{"id":19216,"date":"2018-02-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-036\/"},"modified":"2018-02-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-02-21T06:00:00","slug":"the-coming-kingdom-036","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-036\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coming Kingdom 036"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[470],"sermon_service_type":[474],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19216","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-the-coming-kingdom","sermon_service_type-wednesday-evenings","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"The Coming Kingdom 036","sermon_date":"20180221","sermon_month":"2","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":5493,"sermon_slides":5492,"sermon_mp3":5494,"sermon_id":"221181922255","series_or_event":470,"service_type":[474],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"21-22","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nThe Coming Kingdom\n\n2-21-18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation\u00a0 21-22\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 36\n\nIf you\u2019ve been tracking along with us we\u2019re basically in chapter 14 of this book I wrote on the Kingdom and if\u00a0 you\u2019re new to the study and didn\u2019t get a book let me know because we\u2019ll get you one after class.\u00a0 We\u2019re looking at what does the Bible say about the Kingdom, really Genesis to Revelation.\u00a0 There\u2019s basically the ground we\u2019ve covered, 1-10.\u00a0 [1. Eden, 2. Abrahamic Covenant, \u00a03. Mosaic Covenant, 4. Divided Kingdom, 5. Times of the Gentiles, 6. Old Testament Prophets, 7. Post exile, 8. Offer of the King\/Kingdom, 9. Rejection of the Offer, 10. Interim Age]\u00a0 And we\u2019ve also covered 11-16.\u00a0 [11. Kingdom Mysteries, 12. Church, 13. Israel\u2019s Discipline & Restoration, \u00a014. Re-offer of the King\/Kingdom, 15. Transfer of Kingdom Authority, 16. Kingdom Establishment 17. Eternal State]\n\nThat\u2019s a lot of ground, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Last week when we were together we finished talking about the manifestation of the kingdom.\u00a0 So the kingdom is the thousand year duration we read about in Revelation 20:1-10 and basically the whole Bible has been building to that point.\u00a0 So we talked about that kingdom, how long it\u2019s going to last, what the world will be like.\u00a0 Last week\u2019s study shouldn\u2019t be too much of a surprise because we\u2019ve been tracing this all the way from the Book of Genesis onward.\u00a0 Revelation 20:1-10 is just sort of the end of the matter.\n\nAnd now what we\u2019re moving into tonight, probably for the next couple of studies is the eternal state, what happens after the kingdom is established and runs its thousand year course?\u00a0 We are on the far right of the screen, an area called the eternal state, sometimes called the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21 and 22.\u00a0 And Lewis Sperry Chafer in this quote that I gave you basically described the transition from the thousand year kingdom to the eternal state.\u00a0 And I like his summary and so I wanted to share that with you.\u00a0 He says the transition will have seven parts to it.\n\nNumber 1 you\u2019re going to have the release of Satan from the abyss.\u00a0 Remember Satan is let out for one last hurrah, at the end of the thousand years.\u00a0 Then you will have the revolt on the earth with judgments upon Satan and his armies.\u00a0 And stopping there just for a minute, this chart that I\u2019ve given you gives you the seven-fold defeat of Satan.\u00a0 [1, the release of Satan from the abyss.\u00a0\u00a0 2. The revolt on earth initial eviction from heaven.\u00a0 3. the passing of the old heaven and old earth. \u00a04. the great white throne judgment. \u00a05. creation of a new heaven and new earth, 6. the descent of the bridal city from God out of heaven, and 7. the surrender of the mediatorial aspect of Christ's reign and adjustment to the eternal state immediately following.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0Vol. 5, Systematic Theology<\/em> (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 359.]\n\nSatan isn\u2019t defeated in one fell swoop; he is progressively defeated as you go through the Scriptures.\u00a0 And Revelation 20:10 is the end of Satan, his final defeat.\u00a0 Remember all the way back in Genesis God said there\u2019s coming one from the seed of the woman that is going to crush the devil\u2019s head, or the serpent\u2019s head.\u00a0 Genesis 3:15.\u00a0 [Genesis 3:15, \u201cAnd 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.\u201d [NIV]\n\nSo the Scripture has traced that for us and finally we get to the ultimate crushing of Satan\u2019s head at the conclusion of the millennial kingdom in Revelation 20:10.\u00a0\u00a0 It says, \u201cAnd the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 So once that happens Satan becomes a thing of the past.\u00a0 So if you can imagine a world with Satan not in it at all that\u2019s the eternal state.\n\nBack to the Chafer quote, the transition from the thousand year kingdom to the eternal state, you have number 1, the release of Satan from the abyss.\u00a0 Number 2, the revolt on the earth with judgments upon Satan and his armies.\u00a0 Number 3, the passing away of the old heaven and old earth.\u00a0 And we\u2019re going to talk about that tonight.\u00a0 And number 4, the Great White Throne Judgment.\u00a0 The Great White Throne Judgment, which we\u2019re not going to get into, I guess I\u2019m a little bit thankful we\u2019re not going to get into it tonight because it\u2019s a very depressing scene; it takes place right between the millennium but before the eternal state begins.\u00a0 It\u2019s described in verses 11-15.\n\n[Revelation 20:11-15, \u201cThen I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book<\/em> of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them<\/em> according to their deeds. [14] Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone\u2019s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.\u201d]\n\nIt\u2019s a judgment only for unbelievers.\u00a0 And unbelievers are summoned and put in resurrected bodies and as their names are not found written in the Lamb\u2019s Book of Life, meaning they have never trusted in Christ for salvation, and it\u2019s documented because their name isn\u2019t in the Book of Life, they\u2019re transferred from Hades, where they have been, into the Lake of Fire.\u00a0 So that\u2019s the Great White Throne Judgment.\n\nAnd you\u2019ll notice here in this quote that Chafer puts the dissolving of the old heavens and old earth before the Great White Throne Judgment.\u00a0 And where does he get that from?\u00a0 I think he\u2019s getting that from verse 11 of Revelation 20, which says, \u201cThen I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away,\u201d so a lot of people believe that when it says \u201cthe earth and heaven fled away\u201d that\u2019s the destruction of the old heavens and old earth and that\u2019s going to take place just before the Great White Throne Judgment, after the millennial kingdom.\n\nI have a slightly different order, for what it\u2019s worth I put the dissolving of the new heavens and new earth after the Great White Throne Judgment just prior to the beginning of the new heavens and new earth.\u00a0 And I get that from chapter 21, verse 1, which follows chronologically the Great White Throne Judgment.\u00a0 Revelation 21:1 says, \u201cThen I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any<\/em> sea.\u201d\u00a0 So you\u2019ll find people slightly disagreeing over this; we agree on the important things, that this world is going to pass away.\u00a0\u00a0 Some put it prior to the Great White Throne Judgment, other people put it after the Great White Throne Judgment.\u00a0 I\u2019m more in that latter camp.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s something worth starting a new church over necessarily, but you should recognize that there\u2019s kind of a difference of opinion concerning exactly when the old heavens and old earth are dissolved prior to the eternal state.\u00a0 So Chafer says, number 3, the passing of the old heaven and old earth, then he has the great white throne judgment, then he has the creation of a new heaven and new earth.\n\nThen, number 6 is the descent of the bridal city out of heaven, and I believe that that city, called the New Jerusalem exists right now.\u00a0 And I get that because it\u2019s described in Galatians 4:26 with a present tense verb \u201cis,\u201d it \u201cis\u201d in heaven Paul says.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0[Galatians 4:26, \u201cBut the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.\u201d]\u00a0 So I believe that it exists, it is in heaven, it\u2019s a beautiful city, it just can\u2019t come to the earth right now because the earth is corrupted.\u00a0 It\u2019s only going to be fit for a new heavens and new earth.\u00a0 So it\u2019s there dispended in space somewhere, waiting for the right time to come to earth.\u00a0 It won\u2019t be the earth as we know it, it\u2019ll be the new heavens and new earth.\n\nSo number 5, the creation of the new heavens and new earth.\u00a0 Number 6, the descent of the bridal city from God out of heaven, which we\u2019ll talk about a couple weeks down the road.\u00a0 And then number 7, something we may get into tonight, the surrender of the mediatorial aspect of Christ\u2019s reign and adjustment to the eternal state immediate following.\u00a0 Jesus, throughout the thousand year kingdom, is reigning on David\u2019s throne and what I\u2019m going to try to show you is that reign of Christ is never relinquished as you move into the eternal state.\u00a0 The reigning continues, it just gets adjusted as I\u2019ll try to show you the throne of God the Father and the throne of God the Son merge together.\u00a0\u00a0 So we\u2019ll try to unpack that a little bit as well.\u00a0 But anyway, I like this quote because it just gives you seven things which describe the transition from the thousand year kingdom into the eternal state.\n\nSo what we\u2019re moving into now is really the last part of our study in terms of the chronology of the kingdom, and we\u2019re looking at the eternal state, Revelation 21 and 22, and so to help us understand it we\u2019re going to look at five things; we won\u2019t get through all of these this evening, we\u2019ll maybe get through three of them, perhaps four.\n\nNumber 1, we\u2019re going to look at how this new heavens and new earth has to come into existence at a certain time.\u00a0 It can\u2019t come into existence any other time, it\u2019s got to come into existence at a certain time, after the office of theocratic administrator during the thousand year kingdom is restored.\u00a0 We\u2019ll talk about that.\u00a0 Number 2, we want to get into the subject of new creation versus renovation.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot of people out there, I\u2019m shocked as I\u2019ve been trying to look into this to learn how many people believe that the new heavens and new earth is really this same earth, it\u2019s just kind of renovated a little bit.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of like God just kind of takes the existing earth and He kind of slaps a coat of fresh paint on it, but it\u2019s the same earth. \u00a0So there\u2019s a lot of people out there teaching that that\u2019s what the new heavens and new earth is.\u00a0 I don\u2019t agree with that.\u00a0 I think the thousand year kingdom is on this earth renovated but the eternal state is a completely new, ex nihilo<\/em>, something out of nothing new creation.\n\nAnd number 3 we\u2019ll look at is this stuff really literal; by now you know me well enough to know my answer to that is I think it is very literal but a lot of people have this sort of nebulous idea of what the afterlife is going to be like, you know, we\u2019re just going to be kind of sitting on clouds wearing sheets and we\u2019ve got halos over our heads and we\u2019re going to strum harps and we\u2019re going to sing the Hallelujah Chorus a million times and be bored to death.\u00a0 And we just don\u2019t really look very carefully into what God says about the future.\u00a0 The new heavens and new earth, the eternal city, that city is just as real as any other city on planet earth today.\u00a0 It\u2019s just as real as Houston or Dallas or San Antonio or Los Angeles, it\u2019s an actual physical geopolitical reality on earth but it\u2019ll be a new earth.\n\nAnd then number 4, we\u2019ll try to explain how the Davidic reign of Christ is going to continue on into the eternal state.\u00a0 And then finally, number 5, this is the part we definitely won\u2019t get to, I\u2019ll give you an in depth description of what the eternal state is going to be like.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s a healthy thing to consider because we\u2019re going to be there forever; we\u2019re not even going to be there for a thousand years, we\u2019re going to be there forever so we ought to figure out what does God say about it.\n\nSo here we go; let\u2019s start with number 1, and I want us to understand that the eternal security comes into existence at a specific point in time.\u00a0 It comes into existence after the office of theocratic administrator has been reasserted on planet earth.\u00a0 And there\u2019s a very precise chronology that God gives us; He gives us the thousand year kingdom, then He gives us the Great White Throne Judgment, and then after that He gives us the eternal state.\u00a0 And the order, I think, is very, very significant as far as God is concerned.\n\nWhat has happened during the thousand year kingdom is God has successfully reestablished His authority over this world.\u00a0 And this is a quote we saw many times in our study, really going all the way back to the beginning, Charles Ryrie asks a very important question.\u00a0 He says, \u201cWhy is an earthly kingdom necessary?\u201d\u00a0 Why do we have to have a thousand\u00a0 year earthly kingdom.\u00a0 \u201cDid He not receive His inheritance\u201d that\u2019s Jesus, \u201cwhen He was raised and exalted in heaven?\u201d\u00a0 And a lot of people think that Jesus at the right hand of the Father is sufficient and we\u2019re trying to say that\u2019s not sufficient.\u00a0 \u201cIs not His present rule His inheritance?\u201d<\/u>\u00a0 If you were learning this material from an amillennialist they would basically tell you that, they would say that we\u2019re in the kingdom now and Jesus is now reigning from heaven on David\u2019s throne, supposedly it\u2019s in heaven somewhere.\u00a0 And this is as much of an earthly reign as we\u2019re going to have.\u00a0 So Ryrie is asking why cannot that be true.\u00a0 He asks, \u201cIs not His present rule His inheritance? \u00a0Why does there need to be an earthly kingdom?\u201d<\/u>\u00a0 Now here comes the answer.\u00a0 \u201cBecause He\u201d <\/u>that\u2019s God, \u201cmust be triumphant in the same arena where He was seemingly defeated.<\/u>\u201d That\u2019s why.\u00a0 \u201cHis rejection by the rulers of this world was on this earth<\/u> [1Cor. 2:8].\u00a0 And therefore \u201cHis exaltation must also be on this earth<\/u>.<\/strong> And so it shall be when He comes again to rule this world in righteousness. He has waited long for His inheritance; soon He shall receive it.\u201d\n\nSee what happened in Eden, and we\u2019ve talked about this many times, is the authority of God was challenged.\u00a0 The original blueprint of God was to rule through the first Adam and his wife.\u00a0 And the two of them were to govern creation for God.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what\u2019s called the office of theocratic administrator, somebody who governs for God.\n\nAnd when you go back to Genesis 1 you see very clearly that\u2019s what God had in mind.\u00a0 You see all this dominion language, God said to Adam and Eve, \u201clet them rule over the fish of the sea,\u201d see how earthly these things are?\u00a0 \u201cover the birds of the sky\u201d\u00a0 over the cattle, over all the earth, \u201c and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.\u201d\u00a0 And then God said to them subdue it, see the kingdom language?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.\u00a0 [Genesis 1:28\u2019]\n\nSo that\u2019s the original intent of God.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what you see happening in Genesis 1 and 2.\u00a0 Genesis 3 you have a talking snake who is the devil.\u00a0 And what happens is he gets Adam and Eve, not to govern creation for God but to listen to creation and rebel against God.\u00a0 And the moment that happened the office of theocratic administrator left planet earth.\u00a0 So the goal of history is how this structure is restored.\u00a0 And the time period that it\u2019s restored is not today but it\u2019s in the thousand year kingdom.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 Because in the thousand year kingdom God the Father is going to govern, not the first Adam but the what?\u00a0 The last Adam.\u00a0 Who would that be?\u00a0 Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ along with His wife, who do you think His wife is?\u00a0 The church of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the New Testament tells\u00a0 us we\u2019re destined for authority.\u00a0 That\u2019s why Paul says things like\u2026 to the Corinthians that are suing each other, don\u2019t you know that you\u2019re going to judge the angels one day.\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 6:3, \u201cDo you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?\u201d]\u00a0 Can\u2019t you get along, can\u2019t you handle these little minor problems of life.\n\nSo the New Testament kind of narrates that we\u2019re destined for this throne.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because this is when the office of theocratic administrator is reasserted.\u00a0 So God is going to\u2026 God the Father will govern the last Adam along with his wife (that would be the church) and we will govern creation for God.\u00a0 And that structure has to come back exactly like God set it up in Genesis 1 and 2 or God has lost the battle.\u00a0 Do you see that?\n\nSo there has to be a time in history where the office of theocratic administrator is reasserted over this planet.\u00a0 And if you don\u2019t have that in your thinking somewhere then God goes down in history as a permanent loser.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 So one of these ways God is going to win.\u00a0 \u00a0And the time in history where this structure comes back is the thousand year kingdom.\u00a0 And it elapses for a thousand years. what God established in Eden is now reasserted, in the millennial kingdom the thousand year kingdom, following the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.\n\nThat has to run its course and only after that runs its course is God now free to start over.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 So that\u2019s why in the Book of Revelation the thousand year kingdom comes before the dissolving of this planet and the replacing it with the new heavens and new earth and bringing the eternal city down.\u00a0 If that happens too fast, if that happens too quick you don\u2019t have a time in history where the office of theocratic administrator is established on this earth.\u00a0 It may be established on the next earth but not this earth, and if it\u2019s not reestablished on this earth then God has permanently lost.\n\nSo that\u2019s why this world, despite all the Star Wars movies that we see about the earth exploding and things, that\u2019s why this earth can\u2019t disappear until this office is reestablished.\u00a0 Do you see that?\u00a0 And that\u2019s why God says things to Noah in the Noahic Covenant, all the way back in Genesis 8, I think it\u2019s around verse 22, He says as long as there\u2019s \u201cseed time and harvest \u2026 summer and winter, and day and night\u201d the earth \u201cshall not cease\u201d to be.\u00a0 [Genesis 8:22, \u201cWhile the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.\u201d]\n\nWhy does God say things like that?\u00a0 Because if the earth dissolves before this office is reasserted then God has lost.\u00a0 So with this office now reasserted and the thousand years have run their course and God is the winner of history He\u2019s now in a position to dissolve the earth and replace it with a new heavens and a new earth.\u00a0 So one of the things I want you to see is the order that we have here in Revelation 20, moving into chapters 21 and 22, is there for a reason.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have Revelation 20:1-10 being fulfilled somewhere in your Bible you\u2019ve got all of these themes that start very early on in Biblical history that never get their resolution.\u00a0 The earthly kingdom of a thousand\u00a0 years is a time in history where God takes all of these themes and allows them to find their natural resolution.\u00a0 So we have the resolution, God has reasserted His authority over this earth, now God is in a position to get rid of this earth and replace it with a new earth.\u00a0 So the first thing I want you to see is the order here is really specific.\n\nThe second issue is when God dissolves this world and replaces it with a new world is that a renovation or is it a new creation entirely.\u00a0 And I\u2019m going to try to make the case that Revelation 21 and 22 is just as much a brand new creation of God as is Genesis 1.\u00a0 And the Latin term that people use to describe this kind of creation is a term called ex nihilo,<\/em> which means something out of nothing.\n\nSo when God put our current world into existence that was an ex nihilo<\/em> act.\u00a0 There was no earth there, there was no heavens and earth there and God spoke our present heavens and earth into existence, Genesis 1:1, a verse you know well, it says: \u201cIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.\u201d So there were no heavens and earth and then God spoke and the heavens and earth came into existence.\u00a0 A wonderful Psalm on the ex nihilo<\/em> creation of God is Psalm 33:6.\u00a0 The rest of the Scripture sort of reflects what God did in Genesis 1.\u00a0 Psalm 33 has a lot of information on it.\u00a0 Psalm 33:6 says, \u201cBy the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.\u201d\u00a0 So you shouldn\u2019t get the idea that it was like a junk pile floating around in space somewhere and God kind of stitched it together to create our world.\u00a0 There was no world and God at a specific time in history spoke our world into existence.\u00a0 That\u2019s called ex <\/em>nihilo<\/em>.\n\nIf you look at Psalm 33:9 it says basically the same thing, \u201cFor He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.\u201d\u00a0 So all God has to do is speak and things come into existence and that\u2019s the best way I know of to understand Genesis chapter 1.\n\nSo when the new heavens and new earth come into existence basically that\u2019s what God is doing; He is speaking something new, completely and totally new into existence.\u00a0 And this is very different, what I\u2019m talking about here, than the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 The millennial kingdom is very much a renovation project.\u00a0 This world will have survived the seven year tribulation period; the Lord will reclaim His authority over this earth and the millennial kingdom is going to be a wonderful thing but it\u2019s not the eternal state.\u00a0 It\u2019s even something less than the eternal state \u00a0because it\u2019s largely God fixing something that was busted.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s going on for a thousand years.\n\nNow by the time the thousand years are over and God has already reasserted His authority over the present heavens and earth He\u2019s now in a position to start something totally new so He takes this present earth and He dissolves it and He speaks into existence a brand new earth, a brand new universe.\u00a0 Why do I think this?\u00a0 Why do I think that the eternal state is not a renovation but a brand new creation?\u00a0 And you\u2019d be surprised at the number of people out there that will treat the eternal security as a renovation.\u00a0 One of the most popular books on heaven out there is the book, I think it\u2019s entitled Heaven<\/em>, by Randy Alcorn, and I really like Randy Alcorn as a writer but when you look at his book on Heaven<\/em> he\u2019s basically treating the eternal state as a renovated earth, not a new creation.\u00a0 And I\u2019m of the view that it\u2019s a completely new creation.\n\nSo let me give you what I would consider to be five reasons why the next world that\u2019s coming has to be totally new, ex nihilo<\/em>, something out of nothing, just like Genesis chapter 1 was ex nihilo<\/em>, something out of nothing.\n\nThe first reason is sin has contaminated this present world.\u00a0 Everybody today wants to talk about \u00a0the environment and they want to talk about ecology.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the reality of the situation: the greatest environmental ecological disaster that has ever hit this planet is in Genesis 3.\u00a0 The fall of man in Genesis 3 didn\u2019t just severe man\u2019s relationship with God, what it did is it brought destruction, if \u00a0you will, to this planet and marred it.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019m always a little bit nervous when we sing in church, many times, and kids sing it in Sunday School, and I grew up singing it too, you know the song, This is My Father\u2019s World<\/em>.\u00a0 I mean, you think about that, is that true?\u00a0 I mean, we\u2019ve got a world with earthquakes and tsunami\u2019s and cancer and death and drive-by shootings and the ground itself has been cursed.\u00a0 I know what people are trying to say, this is my Father\u2019s creation, but it really is not the world that God designed it.\n\nSo when you go back to Genesis 3:17-19 it very clearly describes how the fall affected the earth.\u00a0 And notice what it says here.\u00a0 It says, \u201cThen to Adam He said, \u2018Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, \u2018You shall not eat from it\u2019;\u00a0 cursed is the\u201d what?\u00a0 What does it say there, \u201ccursed is ground because of you;\u201d isn\u2019t that interesting, \u201cin toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.\u201d\u00a0 And then it says,\u00a0\u00a0 [18] \u201cBoth thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field;\u00a0 [19] By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, [till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.\u201d]\u00a0 And so you can clearly see that man has to go out now and make a living and making a living is difficult because the earth itself has been cursed.\n\nNow labor, or the institution of work and industry, that\u2019s pre-fall because God put Adam in the Garden to till it; you see references to that in Genesis 2, God always intended man and woman to be working entities.\u00a0 But now when the curse comes in, now you have to work to survive.\u00a0 That was never God\u2019s intent.\u00a0 And here we are in the United States of America totally blessed.\u00a0 Our biggest problem is not worrying where our next meal is coming from; it\u2019s keeping the calories off.\u00a0 But you go to other parts of the world and they\u2019re working the ground and they don\u2019t really know if the harvest is going to come in or where the next meal is coming from because the world that we\u2019re living in has been cursed.\u00a0 The ground itself has been cursed.\n\nPaul, in the Book of Romans, chapter 8, verses 19-22 picks up on this and he says: \u201cFor the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revelation of the sons of God.\u201d\u00a0 Now here creation itself is personified, this is a personification, it\u2019s a figure of speech where you assign to an inanimate object living qualities to get a point across.\u00a0 And Paul is saying that the creation itself can\u2019t wait for the return of Christ because the creation itself is in a state of bondage, presumably because of what happened in Genesis 3. \u00a0He says in verse 20, \u201cFor the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly,\u201d in other words, the creation in this personification didn\u2019t want it this way, \u201cbut because of him who subjected it,\u201d now who would the \u201chim\u201d be?\u00a0 The first Adam, \u201c\u2026in hope [21] that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.\u201d\n\nAnd then look at verse 22, \u201cFor we know\u201d look at the adjective in front of \u201ccreation\u201d there, \u201cthat the whole creation\u201d see Adam\u2019s sin affected everything.\u00a0 I interpret this as it affected the heavens and the earth as well.\u00a0 And think of how many stars are out there.\u00a0 You know, with the Hubble telescope we\u2019ve discovered that there\u2019s so many stars and so many galaxies out there it would be impossible from a mathematical point of view to count them all up.\u00a0 And what I\u2019m understanding this is saying is Adam\u2019s sin affected everything out there; it affected this earth and the whole creation itself.\u00a0 It\u2019s in a state of travail; it\u2019s personified as groaning, like a woman \u201cgroans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.\u201d\n\nSo Adam\u2019s sin had an ecological and environmental effect on the cosmos as we know it.\u00a0 And so as\u00a0 you read that imagery very carefully what you learn is the creation is in a state of bondage.\u00a0 And if this all is true how could God keep this earth around?\u00a0 You can\u2019t fix this, you can\u2019t slap a coat of fresh paint on it, you can\u2019t pretend it\u2019s something that it\u2019s not.\u00a0 The only thing you can really do is dissolve it and start over, which God is now free to do because He\u2019s asserted His authority over this corrupted mess during the thousand year kingdom.\n\nThe millennial kingdom, what you have to understand is the curse continues into the millennial kingdom, the thousand years.\u00a0 The curse is rolled back to some extent but when you study the Bible very carefully you learn that the curse is still there.\u00a0 For example, in Isaiah 65:20, a millennial passage, it talks about people dying at the age of 100 and when someone dies at the age of 100 everybody is going to sit around and say isn\u2019t that a shame such a\u00a0 young man died.\u00a0 [Isaiah 65:20, \u201cNo longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed.\u201d]\n\nSo obviously it\u2019s a time period where life expectancy is increased significantly but death is there nonetheless.\u00a0 Do you see that?\u00a0 And when you look at Ezekiel 45:22, this is a great description in these chapters of the millennial kingdom and the millennial temple, you still see the curse involved.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s rolled back, it just hasn\u2019t been eliminated yet. \u00a0Ezekiel 45:22, says, \u201cOn that day the prince\u201d that\u2019s the high priest offering sacrifices in the millennial kingdom, \u201cOn that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.\u201d\u00a0 So before the priest can minister the sacrifices in the millennial temple there has to be a sacrifice for a known sin.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 So the sin is obviously continuing even in the millennial kingdom.\n\nWhen you look at Zechariah 14:16-18 you\u2019re going to see people there that just start resenting \u00a0Jesus and they\u2019re not going to want to go to Jerusalem to worship Him on the Feast of Booths.\u00a0 \u00a0And God deals with that directly by not allowing them to have any rain or moisture for their crops.\u00a0 [Zechariah 14:16-18, \u201cThen it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. [17] And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. [18] If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall<\/em> on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.\u201d]\n\nWhat I\u2019m showing you is as you go through passages concerning the millennial kingdom this sin problem is still there in the cosmos.\u00a0 So the millennial kingdom is very much a renovation; the eternal state is a new creation entirely.\u00a0 And didn\u2019t we study, I think it was last week, that there\u2019s going to be a rebellion at the end of the millennial kingdom, when Satan is loosed from the abyss.\u00a0 Remember we looked at that?\n\nRevelation 20:7-10 says, \u201cWhen the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, [8] and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s a big chunk of people, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0\u00a0 [9] \u201cAnd they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. [10] And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.\u201d\n\nSo the curse is rolled back but it\u2019s still there; there\u2019s still a simmering rebellion in the hearts of people towards God, even in the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 So what am I trying to get at?\u00a0 My point is simply this: the world that we\u2019re living in is a cursed world.\u00a0 It\u2019s been that way since Genesis 3 and that curse is going to continue on even into the thousand year kingdom and therefore you\u2019ve got to take this world and get rid of it because God\u2019s intention is to have a world with no rebellion in it at all.\u00a0 Revelation 21:4, of the eternal state, says, \u201cand He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any<\/em> death; there will no longer be any<\/em> mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.\u201d\u00a0 Now how can you have a world like that if this world is still around.\u00a0 See that?\n\nRevelation 21:8 says, \u201c\u201cBut for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be<\/em> in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.\u201d\u00a0 Now how can you have a world like that as long as this world, touched by original sin, still exists.\u00a0 So I believe that the eternal state is going to be a brand new ex nihilo<\/em> creation.\u00a0 And the first reason I say that is because of sin\u2019s contamination of the present world.\n\nThe second reason I say this, it\u2019s going to be a new creation entirely, is because of what Peter describes.\u00a0 Take a look at 2 Peter just for a minute, 2 Peter 3:7, and the way Peter describes the dissolving of this earth it doesn\u2019t look to me like a chargrilled steak or roasting a marshmallow, it looks to me like it\u2019s a total destruction.\u00a0 2 Peter 3, look at verse 7, it says, \u201cBut by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 And then jump over to verse 10, 2 Peter 3:10 and notice what the Apostle Peter says there.\u00a0 He says, \u201cBut the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201cdisappear,\u201d see that?\u00a0 They \u201cwill disappear with a roar and the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth everything in it will be laid bare.\u201d\u00a0 And then verse 11 is the application, \u201cSince all these things are going to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be,\u201d in other words, why are you hanging on to everything in this world so tightly when the whole thing is going to burn.\u00a0 You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God.\u00a0 [2 Peter 3:11, \u201cSince all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.\u201d]\n\nAnd verse 13 is a description of what\u2019s coming after this world is dissolved. \u00a0\u201cBut according to\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 His promise we are looking for\u201d a what? \u201cnew heavens and a new earth, in which\u201d dwells what? \u201crighteousness dwells.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 You can\u2019t have that until you dissolve what exists.\u00a0 Do you see that?\u00a0 So the way Peter describes this it does not look to me like a renovation at all; it looks like a total dissolving of this planet.\n\nAnd if you\u2019re sensitive to this as you travel through the Bible you\u2019ll see this warned about over and over again.\u00a0 What did Jesus say in Matthew 24:35, \u201cHeaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not\u201d what? \u201cpass away.\u201d\u00a0 1 Corinthians 7:31 says virtually the same thing.\u00a0 It says, \u201cand those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.\u201d\u00a0 It looks like picking up milk at the grocery store and someone stamps on there not good after a certain date, not good after the expiration date.\u00a0 That\u2019s the Christian way of looking at this world.\u00a0 Even though God is going to reassert His authority over it for a thousand years the whole thing is on very borrowed time.\n\nOver in Hebrews 1:10-12 you get another description of this, which says,\u00a0 [10] \u201cAnd, You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Your hands:\u00a0 [11] They will perish; but You remain; and they will all become old like a garment; [12] And as a mantle you will roll them up; like a garment they shall be changed.\u00a0 But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.\u201d \u00a0It doesn\u2019t look like renovation at all; it looks like destruction.\n\nAnd then over in 1 John 2:17 it says, \u201cThe world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God lives forever.\u201d\u00a0 This is why we\u2019re exhorted in these verses to not love the world or the things in the world.\u00a0 Why not?\u00a0 Because they\u2019re all marked for destruction.\u00a0 See that.\u00a0 And I do believe in global warming, by the way.\u00a0 Global warming is coming to planet earth, I just put it in 2 Peter 3:10.\u00a0 People say well, do you believe in the Big Bang?\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, I do, I just think it\u2019s at the end; all the scientists are telling me it happened at the beginning but 2 Peter 3:10 says, \u201cBut the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will disappear with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.\u201d\u00a0 So that\u2019s the second reason I think this is not renovation; I think it\u2019s going to be an ex nihilo<\/em> creation because of Peter\u2019s description of how this world is going to dissolve.\n\nThe third reason I think that we\u2019re going to have a new heavens and new earth entirely is because the new heavens and new earth that\u2019s coming is described completely differently than this world.\u00a0 It\u2019s still a literal planet in a literal universe but the changes are very, very different.\u00a0 For example, the world that we\u2019re living in has an ocean on it, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 In fact, in Genesis 1:9-10 you can see a reference to the sea.\u00a0 [Genesis 1:9-10, \u201cThen God said, \u2018Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear\u2019; and it was so. [10] God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.\u201d]\n\nBut you look at Revelation 21:1 and what does it say there, this new world that\u2019s coming starts to be described.\u00a0 It says, at the end of the verse, \u201cthere is no longer any sea.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 21:1, \u201cThen I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.\u201d]\u00a0 Now I don\u2019t know how you interpret that, I take that literally.\u00a0 Think of the oceans on this planet; you go out on a cruise or you fly internationally on an airplane and the oceans just go on and on forever.\u00a0 I think someone told me that somewhere between 75-80% of this planet is ocean or sea.\u00a0 And think of a world with no ocean in it at all.\u00a0 Now that to me doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s this world fixed up a little better.\u00a0 It looks to me like a completely different world.\n\nAnd beyond that, when God created this world on day four He created the luminaries, Genesis 1:14-19, He created the sun and the moon and the stars.\u00a0 I mean, the sun and the moon and the stars are just a reality that we have come to accept and love.\u00a0 [Genesis 1:14-19, \u201cAnd God said, \u2018Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, [15] and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.\u2019 And it was so. [16] God made two great lights\u2014the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. [17] God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, [18] to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. [19] And there was evening, and there was morning\u2014the fourth day.\u201d]\n\nBut look at how this new heaven and new earth is described.\u00a0 Revelation 21:23, it says, \u201cAnd the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it,\u201d why not? \u201cfor the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 And then if you go over to Revelation 22:5, the world that\u2019s coming, it says, \u201cAnd there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.\u201d\u00a0 So think of a world with no sun, s-u-n, the sun, s-u-n won\u2019t be necessary because the world is going to be illuminated by the Son, S-o-n, as we see His glory being described here. \u00a0So the sun, s-u-n is no longer needed, the moon is no longer needed,\u00a0 the stars are no longer there and even the concept of day and night that we\u2019re so accustomed to, that\u2019s not there either.\n\nAnd you factor in the fact that there\u2019s no ocean any more, or no sea, it just doesn\u2019t look to me like it\u2019s this world repackaged.\u00a0 I think what\u2019s happened is this world is totally dissolved and God is replacing it with a brand new world.\u00a0 And by the way, people get really hot and bothered about something in Genesis 1 which to me, the way I think, is not a problem at all. \u00a0Genesis 1:3, God says, \u201cLet there be light,\u201d that\u2019s on day one of creation.\u00a0 Now the sun, the luminaries, s-u-n, were not created until day four.\u00a0 So at some point in your Christian life some skeptic is going to ask you well, if you think the Bible is true how do you have light on day 1 when the sun wasn\u2019t even created until day 4.\u00a0 Well, is that such a hard problem to answer?\u00a0 The \u201clight\u201d is God, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 And God, watch this very carefully, intentionally ordered it this way because He knew throughout human history that people would worship the creation rather than the Creator.\n\nSo what have people done throughout history?\u00a0 They\u2019ve worshiped the sun, s-u-n.\u00a0 And to refute that tendency in people God allowed light, I would assume coming from Himself, I think it\u2019s in \u00a01 Timothy chapter 6, you might want to look that up on your own, it talks about how God is clothed in unapproachable light.\u00a0 [1 Timothy 6:16, \u201cwho alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 So God, through Himself, allows light to exist before the sun because He\u2019s trying to get humanity to see that He is not dependent on some secondary source to give light. God doesn\u2019t need the sun to give light; God is pretty good at it and in the eternal state that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening.\u00a0 There is no sun, s-u-n because the Lamb is its light.\u00a0 And God, I believe, allows light to come into existence before the sun because of the human tendency in people to worship the created thing rather than the Creator.\n\nAnd over in the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 4 and verse 19 you\u2019ll see this tendency in people to worship the sun, s-u-n.\u00a0 Deuteronomy 4:19 says, \u201cAnd beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.\u201d\u00a0 God knew exactly what was in the human heart; He knew that they would worship the created thing rather than the Creator.\u00a0 They would worship the sun, the moon and the stars and so for God to permanently get this settled, said that\u2019s a silly thing to do, allowed light from Himself to come into existence before the sun comes into existence on Day four, showing humanity where the ultimate source of light is.\u00a0 Not the sun but God who created the sun.\n\nAnd that\u2019s how it\u2019s going to be all the way through the eternal state; there\u2019s not going to be a sun, there\u2019s not going to be a moon, there\u2019s not going to be stars, there\u2019s just going to be God!\u00a0 So it\u2019s a refutation in creation and in the eternal state of the human tendency to worship the luminaries instead of God.\u00a0 My point is the world that\u2019s being described here is so radically different it\u2019s just hard for me to believe that it\u2019s this world with a fresh coat of paint on it.\n\nHere is my fourth reason why I think that they eternal state is going to be an ex nihilo<\/em> creation. It\u2019s because of the verb aperchomai<\/em>, which is found in verse 1 of Revelation 21 and it\u2019s found in verse 4, just a few verses later.\u00a0 And look what it says.\u00a0 [Revelation 21:1] \u201cThen I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away,\u201d that\u2019s aperchomai<\/em>, \u201cand there is no longer any<\/em> sea.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Now what everybody today is trying to tell me is that\u2019s just renovation language.\u00a0 That\u2019s new creation language, that\u2019s renovation language.\u00a0 But notice the repetition of the exact same verb just a few verses later.\u00a0 Look at verse 4, Revelation 21, \u201cHe will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any<\/em> death; there will no longer be any<\/em> mourning, no longer be any crying, no longer be any pain; \u00a0for the first things have\u201d what? \u201cpassed away.\u201d Repetition of aperchomai<\/em>.\n\nSo how you treat the verb in verse 4 I think should control how you treat the verb in verse 1.\u00a0 I mean, what is the new world that\u2019s coming just God taking a death and putting a coat of fresh paint on it?\u00a0 Crying and putting a coat of fresh paint on it?\u00a0 Pain and putting a coat of fresh paint on it? No, those things are totally removed.\u00a0 They\u2019re a thing of the past, they\u2019re totally dissolved and if that verb cannot be describing renovation in verse 4 then why in the world would we think it\u2019s describing renovation just a few verses earlier?\u00a0 It\u2019s the repetition of the same verb by the same author in the same chapter in the exact same context.\n\nAnd then one other thing I\u2019ll bring to your attention then we\u2019ll call it a night.\u00a0 A lot of people build their renovation concept on 2 Peter 3:6.\u00a0 2 Peter 3:6 says\u2026 by the way, why is it that Peter talks more about the flood than any other biblical writer?\u00a0 Anybody know?\u00a0 He was a fisherman.\u00a0 Why is it that Luke talks more about the prenatal activities of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ than any other Biblical writer?\u00a0 He was a physician, Colossians 4:14 says that.\u00a0 [Colossians 4:14, \u201cLuke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas.\u201d]\n\nWhy is it that Luke says that when Judas killed himself his body fell off a cliff, the rocks tore open his body and his intestines gushed out?\u00a0 [Acts 1:18, \u201cNow this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.\u201d]\u00a0 I read that in Acts 1 and I say that\u2019s more information than I was looking for.\u00a0 If\u00a0 you\u2019re a physician or a doctor those things naturally come to you.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 Why is it that only in Matthew\u2019s Gospel do you have the story of Jesus and Peter going fishing and they catch a fish and they pull out of the fish a coin and they use that to pay\u2026 Jesus says to Peter use that to pay the temple tax.\u00a0 Why would Matthew be the only Gospel writer to talk about that story?\u00a0 Because Matthew is a tax collector.\u00a0 Why does Matthew talk about monetary sums more than anybody else?\u00a0 Talents, which are sums of money in that day, and so forth?\u00a0 Because Matthew is a tax collector.\n\nSo what you have to understand about inspiration is when God used these writers He did not override who they were.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 They were carried along by the Holy Spirit to pen God\u2019s Word but as they penned God\u2019s Word God was using their unique gifting, temperaments, skill set, life experiences to pen His Word.\u00a0 And that\u2019s\u00a0 called dual authorship.\u00a0 People say well did man write the Bible or did God write the Bible?\u00a0 And the answer is \u201cYES!\u201d\u00a0 Men wrote it using who they were, God never overrode who they were but He carried them along.\u00a0 The end of 2 Peter 1 tells to pen God\u2019s message.\n\nAnd when the devil takes over somebody in possession, in demon possession, he subverts the person.\u00a0 You\u2019ll find this when\u00a0 you read accounts of demon possessions in the New Testament.\u00a0 The devil comes into a person and completely subverts who they are.\u00a0 That\u2019s how the devil works.\u00a0 God, when He uses people, doesn\u2019t work that way.\u00a0 Even in inspiration He\u2019s using the uniqueness of who these people are because God is the author of those experiences and biographies as well as His Word.\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 Do you see that?\u00a0\u00a0 So anyway, that\u2019s a little sidebar.\n\nBut 2 Peter 3:6 people say, \u201cthrough which the world\u201d three-quarters cosmos, \u201cat that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.\u201d\u00a0 Now people that believe that the new heavens and new earth is just a renovation, they say well look at the word \u201cdestroyed\u201d there, when God destroyed this world through the flood He didn\u2019t annihilate the world; the world continued on, didn\u2019t it?\u00a0 It was cleansed, the Nephilim were cleansed off the earth, those strange creatures that you see coming into existence in Genesis 6, God sent the flood as judgment.\u00a0 The Nephilim were cleansed off the earth but when Noah got out of the boat it was still this world, right.\u00a0 So people say well, renovation makes perfect sense, look at that word \u201cdestroyed.\u201d\u00a0 When God \u201cdestroyed\u201d this world He didn\u2019t annihilate it, He just renovated it.\u00a0 And so they think that\u2019s what God is going to do when He establishes the new heavens and new earth; He\u2019s just going to sort of renovate it as well and not annihilate this earth.\u00a0 And they build their whole case from this word \u201cdestroyed\u201d from 3 Peter 3:6.\n\nBut what you have to understand is the word \u201cworld\u201d there is not talking about the earth.\u00a0 It\u2019s talking about the people.\u00a0 Many times in the Bible cosmos<\/em> is not making a statement about\u00a0 the globe, it\u2019s making a statement about the people.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 You all know John 3:16, \u201cFor God so loved the world,\u201d now what is he talking about there?\u00a0 Is he talking about the globe or is he talking about the people on the earth?\u00a0 He\u2019s talking about the people.\n\nSo when 2 Peter 3:6 says, \u201cthrough which the world\u201d cosmos, \u201cat that time was destroyed\u201d and people want to build sort of a renovation case out of that word destroyed they\u2019re not understanding here that Peter is not primarily dealing with the impact of the water on planet earth.\u00a0 He\u2019s dealing with the impact of the water on the population.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why it\u2019s only through the writings of the Apostle Peter that we discover that only eight were saved.\u00a0\u00a0 Who would those eight be?\u00a0 Noah, and Mrs. Noah, then you\u2019ve got Noah\u2019s three sons, Ham, Shem and Japheth, and their respective wives, eight total in the ark.\u00a0 So this word \u201cdestroyed\u201d here\u00a0 is not making a statement about the planet; it\u2019s making a statement about the people.\u00a0 So therefore you can\u2019t, I don\u2019t think,\u00a0 use 2 Peter 3:6 to argue for a meaning of destroyed which also applies to what Peter says later on in the chapter concerning the dissolution of this earth.\n\nAll of that to say I believe that the world that\u2019s coming is going to be a brand new ex nihilo<\/em> creation.\u00a0 Why do I think that?\u00a0\u00a0 Five reasons:\u00a0 Number 1, sin has contaminated this whole world so God has to get rid of it.\u00a0 Number 2, Peter\u2019s description of how it dissolved.\u00a0 Number 3, the total topographical changes that will exist in the new world pertaining to the ocean and the luminaries.\u00a0 Number 4, the repetition of aperchomai<\/em>, that\u2019s used in verse 1 and verse 4 of Revelation 21.\u00a0 And then finally number 5, the analogy that is used in verse 6, the focus is in the wrong place.\u00a0 Peter is not talking about the planet, he\u2019s talking about the people.\u00a0 So I think the thousand year kingdom is the renovation but the new heavens and new earth is going to be an ex nihilo<\/em> new creation.\n\nSo we\u2019ve learned, number 1, the order.\u00a0 First comes the office of theocratic administrator\u2019s reassertion, then the eternal state.\u00a0 And number 2, we\u2019ve learned that we think, at least I think, that the coming new heavens and earth is not a renovation, like the millennial kingdom was, it\u2019s a new creation entirely.\n\nSo we\u2019ll keep marching through that list next time.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t