by Michael J. Vlach
As I’m working on my book, The New Creation Model, I have detected five historical views on the future of the earth in eternity. This is not a full discussion of these views, but a brief listing of these five perspectives:
1. The new earth in eternity will be this present earth purified, refined, and renewed. God’s people will live on this new earth, which has connections with the present earth, forever. (many today hold this view)
2. The new earth in eternity will be a tangible replacement of this current earth. God will annihilate the present earth and replace it with a tangible new earth where God’s people will live forever. (many today hold this view)
3. This present earth will be vacated in eternity but it still exists as a memorial of God’s workings in history. It will be frozen in light. God’s people will live in Heaven forever and not on the earth in any way. (The view of Thomas Aquinas)
4. This present earth will not be renewed. It will become a fiery hell forever for the wicked. The saints will live in Heaven forever, while the earth functions as hell for unbelievers. (The view of Jonathan Edwards)
5. The present earth ceases to exist as God’s people live in Heaven forever. (Popular throughout church history after the fourth century AD)
Position One is number 1 in my humble estimation. If 2 Peter 3 is not hyperbole (as the rest of the chapter is) then why would Peter be talking about all that destruction and judgment upon the earth and a need for a New Heaven and New Earth right on the heels of the Millennial Kingdom?
ReplyDeleteAlso, if that passage is about a post Millennial utter nuking and remaking of all things, why did John fail to mention what would surely be a spectacular event to behold, in the Book of Revelation? It is not even mentioned!
No, one must go to the "parent passage" quoted by Peter from Isaiah 65 and see that the order of events as Isaiah spelled it out is, destruction upon the earth (the Great Tribulation) followed by Restoration and Kingdom. This is why I now identify as Restorationist Premillennial. There is not such an animal, but there needs to be.
Also, I have come to understand Revelation 20 and 21 run concurrently with one another. Chapter 20 offers an overview of the "characters" and their respective dispositions during the Kingdom, while Chapter 21 picks up the narrative from chapter 19 with we, the bride of Christ, returning WITH him, in New Jerusalem.
You should start a church on your Restorationist Premillennial belief!😄
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