Chapter 11:

A New Heaven And A New Earth

 

Heaven And Earth Pass Away

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus first mentions the heaven and the earth passing away, "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (Mt 5:18-19, Lk 16:17), and then when discussing End Time events Jesus warns that, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Mt 24:35, Mk 13:31, Lk 21:33). Heaven and earth just seem to disappear, that is, they just pass away or go out of existence - Now you see them; Puff! - And now you don't! As is recorded below, there is "no place for them" (Rev 20:11). Where did they go? Glad you asked, so stay tuned and we'll answer that shortly.

Peter also reports on this great disappearing act, and also mentions that where the old Heaven and Earth do go, they don't go quietly, for they will pass away with a great noise:

"By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." (2 Peter 3:7-13)

"For this world in its present form is passing away." (1 Cor 7:31)

The destruction of Heavens and Earth by fire! Talk about Shock and Awe, or a Scorched Earth Policy - this incineration of the earth and the ungodly will, unfortunately for them, just be a pretaste of their upcoming future in the Lake of Fire since they will not want anything to do with a Loving God who, as Peter says, is "not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." Unfortunately, again, 'Free Will' has its' consequential shortcomings.

Even some Old Testament Prophecies tell of replacing the Old Heaven and Earth the New:

"In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded." (Ps 102:25-26)

"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies.

But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.  (Isa 51:6)

"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind."
(Isa 65:17)

"As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the Lord, "so will your name and descendants endure." (Isa 66:22-23)

The Psalmist records the earth and heavens will be 'discarded' - and NOT transformed, recycled or refurbished in any way - but discarded and replaced. The above prophecies will be fulfilled at the Great White Throne Judgement:

"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
(Rev 20:11-21:5)

Out with the 'Old' and in with our 'New' home of righteousness, and "no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." For our God is "making everything new!" And He even encourages us to, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." So I've written it down here, since if He says it, I believe it! But sadly for those who by their own free will have rejected the author and creator of life will find that their names have not been written into the book of life, and as a result, they will experience a "second death" and be "thrown into the lake of fire."

Like all the people of faith listed in Hebrews 11, we are living by faith and impatiently "longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called [our] God, for he has prepared a city for [us all].  (Heb 11:13-16) For we all are anxiously awaiting to see what "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Cor 2:9) Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

 

The Holy City, The New Jerusalem

After the New Heaven and the New Earth John sees the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven:

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband... "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Rev 21:2, 9b-27)

The Raptured Saints, the Bride of Christ, who have been serving before the throne of God, in His temple (Rev 7:15), will apparently be brought down from heaven as a part of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem: "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband; and also, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." So somehow, Bride of Christ, the wife of the Lamb, is part of and contained in the Holy City. Without further revelation, we'll have to wait and see just how we experience this dilemma.

The Tribulation Martyrs who are raised at the First Resurrection and reign with Christ on Earth during the Millennium (Rev 20:4-6), then apparently transfer to the New Jerusalem to continue ruling over the nations of the New Earth: "The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Rev 21:24-27)

Coming down out of Heaven, New Jerusalem would look something like a moon landing on the New Earth. Because of its size, as during the millennial reign of Christ, the New Jerusalem is sure to be the Capital City of the New Earth, if not the Holy Galactic Headquarters of the Universe as well, since  it will probably be more than large enough. Visualize, by my laymanic calculations, size wise, a cube about 1,500 miles per edge length, depth and height, this New Jerusalem would be too large to fit inside of the moon - its eight corners would each be poking of the moon's surface as eight three-sided pyramids, each about a 100 miles high! If the foundation of New Jerusalem is 1,500 miles square, then the area of its base is 2.25 million square miles, which would take up roughly 72% of the continental United States surface area of 3.12 million square miles. At the Earth's current size, weight, and gravity, New Jerusalem at 1,500 miles high and being made of Gold, precious stones, and everything in between, the current earth's crust would be crushed hundreds of miles into the ground, possibly rupturing the earth's crust and mantle in time, and the poor Old Earth would just get all bent out of shape!

Size wise, the living surface area of New Jerusalem using only the six inside surfaces of the 1,500 mile cube would be 13.5 million square miles, or almost 23% of the size of current earth's land mass area of about 59 million square miles, which could become a little crowded. Current earth population is roughly 7.7 Billion people spread over 59 million square miles (not all inhabitable) which equates to about 130.5 people per square mile. Now if God were to design New Jerusalem with floors or some other layered structure, as we do in our tall buildings, then there would be much more usable surface area which would tremendously increase the number of inhabitants. For example, if He were to have 1,500 floors or layers, with each floor then having a ceiling height of about one mile, the total usable floor surface area would be about 3.375 billion square miles, equivalent to the land mass of 57 earths; and with God as the architect and builder, all the surface area would be inhabitable. Earth's current 7.7 Billion people would then equate to just over two people per square mile. If we wanted to continue this scenario and have God create metropolitan areas in New Jerusalem with only a quarter mile ceiling heights, etc, we could have even more inhabitants still. We could go on and on, but you get the picture, however God creates His New Jerusalem, it is BIG, and will have more than enough room for all of us, whom He has chosen. According to prb.org, since Adam about 109 billion people have been born, of which, of course, not all will make it through the Great White Throne Judgement and have access to New Jerusalem. You can take it from here, design your own New Earth and New Jerusalem, and guess at how many of the 109 billion born people will have access...

Some may think that this is a refreshing, recycling, reforming, transforming or somehow recycling our current world into the awesomely beautiful New Heaven, New Earth and New Jerusalem. But for one, the New Jerusalem is way too big for our 'old' earth! Current quantum and classical physics would try to collapse the cubical shape of the New Jerusalem into a sphere. Also, according to current astrophysical data, our sun is going to bloat out into a big red giant one of these days and gobble up the current earth so God would have to keep moving His New Jerusalem around in a Galactic game of musical planets. Many billions of years from now, the second law of thermodynamics, the concept of Entropy, would also gum things up on this Old Earth and universe by decaying everything into one big frozen ball of chaos. Eternity could not be eternal in our current model of the universe! Something has to change, whether it's simply size, shape, and color, or any and all the quantum particle and classical physics of gravity, energy, chemistry, etc. "He who [is] seated on the throne [says], "I am making everything new!" and, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Rev 20:11-21:5) We can be assured that whatever changes He makes will allow the New Heaven and the New Earth to last forever! He has a plan and I, for one, look forward to being a part of it. How about you?

 

Where Does The Old Heaven And Earth Go?

"First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised?

..."By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."
...He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
...That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  (2 Pet 3:3-4, 7-12)

"The heavens will vanish like smoke," according to Isaiah (Isa 51:6). Puff! - "the heavens will disappear with a roar," Peter records. And just like that, they're gone!

The New American Standard Updated has "the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up ...the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!" (2 Pet 3:10-12 NASU) So again, the Heavens and the earth are incinerated with intense heat, melted, and gone!

Earth and creation will be redeemed from their current bondage to decay:

"The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."  (Rom 8:18-25)

As a side bar here, some have said that hereafter in heaven and living in our forever and ever, that there would be no concept time. But Revelation 22 stipulates that "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."  (Rev 22:1-3) Well, there appears to be time, or at least calendar, of some sort. So Heaven may be timeless in one sense, but time is being tracked in another sense, somehow.

As stated above, Heaven and Earth pass away, but where too? Where do they go? Well, IF our current heavens, earth and natural laws of the universe need to be discarded to allow for a new set of universal natural laws for a New Heaven and a New Earth that will last for eternity, as in forever and ever, THEN this current earth, universe and its' universal laws are no longer needed and can just all go back to where they came from, that is, back to the Mind of God - so for our Astrophysicist friends - no information will be lost. Also, IF God created our current universe with the so called "Big Bang" that Astrophysicist are still trying to figure out, THEN God, the Alpha and the Omega, who knows the Beginning and the End, would probably also have the universe roll right into its end with a "Big Crunch", where the universe just collapses back on itself and is no more, as recorded, "Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them." (Rev 20:11) IF, in fact, that is the case, THEN our current universe is currently collapsing, and at warp speed! And IF this laymanic fanaticism is true, THEN, according to the Bible, which we KNOW to be true, we have just over one thousand and seven (plus) years before the outer edge of our collapsing universe comes crashing through our location in the Milky Way galaxy and gobbles up this old earth! Nuff said! So, Nobel Prize aside, is this just Conjecture? Or, Fact? You decide! Either way, it will not really matter since we'll be safely out of harm's way aboard the New Earth, under the protective shield of the New Heaven, and perhaps harmlessly looking out of our windows in New Jerusalem and simply observing the fiery edge of the collapsing universe as it goes flying by. Or Not - poetic license just being what it is.

According to my laymanic (yes, I like this newly coined word!) observations, obviously, our current universe collapsing in on itself at ever increasing warp speed would never be observable. When we look out into our night sky with our latest and greatest telescopes we see creation not as it is, but rather as it was minutes (in the case of our sun), days, months or years, if not millions or billions of years ago. We see the light of stars and galaxies that Astrophysicist like to tell us that comes from 'a time near to the birth of our universe.' These early stars, galaxies and other cosmological wonders have long since burned out, died out, moved out, or as conjectured here, have been gobbled into "The Great Crescendo" of our Collapsing Universe! Even though our galactic position may not be at the center of our collapsing universe if our cosmologist were to point their telescopes directly at the nearest collapsing edge of "The Great Crescendo" that is coming this way, they would not be able to see it. They would still only be able to observe the 'old light' that is just now arriving from 'a time near the birth of our universe.' Cosmologist cannot see a single photon behind, or beyond, the current photons now arriving! To see a photon that's one day behind the currently arriving photons they would have to patiently wait until the next day and then catch it as it arrives. So to see the collapsing edge of the universe would absolutely be impossible, let alone hear the coming rising, rushing, roaring crescendo. But it's coming!

Or, in terms of an Einsteinic thought experiment, it would be similar to an astronomer setting up a telescope in the middle of a train track that is light years long and straight. Looking up the track through his telescope the astronomer would see a long stream of train cars arriving at his position on the tracks at the speed of light. Because the train is traveling at the speed of light our astronomer, no matter what type of telescope he may have, would never be able to see beyond the current train car that is currently arriving at his location even though the train coming at him is an infinite number of train cars long.  Nor would our astronomer ever be able to see "The Great Crescendo" that is chasing down the train like a giant pacman from behind at twice the speed of light and gobbling up the train cars from behind. Our poor astronomer would not see the approaching apocalypse until the last Nano second when the last train car arrives at his position as it is gobbled up by the then arriving 'Great Crescendo.' But unfortunately, before that last Nano second ends our poor astronomer is gobbled up as well - at least he'll never know what it was that ate him (unless he was aware of this conjecture - but, of course, he had to have been aware, or else why would he have set up a telescope in the middle of the train tracks in the first place?).

But why gobble and replace? Besides a Nobel Prize in Physics for this theory of "The Great Crescendo, there are a couple of reasons for this laymanic theory. As mentioned above, this current earth and universe were originally created with entropic natural laws that cause them to perish and have to be discarded and replaced with a New Heaven and a New Earth which will endure eternally. Also, in this current creation God has kept himself well hidden from mankind for specific reason, where as in the New Heaven and the New Earth He is no longer hidden from mankind but rather dwelling among a redeemed mankind: "As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people... I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."  (2 Cor 6:16-18). God's original purpose and plan may have been to create this New Heaven and New Earth and to populate it persons made in His image who would rule and reign with His Son throughout this new eternal creation. A population of persons, who with a free will, have chosen and proven through faith that they want to be with Him. Our God is an awesome God, and He has a plan for His New Creation and He wants us to be a part of that plan! "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers" (Rom 8:28-30). A creation where, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor 2:9). There are hundreds of verses that speak of heaven and our heavenly development for our future purpose. But simply put, our Heavenly Father is allowing us to develop, test and prove our faith in Jesus preparation for His purpose with us in His New Eternal Creation. It's all about the concept of faith! Nothing else in all this current creation really matters, other than having faith in Jesus Christ. Even His Book, His Teachings, His Gifts are all about having faith and becoming more like Jesus. So, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Heb 12:2).

God's plan for creating a people after his own heart is really not that much different from what we would do. If a company, like Exotel, wanted to produce a computer with newfangled, out of this world AI abilities they would first design the computer chips, components and operating system, and then manufacture, build and test all its functions before putting the new computer on line for its intended purpose. We all know that Exotel Corporation is very good at designing and manufacturing high performance, multifunction computer processors and chips. After creating the NextGen 7 processor the new computer, the next operation is to test the newly created processor, which is then installed into the white throne processor testing device. The white throne processor testing device is world renown for never making a mistake when testing processors. After a couple hours of arcing and sparking a robotic arm with a mechanical hand comes over the newly tested processor, reaches down, and gently unplugs it from its testing slot. Then, if the white throne testing monitor shows a big green thumbs up the robotic arm reaches over and ever so gently places the perfectly operational new processor into a box that goes onto the conveyer belt and down the assembly line.  However, if the white throne testing monitor shows a big red thumbs down the robotic arm throws the defective new processor into the shredder hopper, where it is shredded, of course, before going into the fiery furnace where it is cooked forever and ever. Exotel Corp designs the new computer and components for a specific purpose, and, believe it or not, they have all the rights and privileges to set the testing standards for all of their creations. Exotel, in the case of their failed processors, also has the right and has chosen not to reincarnate their failed chips through any type of recycling program. As a result, a PETA-CHIPS group was formed and is currently marching around Exotel Corp with banners and chanting, "Failed Chips Have Rights! Failed Chips Have Rights!" I'm not making this up!

God is using this first creation to create and test a people for himself, whether we like it, or not: "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing?" (Isa 29:16) Paul tells us that God is specifically creating us for this very purpose:

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands... longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling... but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.  (2 Cor 5:1-5)
"but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ"  (Rom 8:15-17)
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! ...Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." (1 John 3:1-2)

Faith starts with the gospel message. Or, as a 6 year old niece once told me: "John 3:16 is the gospel in a nutshell, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  Verses 17 & 18 are just as important, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (John 3:16-18) When Jesus came, his purpose was NOT to prove to mankind that He was God, which he easily could have done in many ways, but rather Jesus came his to live his life as a ransom for us, and creation as well. He came to show us a new way, His way, and the way of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and in doing so, it became rather apparent the Jesus was, in fact, God - The Son Of God! As many of us choose to believe.

Paul expands on the gospel message in 1 Corinthians 15. A few verses are quoted here, and which also cover some of the eternal issues discussed above:

 "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time... Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—  in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Cor 15:  )

This faith centric universe and earth were designed for inhabitants with a free will to freely choose. The Hawkingses and Dawkinses, for whatever reason, have chosen NOT to believe in God as our creator. Instead, misusing their God given intellects, they have chosen to believe the demonic lies and deceptions of the enemy that there is no god. Atheistic astrophysicist, evolutionist, and scientist of other sorts, then have to come up with some other theory as to where everything came from how we got to where we are and why. Preposterous theories such as the multiverse, where there are an infinite number of different universes, with different laws, etc, and that it just so happens that we are fortunate to live or exist in this particular universe - Now that's a fairy fable for the record books. Mother Goose would be proud to call that her own, but in the multiverse Mother Goose has a few of her own universes were fairies, mermaids, and all her fablelistic characters are living happily ever after. Evolutionists want us to believe that life just one day randomly created itself. Lifelessness first created its own DNA, of course, so that it would then with what and how to create itself. Or did life just leak into our universe from Mother Goose's universe? You know how leaky those black holes can be, strings and all!

Our atheistic scientists may not want to believe in God, but their Big Bang theory seems to come straight out of the Bible. Dr. Gerald Schroeder, an Orthodox Jewish physicist, and Hebrew scholar, in his book, "Genesis and the Big Bang: The Discovery of Harmony Between Modern Science & the Bible" reveals that what the Bible teaches in Genesis lines up with current teachings regarding the Big Bang. Dr. Schroeder has several other very insightful science books that are easily understood by us lay types. Check him out, literally. Now let's see, which came first, The Book of Genesis and the Bible, or the later day Big Bang theory? It may seem as though cosmologist have taken concepts from the Genesis and then created fairy fables to try to have their stolen concepts make sense. And now, these atheist scientists can come here and get some Biblical pointers for their end game solution to their Big Bang theory, because whether they accept this or not, this is exactly HOW and WHEN the old heaven and earth will come to their fiery end!

God's faith centric creation is purposely set up such that mankind would search for and find Him. Paul even gives us a brief synopsis of God's creation and one of the many reasons for His creation in Acts 17:24-31:

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth... because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  'For in him we live and move and have our being.' ...'We are his offspring.'

"Therefore since we are God's offspring... he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

Of course, knowing and believing in the Bible, and Jesus, is a faith issue and not a "proof" issue. If believing were a "proof" issue life in this world would be completely different we could each come up with a myriad of ways that God could prove His existence and purpose to each and every one of us, and each according to our own need of proof. But it's His creation, His reasons, and His desire to produce people of "faith"!

And our faith will be tested and proved in many ways. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, informs them that those wanting to be used of God and desiring a ministry, or trust, must prove themselves to be faithful: "So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."  (1 Cor 4:1-3) Many of us desire to be "appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues, " (1 Cor 12:28) and having powerful ministries with signs and wonders following. But we need to be reminded that we need to 'prove' ourselves as faithful and worthy with the smaller things before we are being entrusted with the larger. If we ask for a power ministry we must expect to be tested before being entrusted. Paul had a powerful ministry, but OMG, what testing and proving he encountered:

"I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches." (2 Cor 11:23-28)

Obviously Paul had a powerful ministry in many ways, and is still ministering to us today through his writings, but he toiled, was tested, and proved himself for 14 years after his conversion before becoming publically powerful! Also, Jesus warns that we'll be tested through his teaching with parables such as the Parable of the Watchful Servants (Lk 12:35-48), the Parable of the Ten Minas (Lk 19:11-27), and the Parable of the Talents (Mt 25:14-30). If we are to be tested and prove our faith during this current church, age which is passing away, Jesus reveals how much more we shall be tested and have to prove our faith in preparation for the upcoming eternal hereafter where we will be with Him ruling and reigning over nations, etc., in the New Heaven, the New Earth and the New Jerusalem, forever and ever. We are in training, being tested, and having to prove ourselves for a reason, for His glorious divine purpose! At times we may become so focused on other things that we forget our primary purpose of growing in our faith and becoming more like Him. At those times we need a gentle reminder (or a swift kick in the rear) to refocus and to get back on the narrow road to becoming more like His offspring and less like the world, as Paul reminds us in Acts:

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone — an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. (Acts 17:24-34)

In this world, for those searching for truth or searching for God, Jesus Christ really is the answer to both! But, as above, some will sneer and move on to their everlasting destruction, content to believe and have faith in the fairy fables of Mother Goose rather than to be set free by the truth and have eternal life with Jesus Christ and Father God. The final free will choice in this creation comes down to, "Father God, or Mother Goose?"

As for me and my house, it's Father God, all the way! Maranatha!

 

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