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EXPLORING YOUR BIBLE

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Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Nov 4, 1930

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 57, No. 43.

Read the full edition

EXPLORING YOUR BIBLE

By Rose E. Boose

with the guidance of an expert Bible teacher
Miss ROSE E. BOOSE

THE NEW EARTH

You will remember that the last Bible study dealt with the desolation of the earth and the binding of Satan during a period of one thousand years. At the second coming of Christ the saints are taken to heaven, the wicked are slain, the earth is laid desolate, and Satan is bound. During the thousand years the righteous reign with Christ on thrones of judgment. (Revelation 20:4.) When the thousand years are expired, Christ, with the saints and the New Jerusalem, descends to the earth; the wicked are raised, and Satan is loosed. He leads his vast army of wicked against the holy city, and as he makes ready for battle against the city, fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. In this lake of fire sin will be destroyed root and branch, and God will have a clean universe.
In 2 Peter 3:10-13 we read, in part: “The day of the Lord will come; . . . in the which the heavens shall pass away, . . . and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. . . . Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

PROMISE OF NEW EARTH

In the book of Isaiah we find the promise of a new earth in these words: “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Isaiah 65:17. Thus in re-creating this earth—bringing it back to its original beauty—God will have defeated Satan’s plan to establish his kingdom, and perpetuate sin and a reign of wickedness. Satan and sin have been destroyed, and when this earth is clothed in its Edenic beauty, the “former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Then the meek “shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5. David also expressed the same truth: “The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Psalm 37:11. Surely “peace” will be a delight to those who have endured strife and hardship on the earth during a long reign of sin.
Concerning the beauties of this new earth we read: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” Isaiah 35:1, 2.
“They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for . . . Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 65:21-25. Read also Isaiah 11:1-9.

ALL THINGS ARE MADE NEW

John the revelator was given a vision of the new earth. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. . . . Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them. . . . And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more . . . pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:1-5.
Then follows the beautiful description of the New Jerusalem. The city is of pure gold (verse 18); with streets of gold (verse 21). It is surrounded by a “wall great and high” of jasper “clear as crystal.” Verses 2, 11. There are twelve gates, three on each side, each gate of one solid pearl. (Verses 12, 13, 21.) Over these gates will be the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Verse 12.) The foundations of the wall are twelve in number, and on them are inscribed the names of the twelve apostles of our Lord. (Verse 14.) The city is laid out in a perfect square, and measures twelve thousand furlongs, or one thousand five hundred miles. (Verse 16.) In the center of this city will be the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Verses 22, 23.) From the throne flows the river of life, and by the banks of that river grows the tree of life, giving its life-giving fruit new every month. (Revelation 22:1, 2.) And, best of all, “there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.” Revelation 22:3, 4.
This is the home of which Jesus spoke when He said: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3.
In the teachings of our Saviour, He pointed to this complete restoration in these words: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10.

ALL THINGS RESTORED

The question is sometimes asked, “Will all be restored again as it was in the beginning, before sin entered this fair world?” The only way in which we can be certain is to take a brief survey of the conditions as they were in the beginning, the record of which isgiven in Genesis 1 and 2, and compare them with the promises we have read. Will you take your Bibles and follow a few texts through?
Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Isaiah 65:17: “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth.”
Revelation 21:1: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth.”
Genesis 1:31: “It was very good.”
Isaiah 35:2: “It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing.”
Genesis 1:28: Dominion was given to man.
Micah 4:8: The first dominion shall return to the daughter of Zion.
Genesis 1:27: Man was made in the image of God.
Philippians 3:21: He shall change our vile bodies and fashion them like His body.
Genesis 2:8, 9, 15: Man’s home was in the Garden of Eden; he was to dress and keep it.
Isaiah 65:21, 22: They shall build houses, and plant vineyards, and eat of them.
Genesis 2:9: The tree of life was in the garden.
Revelation 22:2: The tree of life will be in the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 2:7: The overcomer will eat of the tree of life.
Genesis 2:16; 3:8: Man talked with God.
Revelation 22:4; Isaiah 65:24: They shall see His face, and talk with Him.
Genesis 2:17; 3:22-24: Because of disobedience and transgression of God’s law, man was barred from the tree of life.
Revelation 22:14: Those who keep the commandments of God will have a right to the tree of life.
Genesis 3:17: The very earth was cursed because of man’s sin.
Revelation 22:3: “There shall be no more curse.”
Genesis 2:17: “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
John 3:16: God gave His Son, “that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Revelation 21:4: “There shall be no more death.”
Genesis 2:1-3: The Sabbath was made and given to man (Mark 2:27, 28) for a memorial of God’s creative works.
Isaiah 66:22, 23: “As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord.” All this is possible through the plan of redemption.

PROMISES WILL BE FULFILLED

Surely the promise to make all things new will be fulfilled. Then we shall better understand what the Lord meant when He said: “Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:17, 18.
Then Jesus will “sit upon the throne of His glory,” “for God also hath highly exalted Him . . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11.
The redeemed of all ages will “cast their crowns before the throne,” and heaven’s arches will ring with their adoration of Jesus their Redeemer and King as they say: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11.