by cameo-d 8 Replies latest watchtower bible
What does this mean to you? Simply a change in regime?
A "paradise earth" would simply mean a global governance with an agenda promoted as world peace.
(Peace? Things are not always as they seem. Jah's happified people. If you hear it enough, do you start to believe it, even when actions are contradictory? Global peace=world dominance.)
Heaven and earth shall pass away. Does this just mean a new power structure? Or will this planet be thoroughly trashed beyond sustaining life?
It is beyond question scientifically that the sun and earth will pass away. The Bible says the heavens and earth will pass away. Any teaching that this planet will last forever is simply delusional.
The phrase "heaven and earth" is an allegorical reference to the current "world" or "system of things" or current "order of things." So when speaking of "heaven and earth" passing away, it refers to the current order of things.
Thus you will note in Revelation after the millennium and after Satan is destroyed in the lake of fire, it mentions "from before him heaven and earth fled away, and there was no place found for them" before the throne (Rev 20:11). This introduces a period of judgment, or Judgment Day. But after Judgment Day is over, then that "system of things" now changes and again at 21:1 is notes "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the fmoer earth had passed away.." So a new "heaven and earth" always replaces the old. One "order of things" or "system of things" changes and is replaced by another. Thus in this case, it is not a literal reference to the literal heavens and earth but to a figurative heavens and earth.
LS
It means that the author of the verse had an apocalyptic viewpoint, a common view of the world throughout history and one that continues to be taken literally, despite being a literary device in most cases.
P
Pistoff, the "author of the verse"....well, it was attributed as a direct quote from Jesus. Maybe someone can find the scripture. I am a bit lazy to do it today.
Assuming Jesus said it, hard to say what he meant. Scholars seem split on whether Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet, or whether the oral history about hiim reflected the viewpoint of his followers.
New Earth isn't a refurbished one.
Next question...so is "new earth" even a good thing? We have been lead to assume that new earth will be a better environment...but is there anything to really substantiate that definition?
Does "new" equate to "different"? I think we would have to trace the original word to understand the actual content and interpretation.
What if a "new earth" is planetary changes that cause more hardship to all mammals...toxins, less oxygen in the atmosphere, extreme temperatures, etc.
If "heaven and earth pass away" is this referring to the demise of the original creation of the planet? Or if it is simply a figure of speech, does it represent a drastic change of the planet as we know it today? A drastic change that could make it virtually uninhabitable by humans? If so, this could explain why a persons brain might be downloaded into a silicon body that does not require air and nutrients. (As per my other thread on Resurrection: A Cruel Joke)
Now that an astroid is going to hit the Earth....
Seriously, I don't think about this bible verse that much. Who knows what will happen in the future. I don't have all the answers, or even close to a fraction of them. Nor, do I pretend to have the answer. I just wait and see.
Hopefully, there will be alot of swamps, blood, and no DEET on Paradise. LOL.
Skeeter
