All Things Made New

        The fact that the foundational apostles came to understand God’s prophetic plan of redemption across the great Week of 1,000-year Days is seen throughout the New Testament. The Apostle Paul’s summary of the rapture and the order of resurrection  in 1 Cor. 15 is just one example.
         Christ was resurrected on the third day after His crucifixion. His Body, the Church, shall be raised up as the last Day dawns. Everyone else shall be resurrected at the end of the last Day. This includes both those who have died during that time and those still alive at the end of Christ’s millennial reign. “For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.  For He has put all things under His feet”  (1 Cor. 15:25-27a).
           So what comes next? Paul tells us. “Then comes the end, when He [Christ] delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power” (1 Cor. 15:24).  Even though our Lord is the second person of the Godhead, He chooses to honor God the Father in all things.
           What has come to an end? God’s prophetic plan of redemption. It is the end of the ages set in motion at Creation. Six great Days were allotted to mankind’s work. The 7th Day was marked as the Lord’s Day, the Day of the Lord. We could even say it was marked as a Day of Restoration.
            So what happens at the end of the Days? Is there an 8th Day? Does a new prophetic Week start? No, there is a Perfect Day. A Day like no other. More on that to come. But here’s a hint. If you lay the numeral 8 on its side, you get the mathematical symbol for eternity (∞).
          End-Time Lesson: John is given a hint of what is to come in Rev. 21:1. “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” John doesn’t tell us how this happens specifically. But something has to change because our current earth and heavenlies are contaminated by sin. This is why Romans 8:22 says the earth is groaning. It is currently “laboring” with birth pains (tribulation) until the Body of Christ is birthed from death at the rapture and seated as the heavenly court.
            Jesus gave us a clue as to what happens to this present earth in Mt. 19:28.  “So Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ ”
            Jesus is talking to His disciples, explaining the unique position they will have in the heavenly government because of their faith in Him. It happens at the regeneration. The Greek word used here is paliggensia, a compound word made from (palin), meaning new and (genesis), a generation or rebirth in nature. In other words, God restores or makes the world new again, as it was before the fall in Genesis. It’s like Earth 2.0!
           But that’s not the end of the story. Something just as miraculous happens. “ Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’ ” (Rev. 21:2-4).
            God merges the heavenly Mt. Zion, His throne room, and the heavenly Jerusalem with the new earth! What was foreshadowed by the earthly tabernacle and temple shall become a reality, for He now literally dwells with mankind on the earth. Those who have rejected Him have been judged and evil contained forever. All the people in this new regenerated earth are God’s children through Christ our Lord. There is no sin nor corruption in the new earth. God Himself declares, “Behold, I make all things new."