Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. NKJV22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
As believers we are called to be holy for our God is Holy (1 Peter 1:16). This means that we are called to be set apart and sanctified to live our lives as pleasers of the Most High God that lay down our lives to do His will in His way as citizens of heaven on earth (Philippians 1:27). For this reason, it is important for us to guard our five gates—our eyes, ears, mouths (tongues), noses, and sexual organs. In order for us to be prepared to become His bride that is spotless and without wrinkle which means mature Christians that demonstrate the character of Christ everywhere we go and influence others for His Kingdom, we must guard what enters our gates.
These five gates are entry ways that God, as well as the enemy use to guide us each one in his way towards his planned destiny for us. As for the eye, whatever enters our eyes either cleanses like the Word of God or godly books and TV shows or movies that do not defile our consciences, or else through ungodly means will defile us towards the desires of our flesh explained in verse 8 of the above passage. Matthew 6:22-23 says, “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” NLT.
Spiritually speaking, the first death also mentioned in verse 8 refers to death of sensitiveness and understanding of the Lord and of His ways, and the second death could mean disqualification from promotions, or from our callings altogether because of outright rebellion and defiance of His grace through disobedience which has turned into sin. In the natural, the first death is when the spirit leaves the body and the second death when the soul goes to hell and not to be with the Lord in heaven because as verse 27 of Revelation 21 states, their names get removed from the Lamb's book of life.
Spiritually speaking, the first death also mentioned in verse 8 refers to death of sensitiveness and understanding of the Lord and of His ways, and the second death could mean disqualification from promotions, or from our callings altogether because of outright rebellion and defiance of His grace through disobedience which has turned into sin. In the natural, the first death is when the spirit leaves the body and the second death when the soul goes to hell and not to be with the Lord in heaven because as verse 27 of Revelation 21 states, their names get removed from the Lamb's book of life.
Moreover, Mark 7:18-20 says about the mouth, “18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.” NKJV
That is because we were made to speak words of life and edifying words to one another, sing praises to our God, and use our mouths as a sword against the enemy's tactics as Isaiah 59:21 explains, “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore” NKJV.
Furthermore, James 3:6 says, "And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself" NLT. And verses 9-11 continue to say that out of the same tongue comes praises for our Father and curses for those that were created in His image. This the Father does not approve of and it is evidence that there is a religious influence present where gossiping and speaking evil of others gives entrance to this spirit because of pride and unforgiveness which are rooted in fear.
Furthermore, James 3:6 says, "And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself" NLT. And verses 9-11 continue to say that out of the same tongue comes praises for our Father and curses for those that were created in His image. This the Father does not approve of and it is evidence that there is a religious influence present where gossiping and speaking evil of others gives entrance to this spirit because of pride and unforgiveness which are rooted in fear.
About our bodies 1 Corinthians 6:13b admonishes us by explaining that, “… Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” NKJV. To explain further, as mentioned in other posts, having sex outside of marriage can bring a variety of spiritual, physical, relational and financial problems to us because our sexual union with a person we are not married to, called fornication, opens the door to demonic influences like control and manipulation from the mammon, religious, and Jezebel spirits.
These three are the main spirits that form the Antichrist spirit. The Antichrist spirit is fed by sexual immorality, greed, and hunger for power outside of God's ways. The more frequent the sexual immorality and ways to gain power and riches without God's guidance and ways, the stronger the influence of this spirit in a person. This causes their souls to be seared to all sensitiveness of the things of God as mentioned before which can lead them to experience the spiritual and natural first and second deaths.
In addition, we are called to have intimacy with the Lord through His Word, prayer, and praise, but the strength of the Antichrist spirit comes when we pervert that intimacy through fornication and greed. The Lord calls us to prosper in all things and be in health, just as our souls prosper (1 John 3:2). This can only happen when we make the Word of God, intimacy with Him, and our obedience to His commands for us our first priority. To Him alone be all the glory.■
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