Part 53 (1/2)
Bringing Back the Lost Dominion
Of all the worlds that s.h.i.+ne in the heavens, declaring the glory of G.o.d, this earth is the one that was lost. Its light went out in darkness. It wandered from the fold of G.o.d's perfect creation.
Then the divine Shepherd came to find it and bring it back. And the angels that rejoiced when they saw this earth created,--”when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of G.o.d shouted for joy,”--will again rejoice as the Lord brings back His own,--this earth, redeemed from the curse, s.h.i.+ning in the bright universe again with the perfection of the glory of G.o.d.
Christ not only redeems lost men, but He is to redeem this lost earth.
”The Son of man,” He said, ”is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10.
By sinning, man lost not only his righteousness and his life, but his dominion as well. Originally man had dominion ”over all the earth.” Gen.
1:26. As the psalmist says, ”Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands.” Ps. 8:6. He was prince and ruler of the earth. But when he yielded to Satan's temptation, he yielded up that dominion to the enemy, thus placing himself in the power of his foe. Satan thus became the ”prince of this world,” exercising the dominion wrested from man.
But through Christ, this dominion is to be restored. The prophet of old said:
”Thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.” Micah 4:8.
The Hope of the Promise
The promise of the gospel of salvation is the promise not only of life eternal through faith, but of an eternal inheritance in the earth made new, the fulfilment of the Creator's plan when He made this world to be the home of man. This was the star of hope that shone before Adam and Eve as they stepped forth from Eden into a dying world. It was the promise to Abraham, ”the promise, that he should be the heir of the world.” Rom. 4:13.
It was not the promise of the world in its present state. For the Lord gave Abraham ”none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on.” Acts 7:5. Abraham himself did not look for the promise to be fulfilled in this sinful earth, but in the earth made new, redeemed from sin. The Scripture says of his hope:
”By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country: ... for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is G.o.d.” Heb. 11:9, 10.
It was in the new earth and the New Jerusalem that Abraham, the father of the faithful, expected to receive the eternal inheritance promised to him and to his seed. And there all the faithful will find their inheritance.
”If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:29.
The psalmist said, ”The meek shall inherit the earth.” Ps. 37:11. Christ repeated it: ”Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
Matt. 5:5.
The New Earth and the New Jerusalem
Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord described the re-creation of this earth to be the home of the saved:
”Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” Isa. 65:17-19.
It is not of old Jerusalem that the prophet is speaking, but of the New Jerusalem, which John saw coming down, with the saints, from G.o.d out of heaven. He saw it descending upon the earth at the end of the thousand years, and saw the wicked come forth from their graves to judgment. Then he saw the fires of the last day falling upon the lost, consuming sin and sinners, and purifying the earth itself from every trace of the curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote, ”Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.”
But he adds, ”Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:12, 13.
Out from the dissolved elements of the earth and the atmospheric heavens the Creator's power again calls forth new heavens and a new earth, the old creation cleansed and renewed in the perfection of the original Eden paradise. It is coming; for John saw it in vision. ”I saw,” he says, ”a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were pa.s.sed away.” Rev. 21:1.
He saw the city which had come down from heaven--those mansions that Christ is now gone to prepare--the New Jerusalem, the holy capital of the eternal kingdom of the saints, where Christ's own throne is set.
”I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of G.o.d is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and G.o.d Himself shall be with them, and be their G.o.d. And G.o.d 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 pa.s.sed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Rev. 21:3-5.
It pa.s.ses comprehension; but it is true. And the life of the saved in their eternal inheritance will be just as real as is life upon this present earth.