This is the last post in the Eschatology section of Theology 101. The book of the Revelation reverses Genesis. This doctrine is glorious.

As usual, the word count is high in this post because I quote large sections of Scripture. Please be patient.

Let’s begin this edifying and clarifying study.

I. Introduction

A. God the warrior

God fights against wickedness and wicked people and wins. Fighting against harm and harmful people shows his love for their victims. If he were indifferent towards the victims, he would be uncompassionate. He would not save them, so his salvation, as seen throughout Scripture, would be empty or nonexistent. He would be unjust and unloving, if he were indifferent.

B. Victory

But the great news is that after the final battle, which he will totally and finally win, he will then reverse old or first creation, including humans, in Genesis (first book of the Bible) from his new and final creation in the Revelation (last book of the Bible).

C. OT words

Let’s begin with battles in the OT and trace other wars throughout the Bible. Most of these wars will have a spiritual base or elements.

II. Old Testament: Resounding Historical Victories

A. Brief intro

The OT shows God at war and winning. Sometimes God himself intervened. One scholar calls this “intrusive” justice (Horton, p. 964). Or we could call it “interventionist” justice. Whatever we call it, this is not ethnic cleansing as if it is a twentieth-century genocide. Rather, it is an ethical or ethic cleansing. God will judge wicked people as he waits for them to grow in the full measure of evil. He is patient and will give people time to repent. These passages are about people who do not repent. In their cases, he imposes the death penalty on them directly or he may use the ancient Israelite army.

These cases are preludes to God’s final and total victory in the Revelation. Let’s draw lessons from them.

Paul writes about learning from the OT, particularly warning verses:

¹¹ These things happened to them as examples  and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.  (1 Cor. 10:11)

Paul then says everything written in the past is to encourage us to have hope through our God-sustained endurance:

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. (Rom. 15:4)

Let’s take key verses in the OT, major section by major section.

B. Torah

This is the first five books in the Bible.

In Genesis, at the time of Noah, God saw nothing but violence for over a hundred years. Women and children were victims, as they always are. I believe that after the flood they were kept safe by a merciful God, in his afterlife. God rescued them.

⁷ So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” (Gen. 6:7)

In the next passage, during God’s judgment on the Egyptians, he defeated the gods of Egypt. This was spiritual warfare. You can read about the ten plagues in Exodus 7-11.Here is a summary passage later:

³ The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out defiantly in full view of all the Egyptians, ⁴ who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment on their gods. (Num. 33:3-4) 

Next, the Amalekites attacked Israel at its weakest. Moses needed a miracle. If he held up his arms, Israel would win. If he lowered his arms, the army would lose. So this is spiritual warfare. Raised hands is about devotion, praise, and the mighty hand of God conquering the enemy.

¹⁰ So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. ¹² When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. ¹³ So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. (Ex. 17:10-13)

Sometimes God uses the Israelite military to execute judgment and justice, to stop wickedness: God will give Israel victory.

³ He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deut. 20:3-4)

This is not ethnic cleansing, as a genocide is, but ethical cleansing. The Canaanites were under judgment, but only after 400 hundred years of God patiently waiting for the evil to reach its full measure (Gen. 15:16).

C. History books

Joshua was just starting out in the long process of conquering Canaan, soon to be called Israel. He had to fight battles with the military. In this powerful passage the commander of the Lord’s army appeared. This could be a Christophany (an appearance of pre-incarnate Christ) or an angel.

¹³ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴ “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord^[e] have for his servant?”

¹⁵ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Josh. 5:13-15)

The above passage shows that God was with Joshua. Jericho fell, by miraculous means. The military walked seven times around the city and with a trumpet blast and a shout from the army, the walls fell (Josh. 6). This was God’s intervention.

The king of Aram was at war with Israel, but Elisha warned the king of Israel not to pass by certain places because the Arameans had camped there. Time and again, Elisha warned the king of Israel. Finally, the king of Aram had had enough. He found out about Elisha and set out to attack the prophet himself, in the town where he was lodged. Here is God’s victory for his prophet:

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

¹⁸ As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. (2 Kings 9:15:18)

So Elisha prayed, and God struck the Arameans with blindness. This is spiritual warfare intersecting with military warfare.

Next, Assyria intended to conquer Jerusalem, during the reign of King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah. But the king humbled himself and prayed, and Isaiah prophesied Assyria’s defeat. Here are the results:

³⁵ That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! ³⁶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. (2 Kings 19:35-36)

And so an angel struck down 185,000 soldiers. That’s all it takes–one angel against 185,000 men. We will see a bigger battle and the victory of the King of kings and Lord of lords in Revelation 19. It won’t take long for the white rider to defeat the armies of wickedness.

In another victory story which will prime us for the final battle in the Revelation, the Ammonites and Moabites intended to attack Judah, Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat, with a huge army. Jehoshaphat was a good (enough) king and sought the Lord. The Spirit fell on a man who prophesied not to fear, for God will give the victory. The prophet said:

¹⁷ You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’” (2 Chron. 20:17)

Jehoshaphat rejoiced and was relieved. His confidence in God was sky high. Here was his plan. Send out the praise singers first!

²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

²² As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. (2 Chron. 20:21-22)

Spiritual warfare often intersects with military warfare. Call on the name of the Lord, during your personal battles.

D. Psalms

Jesus is the Son in this verse, fulfilling the original context of David the king: He will take down nations who do not pay proper homage to the Son. He will break the nations with a rod of iron.

⁷ I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

Initially, this next psalm is about David the anointed one. But it finds its fulfillment in Jesus the Anointed One. Don’t trust in horses or chariots, two weapons of war, but trust in God.

⁶ Now this I know:
    The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
    with the victorious power of his right hand.
⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (Ps. 20:6-8)

Recall that Elisha trusted in God and saw a heavenly army of chariots.

Next, God trains David’s hands for battle, and then David prays for God to part the heavens and give the ultimate victory. Shoot at them with arrows (= divine lightning):

Praise be to the Lord my Rock,
    who trains my hands for war,
    my fingers for battle. […]

⁵ Part your heavens, Lord, and come down;
    touch the mountains, so that they smoke.
⁶ Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;
    shoot your arrows and rout them.
⁷ Reach down your hand from on high;
    deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters,
    from the hands of foreigners
⁸ whose mouths are full of lies,
    whose right hands are deceitful. (Ps. 144:1, 5-8)

E. Prophets

I refer to Zechariah, because the NT borrows from this passage about a final battle. And then Daniel 10 offers us some insights into an angelic struggle against a spiritual principality ruling over Persia.

Daniel saw a vision of Michael, who came to tell him that God heard his prayers, but it took twenty-one days to fight against the prince of Persia, an evil spirit being that oversaw Persia.

⁷ I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. ⁹ Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

¹⁰ A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

¹² Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³ But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” (Dan. 10:7-14)

Daniel did not rebuke the prince over the Persian kingdom. He stayed within his own realm and prayed to God. Michael the archangel battled this ruling principality. It took twenty-one days to make the evil being give up. God will get the victory if we persist in prayer. Never give up and trust God for the victory.

In this next passage in Zechariah 14, carried over from Zechariah 12, the prophet envisions a final battle in which God will gather the nations against Jerusalem. This appears to be in the future:

² I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. ³ Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. ⁴ On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. ⁵ You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. (Zech. 14:2-5)

Zechariah then prophesies God’s victory and Jerusalem’s peace. The city and its implements will be fully consecrated to the Lord.

²⁰ On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. ²¹ Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty. (Zech. 14:20-21)

III. Gospels, Acts, and Epistles: Resounding Intermediate Victories

A. Brief intro

In these major parts of the NT, the battles and victories are spiritual. Jesus himself wins the victory, and we are to put on the full armor of God.

The victories are called intermediate because the final victory will come in Revelation 19-20. Maybe we should call them path-clearing victories, because they clear the way or path for the final and total victory Then we will see God’s new creation.

B. Gospels

Starting off, this passage shows Jesus defeating against Satan in the temptation scene:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. (Matt. 4:1-11)

Jesus held steady and understood Scripture. He saw how Satan twisted it. But Jesus countered him with the correct interpretation and application. Fasting, praying, baptism, and Scripture study is a the clearest path to our victory over satanic attacks. Angels helped him. Let’s pray that angels will do this too for us, by God’s will and initiative.

In the next passage Jesus binds the strongman and plunders his treasures, those people who were bound in the kingdom of darkness.

²⁹ “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. (Matt. 12:29)

Satan cannot stop God’s kingdom that will fight against him, for Jesus is more powerful than Satan. Jesus is here to win this battle in an intermediate sense because Jesus’s victory is not yet absolute. We will see his absolute and total victory over Satan, in Revelation 20.

Jesus expelled demons, and this one shrieked that he knew who Jesus was.

³³ In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴ “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. (Luke 4:33-35)

Satan and his demons will be destroyed in the lake of fire in Revelation 20, as we shall see in the next section on the Revelation.

C. Acts

Philip began an evangelistic campaign in Samaria, and he expelled demons from many people:

⁴ Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. ⁵ Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. ⁶ When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. ⁷ For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸ So there was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:4-8)

Peter and John came down from Jerusalem and had to rebuke Simon the sorcerer. He was in league with the devil. The apostles won the challenge against a deceived man who worked a level of signs and wonders.

Paul expelled a pythoness spirit from a slave girl in Acts 16, and he was persecuted for it. A pythoness spirit means that she had a spirit of divination, just like the girl at Delphi.

¹⁶ Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” ¹⁸ She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. (Acts 16:16-18)

Jesus gave authority to his disciples to battle evil spirits, in spiritual warfare. Paul used his authority, and he won. We confront demons down here on our level, not in the heavenly realm. In Jesus’s name, we will win.

D. Epistles

The Father transfers us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son whom he loves. The next verses start with our giving joyful thanks to the Father because he made us worthy in Christ to share in his inheritance, both right now and in the future kingdom:

[…] ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^[a] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness  and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:12-14)

Continuing on in the epistle to the Colossians, Paul writes that Jesus disarmed the satanic powers and authorities and triumphed over them through the cross:

¹⁵ And [Jesus] having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Col. 2:15)

NT scholars teach us that the making public spectacles of them refers to Roman emperors parading the recently conquered leaders before the crowds. The emperors conquered through the sword, but Jesus defeated the powers and authorities through the cross. In Revelation he will conquer through a spiritual sword, and then his victory will be absolute, total, and final.

What should we do to combat wicked rulers, evil spirits, in the heavenly realms? Put on the full armor of God while we live down here on earth.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph. 6:10-17)

Paul did not command us to rebuke those dark powers in the heavenly realm  Instead he told us to put on spiritual armor. Let’s stay in our jurisdiction. Instead of leaving it, he tells us to pray for each other, as seen in this passage:

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Eph. 6:18-20)

Let’s not leave our own bailiwick down here among each other and pray down those evil spirit powers. No. Daniel did not get entangled in the war in heaven between the evil prince over Persia and Michael (Dan. 10, cited above). Let’s instead pray for each other. Then we can defeat demons as they manifest in people right in front of us.

The next verses Paul is not talking about warfare against demonic beings, as we saw above in Ephesian 6, but against false teaching and wrong thinking.

³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶ And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. (2 Cor. 10:3-6)

The verbs are strong: “wage war,” “weapons,” “we fight” the weapons “have divine power,” “demolish strongholds,” “demolish arguments and every pretension,” “take captive,” “make [every thought] obedient to Christ,” and “punish every act of disobedience.” So our warfare does fight some human mental strongholds and not just demons. We have to teach the truth and be ready to take captive and demolish arguments.

IV. The Revelation 19-20: Total and Final Victory

A. Brief intro.

The OT and the previous sections in the NT cleared the way for total victory. Now God is about to finish all the battles we have traced in this post, in one big battle, as follows:

B. The white rider defeats all worldly and wicked armies

This army seems physical, but it may be symbolic of all moral evil–evil that resides in people who rebel against God and his Son, the Anointed One. Moral evil is not abstract, but is in people. In any case here is the battle. Zechariah 14 is in the background here.

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

In the psalms, quoted above, David was trained for victory over the nations. He was going to break them with a rod of iron, if they do not pay him proper homage. However, the armies that battled against the King of kings and Lord of lords had refused to surrender to him. More than that, they gathered armies against him. Now they had to be defeated. It is always about God winning against the rebels against him and damage human beings. He places demands on his creation, which includes humans. If they do not meet those demands, then he will wait patiently for their repentance. No, they decide to remain in their wickedness. Therefore, when time is up, judgment is brought down on them.

Here is the final victory over the armies of kings:

¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Rev. 19:19-21)

The armies and kings of the earth waged war against the rider on the white horse and his army, who combined to defeat them. This is apocalyptic imagery of the great and final battle, in which the enemies of God threw everything they had at God and his Son. But the enemies were defeated. The sword coming out of the mouth of the white rider was strong enough to kill the rest of the enemies. The sword coming out of his mouth symbolizes the word of God. He will speak the word of victory, and it will all be over.

Moreover, the next passage is a short version or recapitulation of the long one we had just read in Revelation 19. Satan now comes into the picture. He was behind the kings and their armies. Warfare on earth is often spiritual, if we could see it.

And now we have total and final victory. Wicked people will have to be judged and removed from God’s presence (Rev. 20:11-15).

And then comes the new creation, with no more Satan and wicked people causing troubles. God purged out the entire old, Satan-filled, polluted environment, to clear out the path for his new creation.

V. The Revelation 21-22: New Creation

A. Brief intro

The Revelation reverses the troubles started in Genesis. This table lays out the contrasts. So, for me now, the Revelation is essential. It closes out the old order (Genesis and old creation) and reveals a new existence for those who have surrendered to THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

In the table below, I borrow some verses outside of Revelation 21-22, if they describe a heavenly scene.

But let’s first look at epistles that speak of new creation.

B. Paul writes of new creation

Paul writes that the present creation begun in Genesis is subject to decay, thanks to the disobedience of the First Man and his wife. But the full manifestation of the sons and daughters of God give us hope for the renewal of creation:

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Rom. 8:18-25)

Will we have hope? Will we wait patiently for God to fulfill our adoption as sons and daughters, which is the redemption of our bodies? Our bodies will be redeemed and be like the resurrected body of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are adopted, and our inheritance is final glory, as we see it described on Revelation 20-22.

⁴² So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. (1 Cor. 15:42-44)

And John agrees about our new bodies:

 ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)

The bodily change from corruptible to incorruptible states makes sense because we need a new body to fit new creation. Our dying, old bodies could not thrive in the eternal kingdom.

C. Peter writes of a new creation

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter  3:10-13)

The earth and everything done in it will be laid bare means that the earth will not be destroyed completely, but all the mess and pollution of the surface of the earth will be cleansed. The heavens, however, will burn up and melt away and disappear. I’m not sure if these are the stars or the intermediate heavens, like our atmosphere and the space just above it. It seems to be the whole of heavens, however, including the stars. .I will trust God to do as he pleases and work things out.

It is a wonderful thought that we will see new creation happen with our very own transformed eyes. No human was alive when Genesis 1:1 happened, but his redeemed people will be there to witness the new creation in Revelation 21:1.

VI. The Table of Genesis and the Revelation

A. Brief intro.

I put the two books in parallel columns for clarity and organization. Now you can see how the Revelation reverses the old creation and degraded human society in Genesis (and a few verses outside of Genesis)

Genesis and Old Creation versus the Revelation and New Creation The Revelation Reverses Genesis
	Genesis	Revelation
1	Old Creation	New Creation
	In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (1:1) God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” (1:10)	Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. (20:11) Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. (21:1)
2	Creation of Light	Glory of God Is Light
	And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (1:3)	The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light (21:23-24)
3	Creation of Night	No More Night
	God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” (1:5)	The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. (21:23) There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (22:5)
4	Creation of Sun and Moon	No More Sun and Moon
	God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. (1:16)	The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. (21:23)
5	Reign over God’s Old Creation	Reigning with God over New Creation
	Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (1:26)	And they will reign forever and ever (22:5)
6	River from Eden	River from God’s Throne
	A river watering the garden flowed from Eden (3:10)	Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. (22:1-2)
7	Forbidden Tree in Garden	Tree of Life Accessed Forever
	And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (2:16-17)	[…] down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (22:2)
8	Garden = Old Tabernacle or Temple	God and Lamb Are the Temple
	Some scholars teach that the Garden was an early temple / sanctuary with God’s presence. Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. […] The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (2:8, 15) Here are verses outside of Genesis: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. (Ex. 40:34) When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. (2 Chron. 7:1)	And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (21:3) I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (21:22)
9	Priests Limited to Aaron and Sons	All of God’s People Are Priests
	Some scholars say Adam was a proto-priest. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (2:15) A verse outside of Genesis: Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.” (Num. 3:10)	Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (20:6) The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. (22:3)
10	Appearance of the Serpent	Destruction of the Serpent
	Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. (3:1)	He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. […] And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur (20:2, 10)
11	Fall of Humanity	Final Restoration of Humanity
	When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (3:6)	And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (21:3)
12	Beginning of Pain	End of Pain and Tears
	To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. (3:16)	‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, (21:4) ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ (7:17)
13	Beginning of Curse	End of Curse
	To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; (3:17)	No longer will there be any curse. (22:3)
14	Banishment from God’s Presence	Living in God’s Eternal Presence
	So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. (3:23)	[…] “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. (7:15) They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads (22:4)
15	Access to Tree of Life Closed	Access to Tree of Life Always Open
	He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” […] After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (3:22, 24)	“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (22:14)
16	Death from Eating the Forbidden Tree	Life from Eating the Tree of Life
	[…] for when you eat from it you will certainly die. (3:17)	There will be no more death (21:4) On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (22:2)
17	Old, First Order (Back to Chaos)	New and Final Order
	To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. […] And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” (3:17-18, 22)	I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. (Rev. 21:2) ‘[…] for the old order of things [“first things”] has passed away.”  He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new! (21:4-5)
18	Universal Sinfulness	Full Redemption of Humanity
	“[…] every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.  (8:21)	“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (5:9-10)
19	Murder	No Murderers
	[…] Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. (4:8)	Outside are […] those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Rev. 22:15)
20	Violence over All the Earth	No More Wars but Healing of Nations
	Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. (6:11-13)	When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. (20:7-13) On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (22:2)
21	Disunity of People and Language	Total Unity of People and Languages
	So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel [“confused”] —because there the Lord confused the language  of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (11:8-9)	“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (5:9-10)After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  (7:9)
22	Hope (Protoevangelium)	Fulfilled
	To the serpent: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (3:15)	But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur (20:9-10)
HT: Adam Harwood pp. 793-94, I expanded the points.

VII. Total Healing in Heaven and New Creation

A. Brief intro.

This discussion at Biola, Talbot Seminary, puts a fresh perspective on the image of God:

Being God’s Image (with Carmen Imes)

The image of God is a status, so it does not change, when the fall happened. (so says the video link).

B. Error

But warning! Dr. Imes seems to believe that the blind and deaf and lame and those with Downs syndrome will keep their disabilities in new creation.

So in my college classroom the Christian girl who had a leg shorter than the other and atrophied will be not able to walk upright in new creation without the intense limp.

Wow. No. All genetic defects and disabilities will be healed. Then they will be free and truly understand who they were.

C. Exodus 4:11

Dr. Imes then quotes this verse. God is talking to Moses during God’s call on him to go back to Egypt, though Moses comes up with excuses:

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (Ex. 4:11)

God is speaking from the point of view of the Fall. We have to do battle against those disabilities. So maybe we can say that in the Hebrew Bible what God is said to cause he actually allows. If that interpretation is not true, then we must not fight against God’s will, for he himself imposed those disabilities on people  Do not pray for healing or seek medical care. No. It is obvious that something is wrong with this conclusion.

In his day, Jesus was in the process of reversing those disabilities. John the Baptist is in prison, and he sends his disciples to ask whether Jesus is the one, the Messiah:

⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. (Matt. 11:4-5)

One sign of the Messianic Age was the healing of diseases and broken bodies. Isaiah 35 describes this age. After God comes with a vengeance to rescue his people, these things will happen:

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy” (Is. 35:5-6).

Is. 26:19 says of the Messianic Age: “But your dead will live, LORD, their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout with joy” (Is. 26:19).

The phrase “in that day” refers to the age that the Messiah ushers in: “In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll and out of gloom and darkness the eyes will see” (Is. 29:1).

The ministry of Jesus in his day corresponds to the already and not yet. The Messianic Age was introduced while he was here on earth. It was already here in him. But it will be revealed in its fullness at new creation.

D. Entering life with maimed and blind?

Jesus is telling his disciples to deal ruthlessly with sin. Note the comparison (“it is better”):

⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. (Matt. 18:8-10)

Jesus is describing two scenarios and pressing home the point of the seriousness of sin. In the torah, the severity of punishment indicates how serious the crime is. It was not often applied in real life. And so it is in Matthew 18:8-10. If you had to choose between two scenarios–entering life with disabilities or hell fire with all body parts, it is better to choose disabilities. But it is a blessing that we do not have to choose either one because both scenarios are hypothetical–if.

E. Misunderstanding many and all

And just because Jesus did not heal everyone who came to him (he did because the word “many” confuses people) does not mean that not everyone will be healed at new creation.

Here is my exegesis of Mark 3:7-12, which says Jesus healed “many”:

It is interesting that the verse does not say “all,” but the word “many” in Greek can be ambiguous, so that it could mean all, if we stretch out its meaning. In their comments on 1:34, these commentators write: “The term ‘many,’ in the statement that Jesus healed ‘many that were sick,’ is used inclusively and is equivalent to the ‘all’ of v. 32; it reflects upon the large number of those who came for healing” (Lane). Garland agrees: “The ‘many’ is a Semitism for the ‘all’ (see 10:45: cf. Matt. 8:16; Luke 4:40)” (p. 73, note 13). That is also inclusive, meaning “all.” But literally it reads many. If it is unclear why Jesus may not have healed all of them, read Mark 6:5-6. They denied he was the Messiah.

Source (at this website):

Summary of Jesus’s Ministry

And here is my exegesis of Mark 1:32-34, which says “all” were brought and “many” were healed and had demons expelled from them:

“many”: “The term ‘many,’ in the statement that Jesus healed ‘many that were sick,’ is used inclusively and is equivalent to the ‘all’ of v. 32; it reflects upon the large number of those who came for healing” (Lane). Garland agrees: “The ‘many’ is a Semitism for the ‘all’ (see 10:45: cf. Matt. 8:16; Luke 4:40)” (p. 73, note 13). Note that Jesus expelled “many” demons. That is also inclusive, meaning “all.” It is not likely that some demons were not expelled, just “many” were. No. He expelled them all.

Source (at this website):

Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others

Here’s is Matthew’s parallel summary passage (my translation):

¹⁴ When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw (Peter’s) mother-in-law laid up and having a fever. ¹⁵ Then he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. ¹⁶ When evening came, they brought to him many demonized people, and he expelled the spirits with a word, and he healed all those having sicknesses, ¹⁷ so that the word spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled:

He took our diseases,
And he carried our sicknesses [Is. 53:4] (Matthew 8:14-17)

In v. 16, he expelled demons from “many” but healed “all” those having diseases. The “all” and “many” are parallels or synonyms, unless we believe that he did not expel demons from everyone and left some people demonized, a terrible thought. But it is clear that he expelled (all of them) them with a word.

Source (at this website):

Jesus Heals Many People

(I now see my title should have read “Jesus Heals Everyone.”)

Also see: Is the Atonement for ‘Many’ or ‘All’ People?

F. Summary

So “many” means “all” in those passages. He healed everyone who came to him. This is a foretaste of new creation.

The logic works out like this:

1.. Old Creation in Genesis will be transformed and re-created and made brand-new.

2. Our bodies, whether whole or broken, are part of Old Creation.

3. Therefore, our bodies will also be transformed and re-created and made brand-new.

In short, segments of the Carmen Imes video are misguided. New creation includes new creation of the body, too, all of it, even all genetic defects and all disabilities. No wheelchairs in heaven and then new creation. No Downs syndrome, no limps, no palsy, no blind or deaf or mute people. No cancer or leprosy.

VIII. Application

A. Hope

The table gives me hope. I know the future. God wins, and therefore we win too.

B. Our inheritance

Yes, the Spirit guarantees our inheritance in the future glory:

¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Eph. 1:13-14)

It all began with your salvation, and it will end in the New Jerusalem surrounded by God’s new creation (Rev. 21-22).

We need prayer to understand our hope in God for our inheritance.

¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, (Eph. 1:18)

God’s hope in this verse is about the ultimate future as seen in the table. Our inheritance will be rich and glorious, just as the Revelation says.

C. Righteousness lives there

It will dwell in new creation, true, but we are called to live righteously in the here and now:

¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13)

D. Let’s live holy lives in peace with him

In light of new creation, let’s exert effort to live holy lives and be at peace with god

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.  (2 Peter 3:14)

E. Watch yourselves:

¹⁷ Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. (2 Peter 3:17)

Don’t live lawless lives. Don’t fall away from your secure position. You do not want to miss out on new creation, Peter clearly says. Living lawless lives will harm your eternal future (Matt. 7:21-23).

F. Why new creation?

Theologian J. Rodman Williams explains (vol. 3, 482-86)

1.. This world is aging. If left to itself, it would degrade and die

2.. It needs to be released from the bondage of corruption

3. New humanity need a new dwelling place that is suitable for us, the redeemed, with our transformed and glorious resurrection bodies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited