One thought on “THE STORY OF GOD AND MAN (WITH A DIAGRAM)”
Heaven
Christians often talk about
Heaven, (‘for ever with the Lord’, living),
But in fact the Biblical teaching
Is richer than this, beyond doubt.
“Then”, said the Seer, “I saw”,
(And we bow with joy and awe),
“A new heaven and Earth”
That had come to birth.
The first heaven and earth
Has passed away.
They disappeared with a roaring.
The elements with heat melting,
As Peter said in his writing.
The heavens will be new (or renewed,
Depending on how the text is viewed),
And the Earth too we are told
The home of peace and righteousness
As Isaiah had foretold,
Free from pain and distress.
The Creation will be set free
From its bondage and decay.
We anticipate glorious liberty
In bodies of the resurrection
To serve in a fulfilling way.
We will inherit the Earth
And reign as God’s original intention.
This is not expressed mythologically
But a real hope theologically.
There’s physical eating.
With Jesus we’ll be drinking.
‘The Water of Life’, some symbols, yes:
‘The Tree with its fruit’;
‘A Holy City’, nonetheless.
Peeps into a new reality,
Perhaps with technology and creativity?
God dwelling with men
Who’ve laid up treasure in heaven.
There’ll be ruling and reigning,
The presence on Earth of His Glory,
Beauty and joy, no pain or dying
No mourning or crying.
This life is a preparation,
A process of training
For future ruling and reigning.
What a hope for proclamation!
“To Die is Gain”
When we take our last
Our final faltering breath,
When our eyes close in death
And our time here is past,
Will we sink into a soul-sleep
Unconscious, a disembodied spirit?
Or will we be awake, aware,
Enjoying a ‘dwelling place’ we inherit:
‘Paradise’, promised, beyond compare,
To the thief who was penitent
That Jesus said He would prepare?
“With Christ” better to greater extent
Than all the joys, the wonders here:
For no eye has seen, no ear
Has heard, mind conceived
What God has prepared
For those who love Him.
Perhaps in His presence aware in a way
Of life on Earth as the ‘witness cloud’,
Able to worship and to pray
“Oh Sovereign Lord” with voices loud
“Salvation belongs to God” enthroned,
Conscious fellowship with God in Heaven
“Praise to the Lamb” who atoned.
For His Second Coming we’ll be waiting,
Changed in ‘the twinkling of an eye’,
New resurrection bodies anticipating.
For this mortal must become ‘immortal’,
This perishable put on the ‘incorruptible’.
Meanwhile the whole of Creation
Yearns for this revelation!
Heaven
Christians often talk about
Heaven, (‘for ever with the Lord’, living),
But in fact the Biblical teaching
Is richer than this, beyond doubt.
“Then”, said the Seer, “I saw”,
(And we bow with joy and awe),
“A new heaven and Earth”
That had come to birth.
The first heaven and earth
Has passed away.
They disappeared with a roaring.
The elements with heat melting,
As Peter said in his writing.
The heavens will be new (or renewed,
Depending on how the text is viewed),
And the Earth too we are told
The home of peace and righteousness
As Isaiah had foretold,
Free from pain and distress.
The Creation will be set free
From its bondage and decay.
We anticipate glorious liberty
In bodies of the resurrection
To serve in a fulfilling way.
We will inherit the Earth
And reign as God’s original intention.
This is not expressed mythologically
But a real hope theologically.
There’s physical eating.
With Jesus we’ll be drinking.
‘The Water of Life’, some symbols, yes:
‘The Tree with its fruit’;
‘A Holy City’, nonetheless.
Peeps into a new reality,
Perhaps with technology and creativity?
God dwelling with men
Who’ve laid up treasure in heaven.
There’ll be ruling and reigning,
The presence on Earth of His Glory,
Beauty and joy, no pain or dying
No mourning or crying.
This life is a preparation,
A process of training
For future ruling and reigning.
What a hope for proclamation!
“To Die is Gain”
When we take our last
Our final faltering breath,
When our eyes close in death
And our time here is past,
Will we sink into a soul-sleep
Unconscious, a disembodied spirit?
Or will we be awake, aware,
Enjoying a ‘dwelling place’ we inherit:
‘Paradise’, promised, beyond compare,
To the thief who was penitent
That Jesus said He would prepare?
“With Christ” better to greater extent
Than all the joys, the wonders here:
For no eye has seen, no ear
Has heard, mind conceived
What God has prepared
For those who love Him.
Perhaps in His presence aware in a way
Of life on Earth as the ‘witness cloud’,
Able to worship and to pray
“Oh Sovereign Lord” with voices loud
“Salvation belongs to God” enthroned,
Conscious fellowship with God in Heaven
“Praise to the Lamb” who atoned.
For His Second Coming we’ll be waiting,
Changed in ‘the twinkling of an eye’,
New resurrection bodies anticipating.
For this mortal must become ‘immortal’,
This perishable put on the ‘incorruptible’.
Meanwhile the whole of Creation
Yearns for this revelation!