"Jerusalem from above": Mother of Jesus Christ

by pixel 25 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Bobcat

  Incidentally, in connection with the "Jerusalem above," the seed of Abraham, and the New Covenant:

  The Society's position is that Jesus and the 144,000 are "Abraham's Seed" and that the nations bless themselves by means of that seed. That is, the nations do not become part of that seed, nor are they included in the New Covenant (and thus, the "Jerusalem above" is not their "mother"), rather, they get blessings by associating with that seed of Abraham.

  Paul saw things a bit differently. According to him, Jesus is the 'seed of Abraham.' Galatians 3:16 (NWT) says: "...Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. It says, not: "And to seeds," as in the case of many such, but as in the case of one: "And to your seed," who is Christ."

  From there, Paul reasoned:

  ". . .YOU [the Gentile Galatian Christians] are all, in fact, sons of God [as part of being in the New Covenant] through YOUR faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of YOU who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for YOU are all one [person] in union with Christ Jesus. 29 Moreover, if YOU belong to Christ, YOU are really Abraham's seed, heirs with reference to a promise. (Galatians 3:26-29 NWT)

  Thus, Paul's reasoning was that 'the nations bless themselves' by putting faith in Jesus, as the seed of Abraham. And then they become part of Abraham's seed thru their faith in Christ.

  From here, there are some very interesting links with Paul's argument and what Revelation chapter 7 says about the great crowd:

  First, the "great crowd" is described numerically and by origin, ". . . which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues. . ." (Revelation 7:9)

  This description provides two links to the promises made to Abraham. Genesis 13:16 and 15:5 both promise that Abraham's seed would become an innumerable multitude. And the multinational character of the great crowd fits the description of the promise in Genesis 22:18 of 'all nations blessing themselves.'

  Secondly, the great crowd's 'washing their robes in the blood of the Lamb' fits Paul's description of becoming part of Abraham's seed thru faith in Christ.

  Thirdly, the description in Revelation 7:16 that the great crowd "will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down upon them nor any scorching heat . . ." is drawn from Isaiah 49:10. In the immediate context of that verse (Isa 49:8-10) God's Servant is said to be given as "a covenant for the people." The people are then described as "repossessing . . . the desolated hereditary possessions," and 'not suffering from hunger, thirst, etc, as is quoted in Revelation 7:16. All this speaks of a "people" who are part of a covenant, "repossessing," not merely bystanders hoping to benefit by hanging around others in the covenant.

  These things clearly indicate that the "great crowd" are part of Abraham's seed, and part of the New Covenant, and that their "mother" is NOT some earthly organization, but the "Jerusalem above," just as described by Paul in Galatians.

  And this connects the great crowd with what Paul said in Galatians 3:14 (NWT): ". . .The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham might come to be by means of Jesus Christ for the nations, that we might receive the promised spirit through our faith." Thus, the great crowd are also included among 'spirit anointed' Christians and would be expected partakers at the Lord's Evening Meal celebration.
• 

  Bobcat

  Other scriptures related to the Abrahamic promise (and thus, "the Jerusalem above") and the "great crowd which no man was able to number":

  Gen 13:16; 15:5; 16:10; 22:17; 26:4; 32:12; Hos 1:10; Heb 11:12

  Commentaries that also recognize this link:

  D'Aragon 1968:478; Mounce 1977:171; Sweet 1979:150; Hughes 1990:95; Bauckham 1993a:223; Ulfgard 1989:94

  (nnnn:nn indicates year of publication and page number)

  The Commentary on the NT Use of the OT says (G. K. Beale & D. A. Carson, p.1108):

  "As throughout Revelation, this promise to Israel is applied to the church from all nations."

  They "wear white robes":

  "White robes" signify the purification of the end-time tribulation in Dan 11-12, where the saints ["holy ones" NWT] are "made white" through the fire of persecution; a similar meaning fits well here. Compare Rev 6:11; 7:14 with Dan 11:35; 12:1, 10 (note the Heb. laban ["make white"] in Dan 11:35; 12:10])" (Beale & Carson, p.1096.)

  They hold "palm branches in their hands":

  "The reference to palm branches is an allusion to the Festival of Tabernacles (cf., e.g. Lev 23:40, 43; Neh 8:15; see Ulfgard 1989:89-92, 95). In the OT this was an annual occasion for the nation to rejoice and to thank God for the fruitfulness of their crops. The feast was also to commemorate Israel's dwelling in tents under divine protection during their pilgrimage in the wilderness after the redemption from Egypt" (Beale & Carson, p.1108)

  Thus, the 'holding of palm branches' by the "great crowd" is definately 'covenant' language.
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  Ucantnome

  Isaiah 9:6 "For a child has been born to us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (NRSV)

  Isn't he 'Everlasting Father' in relation to the ones in the covenant?
• 

  Bobcat

  In connection with what "the Jerusalem above" refers to (according to Paul):

  (Galatians 4:21-26) . . .Tell me, YOU who want to be under law, Do YOU not hear the Law? 22 For example, it is written that Abraham acquired two sons, one by the servant girl and one by the free woman; 23 but the one by the servant girl was actually born in the manner of flesh, the other by the free woman through a promise. 24 These things stand as a symbolic drama; for these [women] mean two covenants, the one from Mount Si′nai, which brings forth children for slavery, and which is Ha′gar. 25 Now this Ha′gar means Si′nai, a mountain in Arabia, and she corresponds with the Jerusalem today, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

  Extracted:

  "These [Hagar and Sarah] mean two covenants."

  "The one from Mount Si′nai, [Mosaic or Law Covenant] which brings forth children for slavery, and which is Ha′gar. 25 Now this Ha′gar means Si′nai, a mountain in Arabia, and she corresponds with the Jerusalem today. . ."

  26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

  Paul's logic up to this statement would require that "the Jerusalem above" equates with Sarah and the New Covenant, as the counterpart to the Law Covenant. The description of it as "the Jerusalem above" is the counterpart to "the Jerusalem today," the one existing on earth in Paul's day. The larger context of Galatians chapters 3 and 4 place these covenants within the question of who are the seed of Abraham and who inhereit the promises made to him.

  "Paul mingled temporal and spatial imagery in contrasting the "present city of Jerusalem" with the "Jerusalem that is above." The concept of the heavenly Jerusalem, or the New Jerusalem, is deeply rooted in the Jewish apocalyptic tradition that forms the background of Paul's entire theological outlook. . . . By contrasting the present Jerusalem with the one that is above, Paul here indicated that Christians have entered the last days. . . . The "Jerusalem that is above" is "our mother," Paul said, drawing perhaps on the statement of 4 Ezra 10:7, where Zion is called "the mother of us all." " (NAC-Galatians, p.342-343)

  Here are the parallels:

  HagarSarah

  Ishmael, the son of slaveryIsaac, the son of freedom

  Birth, "according to the flesh" Birth, "according to the promise"

  Old CovenantNew Covenant

  Mount Sinai [Mount Zion, see below]

  Present JerusalemHeavenly Jerusalem

  "This lineup would have been very disturbing to any patriotic Jew just as it must have been to the Judaizers of Galatia. Everyone knew that the Jews were the sons of Isaac and the Gentiles were the descendants of Ishmael. Paul, however, had correlated the covenant of Sinai and the present religious system centered in Jerusalem with the offspring of the slave woman. They were those who sought to be justified before God "according to the flesh," that is, by observing the works of the Law. Conversely, the children of the free woman were those who had embraced the promise of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone." (NAC-Galatians, p. 342
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  Bobcat

  UCantNoMe:

  I'm still pondering the question about Jesus and "the Jerusalem above." I appreciate your comment as something worth considering.

  Take Care
• 

  Cold Steel

  Mark 3:31-35:

  There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

  I see nothing remarkable about this passage, as Jesus is simply explaining that as he has an earthly, human side, and a heavenly pedigree. He has a human family, with brothers and a mother; however, as the Christ, the literal Son of God, he had a mission to perform. And he organized a church to launch not only his teachings, but to testify of his resurrection, which the apostles then knew nothing about. They were still learning. Their view of the Messiah was consistent as a great deliverer who would save them from their enemies —and this was a role he would later fulfill, according to scripture. But Jesus was clear that the Jews would first be scattered to the four corners of the earth and then brought back to the lands of their inheritance. Only then would the enemy (not the Romans, as the Jews had hoped) come down on them. Ezekiel writes directly to the great antichrist: " ...in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. " (Ezek. 38) In other words, Jesus not only provides spiritual salvation, but temporal salvation, and those who recognize and follow him are of his heavenly family. For " he is the Only Begotten of the Father—that by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."

  As the apostles made their scriptural transition from that of Jewish tradition to the teachings of Jesus, they understood. After his resurrection, he spent 40 days with them teaching them the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Christian scholars note that Jesus treated his followers like family. There were even jealousies that arose between them. I've often reflected on Jesus and the woman at the well. If she only knew who she was speaking with, she would have been astounded.

  .
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  Bobcat

  Just as a side note/question:

  I had the list of comparisons concerning Hagar & Sarah lined up in columns vis the tab button on my keyboard. They looked all neat and seperated in the forum editor. But after posting it appears the tab spacing was disregarded and the two columns now appear as one scrunched together.

  So how do I make columns of material that will survive posting? I use Chrome (if that might be the issue).
• 

  AnnOMaly

  it-2 pp.39-49:

  "This places the “Jerusalem above” in the position of a wife to Jehovah God the great Father and Life-Giver. [...] “Jerusalem above” must therefore represent the entire congregation of Jehovah’s loyal spirit servants."

  Since "the Jerusalem of above" is, according to the GB/FDS/WT the heavenly organization, because these people are sick with the organization, that places "the Jerusalem from above" in a higher position that Jesus in heaven, since it is, after all, his mother.

  EXACTLY! Yep, crazy. It's all linked with the JW interpretation of Rev. 12 and the Messianic kingdom being born from the heavenly woman.

  Revelation Climax, chap. 27 p. 178 par. 5 God’s Kingdom Is Born!

  Jerusalem above is Jehovah’s universal organization of spirit creatures that acts as his wife, both in serving him and in producing offspring.

  How can Jesus be included in the offspring of an 'organization of spirit creatures' if he was the firstborn of all creation and preceded the existence of those spirit creatures?
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  QC

  @Bobcat

  Formating a post for JWN is a constant challenge.

  Did you try "new table" button (bottom row left, last button)?
• 

  Bobcat

  QC:

  Thanks, I'll try playing with tables some.