That's what I read
Revelation 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
2007-02-22 10:57:20 · 5 answers · asked by Cyber 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
You're probably not too far off the mark.
I'm betting that by the end of the age, the earth will be totally messed up, and so badly desecrated by death and sin, that it will need to be totally redone.
By that time, most of heaven will also have been devastated by spirtual warfare, so the "New Jerusalem" you mention, will be all that remains of it.
Then, if all goes according to plan, the new Jerusalem will become part of the newly renovated planet earth, and God will dwell eternally here with his people.
2007-02-22 12:18:24 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should read in context, but even if you do not, then keep in mind that "earth" can mean: soil, ground, field, land, county, the dry part of the world, or world. In this case "breadth of the earth" means a large area of land. You would know this if you read it in context because their army is very large. The "camp of the saints" is probably about the size of the width of modern-day Israel at the Lebanon border wide and who knows how long.
Hell is a temporary holding place for those who do not want God in their lives. They are being held there until Judgment Day when they will be tried at the ultimate court of law, judged, and then sentenced. Those found guilty will be placed into the Lake of Fire. Does this place (earth) look even remotely hellish? Even if you were standing in a burning lava pit, the answer is no.
In the second verse, Revelation 21:2, the verse before it mentions that there is a new heaven and a new earth and that the first heaven and the first earth are now gone at this point.
"Paradise" in the bible is refering to the holding place of the saints. Just like Hell gets emptied into the Lake of Fire at the Judgment, Paradise gets emptied into Heaven. This cannot be done until Christ makes a way for it to happen.
On the cross, Jesus told one of the theives, the one who repented, that this day he will be with Jesus in Paradise. (Luke 23:43) Later, during Paul's time, he sees a man who is caught up into Paradise. (2Cor 12:4) Two verses earlier, he called this the third heaven (2Cor 12:2) . Apparently the righteous go to heaven at the resurrection of the saints. The dead get to go first, followed by those who are still alive.
Just so you know, the third heaven is called such, because the Old Testament refers to it as "the heaven and heaven of heavens" (I King 8:27) and it is apparently too small for God. It is my understanding that the first "heaven" is the atmosphere (refers to "heights," "clouds," "sky" all the way to the edge of space), the second "heaven" is interstellar space (from the edge of space to perhaps the entire universe), and the "third" heaven is Paradise. It is also sometimes called the "paradise of God," "the kingdom of heaven" (which we also learn is wherever God's Spirit dwells), "the Promised Land," "Abraham's bosom" and so on.
Because of the corruption, this third heaven is apparently destroyed, which would include the destruction of the entire universe, and a new, perfect one is created, along with a new earth and a new Jerusalem. New Jerusalem comes out of this new heaven, down to the new earth.
Since this new heaven and new earth and new Jerusalem are all perfect and not corrupted, along with all God's saints, God sits on His throne there. This new heaven and new earth will be nothing like the old ones, so it is quite impossible to explain their natures other than it will be infinitely better than Paradise.
2007-02-22 19:34:54 · answer #2 · answered by Shawn D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This earth and sky and everything we have now will be destroyed, along with hell and sin, and hate, and satan and his followers. A new earth will be born and that my friend will be heaven, The new earth, the New Jerusalem.
2007-02-22 19:02:26 · answer #3 · answered by tebone0315 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This earth is this earth. Paradise is a fairy tale.
Live your life to the fullest, because it's the only one you'll have.
2007-02-22 19:01:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
I think it's just convenient how parts of the bible are left for the reader to interpret it. SUSPICIOUS!
2007-02-22 19:05:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋