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Revelation 21:14
In Matthew 16:15 Jesus asked His disciples who they say He is? In Matthew 16:16 (NKJV) Peter declares that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus then declares, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rick I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:17-18).
In Revelation 21:14 is the declaration that the foundation of the New Jerusalem will have the “names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” The foundation of the gospel is the lessons that Jesus taught His disciples and then they recorded in the New Testament of the Bible. The foundation of the New Jerusalem is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The twelve apostles that will have their names on the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem are as stated in Luke 6:13-16 (NKJV), “And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.
This is the foundation of the New Jerusalem.
The first thing that may come to your mind after hearing these names to be on the foundations of the New Jerusalem is that of Judas Iscariot being one of them, however, after he betrayed Jesus and then killed himself, the remaining apostles appointed Matthias to replace Judas. Without necessary proof to back my saying so, I believe it will be Matthias who will have his name on the foundation of heaven.
One could also profess that it was Jesus who picked Judas Iscariot, and even though his role was to be a traitor, it was a necessary part of God’s great plan of salvation for the world or Jesus may never have been crucified for the sins of the world. One thing that I am sure of is that God knows whose name will be there and it will be the names of the twelve apostles of Jesus.
Amongst these names is important that we don’t get sidetracked and miss the point of the names; the twelve sons of Israel being God’s chosen people in the Old Testament will be united with the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus in the New Testament to unite all people in the structure and foundation of the New Jerusalem.
Dear LORD,
What an awesome thing to say. . . what an awesome thing to ponder. . . that the foundation and structure of the New Jerusalem will be united through the Old Testament and the New Testament – in Christ Jesus. That You would even allow us to make this realization and to grasp as some understanding of it is magnificent. Thank You LORD for showing us that Your Great plan of salvation for the world will all come together in the end. Thank You LORD. In Jesus name I pray, amen.