The New Earth
DO YOU KNOW THE BIBLE TEACHES:
That "one generation passeth away,
and another generation cometh: but the earth
[our plant] abideth for ever" (#Ec 1:4; #Ps 119:90)?
That "God himself that formed the
earth [our plant], created it not in vain [to
be destroyed by literal fire, or otherwise], he formed it to be
inhabited" (##Isa 45:18)?
That God created Adam, "the first
man" (not as a spirit being, but a human
being), "of the earth, earthy" (#1Co 15:45, 47; #Joh 3:31), formed (not of spirit substances, but) "of the dust of the ground,
" and "breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life [Hebrew, lives]; and man became a living
soul" (#Ge 2:7; #Nu 31:28; #1Pe 3:20)?
That God promised Adam and his race a home
on earth (#Ge 1:28), not in
heaven-a home in heaven was promised to the Church only, and Jesus did
not prepare it for them until after His
ascension (#Joh 14:1-3; #Heb 10:34; #1Pe 1:3, 4)?
That the one true Church was to consist
only of those (regardless of race,
social standing or sex-#Ga
3:28) who would follow in
Jesus’ footsteps (#1Pe 2:21), present their human bodies to God, as
living sacrifices (Romans. 12:1), and
become new creatures (#2Co
5:17); who, in order to live
and reign with Jesus (#Re 20:4, 6; 5:9, 10) in heaven as spirit beings, would mortify through the Spirit the deeds of the
human body (#Ro 8:13), fight the good fight of faith (#1Ti 6:12),
become dead with Him and suffer with Him
faithfully unto death (#2Ti
2:11, 12; #Ro 6:3; #Re 2:10)?
That, as Jesus is Divine, so the
"little flock, "" the bride, the Lamb’s wife" (#Lu 12:32; #Re 21:2, 9; 19:7), is changed from human to Divine
nature in the resurrection (#1Co 15:49-54; #1Jo 3:2; #2Pe 1:4), for "flesh
and blood [human nature] cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption [corruptible things] inherit
incorruption?
DO YOU KNOW THE BIBLE TEACHES:
That the "elect," "chosen
out of the world" (#Joh
15:19) during the Gospel Age, will, in the Millennial Age, the "times
of restitution of all things" (#Ac 3:21), be
used by God, as Abraham’s Seed, in blessing all the families of the earth (the non-elect; #Ge 12:3; 22:18; 26:14; #Ga 3:8, 16, 29),
that they also, "the residue [remainder]
of men, might seek after the Lord" (#Ac 15:14-17)?
That Jesus is the propitiation
[satisfaction], not for the Church’s sins only, but also the sins of the whole world (#1Jo 2:2); that He "was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of
death that he by the grace of God
should taste death for every man" (#Heb 2:9);
that He died for all (#2Co
5:14, 15), "gave himself
a ransom for all, to be testified in due
time" (#1Ti 2:6); that God is thus "the Savior of
all men, specially of those that
believe" (#1Ti 4:10); that God "will have all men to be
saved [from the Adamic death sentence-#Ro 5:12-21; #1Co
15:21-26], and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (#1Ti 2:4; ##Isa
29:18, 24), unto knowledge of Jesus "the way, the truth
and the life" (#Joh 14:6), "the only name under the heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved" (#Ac 4:12), "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world" (#Joh 1:9; #Lk 2:10), who
during His thousand-year reign on earth (#Re 20:2-4, 6; 5:10) "will draw all
men" unto Himself (#Joh
12:32) and every knee shall
bow and every tongue confess that
Christ is Lord (#Phm 2:10, 11; ##Isa 45:22, 23)?
That Jehovah promised, "As truly as I
live, all the earth shall be filled with
my glory" (#Nu
14:21), which "shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together," when He makes the place of His feet glorious [the earth
is His figurative footstool-##Isa 66:1; #Ac
7:49], and "all the ends
of the earth shall see the salvation of
our God" and reverence Him (##Isa 60:13; 40:5; 52:10; #Ps 67:7)?
That Abraham’s seed after the flesh were
promised a portion of this earth (not
heaven!) as their everlasting possession (#Ge 13:15; 17:8; #Am 9:15)?
DO YOU KNOW THE BIBLE TEACHES:
That God will eventually destroy all the
wilfully wicked (#Ps 145:20; #Isa 1:28; #Eze 18:4, 20; #1Co 3:17; #2Pe 2:12), including the devil
himself (#Heb 2:14; ##Isa 14:15; #Eze 28:18, 19), in the lake if fire (which symbolically pictures eternal
destruction, "the second death"-#Re 20:13, 14; 21:8, #Mt 25:41, 46; #Jude 7), and
thus all "evildoers shall be cut
off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not
be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider
his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earthFor such as be blessed of him shall inherit the
earth. The righteous shall inherit the
land, and dwell therein for ever. Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and
he shall exalt thee to inherit the
land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt
see it. The transgressors shall be destroyed together" (#Ps 37:9-11, 22, 29, 34, 38; #Pr 2:21, 22; ##Isa 60:21)?
That "heaven and earth shall pass
away" (#Mt 24:35; #Re 6:14),
but this does not mean that God’s
eternal home in heaven and the eternal home-the earth-that He has ordained for mankind in general-except for the
Church-would be destroyed and thus
leave no abiding place for Him and His creatures, for the literal heavens and earth abide forever (#2Co 5:1; #Ec 1:4)?
That just as "the old world"
(the order of affairs among men before the Flood) "being overflowed with water perished" (#2Pe 2:5; 3:6), but the literal earth remained, so "this present world"
(or order of affairs-#Ga 1:4; #2Ti 4:10; #Ti 2:12), with its heavens and earth (its false secular and
religious powers), is "reserved
unto fire, " is to "pass way with a great noise, " is to be "devoured with the fire of my
[God’s] jealousy [zeal]" (#2Pe
3:7, 10-12; #Zep 1:18; 3:8; #Hag 2:6, 7; #Heb
12:26-28), but the literal
earth is to remain, "for then will
I [God] turn to the people [who will remain after the "fire"] a pure language [message], that they may all
call upon the name of the Lord, to
serve him with one consent" (#Zep 3:9)?
DO YOU KNOW THE BIBLE TEACHES:
That in "the world to come" (the
new order of affairs-#Heb 2:5), according to God’s promise, there will be "new heavens [new religious
ruling powers-Christ’s kingdom] and a
new earth [human society organized on a new basis], wherein dwelleth righteousness [justice, and love,
not injustice, and hatred]" (#2Pe 3:13; ##Isa 65:17; 66:22; #Re 21:1)?
That in the "new earth"
"the ransomed of the Lord [the non-elect] shall return [from the grave-#Joh 5:28, 29], with songs and everlasting joyand
sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped" (##Isa 35:10, 5); "they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant
vineyards, and eat the fruit of themThe
wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock [not in heaven, but in the new
Earth]they shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain [kingdom], saith the Lord (##Isa 65:21-25; #Mic 4:4)?
That God’s kingdom will come and His will
shall be done in earth as it is heaven,
and His way will "be known upon earth, " among all nations; that
"God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be no more death"; "there shall be no more curse" (#Mt 6:10; #Ps 67; #Re 21:4; 22:3)?
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