17 April 70 CE, The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem, by David Roberts (1850)
As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”
Mark 13:1-2
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:20-22
Fathom this…Jesus, Yeshua, the Messiah rejected by the religious and political elite of the day. With His disciples He is weaving through the crowded Temple Court to exit Jerusalem through one of the gates of the Eastern Wall. The apocalyptic truth, Jesus is the chosen Chief Cornerstone, the firm foundation of the ekklesia/the church. The entire superstructure begins (Cornerstone) and ends (Capstone) with Him with shouts of “grace, grace to it!” In this moment, He is simultaneously building up the New Emerging Temple while He is prophesying the Destruction of the Second Temple. As the Wise Master-builder, for three years, He has been fitting “living stones” (the disciples) together with Himself. The soon to be apostles are star-struck by the massive stones and ornate buildings…while walking and talking through the streets of Jerusalem, and climbing the Mount of Olives. Jesus is proactively fitting together and building the most durable gathering of mankind for all the ages…the Church. Invisibly, Jesus is building His church in the shadow of a doomed religious edifice, a failing hybrid monster of political, religious, military and economic structures. In forty years, The Jerusalem of His day will be crushed by 80,000 Roman soldiers. However, This Old Jerusalem will eventually be replaced with the New Jerusalem descending from heaven at the end of the age like a beautifully adorned bride on her wedding day (Rev.21:1-2)!
Flashback to 1969-1970…As a 7- year old, I’m standing on a scaffold 8’ feet off the ground constructed along the westside of a brick house my dad and my brothers, John and Steve, are building. John is mixing the cement, Steve is wheelbarrowing the cement and shoveling it up on to the scaffold that me and my dad are on. In his spare time, my dad (an engineer for the Department of Agriculture, Forest Service), a civil engineer, is tediously and accurately laying each brick in place with the use of a trowel and mason’s string line pulled horizontally just above the last row of brick. I can still feel the Pueblo springtime cold nippy wind blowing around my neck. My big bruder John’s face was ashen from the cement powder swirling around his body as the cement mixer grinded away. I can see my dad with his black frame glasses, his weathered construction hands and a drip of nasal snot hanging on the tip of his nose. My simple singular job was to hand him an individual brick over and over again. On that scaffold we did not talk much, I simply watched him carefully and I learned to hand him a brick at the right time and the right place without a single word from him…I knew him, what he was doing and what my job was. My brother’s and I were sons and slaves! My dad was the Pharaoh and we were building the Great Pyramid of John Langskov brick by brick. In fact, we were racing the union mason’s across the street and we were faster. My dad was a fierce competitor in all spheres of life.
The Langskov House 1969 in Pueblo, Colorado (Left to Right: Steve, Dad, Jeff, Dave (Master-carpenter) and John)
The Great House of the Langskov took 1 year to build….hahahaha. The Great Pyramid took 20 years to build. The Great Wall of China stretched out over 200 years. The Great House of the Langskov, the Great Pyramid and Chinese Great Wall stand today. Solomon’s Temple took 7 years to build (completed in (957 BC) but was destroyed in 586 B.C. by the Babylonians. Seventy years later (first wave of POW’s from Judah was around 604-606 B.C.) a group of exiles returned from Babylon and eventually finished the Second Temple (aka Zerubbabel’s Temple) in 516 B.C. after a 16 year delay. The principal leaders for this Restoration Temple were the governor Zerubbabel, Joshua the High Priest and the prophets Haggai and Zecheriah (Ezra 5:2). All ministry in the Church is to be led by Jesus Christ, the King, the High Priest and the Prophet. Jesus, as the King of kings, has all authority and power to rule; He is our sinless sacrifice, High Priest and Intercessor between us and the Father; He is the infallible Word of God who fully explains the Godhead…Listen to Him!
As Apocalyptic-Disciples we possess true hope that expects things to get worse before they radically are transformed for His highest good. We know “good will triumph over evil.” We prepare our spirit to be ready to do His will and make a difference in simple tasks of love each day. We value people above the things of this world that is passing away.
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Shake up/down: Political, religious, and economic systems will ultimately fail humanity…they will collapse under the judgement of God. As needed, Pray you will disentangle yourself from these false gospels and shakeable alliances of peace and prosperity.
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Shake-off: Let go of any inbred pessimism grounded in the failure of broken systems, fake news, conspiracy theories, shipwrecked relationships and personal failures. Let His redemption wrap you in a warm garment of present hope and future release of purpose. Lift up your head for your redemption is drawing near!
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Shake-out: Hand someone a brick that will make them stronger and wiser! Find one simple task and do it over and over until you build a wall of salvation around yourself and others! Only speak words that edify in love!
We have such sweet memories of that period, hard work, but gratifying! Even the liberated Jewish slaves from Egypt looked back longingly on their slavery because it was a known life! But God always is leading us higher! Love the analogy – bricks upon bricks – the foundation critical – ours is Jesus the Christ who is forever our Lord and King with a home that never grows old. Hugs, Son
Thank you Dad & Mom! You were always there with me providing and disciplining me in love! It took me a little long than I thought to truly appreciate it! Very grateful!
mdlangskov@gmail.com