Bonnie Alba
Heaven - - God's home and man's destiny (Part 3)
By Bonnie Alba
"The future is bound up in the past. One's belief concerning his origin will inevitably determine his belief concerning his purpose and his destiny." ~ Dr. Henry M. Morris
Before we can grasp some understanding of man's destiny, we must return to his Origin or Genesis — in the beginning.
If we read the Bible's first book, Genesis chapters 1-3, we learn of a perfect universe and world created by God, giving mankind dominion over the earth. God called it all "Good." Then Sin entered the picture.
The dreaded word "Sin" speaks to man's rebellion against God's Holy Righteousness. Sin is no longer acceptable as part of the national post-modern, politically correct vocabulary, extending even into churches. But the denial of Sin doesn't lessen the impact of and consequences for the sins of individuals, cultures and nations.
Most everyone has heard the story of Adam and Eve enticed to sin by the lovely, beguiling liar, the Serpent who is Satan the fallen angel. Whether you believe God's Word or not doesn't cancel God's Truth. We see it in ourselves and all around us.
After God confronted Adam and Eve, God declared the Curse on Satan, the woman, then the man. God subjected the whole earth-universe to disorder, chaos and physical death which corresponds to man's Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Dr. Morris describes the Curse: "1) Sorrow, resulting from continual disappointment and futility; 2) Pain and suffering, signified by the "thorns" (and thistles) which intermittently hinder man in his efforts to provide a living for his family; 3) Sweat, or tears, the 'strong crying' of intense struggle against a hostile environment; and 4) Physical death, which would eventually triumph over all man's efforts, with the structure of his body returning to the simple elements of the earth."
Can you think of anything living that has survived immortally for all time? Universally all living or nonliving things eventually wear out, decay, grow old and die returning to the dust. The Universe is decaying. As Morris noted, we are being "unmade."
God's Relationship to mankind
Most people don't realize, God visited (was there) with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:8, "Then the man and his wife (Adam and Eve) heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden."
Imagine — God regularly walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden — before they sinned and experienced shame and guilt for the first time. Because Adam and Eve believed the lie of Satan-Lucifer, God's creation was no longer Good.
Between our origin (Genesis) and our destiny (Revelation), there is a continual struggle in man to find the way back to what we were meant to be — to "walking in the garden with God."
Man looks in all the wrong places for happiness, joy, peace, contentment while claiming to be master of his own self-serving ship. Those ideal states of mind are never long lasting on the present cursed Earth.
God didn't leave us in our struggle. He provided the path of redemption and reconciliation back to Him. The promised "seed" in Genesis was God's son, Jesus Christ. Born as a human man (still God); he died on the cross and was resurrected, staying for a time on earth before he ascended to Heaven to sit at the right hand of God on the Throne of Heaven. Jesus Christ is the only Way, only Truth and the only Life — to reconcile to God. And the way to Heaven.
There is only one other choice — eternal Hell.
God's Eternity, Man's Destiny
When we read the Bible's end book, Revelation, chapters 21-22, we see a picture of the end of sin and a restored New Earth where God brings His Heaven-Throne to Earth to dwell eternally with his people.
With certainty we can look forward to Revelation 21:4, "He (God) will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." These are the tears borne from injustice and sorrow — no more Curse.
The eternal tears flooding our eyes will be solely out of unspeakable Joy in God's eternal presence, His Glory fulfilling us in more ways than we can imagine. We can only experience this Joy minimally and nearsightedly here and now.
[Heaven Part 4-More about Heaven and what we will be like.]
Resources:
Heaven, Randy Alcorn (Tyndale, 2004)
Revelation 12-22 Commentary, John MacArthur (Moody Press, 2000)
Scripture quotes: New American Standard Bible/New International Version
© Bonnie Alba
August 12, 2010
"The future is bound up in the past. One's belief concerning his origin will inevitably determine his belief concerning his purpose and his destiny." ~ Dr. Henry M. Morris
Before we can grasp some understanding of man's destiny, we must return to his Origin or Genesis — in the beginning.
If we read the Bible's first book, Genesis chapters 1-3, we learn of a perfect universe and world created by God, giving mankind dominion over the earth. God called it all "Good." Then Sin entered the picture.
The dreaded word "Sin" speaks to man's rebellion against God's Holy Righteousness. Sin is no longer acceptable as part of the national post-modern, politically correct vocabulary, extending even into churches. But the denial of Sin doesn't lessen the impact of and consequences for the sins of individuals, cultures and nations.
Most everyone has heard the story of Adam and Eve enticed to sin by the lovely, beguiling liar, the Serpent who is Satan the fallen angel. Whether you believe God's Word or not doesn't cancel God's Truth. We see it in ourselves and all around us.
After God confronted Adam and Eve, God declared the Curse on Satan, the woman, then the man. God subjected the whole earth-universe to disorder, chaos and physical death which corresponds to man's Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Dr. Morris describes the Curse: "1) Sorrow, resulting from continual disappointment and futility; 2) Pain and suffering, signified by the "thorns" (and thistles) which intermittently hinder man in his efforts to provide a living for his family; 3) Sweat, or tears, the 'strong crying' of intense struggle against a hostile environment; and 4) Physical death, which would eventually triumph over all man's efforts, with the structure of his body returning to the simple elements of the earth."
Can you think of anything living that has survived immortally for all time? Universally all living or nonliving things eventually wear out, decay, grow old and die returning to the dust. The Universe is decaying. As Morris noted, we are being "unmade."
God's Relationship to mankind
Most people don't realize, God visited (was there) with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:8, "Then the man and his wife (Adam and Eve) heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden."
Imagine — God regularly walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden — before they sinned and experienced shame and guilt for the first time. Because Adam and Eve believed the lie of Satan-Lucifer, God's creation was no longer Good.
Between our origin (Genesis) and our destiny (Revelation), there is a continual struggle in man to find the way back to what we were meant to be — to "walking in the garden with God."
Man looks in all the wrong places for happiness, joy, peace, contentment while claiming to be master of his own self-serving ship. Those ideal states of mind are never long lasting on the present cursed Earth.
God didn't leave us in our struggle. He provided the path of redemption and reconciliation back to Him. The promised "seed" in Genesis was God's son, Jesus Christ. Born as a human man (still God); he died on the cross and was resurrected, staying for a time on earth before he ascended to Heaven to sit at the right hand of God on the Throne of Heaven. Jesus Christ is the only Way, only Truth and the only Life — to reconcile to God. And the way to Heaven.
There is only one other choice — eternal Hell.
God's Eternity, Man's Destiny
When we read the Bible's end book, Revelation, chapters 21-22, we see a picture of the end of sin and a restored New Earth where God brings His Heaven-Throne to Earth to dwell eternally with his people.
With certainty we can look forward to Revelation 21:4, "He (God) will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." These are the tears borne from injustice and sorrow — no more Curse.
The eternal tears flooding our eyes will be solely out of unspeakable Joy in God's eternal presence, His Glory fulfilling us in more ways than we can imagine. We can only experience this Joy minimally and nearsightedly here and now.
[Heaven Part 4-More about Heaven and what we will be like.]
Resources:
Heaven, Randy Alcorn (Tyndale, 2004)
Revelation 12-22 Commentary, John MacArthur (Moody Press, 2000)
Scripture quotes: New American Standard Bible/New International Version
© Bonnie Alba
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