The Logos Revealer: Preparing a Place

The article below is a small portion of my manuscript, Waiting for The Day and Hour:

The rapture is a pre-church promise that Jesus made to the apostles in John 14:2-3. What I mean by pre-church is before the church was even born. As the above Scripture reference states, Jesus knew that he would go back to the eternal realm to be with God his Father, after he sacrificed his life on the cross and then be resurrected. And this is why he informed his disciples that he would return for them once he prepared a place for them in God his Father’s house. This promise was made after Judas Iscariot left the room during the Last Supper (Jn. 13:1-38). At that time the church was unknown to the disciples, the Jewish nation, and the world. However, Jesus knew that the new creation would be born once he was resurrected.

Most Christians believe the church was born in the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit came upon and filled the followers of Christ there (Acts 2:1-4)—ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven and 50 days after he was raised from the dead. This group believes that when the 120 were baptized with the Holy Spirit, that was when the church was born. Their reason is the conversion of Jews and some godly men who heard Peter preach after witnessing the 120 speak in tongues (Acts 2: 5-41). But I disagree with this theory. I believe the church was born when Jesus breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:22)—I have written about his theory before.

I believe the new creation was born on the evening of the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, on the first day of the week (Jn. 20:1; 19a). This happened 50 days before the Upper Room incident. On the evening of the Lord’s resurrection he breathed on his disciples, except Thomas because he was not there (Jn. 20:24), and told them to receive the Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:22). Jesus released the Holy Spirit to them because he discerned their faith in him being raised from the dead (Jn. 20:19c-20; Rom. 10:9). At that moment they would have had their spirit-being sealed with the Holy Spirit. The disciples Jesus released the Holy Spirit to were born-again at that moment—the church was born. When Thomas heard of the experience of the other disciples in seeing the risen Lord, he did not believe it because he needed proof (Jn. 20:24). Thomas was essentially the first person to have the gospel told him, but he did not have the faith to believe. He did get saved eight days later though. Jesus again suddenly appeared in the room the disciples were in, and Thomas was there this time (Jn. 20:26). After Jesus humiliated him, Thomas put his faith in the risen Savior (Jn. 20:27-29).

Thomas received the new birth 42 days before the Upper Room experience. The other disciples received the new birth 50 days before the Upper Room experience. I believe that all the Lord’s disciples, except Judas Iscariot, were born-again eight days after his resurrection—Judas had hanged himself the morning after Jesus’ arrest (Matt. 27:3-5). The 40 days between the resurrection of the Lord and his being raptured into heaven, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at once (1 Cor. 15:6). These 500 would have witnessed the risen Lord like the disciples did. There can be no doubt that either most or all put their faith in him because they saw that he had been raised from the dead. These people were the earliest members of the new creation. He had also appeared to James, his half-brother, who would have likewise been saved after witnessing the Lord raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:7). Mary Magdalene would have been the first person born into the new creation, because she witnessed the risen Lord just hours after he rose from the dead (Jn. 20:11-18)—she put her faith in him. Therefore, the church was born, and growing, before the followers of Christ were filled with the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room, and the 3,000 who heard them speak in tongues received the Lord on the day of Pentecost.

According to the facts, the 120 people in the Upper Room were all saved when the Holy Spirit came upon them and filled them with his power, which enabled them to speak in tongues. So how could the day of Pentecost be the day when the church was born? They all would have been saved during the 50 days after Christ was raised from the dead. The apostles would have made sure of that. Would the apostles have allowed unbelievers into the Upper Room where they had devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 1:12-14)—the Scripture said they were all in one accord? And while conducting church business (Acts 1:15-26)?

Jesus told his apostles that they would be baptized with/in the Holy Spirit, a promise of God the Father (Acts 1:3-5). He was meaning when they were gathered in the Upper Room, ten days later (Acts 2:1). Being baptized with/in the Holy Spirit means the believer’s spirit-being is dipped, immersed, or plunged into the power of the Spirit similar to how a person’s earthly body is dunked into water during water baptism (Mk. 1:8; Acts 1:5; 11:16). He told them that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, they will receive power (Acts 1:8a; Lk. 24:49)—this happened while they were gathered in the Upper Room. Another way of describing the results of when the Holy Spirit comes upon a believer, or when God baptizes them with the Spirit is: a) Their spirit-being is πίμπλημι (pimplēmi) filled with the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 1:15, 41, 67; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9, 52), or, b) Their spirit-being is πλήρης (plērēs) full or complete in the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 4:1; Acts 6:3, 5; 7:55; 11:24). Both pimplēmi (filled) and plērēs (full) have the meaning of infuse (to cause to be permeated with something [such as a principle or quality] that alters usually for the better),[i] and replete (fully or abundantly provided or filled).[ii] The Scripture reveals that being baptized or filled with the Holy Spirit enables the person to speak in tongues καθὼς τὸ πνεῦμα ἐδίδου ἀποφθέγγεσθαι αὐτοῖς (kathós tó pnevma edídou apofthéngesthai aftoís) “As the Spirit gives them utterance” [Acts 2:4c, mGNT] (Mk. 16:17; Acts. 2:6-12; 10:44-48; 19:6; Eph. 6:18a). Speaking in – genuine – tongues is evidence that the believer’s spirit-being is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Or that they are full of the power of the Holy Spirit. Some Christians believe there is no sign proving the believer is baptized in the Spirit, but Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:5-7, seem to say otherwise. The believer who is baptized or filled with the Holy Spirit has been blessed with divine power to pray in tongues, or pray in the Spirit (Rom. 8:26-27; 1 Cor. 14:14-18; Eph. 6:18a; Jude 1:20). Having the Spirit’s power λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις (laleín etérais glóssais) “to speak in other languages” (Acts 2:4b, mGNT) is so the believer can have direct access to God in prayer as the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:26-27.

Being filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit is not referring to the gift of ἑτέρῳ γένη γλωσσῶν (etéro géni glossón) “other languages” (1 Cor. 12:10d, mGNT; 28, 30; 14:2-4, 26-28, 39). Although a believer who has the gift of etéro géni glossón (other languages), has been baptized with the Holy Spirit at some point in their life. The Holy Spirit will use a Spirit-filled believer to release a word from God to the church by a gift of other languages. However, the Holy Spirit will not prompt the believer with the gift of tongues to speak if there is no believer present with the gift of interpretation to interpret (1 Cor. 14:5)—a genuine gift of tongues will not be given if there is no one with the gift to interpret that message from God. The Holy Spirit builds the church up, he does not confuse it (1 Cor. 14:6-13). The body of Christ is to be led by the Holy Spirit even when using his gifts.

I wrote the preceding, to prove that the church was not birthed on the day of Pentecost, in the Upper Room. But rather, the day of Pentecost was the initial baptism of the church with/in the Holy Spirit’s power. That was the day the believers were first able to speak in other languages as the Holy Spirit of God gave them the power to speak. That is the day the church began to multiply in great numbers after the 120 followers of Christ received the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus Christ is preparing a place for his church in his Father’s house while they wait for him to return (Jn. 14:2-3). But in the meantime, he has appointed the – initial – apostles and prophets to be the foundation his church is to be built upon (Eph. 2:19-20). The people who appointed themselves as apostles and prophets today are not the apostles and prophets the apostle Paul referred to. Jesus promised that once he prepares this place, the church would be raptured out of this world so that they can be where he is—in heaven. As I mentioned in a few places, the hour the rapture happens is proof that Jesus has finished preparing a place for the body of Christ in his Father’s house. And to fulfill his promise to his apostles he will seize his followers out of this world in a moment, in the blink of an eye. Jesus will meet his church, the dead and living, in the eternal realm as they are newly fitted with heavenly bodies. This event will happen before the 70^th week of Israel begins. Before the ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας (ánthropos tís anomías) “man of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 2:3c, mGNT) is revealed. The pre-Tribulation theory is a valid doctrine.

Could this place that Jesus is preparing for his people be the new Jerusalem (Rev. 3:12; 21:2, 10-27)? I ask this question because John 14:2-3 does not make it clear. When Jesus said, πορεύομαι ἑτοιμάσαι τόπον ὑμῖν (porévomai etoimásai tópon ymín) “I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn. 14:2b, mGNT), we assume he was referring to a dwelling in heaven because his Father’s house is in heaven. He said that in his Father’s house are πολλαί μονή (pollaí moní) “multiple monasteries” (Jn. 14:2a, GNT). In many English Bibles pollaí moní is translated as: many rooms; many dwelling places; many mansions. A monastery is a house dedicated to God. A monastery is an abbey occupied by priests who fulfill their vows to Christ Jesus. Heaven is filled with dwelling places for the angels of God. There are multiple rooms in heaven for the angels to dwell. At this time, Jesus is preparing pollaí moní (multiple monasteries) in his Father’s house for the body of Christ to dwell in once the church is raptured.

The apostle John saw in a vision the new Jerusalem “coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:2b, 10b, CSB). The reference to heaven is the eternal realm and not the earth’s atmosphere or the celestial cosmos. This event happens after this earth and heaven (the whole celestial cosmos) have passed away and a new heaven and earth will replace them (Rev. 21:1)—in the new earth there will be no sea. John sees the new Jerusalem coming out of the eternal realm to rest upon the new earth. He heard a loud voice speak from the throne room of God, the inner sanctuary, that ἡ σκηνὴ τοῦ θεοῦ (i skiní toú theoú) “the tabernacle of God” (Rev. 21:3b, mGNT) is with men. Some English Bibles translate i skiní toú theoú, as, God’s dwelling place. On the new earth, the tabernacle of God, or God’s dwelling place, will be with the people who will inhabit the new earth. These people will be the ones who survive Christ’s millennial reign and who are not deceived by Satan once he is released out of the abyss (Rev. 20:7). There will be people who go through the millennial reign of Christ that end up joining forces with Satan to battle the saints living in the land promised to Israel (Gen. 15:18; Josh. 1:4; Num. 34:1-15[iii]) and the Jerusalem that now exists (Rev. 20:8-9a). But God the Father will destroy this evil army and cast Satan into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:9b-10). The saints living in Jerusalem at that time are not the body of Christ. After the body of Christ is raptured, they become heavenly beings as I mentioned above under the heading, Salvation Completed (Made Perfect). The home of the body of Christ after being raptured is in the eternal heaven with God the Father, and Jesus Christ our Lord. The saints living in Israel at the time of Satan’s release from the abyss, and during his attack on the πόλιν ἠγαπημένην (pólin igapiménin) “beloved city,” are most likely the remnant Jews who were saved at Christ’s 2^nd coming. The offspring born to them during Christ’s millennial reign will also most likely dwell there at the time of Satan’s attack—they could number in the hundreds of millions.

Revelation 21:2a and 3, seem to say, that the new Jerusalem will be God’s tabernacle on the new earth. As I wrote, God’s dwelling place on the new Earth will be with men, the inhabitants of the new Earth. God will dwell with the inhabitants of the new earth, and he will be their God. These people will not be clothed in heavenly bodies like the body of Christ will be, and as the angels of God have been since they were created. But the Scripture seems to indicate that they will live in earthly bodies that will never die (Rev. 21:4). After the attack on God’s beloved city, and after the great white throne judgment has been completed (Rev. 20:11-15), God will make all things new (Rev. 21:5a). He told John: “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Rev. 21:5b, ESV).

Revelation 21:3 raises a question. If God is going to dwell with the inhabitants of the new earth, does this mean his eternal heaven will be no more? The answer is no. Eternity will never cease to be. It is Eternal, everlasting. Eternity is a place without beginning or end. Just as God is Eternal; God never had a beginning and he will never have an end. When the Scripture states that he will dwell with the inhabitants of the new earth, it means that he will be in the new earth with men just like the Holy Spirit is in this earth with his new creation, the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent on this earth and in the heavens. He is omnipresent, in the eternal realm. He is everywhere at all times. The Holy Spirit will be everywhere on the new earth, but I believe his presence will be in a great measure. His presence may be as powerful as it is in heaven. The new Jerusalem will be the tabernacle of God on the new earth, something like the tabernacle Moses made for God in the desert (Ex. 25:8-9). Except the new Jerusalem is built by God. The new heaven and new earth are not a replacement for eternity, but only a replacement for this earth and the physical universe. And, if you are wondering, the new heaven and new earth does not become part of the eternal realm. But rather the new heaven and new earth are the current heavens and current earth transformed into a place where there is no more curse (Rev.22:3a)—it will still be governed by time and space (spacetime). God has to create a new heaven and new earth because God the Father chooses to visit with men on the new earth so that he can bless them with his physical presence: he wants to present himself in person (Rev.21:3). The new Jerusalem will be the place where the inhabitants of the new earth will go to worship God and the Lamb (Rev. 22:3c).

Some people think that the new Jerusalem is the church, because the way the Scripture presents the new Jerusalem as if it is τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀρνίου (tín gynaíka toú arníou) “the wife of the lamb” (Rev. 21:9b, mGNT). No! God did not sacrifice his Son for a city, but for the people who will dwell in that city. Revelation 21:2, says that the new Jerusalem is: “prepared like a bride adorned for her husband” (CSB). This means it is created beautifully and amazing like (or similar to) a bride for her husband. The new Jerusalem is adorned for the one who will dwell there, or make his tabernacle there. And that One is God (Rev. 21:3). That is why God the Father and Jesus the Lamb of God will both have thrones there (Rev. 22:3b). The new Jerusalem will be adorned with the presence of God. God’s presence will permeate the entirety of the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem will permeate with the glory of God (Rev. 21:10-11a)— “Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal” (Rev. 21:11b, CSB). Revelation 21:12-21 describes its foundation, gates, and walls. It gives its measurements and the raw materials it is made of. It has a high wall with twelve gates. Twelve angels are at these twelve gates. The names of Jacob’s sons are inscribed on these twelve gates. The high wall has twelve foundations. Christ’s twelve apostles have their names inscribed upon these twelve foundations. The new Jerusalem could be the place Jesus is preparing in heaven for all those who belong to him. It could be the place in preparation for the wedding feast of God’s holy Son (Rev. 19:7-8; Matt. 22:1-14; Lk. 14:15-24).

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[i] Infuse: To cause to be permeated with something (such as a principle or quality) that alters usually for the better.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infuse

(Accessed 2/21/2025)

[ii] Replete: Fully or abundantly provided or filled.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/replete

(Accessed 2/21/2025)

[iii] What is the land that God promised to Israel?

https://www.gotquestions.org/Israel-land.html

(Accessed 2/27/2025)