He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.
Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table.
Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. He foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. And the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.
Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
A Prayer of David. Incline your ear, O Lord , and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. But perhaps there is a bit of a difference when we are talking location and stage within redemptive history. But I do not believe you can speak that way of the new heavens and the new earth.
Revelation is clear that God comes down to earth and transforming everything. Christopher J. Wright says it well:. Wright, Well, it depends on your definition. Are you talking location? If you mean as it presently exists, I think you can make a quality argument from the Scriptures that the two are synonymous.
We look for the resurrection—our ultimate and blessed hope. Until then, when we die we know that we are in the presence of Christ. What matters is whether or not you are with Jesus. Are you with Jesus? Sources: Charlesworth, J. Freedman Ed. The Septuagint uses the Greek paradeisos [ paravdeiso" ] for the garden of Eden in Genesis called the "garden of God" in Isa ; and Ezek The intertestamental literature completes the transition of the word to a religious term.
Human history will culminate in a divine paradise. Since Israel had no immediate access to the garden at history's origin or conclusion, paradise, sometimes called Abraham's Bosom, was associated with the realm of the righteous dead awaiting the resurrection of the body. The New Testament understands paradise in terms of its Jewish heritage.
In Luke Jesus promises the penitent thief: "Today you will be with me in paradise. Those who die in faith will "be with Christ" Php The dead in Christ will not experience life diminished, but life enhanced, as Jesus' words to Martha in John imply. Anxious Bench. Related posts from Christian Crier. Top 13 Bible Verses About Virtue. The Greatest Father In History.
Studies show that most people are bought into the idea that Christianity In the last several years journaling Bibles have become extremely popular. The Problem is Calvinism — Part 3. In the first post in this series, I established a baseline argument What Kept Me Engaged in Church.
Over at Cranach, my former literature professor Gene Veith has some thoughtful God's Small But Pervasive Voice. I think you'll What Are Your Thoughts? Copyright , Patheos. All rights reserved.
0コメント