For Biblical Literalists: the New Kingdom

[steveb1]

Question for those who believe that, after the end-times apocalypse, God, in Christ, will establish a new and perfect, literal, Kingdom of God on earth, from which all sin, injustice, disease and death have been purged and forever disallowed. The souls of the Saved will be rejoined to their former bodies - bodies which have undergone a rebirth into the form of, and with the preternatural gifts of, Adam. Such are said to be deathless, flawlessly healthy "resurrection bodies" immortal, and dwelling in a heaven that has been brought to earth and to an earth that has been, in effect, been raised to heavenly status.

For those who believe in the literal fulfillment of this scenario, what do you think it will look like? Will there be reproduction and sex? Will there be earthly desires at all? If not, why would we have bodies at all?
Will the Saved eat, drink, excrete?
If they no longer age and die, one would imagine that there would be no need for reproduction and hence no need for sex - and, depending on the "spirituality" of the resurrection body - perhaps no need to eat or drink at all.

Will the earth's topography - its oceans, streams, mountains and valleys - be transformed so that no tsunamis, earthquakes, crop viruses (will people even be keeping crops?), drought, natural famine, natural fires, volcanoes, etc., ever occur?

What about the non-human animals? Will the lion really lie down with the lamb? If so, what will the lion eat, and what will happen to his dentation, which is purposed toward predatory flesh-eating? What about mammalian and insect "pests", and the diseases they carry? Will they not survive the fires of the apocalypse, or will they, too, be reborn, but in a non-harmful state...?

Any ideas about what the remade earth might look like and behave would make interesting theological reading.

[JehovahsWitness]

Will the earth's topography - its oceans, streams, mountains and valleys - be transformed so that no tsunamis, earthquakes, crop viruses (will people even be keeping crops?), drought, natural famine, natural fires, volcanoes, etc., ever occur?
.

The JEHOVAH'S WITNESS cannot really be viewed as "biblical literalst" but we do believe paradise will be on this our present planet (earth). That said, we cannot say for sure how certain problems will be resolved, some things have to be accepted on faith.

That said it seems reasonable to conclude that if God was successful in creating the universe He is would certainly be able to properly regulate the earth's natural systems to avoid loss of life. To illustrate: surely if a man builds and installs the plumbing system in his house he is capable of repairing a leaking tap. Compared to the power that caused the universe, the earth is as tiny and ultimately controllable as fixing a leaky tap (faucet), so I don't believe we need worry about so-called natural disasters*.

Further, we do not know the extent to which the flood of Noah's day changed the earths original topography so it is not inconcievable that God will take restorative measures in that area if he sees the need. The bible even presents evidence of divine control of the elements when Jesus is spoken of as calming a storm. And did not turn water into wine? What about feedinf five thousand with just five loaves and two fishes. Such miraculous powers were a demonstration on a small scale of what Jesus as the Messianic King will do globally when his government controls the planet earth; is there any reason to doubt Jesus as king will wipe out famine and protect the lives of his subjects?


CONCLUSION: We simply do not know all the details of how the coming Administration will manage the planet but what we CAN be sure of is that oceans, rivers and streams will be clean of pollution, there will be no loss of life due to any tsunamis, earthquakes that may occur (whether due to miraculous protection and/or sensibly avoiding building on known faults or in high risk areas such as on live volcanoes) and that man will live in perfect harmony with the planet's ecosystems ensuring an abundance for all!

PSALMS 72:16
May there be plenty of grain in the land; may the hills be covered with crops, as fruitful as those of Lebanon. - Good News Translation

* There are some that claim that a proportion of "natural disasters" (Such as certain droughts, floods, pestilences... etc) are aggravated or even caused by man's mismanagement off the planet and his abuse of the ecosystem. For example many famines are in fact caused by war, deforestation, which causes soil erosion, and other manmade factors.


RELATED POSTS

Will God literally BURN UP this our planet earth during the Armageddon?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 158#927158

Will the righteous live forever on this our planet earth?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 568#855568

Will people live in houses when the earth is a paradise?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 5971#91597

[steveb1]

[Replying to post 2 by JehovahsWitness]

Thank you for replying to my post.

Yes, the end times and post-end times must always be a mysterious subject to the human mind, as you point out. And, of course, a skilfull Creator, like a skilfull house builder, would have the means to compassionately "fix" the world post-apocalypse.

Again, thanks for your contribution.

[JehovahsWitness]

Will there be reproduction and sex?

Yes. If Adam and Eve were blessed by God in the original garden and commanded to reproduce (which would necessitate sexual intercourse), then there is no reason to believe that those living in paradise (meaning on thiss our planet earth) who are married, will not want to have sex with their partner.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe sex is not only for the purpose of reproduction, but is also a source of physical pleasure, a way for a husband and wife to express their love for each other and a way for them to draw closer. The desire for sex with one's marriage partner is entirely natural and a God given gift that Jehovah wants married people to enjoy. So it is more than reasonable that even those that chose not to have (or to limit the number of) children, will no doubt still choose to have sex with their partner in paradise.




RELATED POSTS


Won't the earth eventually become over populated if nobody dies?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 37#p832237

Are there a disproportionate number of bible verses that talk about sex?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 45#p799645

[steveb1]

[Replying to post 4 by JehovahsWitness]

Thanks again for your new reply.

I do have a question. Because the earth is limited in size, and many places are uninhabitable, would some of the Saved elect to practice contraception, on the principle that having limitless children would be bad for both the earth and for society...?

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 4 by JehovahsWitness]

Thanks again for your new reply.

I do have a question. Because the earth is limited in size, and many places are uninhabitable, would some of the Saved elect to practice contraception, on the principle that having limitless children would be bad for both the earth and for society...?

Won't the earth eventually become over populated if nobody dies?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 237#832237

Approximately how long will it take to comfortably "fill" the earth without it being overpopulated?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 240#832240

[steveb1]

[Replying to post 6 by JehovahsWitness]

Thanks.

I think that what you wrote in one of the threads in the link you provided makes sense:

#3 The birth rate will not necessarily be prolific. Few women want to be constantly pregnant or give birth to hundreds of children. With so much to do in the paradise and so many other intersts to pursue, many will no doubt choose not to be constantly giving birth. Further the maternal instinct is stronger in some women than in others, so some women may chose not to have children (as is the case today) or to have only a few. While any birth rate will naturally contribute to the overall population, prolific reproduction at a stupendous rate will not necessarily be a feature of the new world. It took over 5,000 years for the earth’s population to reach one billion in the early 1800’s (some will say longer), even without death, starting with the post-Armageddon population the potential problem of overpopulation would be many thousands of years down the line.

CONCLUSION: We can only specutulate as to how long it would take to comfortably fill the earth since we do not know how many people will survive Armageddon (the coming destruction of the wicked) or how many will eventually be resurrected. What we can be confident of is that God is aware that the planet is limited in its capacity and has foreseen in his wisdom measures in this regard.

[JehovahsWitness]

Will the Saved eat, drink, excrete?

If by "the saved" you are refering to the humans that will live forever on this our planet earth, then yes, of course we'll eat and drink, if we didn't eat and drink we would die (which kind of defeats the whole idea of living forever!) I think its obvious that to stay healthy and enjoy life, everyone will have to respect the constraints of the physical bodies God has given us, including ensuring the healthy functions of our bowels. We will also need to get sufficient rest and breath air every single day of our lives...

This was a very strange question for me, is there a reason you thought humans might not need food in paradise?


JW

[steveb1]

[Replying to post 8 by JehovahsWitness]

The basic question is why we should take care of our bodies if it's true ...

"its obvious that to stay healthy and enjoy life, everyone will have to respect the constraints of the physical bodies God has given us"


… that the Saved are endowed with physical immortality - "immortal" meaning to live forever. How could any immortal being die for any reason, whether or not nutrition-related? Or, if immortality can be lost in such a physical manner, what does that say about God-ordained immortality?

[myth-one.com]

Two body types are described in the Bible. They are the natural, earthly, or terrestrial body and the spiritual, heavenly, or celestial body:

There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (I Corinthians 15:44)

These two body types are different:

. . . the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. (I Corinthians 15:40)

These two body types live in two different kingdoms -- the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven and the earthly kingdom or kingdom of man.

Each type of body requires a separate and unique birth:

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)

==============================================================

Originally, the earth was part of the Kingdom of Heaven. But a third of the angels responsible for the earth rebelled under the ruler of the earth -- Satan. There was war in Heaven and they were defeated and cast back down to the earth.

God returned to the earth about 6,000 years ago and recreated the dark, formless, and void earth.

At this time He created man to be a little lower than the angels. There were originally two differences between mankind and the spiritual beings. These two differences were knowledge of good and evil and body type.

Man became closer to being like the angels after he ate from the tree of knowledge.

At present, the remaining difference is body type, physical versus spiritual.

In fact, man was expelled from the Garden of Eden so that he could not eat from the tree of life and live forever. If we did so, we would become equal unto the angels.

Man is born into a water based, physical flesh and blood world.

To enter the spiritual Kingdom of God, man must be born again of the Spirit.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

We must first be born of the flesh as men, then we must be born again of the Spirit as spirits.

This will occur at the Second Coming of Christ.

At present, there are zero born again Christians. All Christians are presently heirs unto everlasting life. Jesus will return with our reward upon His return.

================================================

There will never be a "new kingdom."

Jesus will return to the earth, defeat Satan, and bring a new heaven and earth.

The earth will once again become part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

We are instructed to pray "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Believers will be born again as spiritual beings into the existing spiritual Kingdom of God and rule the earth forever under their Lord Jesus Christ.

Nonbelievers will die their second physical death -- never to live again.

The Kingdom of man will be over.

And these (nonbelievers) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous (believers) into life eternal.

The punishment or wages of sin is the second death, and the second death is an everlasting punishment.

They will never live again, by their own free will choice.

=============================================

There is no sex in Heaven:

For when they (believers) shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. (Mark 12:25)

God created marriage to produce families. The sexual act within marriage procreates the human race. In the Kingdom of God there are no humans and thus no marriage. There we will be like the angels which live forever. Since angels live forever there is no need to reproduce themselves. Therefore, there is no reason for sex in the Kingdom of God and thus no marriage. Every being in the Kingdom of God will be asexual.

Sorry.