Who are these people, because I see them everywhere in scripture?

Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. So the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans(?) to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, "I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream." (Daniel 2:1-3 NKJV)

Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation." The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation." (Daniel 2:4-6 NKJV)

Where is Daniel while all this is going on? 

Obviously, Daniel was not a part of any of these groups. Because of their attempts to save their lives, as they did not have answers for the king, everyone, including Daniel and the other three Hebrews with him, are under a death threat from a king that has demonstrated how serious he is about his decrees. 

Daniel goes before the king, buys a little time, and comes back with the dream and what it means.

Daniel answered the king, saying: “The mystery about which the king inquired is such that neither wise men, astrologers, magicians, or sorcerers can disclose it to the king. But, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar the things that will happen in the latter days. The dream and the visions that went through your head as you lay on your bed are these." (Daniel 2:27-28 TLV)

Daniel tells the king what the dream was.

“You looked, O king, and behold, there before you stood a huge statue—an enormous and dazzling image whose appearance was awesome. The head of that statue was of pure gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly iron and partly clay. While you were watching, a stone was cut out, but not by hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and became like chaff from summer threshing floors that the wind blows away. Not a trace of them could be found. Then the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." (Daniel 2:31-35 TLV)

"Wherever mankind, beasts of the field, and fowls of the heaven dwell, He has given them into your hand and made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold. “Now, after you, another kingdom will arise, one inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over all the earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron shatters and breaks everything—and just as iron smashes everything, so will it shatter and crush all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly potter’s clay and partly iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. It will have some of the strength of the iron, for you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle." (Daniel 2:38-42 TLV)

• "You are the head of gold." The first kingdom in the equation. The head of gold is Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar.

• Now, after you, another kingdom will arise, one inferior to yours. The second kingdom in this equation is The empire of the Medes and Persians, whose union was denoted by the breast and two arms of silver, and which was established on the ruins of that of the Chaldeans on the capture of Babylon by Cyrus, B.C. 538.

• The third kingdom. The kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. The UCRT dictionary tells us that "The empire of the Macedonians, or "brazen-coated Greeks," aptly denoted by the belly and thighs of brass, founded by Alexander the Great, who terminated the Persian monarchy by the overthrow of  Darius Codomanus at Arbela, B.C. 331" To put this plainly, the Grecian Empire. This is not a quiz, but do you know who the remaining two generals were and what regions they controlled? Seleucid in the North and Ptolemy in the South.

• The fourth and what seems to be the final kingdom, represented as iron, which many believe to be the Roman Empire, does not show up until almost 255 years after the remains of the Grecian Empire. Considering the closeness of all the others in terms of time, bringing the Roman Empire into this dream seems odd at best. Biblically we are told about the Babylonian, the Medo-Persians, and finally, the Macedonians or Grecians, but nothing is said about the Roman Empire. Do you know what Empire causes the most grief and plays a role in affecting both the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Empires?  The Assyrians. Do you realize that one of the names of the Antichrist is the Assyrian? Yeah, we seem to ignore that aspect when we are ranting about how the Roman Empire will rise up again in the last moments of time. And, since the Assyrians have been so influenced by Islam, we ignore their potential through Jihad, of bringing as many as possible under the influence of Islam; hence, a global religion.

• Note: there is no mention of who makes up these toes of iron and clay, but it is obvious that there is an attempt at integration, which clearly fails. Do Sunnis and Shiites get along? Have paid attention to what Isis, coming from Afghanistan, is preparing to do to Iran as of 5/29/2023? They have threatened war over water, and they are backing it up with army tanks and heavy equipment.

Daniel 2:43 KJV And whereas thou saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Notice how "they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men."

Mingle means to mix or combine. The word mingle and the word mixed are the same Aramaic (Strong's concordance calls this language Chaldean) word ărab. H6151 ‛ărab, enunciation: ar-ab'. (Chaldee); corresponding to H6148; to commingle: - mingle (self), mix. Total KJV occurrences: 4.

Seed: - z^era‛: An Aramaic noun meaning seed or offspring. This word is used only once in Dan_2:43 in the idiomatic phrase "with the seed of men" (KJV).

The question is, offspring of whom?

The Word Study Dictionary tells you this “This mixing of people with the seed of men is a reference to other people groups joining a community or nation.” The implication is that they are trying to join themselves to Israel, but that is not the case, and we see it going all the way back to Ishmael and Esau.

Just a short heritage listing from Ishmael begins to show you the beginnings of the nations.

Isn't it fascinating that Abraham was able to produce nations of Gentiles and then Jews? Just for the fun of it, here are the names of the twelve princes that came from Ishmael. Many have associated regions to go along with their names.

“These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations.” (Genesis 25:13-16 NKJV)

The firstborn of Ishmael, 

Nebajoth, and or Nebaioth. From Nebajoth sprang the Nabatheans, who inhabited Arabia Petraea (Petra.)

Kedar. From Kedar, the Cedreans, who dwelt near the Nabatheans. The name means darkness or dark-skinned.

Adbeel, Disciplined of God.

Mibsam, A fragrant, sweet odor.

Mishma, A report, a hearing.

Dumah, Silence. A town of Judah ten miles southwest of Hebron.

Massa, Gift; burden, a prophecy; enduring.

Hadar. More than 300 Manuscripts and printed editions read Hadad, as in 1 Chronicles 1:30.

Tema, South desert; Southerner.

Jetur. An enclosure; defense. The Itureans, who inhabited a small tract of country east of Jordan, which afterward belonged to Manasseh

Naphish, Refreshed; recreation; taking breath. :Note: These are evidently the same people mentioned in 1Ch_5:19, who, with the Itureans, assisted the Hagarenes against the Israelites, but were overcome by the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” 1Ch_1:31; 1Ch_5:19. The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury

Kedemah. Eastward.

But they shall not cleave to each other. As you can see from the Amplified version below, they will not hold together.

Cleave is the Aramaic verb meaning to cling to, stay together, to adhere together.

"And as you saw the iron mixed with miry and earthen clay, so they shall mingle themselves in the seed of men [in marriage bonds]; but they will not hold together [for two such elements or ideologies can never harmonize], even as iron does not mingle itself with clay." (Daniel 2:43 AMP)

As you can see, the Amplified Bible implied that their mingling could be seen in marriages. This idea of marriage should have a familiar ring to it, as Balaam told Balak, the king of Moab, how to defeat Israel. Dr. J Vernon McGee points out that Balaam is mentioned three times in the NT.

"Balaam is mentioned three times in the closing books of the New Testament. In 2 Peter it is the way of Balaam. In Jude it is the error of Balaam. And it is the doctrine of Balaam in the Book of Revelation."

The Old Testament also helps to define what Balaam did.

"And Moses said to them: "Have you kept all the women alive? Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor..." (Numbers 31:15-16 NKJV)

In spite of God's clear admonition that Balaam should NOT speak a word against Israel, he did so by telling Balak how to destroy them subtly by bringing in foreign women, and they would cause the children of Israel to collapse from the inside out.

In relation to these people who mingle with the great sea of people are words from Ecclesiastes.

"And I discovered (something) more bitter than death, the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her." (Ecclesiastes 7:26 NASB)

This takes us back to Daniel, where the mixed have but one intention, to destroy from the inside out.

What does that mean to us? 

They start with small demands, then they get themselves voted onto your governing bodies - like school boards and city councils. They then begin to change the rules and laws to suit their ideological teachings. Some call this a religion. All of this is Jihad to the group of people I refer to, the Islamic religion. 

Did you know that the followers of Islam, under the guise of the Ottoman Empire, almost overtook the world?

Thankfully, the British were able to squelch and, in a sense, deliver a mortal wound to the Ottoman Empire in 1924 by forcing them to disband and making the empire illegal by international agreement. While the "civilized" world began rebuilding after WW1 and enjoying the Roaring 20's, the Ottoman Empire, shortly thereafter, began reorganizing under the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. 

Did you not notice that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey has, on several occasions, espoused that he would resurrect the Ottoman Empire?

(AMP) “And as you saw the iron mixed with miry and earthen clay, so they shall mingle themselves in the seed of men [in marriage bonds]; but they will not hold together [for two such elements or ideologies can never harmonize], even as iron does not mingle itself with clay.”

All this should have a familiar ring to it if you have read about God's promise to Abram/Abraham. Abraham, in an attempt to move God's plan along, at the prodding of his wife, produces a child, Ishmael.

“ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.” Genesis 17:20

Does anybody want to venture a guess as to who that nation is?
If you said the Arab nation(s) are descendants of Ishmael, then you would be right.

I can hear the religious as they say, how dare you speak in that manner?

Look at what the Strong's concordance says about the simple word “nation.”

Nation is the Hebrew word gôy or gôyim. It is a masculine noun meaning nation, people, Gentiles. a foreign nation; hence a Gentile. This noun is also used to describe anyone other than Israel, whether they be pagan, Gentile, or heathen.

The term Goiim, to my understanding, is a very negative word applied to outsiders.

My thoughts.

Daniel was given the interpretation and perhaps the understanding; that alone should move the context into an Israeli, or at the least a Middle Eastern one. Regardless, you should never read the Bible without considering the context of God's people and the promised land.

Some may say that the dream was meant for Nebuchadnezzar exclusively and, therefore, should be seen as one that is primarily a Babylonian context. The problem with that thinking is how quickly the story moves off Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians and onto the Medo-Persian Empires and then the Grecian, and that the Babylonian empire, though a conquering one, was also one that protected and helped to develop God's people.

In trying to convince you that the narrative is about global rule, many have tried to argue that the statue shows us the Roman Empire. In pushing that argument, they ignore that the Grecian empire, during the time in which they conquered the Holy Land, was under the command of Alexander (one man) the Great. Sadly, he died, and the kingdom was divided four ways (between four Generals). That did not last long and ended with two Generals ruling a somewhat divided kingdom, with Seleucid in the North and Ptolemy in the South (Egypt.) I can easily see then how the thighs of bronze and legs of iron would continue to represent the Grecian empire to a degree.

But what happens when I get to the feet of this statue?

Historians tell us that the two remaining Grecian generals clashed with each other for control. In the North, the Assyrians - the same violent people group that gave us the Ninevehites, that Jonah was sent to with a message of destruction. The Assyrians, also known as Chaldeans, were part of the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empires; they also joined with the Egyptians in the South to fight against Israel. The Assyrians, descendants of Ishmael and Esau, are an integral part of the events we are seeing in the Middle East and news related to Israel today.

See how that sort of ended there, and it worked without including the Roman Empire, which also had two branches or legs to it. If you must insist that the Roman Empire is glued to Daniel's explanation of the statue because of Daniel 9:26, then I suggest that you pay attention to the role that recorded history plays in this belief.

Josephus, (the Jewish historian that worked for the Romans), told us that Assyrian conscript troops, with an open and violent hatred of the Jews, even though they knew that their punishment would probably mean their death, disregarded commands from Titus to cease their actions and destroyed Herod's temple primarily to obtain the gold that was melting and running between the cracks. They did not know that they were fulfilling prophecy and showing us what was to come.

But what do we do?

We follow religious traditions and loudmouth teachers who tell us that because Daniel 9:26 was fulfilled in 70 A.D., while Jerusalem was under the control of Roman soldiers, tells us that, “the people of the prince that is come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary” are going to be a part of the Roman empire, once again. These teachers will convey to you that they don't need to pay attention to Josephus or Tacitus (a Roman historian) because these "people" were doing all this damage under the Roman flag, and the coming actions of the followers of the Antichrist can be blindly attributed to the Roman Empire and, therefore, indicative of the Antichrist and the followers of his global religion.

I added global religion as the scripture tells us that they “worship” the beast – the antichrist; and, because of this term “worship,” that there will be a global, unifying religion.

Worship means nothing close to my grateful, heartfelt love for the Father because of what He has done for me through Jesus' death and resurrection.

Thayer's concordance gives us this.

"Worship is to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence. Among the Orientals, especially the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence. And, in the NT (worship is shown) by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication. And finally it is used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank."

In many of these instances, the alternative is often death for non-compliance.

The understanding that I apply to the Roman empire, unlike the others, is that it is NEVER specifically mentioned in the narrative about the giant statue, and this is a narrative that effectively takes us all the way out to the catching away of the church and the entrance of the antichrist - a leader that will have an influence on the Islamic nations.

"Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly potter’s clay and partly iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. It will have some of the strength of the iron, for you saw the iron mixed with clay." (Daniel 2:41 TLV)

"A kingdom, undefined by previous pattern. The word kingdom in the Hebrew is malku and means a rule or dominion.” WSD

What do we have that looks like that?

Islam. They have had, in the past, a caliphate; a central leadership - ruling authority, and many are desperately trying to reestablish the caliphate that rules over the world with Sharia law.

So, you may have picked up on a problem. 

We have two groups of people trying to control the world; the filthy rich and followers of Islam. 

Seeing as the rich have already demonstrated their desire and ability to control and kill off much of humanity, you might think that they will win. Not quite so fast. It is obvious, from scripture, that they will quickly kill off 1/4 of humanity with their vaccines and contagions, but at the three-and-one-half-year mark, the false prophet will switch teams and align himself with Islam, the beast, and Sharia law. Jesus told us, about this time, that the killing will be so great that if God does not stop it, no one will be alive on earth.

I hope you can understand that the best time to pledge your allegiance to Christ is now, before the catching away of the Church. Scripture tells us that the antichrist will be revealed very shortly after the church is gone. If you are here at this point, you can still come to Jesus. Just know that just about everyone not on your side will be trying to kill you.

And God himself will be among them. Revelation 21:3.

      So, in Revelation 20, Satan, having been released from the pit, makes a last-ditch effort to kill off God and His people. Satan could only accomplish an attack of this size by deceiving the nations.

If you are wondering, Revelation refers to all those coming into the kingdom as these “people.” These people who have come to God borders on uncountable. It’s fascinating about these “nations.” which are also uncountable, as only those who do not have their names written in the book of life fall for the deception.

      For months now, I have been saying that all those caught up in the rapture and the martyred saints are now immortals, just as Jesus is; death cannot touch Him or us. By bringing up this immortal aspect, I am reminding myself that heaven is real, and it will be a time of peace. That means no fear, and I don’t know if you noticed, but the level of fear and anxiety is rising.

    Chapter 20 closes as all judgments are ended, and Satan is permanently tossed into the lake of fire.

In trying to wrap our minds around heaven, we now migrate into chapter 21, where we read.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:1-2 NASB)

    Yes, the old earth burned up. But, if that concerns you, I would like to remind you that as followers of Jesus, it will not matter what happens to this polluted planet we now stand on. Why, you might ask? Because we are immortal, just like comic book characters, and we are safe within the arms of the Father. I guess that this new earth will be technology-free and look very similar to the planet that Adam first encountered. Add to that thought the promise we have about heaven.

“But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,” nor has it entered into the heart of man, “the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 MKJV)

    Your mind can’t even conceive of an idea surpassing what God has in store for us. This thought makes me aware of the movie Avatar. Please spare me the religious negativity, as I was in awe of plants that lit up as the characters touched them or those which produced music. A tree of enormous proportions spiraled to the sky and could be walked on, and another that emanated light. I also happen to think that riding a dragon would be very cool. But my thoughts show my limitations. Let’s say that I long for this time with Jesus.

    The Holy City has been restored to its appropriate location; it’s spectacular and filled with colors. Suddenly, a great voice from the throne is heard. Most translations say the same thing; however, the Moffatt translation says the voice came “out of the throne.” Since the grandchildren practice their non-listening skills, if I have the freedom to step in, I make sure they can hear me, and I am not trying to be pleasant at those moments. So forgive me for a moment as I consider the possibility that the furniture just spoke. I can’t disprove it. 

    The Greek word used to convey this voice coming out of the throne is the word thronos. Terms to define this include to seat. A seat, usually high and having a footstool, a throne as the emblem of royal authority. Just knowing this tends to push my thoughts toward the idea of God doing the speaking.

Well, what did He or it say?

Revelation 21:3 NASB “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,”

Let’s break this down.

• “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men,”

    Since we, in our previous study of Revelation 21:1 and 2, saw that the Holy City had already come down; and that Jesus and the martyred saints sat as judges over the earth for a thousand years, you might think that it would be safe to say that “God” was among men.

    Remember, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one and in unity. One thing that is clear to me is that Jesus sits on a throne, in the Holy City, on earth and is approachable. 

    That does not mean that the nations get to dance into the throne room and disrespect Him. Oh no. A piece of evidence for what I just said comes from Revelation 22:15, and yes, it seems ludicrous to consider that this activity level could still exist during the millennium. 

“Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” ( NASB)

    I just cut that thought short as I remembered that we are looking at Revelation 21, where it seems that the story has moved beyond the thousand years. Undoubtedly, nothing like this “Outside are … everyone who loves and practices lying” could exist beyond the great white throne.

    Having discussed this with others, I have pointed out how God’s people (I see this terminology applied to those who are coming and going in and out of the Holy City during the thousand years) during this time are taking the leaves from the trees of life and bringing healing to the nations. Healing is more than a simple bandage; this is an internal and eternal change where the brokenness and propensity to sin are removed.

    Remember that after the fall of humanity, Adam and Eve were prevented from accessing the tree of life in the center of the garden. Surely, you have asked why that had to be. If they had taken from the tree of life in their newly broken condition, they would have been the evil and immortal gods of the universe. The leaves from the tree of life, improperly applied, would allow these people to be immortals and yet keep their ways that conflict with God. 

    If you are good students of the Bible, then you know that NONE of what I just said is clearly defined in the Revelation. You have to come to this understanding by looking at what happened with Adam in the garden and then applying what you know from Paul’s letters about how Jesus took our sins upon himself and is NOW offering this same relief to the nations throughout the thousand years.

• “and He will dwell among them,”

Here again, the Father and the Son seem to be seated in the Holy City.

"And the peoples will say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will give us knowledge of his ways, and we will be guided by his word; for out of Zion the law will go out, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3 BBE)

    In this phrase, “the house of the God of Jacob,” God is the Hebrew word’ elōhiym and is plural. This plurality is one of the ways we come to understand that the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are one. All three have a seat and can sit upon the throne. Since the Holy Spirit is the helper who leads and guides us into all truth, it might explain why we don’t see Him seated at all. 

    We can make foolish arguments about how God sits exclusively above all sin but we are wasting our time. One of the verses used to push horrendous negativity is this.

“Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?” (Habakkuk 1:13 NASB)

    To understand verse 13 and why he says this, you have to go back to verses two and three. Habakkuk is ranting about God not hearing his prayers while evil things and violent behavior go on all around him; not so unlike today, which is increasing in violence every day.

“How long, O Lord, will your ears be shut to my voice? I make an outcry to you about violent behaviour, but you do not send salvation. Why do you make me see evil-doing, and why are my eyes fixed on wrong? for wasting and violent acts are before me: and there is fighting and bitter argument.” (Habakkuk 1:2-3 BBE)

    So Habakkuk makes a massive assumption if he believes that God cannot look at sin. If that were true, we would NOT be here. Remember, God so loved a world that did not want nor love Him that He sent His only Son to die a violent death on a cross so that the world through Him could be saved. Try to explain how He could do that without looking. And there is also the example of God returning to the garden, calling out for Adam, even though the man now represented sin. 

    And one more thing, while we are forgiven of our sins, we perpetually continue to sin. Please don’t assume that your sin has to be murder for it to be deemed a sin. Gluttony is a sin, and there are many of you guilty of that. Besides all that, we are told that if you thought it, you did it, and with that, you can throw your argument that you never murdered anybody right out the window.

• “and they shall be His people,”

    This statement is oriented toward the Jewish people. To put it bluntly, they rejected the Messiah. Scripture tells me that when Jesus returns, riding a white horse and having a sword come out of His mouth, at that time, the veil over their eyes and hearts will be lifted, not only from Israel but the entire world.

"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart, I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34 NASB)

    When Jesus comes back to reign, as Revelation 19 points out, two-thirds of Israel will have been killed.

‘One-third of you will die by plague or be consumed by famine among you, one third will fall by the sword around you, and one third I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe a sword behind them. (Ezekiel 5:12 NASB)

    Plague is interchangeable with pestilence. The ISBE defines pestilence as “any sudden fatal epidemic. The word is most frequently used in the prophetic books, and it occurs 25 times in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, always associated with the sword and famine.”

    Since virtually any outbreak lately of pestilence, like a baby formula shortage, is always manufactured, it is easy to picture where these future pestilence events will come from. Here is a clue, forced inoculations are a weapon.

    And the scriptures speak in terms of survivors.

“Yet, behold, survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come forth to you, and you will see their conduct and actions; then you will be comforted for the calamity which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it.” (Ezekiel 14:22 NASB)

    The point being this relatively small number of Jews, His people, will fall in love with their Messiah, and yet, it is evident that the number of people entitled to enter the Holy City is beyond counting. These are all God’s people.

• “and God Himself will be among them,”

I like this verse because it is befittingly in the face of Israel and the nations.

“They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God. “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd, and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. “They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever. “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. “My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. “And the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’” (Ezekiel 37:23-28 NASB)

Since I know that this theme, where God is among His people, is rampant throughout the scriptures, I could potentially leave this right here. I will not do that because we are told, by God, in the law, that NO ONE is prosecuted on the word of one witness. This law sets a precedent for proof, and we have to apply it to the Word of God. 

“My eyes will be on those of good faith in the land, so that they may be living in my house; he who is walking in the right way will be my servant.” (Psalms 101:6 BBE)

    We are focused on Revelation 21:3, where it says, He will be among them. Them is His people. You become His people through this relationship where you accept Jesus and the forgiveness offered.