This claim may have traction if you can cite the quote where I took "the apostle Paul out of context."
Not wanting derail this different thread here. Just read what I wrote there. I alluded to Paul's writing, two different verses, I think.
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This claim may have traction if you can cite the quote where I took "the apostle Paul out of context."
I like to think that I do.
When I read Revelation 21, I think that death, mourning, and pain still exist, even among the believers.
To be absent from the body is to be present with Lord. Yes, I will see Jesus as He is.
And is that it? No bodily resurrection? And the earth goes on and on, perhaps, with wars and fightings and murders and adulteries forever . . . but maybe not? Maybe eventually death and sickness is gone and men live forever in peace and righteousness, it's hard to say?
Real question. Just wanting to know how you're thinking.
Charles Spurgeon, quoted by Evangelist John L. Bray in his sermon"Did you ever regret the absence of the burnt offering, or the red heifer, or any of the sacrifices and rites of the Jews? Did you ever pine for the feast of tabernacles, or the dedication? No, because, though those were like the OLD HEAVENS AND EARTH TO THE JEWISH BELIEVERS, THEY (THE HEAVENS AND EARTH) HAVE PASSED AWAY, AND WE NOW LIVE UNDER NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH, so far as the dispensation of Divine teaching is concerned. The Substance is come and the shadow has gone—and we do not remember it."
If I may add my own questions,I know it is a real question, not trying to set me up or anything.
A bodily resurrection of Christ was essential for our salvation, so that Christ would evidently be Lord of all. But He does not need a physical body now. Neither will we.
Neither did He throughout eternity past.
I have to leave. Will,come back later
Then at least point me to the thread and the post number.Not wanting derail this different thread here. Just read what I wrote there. I alluded to Paul's writing, two different verses, I think.
While I agreed, this needs qualification.I like to think that I do.
When I read Revelation 21, I think that death, mourning, and pain still exist, even among the believers.
Unless your view has changed, your "qualification" would fall outside the parameters in which the witness of John starting in Revelation 18 will allow.While I agreed, this needs qualification.
Right now it is storming here in Panama and the Internet is spotty. Will return later.
Not according to Scriptures.The New Heaven and New Earth that I anticipate will be redeemed from sin.
Of course He is addressing heaven and earth. He is calling the whole Universe to witness against Israel. The stars keep to their paths, the planets to their orbits; the earth keeps revolving on its axis and circling the sun. They are obeying the laws of their Creator. And so they witness against God's own people, a part of His creation who have rebelled against Him. Why would He summon Israel to witness against Israel?In fact the concept of a metaphorical understanding of Heaven and Earth is found in the OT.
Deuteronomy 31:30 (NKJV) Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were ended: 32:1 "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. (See also Isaiah 1:1-2)
Whom is God addressing? Israel, not physical heavens and earth.
Well spookily enough, I preached on Isaiah 51 just a few weeks ago. God's address is not to Israel as a whole, but to His N.T. people (c.f. Isaiah 51:1, 7). The whole section from Chapters 40-55, although Cyrus has a bit part, is about Christ. It is to Christ that verse 16 is spoken; who was not revealed until the due time (Galatians 4:4), but who has redeemed Zion-- not Jerusalem below, but the Jerusalem above which is the mother of all Christians (Galatians 4:26) and will descend from heaven at the end of time (Revelation 21:2). "'My people' is the ultimate fulfilment of God's covenant promise in Exodus 6:7" (Alec Motyer).And I have put my words in thy mouth,
And I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand,
That I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth,
And say unto Zion, Thou art my people. -- Isa 51.16
Notice especially the third line.
That I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth,
You are supposing that they are concurrent, but there is no evidence for that. Verse 17 begins a new section. @agedman has shown you the context of verses 17-25.Those two events, that you imagine as being millenia apart, actually happen at the same time. Take a look at Isa. 65
14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit.
15 You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord GOD will slay you, And call His servants by another name;
16 So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes.
17 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. - Isa. 65.14-17
Notice especially the two concurrent events.
1. Gods servants are called by a new name - Christians.
2. The creation of new heavens and new earth.
Thumb typing on a phone so I will be brief.Of course He is addressing heaven and earth. He is calling the whole Universe to witness against Israel. The stars keep to their paths, the planets to their orbits; the earth keeps revolving on its axis and circling the sun. They are obeying the laws of their Creator. And so they witness against God's own people, a part of His creation who have rebelled against Him. Why would He summon Israel to witness against Israel?If you have a problem with this, consider Joshua 24:27, where a stone is made a witness against Israel. Is 'stone' a code word for Israel?
See also Isaiah
Well spookily enough, I preached on Isaiah 51 just a few weeks ago. God's address is not to Israel as a whole, but to His N.T. people (c.f. Isaiah 51:1, 7). The whole section from Chapters 40-55, although Cyrus has a bit part, is about Christ. It is to Christ that verse 16 is spoken; who was not revealed until the due time (Galatians 4:4), but who has redeemed Zion-- not Jerusalem below, but the Jerusalem above which is the mother of all Christians (Galatians 4:26) and will descend from heaven at the end of time (Revelation 21:2). "'My people' is the ultimate fulfilment of God's covenant promise in Exodus 6:7" (Alec Motyer).
You are supposing that they are concurrent, but there is no evidence for that. Verse 17 begins a new section. @agedman has shown you the context of verses 17-25.
Why would He summon Israel to witness against Israel?
Read Deuteronomy 4:26 & 30:19. It is utterly ridiculous to suggest that 'heaven and earth' is some sort of code word for Israel. You are making a fool of yourself.???
People certainly can be witnesses against themselves. Several verses come to my mind.
Read Deuteronomy 4:26 & 30:19. It is utterly ridiculous to suggest that 'heaven and earth' is some sort of code word for Israel. You are making a fool of yourself.
The 'for' shows the continuity of thought, but by no means requires the same time-line. Isaiah 65:17-25 describe the NH & NE, and they bear no resemblance to the world today. Today many Christians are living in conditions of slavery in Pakistan and elsewhere, contra vs. 21-22, and infant mortality for Christians is no better for Christians than for others (v.20)Thumb typing on a phone so I will be brief.
Agedman has not shown me the context, but how he ignores the context to suit his presupposition And you, also, imagine a division or break just before the NH verse for a similar reason. A plain reading of the text - noting specially the "for" - would make the unbiased reader see them all as grouped together.
Verse 17 is an explanation of those things that God brought to pass in the previous verses.
If I may add my own questions,
In your view, will this Earth continue to add to the heavenly host into infinite?
Yes, that is my understanding. I could be wrong but I have not seen a passage that would teach otherwise.
But God is not obligated to tell us everything future, like that verse in Deut. tells us - secret things belong to Him.
Moreover, intriguingly, we do have the things spoken by the Seven Thunders that John was forbidden to write down.