Originally posted by rwingettThe only thing more boring then the heaven discribed in this thread, is people who don't study the Bible for themselves but want to spout off about the Christian faith.
As part of their contract, they have to log onto RHP's spirituality forum for eight hours a day and write posts defending the concept of 'free will' and bashing evolution.
Possibly one more boring thing. The ones who accuse others of expounding the Bible as plagerizers.
This means you rwingett.
Originally posted by jaywillDid you write that post I was referring to?
The only thing more boring then the heaven discribed in this thread, is people who don't study the Bible for themselves but want to spout off about the Christian faith.
Possibly one more boring thing. The ones who accuse others of expounding the Bible as [b]plagerizers.
This means you rwingett.[/b]
And learn how to spell 'plagiarize.'
The post that was quoted here has been removedStart by reading the Bible more carefully.
Where does it say that the saved believers have thier eternal destiny in heaven?
Could you point that out to me?
Now somewhere in this long list of discussions, I started one which hasn't had a submission in months. It was called "Beyond Going to Heaven"
You might read some of the things I wrote there and continue with the thread with questions on the subject.
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So the souls of the saved are to live on Earth, this still doesn't counter by points about what the people (souls) will do with their time, putting to one side for now, about the physical state of the Earth and it's ultimate demise, what are the saved souls to do on this Earth, my points about the lack of enjoyable activities to take part in still remain.
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Okay.
One thing you have to realize is that in the age of eternity there are not only the transformed sons of God which make up New Jerusalem. But there are also the nations who are granted an everlasting life. These nations are the nations over which the Bible says the sons of God will reign forever and ever:
" ... for the Lord God will shine upon them; and they will reign forever and ever." (See Revelation 22:5)
This reigning forever and ever is not the sons of God reigning over each other. It is their carrying out God's divine administration over the nations that are then on the earth coming out of the great tribulation and the millennial age.
The reigning of the sons of God is also their serving God as His servants:
"And there will be no longer a curse. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him." (Rev. 22:3)
To serve God is the reign for God expressing God's authority and God's glory.
This reigning includes "healing". The words healing indicate all manner of shepherding, encouraging, teaching, instructing, uplifting, edifying, nourishing, cherishing, and generally restoring mankind. This healing is symbolically indicated in these words:
"And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yeilding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." (Rev. 22:2)
The tree of life represents Christ as the life of God to be the "food" of the sons of God. The leaves of the tree of life represent the outward behavior of the sons of God. For their to be healing in the leaves of the tree of life represents the healing in the acts, actions, behavior, ministry, service, and lives of the sons of God who take into themselves the life of God.
In John 15 Jesus said that He was the True Vine and the disciples are the branches. So Christ as the tree of life - the Vine Tree of life has attached to Him the branches of His saved people.
The healing leaves are doing their healing each month for the cycle of twelve months. This means perpetually, faithfully, they are serving Christ providing restoration to the surrounding nations on the new earth.
This includes the meek inheriting the earth. Isaiah says that the extent of the kingdom of the Son of God is without end. This could mean that its extent is the very extent of the universe.
It is not too much to imagine that all of this cosmic real estate has some purpose to God in the eternal future. If His kingdom has no extent then we may very well imagine that Christ will expand His kingdom to the galaxies.
I don't press this point too far because it is speculation. But it is logical speculation I think. He created the worlds. most likely, for some reason.
Lastly, the sons of God are said to be the Bride and Wife of the Lamb Christ. Who knows what the Wife will request of her Husband and receive in love as an answer to her request. We can assume that she will request that which is in harmony with the will of God.
She has eternity. And God is depicted as a river of water of life because there is no end to His riches. He must continually flow and flow and flow all the riches of His being into man forever. He cannot be exhausted.
I have to leave now. I will return. But you should also know that eternity is a fuller taste of the foretaste of what believers in Jesus are enjoying today. What we enjoy of God today is a foretaste, a appitiezer of a fuller meal to come. It is a seal and a promise of greater enjoyment of the same nature to come.
The post that was quoted here has been removedYour right of course. All that talk about eternal blissful love is lacking to say the least when really all that is needed for entertainment for people like yourself are a few bars and strip clubs. Why did'nt John include that in his description of heaven? Oh well, just an oversight I guess.