What about the Millennium Question

That question has to do with the thousand year reign of Christ in this present earth. Randy Alcorn adds it to my study and it is fascinating to read and worth discussion.

You see, in Revelation 20 John lays out the thousand years. Here we see that the devil is bound, the earth is no longer deceived, saints come to life and reign with Christ, it is not until it is over that the dead are resurrected, those saints will be priests and kings, and Satan will be loosed for one final battle. All of that will happen during or after those thousand years. Fascinating for sure and begs a lot of questions for me.

The thing is that even with this fascinating information and even as all the questions abound, the fact remains that the New Earth is coming and that will be our final place to be with and glorify God. That is certain.

There are different viewpoints as to the thousand years. Are they a literal thousand and when it will exactly occur. Even within the different viewpoints there are nuances of difference that come up. Regardless of the different viewpoints and nuances, these are centered around the process and not the end result. The end result is the New Heaven and the New Earth and that all agree on.

Just last night I was speaking to my wife about the idea of process and result. I was pointing out that where I (as the man and knowing all, LOL) hold the idea that the way I do things is somehow the “right” way, the reality is that there are many ways to approach things in the process. Whether you hold my view or not, we are all headed to the same place and once we arrive at that place we have success.

That there is in God’s Word the reference to our final home of the New Earth is that arrival point we all agree on. It will be glorious and we will be there forever, not just for a thousand years.

What thoughts have you had related to the millennium? Have you even thought of it or heard of it? What if you held to the truth that our final home will be forever in the New Earth and not just for a thousand years?

But What About Those Who Pass From This World

God’s people and the promised land were prophesied to be united. But what about those who pass from this world before that realization. Well, they will, with the New Earth.

The question today in my study is “Where and When will our deliverance come?”. That is such a great question for us to consider, knowing that we are not long in this world. Where I am looking forward to Christ coming again, the reality is that I do not know when He returns and I could pass from this world before then. So the selfish man in me wonders if and when will I get to experience it. Have I been left out? NO.

I have to remember that this earth is just a temporary location for me. Whether I am here at the second coming of Christ or I pass from here beforehand, I am/will be waiting. I have not been forgotten. As a child of God, my destiny is the promised land.

The Israelite people were ushered into the promised land with Joshua leading them after years in the wilderness waiting. Where looking at this would seem that the promised land is or was already given over to God’s people, that was only the land of this earth before the restoration that comes with resurrection and redemption.

“¹⁷For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. ¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.” – Isaiah 65:17-18 (ESV)

At resurrection and the conclusion of the final battle, the New Heaven will come down to the New Earth and be opened for God’s people to enter. This is the promised land for us all and the fulfilled promise of God. We will be delivered into the promised land at the restoration of the Earth into the New Earth which will be as God created in the beginning.

What is your thought on your inheritance of the promised land? Do you feel as though you will miss or have missed out? What if you look to the New Earth instead, and know that this is the promise of God and we all will be restored into the restored New Earth as promised?

All Things Waiting for Resurrection

Why is everything waiting on us and our resurrection? Well let me start with we are the pinnacle of God’s creation.

“²⁶Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’

²⁷So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.”

— Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)

We were created to “have dominion” over all of God’s creation. He would not have placed us there had we not been the top of His creation. So it only makes sense that the rest of creation is waiting on us to be resurrected and they will them be also.

I know, that seems to be a lot of responsibility. Yes, it is. But here’s the thing. We were created for this role by God and if there is one thing that I know to be true, He would not give us the responsibility for something that we were not prepared to take on. Jesus sent out the disciples to to spread the gospel and heal the sick. The did not have “formal” training in those things, but they were sent as He knew they were ready. We are sent out to “make disciples of all nations” and frankly, I don’t have any “formal” training in doing so, but He knows we are up to the task. All of creation knows that we “have dominion” and therefore creation is waiting eagerly for us to be revealed.

“¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” and “²³And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” – Romans 8:19 & 23 (ESV)

Creation waits on us as we were created for it. And when we are resurrected, we will be revealed as made in the image of God, the pinnacle of His creation. All of creation will look to us for guidance and with awe once again as we take on the role that God created and prepared us for.

What is you view of all of creation waiting on our resurrection? Do you see this as a point of apprehension? What if you looked back to know that all of creation is waiting on you as you were made for the role by God as the pinnacle of His creation?

Our Bodies and Heaven

“⁵⁰I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” – 1 Corinthians 15:50 (ESV)

“When Paul says that ‘flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,’ he’s referring to our flesh and blood as they are now: cursed and under sin.” – Randy Alcorn And he is right. Our bodies as we know them are not the bodies that God created. Adam sinned and because of it, we are cursed with this perishable, dishonorable, weak natural body as noted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44.

We have to remember that Heaven is the glorious place that it is and as such is not the place for the perishable, dishonorable, and weak. It is a place for the imperishable, glorious, powerful and that is what we get with out transformed/upgraded spiritual body. When we are reunited with our bodies, they are made in the likeness of Christ and back to the form that God created as His pinnacle creation that was “very good”. “With them you’ll be better able to serve and glorify God and enjoy an eternity of wonders He has prepared for you.” – Randy Alcorn

So, what do we do in the meantime. I wrote this back in July of 2024 in a post titled “Our Natural and Spiritual Bodies”, “Before I can look for what I will become, I have to look at what I am and do with it all that I am to do with it. I have to use the body I was given by God in this world to make a difference”. Even with this perishable, dishonorable, and weak natural body, I still have work to do. I have to, as I have written in the margin of my bible, wear out the earthly body for God and be rewarded with a heavenly body I cannot wear out in eternity.

Our earthly natural bodies are temporary, and that is indicated in the word perishable that Paul uses. It is breaking down at this moment as it is not for eternity. And it is not for us to have when we are with Christ in Heaven. We will be reunited with the upgraded version of our bodies for our heavenly existence. We will have the body that will be physical and spiritual in that it will be ours and we will be recognized, but it will also last forever, imperishable, glorious, and powerful. Built to “serve and glorify God”.

How are you looking at your body now? Are you wondering how it will make it? What if you see it as Paul does, perishable, dishonorable, weak and that your spiritual body will be the opposite, imperishable, glorious, and powerful?

Our Glorious Resurrected Body

“⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” – 1 Corinthians 15:49 (ESV)

We will be reunited with our bodies when Christ comes again. Our bodies will be recognized. But, we will also take on some of the glory of Christ. We will still be human, but also glorious. We will be back to the design that God created us to be from the beginning.

As Randy Alcorn writes, “the glorified Christ will be by far the most glorious Being in Heaven”. If we are taking on the glory of the LORD, then just what is that. Well, we look to Revelation and John’s account.

“¹⁴The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. ¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” – Revelation 1:14-16 (ESV)

And the account of Paul on the road to Damascus.

“⁶As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me…⁹Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.” – Acts 22:6&11 (ESV)

Both men saw Christ is His glory, although John’s view was much clearer. They both saw the brightness and standing of Christ. He shone and was brighter than all around. Yet He was still in a physical human form as John describes. And so will we.

We will be brighter than the world, although Christ will certainly be the brightest. We will be glorious and yet will still be human. The difference in our human form is that we will return to the form that God designed and intended for us. Look back at 1 Corinthians 15:49 and see that we will take on the image of man and will also have characteristics of the image of God and His glory.

Again, What is your view of resurrected body? Are you still looking at it from only the physical form? How does your view change knowing that we will take on glory from Christ and just what His glory is?

Resurrected Body, Yes, Ours

When Jesus died, He rose from the dead, not in spirit, but in body, His body. He left the tomb, all of Him, not just part of Him. He appeared to Mary Magdalene and she knew Him. He appeared to the disciples and they recognized Him. Thomas saw Christ, and touched the scars in His hands and in His side and knew it was Jesus.

“¹⁶Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).” – John 20:16 (ESV)

“²⁷Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ ²⁸Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” – John 20:27-28 (ESV)

Jesus is our example. He showed us how to live and what happens when we pass from this world. We He was resurrected with His body and so will we. We will follow the example of Christ in our resurrection with our bodies only better than we knew before.

It is true, Jesus resurrected with His body and we will also. But, just as Jesus was, we will also be recognized in that body. When Christ comes again, we will be reunited with our bodies from this world. That body will be in the image as we were created by God. Any defects that we had in this world will be gone, recognized, but gone. Randy Alcorn gives a good analogy of an upgrade to describe our resurrected bodies. “It’s like the new upgrade of my word processing software…I knew that for the most part it would be like the old program, only better.” The good thing is that our new upgraded bodies may have “some new features (though no glitches or programming errors).”

We will get our bodies back. We will be recognized as ourselves. We will be better off than we were in this world. We will follow the example of Christ in His resurrection.

What is your view of resurrected body? Are you of the idea that you somehow get a new body? Reading scripture, think about the example of Christ and His body at resurrection. Knowing He is our example, what would your body look like resurrected?

Resurrection’s Importance

Why is resurrection so important? – Randy Alcorn

Well, there is so much in the above. I am not a theologian and it would take a lot more study and learning than the 30 minutes or so I devote to the lesson in my MasterWork study. But, I will say that there are a few things that we have to look at to see the importance of resurrection.

First, look at the way I wrote resurrection. I did not say “the resurrection”. Resurrection is important in that there is a transformation of our physical bodies and not just a removal of the old body and the getting of a new one. “Despite the radical changes that occur through salvation, death, and resurrection, we remain who we are. We have the same history, appearance, memory, interests, ans skills.” – Randy Alcorn We are not turned to be different, our current selves are transformed back to how we were created, as the pinnacle of His work.

Next, resurrection is a physical thing. Our bodies do not remain in this world. We are reunited with our bodies that were created as God intended. We were meant to be body and soul. Thinking of our creation, God created our bodies from the earth and then breathed life into us. Until He breathed life into us, we were not. Once our soul, God’s Breath, was united with our bodies, we were created. Resurrection is important to reunite our bodies with our soul.

Then we have “the resurrection”, Christ’s resurrection, “without Christ’s resurrection and what it means—an eternal future for fully restored human beings dwelling on a fully restored earth—there is no Christianity.” – Randy Alcorn If Christ was not physically resurrected, then everything we believe cannot be true. Our preaching is not true. Our faith is not true. Our dead are not resurrected. We are not free from our sins. All who died before us have perished. Paul tells us all that without the truth of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 we are simply living a lie.

So, why resurrection. We are transformed back to God’s perfect creation. Our soul and body are reunited. Without Christ’s resurrection, we would be living a lie. Resurrection is what we hang our hats on in Christianity. Without it all else is futile.

Where are you on the importance of resurrection? Are you of the thought that it is or isn’t, and that the idea of Christianity is okay too? What if you looked at resurrection as “THE” importance of Christianity?

Limits to the Work of Christ’s Redemption?

In short, NO!

There are no limits to the redemptive work of Christ. He did not just come to renew and resurrect me. Jesus came to defeat the totality of the curse. He came to redeem me. He came to redeem my body. He came to redeem the earth. He came to redeem the universe.

As I was studying this morning I came across a sentence that gave me a bit of pause,

“Earth won’t be put out of its misery; it will be infused with a greater life than it has ever known, at last becoming all that God meant for it to be.” – Randy Alcorn

As I am going through this study, I am also doing another on discipleship where we are currently looking at the walking in obedience. Here we are in study of the passage in Ephesians where Paul indicates to fully change.

“²²to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV)

If the earth is to be “infused” is it really changing to be new. And then, I reached the end of the study to this,

“Earth cannot be delivered from the curse by being destroyed. It can only be delivered by being resurrected.” – Randy Alcorn

What a great picture of the redemptive work of Christ. The evil in the world, the curse, is destroyed. Sin is destroyed. Death is destroyed. Man is renewed in spirit. Man is renewed in body. The earth is renewed. The universe is renewed. All is renewed.

“⁸He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

for the Lord has spoken.”

— Isaiah 25:8 (ESV)

There is no limit to the redemptive work of Christ. He came to renew it all. Renew it all back to the way it was created. For that to take place, it ALL is to be renewed and Christ was sent to get it started. He died that we would live. He died that we would be redeemed. All else will follow.

What are your thoughts on the limits of Christ? Are you in the camp that He is only here for the purpose of your redemption? What if you were to see Him as He is, the Limitless Redeemer?

Christ Wins, What Side are We On

We know that Christ wins the war with Satan. It is a certainty. But what about in the meantime. What about until He comes again.

Let’s start with a look into a few of the battles. First, there is the Adam in the garden. Satan won. He successfully enticed Adam to sin. Adam had it all, food, protection, shelter, relationship with God, yet he fell at the temptation of the one thing God asked him not to do. That was where Satan attacked, in the one thing.

Next battle, Jesus in the wilderness. Satan tried to get Him to bow down to him. But, Jesus resisted and won this battle. Jesus overcame the temptation and kept Satan at bay.

Another battle, and a big one, Christ dies. Well, it would seem that Satan has gotten the ultimate victory. He was successful in assassinating Jesus, not by his own hand but through others as he knew he could not on his own. But, just as he was celebrating his victory, Christ rose from the dead and at that point, Satan knew the war was over.

Now, Satan knows the war is not his to win. He knows that he only has this time, before Christ comes again, to continue his work in this world. Satan knows that God will renew and restore Heaven and Earth to New and once done, He is cast into the lake of fire and only has that world forevermore.

“¹⁰and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” – Revelation 20:10 (ESV)

The war’s ending is certain, but until then there are still many battles. Satan is still in this world and as he knows that he will be defeated, he is working overtime to win as many battles as possible to take from Christ all that he can. He is out here tempting all of us, every day.

“⁸Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” – 1 John 3:8 (ESV)

Jesus came to destroy all that the devil has done. The question is, are we going to be on the side of that destruction or on the side of Christ and the victory. Will we practice sinning and be of the devil or will we join Christ and practice glorifying Him to be on the winning side.

What side are you on? Are you on the side of continuing to sin, thinking that you have nothing to lose and there is a chance? What if you were on the side of Christ, knowing that you have everything to gain, as the ending is certain?

Curse Lifted

“¹⁷To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat from it,”

‘Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it

all the days of your life.’”

— Genesis 3:17 (ESV)

Here we see, in the beginning that the curse was due to the sin committed. At this, Adam and we all were cursed to “toil” in the pursuit of food and shelter and protection that was provided by God to His greatest creation. But the curse was more than just on man, the earth was cursed as well. The earth was no longer the free provider of abundance as it was in the garden.

The curse could have been avoided had man just avoided the corruption and sin. Before this sin and corruption, everything was available at the fingertips of Adam and Eve. They were not in need of anything and everywhere they looked, they were surrounded by the abundance of God’s provision. This is the way God intended.

Yes, there are still some remnants of and pictures of the beauty that God created in the beginning. There is still beautiful paintings and man made structures, there is cure for disease and other things that are good. God did not completely wipe out all the good, but a few things are not the norm as we know them today. The curse is still very real and larger than we can even imagine.

But, there is an out. There is a defeat of the curse. Jesus came to this world to take on sin and death on my behalf. To remove the curse from me. To provide me the out. He died that I may live. He took all of my sin and died because of it, effectively removing that part of the curse.

Then there is the curse of the earth. God cursed the ground, yet it will be restored and renewed as the New Heaven and New Earth come down after the defeat of the evil one.

“³No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” – Revelation 22:3 (ESV)

When the evil one is defeated, Eden will be restored. Abundance will be again. We will no longer “toil” for food, shelter, or protection. All will be back as God created and even better.

What are your thoughts of the curse? Do you believe that you are impacted? How do your thoughts change knowing that the curse has been and will be lifted thanks to Jesus?