Teachinghearts |
Heaven (Paradise Restored)
(Revelation 21 - 22)
"Explore the Word. Change the World"
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Statistics:
Time: 60 minutes
Print: 11 pages |
 (1-3)
Passover |
 (4-5)
Wavesheaf |
 (6-7)
Pentecost |
 8-10
Trumpets |
| Day of Atonement |
(16)
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 Tabernacles
(14, 20-22) |
| 10 |
11 |
12-13 |
14-15 |
| Lamb | Church |
Accepted |
Seals | Sealing |
Judgment | Remnant |
Legal Case |
Satan Rules |
Warning |
Destruction |
Rescued |
| Lamb |
Shepherd |
Priest |
King |
Judge |
Lawyer |
Prosecutor |
Witness |
Angel |
Executioner |
Groom |
| Lamb of God (Seed) |
Holy Spirit (Water) Comes |
Growing |
Children of God named |
| Barley Harvest |
 Rain |
Wheat and Grape Harvest |
Rain |
Fruit Harvest |
| Lamb of God is the Light |
God sits on the waters |
Thunders (The Mystery Finished) |
Blessings |
Symbols
This section of Revelation introduces God in the feast of tabernacles.
The righteous finally live with God in peace.
The symbols used are from the sanctuary building, a marriage and the promises of blessings in the covenant (Leviticus 26).
The Promised Blessings
It is written, "Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, and which has not entered
into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him".
(1 Corinthians 2: 9)
In other words, we cannot imagine what God is going to do for us.
According to Leviticus 26, these are the legal terms of the blessings that are guaranteed to all those who keep His commandments.
- Rain or Water. In the original Garden of Eden, there was no rain or large oceans. The earth was watered by a mist from the ground.
In heaven there will be a river of life and an automatic sprinkler system.
- Trees that give Fruit. Here is something we could not have imagined. The tree of life is one tree which bears twelve different fruit every month.
- Abundance. We will hunger and thirst no longer.
- Peace and Security. The gates will always be open in this city.
- No Sword or War. We will be gardeners and florists, not soldiers.
... And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.
(Isaiah 2: 4)
- No Harmful Beasts. Every man and animal will be vegetarian.
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them.
And the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
They will not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.
(Isaiah 11: 6-9)
Vegetarian Lions.
"The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent's food.
They will do no evil nor harm in My holy mountain", says the Lord.
(Isaiah 65: 25)
- Rest. We have two distinct periods of rest at the jubilee.
The first was the year of rest for the land. The next year was the jubilee and the new beginning.
The land rests again. All debts were forgiven and all land was restored to the original tribe in the jubilee.
In the history of earth, the previous millennium was also a period of rest for the land and its people.
We had just completed the final judgment and the destruction of the wicked.
Now this is the time for the jubilee period. Finally we have no sin and sinners and everything is new. And, no work for another 1000 years! What a life!
- Eternal Life. This is the gift of God through Jesus Christ.
- Law Written on our Hearts.
The covenant promises to remove the heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh.
The laws of God are written on this new heart and we will never sin again.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel in those days, declares the Lord,
I will put My law within them and I will write it on their heart; and I will be their God and they shall be My people.
They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother saying, "know the Lord".
For they will all know Me from the least to the greatest of them, declares the Lord.
For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more.
(Jeremiah 31: 33-34)
- Our Own Children. Having our own children is one of the promised blessings. Nothing is impossible for God. We will have children in the new earth. The second half of this lesson proves this.
- We are His Children. He will give us His name and claim us as His own.
- God Lives with us.
This is the convergence of the jubilee and the feast of tabernacles described in Revelation 21 and 22.
The time when we will be living with God.
This is the time when we will be living in the Most Holy Place, when the "tabernacle of God will be with men".
Time
Before The Earth | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
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| Six thousand years | Land Sabbath | The Jubilee Sabbath |
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| Earth history | Millennium | New Jerusalem descends | Judgment | Hell fire | New Heavens and Earth |
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| Day and Night Time | The New Time |
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Eden Returns (Revelation 21)
But according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness. (2 Peter 3: 13)
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5: 5.)
Heaven consists of new people, a new city and the merciful God who rules over them.
| Our Friends and Relatives |
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We will recognize each other in spite of the fact that we will have new bodies.
We will have superior mental capacities and new abilities.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
(1 Corinthians 13: 12)
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The People (Verses 1-8)
- The Righteous Church. This is the new nation of Israel.
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The tabernacle of God is with men (Verse 3) .
This describes the blessing in the covenant. God will live with us and we will be His people.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"Look, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be among them".
(Revelation 21: 3)
I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul will not reject you. And I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
(Leviticus 26: 11-12)
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It is done (Verse 6).
These are the same words that He said at the creation and at the cross and after the seven last plagues.
This time all phases of the plan of salvation, a plan of recreation has been done.
The Great Controversy between Christ and Satan is over. Satan, and sin, and evil are fully defeated and finally destroyed.
And Christ will reign victorious over all the New Earth.
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He that overcomes shall inherit all. Who are those that overcome? Remember our prior studies we learned about the faithful remnant who were saved by faith in, and obedience to the Lamb of God:
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death.
... which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12: 11, 17)
They are law keepers.
- The Wicked Are Not There. This is referred to directly and symbolically.
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And there was no more sea. This could refer to the restored Eden where there are no large bodies of water.
However, the wicked are symbolically described as the sea in prophecy and this text could also be referring to this fact.
And he said to me, The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
(Revelation 17: 15)
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
(Isaiah 57: 20)
- The Fearful, and Unbelieving.
Those who are sinful, who do not "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ", will be fearful at the presence of God.
They do not have the perfect love which puts aside all fear.
» Cowards. Fear or cowardice is not a sin, but it may lead to the silent acceptance of sin around you because you value yourself more than others.
The reference to the cowardly specifically targets the people in the last days who need moral courage to stand up against the beast at the risk of their life.
But the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
(Revelation 21: 8)
- The Dogs. These are the same wild people outside the city who surround it like a ravenous pack and attack God. They are defeated and destroyed.
When they become ashes on the earth, they literally become the footstool of God.
Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
(Revelation 22: 15)
This is the same list of losers in Revelation 21: 8.
Even though people are now teaching that the law has been abolished, we still find Heaven describing the righteous and
wicked in terms of their attitude towards the commandments.
The law of God is eternal.
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| New Heavens and Earth
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The New Jerusalem (Verses 9-21).
Here we see a description of the new city.
It is a place where the office of king and priest can be combined. This was forbidden on the earth.
The bible says that we will build houses on the new earth, but until that happens we apparently have
places to live in the city built by God.
They shall build houses and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Isaiah 65: 21
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It Has the Glory of God.
The Shekinah glory of God and Christ's presence will light the city and there will be no night.
It will be so bright that neither the sun nor the moon will be visible.
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
(Isaiah 24: 23)
The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light to you: but the Lord shall be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun shall no more go down; neither shall your moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.
(Isaiah 60: 19-20)
- It Descends out of Heaven.
At the Third Coming, the city and the people come back to earth with God.
This city was created by God.
He was looking for a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
(Hebrews 11: 10)
The land of Canaan was a model of what would happen in heaven when we occupy the Promised Land.
- Houses They Did Not Build. They inherited established cities that they did not build. God is the builder of the New Jerusalem.
- Disinherited The Original Inhabitants. They dispossessed mighty nations as the covenant promised (Deuteronomy 11: 22-24). Satan and his angels are driven out so we will inherit their property, titles and positions.
What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than the angels [lower than the angels for a little while], and you crown him with glory and majesty.
(Psalm 8: 4-5)
- Established Capital City. The revolution is so profound that the capital of the entire universe moves to the earth as long established principalities and powers are overthrown.
- Foundations. Just as Heaven has twenty four elders, the new heavens and the new Israel will
be built on a foundation of twenty four people.
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Twelve Gates, Twelve tribes of the Children of Israel.
Spiritual Israel will be built on the foundation of physical Israel.
It is through the descendants of Abraham that the foundation of a people created for God was first established.
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Twelve Foundations, the Twelve Apostles.
Spiritual Israel is also built upon the foundation of faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through them the Gentiles learned that they were a part of Israel.
Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grows into an holy temple in the Lord.
(Ephesians 2: 19-21)
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A Nation of Kings. The saints are the Kings and Priests in this new city which is also a temple.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.
Revelation 5: 10
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God is the Temple (Verses 22-24).
There will be no temple where we will meet with God. God and Christ will be always be present with men in the city.
The people are also part of this temple. They are priests and pillars.
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Open Gates (Verses 25-27).
There will be no need to shut the gates because we have no reason to be afraid.
While there is light the gates will be open. This means that from the moment it descends it will be open because God is the eternal source of light that lives in the city.
Therefore, during the judgment and hell fire, the gates will be open.
The wicked attack a city that is open. Instead of walking in by faith and clinging to the reputation of God.
Security by Peace. Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring to you the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
(Isaiah 60: 11-12)
Security by Brotherhood. So shall you know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
(Joel 3: 17)
- A Name. The Holy city gets a name that reflects its character.
- Jerusalem ("The City of Peace"). It has a gate that never closes because there is no fear.
- YHWH Shammah ("The Lord is There"). Since the New Jerusalem becomes the new throne of God.
"The circumference of the city shall be eighteen thousand cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord is There."
(Ezekiel 48: 35)
- YHWH Tsidkenu ("The LORD is our Righteousness"). (Jeremiah 33: 16)
- Hephzibah ("My delight is in her"). God is as happy over us as a bridegroom is for his bride.
- Beulah ("Married"). Christ marries us and the land and we get the rights of children and the bride.
It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken (Azubah)", Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate (Shemamah)".
But you will be called "My delight is in her (Hephzibah)" and your land "Married (Beulah)".
For the Lord delights in you and to Him your land will be married.
(Isaiah 62: 4)
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| The Map of the New Jerusalem |
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A Map. The physical description can be known from a combination of Bible verses. (Zechariah 14 and Revelation 21-22).
The landscape changes when the New Jerusalem lands on the Mount of Olives and it splits to form a valley.
Mountain. 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 split in the middle of it 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.
And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal: yes, you shall flee, like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah:
and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with you.
Light. In that day there will be no light. The luminaries will dwindle.
For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening there will be light.
Sea.
And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them towards the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.
All the land will be changed into a plain ... but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site.
People will live in it and there will no longer be a curse for Jerusalem will dwell in security.
(Zechariah 14: 4-11)
- Mountains. The Mount of Olives splits and forms a valley and two mountain ranges in the north and south.
- City. The city is located on a hill in a valley in the center where the mount of Olives is located.
The walls are 1500 miles square and the city is 1500 miles high. (The meaning could also be 375 miles.)
The dimensions in Ezekiel 48 are only a circumference of 5 miles (18,000 cubits). This is obviously the city on earth.
However, like many prophets, his visions blend the realities of ancient Israel with the future.
This is because the prophecies must have meaning for both phases of Israel. So the actual dimensions are in Revelation.
- The Throne. The throne of God is in the center of the city with the tree of life on each side.
- River of Life. This river flows east and west from the throne into the sea.
- Sea. There is a sea on the east and west. The eastern sea may be the Sea of Glass (Revelation 15: 2).
- Eden. The Garden of Eden is located in the east.
- Constant Light. The light from the heavens will not be seen because the light from God will be brighter.
Return to Eden (Revelation 22)
The Throne of God
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
(Revelation 22: 1-2)
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| The Throne |
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- River of Life. (Verses 1-5). Christ is the source of the life giving water. He was the Spiritual Rock that provided the water to the Children of Israel in the wilderness. He told the Woman at the well that He was the source of the spring of water that would lead to eternal life. (John 4: 14)
He also referred to himself as the source of living water at the Feast of Tabernacles. (John 7: 2)
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
(Exodus 17: 6)
Now the Jews' feast of Tabernacles was at hand" ... "On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, He cried out, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me, and let the one who believes in Me drink. As the scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water".
Now He said this about the Spirit, which believers in Him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
(John 7: 2, 37-39)
- Tree of Life (Verse 2). The Tree of Life was last seen in the original Garden of Eden (Genesis 2: 9).
This tree bears a different fruit every month. We also have other events in heaven that are on a periodic cycle.
New Moon and Sabbaths. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, said 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, said the Lord.
(Isaiah 66: 22-23)
Ezekiel teaches the same idea.
Thus says the Lord, "The gate of the inner court facing east shall be shut the six working days; but it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the new moon".
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The people of the land shall also worship at the doorway of the gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.
(Ezekiel 46: 1, 3.)
- Medical Plan. There is no more sickness or pain or death.
Healing of the Nations. Ezekiel prophetically saw the rivers of life flowing out of the temple and bringing "Healing" wherever the waters flowed. (Ezekiel 47: 1-12).
The leaves of the tree are also described as providing healing for the nations.
This healing is ultimately eternal life.
By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food.
The leaves will not wither and the fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary,
and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.
(Ezekiel 47: 12)
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Geographical Environment.
There shall be no more curse (Verse 3). Following their sin in the Garden of Eden, God put a curse upon the ground the Earth and upon man. (Genesis 3: 17-19) Now this curse is gone. The "Garden" is restored.
Zechariah says the same thing.
People will live in it and there will no longer be a curse for Jerusalem will dwell in security. (Zechariah 14: 11)
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Identification. And his name shall be in their foreheads. In Revelation 14: 1, the redeemed of God standing on Mount Zion with "his Father's name written in their foreheads".
Here we have the ultimate fulfillment of the third commandment. As sons of God we take the name of God because we do not take it in vain.
We honor and respect His laws and His government.
Family Life
Jesus is preparing a place for us to live in heaven. This is our home for the millennium and in the city of God on earth.
- A City Home.
In my Father's house are many mansions: if not, I would have told you. 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 to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
(John 14: 2-3)
- A Country Home.
For Look, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
They shall build houses and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Isaiah 65: 17, 21
We will also build our own homes. This will happen after the city comes back to earth.
Land will be distributed and we can build homes and farm the land.
- Old Children.
No longer will there be an infant who lives only a few days. Or an old man who does not live out his days.
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one that does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed.
(Isaiah 65: 20)
This seems to say that there will be death. That would contradict the promise of Revelation 21: 4.
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
(Revelation 21: 4)
Death?
We can reconcile these concepts by looking at another translation of the phrase "the youth will die".
For the youth will cease to be at the age of one hundred.
Therefore the children will not die at the age of one hundred. It is simply saying that the
period of childhood will last for one hundred years. After that age they will no longer be children. They will be young adults.
So the age of one hundred might be equivalent to the current age of twelve or nineteen.
- Grandchildren.
They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity.
For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord and their descendants with them.
(Isaiah 65: 23)
The righteous will have children and grandchildren in the new earth.
Marriage and Children
There is a tradition in Christianity that says that there will be no marriages or new children in heaven.
It is based on a tricky question that was asked of Jesus.
If a woman legally marries seven brothers and all eight go to heaven, then who is her husband?
Jesus says that none of them are because there are no marriages in heaven.
Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?"
For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven.
(Mark 12: 24-25)
- You Do Not Know The Scriptures. Death annuls all vows. So at the Second Coming, everyone will have passed through either the physical or spiritual death and all marriage vows are null and void by law.
- You Do Not Know The Power of God. God has the legal authority to make a new covenant with better terms.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh, so they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.
(Mark 10: 6-9)
The Bible teaches us that no man can break the marriage vow. However, God can.
The judgment gives Him that power and the resurrection is the time to execute this power.
Children in Heaven.
There is evidence that there will be children in heaven (Isaiah 11).
But we assume that these are children resurrected from earth or born from women who were pregnant at the Second Coming.
So, eventually there will be no children.
Therefore, in order to reconcile some statements, some even speculate that these children will never grow up.
But this conflicts will the original plan and the promises in the blessings.
Our understanding would have us believe that every blessing in Eden will be restored to us except the one thing for which Eden was made in the first place.
"Be fruitful and multiply".
Breaking Covenants.
Are there covenants that God can break? Yes. When the old heavens and earth and the old people no longer exist and all former things are gone and everything is new, the old covenant can be broken.
This includes the old heaven and earth, the wicked and all agreements and covenants, including the marriage vows.
- Broken. If we break the covenant with Him, He is no longer obligated to keep His part of the agreement. So we are all in violation.
Jesus was the only human who was faithful to God. Therefore, all things are now made through Him and the covenant He made with God.
- Expired. When the time expires or the object no longer exists.
while the earth remains seed time and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease.
(Genesis 8: 22)
When the earth no longer exists, God can make a time in which both day and night do not exist.
Therefore, when He creates a new earth He can make a new covenant with the new earth.
In this new earth there will be no night.
So, following this logic, when we are resurrected with new bodies or new flesh, He can break all
covenants made in the old body. This includes all marriage vows. That is why there are no marriages in the resurrection.
| Christ |
Lamb of God
Law of sin and death
| Earth |
Day, night, seed time, harvest, summer, winter, cold, heat
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Everything, Every Covenant is in Christ
(1 Corinthians 15: 28. Philippians 3: 21) |
- Contract Technicality.
Sometimes the Bible uses a technicality to prove a point. Such as, the promise was made to a Seed, not seeds. (Galatians 3: 16)
In the most technical interpretation, Mark 12 says that this is the way it will be "in Heaven", not "on earth".
We will only be in this Heaven during the millennium.
But when we are on the New Earth and New Heaven, it no longer has to be true.
So no marriages will be in heaven. But they will be on the new earth.
- Change. When a change or death occurs the agreements made under the law can be changed.
It is as if there is a cascading effect of laws.
As the physical container dies, all laws and vows made within it cease to exist.
So far, the new laws have the same terms and goals but the participants are different.
- High Priest. Since the law was based on the descendants of Levi, It changed when
the descendant of Judah became the priest.
For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.
Hebrews 7: 12
- New Names, New Bodies. After the resurrection we will have new bodies and a new name.
Legally, this is not the same person who entered into an agreement on the old earth.
So, all old agreements are void.
- New Heavens and New Earth. Revelation 21: 25 teaches that there is no night in the new earth.
If you can break my covenant with the night, so that day and night not come at their appointed time, then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers.
(Jeremiah 33: 20-21)
- Levi are no longer the only priests after the covenant with day and night was broken.
This occurred during the crucifixion when a supernatural darkness covered the land. The covenant was broken so a new priesthood can be inaugurated.
This was not a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse cannot occur during a full moon. Jesus was killed during the full moon, on day 15 of a lunar calendar.
- Jesus became king from the line of David before the covenant with day and night was broken.
Mary anointed Him before the crucifixion.
This teaches us that if there is ever a time that "day and night" ceases to exist, then He can break old agreements.
This will occur after the millennium.
- No Moon or Stars at Night.
Thus says the Lord Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who stirs up the sea so that the waves roar; the Lord of hosts is His name.
If this fixed order departs from before Me, says the Lord, then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before me forever.
(Jeremiah 31: 35-37)
For three hours God made the fixed order depart, so Jesus could change the covenant.
- Israel Rejected. Old Israel was rejected for the nation of faith.
- New Priesthood. Levi was rejected for Melchizadek.
- New King. He is the King from the tribe of Judah. But people from other tribes are now kings.
- Covenant With The Land Expires When There is no Heaven. Israel will occupy the land until heaven passes away.
So at the Second Coming Israel is taken to a new land.
So that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them as long as the heavens remain above the earth.
(Deuteronomy 11: 21)
- When Heaven and Earth are Destroyed.
The covenant is in force until the heavens pass away. Jesus says the same thing.
For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished.
(Matthew 5: 18 also Luke 16: 17)
All will be accomplished when the new heaven and earth is created. Only then will the laws expire.
At the recreation these laws reappear in a better, more permanent form.
The curses expire.
The old Jerusalem is replaced with the New Jerusalem. The old Israel is replaced with the new Israel.
The old Israel, born out of Jacob, ceases to be a nation because the new Israel is born out of Christ.
But it is still called Israel, built on the foundation of the old Israel so that God's promises to "Israel" will not fail.
» There is a Time for Children.
Isaiah confirms that there will come a time when the righteous will multiply on the face of the earth.
The context of this promise in verses 20 to 21 is after the time when God becomes the light of the world, not the sun or moon.
This is after the millennium.
Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever ...
The smallest one will become a clan, and the least one a mighty nation. I the Lord will hasten it in its time.
(Isaiah 60: 21-22)
How can one become a clan or nation if they do not have children?
- Kol Nidrei ("Annulment of All Vows").
The Jews must cancel all vows on Yom Kippur.
God legally asks us to perform this act at the beginning of Yom Kippur because that is what He will do.
So on the last day that we are sealed, before the gates of heaven are closed, God asks us to annul all vows
by declaring that all vows are "absolved, remitted, cancelled, declared null and void, not in force or in effect.
Prohibitions, oaths, consecrations, vows that we may vow, swear, consecrate, or prohibit upon ourselves -
from this Yom Kippur until the next Yom Kippur, may it come upon us for good - regarding them all, we regret them henceforth.
They will all be permitted, abandoned, cancelled, null and void, without power and without standing.
Our vows shall not be valid vows; our prohibitions shall not be valid prohibitions;
and our oaths shall not be valid oaths.
Between the last Yom Kippur on earth and the final judgment one thousand years later, all personal vows are cancelled.
| Plagues |
Old Earth | Creation
New Earth | New Earth |
Yom Kippur
Judgment | Millennium |  | City lands on the Mount of Olives | Yom Kippur
Judgment | | New Jerusalem in the new earth |
|---|
Resurrection
New People | Void All Old Personal Vows (Kol Nidrei) | Void all vows with the old earth |
|---|
| No Marriages | Fixed Order Departs | New marriages and Children |
Day and Night Time
|
Day Only
|
|---|
| Israel on the Land | No Heavens Above (Israel is Gone) | Israel Possesses the Land |
|---|
The fixed order departs and the covenant with the day and night is broken when the new heavens and earth are created in which there is no night.
Keeping Covenants and Promises
The millennium allows God to keep His covenants with the old earth.
Notice that the Sabbath is a time of rest from the work and duties of the promise for both the people and the earth. Including the command to be fruitful and multiply.
His covenant to be priests and kings is no longer an exclusive contract with Levi and David. It is with all tribes.
| Partner | Earth | Property | Adam | Israel | Levi | David | People |
|---|
Covenant
Promise | Seed time, harvest, summer, winter, day, year | Family leased | Work
Rest | Many descendants | Priests | Kings | Marriage, life, children |
|---|
| Rest | Land Sabbath | Jubilee | Sabbath, rest from work and sin |
|---|
| Millennium | 1000 year Sabbath rest for the land | 1000 year Sabbath rest for the people |
|---|
| Death | Millennium to the New earth | Life |
|---|
Death is the ultimate covenant breaker. At death, the priesthood and the kingdom passes to another.
Marriages are broken. Only a will can change the distribution of property.
At death everything goes back to God, the ultimate owner. Notice that God owns all property. Families just have the right to use it.
The Sabbath was meant to restore all these to the original users who received it as their inheritance from God.
Apparently, this rest is so important, that if it was prevented, it can be given as one continuous time.
The millenium is the time when God keeps His covenants with the old earth before they pass away.
The Millennium Vacation
For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven.
(Mark 12: 25)
So, can Mark 12: 25 be true and there are still marriages? Yes!
Notice that Jesus never said how long this situation would last.
The only thing that it teaches is that all marriages are void after the resurrection.
In heaven, we will all be single again, like the angels.
But He never said that we would never get married again.
He only addressed the status of our former marriages and the possibility of marriage in the old heavens and earth.
Therefore, this verse may refer only to the period during the millennium while the old heavens and earth still exist.
At the resurrection all our marriages will be void and God will not immediately allow new marriages during the remainder of this time frame.
The old heavens and earth still exist. But we will have new bodies and new names in this transitional time.
Therefore, He can break all marriage vows made by the old body and the old person.
» The Gender of Angels.
People teach that the angels have no gender or are sexless because of this verse.
However, this is not what this verse or the bible teaches.
The angels that visit have always been assigned the male gender (Daniel 10: 15).
This verse only teaches that the angels in heaven are celibate and single.
If they are created beings with a gender, there is no reason to assume that this status could not change in the future.
It is possible that seeing sin in the future, God chose to deal with it while the angels had not reached puberty.
For the 1000 years when we are in heaven, He treats us as if we have not reached puberty, suspending marriages for a while.
Problems After the Resurrection
So we can even make the original question even harder.
If this woman had seven husbands and children with all these husbands, and her fourth husband was her favorite.
How can God fix that?
In the resurrection and the millennium God can immediately fix the complicated problems created by all sin, except the
problem of marriage, divorce, remarriage and children.
He can give eternal life to a murder victim. He can give streets of gold to the victim of theft.
He can restore everything with something better. But He cannot enforce our marriage vows.
Even on earth God has a similar problem. Adultery, polygamy, multiple marriages and illegitimate children.
This is the only situation where God appeared to make an exception and allow polygamy, divorce and remarriage.
What are some of the problems? While we are on earth, our hearts were too hard to accept a solution.
But it will be different in heaven.
There is no generic rule that is fair that will cover all situations.
So He fixes the problem with abstinence and time.
- Multiple Children, Multiple Spouses.
If you are the surviving wife of many legitimate marriages, who is your husband?
Should God have a mixed custody arrangement?
- Young Children. You can have young children from an earlier marriage that ended in tragedy.
These children are resurrected at the age of their death and may be chronologically older than your subsequent children, but physically younger.
Do you stay with the youngest children? Suppose you have young children from several marriages?
- Favorite Spouse. Suppose your favorite wife or husband is not the first or last or the parent of your youngest child?
In 1000 years all these issues and questions will be irrelevant.
In the "time out" period given during the millennium, God solves many of these problems.
With our new bodies we will all be virgins again.
During the millennium we get to grow up and understand God.
We will have much work to do.
- Growing Up In Heaven. God takes custody of all. He is the Parent. We are His children.
- Family. We will live in a "Kibbutz" type of atmosphere and the problem of the covenant family unit goes away, and we are like sisters and brothers.
Now the marriage rules for widows make sense. If she remarried brothers, then God could establish extended family units in the Kibbutz.
- Babysitter's Club. We will take care of each others children, children without parents and the aborted infants.
- Celibacy. We are no longer ruled by our hormones and the problem of sex goes away.
- Custody. After the children grow up, the problem of custody goes away. The youngest will be at least 1000 years old. It is time for them to marry and they must leave the house of their parents.
- Learning. We will get to know each other and establish friendships.
We will learn the science of salvation and creation. We will learn earth's history from the perspective of the people in heaven.
- Judgment. We will be judging angels and understanding why some people are lost and how they rejected God.
- Bad Agreements. Most of our choices for marriage were bad decisions or choices that were forced on us. God wipes them all away because He creates a new person with a new name.
This new person never made the old vows. A different person with a different name made those old vows.
- Old Earth. New marriages are not allowed since the old earth in which these marriages were made still exists.
- Sabbath. The millennium is a Sabbath and a sacred feast therefore the law about "seeking our own pleasure" and "coming at our wives" is in force.
The Marriage Ceremony of Jesus Christ and His Bride
The relationship of God with His people is described as a marriage. Here is an outline of the marriage customs.
- Bride and Groom. God is symbolized as being married to a tribe and to a land and to a city and the people in it.
» Married to the Tribe of Levi. Since we are all destined to be priest of God so that we can enter the temple, the picture of our marriage to God is symbolized in the tribe of Levi who were the priests of God.
- Married ("Attached to God"). The name Levi means "attached" as in a marriage.
- Inheritance. The tribe did not get an inheritance of property. God was their inheritance. So they received any tithe and offerings that the people brought for God to the temple.
Therefore, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God spoke to him.
(Deuteronomy 10: 9)
So, like a father or husband, God was their security.
We can only inherit the earth in two ways, as children of God or with the rights of a wife.
God marries or adopts us to give us an inheritance and His name.
» Married to the City of Jerusalem. The city is also described as a bride on her wedding day.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
(Revelation 21: 2)
» Married to the Land of Israel. He marries the land as the owner with the authority to give an inheritance.
It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken", Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate".
But you will be called "My delight is in her" and your land "Married".
For the Lord delights in you and to Him your land will be married.
For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall thy sons marry you: and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
(Isaiah 62: 4-5)
- Marriage Vows.
The ten commandments and the covenant are the contract that God made with us.
The union was made on Mount Sinai when God came with His friends to witness the acceptance of the marriage contract.
That contract is the covenant in which He promised to make His home with us and to make us fruitful if we are faithful to Him.
Children. So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you and I will confirm My covenant with you.
A Home. Moreover, I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul will not reject you.
(Leviticus 26: 9,11)
How do we remain loyal to the marriage vows?
If you love Me keep My commandments.
(John 14: 15 see also Leviticus 26: 3)
- The Leaving and Cleaving. The new family should establish their own home on the new earth.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
(Genesis 2: 24)
God leaves His current dwelling place in heaven to make His permanent home on earth with us.
» The Holy Union ("Joining"). God unites with us through the Holy Spirit, who writes the marriage vows on our hearts.
This joining is a permanent union that makes us perfect by making us faithful to our marriage vows.
- Fruit. As a wife we must not be barren. We must bear spiritual fruits from the Holy Spirit who is in us.
- Adultery. Those who commit adultery must be abandoned by law.
When we serve Satan we are committing adultery by joining with him.
If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so you shall put away evil from Israel.
(Deuteronomy 22: 22)
The Marriage Ceremony.
Here is an outline of the ancient Jewish ceremony.
- The Engagement ("Shiddukhin"). The process begins when the father selects a bride for his son.
- Bride Price ("Mohar"). The groom gives a gift to the family of the bride.
The Gift of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is our gift. He helps us to get ready for the wedding by writing the terms of the marriage contract on our hearts.
- Bride Gift ("Matan"). The groom gives the bride a gift before leaving to fulfill his obligations to prepare a home. The gift could be a wedding gown, which is His righteousness.
- Dowry ("Shiluhim"). The father gives the bride her inheritance as a gift.
- The Written Marriage Contract ("Ketubah").
A bride is acquired and a contract is written.
It includes the promises of the groom to his bride and describes his obligations to her.
Then the groom pours two glasses of wine after signing the contract.
He drinks the first and she drinks the second if she accepts the proposal.
The Fulfillment.
The covenant is the marriage contract that God made with us.
- The Engagement Ceremony ("Kiddushin").
It is a ritual that sanctifies and sets apart a woman for one man and no other.
One is legally married at this point and the relationship can only be dissolved by death or divorce but the couple does not live together at this point.
During the engagement period which can last from one to two years, both make preparations for the wedding.
- Bride.
She takes a bath in the mikveh and wears a veil to signify that she is taken.
She packs a bag and keeps an oil lamp lit to prepare for the groom.
- Groom:
Building the Huppah. The groom goes home to build a house, usually an addition to his father's house.
The date of the wedding is not known until this house is finished and his father approves the work.
Then the groom and his friends try to surprise the bride in the night.
They blast a shofar to announce his arrival.
The Fulfillment.
Jesus Christ made the marriage proposal at His First Coming. Then He went to heaven to prepare the home for His new bride. (John 14: 2-3)
He will surprise her at the Second Coming with the sound of a trumpet.
She has been baptized and is waiting for the Second Coming.
- The Wedding Ceremony ("Nisuin").
When she hears the sound of the shofar, the bride takes her lamp and belongings and goes to meet the groom.
The husband brings the wife into his home and they begin their life together.
» One Week. The bride and groom do not see each other for a week before the wedding.
» Mikvah. The bride visits the ritual bath. This is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
» Fast ("A Personal Yom Kippur"). The bride and groom fast on the day before the wedding.
» Groom Veils the Bride ("Badeken"). We are covered in His righteousness.
» The Wedding Canopy ("Chupah"). The parents escort their children to the wedding canopy, which is a temporary shelter.
» White Clothes ("Kittel"). They put on white clothes as a symbol of purity.
» Seven Times. The bride circles the groom seven times to symbolize building the walls of their new home.
» Reading the Contract (Three Angels' Message). They read the contract in public.
» Blessings. The couple recite seven blessings.
» The Cup of Wine (Elijah's Cup). They drink wine.
» Breaking the Cup (Seven Last Plagues). The groom smashed the glass with his right foot.
» Home ("Yichud"). The groom brings the wife into his home. We go to heaven with Jesus.
» Meal and Feast. The feast lasts seven days. This is the length of the feast of Tabernacles celebration.
The Fulfillment. The wedding begins at the Second Coming and the feast lasts 1000 years.
» The Fast on Yom Kippur. On the last day to accept Christ there is a fast.
» The Inauguration of the Priests for One Week. Then the church who is now clothed in the white robes of the righteousness of Christ wait seven days as they are being inaugurated before they see Jesus.
» The Feast of Tabernacles. During this period they build temporary shelters called booths and they circle the altar every day calling on God to save them. They do this seven times on the last day.
» The Cup of Wrath. Jesus pours the cup of wrath on the earth that shatters the earth and the wicked
- Honeymoon. As the Bridegroom He keeps the honeymoon law when He comes for us (Deuteronomy 24: 5). He comes to rescue His bride, but He waits for one thousand years before going to war.
The Parables of Jesus: The Kingdom of God is A Wedding Feast
The kingdom of God begins with a great wedding feast that God hosts for His Son.
- Marriage Feast (Matthew 22: 1-14). Many are called to the feast but few are chosen. Some refuse the invitation and others refuse the wedding clothes.
- Invitations to The Wedding (Luke 14: 12-14). Invitations are sent everywhere. We are repaid at the resurrection.
- Wedding Guests (Luke 14: 7-24). Some decline the invitation and God invites strangers and the homeless.
- Wise Bridesmaids (Matthew 25: 1-13).
The guests are tired while waiting.
The bridesmaids who have the Holy Spirit and can shine a light will be allowed to accompany the wedding party.
Those without a light cannot perform their duties.
The New Earth
After the new heavens and earth, He can allow us to make new covenants with our new bodies and minds.
All children would be adults at this point and time would have dissolved all custody issues.
Then God can tell us to be fruitful and multiply again. And you can choose one of your seven husbands or a different husband or God will arrange all marriages.
Or you can wait a million years while you pursue music instruction.
» The Old Earth is Destroyed.
Some believe that the world will never end because they point to all the passages which claim that we will live on the earth.
There is no contradiction.
The bible teaches that this old earth will pass away and God will make a new earth that we will inherit.
- The Old Earth.
This feeble and damaged old earth will be born again just as the righteous will be.
So just as we will also be somehow the same person with a new immortal body, so will the new earth be part of the old so that there will be no contradiction in the promises.
The earth is given all the promises.
- World Burned Up (2 Peter 3: 10). The world will pass away with burning heat and a great noise.
- The First Earth is Destroyed (Revelation 21: 1). The first heaven and earth will pass away.
- The New Earth. Revelation 21: 1 is very clear. There will be a new heaven and earth after the old heaven and earth pass away.
- Old Sorrows Forgotten (Isaiah 65: 17). God will make a new heaven and a new earth.
- We Will Endure (Isaiah 66: 22). The new heavens and earth will last forever.
- Meek Inherit the Earth (Matthew 5: 5). They inherit the perfect, new, recreated earth.
- World Without End (Isaiah 45: 17). The earth will be raised from the dead to live eternally when Israel lives there.
Israel is the "world without end".
They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: you shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
(Isaiah 22: 16-17)
- The New Heaven. We believe that the righteous will live in heaven for 1000 years, then we will return and God will destroy the old earth and make a new earth where He will live with us.
So the new earth will become the new heaven where God lives.
A Message of Encouragement
- Faithful and true (Verses 6). God reaffirms that His Words are faithful and true and will happen just as He says.
-
I come quickly. God gives this warning three times (Revelation 22: 7, 12, 20).
This was written two thousand years ago. "Quickly" might mean that the earth has been beyond the half way mark since that time.
-
Worship God. Two times we see John start to worship the messengers (Revelation 19: 10, Revelation 22: 8). Both times he was told to Worship God, not God's messengers.
This is in contrast to the efforts of the Beast who tries to divert worship to himself.
-
Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book. In the last chapter of Daniel, he was told to "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end". We started our studies in Revelation 10 with the unsealing of the prophecies of the Book of Daniel. John is told not to seal up the prophecies of Revelation. We are to study and understand them now, "for the time is at hand".
This is a contradiction of the command to seal the words of the seven thunders (Revelation 10: 4).
Perhaps they seal the same words as Daniel 12. Perhaps they will be unsealed at the end of time.
| Daniel | 2 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Chapter 11: 1-39 | 11: 40-45 | Time of the End | Chapters 11: 40-45 and 12 |
| Not sealed |  Sealed |  Unsealed |
|---|
| Babylon to Rome |  | Rome | King of the North | The King of the North |
|---|
| Revelation | Churches, seals, trumpets | Seven thunders | Babylon the Great |
|---|
Daniel was to seal the prophecies in chapter 11 after the setting up of the abomination of desolation.
The Jews need these prophecies to identify the Messiah and the new Christian church needed to understand the coming abomination of desolation.
After the time of the end, the church would need the prophecies to recognize the last abomination of desolation.
Then Daniel will truly be important because it gives a more detailed account of the military aspect of the period than Revelation does.
John cannot seal this book because the prophecies start in his time and affect the church until the end of time.
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
(Revelation 22: 17)
Come quickly, Jesus. Amen.
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