peace [with God on a national basis] and salvation [of the nation with all the blessings that brings to the living generations]. And we Christians should not be proselytizing Jews -- trying to convert them to Christian discipleship. We should be comforting Israel, not talking to Israel about Jesus. Let me say it again. Christians should not be proselytizing. Christians should be telling Jews that they should rejoice that God has blessed them and has accepted them back.

Let me use the words of Paul in the last few verses of Romans the 11th chapter: "The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable." God loves the Jewish people. Verse 34: 13:26

"Just as you were at one time disobedient to God, but now have received mercy because of their disobedience -- so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you, they also may receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience." The non-Jesus followers among the Jews, and the followers of Jesus among the Gentiles, both have exhibited disobedience in the way they have acted. God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. [That means this is good. This is God's plan. This is the method of God's mercy.] "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God."

Verse 25: 14:24

"Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers. A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. [the "fulness" or pleroma of the Gentiles means the faithful remnant of the non-Jewish world, the obedient followers of Jesus of the last 2000 years. Just as a remnant of ancient Israel was faithful, so a remnant of the Gentiles or non-Jews have been faithful. And that fruitage of the Christian discipleship message is almost complete. the "harvest" or end of the Age is upon us, and the time is winding down for calling people to follow in Jesus' footsteps, take up his cross, suffer with him, etc. The new era that is near is much different. It is a return to many of the themes that originally were at work in ancient Israel -- obeying God's laws, establishing a government, blessing people who are obedient, etc. That will be the work of the next thousand years about to begin -- the realm and reign of Messiah.]"And in this way, all Israel will be saved. As it is written, the delivery WILL COME FROM ZION, HE will banish ungodliness from Jacob, and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins. As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God, but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they to now have been disobedient, in order that by the mercy shown to you, they also may now receive mercy. And I want to read the earlier passage, it says, if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? Well, the Jews have now been accepted, they've been accepted back. They have drunk the dregs of God's wrath, and they are done suffering. And the great suffering that they had to go through as a nation is now behind them. Now, it's just a matter of one last trouble. It's called Jacob's trouble in the prophets. And it says that they will be delivered from it, and through it. All of the troubles the Jewish people have been in what the Bible calls Babylon, not the ancient Babylon. WHAT IS MEANT BY "BABYLON" IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION? The book of Revelation is talking about a whole new Babylon. And most of the Christian reformers during the Age of reformation, were absolutely consistent in saying that Babylon was the [institutional] Christian Church, the Christian nations among whom the Jews were scattered and wandered in Europe. And the Jewish people today are perhaps a greater light to the world than at any time in their history. In spite of all of the trials and tribulations that they've gone through, there's no question that there is a great deal of noise, a great deal of countervailing pressure not to believe the Bible, a lot of intelligent people have lots of reasons that make sense within the framework that they are looking for not accepting the Bible's claims, not believing the Bible. And Christians really haven't done a very good job of explaining the big picture of what the Bible is trying to say. So we need to be patient with those who do not see evidence that the Bible can be trusted, do not see evidence that there is a God who's really doing something about the human situation. We need to be patient and I think that we should borrow from Jesus's own example. WHAT WAS JESUS' ATTITUDE TOWARD UNBELIEVERS? What did Jesus say when he was on the cross, when He as a human being, felt the weight of his own body hanging on the nails that were driven through his hands and his feet? His first words were recorded as being, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. If that historic record is accurate, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, Jesus was saying, we need to forgive the people who are crucifying me, we need to forgive their unbelief. Now, the book of Acts records the fact that not so long later, only only about 50 days later [after the crucifixion], there were quite a few Pharisees and scribes, and servants of the high priest, who showed up in the company of believers, they became convinced by a combination of events that they observed themselves, they became convinced that Jesus really was the Son of God, and they became believers. But the vast majority, no doubt, of the Jewish people and the Roman civilization that oppressed them, never accepted Jesus as their Savior. Should we continue to forgive them for that? Absolutely. Do you think God forgives people for what they did to Jesus? Absolutely. Jesus died for the benefit of everyone, if the Bible is true.

And those of us who are Christians have more than Jesus' example to go by, on this matter. We have Jesus words. In Mark 3: 19:17

28, he says that all blasphemy by the sons of men against him in the Father will be forgiven. Some translations say "CAN be forgiven", but the word "will be forgiven" is future indicative passive which means "WILL be forgiven". It's also in Matthew 1231. And Luke, in the twelfth chapter. We also have Jesus' prediction of what will happen within the Christian church. He says, in Matthew the 24th chapter, "because iniquity will abound, the love of many will wax cold." He's saying that there will be a lot of iniquity within what is called his church. and many will get discouraged by it. So don't be surprised that a lot of Christians lose heart and get ticked off at the unjust, hypocritical leaders of the church. [and therefore don't be surprised that "winning the world for Christ" will never be accomplished by the Christian church as we know it today.] One normal way of reacting to this is to give up on the whole enterprise. And one other passage that I think, is a very clear direct statement about God's attitude towards sin during this age among non-Christians, (which would include all non-Christians, including Jews.) And that is the passage in Second Corinthians. And let me read this one also, this is Second Corinthians, the fifth chapter, starting in the 18th, verse, "But all things are from that God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and has given to us the ministry or service of the reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting to them their offenses, and has deposited with us the word of the reconciliation." So in a nutshell, it's saying, the ones who are not reconciled yet, their offenses are not being charged against them. They're not being counted against them. We who HAVE been reconciled, we're to encourage anyone who is interested to be reconciled to God. It's available, but it's available now, on the terms that were offered, you know, through the gospel, through Christian discipleship. But it's also, but it's not going to end with us Christians. When the church is complete, the reconciliation will continue on into the period of time when Jesus rules the world as the Prince of Peace. And the followers of Jesus will, according to the second chapter of the Book of Revelation, be serving as kings and priests. In that work of reconciliation. WHAT IS THE ETERNAL PURPOSE OF GOD? In Ephesians chapter one, starting in verse seven, it says, "Through his blood, we possess the redemption, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the opulence of his favor, which he caused to overflow towards us, in all wisdom and intelligence, having made known to us the secret of his will, according to his own benevolent design, which he previously purposed in Himself, in regard to an administration, of the fullness of the appointed times, to reunite all things," -- to reunite all things! -- under one head, even under the Anointed One, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, under him."

That is the divine program, the eternal purpose of God. So should we be forgiving and patient with people who are not believers? Absolutely. God loves the whole world, and sent his only begotten Son. Because God, we are told by Paul, is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. [1 Timothy 4: 23:00

10] But for people who have not yet seen evidence, that Jesus' death will amount to a hill of beans in the future, we need to forgive them. We as Christians need to forgive them for not believing, instead of pointing fingers, we should focus on our own obedience and our own efforts to be kind and good examples of of living the kind of life that Jesus led.

It seems like everybody likes Jesus. I mean, I don't know any atheists who don't like Jesus, he's an attractive figure. The problem is that he seems to be an advocate for a heavenly Father, who, as described by the Christian theologians, has it in for the entire world of mankind, and most of the people who have ever lived are going to suffer forever in His plan. [And the sins of the Church are really stuck in the craw of all the atheists I know.] And that is something that we as Christians need to be honest about and reassess. And that's what we're in the middle of doing right here on this program right here in this podcast. We've had a man to man talk about hell, the first half of it is already up, and the second half will be the one that goes up after this episode. I'll keep coming back to that subject -- it is an important subject. But I'm not talking about hell in order to try to --- well, let me put it this way: 24:51

The opportunity to become a Christian disciple is a precious one, and I'm grateful for it. But as I look at the stream of time and the changes that are happening in the world today, and where we are at, I think that it's becoming more and more evident that we're reaching the point, the pivot point right at the end of the old order of things, and the beginning of the new order when Jesus is present, and is taking command of human affairs. It's at that moment that the book of Revelation comes to an end. And Jesus says, "Behold, I am coming speedily -- and my reward is with me, to give to each one as his work is."

"As his work is..." -- those of you who prefer the King James, is even better, the Received Text says, future tense -- "shall be". The manuscript evidence would argue, that present tense is correct, and that the Received Text is wrong, but neither the Received Text nor all of the other texts that have been accumulated, use the past tense in this verse. "Behold, I am coming speedily, and my reward is with me to give to each one as his work SHALL be", according to the King James, or "as his work is" --, as his work is in the current era that Jesus has just started. According to this verse, [Revelation 22: 25:36

12] the era of his kingdom, the era that he is the reigning Messiah, people will be judged. And judging doesn't even mean sentencing. It means evaluated and, and taught. The Jewish concept of judgment is deliverance, kindly treatment, and informative coaching. What Jesus is describing is to then look forward -- look forward, like any person would do when they come to a change point in their life. [And at that time they would naturally repent of some action that they've made in the past. So they want to change. Repentance is the process of looking forward and turning away from the past. Then Jesus says, "outside are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators." He says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." [in other words, He has the unique ability to take control of human affairs. That's what he promises. For verse 14, "blessed are those who washed their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter the city by the gates." -- What he's saying is that if you want to come into the city, it's up to you -- just wash your robes. If you wash your robes, if you clean up a little bit, you have a right to enter the city by the gates. And then he says, "Outside are the dogs." What are dogs? The Jews have always said that dogs are non-Jews. That's what dogs are in the Bible. They are Gentiles, non-Jews. So he's saying that the kingdom as it will begin at the beginning of the millennium, there will be the people who are the city itself -- the Bride. [the body of faithful Christians who by then will have been tested and proven faithful -- an important part of the foundation of the City that God wants to build.] And these [faithful Christians, who are also ambassadors for Christ] -- they are also the gates to the city, the pearls. And on the outside of the city, the gates are standing open, they're not shut to anybody on the outside of the city. What are the dogs, non Jews mentioned? Well, that must mean that the city also includes the Jewish people too, they must somehow be involved in the city process. Because they're not on the outside, they're on the inside. So the Jews are going to be helping the world of mankind find their way into their place -- into the dwelling place between God and man that Jesus is presiding over. [the Jews will literally be on earth surrounding Jerusalem, the visible earthly part of this methaphorical kingdom being described in Revelation that "comes down from heaven".]

It says "outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and the murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood". That's pretty much the human race. They're on the outside of the city when this picture starts. Well then what happens? Does someone slam the door in their face and say okay, you're going to the pit, you're going into flames, whatever? No, it doesn't say that at all. The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come". They reach out to the people who are the dogs, the sorcerers, the immoral folks, everybody. In other words, really everybody in the human race who's ever lived. They are invited to come in now. They're welcome to come into the city. And it's just a gradual process that will take 1000 years but practically everyone! Well, it says: 28:59

"Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come'; and let who hears, say, 'Come', and let the one who was thirsty, come. Let the one who desires take the water of life without price." It's free. You can take it -- you can come in -- the city is open. ARE CHRISTIANS TODAY BEING ASKED TO "LIVE AND LET LIVE"? And I want to read one other verse that's just before the verse that I read. I read, verse 12, I'm coming soon and that sort of thing. But in the verse before that, it seems like this is a great description of where we're at right now. He says, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near..." WHOA! that's this podcast isn't it? "The time is near!" "Don't seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near -- let the the evil doers still do evil." Okay, Christians, let the evil doers still do evil. And let the filthy still be filthy. We're not here to try to change everybody. Right now, we don't have the government in place, we don't have the helpers in place. We haven't made the biological changes, the corrective changes to people's body so that they aren't imperfect bodies with the tendency to do wrong. We haven't bound Satan, we haven't bound the evil forces, the spiritual forces that are now influencing people. We haven't shut down the media empires of the world, which influence people in bad and unhealthy ways. We haven't reshaped the educational process of the world, in order to make it in harmony with what God would think is the appropriate way to teach human beings. None of that can be in and should be attempted right now, by Christians. We can't do those things.

So it says, [and] this is really talking to Christians: 31:52

"Let the evil doers still do evil." That's what Jesus is doing. He's letting people be what they want and express what they want. He's not judging people, right now. He's preparing his people, his disciples, to have the hearts that he wants to have -- to become servants of reconciliation, and to be merciful and forgiving towards those who don't understand yet. He says, "Let the righteous still do right, and holy, still be holy." So those of us who have learned some things, and have been given the ability to think rightly, and to act, rightly, and to clean up our own filth and our own hearts, let us keep pressing forward and doing good things and saying good things and encouraging people to, to not be violent, and to not be angry, and to not be harshly critical -- harshly critical -- of those whose lifestyle and values we disagree with. We need to be like Jesus, and be likable. Christians should be likable, because Jesus is likable, he's merciful. He understands. He doesn't shy away from kindness toward even the lower riffraff of society. As we all know, he was comfortable in a Pharisee's home, having his feet anointed by a former prostitute. You see what I'm saying? He was a man who could talk to and show kindness toward everyone. That's the standard that Christians need to follow. And for those who are not persuaded by the evidence within the Bible, or anything else that we say, let's be patient with them. Let's appreciate them for what they are and what they do. Let's talk to scientists. Let's thank them for sacrificing their lives to pursue truth on some scientific issue. Some, you know, getting to the bottom of what pesticides are doing to frogs -- or what they're doing to our respiration. You know, let's listen to what scientists say. Let's learn from what they've discovered from the Webb telescope. Let's find the harmony between that and the Bible because surely, anything that the Bible says, If we correctly read it, must be in harmony with what the best science can determine is happening and has been happening in the universe. Let's look for harmony and agreement and agree to disagree when we can't quite sort it out in our minds. If we think they're unrighteous Let's let them be. And if we think they're righteous, let's encourage them to keep being righteous in the domain that they're involved in. I gotta stop! .... [This has been] It is near. Thanks for listening to It is Near, and remember -- even the bad news is good news. I want to say one last thing about the natural world that we have learned in the last 50 years and less, about where our tools and our resources come from. They come the ability to have life -- carbon -- life, the ability to have heavy metals, and rare earth minerals, the things that are used to make specific high efficiency magnets that power our phones, that give us the ability to have silicon circuits that work the way they work today. Those things came from the explosion of stars, the explosion of stars, in the far reaches of our galaxy, millions and millions of years ago, billions of years ago, we would not have the resources that make a world global civilization possible today, were it not for star dust that came to us. All of the metals that came to us from Star explosions, supernovas, supernovas, if it weren't for those things that were done in billions of years past, we would not have the ability, the resources here on this planet, to have a highly intelligent, communicating civilization that we have. And so in a very real, physical sense. The things that make for permanence, even the things that make for life itself, the city that has foundations can only come to Earth from above, from what we would call the heavenly realms. I believe from a powerful being that planned ahead and provided what we needed before we even imagined that we did need those things. The city with foundations. It comes from heaven, and it's coming to earth