An Examination of the New Heaven and New Earth
An Examination Of The New Heaven and The New Earth 2/3/08
By Steven Haukdahl
1Co 15:26 the last hostile thing (enemy) made to cease is death".
It is quite evident to us these passages to name a couple are holy inspired as taking place starting as a first century fulfillment. Chronologically speaking from a preterist perspective the “first resurrection of the saints” stated here took place before or when the millennial reign began. Rev 21 continues in a short and somewhat poetic explanation of how grand that new heaven and new earth is, but what and where is it? Is it metaphoric speech for the new covenant in Christ or has it even further implication that can contribute to our understanding?
Revelation 21: 10-27 (below) provides a very metaphoric description of the new bride/wife in her immortal, incorruptible state vs. the condition of His wife in OT times before she was rescued still in her mortal and corruptible state, but now in the heavenly kingdom after the "marriage supper of the Lamb” His bride/wife which followed the resurrection as a result of what transpired in this event described in 1Cor 15:23b at His arrival on the Throne of David.
In Revelation 21 we read:
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away. And the sea is not [any] more [fig., the sea no longer exists].
Rev 21:2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having been prepared like a bride having been adorned [for] her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice out of heaven, saying, "Look! The tabernacle of God [is] with the people, and He will tabernacle [or, dwell] with them. And they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them.
Rev 21:4 And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not be [any] more [fig., death no longer will exist], nor sorrow, nor crying, nor will pain be any more [fig., pain will no longer exist], because the first [things] passed away."
Rev 21:5 And the One sitting on the throne said, "Look! I am making all things new!" And He says to me, "Write, because these words are true and trustworthy."
Rev 21:6 And He said to me, "_I_ have become the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End [or, the Origin and the Fulfillment]. _I_ will give to the one thirsting from the spring of the water of life without cost.
Rev 21:7 "The one overcoming will inherit these [things], and I will be God to him, and he will be a son to Me.
Rev 21:8 "But to the cowardly and unbelieving and sinners and [ones] having been corrupted and murderers and sexual sinners and sorcerers and idolaters and all the liars, their part [will be] in the lake, the one being burnt with fire and sulfur [or, brimstone], which is the second death."
Everyone is responsible to use sound and consistent hermeneutics in deciding what the Bible is trying to convey to the reader as we endeavor to understand the not always so obvious passages. Unfortunately most read only with old suppositions and depend upon tradition, then pass those erroneous teachings on to others when Jesus succinctly admonished that "by clinging to their traditions, the Pharisee’s of his day made the word of God void", and it is because of this we should continue in our quest for truth and understanding as we grow into mature Christians.
Those who study bible prophecy acknowledge that the concept of the “new heavens and earth” or “new Jerusalem” are connected to the fulfillment of the Bible's “latter days”, “end times things”, “last day’s”. When examining the “new heavens and “new earth” passages like 2 Peter 3 may lead us to different conclusions when reading phrases like “the end of all things”, “destroyed by fire” in a literal fashion. Even the phrase in 3:4-6 destroyed by water many preterist will not think it was the entire globe but rather the word oukimene as the inhabited or known world at that time that was destroyed by water. 2 Peter 3 is a primary passage in Bible prophecy that is commonly used to define what happens after the “end of the age” as mentioned throughout the New Testament.
We read of three different “heavens and earths” represented in 2 Peter 3. First, there is a description of the “old heavens and earth” that was destroyed by water 2 Peter 3:4-6. Secondly, there is a “present heavens and earth” which was to be destroyed by fire in verse seven. And thirdly, is described a “new heavens and earth” in which righteousness dwells 2 Peter 3:13. Here are the three represented:
- The “old heavens and earth” which was destroyed by water 2 Peter 3:4-6
- The “ then present heavens and earth” which was going to be destroyed by fire 2 Peter 3:7
- The “future new heavens and earth” (future to the writers in the 1st century that is) in which righteousness dwells 2 Peter 3:13
Most seem agreed that the first “old heavens and earth” represent that period of history prior to Noah's flood. None believe that the physical earth was destroyed from the flood, some disagree as to the proximity the flood engulfed, but the concepts we will focus on are the people living in and the location of the three “heavens and earth.”
There also seems to be little dispute that it is a historical era in which all those not in Noah's ark perished in a watery flood. This is important to recognize because only “the righteous” (Noah and his family) were able to enter into the new “heavens and earth” that started in their time that came thereafter, we can see how this applies to those who are able to enter into the new heavens and earth of Second Peter chapter three.
On the identification of the first era of the “old heavens and earth” mentioned by Peter there is little disagreement. However, this is not the case regarding the “heavens and earth” then present when Peter wrote his second epistle and the "new heavens and earth" in the future from the standpoint in which Peter was writing.
Most Christian writers believe that the “present heavens and earth” i.e. the world around us, will one day “melt with fervent heat” at the destruction of the physical planet. In the preterist perspective this entire passage is referring to the end of the Jewish system, law, earthly temple once the elements of that system were removed, by the fall of the Mosaic system in 70AD. In the Isa 34 passage referenced a few paragraphs down we will expound a little more on this type of imagery often used.
This particular point of view focuses on the “year of our Lord” AD70, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. Only after the Jewish temple was destroyed by the Romans did the “present heavens and earth” pass away. It is then deduced that then could the “new heavens and earth” find its establishment through the King Sheppard of Israel the Resurrected Christ.
The historical year 70 was the prophetic focal point which separated the passing of the present “heavens and earth” from the coming of the new “heavens and earth.” To use other biblical venacular, “this aion or age” used is equated with the “old heavens and earth,” (the era of the Jewish Levitical system), and “the age to come” is equated with the “new heavens and earth” or the “Church age” keeping in mind there are mortal beings in the "Church Age" now, and resurrected immortal beings also in the present, being our claim.
In the OT we read of this “new heaven and new earth” perhaps not as we look at it as one of the 9 or 10 planets as most know them for a moment, but instead as the originally written Hebrew word Strong’s h776 erets and in the NT the Greek word Strong’s g1093 ge or ghay which can imply “region, soil, land and as Jesus mentions in Matthew 21:33 referring to a land in heaven in this case but calls it a far away country”.
Another interpretation that holds a scriptural basis, but is not the only basis is that the text implies a close relation to the old and new covenant referring to the “passed away” in Rev 21:1 and also mentioned in “Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne and the One sitting on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and a place was not found for them.” perhaps is to say has become obsolete or according to the author of Hebrews was "old and ready to vanish away" when he wrote the letter (Heb 8:13, ca. 64 AD). The "new heaven and earth" is a reference to the new covenant (Heb 8:8ff) in that “the new” is better and has replaced it rather than “the old” no longer existing. Same is true in many other prophecies. Isaiah 34 is a great example of the absurdity of a literal interpretation. On the one hand, the cosmos is utterly destroyed, yet, earth is still here. However, the dust and even the water of the streams turn to pitch and burn day and night. THEN, however, the birds, beasts and thorns and thistles grow up and live amongst the fiery scene! How could this all be minutely, precisely true? It can't be. It is imagery, and to seek precision or speak literal in the midst of imagery can lead to serious problems.
Let's do a brief analysis of the "old heaven and earth" to help us identify and differentiate the language being used as we endeavor to exercise proper hermeneutics:
Old Earth or more properly Old Land - the promised land of Canaan (extensively talked about in the book of Joshua), animal sacrifices, the law, blessings and cursings. Interestingly Moses could not take them into the promise land, but Joshua (same name as our Lord and Savior Yeshua once he was resurrected also took them in) could take them in.
Old Heaven - Not always meaning up in the atmosphere, often The Temple on the Land at that time (pre 70AD), a place God alone or let's say without the resurrected saints was.
By the time we get to Rev 21 (ca. 70 AD) the old covenant has passed away when the temple and all that pertained to it was destroyed in 70AD and it has now been replaced by the new covenant. The bride of Christ came from the context of the old covenant and passed into the new covenant by the blood of Christ. Therefore, it would seem that John's reference to the new Jerusalem "descending from heaven" is a reference to that passage of the bride from the old to the new covenant by resurrection into the kingdom of heaven (in heaven) where all the promises are fulfilled.
However, in context, there are two heavens mentioned in verse one. Which heaven - the old heaven or the new heaven - is John saying that the New Jerusalem descends from? If it the new heaven as many assume, then we must ask and answer some questions:
1. John clearly states that the New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ. In the first century the bride of Christ was being formed on earth -- so -- how did it get into heaven in the first place?
2. If it got to heaven, then why would it come back to earth?
If, on the other hand, John is referring to the old heaven which has just "passed away" then the passage makes sense.
Rev 12:8-9 Below cites similar language where I think some questions should come to mind. If this is the heaven above as many assume then:
1. Why was this Dragon in the heavens where God actually resides when God cannot live amongst sin?
2. How in this verse, "Rev 12:17 and the dragon was angry against the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, those keeping the commands of God, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ." was he cast down from heaven to the land if he was already here deceiving, persecuting God's people in the first century all the way back to Genesis 3 in the garden as so many believe?
If, on the other hand, John is referring to the old heaven which has just "passed away" then this passage makes sense, let's read it in that light for a moment:
Rev 12:8 and they did not prevail, nor was their place found any more in the heaven;
Rev 12:9 and the great dragon was cast forth--the old serpent, who is called `Devil,' and `the Adversary,' who is leading astray the whole world--he was cast forth to the earth, and his messengers were cast forth with him.
We can see that Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:17, taught the concept and typology, tying it directly to the passing from the old creation to the new. In this passage he wrote, “therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Jewish people today want to stay in the old man, old covenant and old jerusalem rejecting God's provision His Son for their shortcomings and yet call themselves God's chosen people and Christians swallow it hook, line and sinker! This realization would hopefully awaken some of the many Christian Zionist and get them thinking, rethinking their theology and prophecy such as John Hagee Ministries as well as many others with that dispensational view.
Based on Paul’s teaching the passing occurs in Christ, so using a full preterist perspective can be heretical because the hope of the saints is not ethereal. Where pain is not really pain, sorrow not really sorrow, etc. and not to any date as a passing away, but the Parousia of Christ from a proper preterist perspective expresses it as an ongoing event for almost 2000 years now—as believers/overcomers or followers of Christ have died they have been entering in or populating this new heaven and from what we’ve conferred in this thesis up until now, may very well have also been populating this new land i.e. somewhere other than here.
A New Jerusalem, In A New Land
When I took my first serious look at Full Preterism years ago I realized the prevailing view made reference to the New Jerusalem as being the saints or the church in our present fleshly state "primarily". Stating that it goes on forever in an endless cycle quoting Eph 3:21 [never hearing anything about the saints in the hereafter] and that left me less than convinced and unsatisfied, still searching for answers. "Eph 3:21 states, to Him is the glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus, to all the generations of the age of the ages. Amen." may be going on to express "the saints up til and to their resurrected state" and not be referring to the church as going on in existence forever as some would think of the church being composed of fleshly human beings. How can we be emphatic this is not making reference to an actual "new place" or a "different place", as well as it referencing the saints in their immortal state? Afterall a city is made up of people and resurrected people are still people technically speaking. As far as the ecclesia made up of mortal human beings goes, we are also told in Rev. 14:13 "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." So we still die “in the Lord” according to this passage. But, why are the dead blessed from henceforth? Because they no longer soul sleep in the dust, but are immediately resurrected into the kingdom from that point in history on!
So this city well could be alluding to -- in the context of the ultimate goal being the heavenly city other than the church composed of mortal beings -- not to exclude the explanation of the mortal or still corruptible ekklessia, but we are not glorified to what we shall be—only yet "heirs" to the promise and those that are there are now "inheritors". It may be also instructive to note this heavenly Jerusalem has no need of the sun and moon for its light, which in this context is probably literal considering they are with God and shall see him face to face Rev 21:24-26. Finally if the church in the sense of the ecclesia being called out ones, were to hold its present purpose would really make no sense in the world to come, that is if we hold to death and dying being a thing of the past in that future day as we read in 1 Cor 15 the last enemy conquered is death itself, with everyone immortal, perfect saints, there would be nothing to be "called out" of.
When we speak of the new heavens and the new earth many with dispensational, partial preterist and even the jewish religion will often quote this verse stating that messiah could not have come because nothing really has changed:
Isa 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah.
With that in mind focusing on “the new earth” for a moment I do not think referring to this new land as a heavenly land residing elsewhere in the universe as we know it or a different land, can be ruled out exegetically, linguistically, metaphorically or even logically. When we renovate our homes we don’t say I bought a new house, but when we purchase a “different” house we most likely will refer to it as a new house. But the key to understanding these verses and many like it is found in the words ''in all my holy mountain" In prophetic Scripture this language is covenantal language for the kingdom of heaven. According to Scripture the Kingdom of Heaven was established in 70AD when the old was abolished. Perfect people are and have been in this city since Heb 9:26, 11:40. Do any full preterist who think they are in that city now, know anyone who is perfect?? Hence, for those first century saints and others who are now in that heavenly kingdom by virtue of resurrection this prophecy has been fulfilled. However, for those of us who are presently living on planet earth it has not yet been fulfilled.
These verses are taken to imply that this has to mean planet earth as we know it and therefore it must be a yet future event, I am trying to demonstrate these verses may be interpreted differently and have often been taken out of context.
Luke 13:27 and he shall say, I say to you, I have not known you whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of the unrighteousness.
Luke 13:28 `There shall be there the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth, when ye may see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the reign of God, and yourselves being cast out without;
Luke 13:29 and they shall come from east and west, and from north and south, and shall recline in the reign of God,
Zech 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
The "His" in the verse above is a reference to LORD in verse three. LORD is YHWH (proper name of God the Father) in the Hebrew not Jesus. This verse is thus about God the Father and not Jesus Christ as some claim.
Zech 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. This verse also is about God the Father not Jesus Christ and this very well could have been at a time when God did become King over all the land and his name one.Zech 14:10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.
Some may argue for the same earth/land because of verses that seem to indicate that at first glance, but taking a deeper look while considering some of the many verse in the NT should give us a different perspective. One comes to mind stated by our Lord and Saviour in:
Joh 14:2 in the house of my Father are many mansions; and if not, I would have told you; I go on to prepare a place for you;
Joh 14:3 and if I go on and prepare for you a place, again do I come, and will receive you unto myself, that where I am you also may be.
Did he say “that where you are I will come to be also”? No, he said, “that where I am, you may be also” that’s NOT here folks!
1 Pe 1:4 to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in the heavens for you, (Not here)
Heb 9:23 It is necessary, therefore, the pattern indeed of the things in the heavens to be purified with these, and the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these;
Heb 9:24 for not into holy places made with hands did the Christ enter--figures of the true--but into the heaven itself, now to be manifested in the presence of God for us;Not Holy places made with hands, only figures of the true, but into heaven itself. The evidence seems conclusive.
Heb 12:22 _But_ you* have come to (proserchomai come near, draw near but not yet with heavenly messengers or not yet glorified) Mount Zion and to [the] city of [the] living God, to heavenly Jerusalem and to countless thousands of angels,Heb 12:23 to [the] festive gathering and assembly [or, church] of first-born [ones] having been enrolled in heaven and to God, [the] Judge of all [people], and to [the] spirits of righteous [ones] having been made perfect,
Heb 12:24 and to [the] Mediator of a new covenant-Jesus-and to [the] blood of sprinkling, speaking a better [thing] than the [blood] of Abel.Amo 9:15 And I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be pulled up out of their land which I have given to them, says Jehovah your God.
2Sa 7:10 and I have appointed a place for My people, for Israel, and have planted it, and it hath tabernacled in its place, and it is not troubled any more, and the sons of perverseness do not add to afflict it any more, as in the beginning,
2Sa 7:11 even from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and I have given rest to thee from all thine enemies, and Jehovah hath declared to thee that Jehovah doth make for thee a house.2Sa 7:12 `When thy days are full, and thou hast lain with thy fathers, then I have raised up thy seed after thee which goeth out from thy bowels, and have established his kingdom;
2Sa 7:13 He doth build a house for My Name, and I have established the throne of his kingdom unto the age.
2Sa 7:14 I am to him for a father, and he is to Me for a son; whom in his dealings perversely I have even reproved with a rod of men, and with strokes of the sons of Adam,
2Sa 7:15 and My kindness doth not turn aside from him, as I turned it aside from Saul, whom I turned aside from before thee,
2Sa 7:16 and stedfast is thy house and thy kingdom unto the age before thee, thy throne is established unto the age.' 2Sa 7:17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so spake Nathan unto David.
This is also spoken of in 1 Chronicles 17:9-15 once again described as “a place” in verse 10 “a kingdom” verses 11 and 14 and “a house” verse 12 below. Note verse 11 referring to a raising up, of he and his fathers who have slept or their days expired in this life -- referring to resurrection. Another words a kingdom with a reigning king with perhaps houses or abodes and the city consisting of resurrected saints in quite possibly an entirely new or different earth, land. Because it does say some take residence or visit the heavenly kingdom regularly Rev 21:24-26. Why couldn’t the new land or new earth be separate but perhaps close proximity to this new heaven i.e. heavenly kingdom or maybe even together? The idea doesn’t seem to commit eisegesis in the least.
To the Full Preterist note these passages foretell of a time, which I believe from internal scriptural references has been going on since the first century rising and continued for almost 2000 years, that these resurrected beings obviously to anyone cannot be human beings since they were sleeping, expired in earthly days with the father and then raised up. But my point to those adhering to the full preterist position is "If these dead were raised incorruptible, immortal then those still alive would have to have a ressurection of the same nature, would they not? Which would be incorruptible, which is not possible while still in the flesh". Which also brings up another interesting point; these two witnesses clearly put this place and time—which can most likely be associated with a future time such as 1 Cor 15:24-26 when all of Christ’s enemies and every adversarial authority will not only be under him—and every means every (no mysterious spiritual meaning behind it as some full preterists have claimed) but, will be subdued by him!
1Chronicles also speaks of this Heavenly Place:
1Ch 17:9 And I have prepared a place for My people Israel, and planted it, and it hath dwelt in its place, and is not troubled any more, and the sons of perverseness add not to wear it out as at first,
1Ch 17:10 yea, even from the days that I appointed judges over My people Israel. `And I have humbled all thine enemies, and I declare to thee that a house doth Jehovah build for thee,
1Ch 17:11 and it hath come to pass, when thy days have been fulfilled to go with thy fathers, that I have raised up thy seed after thee, who is of thy sons, and I have established his kingdom,
1Ch 17:12 he doth build for Me a house, and I have established his throne unto the age;
1Ch 17:13 I am to him for a father, and he is to Me for a son, and My kindness I turn not aside from him as I turned it aside from him who was before thee,
1Ch 17:14 and I have established him in My house, and in My kingdom unto the age, and his throne is established unto the age.'
1Ch 17:15 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so spake Nathan unto David.
Heb 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
This same prophecy is quoted also in Amos, while Amos does state that God was the source of this prophecy, this prophecy was first given by the prophet Nathan well over 200 years before Amos. According to 2Samuel 7, Nathan came to king David at the very pinnacle of his reign to give him the following message from God:
Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously (before times), (2 Samuel 7:10)
Comparing that statement from Nathan with what Amos stated:
And I will plant them on their land, , says Jehovah your God. (Amos 9:15)
Notice that Amos identifies the "place" (kingdom) as a "land" (kingdom) and as Nathan states that once they are in that "place" (kingdom) they shall "move no more" which Amos restates as "they shall never be pulled up out of their land" (kingdom) and as Nathan states this will be a place where their are no "sons of wickedness" to "oppress them."
Thus putting the two prophecies together into one it would read something like this:
Moreover I will appoint a place, their own land for My people Israel, and will plant them on their land, that they may dwell in a place/land of their own and move no more; and they shall never again be pulled up out of their land which I have given to them nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously (before times)
Thus we have a very interesting description land/place of the kingdom that God promised that He would set up in the last days (Dan 2:44). This kingdom would be created as a result of the new marriage Covenant which describes something very interesting about the people that will be living in that place/kingdom.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those (the 40 year transition period of 30-70 AD) days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them." "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." (Hebrews 8:10-12)
Of course, the reason that "they will not teach"...there is because the only way that they can enter that kingdom/land/place is that they already knew God through Jesus Christ and they could only enter that kingdom through "resurrection" by belonging to Christ in His Parousia (1Cor 15:23b).
Ezekiel and other prophets also referred to this prophecy as follows:
"For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:24-28) The power of reconciliation and ressurection through Christ!
Just because God said "the Land that I gave to your fathers" to our forefathers long ago does not mean it could not be this heavenly land elaborated on extensively here or the land afar off not built with hands told to Abraham, but has to be a renewing of the old promise land here on planet Earth as so many just assume.
"Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. "Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.’" (Ezekiel 37:12-14) Open your graves symbolic of ressurection, remember 1Co 15:50 And this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood the reign of God is not able to inherit, nor doth the corruption inherit the incorruption.
Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; "and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel (mountains can mean kingdom and hierarchy); and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. (Ezekiel 37:21-22)
2Kings 18:32 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuades you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.
Isaiah 36:17 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.Isaiah 14:1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
Luke 13:29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is the same as the kingdom of heaven. The only difference is that the kingdom of God refers to God who is going to establish this kingdom for His son and the kingdom of heaven identifies the location of this kingdom that God was going to establish.
Jeremiah 23:8 But, The LORD lives, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
Ezekiel 34:13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.Ezekiel 39:28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the nations: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
There are more similar references to Israel's own land in the OT, all of which describe the "kingdom" that John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and all the disciples of the first century were looking forward to in the first century.
In light of the various passages cited I will also add the following in support of a different resurrected body vs. the same body that we are in now resurrected as full preterist argue:
1Co 15:38 and God doth give to it a body according as He willed, and to each of the seeds its proper body.
1Co 15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another of fishes, and another of birds;
1Co 15:40 and there are heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies; but one is the glory of the heavenly, and another that of the earthly;1Co 15:41 one glory of sun, and another glory of moon, and another glory of stars, for star from star doth differ in glory.
1Co 15:42 So also is the rising again of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; (are we incorruptible now? Even Paul said "Oh wretched man that I am!" Romans 7:24, not that I was.
1Co 15:43 it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
1Co 15:44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body; 1Co 15:45 so also it hath been written, `The first man Adam became a living creature,' the last Adam is for a life-giving spirit,
1Co 15:46 but that which is spiritual is not first, but that which was natural, afterwards that which is spiritual. 1Co 15:47 The first man is out of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord out of heaven;
1Co 15:48 as is the earthy, such are also the earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are also the heavenly;
1Co 15:49 and, according as we did (have) bear (borne) the image of the earthy, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 And this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood the reign of God is not able to inherit, nor doth the corruption inherit the incorruption;
1 Cor. 15 clearly states it is not the physical body raised but a different body, in a different place. I think it suffice to say the idea of the same body to be raised on the same land, as certain partial preterist would say such as Hank Hanegraaff and the Christian Research Institute is untenable and unsupportable scripturally. It would literally mean we would still be flesh and blood when 1 Cor 15:44, 50 unmistakably denies that and would mean Christians go to the heavenly land upon death Revelation 14:13 only to be transported back to this planet at a later time. I know Hank Hanegraaff and the Christian Research Institute do not believe resurrection has occurred yet, we think that is easily proved wrong from the articles alone on this website. They do not seem to see the contrast between “the flesh” in Hagar or Adam and “the promise” in Sarah and Jesus Christ [asserting that the flesh is somehow made immortal, incorruptible]. They may believe the millennial reign is a time of a utopian like existence and that’s why they do not think it has occurred, I don’t know for sure why they do not believe Christ's reign has occurred, but one thing is for certain, what has been occuring in the heavenly land now for almost 2000 years is not the same as what has been happening here on planet earth during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints:
1Co 15:25 for it behoveth him to reign till he may have put all the enemies under his feet--
1Co 15:26 the last enemy is done away--death; 1Co 15:27 for all things He did put under his feet, and, when one may say that all things have been subjected, it is evident that He is excepted who did subject the all things to him,
1Co 15:28 and when the all things may be subjected to him, then the Son also himself shall be subject to Him, who did subject to him the all things, that God may be the all in all.
Makes it quite evident to us, that Christ has enemies during this reign.
There are various passages throughout the Old and NT that state "The meek shall inherit the earth" for example. I do not think this means planet earth when we think of it as an eternal promise because then we would have to overlook all the passages proposed as a witness to the saints inheriting a new, different land which this could be alluding to as well. On the other hand the promise could have been speaking to fulfillment while they were still human beings.
As a precursor to the following passages why would Jesus Christ later come to live where His footstool is, when scripture often speaks of the earth as an inferior place to His heavenly abode? Here's a few examples:
Psalms 132:7 we will enter into His tabernacles; we will worship at His footstool. Lam 2:1 How doth the Lord cloud in His anger the daughter of Zion, He hath cast from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel, And hath not remembered His footstool in the day of His anger! Mat 5:34 but I say to you, not to swear at all; neither by the heaven, because it is the throne of God,
Mat 5:35 nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is a city of a great king.
Some may think why is it important? I tend to think any truth is important it's not for me to judge what scriptural truth is unimportant, not worthy of my time. Any area of misunderstanding and deception is critical to the learning process, especially since it tends to have an adverse domino effect on trying to decipher other areas of scripture. In this case the new heaven and new earth would change and affect the climate in the middle east and even save lives if many in government and the Christian Zionist that are feeding into the hostility being a roadblock to peace, knew this wonderful truth or were at least careful enough to see that they could be wrong because there is another way these passages can be interpreted. Another verse some have held for the argument of our eternal abode being planet earth as we know it is:
Luk 11:2 And He said to them: When you pray, say, Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as it also is in Heaven.
But this is taken out of context, the context is "the Father's will", "let Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven". We believe "His will" was done everywhere through Jesus Christ, the establishment of His Son's Kingdom in 70AD.
The New “Jerusalem Which is Above” (Galatians 4)
Galatians 4 contains the Apostle Paul's usage of the city name “Jerusalem” in an allegorical fashion. In fact, Paul himself declared that “these things are an allegory,” when making reference to the then standing “present Jerusalem” as a representation of the slavery and bondage of those who were born according to the flesh. When looking at the allegorical nature of Paul's usage of Jerusalem, it is beyond question that he is using the imagery of a present and new Jerusalem as symbols of transition into the glorious liberty found in Christian life and more specifically when we receive our reward "the crown of life Revelation 2:10" (eternal life in this new land or Paradise Luke 23:43, 2Cor 12:4 once again "Paradise not here" with our Lord).
The “Jerusalem Which is Below” (Outside of Christ) was a symbol of slavery -- akin to bondage under the Jewish Law given by Moses. Considering his ultimate message regarding the liberty of the gospel, this is best understood as being a representation of those who were without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
The “Jerusalem Which is Above” (In Christ) on the other hand, is given by Paul as a representation of those blessed people who are freed from that yoke of slavery. In Gal 5:1 it is said that through the gospel, “Christ set us free.” Hebrews 12:22-24 also teaches that in Christ we come to “Mount Zion,” “the heavenly Jerusalem,” which is likewise used as a representative of the new covenant of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is within the new covenant that those who are Christ's move from the old things of bondage, to the new things of liberty in Him. To reiterate in the constructs of Second Peter, the old Jerusalem was given to represent the unrighteous, and the new Jerusalem was given to represent the righteous.
As we recognize that the passing of Jerusalem is likewise used by Paul as a symbolic representation of one's passing from death to life in Christ i.e. old man, new man; then we can more clearly see how the elements of the earthly realm – such as the “present heavens and earth” or “present Jerusalem” or “this unbelieving generation” are also representatives used to define those who are not “in Christ”. As elsewhere, those new things which Paul says are to be found in Christ alone, are represented by the terminology “new heaven and earth,” “new Jerusalem,” “new man,” and the like, so they seem to sometimes be used to describe a different place with the saints there by virtue of resurrection and other times used as a symbolic representation aimed more towards encouraging, admonishing the church while they were still here on planet earth in mind.
Heb 11:8 Having been called out by faith, Abraham obeyed to go forth to a place which he was going to receive for an inheritance; and he went out not understanding where he went.
Heb 11:9 By faith he resided as a foreigner in a land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the joint-heirs of the same promise;
Heb 11:10 for he looked forward to a city having the foundations of which the builder and maker is God. Heb 11:11 Also by faith Sarah herself received power for conceiving seed even beyond the time of age, and gave birth; since she deemed the One having promised to be faithful.
Heb 11:12 Because of this came into being from one man, they who were generated, and these of one having died, seed even "as the stars of the heaven" in multitude and countless "as sand by the seaside." Gen. 22:17
Heb 11:13 These all died by way of faith, not having received the promises, but seeing them from afar, and being persuaded, and having embraced and confessed that they are aliens and tenants on the earth. Heb 11:14 For those saying such things make clear that they seek a fatherland.
Heb 11:15 And truly if they remembered that from which they came out, they had time to return.
Heb 11:16 But now they stretch forth to a better, that is, a heavenly land. Therefore, God is not ashamed of them, for Him to be called their God; for He prepared a city for them. A city that resides on planet earth, in its totality has to be built with human hands if it 's going to consist of roads, buildings, so forth and so on, but Hebrews says of this city "whose builder and maker is God" Himself. Hebrews 11:13 KJV states we are but "strangers and pilgrims" while they were on this earth or land. If it was going to be their home for eternity, then why would they be strangers here?
Putting some of these verses together we might conclude; "In the physical realm" the saints, the church, the body of Christ are in righteousness, but "outside" the church of those city gates (underlined):
Rev 22:14 `Happy are those doing His commands that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of the life, and by the gates they may enter into the city;Rev 22:15 and without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the whoremongers, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one who is loving and is doing a lie. Now "in the spiritual realm" the resurrected saints literally dwelling with Christ and the Father in the Kingdom of God in the New Heavens; outside the city gates of "that place" which are never shut closed because there is no need of security, outside those gates "Paradise" as it is sometimes called, exists "a land" wherein righteousness dwells (quite a difference of outside the gates of the church here):
Rev 21:25 And its gates may not at all be shut by day, for no night will be there.
Rev 21:26 And they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
Rev 21:27 And all profaning may not at all enter into it, or any making an abomination or a lie; but only the ones having been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb.Paul tells us in 1 Cor 13:12 For now we see through a mirror in dimness, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will fully know even as I also was fully known.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God with men! And He will tabernacle with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
Rev 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death shall be no longer, nor mourning, nor outcry, nor will there be pain any more; for the first things passed away.
Rev 21:5 And the One sitting on the throne said, Behold! I make all things new. And He says to me, Write, because these Words are faithful and true.
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