S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

Benjamin Franklin reminded us that time is "the stuff life is made of." Our earthly existence is marked by time. We "waste" it and "spend" it and "save" it; we have "time on our hands," or we "make...

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August 26 2015 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Bruce Lyon Supporter Elder: Restoration Fellowship Assembly

Will we experience time in heaven?

No place or verse in the entire Bible says you go to heaven when you die. None!

Let's start with what the kingdom of God is based on. People have claimed that the kingdom of God is the church (which one?), or that it's in your heart. These ideas will seem absurd when one understands what promises the kingdom of God is actually based on.

Pay special attention to keywords such as "promise" and "inheritance."

The concept starts with the promises that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, Genesis 13:14-15 & Genesis 17:7-8. These promises are also made to Isaac (Genesis 26:4) and Jacob (Genesis 28:14), who are Abraham’s son and grandson. The three are also referred to as the patriarchs.

Genesis 12:3: "All the communities of the earth will find blessing in you."

This is a reference to the Messiah (Jesus). God - Yehovah promised Abraham that through his descendants would come someone through whom the world would be blessed (saved). Paul confirms this in Acts 3:25-26: "You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when He said to Abraham, 'In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'"

For you first, God raised His servant and sent him to bless you.

The second promise deals with the earth. The families that will be blessed are the families of the earth. And it is on this earth that the families will be blessed. God specifically promises Abraham the earth (or the land as it is sometimes referred to) as his inheritance.

Genesis 13:14-15: "Yehovah said to Abraham: 'Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west; all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.'"

Genesis 17:7-8: "I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession."

The Messiah came to confirm and proclaim the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the reason why Jesus came. Through his death, our sins are forgiven (we are blessed), and through his reign as our king on earth (Jesus Second Coming), Abraham and his descendants (the resurrected in the Messiah) will inherit the earth as their permanent possession.

Romans 15:8: "For I say that the Messiah became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to CONFIRM the promises to the patriarchs."

What promise? That Abraham and his descendants would inherit the world.

Romans 4:13: "It was not through the law that the PROMISE was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would INHERIT THE WORLD, but through the righteousness that comes through faith."

We are to inherit the world along with Abraham. Because of our faith in the Messiah, we are considered descendants of Abraham and heirs to the same promise. With the Messiah as our king, we will reign on earth.

Revelation 20:4: "They came to life and reigned with the Messiah a thousand years."

Where will we reign with the Messiah? Revelation 5:10: "You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will REIGN on EARTH.”

The Kingdom of God is the theme of the entire Bible. It started with the promises that God made to Abraham. The prophets added more details until Jesus arrived to confirm and proclaim the kingdom of God, not only to the Jews, but also to the world. Abraham and his descendants have never possessed the world. They all died in faith (Hebrews 11:13); this is why there will be a resurrection, so that God’s promises will be fulfilled. When will the resurrection happen? In the last days of this age, inaugurated by Jesus' return. This is when Abraham and his descendants will inherit the world.

Luke 20:35: "But those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead."

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