Gather Together, and Let Us Take Refuge in the Fortified City

 

Because the judgment of God was soon to come from the north, God had determined to destroy the kingdom of Judah through Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Therefore, He commanded them to blow the trumpet and set up a standard, and told them not to delay, but to gather together and flee into the fortified cities. Likewise, in the last days, because God has determined to judge this world by fire, we also today must gather together and take refuge in the fortified city.

 

2 Peter 3:7 “But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

 

Matthew 24:31 “And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

 

Then, where must we gather, and where is the safe fortified city to which we must flee?

 

The place where we must gather, the fortified city, is not a certain place or building, but God Himself, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Psalm 46:1-3 “1God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change, And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the mountains tremble with the swelling thereof. Selah.”

 

Psalm 61:3-4 “3For thou hast been a refuge for me, A strong tower from the enemy. 4I will dwell in thy tabernacle for ever: I will take refuge in the covert of thy wings. Selah.”

 

Psalm 91:1-4 “1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust. 3 For he will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, And from the deadly pestilence. 4He will cover thee with his pinions, And under his wings shalt thou take refuge: His truth is a shield and a buckler.”

 

Proverbs 18:10-11 “10The name of Jehovah is a strong tower; The righteous runneth into it, and is safe. 11The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And as a high wall in his own imagination.”

 

Therefore, earlier in Jeremiah 4:1, we can see that God said to the children of Israel, “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, unto me shalt thou return.”

 

Jeremiah 4:1 “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, unto me shalt thou return; and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be removed.”

 

Also, the meaning of God’s command through Moses to appoint six cities of refuge for the manslayer to flee to among the cities given to the Levites (Numbers 35) was to testify beforehand of Jesus, who would later become the refuge of sinners. Therefore, the apostle Paul preached that we have received redemption “in Jesus.”

 

Romans 3:23-24 “23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

 

Romans 8:1-2 “1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.”

 

Romans 8:39 “nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

1 Corinthians 1:4 “I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.”

 

Thus, “in Christ Jesus our Lord” and “the Lord is my refuge” do not refer to a place or a building. Therefore, we must not point to any particular place or building and say that it is the place where we must dwell, or the place where God dwells.

 

Acts 7:47-50 “47 But Solomon built him a house. 48Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands; as saith the prophet, 49The heaven is my throne, And the earth the footstool of my feet: What manner of house will ye build me? saith the Lord: Or what is the place of my rest? 50Did not my hand make all these things?”

 

God, who is our refuge—namely, Jesus—is “the Word of God.”

 

John 1:1, 14 “1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.”

 

Isaiah 11:10, 12 “10And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples¹, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious. 12And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed² of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

[¹Jesus, who came as a descendant of David, the son of Jesse (Ruth 4:22; Matthew 1:1). ²Dispersed: those who have been scattered and separated.]

 

Therefore, it is in Jesus, that is, in the Word of God, that we are able to enjoy peace and obtain rest.

 

John 16:33 “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

 

Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

 

Therefore, in order for us to escape the judgment of God appointed for the end of the world, it is very important that, not in any certain place or particular building, but “wherever we are,” we trust in the words of Jesus and rely on the name of Jesus, the name of our salvation (Acts 2:17-21).

 

John 20:30-31 “30 Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.”

 

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

 

Amen.