INTERNATIONAL DAY OF

PRAYER AND FASTING

MONDAY 1st June

OneYFC

Revelation 7: 9-17

Hebrews 8

When I am in that Great Multitude I am going to be looking for YOU!

I will be calling out: “THIS is the real deal. That ONE YFC stuff was just a shadow of THIS gig!”

Plato, the ancient philosopher, believed our world is just a SHADOW of a timeless, unchanging reality. Plato believed we live in a dream world, in the SHADOWLANDS.

C. S. Lewis, the Oxbridge professor and Christian apologist, also viewed this world as the SHADOWLANDS. He believed that heaven is the TRUE reality and this world we see is merely a SHADOW. Initially, C. S. Lewis rejected the Gospel because he saw it as a copy of the ancient myths about dying saviours. J. R. R. Tolkien helped Lewis with this blockage. Some of the most beautiful scenes in the Narnia stories are the ones that show the interplay between Narnia and Aslan’s Kingdom. Lewis presents death as a door which is not merely an exit but an entrance to a new existence.

The writer of Hebrews used the same idea. Hebrews 8:5 says that priests serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and SHADOW of what is in heaven. That is why Moses was warned to carefully follow the pattern he was shown (on the mountain).

The writer had already shown that Jesus is a High Priest. That is why chapter 8 starts with:

‘The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven.’

Jesus used a similar argument!

John 6:32

‘Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the TRUE BREAD from heaven.’

Jesus said that he is the Bread of Life! He is the TRUE bread from heaven, and is therefore more important than the manna (given in the desert).

Jesus preceded the Exodus and the Manna!

As we move towards ONE YFC it is important to work out what is reality, and what is shadow. The earthly tabernacle was the shadow and the real one is in heaven! The manna in the desert is the shadow and the real bread from heaven is Jesus!

The Great Multitude in heaven is the reality and OneYFC is the shadow! What I am suggesting is that we are not merely working towards unity. We are being pulled forward by a future where the Great Multitude is gathered around the throne of God. Working our what is shadow and what is reality, is an important exercise.

Someone has said that on judgment day there will be just two people standing before God: the first Adam and the second Adam. Everyone else will be hanging from their belts. On judgment day, Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, will stand before God. Having perfectly fulfilled God’s law and having offered himself as a sacrifice for God’s people, Jesus will boldly approach God’s throne. Our heavenly father will greet and welcome his beautiful Son, accepting him completely… And we will be hanging from his belt.

He did what we could NOT do so that we could enjoy all that is HIS... for ETERNITY.

Hebrews chapter 8 states the following:

• First: Jesus is a High Priest!
• Second: The True tabernacle is in heaven!
• Third: Priests offer gifts and sacrifices!
• Fourth: The ministry of Jesus is better than the ministry of earthly priests!
• Fifth: The new covenant is better than the old covenant!
• Sixth: God will put his law in our minds and write his law on our hearts!
• Seventh: God will forgive our wickedness and will remember our sins no more!

All that we see around us is a mere shadow of the true reality, which is in heaven. One day a Great Multitude will gather around God’s throne celebrating his goodness. It will be a Great Multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. And that future is calling us forward. That reality in God’s heavenly Kingdom sets the pattern for ONE YFC... in these our shadowlands!