THEN answered Peter and said unto Him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed Thee; what shall we have therefore?' Matt. 19:27. This was a reasonable question which came from the thoughtful and well-balanced mind. The desire to have, to possess, to own something, is natural to the human heart. The right of ownership is acknowledged and protected by such divine laws as "Thou shalt not steal." "Thou shalt not covet." He who cares nothing for possessions, and he whose whole soul is wrapped up in the things which he can accumulate, are alike unbalanced. Neither the idler, the spendthrift, nor the miser, pleases God.
The loved ones and the home are dear to the Christian, but he gives up all for Christ's sake. The disciples were not a band of shiftless fanatics, but a company of sensible business men. Matthew had left his lucrative position of Roman tax gatherer. Peter, James, and John had forsaken their prosperous fishing fleet, and being reasonable men, desired to know what they would receive in return. In His reply, Jesus included all who should forsake that which they love of this world for His sake. "And Jesus answered and said, Verily, I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake and the Gospel's, but
He Shall Receive an Hundredfold
now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life." Mark 10:29, 30.
The whole world was given to man. Gen. 1:26, Heb. 2:6-9. Adam was placed in control, but he gave himself and all his possessions into the hands of a liar and murderer, one who had refused to obey the law of God. With this unholy alliance, he could no longer be trusted with dominion over the earth.
The Sacrifice That He Made.
Christ offered to leave His heavenly home, His honor and glory and go "to seek and to save that which was lost." It would have been unjust to take the kingdom from Adam and give it to another who had not passed thru the same tests that were required of him. This was met by Jesus who "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Heb. 4:15.
Christ being faithful, the kingdom is given to Him. The prophet Daniel had a view of his coronation. "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him." Dan. 7:13, 14.
Christ in His poverty felt and suffered the curse that had come upon the earth and bore it in the crown of thorns that He might redeem the earth for man, and said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5. They are promised a hundredfold more in this present time than they have forsaken in houses, lands, etc. The blessings that come to others, come to the Christian, for he rejoices with those who rejoice. In the natural heart he rejoiced in the one home, the one farm which he called his, but now he rejoices in every happy home as tho it were his own. All the joy of earth is his, he is having nothing, yet possessing all things. 2 Cor. 6:10. But there are sorrows, also, and persecutions in which he must share. In the "world to come" there will be "no more death, neither sorrow nor crying" for "God shall wipe away all tears."
A Graphic Description.
Peter gives a graphic description of the passing away of this present world and the ushering in of the world to come. "But the day of the Lord will come as thief in the night: in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, 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." 2 Peter 3:10-13. John said, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." Rev. 21:1.
The Lord appeared to Abraham and told him to look in all directions, to arise and walk while he looked, and all the land his eye should rest upon should be given to him and his seed. Gen. 13:14-17. Paul said that Abraham was heir of the world. Rom. 4:13. Abraham had no more natural claim to the earth than any other descendant of Adam. Gal. 3:16 reads, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Abraham was to obtain his inheritance thru Christ, and to him is given no more than is offered us. Gal. 3:29 reads: "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Abraham was not looking for the possession of the present earth, as it is said of him and a multitude of his children, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Heb. 11:13. Had they looked for the inheritance in this life, death would have banished every ray of hope, they could not have "died in faith." Verse 16 says, "But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a city." They were not looking for a country in heaven but for "an heavenly" country. "Wherefore [because of this] God is not ashamed to be called their God." A soul so low as to be wholly engrossed with the things of this world, so sordid in nature that the gold and silver, the vain honor and pleasure of this life control its every impulse, so that it never yearns for the better land "wherein dwelleth righteousness," is "like the beast that perisheth," and well might God be ashamed to be called its God.
He Looked for a City.
Abraham "looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb. 11:10. He was not, as some men are, looking toward old Jerusalem, nor any other city, whose maker and builder is man. He looked for the city having foundations which God had made. John describes that city in the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of Revelation. He saw it "coming down from God out of heaven." It was built of gold and measured twelve thousand furlongs, fifteen hundred miles, around. The saints who ascended to heaven at the second advent of Christ a thousand years before come with it. The wicked dead are raised and destroyed. The earth is melted and man's works burned up, and the new earth is ushered in. Revelation 20.
Beautifying the Whole Earth.
Then the people of God will go out from the city and beautify the whole earth. "And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." Isa. 65:21. Thus God's plan will be carried out in His own way. God gave Adam one beautiful spot, the Garden of Eden, from which he was to "replenish the earth, and subdue it" till all the world would have been like the garden for beauty. In the new earth He continues His plan just where it was interrupted by sin. He gives us one spot of transcendent beauty, the Holy City, from which His saints go forth to complete the work.
If God should provide some other place than this earth for man's kingdom and home because of sin having entered here, then Satan would have the honor of defeating the purpose of God, and God would not be omnipotent.
Visiting the Universe.
That the saints will visit all the universe of God is evident, as they "follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." The "heavenly country" on the new earth is their happy home, where sorrow never invades; where tears never fall; where beauty never fades; where God gives joy to all. From month to month and from Sabbath to Sabbath the saints go up to worship the Lord (Isa. 66:23), and partake of the water of life and the tree of life. Then will they appreciate the truth that "blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may6enter in thru the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:17.
"Will you go, sinner, go to the highlands of heaven,
Where the storms never blow, and the long sum-
mer's given,
Where the bright blooming flowers are their odors
emitting,
And the leaves of the bowers in the breezes are
flitting?
Look by faith to the cross and behold Jesus
bleeding,
Then, ascended on high, at the throne interceding.
O, secure pardon now, while sweet mercy's ex-
tended,
Ere the harvest is past and the summer is ended."