Shalom, Trekson.
Hi Retro, OK you get 2 brownie points for being a fellow trekker (trekkies are young trekkers), however seeing as you're a long-winded feller, I need to ask you a favor. You seem to be an intellectual type guy and I am not. You can be a danger to your fellow board members 'cause when you get into the Hebrew and greek, my eyes start to glaze over, I enter a stupor and my head almost crashes into the keyboard! It really isn't necessary although I do believe you are well-intentioned, but that could be part of the problem. It's hard for the intelligentsia (is that a word?) to accept things by simple faith. They tend to make things more complicated than they need to be.
I've never heard the distinction between a trekker and a trekkie, but, hey, I just love the shows. I'm currently re-watching all the episodes as a months-long marathon of Deep Space 9 on Netflix. (I LOVE episode 102 where Sisko and crew go back in time to the episode of the "Trouble with Tribbles" in Jim Kirk's series. I think it's called "Trials and Tribble-ations.")
Sorry about the glaze-over, but what I'm doing serves two purposes: For those who know the Greek, they can verify my findings, and for those who don't, I hope I can encourage them to TRY to learn the language. It's not super difficult. It's a little time-consuming, but time well spent, IMO. In effect, I've given all the steps I took to understand the passage in detail, and one can easily retrace my steps, if they so choose. Some people throw up their hands and jokingly say, "It's all Greek to me!" But, if one REALLY wants to know what a passage of Scripture is saying, there's just no substitute for learning the Greek (for the NT; Hebrew for the OT).
Yes, "intelligentsia" is a word, and it means the "intellectuals considered as a group or class, especially as a cultural, social, or political elite." I don't feel that way at all. I want EVERYONE to go to the limits of what they are capable of learning, especially when it comes to the Bible! IMO, if someone is capable of learning the original languages of the Bible, they are DUTY-BOUND to learn them! The Ruach haQodesh (the Holy Spirit) can do great things with us, but I believe it is our DUTY to give Him as much "ammo" to work with as we are capable of learning! And, we should NEVER stop learning! I believe that if a person stops learning, he's stopped growing. Besides, I believe that it is MUCH more important to learn the original languages than it is to memorize the individual stages of some eschatological viewpoint!
Your words:" We're not IN the Kingdom from the sky, yet, and WHY should I believe in a "Heaven" of which the Scriptures are SILENT?! THINKING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HEAVEN WHEN WE DIE IS the fantasy! Haven't you read about the Millennium at all?!"
No, scripture isn't silent, you just refuse to see what is written and try to logically, explain it all away. Have you ever considered that sometimes The Hebrew and Greek, just like all the other languages is just sometimes unable to adequately express what is being conveyed? So, the best they can do is come close but not neccessarily hit the mark. The millennial age is for the living, unglorified peoples of the earth. It is not for the church! Yes, some (imo, a tiny minority) will rule and reign with Christ on earth but that doesn't mean their "home" won't be in heaven.
No, sir. I've done the research; I've done the leg-work of looking up EVERY VERSE that uses the word "heaven" or "heavens" or "heaven's" or "heavenly," both in the OT and in the NT. I don't NEED to "explain it away!" In many cases, it JUST ISN'T THERE! And, it's not enough just to look up "heaven," "heavens," "heaven's," and "heavenly" in a concordance, even in a
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible! One must cross-check the references to the Greek words and see just what English words were used for the translations of these Greek words. THEN, one must look up THOSE English words in the concordance, as well! OR, if one has it available, one can find the Greek (or Hebrew) word or words in the
Englishman's Concordance and find every occurrence of that GREEK (or HEBREW) word or words in the original manuscripts of the Bible!
You asked, "Have you ever considered that sometimes The Hebrew and Greek, just like all the other languages is just sometimes unable to adequately express what is being conveyed?" Sure, I've considered that, but there are two things that one must decide: Do you believe in the plenary verbal inspiration of the Bible in the original manuscripts; that is, do you believe that, in the original manuscripts, the Ruach haQodesh gave the authors EVERY WORD that they were to write? And secondly, do you think the Ruach haQodesh would have trouble communicating what He wanted to say IN ANY LANGUAGE? I most emphatically believe in the plenary verbal inspiration of the Bible in the original manuscripts! If the individual, human authors weren't given the words to say by the Over-Author, there would be all kinds of contradictions in the text! Furthermore, I believe that - regardless the language - the Ruach haQodesh would get HIS message across!
Of the Hebrew words that were translated "heaven" or "heavens," the most common was 8064 "
shaamayim," occurring 421 times. The second most common was 8065 the Aramaic "
shaamayin," occurring 38 times. A few other Hebrew words were used that probably should not have been translated as "heaven" in the KJV: 1534 "
galgal," which meant "wheel" or "spinning" and referred to dust devils or tornadoes, occurring 11 times, and 7834 "
shaqaq," which means "small dust" or "fine mist," occurring 21 times.
In the New Testament, the most common Greek word translated "heaven" or "heavens" was 3772 "
ouranos," occurring 284 times (once as "heaven's"). The second most common word translated as "heavenly" was 2032 "
epouranios," occurring 20 times. Third was 3770 "
ouranios," occurring 6 times, also translated as "heavenly." Fourth was 3321 "
mesouraneema" (all three times in Revelation, btw), translated "midst of heaven," and finally 3771 "
ouranothen," occurring twice, translated as "from heaven."
That's only 806 locations to look up, and I did all this in my "spare time" purely for the love of God's Word, and ANYONE could do it! And here's a question: If it is true as Scofield said, that there's a first heaven "of clouds," a second heaven "of stars," and a third heaven as "God's abode," don't you think that the words used might reflect that? They DON'T!
Your words:" We don't go to "Heaven"; "Heaven" comes to us! THAT'S Scriptural!"
The NJ isn't heaven although I suppose it could be considered the "capitol city" of heaven. Do you really want to limit heaven to some giant Borg cube floating off in space somewhere, run by little angel drones?!
Well, first off, look at the following passage from Peter's message in Acts 2:
Acts 2:22-36
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
KJV
Peter USED this fact, namely that David had NOT ascended into the heavens, to prove that He was speaking prophetically about the Messiah! And, yet, this message was preached AFTER the Resurrection of our Lord and AFTER His Ascension and AFTER the miracle on Pentecost! (Thus, this is WELL after the verse was supposedly fulfilled that says, "He led captivity captive.")
Secondly, it's not a Borg cube or a cube at all. The New Jerusalem, 1500 miles long, wide, and high, will land upon the New Earth because it has "foundations" and it has four sides that face north, south, east and west. That's hard to do if not in close proximity to the New Earth. Furthermore, I believe that the reason why it is called the New Jerusalem (Yerushalayim haChadashah) is because it will sit on the New Earth (a re-created Old Earth, as it were) at the geographic location of the Old Jerusalem! Psalm 89 is a good reason why I believe this. (I'll let you find the reason.) If this city sits upon the New Earth, and assuming that the New Earth's dimensions will be comparable to the Old Earth, just as the earth before the Flood was comparable to the earth after the Flood, then the earth's curvature will also play a part! Thus, a cube doesn't work. If it has any distinguishable shape (and I believe it does), then it would have to be a pyramid. The city just has to "LIE foursquare" or cover a square area. And, this makes sense because, with all the walls constructed of jasper, the blood of the bloodstone, and the first foundation consisting of jasper, there's no way into the city except through the blood! Besides, if the water of life flows FROM the throne of God and of the Lamb, wouldn't it make sense that it would flow DOWN, WITH the pull of gravity rather than trying to fight against it? In a cube, the center of the cube makes the best sense for the throne, but then, how does the water get to the upper portions of this three-dimensional city? In a pyramid, the most logical place for the throne is in the pinnacle, the capstone or the "corner stone" or the "head stone of the corner!" Then, the water will just naturally flow to all portions of the city below, finally exiting the city through the city's gates that will always stand open, providing water for the whole New Earth!
Your words: "His resurrected body is NOT immaterial or non-physical! His resurrected body IS material and stronger than any typical human body! It is able to be handled, to eat, to drink, to talk, and to walk with His students for several days after His resurrection and before His ascension! Sure there are some differences, just as there are some differences between a grain of wheat and a stalk of wheat, but they are both PHYSICAL."
Imo, this is where the limited imagination comes in. Yes, His "spiritual" body can seem and feel like the material/physical but it certainly isn't limited to that. You simply can't reduce Him to some sort of physical superhuman!Yes, He could be touched and can eat and drink, but He didn't have to and He was able to materialize through doors and walls and rock walls! Can the physical do that?
OR, so YOU believe! CAN the physical do that? What do we learn about matter in grade school? They still teach the basics of nuclear physics in that "atoms are mostly empty space." IS it "materializing" from a "different dimension," OR is it that He could simply control His atoms to intersperse them with the atoms of the doors and walls and rock walls? Is One who can control His own atoms to that degree any less physical? We learn this about "colliding galaxies," as well! Galaxies can collide and even pass through each other because the stars of both galaxies, too, are widely separated with mostly empty space between them! A few individual stars may interact with each other's gravitational fields. They may even truly collide, but by and large, most pass harmlessly by each other!
Let's try a different scenario: What if He is using super speed, moving so fast, that no one NOTICES Him coming into the room! Perhaps, we can meld the two scenarios and say that by using His super speed, faster than electrons move around their nuclei, that He passes through the doors and walls as though the electrons are standing still!
We don't know HOW He does it! He just does; however, He told His disciples that He was NOT "spirit!"
Luke 24:36-43
36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit (a ghost).
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit (ghost) hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
KJV
Now, tell me that's not a PHYSICAL body!
When Saul had the Witch of Endor bring Samuel back from the grave was it physical or spiritual?
Can you categorically tell me that this was INDEED Sh'mu'el? WAS it him or was it a daemon (her "familiar spirit") POSING as him?
When Phillip was translated (transported ;) ) to the Ethiopian eunuch, was it physical or spiritual?
What do the Scriptures say?
Acts 8:26-31
26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
KJV
Where does it say that he was "transported?"
When Christ floated away on a cloud, breaking all known laws of Physics, was it physical or spiritual?
Again, what do the Scriptures say?
Acts 1:9-11
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
KJV
Now, I ask you, did He rise on His own or was He taken up by Someone else? Did He indeed "float away on a cloud" or did a cloud just hide Him from their sight? If there's one thing you'll come to learn about me, it's this: I'm a STICKLER for accuracy!
When Christ went down to speak to the spirits in prison from the days of Noah, was it physical or spiritual?
1 Peter 3:17-22
17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
KJV
Frankly, we don't know WHEN this occurs! Many ASSUME that it was done between His death and His resurrection, but where does it say ANY of that? The passage is just a little bit obscure, wouldn't you say? What would be the purpose of the Messiah "heralding" (Greek: "
ekeeruxen" from "
keerussoo," meaning "to herald as a public crier") to these prisoners if their fates were already sealed?
I see the "spiritual realm" and heaven differently. I don't picture it as the 5th planet around the Star Epsilon, I see it as a different
dimension and after the GWTJ, this physical dimension will perish and all that will be left is the spiritual dimension (the new heavens and earth). We know that the devils are "the princes and powers of the air" but we can't see them, not even with telescopes. Why? Simply because they are on a different plane of existence. I believe our glorified bodies will be quite different as well. For one thing most, if not all of our innards will be gone, we won't need them. There won't be any exterior male/female attributes either. We'll be able to travel from point A to point B at just a thought, the blink of an eye, so to speak. Christ dwells within us now, in our heavenly bodies we won't NEED to be in His physical presence to be with Him, we will always be "with" Him even if we were "light years" away.
The bible doesn't say anything about us ruling and reigning over each other. I believe that at the onset of the millennium, the raptured/resurrected will out number the physical living. There's simply won't be enough "job openings" for
everyone to rule and reign over someone else! Most of us, imo, will be re-educating ourselves in His word as I believe the Bible in heaven will be different from what we have hear. Some people think "heaven" is going to be an eternal 24/7 church service! I hope not! But I do believe that we can't even comprehend most of what our spiritual life will be like. Anyway, those are my thoughts. I'm going now to buy some protective gear for your reply
I don't see it as the fifth planet in Epsilon's solar system, either! However, I certainly don't see it as in another dimension! There are things to consider that make a difference:
First, consider the following passages of Scripture:
Exodus 31:16-17
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
KJV
Exodus 32:13
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
KJV
Joshua 14:9
9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.
KJV
2 Samuel 7:4-29
4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying,
5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:
9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.
10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,
11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
18 Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?
20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant.
21 For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
22 Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, Lord, art become their God.
25 And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
26 And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
27 For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
28 And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
KJV
1 Chronicles 17:11-14
11 And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.
12 He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.
13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:
14 But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.
KJV
Psalm 48:1-14
1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
4 For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.
5 They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.
6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
7 Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.
9 We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.
KJV
Psalm 52:1-9
To the chief Musician, Mas'-chil, A Psalm of David, when Do'-eg the E'dom-ite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of A'him'-e-lech.
1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.
2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
KJV
Psalm 72:1-20
1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.
2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.
16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
KJV
Psalm 89:1-52
1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.
5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.
6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
8 O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
9 Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.
11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.
12 The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.
13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.
16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.
18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:
21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.
24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;
31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;
32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
36 His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me.
37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
38 But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.
39 Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.
41 All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.
42 Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.
44 Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.
46 How long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.
KJV
Psalm 125:1-2
1 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
KJV
Ecclesiastes 1:4
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
KJV
Isaiah 40:1-11
1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
KJV
Isaiah 51:1-8
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
KJV
Ezekiel 36:1-38
1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord:
2 Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:
3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:
4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;
5 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.
8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.
9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:
10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
12 Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men.
13 Thus saith the Lord God; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations;
14 Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord God.
15 Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord God.
16 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.
18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:
19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.
21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
33 Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.
34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.
36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.
37 Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.
38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
KJV
Ezekiel 37:19-28
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
KJV
Ezekiel 43:1-9
43 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
4 And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.
6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.
7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.
8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.
9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.
KJV
Daniel 2:34-45
34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
KJV
Daniel 7:18
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
KJV
Micah 4:1-7
4 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
6 In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
KJV
You don't know because it's not important to you...yet, but the children of Isra'el are TIED to their Land! God promised that they would inherit the Land FOREVER! That would be kinda hard to do if ... <poof!> ... no more Land! "This physical dimension will perish?" ABSOLUTELY NOT! What? Are you meshuggah (crazy)?!
STICK TO THE BIBLE!!!! You absolutely MUST
NOT go off willy-nilly with your imagination! You will stray from the truth of God's Word
EVERY TIME YOU DO!!!
Romans 8:21-23
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
KJV
A wise preacher I know once outlined the Bible like this:
I. What ought to be - Genesis 1 & 2
II. What is - Genesis 3
III. How to get from What is to What ought to be - Genesis 4-Revelation 22
The point here is that mankind was made to rule over the earth, and the earth was made for mankind. A PERFECT GOD labeled the Creation "VERY GOOD" when He was finished. For a PERFECT GOD to call His Creative Work "VERY GOOD," you can bet that the Creation was PERFECT! So, in a PERFECT environment, how much of it was physical?
ALL OF IT!!! So, what's so wrong with the physical?! What's WRONG is SIN and its consequence of DEATH AND DECAY! When God takes away the Curse, and Death is destroyed, and we are living in IMMORTAL and INCORRUPTIBLE bodies in an immortal and incorruptible environment once again, what could be wrong with that?! We will have come full circle back to the way that God had originally created us to be!
"All of our innards will be gone, we won't need them"?! RIDICULOUS! Where'd you get THAT from Scripture?! That doesn't AGREE with Scripture!
Micah 4:3-5
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
KJV
Revelation 2:7
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
KJV
Revelation 22:1-4
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And 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:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
KJV
Revelation 22:14
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
KJV
NEWS FLASH! We will EAT! We will DRINK! We will ENJOY LIFE! It's just NUTS to think otherwise!
