Have you ever noticed how many times we see the number Seven in the Word? Seven is a number in Scripture which metaphorically represents completeness — a finishing of something.

We got started last week on this look at the number, 12, and the significance it plays in the picture of the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem, of course, is the portrayal of the Bride of Christ John saw and wrote about in Revelation 21. Because the number 12 has such significance as a metaphor for the completed Bride, the Bride who has gone through the fire, been tested, and overcame all in order to become the Counterpart and Other Self of the Lord Jesus Christ, we see all of the other intricacies of this number unfold before us.

The exhaustive use of the number 12 in Revelation as John begins to unfold the picture of the New Jerusalem has always astounded me. Talk about mathematical precision. The metaphorical representations draw a picture of the Bride of Christ in a way you just can’t miss! I’ve talked about this in times past, but take another look.   When John wrote, “And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,” the angel of the Lord was showing him the same thing that Ezekiel had seen in a vision. It was not a city in the sense of a physical or geographical place; it was the ensample of a principle: a principle which strikes at the very heart of all that the Lord has been doing in our midst.

We finished up last week talking about Roger Sherman and began talking about Jonathan Edwards. During the next two weeks, I’d like to talk about Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, probably the two men who played the greatest part in the move of God we’ve come to know and refer to as “The Great Awakening.” These two men were as opposite as can be from one another in their upbringing, yet the move of God in their lives was almost beyond imagination. In their years of ministry, they came to know each other and became great friends.

Let me share with you today about one of the most prolific of our founding fathers. In the weeks to come, you will see how much this man was involved in the founding of this nation, and the part he played in the First Great Awakening – a phenomenal move of God that spanned the colonies and influenced so many of our early leaders. One of the founding fathers of this nation was man whose name is far less known than that of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams or Benjamin Franklin: Roger Sherman. Nevertheless, his influence and direct involvement in the affairs that led to our nation's Declaration of Independence and Constitution ranked as high, if not higher, than those names with which we are more familiar.

Have you ever seen the series on television that PBS did several years ago, titled: The Adams Chronicles? It recounts the activites of the Adams family, their faith in God, the trials and tribulations they went through, and the remarkable successes they experienced during their years before serving in politics, and the years that followed. One of the most remarkable men in our nation's history was John Adams, who served as Vice-President during the eight years of George Washington's presidency, and four years as President immediately succeeding Washington.

I was just reading from a collection of comments made by some of our Supreme Court justices throughout the years and stumbled on one that deserves repeating within the framework of this series of discussions. We've already talked about Thomas Jefferson and some of his contributions to our nation's founding. What some folks may not know or remember is that he appointed John Marshall to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1801. John Marshall served this nation as Chief Justice for 34 years. In a letter dated May 9, 1833 to Jasper Adams, addressing the question of our nation's foundations and liberties, he wrote, "The American population is entirely Christian, and with us Christianity and Religion are identified. It would be strange indeed, if with such a people, our institutions did not presuppose Christianity, and did not often refer to it, and exhibit relations with it."

When we wrapped up last week, we were talking about the fact that so many Christians are reluctant, or outright afraid of dealing with evil spirits and addressing them. They believe that “that’s only for really spiritual people” or maybe even that “that was only for Jesus and the apostles.”   Whatever happened to the concept of “Christ in you, the hope of Glory?” Whatever happened to Jesus’ prayer in John 17? Do you not think that His prayer is answered?  Consider what He prayed.

All we did last week was to scratch the surface in dealing with the camouflage and concealment that evil spirits use to make us think that what we are dealing with is our own personalities. I never got to describing how in certain photos (which I have shared in our fellowship, but not in these Coffee Breaks), the objective was to demonstrate the fact that evil spirits often hide themselves in objects — just about every object you can think of — and in some cases the most unlikely things. Missionaries often come back from countries where witchcraft and superstition reign supreme.