Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Kings 8:22-30.

“Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.  He said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart, who have kept with Your servant, my father David, that which You have promised him;  indeed, You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand as it is this day.  Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to their way to walk before Me as you have walked.’  Now therefore, O God of Israel, let Your word, I pray, be confirmed which You have spoken to Your servant, my father David.

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth?  Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!  Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today;  that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.  Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place;  hear in heaven Your dwelling place;  hear and forgive.”  1 Kings 8:22-30.

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“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’  This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’  On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  Matthew 22:36-40.

We think we are good.  At least, we think we are good enough, better than most.  But, what does Scripture state?

“10 as it is written,

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” Romans 3:10-12.

The fallen condition of man is not that we are just affected or injured by the presence of sin.  Rather,  “… you were dead in your trespasses and sins,”  Ephesians 2:1.

But, there is hope!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.  …”  Ephesians 1:3-8.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:4-7.

“2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
3 Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
5 Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

6 The LORD performs righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the sons of Israel.
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
14 For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.” Psalm 103:2-14.

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Kings 8:1-11.

“Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the city of David, which is Zion.  All the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.  Then all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.  They brought up the ark of the LORD and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up.  And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered.  Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim.  For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above.  But the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; they are there to this day.  There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.  It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.”  1 Kings 8:1-11.

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“For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.  For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.  …   But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 3:9-10 and 18. 

Consider the following from the Canons of Dordt in the section titled SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby.

Article 8.  For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation:  that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death;  should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing;  and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.

“Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;  but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.  For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”  Hebrews 10:11-14.

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.  For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.  I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”  1 Corinthians 2:1-5.

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Kings 7:48-51.

“Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the LORD:  the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence;  and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold;  and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold;  and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold;  and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.

Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the LORD was finished.  And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.”  1 Kings 7:48-51.

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Today’s Scripture leads us to meditate on how, so to speak, we can put our things in the treasuries of the house of the LORD. 

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;  for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19-21.

“18 The wicked earns deceptive wages,
But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward.
19 He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life,
And he who pursues evil will bring about his own death.” Proverbs 11:18-19.

“Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” Galatians 3:11.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”  1 Peter 1:3-9.

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:1-4.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;  who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”  Philippians 3:20-21.

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Kings 7:13-22.

“Now King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre.  He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze;  and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill for doing any work in bronze.  So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work.

He fashioned the two pillars of bronze;  eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both.  He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars;  the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits.  There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars;  seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital.  So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates;  and so he did for the other capital.  The capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits.  There were capitals on the two pillars, even above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network;  and the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around both capitals.  Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave;  and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.  On the top of the pillars was lily design.  So the work of the pillars was finished.”  1 Kings 7:13-22.

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Why did Solomon name the two pillars in the temple Jachin and Boaz?

Boaz was great-great-grandfather (a/k/a “second great-grandfather”) to Solomon and was also an ancestor to Jesus.  See the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1.

Jachin was a son of Simeon, one of the sons of Israel.  See Genesis 46:8-10.  

Footnotes in my Bible (New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)) to the name of Jachin is “he shall establish” and to the name of Boaz is “in its strength”.  

Certainly, a pillar to our house a/k/a life should be Jesus.  

But, who will establish Jesus as a pillar to our house a/k/a life?

Can we establish Jesus as a pillar to our house a/k/a life by our will or our works?

No.  Only God can establish Jesus as a pillar to our house a/k/a life.

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”  1 Corinthians 1:26-31.

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”  2 Corinthians 1:21-22.

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Kings 7:1-12.

“Now Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.  He built the house of the forest of Lebanon;  its length was 100 cubits and its width 50 cubits and its height 30 cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars.  It was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the 45 pillars, 15 in each row.  There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three ranks.  All the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window in three ranks.

Then he made the hall of pillars;  its length was 50 cubits and its width 30 cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a threshold in front of them.

He made the hall of the throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

His house where he was to live, the other court inward from the hall, was of the same workmanship.  He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Solomon had married.

All these were of costly stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside;  even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court.

The foundation was of costly stones, even large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits.  And above were costly stones, stone cut according to measure, and cedar.  So the great court all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams even as the inner court of the house of the LORD, and the porch of the house.”  1 Kings 7:1-12.

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The abundant use of cedar in Solomon’s Palace leads us to meditate on the hope of the righteous.  The LORD will cause the righteous to grow “like a cedar in Lebanon”, and a Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will appear to the righteous and His appearance will be “like Lebanon, Choice as the cedars”, “wholly desirable”.

“12 The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the house of the LORD,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
15 To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalm 92:12-15.

“15 “His legs are pillars of alabaster
Set on pedestals of pure gold;
His appearance is like Lebanon
Choice as the cedars.
16 “His mouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.” Song of Solomon 5:15-16.

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Kings 6:23-38.  Here is a link to this Scripture – 1 Kings 6 NASB1995 – – Bible Gateway

I quote only the following verses.

“Also in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.  Five cubits was the one wing of the cherub and five cubits the other wing of the cherub;  from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits.  The other cherub was ten cubits;  both the cherubim were of the same measure and the same form.  The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub.  He placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and the wings of the cherubim were spread out, so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall.  So their wings were touching each other in the center of the house.  He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.”  1 Kings 6:23-28. 

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We can use the following Scripture to meditate on the significance of the cherubim in the midst of the inner sanctuary with their wings spread out such that their wings touched each other and the two walls, thus spanning the width of the inner sanctuary.

“Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil;  and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.  So He drove the man out;  and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”  Genesis 3:22-24.

Why would the LORD God use His angels, the cherubim, “to guard the way to the tree of life.”?

Why would the LORD God not want man to become like “one of us”, the Holy Trinity?

Other doctrine believe and teach that God loves everyone and Christ died for everyone and that man has free-will to determine whether or not he or she will be saved.  

But, Reformed Doctrine believes and teaches that God does not love everyone, Christ did not die for everyone, and that God alone determines and elects, based on His will alone, whom He will save and whom He will not save.

The cherubim guarding the inner sanctuary, representing the place of salvation, was a reminder that God alone determines and elects, based on His will alone, whom He will save and whom He will not save.    

Consider the following from the Canons of Dordt in the section titled from FIRST HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of Divine Predestination.

“Article 9. This election was not founded upon foreseen faith, and the obedience of faith, holiness, or any other good quality of disposition in man, as the pre-requisite, cause or condition on which it depended;  but men are chosen to faith and to the obedience of faith, holiness, etc., therefore election is the fountain of every saving good;  from which proceed faith, holiness, and the other gifts of salvation, and finally eternal life itself, as its fruits and effects, according to that of the apostle:  “He hath chosen us (not because we were) but that we should be holy, and without blame, before him in love,”  Ephesians 1:4.”

This point is summarized as “Unconditional Election”.

Reformed Doctrine accurately summarizes Scripture and teaches that salvation is a work of God alone, by grace alone, and that God handles all the points of salvation from beginning to end:  from the beginning of “Unconditional Election” through “Limited Atonement” through “Irresistible Grace” to the end of “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation. (The “T” of “TULIP” represents “Total Depravity” of man). This true doctrine of salvation is more fully taught in the Reformed Confession called Canons of Dordt.

“For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.”  So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”  Romans 9:15-16.

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;  but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.  But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”  1 Corinthians 1:26-31.

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Kings 6:14-22.  

“So Solomon built the house and finished it.  Then he built the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar;  from the floor of the house to the ceiling he overlaid the walls on the inside with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress.  He built twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling;  he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, even as the most holy place.  The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long.  There was cedar on the house within, carved in the shape of gourds and open flowers;  all was cedar, there was no stone seen.  Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.  The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height, and he overlaid it with pure gold.  He also overlaid the altar with cedar.  So Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold.  And he drew chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold.  He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished.  Also the whole altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.”  1 Kings 6:14-22.  

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The whole house was overlaid with gold which draws us to faith in the house to come.  For, we are “… looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”  Hebrews 11:10. 

“…  and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.”  Revelation 21:18.

“…  And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”  Revelation 21:21.

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.  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, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes;  and there will no longer be any death;  there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;  the first things have passed away.”  Revelation 21:2-4.

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Kings 6:1-12.  Here is a link to this Scripture – 1 Kings 6 NASB1995 – – Bible Gateway

I quote only the following verses.

“Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.  …  

The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.

…

Now the word of the LORD came to Solomon saying, “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father.  I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”  1 Kings 6:1 and 7 and 11-12.

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“Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.” Psalm 127:1.

“David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.  But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.  However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands;  as the prophet says:

‘HEAVEN IS MY THRONE,
AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET;
WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?’ says the Lord,
‘OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REPOSE?
‘WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’” Acts 7:46-50.

“For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.  Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later;  but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”  Hebrews 3:4-6.

And, the fact in today’s Scripture, “there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built”, leads us meditate that man did not build the house, but rather that God Himself the Son Jesus Christ would build the house, that would truly satisfy and please the LORD.  See verse 7.

Christ fulfilled perfectly the requirement of the LORD of perfect obedience in order to build the house for the LORD.

“…  I will build My church;  and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”  Matthew 16:18. 

“For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.  The Law came in so that the transgression would increase;  but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Romans 5:19-21.

“… Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing;  but that she would be holy and blameless.”  Ephesians 5:25-27.

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.  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, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes;  and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;  the first things have passed away.”  Revelation 21:2-4.