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.

[myth-one.com]

[Replying to post 10 by myth-one.com]

Thanks for your interesting reply. It's a different slant from what I've heard before.

Yes, I can believe that.

But that "slant" did not original with me.

I plagiarized it from a book called The Holy Bible.

[steveb1]

[Replying to post 18 by JehovahsWitness]

What makes you think that the righteous saved on the new earth have lost their humanity?

I don't think they will have lost their humanity.

HUMANITY
noun
1.
human beings collectively.
2.
the quality of being humane; benevolence.

Then why did you ask me why I thought that the righteous saved would be human? It seems we agree on that point.

[Tcg]

Immortality is never spoken of as being something that HUMANS will have on earth. Where do you get this idea?

I'd guess the idea came from the post where you claimed humans won't die. That is the very definition of immortal:

"im·mor·tal

adjective: immortal

1. living forever; never dying or decaying."

The confusion that followed was that you then went on to post that people in paradise would in fact die if they don't eat.

So your posts claim that people won't die in paradise, but they could die. If there is a possibility that people could die, then some will.

You shouldn't be surprised when these contradictory claims cause confusion.

[Elijah John]

The JEHOVAH'S WITNESS cannot really be viewed as "biblical literalst" .....

Further, we do not know the extent to which the flood of Noah's day changed the earths original topography so….

And you say that Jehovah's Witnesses cannot really be viewed as "biblical literalist"?

Do you or don't you literally believe a worldwide flood really happened as punishment from God? That He regretted creating humankind? And that all the world's species were sustained on an ark built by a man named Noah? (with or without Divine help)

If so, sounds like Bible literalism/fundamentalism to me.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 24 by Elijah John]

Are Jehovah's witnesses bible literalist?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 428#868428

[JehovahsWitness]

Then why did you ask me why I thought that the righteous saved would be human? .

I don't recall asking you that but it's not a bad question, so do you think the saved will be human?

Maybe we're confusing immortal with eternal.

Can you explain what ou meant when you said the above? You seem to be implying that immortal with eternal are different things.

[Elijah John]

[Replying to post 25 by JehovahsWitness]

Do you, do JWs believe that the story of Noah and the flood is allegory? Or did it literally happen?

What about the Garden story of Adam and Eve and the fall of man. Allegory?

How old is the earth?

[myth-one.com]

What makes you think that the righteous saved on the new earth have lost their humanity?

I don't think they will have lost their humanity.

According to the scriptures, you're both wrong.

There is a physical kingdom and a heavenly kingdom, and flesh and blood man cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

The Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, consisting of spiritual bodied beings only!

Thus physical man must be born again as a spirit to enter that kingdom.

Any man or woman can now live to a maximum of about 120 years -- not forever:

And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

This is the same number that has been accepted by scientists.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 28 by myth-one.com]

Well I wasn't talking about the kingdom of God at all, I was talking about the paradise earth and the humans that will live on it.

Hope that clears that point up.

JW

[JehovahsWitness]

Duplicate sorry.