GOD’S Purpose with the EARTH
God’s Purpose with the EARTH
WHAT IS GOD’S TRUE PURPOSE WITH THE EARTH AND CREATION?
God’s very Purpose with the Earth is stated in one verse by an oath “as truly as I live (says God) all the earth will be filled with the Glory of the LORD” Numbers 14:21
See this Article which explains what God’s Kingdom on Earth will be like
God’s word sets out for us just how He will accomplish this.
Just How God wanted to achieve this in the beginning is made clear: “And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:28 ASV)
“For thus saith The LORD that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am The LORD; and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:18 ASV)
“For evil–doers shall be cut off; But those that wait for The LORD, they shall inherit the land. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (Psalm 37:9-11 ASV)
“The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell therein forever.” (Psalm 37:29 ASV)
“For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it.” (Proverbs 2:21-22 ASV)
“After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” (Matthew 6:9-10 ASV)
So with all these verses in mind (there are many more we could add) it is clear that God’s Purpose has to do with Firstly His Glory and Secondly Righteous People.
In Exodus 33:18 Moses asks God “I beseech thee, show me your glory”, and in reponse God (actually it was the angel representing God) revealed to Moses a Glorious Character which is God’s Character. In Exodus 34:6 “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty…”
And so from this and the rest of the Bible we learn that God’s very Purpose is to Cover this Earth with a People who will show in their own lives His Glorious Character. What a wonderful purpose this is and how wonderful for us to be invited to be a part of this.
Literal earth stays in existence.
“Who laid the foundations of the earth, That it should not be moved for ever.” (Psalm 104:5 ASV)
“Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.” (Psalm 119:90 ASV)
“One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever.” (Ecclesiastes 1:4 ASV)
Men can not change Gods intention.
“And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and [the time] to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:18 ASV)
“so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 ASV)
“For The LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:27 ASV)
Symbolic earth shall be abolished.
“but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” (2 Peter 3:7 ASV)
“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come [and] be gathered together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.” (Revelation 19:17-18 ASV)
“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone:” (Revelation 19:20 ASV)
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.” (Revelation 21:1 ASV)
“A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for The LORD hath a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, saith The LORD.” (Jeremiah 25:31 ASV)
“And the slain of The LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground.” (Jeremiah 25:33 ASV)
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” (Isaiah 13:9 ASV)
Liberation.
“And as [were] the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man.” (Matthew 24:37-39 ASV)
“that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water:” (1 Peter 3:20 ASV)
“And every living thing was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark.” (Genesis 7:23 ASV)
“but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:29-30 ASV)
“Then The LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from The LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before The LORD: and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.” (Genesis 19:24-29 ASV)
“Behold, The LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.” (Isaiah 24:1 ASV)
“The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly laid waste; for The LORD hath spoken this word.” (Isaiah 24:3 ASV)
“Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” (Isaiah 24:6 ASV)
“For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed [his] righteous soul from day to day with [their] lawless deeds): the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment;” (2 Peter 2:4-9 ASV)
Godless shall be cut off and righteous to stay alive.
“The LORD preserveth all them that love him; But all the wicked will he destroy.” (Psalm 145:20 ASV)
“The righteous shall never be removed; But the wicked shall not dwell in the land.” (Proverbs 10:30 ASV)
“For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed [his] righteous soul from day to day with [their] lawless deeds): the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment;” (2 Peter 2:4-9 ASV)
“The wicked are overthrown, and are not; But the house of the righteous shall stand.” (Proverbs 12:7 ASV)
“In the way of righteousness is life; And in the pathway thereof there is no death.” (Proverbs 12:28 ASV)
Blessings by the Kingdom of God shall come unto those who live on the earth.
Reign from heaven and God’s Kingdom on the earth.
“After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” (Matthew 6:9-10 ASV)
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” (Matthew 25:1 ASV)
“I saw in the night–visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14 ASV)
“And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (Daniel 2:44 ASV)
“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice.” (Isaiah 32:1 ASV)
“Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, Whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth.” (Psalm 45:16 ASV)
There shall be justice.
“But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13 ASV)
“inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31 ASV)
“And his delight shall be in the fear of The LORD; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.” (Isaiah 11:3-5 ASV)
“With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” (Isaiah 26:9 ASV)
“In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (Jeremiah 33:15 ASV)
“but of the Son [he saith], Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Hebrews 1:8-9 ASV)
Health and happiness.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God: and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4 ASV)
“Happy is the people that is in such a case; [Yea], happy is the people whose God is The LORD.” (Psalm 144:15 ASV)
“And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” (Isaiah 65:21-22 ASV)
Children shall be brought up under good circumstances.
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” (Isaiah 65:17 ASV)
“They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of The LORD, and their offspring with them.” (Isaiah 65:23 ASV)
“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1 ASV)
“And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.” (Isaiah 11:5 ASV)
“And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of The LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:8-9 ASV)
Dead shall stand up in Resurrection.
“Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29 ASV)
“having hope toward God, which these also themselves look for, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust.” (Acts 24:15 ASV)
“Women received their dead by a resurrection: and others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:” (Hebrews 11:35 ASV)
“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] of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.” (Revelations 20:12-13 ASV)
Eternal life for those who prove to be obedient.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 ASV)
“and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation;” (Hebrews 5:9 ASV)
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.” (Revelations 21:1 ASV)
“and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.” (Revelations 21:4 ASV)
“For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be abolished is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26 ASV)
“He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord The LORD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for The LORD hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 25:8 ASV)
“And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, [even] the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14 ASV)
Whole humanity shall be united to honor the one true God.
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of The LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9 ASV)
“For thy Maker is thy husband; The LORD of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.” (Isaiah 54:5 ASV)
“And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith The LORD.” (Isaiah 66:23 ASV)
Earth shall become a Paradise under God’s Kingdom on Earth
“And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom. And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To–day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43 ASV)
“And The LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” (Genesis 2:8 ASV)
“And The LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15 ASV)
“I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit;” (Ecclesiastes 2:5 ASV)
Necessaries of life in abundance.
“There shall be abundance of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” (Psalm 72:16 ASV)
“The earth hath yielded its increase: God, even our own God, will bless us.” (Psalm 67:6 ASV)
“And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am The LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them.” (Ezekiel 34:27 ASV)
Everywhere shall be peace and certainty.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even forever. The zeal of The LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7 ASV)
“and he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning–hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig–tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of The LORD of hosts hath spoken it.” (Micah 4:3-4 ASV)
“And he will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning–hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4 ASV)
“Come, behold the works of The LORD, What desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariots in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah” (Psalm 46:8-11 ASV)
“And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am The LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them.” (Ezekiel 34:25-27 ASV)
Animals and humans shall live in peace with each other.
“And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of The LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9 ASV)
“And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the land, and will make them to lie down safely.” (Hosea 2:18 ASV)
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