Sunday, May 1, 2022

No Picture of Eternity sitting on Clouds Presented in Scripture

"The visual language of the last few chapters of Revelation are
stunning. The New Jerusalem is described as a physical city with a wall, gates, and foundations. It has the throne of God, a river of life and the Tree of Life. Isaiah speaks about the new creation in Isaiah 65:
 
For behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But 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. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. (65:17–19)
There are obvious parallels here to the New Heavens and Earth described in Revelation 21. Isaiah continues:
They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. … The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like an ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord (65:21, 25).
Scripture teaches that believers will enjoy a physical resurrection on a physical earth—the idea of floating around on clouds may be a popular image of our eternal existence, but it’s certainly not Biblical." CMI