Paradise on Earth

[onewithhim]

When I learned that the Bible speaks of a restored Garden of Eden and the restoration of mankind to the perfection and endless life that Adam forfeited, I was thrilled. Who doesn't want to keep living on this beautiful earth, with our loved ones, and being able to do all the things we love to do---endlessly?

If God said to you today, "When do you want to die?" would you say "now!!"? I don't think very many people would say that.

We CAN live forever here on Earth. The Bible tells us that we can.

Matthew 5:5
Psalm 37:9-11,29

[2ndpillar2]

Dear JehovahsWitness,
... why does Christ continue to "rule" over them?

Christ and the 144, 000 rule over the survivors of Harmegeddon (and the resurrected humans) to apply the benefits of his ransom sacrifice, bringing them back to human perfection as originally purposed in Eden. (After that he will hand the Kingdom over to his Father)

If humans reach perfection, why do the nations need the leaves of the tree of life for healing (Revelation 22:2).

REVELALATION 22

And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb+ 2 down the middle of its main street. On both sides of the river were trees of life producing 12 crops of fruit, yielding their fruit each month. And the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations.

Humans will reach perfection after they are healed. The "nations " that benefit from the healing at Revelation 22 are the survivors of the Great tribulation (plus the ressurected humans) who will be lead back to perfection by Christ and the 144,000 during their 1000 year rule (see Rev 7:9). The trees picture God's provision for giving eternal life to obedient mankind, including the ransom. They will be "healed" of their sin by the full application of the benefits of that ransom.

Apparently, they will be healed by eating the leaves of the tree of life (Revelation 22:2). Apparently, after 1000 years they will follow Satan to come against the righteous (Revelation 20:7-9) to be eaten up by fire from heaven.

[JehovahsWitness]

So if Adam and Eve were perfect, why did they sin?

If Adam and Eve were perfect, how could they sin? CAN a perfect being, sin?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 03#p873903

What will stop anyone, who you believe is returned to this state of "human perfection", from sinning again?

Those that love God sincerely and wish to remain faithful to him will never sin.


What is going to stop them from making the same bad choices?

See above

Is Christ going to have to keep dying on the cross over and over again because mankind, even being in your "human perfection" state, cannot stop making a "free will" decision to sin?

Jesus settled the issue of whether a perfect human can stay perfectly loyal to God; Humans are not inevitably destined to rebell. After the final test of the release of Satan, all those alive will have proved they love God and support his soverienty. If after that anyone does decide to oppose God, they will not be allowed to ruin paradise; the wages of sin is death.

ISAIAH 65 :20b - New Living Translation

“No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only the cursed will die that young!

FURTHER READING Paradise on earth: Fantacy or Reality?
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2017130



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To learn more please go to other posts related to

THE EARTHLY PARADISE , SIN and ....DEATH

[FaithWillDo]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #1982]

Dear JehovahsWitness,

If what you said is true, then a "works" based belief system can save us. We just have to try harder than Adam and Eve. So why did Christ die on the cross to pay for our sins if mankind is left in the same carnally minded condition which caused Adam and Eve to sin in the first place? Just paying for our sins without changing us spiritually will not make us into children of God. But once Christ converts us into His children with the full measure of the Holy Spirit, we will never sin again. That is the only way we will ever stop sinning.

Your beliefs which make Christ out to be a failure is blasphemy. Christ was sent to be mankind's Savior and if even one person is not saved, He will have missed His mark and sinned.

Your understanding of the truth is so void of any spiritual understanding, no amount of scripture is going to help you at this time. But by the power and will of God, Christ will not forget you. He will come to you at the time He has chosen and He will heal your blindness so that you, too (like all mankind will) find the knowledge of God. Christ is the great healer.

Joe

[JehovahsWitness]

So why did Christ die on the cross to pay for our sins if mankind is left in the same carnally minded condition which caused Adam and Eve to sin in the first place?

Mankind will be brought back to the same condition as Jesus Christ: Adam was a perfect physical human ; Jesus was a perfect physical human; all humans will be brought back to human physical perfection.

My question for you is : given the definition of "carnal" would you describe the man Jesus as being in a {quote} "carnally minded condition"?

To learn more please go to other posts related to...

SIN , PERFECTION , and ...THE RANSOM

[myth-one.com]

Mankind will be brought back to the same condition as Jesus Christ: Adam was a perfect physical human ; Jesus was a perfect physical human; all humans will be brought back to human physical perfection.

All humans return to dust.

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Is dust physical perfection?

[JehovahsWitness]

Mankind will be brought back to the same condition as Jesus Christ: Adam was a perfect physical human ; Jesus was a perfect physical human; all humans will be brought back to human physical perfection.

All humans return to dust.

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Is dust physical perfection?

Solomon was describing the present human condition ; Jesus came to >>save << mankind from this sad eventually.

ROMANS 5 : 18

So, then, as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation,+ so too through one act of justification the result to men of all sorts+ is their being declared righteous for life.

When will death cease to be a human inevitability?

Christ and the 144, 000 rule over the survivors of Harmegeddon (and the resurrected humans) to apply the benefits of his ransom sacrifice, bringing them back to human perfection as originally purposed in Eden. (After that he will hand the Kingdom over to his Father)

[FaithWillDo]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #1984]

Dear JehovahsWitness,

You asked:
Mankind will be brought back to the same condition as Jesus Christ: Adam was a perfect physical human ; Jesus was a perfect physical human; all humans will be brought back to human physical perfection.

My question for you is : given the definition of "carnal" would you describe the man Jesus as being in a {quote} "carnally minded condition"?

Before Adam and Eve sinned, their body would not age and die. It was physically perfect as you say. After they sinned, the body become mortal and its days were numbered. When Christ came in the flesh, He came with the same mortal body that Adam and Eve passed down to their offspring. Christ's body was mortal. But because Christ's was also God the Father's son, Christ came with the full measure of the Father's Spirit. In contrast, Adam and Eve, though being physically perfect, they were created spiritually marred and because of such, Adam and Eve quickly became carnally minded. Because they became carnally minded, they sinned.

This verse below shows that BEFORE Eve sinned, she was already carnally minded. Her carnal mind was the cause of her sinning.

Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (LUST OF THE FLESH), and that it was pleasant to the eyes (LUST OF THE EYES), and a tree to be desired to make one wise (PRIDE OF LIFE), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

1Joh 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

However, with Christ, He NEVER became carnally minded because He was spiritually perfect. He had the same body that mankind processed with its temptations & physical issues and Christ was even tempted by Satan like Adam and Eve were, but since He was spiritually perfect and NOT carnally minded, Christ never sinned.

The physical body is not mankind's problem. However, our body is a wretched body because it tempts us BUT if we were spiritually perfect like Christ is spiritually perfect, we would still not sin. Adam and Eve would not have sinned either. So to be saved and changed into a child of God, we must be made spiritually perfect. That is what is meant to be "born again". Once we have the full measure of the Holy Spirit, Christ will resurrect us from the grave at some future point and give us a new spiritual body that is grand and glorious to match our new spiritually perfect nature. Then, along with the restored relationship with the Father, we will have the full salvation Christ came to give mankind.

As I have pointed out, the First Fruits are saved now and are considered the heirs to the promise of "life" during the ages and will inherit the "earth". This happens in the final age. We reign with Christ to save the rest of mankind who have remained spiritually marred and carnal. The "earth" is a spiritual symbol for carnal mankind. It is this "earth" that we inherit. But once the "earth" is destroyed from within all remaining mankind, Christ's reign will come to an end and the Kingdom of Heaven, now completely full of mankind, will be delivered up to the Father. From that point forward, all mankind (both the heirs and the final harvest) will be the same and will be children of God. Christ will have completed His mission to save mankind. Eternity then starts.

More on the "earth".

2Pet 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

2Pet 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2Pet 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

These verses in 2Peter are speaking about conversion. The earth represents mankind's carnal nature and the "heavens" represent our carnal minds. Both will be destroyed by judgment. The physical earth will not be judged - how could it have done anything that needs judging for??? Mankind is who Christ judges. When He judges us, He destroys the old vessel which contains our carnal nature and mind. But from that destruction, we are given a new heavens and earth. The new Heaven is the mind of Christ and the new earth is our new nature governed by the Holy Spirit. Without this event, we cannot be saved.

Joe

[JehovahsWitness]

... Christ, He NEVER became carnally minded because He was spiritually perfect

Thanks to the ransom, mankind will return to exactly the same condition as Christ was while he was a human. Christ died for mankind so that humans could be physically and spiritually perfect.

Could Christ have sinned in this condition?

Obviously Jesus was capable of sin or else there would have been no point in Satan tempting him. Jesus used his free will wisely and the majority of redeemed mankind will do the same.

Jesus settled the issue of whether a perfect human can stay perfectly loyal to God; Humans are not inevitably destined to rebell. After the final test of the release of Satan, all those alive will have proved they love God and support his soverienty. If after that anyone does decide to oppose God, they will not be allowed to ruin paradise; the wages of sin is death.

[FaithWillDo]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #1988]

Dear JehovahsWitness,

You said:
Thanks to the ransom, mankind will return tonexactly the same condition as Christ was while he was a human.

Really??? There are no verses that state that mankind will be given a body like Christ's physical body. Plus, Christ came in a very poor physical body. It was mortal and was in need of healing itself.

Isa 53:2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

Luke 4:23 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum,[fn] do also here in Your country.’ ”

Here is what scripture says about the body all who are saved will receive upon their resurrection from the grave:

Phl 3:21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

The physical body is a "lowly body" and will return to the dust of the ground. The new body we receive is like Christ's glorious spiritual body.

Joe

[otseng]

Your understanding of the truth is so void of any spiritual understanding, no amount of scripture is going to help you at this time. But by the power and will of God, Christ will not forget you. He will come to you at the time He has chosen and He will heal your blindness so that you, too (like all mankind will) find the knowledge of God. Christ is the great healer.

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