Are We Heading for Heaven or Staying on Earth When Yeshua Messiah Returns?

Question: Are We Heading for Heaven or Staying on Earth When Yeshua Messiah Returns?

In keeping with our renewed aim to include a question and answer session in Sabbath Thoughts and Reflection installments, I reviewed my list of questions and came to this question: When Messiah returns, are we going to heaven or are we staying here on earth?

I felt this was an excellent question that so many Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah have, especially coming in to the Hebrew Roots Faith from fundamental and charismatic Christianity. Unfortunately, or fortunately—depending on how you look at it—as I sat down to answer the question using scripture as the basis for my thesis, I found that I could not answer this question with appropriate proofs in just a short amount of time. It soon became clear to me that this question would have to be the primary focus-content of this installment of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections.

Therefore, I would say that you prepare yourselves for a somewhat lengthy dissertation on the subject and maybe take some notes as I will be referencing a ton of biblical passages to support my contentions.

The Traditional Christian Belief

Without going too much into the belief systems that exist around this question, most of us are aware of the wide acceptance among Christians and even some Hebrew Rooters that born-again believers in Yeshua will, upon Messiah’s return, be raptured up to heaven where they will dwell with Messiah for all eternity.

There is a gross problem with this tradition, doctrine and belief however. There is no biblical basis for it whatsoever. This tradition, doctrine and belief is based upon paganistic, mythological traditions and beliefs that span centuries before our Master walked this earth. These beliefs and traditions were adopted and ultimately woven into Jewish and Christian cultures respectively over the centuries, and amazingly, those same beliefs and traditions remain even today.

The irony in all this is that, despite the overwhelming, gross lack of any biblical evidence supporting heaven being the destination of the saved, most Christians and some Hebrew Rooters truly believe the bible supports the heaven claim. This belief is so strong that it’s intricately woven into prayers, countless sermons, songs of worship and in evangelistic witnessing practices where potential converts are promised a free ticket to heaven if they simply say the sinners’ prayer and give their hearts to Jesus Christ.

How Do We Get to the Bottom of this Thing?

In order for us to accurately determine the ultimate future abode of the true children of Yahovah/Yahuah/Yahweh our Elohim—that is, whether or not they will be raptured and go eternally up to heaven and hang out with the angels and live in lavishly adorned mansions and such; or remain here on earth in a renewed paradise that Master will ultimately turn over to His Father—I believe we must establish 3-things:

1. Our purpose as Children of the Most High Elohim and as disciples of Yeshua Messiah.

2. Our true identities in Yeshua Messiah. And…

3. An understanding of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Yahovah and the Renewed Covenant.

Without a firm understanding of these 3-crucial pieces of information, any scenario, especially the raptured to heaven scenario, are easy ones for any would be believer in Messiah to swallow.

Heaven Sounds So Inviting

I will concede that Christianity’s fairy-tale of a perfect heavenly abode as believers’ ultimate destination sounds so inviting to the human heart and mind that may have grown especially weary of this world.

When we think of heaven, thoughts of pristine streets of gold, lights shining 24/7, natural and unimaginable beauty all around, angels scurrying about their eternal tasks and singing in impromptu choirs, saints of old hanging out on park benches telling any who will listen their story of times long ago, the opportunity to stare into the face of Jesus Christ for all eternity, and ole earth along with her many ills and pains and troubles, all but a distant and vanishing memory easily resonates with any who wants eternal peace, love and joy. It’s over yonder where the rolls are called and the sweet by and by’s are dreamily played out before us in an unending refrain; where we reunite with once dead loved ones and relive those good times. No more crying, sickness, evil, and most importantly, no more death.

Heaven then is of course a more desirable destination than earth. I mean, who wants to remain here on earth. Any believer of course with half a brain and sense about them would choose to believe in a heavenly destination over that of earth. And add to that the thought that our dearly beloved who have died and gone on before us: heaven offers us a slight respite from the pain that death places upon the human psyche. We all want to believe that our dearly departed loved ones are anxiously awaiting our arrival in some far distant, but loving and beautiful place.

Heaven and Reality

The heaven scenario helps in part dispel the hard reality that when humans die, they are dead—that they cease to exist—that their spirit is withdrawn from their bodies and their bodies/souls simply return to the dust from whence it came. There’s no coming back from death. And everyone who has ever lived and who is currently living, if Master tarries, has an appointment with death.

Unfortunately, death has a very painful sting and its power is absolute. Death is no respecter of person. Death is no respecter of time and only in the rarest of circumstances, it is never fair.

Thus the only hope that one has as it relates to each soul’s appointment with death is that the Creator of the Universe will reunite every believer’s withdrawn spirit with a new body (since the old body will ultimately decay and fade away). This is the hope of every believer in Yeshua Messiah and it is supported by scripture. The question, then, becomes one of: once spirits are reunited with renewed and translated bodies, where will the believer spend eternity? I truly believe the bible gives us a clear answer to this question.

Purpose—Identity—the Kingdom of Yahovah

As I just mentioned, in order to fully ascertain the destination of true believers in Yeshua Messiah and not be taken by pagan-fairy tales of the role being called up yonder, we must understanding what our purpose is as children of the Most High Elohim; understand our identity as Torah Observant Believers of Yeshua Messiah; and understand the Gospel of the Kingdom of Yahovah and the Renewed Covenant.

Now, there’s no way I can expound upon all 3 of these elements of understanding in the time I have remaining in this installment. Each of these elements, in and of themselves, can easily be the focus-content of a number of installments of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections.

So to avoid getting bogged down in a reflection on these 3-elements of understanding, permit me to provide a quick, but simple explanation of each.

1. Our purpose as it relates to being children of the Most High Elohim is found in our identities and in the broader understanding of the Kingdom of Yahovah and the Renewed Covenant. When we were carried out of Egypt as if on eagles’ wings and we settled at the base of Mount Sinai, we were given a purpose: we were to be unto Yahovah, our redeemer, a kingdom of priests and an holy nation (Exodus 19:6). Sadly, we never fully realized that purpose. However, Father’s plan for mankind included a redo of this purpose for His select people. This very same purpose will be carried through in the world tomorrow, whereby we will be a kingdom of priests and a holy people unto Yahovah our Elohim (Revelation 1:6; 5:10; and 20:6).

Now let me ask you this: if we’re slated to live in heaven for all eternity when Messiah returns, what purpose would there be in us being a kingdom of priests in heaven? Who would we be interceding for as priests and what priestly duties in heaven would we be doing? Let’s just chew upon that for a moment.

2. Our identity as children of the Most High Elohim is that of sheer and absolute royalty. We are nothing less than children of Yahovah—citizens of heaven (Luke 20:36; Romans 8:16; 31; Galatians 3:26; I John 3:10). (Now don’t get confused by the moniker “citizen of heaven.” Just because your diplomatic documents identify you as a citizen of heaven, it doesn’t mean that you physically reside in heaven. What it really means is that your authority and purpose comes from heaven. Your abode, however, is earth.)

The whole concept of having and raising children is built around the concept of a set of parents reproducing themselves. The same principle somewhat holds true here: We have a heavenly Father who seeks to produce a race of beings that are made in His image—that is, having the same attributes that He possesses.

Adam was made in Yahovah’s image (Genesis 1:26, 27; 9:6). Contrary to traditional thinking, every person who descended from Adam was made in their parents’ image, not in the image of Yahovah. Adam was made perfect in all aspects of his being—He was like His creator in all attributive respects. Yet Adam fell. Since the fall, the only man to be made in the image of Yahovah—which is perfect in all aspects–is the 2nd Adam, Yeshua Messiah. Master Yeshua, Yah’s Son, successfully filled the prescription of being the perfect man and upon His death, burial and resurrection, He was deemed the first fruits of Abba’s human creation (I Corinthians 15:23). From there, all those who follow in Yeshua’s footsteps become sons and daughters of Yahovah our Elohim. And as we grow in the Faith through the agency of the Holy Spirit, we progressively conform to the splitting image of Yeshua our Master and we ultimately become a member of Yahovah’s family.

Now, the pathway to being a child of Yahovah was severed by the fall of Adam #1, who was created perfect and in the image of the Creator. Thus we were not the children of Yahovah, but children of darkness (Ephesians 5:8).

The 2nd Adam came to establish the pathway by which the descendants of Adam 1 could ultimately become Yahovah’s children. You see, Father has started everything on this earth all over again, and we are simply the middle rungs of His ladder leading to an ultimate restoration of all things here on earth. It began here on earth and will end here on earth. Heaven was never in the picture as it relates to mankind, especially mankind becoming children of the Creator.

3. The Kingdom of Yahovah is the whole kit and caboodle as it relates to the restoration of creation back to the way Father always intended it to be. It is the establishing of a literal kingdom here on earth whereby Yeshua will head the restoration methods and select members of His family will be given key roles in assisting Him in that 1,000-year restoration project. It’s a vast undertaking that will actually employ some of us to help make this restoration successful and wonderful.

And the way all this happens is by Father writing His way of life, no longer on tablets of stone whereby man’s sinful nature prevents him/her from living it, but instead Yahovah’s prescribed way of life is intrinsically implanted in the very fibers of our being through the work of His Holy Spirit (Hebrews 8). Thus, we conform to the image of His Son Yeshua Messiah, and we begin to fulfill the purpose that was originally set before us: being a holy people and a nation of priests unto Yahovah our Elohim. Heaven has nothing to do with this scenario, apart from it being the current dwelling place of our Creator and our Master Yeshua, the angels, the 24-elders and the beasts that inhabit the throne room of Yahovah.

We can Now Discern the Truth About Heaven and Earth as Man’s Destination

There’s astoundingly good news that grossly overshadows the Greek-mythological construct of Christianity’s contrived paradigm of heaven as the ultimate destination for Christian believers. If one can grasp, to the fullest extent possible, the things that we now know about our purpose, identity and the Kingdom of Yahovah, then the whole concept of heaven being a believer’s ultimate destination becomes not only child’s folly. I will further submit to you that the false gospel of believers residing eternally in heaven, from a humanistic standpoint, is less desirable than the truth of the Kingdom of Yahovah being established here on earth and God’s elect reigning with Yeshua from Jerusalem.

Somehow we must get beyond this contrived notion that earth must be foreign to those of us who call Yahovah our God and Yeshua our Saviour and Master. Earth was, is, and always will be the abode of humans—in whatever form he/she may take, be it flesh and blood or spiritual. Have there been or are there humans now residing in heaven? Personally, I believe the answer is yes and no. Yes, I believe Father may have afforded a select group of humans a place in heaven; and I’m specifically referring to the 24-elders that are seated about the throne of Yahovah (Revelation 4:4, 10; 5:8,14: 11:16; 19:4). The authorized versions of the Bible mention this group of beings some 6-times in the Book of Revelation. I personally believe these individuals to be human beings, but human beings who have been translated into spirit beings, and that’s the “no” aspect to my answer to the question of whether humans have and are now residing in heaven. These unique beings are in the presence of Yahovah 24/7 and likely have been so for centuries of time, and thus they could not exist as humans as we know humans to exist today. These would have to exist in some form suitable for dwelling in the presence of Yahovah for centuries of time.

But keep in mind: nowhere do we read in the Revelation account about loved-ones residing in heaven.

The 24-Elders Around the Creator’s Throne

I guess one could argue that when any human is privileged to be in the direct presence of Yahovah, time, space and life as we know it, stands still. We know that Moses was called up to the Mountain of Yah where He lived, communed and worshiped the Creator, for extended periods of time.

There’s also that passage where Moses was called up to the presence of Yahovah along with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and some 70-elders of Israel (Exodus 24). I would encourage you to read this amazing passage when you get the chance, for here we read where we as a people agreed to the terms of the covenant that Father laid out before us. After the covenant was ratified with blood, Father called up to Himself representatives of our nation to commune with Him on His Holy Mountain, to be in His presence. (Look, Father absolutely loves to hang out with His kids—He’s truly a Father in every sense of the title and descriptor.)

As I just mentioned, before this auspicious event, the covenant was ratified with sacrifices and the sprinkling of blood upon us (verses 5-8) and we unanimously agreed to the covenant and to obey Yahovah our Elohim. It was after this ceremony that Father invited Moses and His cabinet (if you will) up the mountain to commune with Him (verse 9) and all who attended saw the glory of the Most High and lived to tell about it.

You see, it was a well known and believed fact that humans who for whatever reason saw a manifestation of Yahovah would suffer instant death. There are a number of passages attesting to this belief throughout scripture, to include Genesis 16:13; 32:30; especially 33:20, where Father Himself certified that no man will ever see His face and live.

Continuing on: many on both sides of the aisle have fingered folks like Enoch, Moses and Elijah as potential candidates for human existence in heaven. I’ve read the pros and cons of this argument and I have to say that for me, the jury is still out on whether or not any of or all 3 of these heroes of the Tanakh have ever or are presently residing in heaven. Certainly, our Father is sovereign and All Powerful, and He can do whatever He chooses to do within the realm of His established holiness and righteousness (i.e., He will do whatever He chooses to do without violating His own rules of holiness and righteousness—Isaiah 55:8,9).

We could get into endless debate as to who and what the 24-elders are. Yet Father has chosen not to reveal their identity to us beyond simply they being 24-elders. There are some things that belong to our Father that is frankly none of our business. It was when we were dwelling in Moab and rededicating ourselves to the broken covenant, just prior to our entering the land of promise and our sojourn in the desert some 40-years, that Moses reaffirmed the covenant and reminded us the following:

“The secret things belong to Yahovah our Elohim, but the things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Torah (Deuteronomy 29:29; ASV corrected).”

And it was when Master’s handpicked disciples had gathered with Him on the Mount of Olives on the day of His ascension that Master responded to a question regarding the timing of the establishing of the Kingdom of Yahovah—NOT IN HEAVEN BUT HERE ON EARTH. Master shut down the speculation pretty quickly with the following admonishment:

“…It is not for you to know the times and epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority (Acts 1:7; NAS).”

We clearly see here that Master never adjusted His disciples’ thinking on this issue. Earth had always been the destination and location of the coming Kingdom of Yahovah. Period. Master could have very easily set the record straight and moved the discussion to heaven as THE destination and location of the Kingdom of Yahovah.

Destination for Believers is No Secret

Nevertheless, the future abode of humans seems to be something that Father did not keep to Himself. In fact, Father, through the teachings of Yeshua our Master, His prophets of old and the Apostle Paul, firmly established a future for believers in Yeshua Messiah on this earth. None of these individuals ever so much as hinted of a time when man would ultimately reside in heaven. In fact, our very own Master, Himself, spoke of His own return to earth where He Himself would reside and establish the Kingdom of His Father.

A Legacy Built Upon Lies

Despite numerous biblical passages to the contrary, fundamental, charismatic Christianity, and dare I say many Hebrew Roots and Messianic believers, maintain that the destiny of Yahovah’s elect is heaven proper.

Like so many of you, I, growing up in the Baptist Church of my youth, vividly recall hearing sermons and singing songs during Sunday worship services, that heralded a time in the future when we would reunite with long lost loved ones who proceeded us in death; who had gone on to heaven, where we’d all walk the streets of gold, sing in the hallelujah choir and gaze into the face of Jesus for all eternity.

I will admit, those heaven-based sermons and songs were joyous and comforting thoughts for the countless souls who had heavy hearts, weighed down by the cares of a hard life and the deaths of loved ones. It just felt good to believe in such a thing. It became quite obvious that Christ would rapture us from this earthly plane and take us to be with Him in heaven for all eternity. Did He not tell us that He was going to prepare a place for us; and that in His Father’s house was many mansions; and that where He went there we would be also? Besides, the earth holds so much pain. No one in their right spiritual mind would want to remain here on earth for an eternity. Earth was just not a good place.

Yet I always found it quite interesting that no one, in their right mind, wanted to die; no one wanted to depart this world and go off to heaven, that is unto such a time that there would be no hope and that death was imminent and inevitable. Or for that matter, no one wanted their loved ones to die either. Not that Christians would have a suicide mindset, but with all the focus on going to the most desirous place ever to exist, why were we so earth-bent in our mindset and behavior and fought death with every fiber of our being.

We spin and toil for the things of this life and we do everything we possibly can to sustain our lives here on earth (i.e., when it comes to medicine and the trappings of life). It would seem to me that we would not fear death and even look forward to leaving this earthly plane for heaven. Right? Yet this is far from the conventional behaviors and mindsets of most every Christian believer who has ever lived.

Nevertheless, all this is beside the point: Scripture does not in any way support heaven as the future destination of humans, plain and simple.

Every ancient and present day culture and religion, have varying and similar concepts of heaven being the ultimate destination of righteous people. I could spend hours expounding upon this aspect of heaven alone (which I find quite fascinating), but I will force myself to stay on topic and address the question at hand: will we go to heaven or remain on earth after the end of days? I’ve pretty much given you my definitive answer already—those of us who are of Yahovah, are destined to reside here on earth with our Master once He comes and establishes the Kingdom of His Father, to be headquartered in Jerusalem.

However, before presenting scriptural proofs of this claim, allow me to expound briefly upon the erroneous concept of being raptured up to heaven to reside with Jesus Christ for all eternity.

The concept of heaven being the ultimate abode of saved humans did not originate with Christ’s resurrection and the first century church. In fact, the concept of humans earning a home in some heavenly abode for living a goodly prescribed life goes way back to the ancient mystery religions of Babylon, Egypt and Greece. Interestingly, all 3-ancient cultures’ concepts of humans going off to heaven after living the prescribed good life, have striking similarities, with of course, a few variations.

Consequently, bits and parts of each of these cultural and religious concepts of heaven were brought with us out of Egypt during our Exodus; add to those Babylonian concepts of heaven held by the surrounding nations; and after residing in the land of promise and enduring both Babylonian and Greek dominance, it was a natural inevitability that such concepts of heaven would be infused into our Hebrew-based culture (e.g., the Bosom of Abraham and the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus) and ultimately Christian doctrine and beliefs.

Samuele Bacchiocchi, PhD., renown 7th Day Adventist scholar, did a phenomenal work on the subject of popular Christian Beliefs that may or may not be based on the Bible, including the subject of the afterlife. If you are interested in reading this piece, drop me an email and I’ll happily forward a PDF copy to you to review at your convenience.

The Destination Heaven Touters

Many would point to Paul’s revelation recorded in the 4th chapter of I Thessalonians as “proof-positive” that believers will, at some point in the end times, be raptured from this earth, up to heaven, to live with Jesus Christ for all eternity. But is this famous passage truly saying what so many millions of Christian and Messianics are hoping that it’s saying? Let’s take a quick look at this passage and break it down a little to see exactly what Paul is and is not saying.

Now this is one of Paul’s many “I would not have you to be ignorant…” passages that ironically, so many simply gloss over and leave after reading it, still ignorant of what Paul is trying to get across to us. So let’s start, for context sake, at verse 13, and the passage reads:

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you would not sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Yahoshua died and was raised again, so also those who sleep in Yahoshua will Yahovah bring with Him. For we say this to you by the word of Yahovah, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Savior will by no means precede those who are asleep. For Yahoshua Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the malak gadol (i.e., the archangel), and with the trumpet of Yahovah. And the dead in Messiah will be raised first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet Yahoshua in the air; and so will we ever be with Yahoshua (I Thess. 4:13-17; Book of Yahweh, adjusted).”

This revelation is addressing the First Resurrection and what some famously call the Great Rapture. I’m not opposed, as many in our community, to the term “rapture.” Indeed, a snatching away of some sort, as the term suggests, is clearly indicated by this passage, specifically verses 16 and 17.

But the central verse that seems to get most “destination heaven” believers excited is verse 17 which speaks of the dead in Messiah along with the living who will be translated in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye (I Corinthians 15:52). In this verse, the Apostle Paul states that the translated living will be caught up together with the newly resurrected dead in Messiah and thus will ever be with Yahoshua. However, what most folks fail to read, closely that is, is the specifics of where the raptured souls will be caught up to: that being, the clouds, where they have an appointment to meet in the air and begin their eternal dwelling with the Master. Many believe this moment in time to be the “Great Marriage Supper of the Lamb,” where resurrected and translated saints come together and commune with their Master after a long separation (Revelation 19:9). Here the saints celebrate their marriage to Master Yahoshua for a brief season in anticipation of Messiah’s triumphant return to the earth to establish His Millennial Kingdom and restore paradise lost.

What this passage did not say was that the translated and resurrected saints would meet with Master and then go on up to heaven to remain there for all eternity. The fact that Paul says that we will remain with Yeshua simply means that we will always be with Yeshua our Master from that time forward—that the time for separation has come to an end—that the bridegroom has come and we, Master’s bride, will be united with Him and begin our life together with Him forever.

You can’t squeeze heaven as the ultimate destination of translated and resurrected men and women from this passage if you are true to what is contextually written.

Biblical Support for Earth Being the Ultimate Destination for the Saints of Yahovah

So at this juncture, let us turn to some biblical passages that support earth being the ultimate destination of the saints when Master returns and that, in my mind, debunk the long-taught and believed doctrines and teachings that heaven is the ultimate, eternal destination of the resurrected and translated saints in the end times. What follows are what I consider to be scriptural proof passages that support the belief that we who are Messiah’s will have an amazing, indescribable and extremely productive life here on earth, serving and co-reigning with our older brother and King, Yeshua HaMashiyach.

Understanding Abba’s Way of Life is Essential. Thus there will be a training period here on earth, unlike any that man has seen since our sojourn in Sinai as a nation of people.

John 6:22-45—here we find the story of crowds of people that had previously been fed miraculously by Master, now seeking after him, not to learn about the Kingdom of Yah, but to fetch another meal. Yet in His explanation to them about the True Bread in which they should be seeking, Master gives us a glimpse into the end times in which He will raise up those who are His—none who are His will be lost—in the last days. Then Master references a passage from the Prophet Isaiah where it is prophesied that Yahovah will teach us who are His and peace will be our lot (Isaiah 54:13). Peace comes to those who truly Shema to our God’s commandments (Isaiah 48:18; Psalm 119:165).

The way to visualize this whole scenario is from a family standpoint. Father has from the beginning yearned to have a family that He can call His own; formed and fashioned in His image. As any good Father, Yahovah finds great pleasure and joy in teaching His sons and daughters. Such will be our lot in the Kingdom, whereby He will teach us His ways and we will prosper and grow and become truly His children. I have to say, in all of the sermons, songs and commentaries that I heard in my youth about going to heaven, I never heard anything mentioned about being taught the ways of Yahovah.

God’s family living here on earth?

Romans 8:18-30–It is imperative that we first understand who and what we are before we can truly appreciate where our physical destinies will be in the world tomorrow. We are sons and daughters of Yahovah—we are the children that Father always desired to have when He first created Adam. Adam failed and we lost our pedigree in a sense. But the second Adam re-established the opportunity for regaining that pedigree. Thus, those of us who are of His, we are children of the Most High and He is our Father. There’s coming a time when the earth will be released from its corrupt state upon the revealing of the sons and daughters of Yahovah. All of creation over millennia was allowed to devolve to its current state in anticipation of the appearing of the children of Yahovah. As the ages pass, all of creation groans and suffers as if in the throws of birth pains, awaiting those of us who will have been reborn and conformed to the image of Yeshua our Master.

Hebrews 2:10–The Suffering Messiah’s mission when He walked this earth was to open that narrow gate and establish the way by which many sons and daughters of Yahovah would be produced. Recall that originally, this was supposed to happen through the first Adam. But when Adam failed to lead a line of children that would be sons and daughters of the Most High, Father required the 2nd Adam to pick up where the 1st Adam failed.

Yeshua returns to the earth and with brutal force establish His kingdom.

Rev. 19:11-16—here we read of Yeshua returning to the earth, this time, as the conquering King—wearing a robe that has been dipped in blood, riding a white horse, wearing a crown—Who comes to right that which is wrong and set in place the Kingdom of the Most High Elohim (vss. 11-15). Accompanying Him is an army of beings arrayed in white robes riding white horses (vs. 14). (I would submit to you that those beings accompanying Master wearing white robes are the Saints of the Most High—Yah’s children—Master’s royal cabinet.) Yeshua will have written a name on His vesture that describes Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (vs. 16). Here we see evidence that He is returning to the earth and will usurp authority over all rulers and nations of the earth. This visit to earth will be unlike Master’s first, for this time Master will return as the conquering king that He is and rule this planet with a rod of iron. Paradise lost—Paradise will be restored!

Yeshua is now seated at the right-hand of Yahovah our Elohim. Nevertheless, He is slated to return to earth to reward His servants, punish the incorrigible, and restore paradise lost.

Luke 19:11-27—Rood’s Chronology places the telling of this parable of the Nobleman about a week prior to His crucifixion, which makes total sense given the context of the story. Master’s disciples indeed felt excitement over what was taking place in the ministry and anticipation of the advent of the of Kingdom of Yahovah was palpable. Thus the Spirit led Master to address this elephant in the room, so to speak, through the telling of this vivid parable. The Nobleman, according to the story, left money with his servants and told them to occupy till He returned from His trip to a far away country. (The money–i.e., pounds as the story describes) represents the Gospel of the Kingdom/Master’s teachings, which has great value. The Nobleman goes away on His trip. In the interim, the Nobleman’s citizens rebel and demand that He no longer serve as their master. The Nobleman eventually returns to his realm and calls in His servants so that they may give an account of the funds that their Master left behind for them to work with. Each servant gave his accounting of how he managed the funds that were entrusted to him by the master. The servants reaped varying rewards on the funds entrusted to them, prompting the Nobleman to bestow upon each honorable responsibilities commensurate with their handling of the entrusted funds (i.e., the Gospel and teachings of Yeshua). The story does mention one servant that did nothing with the funds entrusted to him and in response the Nobleman stripped that money from him and gave it to the servant that produced the most return for the entrusted funds. No added honorable responsibilities were applied to the negligent servant. Those citizens that rebelled against the Nobleman were rounded up and destroyed.

This parable is a brilliant adaptation to the coming millennial kingdom. Here we see that the Master returns to His original realm, seeks an accounting of what His servants had done, bestows unto them appropriate rewards and added responsibilities, and destroys those who rebelled against Him—these being aptly named by some as the incorrigibles. The storyline here does not speak of the Nobleman’s servants being called to the far-off country (a symbol of heaven) to give an accounting of the funds (that being the Gospel) and be awarded responsibilities. The Nobleman returned to His original realm (a symbol of earth). The servants remained in the original realm (earth) and were given responsibilities in that realm to govern on behalf of their master.

Acts 1:4-11—Here we see, weeks after Master’s resurrection, that He gathers His disciples on the Mount of Olives and instructs them on what He required of them while He was gone (i.e., gone to that far off country—that being heaven). They were to essentially, (1) wait there in Jerusalem for the “promise of the Father which they had heard from Him” (and that being the administration of the Holy Spirit); and (2) be His witnesses in Jerusalem, all of Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the Earth. Someone asked Master if He would establish His Kingdom there in Jerusalem at that time. Of course we know that Master corrected them by answering that it was none of their business as to when Father would restore the Kingdom and that it was their job to do what He was instructing them to do. This simple, short story, contains a powerful indication that Father was planning on restoring the Kingdom here on earth. Nothing was spoken to the disciples about their going up to heaven to hang out with Master for all eternity. Nothing. In fact, once Master ascended into heaven, a pair of likely Messengers (i.e., angels) informed the disciples that

“this same Yeshua who was just taken up from you into heaven, shall return in the same way that you saw Him go.”

Hebrews 8 is an overview of the Renewed Covenant. The Renewed Covenant in great part will be the spiritual re-igniting of the covenant that Father attempted to establish with us at the base of Mount Sinai. The original covenant was that Father would be our God if we obeyed His commandments. We failed to keep His commandments, resulting in the breaking of that initial covenant. This new covenant, although I believe it has already begun in great earnest, will come to its full manifestation in the world tomorrow, when physical Israel will experience the scales dropping from their eyes, they realizing the error of their ways and turning to Yeshua as their Messiah, and Father instead of simply giving them His Torah in writing, this time, inscribing Torah on their inward parts. This time, Torah-keeping will be guaranteed. All indications are that this ultimate renewal of the covenant will take place here on earth, specifically in the Land of Israel, amongst both houses of Israel.

Now, I will concede that some teach that this turning of physical Israel to Yeshua and back to Torah will occur prior to Master’s return to earth to establish His millennial kingdom. It’s highly possible I suppose, but I’m more inclined to think this will happen once Master is revealed to physical Israel upon His return. Revelation 1:7 records:

“Behold, He (speaking of Yeshua Messiah) is coming with clouds; and every eye will see Him, and those also who pierced Him. And all kindreds of the earth will mourn because of Him (Book of Yahweh).” And then we find in a companion verse, Zechariah 12:9-11, the following: “In that day I will seek to destroy all the nations which come against Yerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Yerusalem, the spirit of compassion and supplication when they look up to Him Whom they have pierced. They will mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and will be in bitterness for Him, as one who is in bitterness for his firtborn. In that day there will be a great mourning in Yerusalem, like the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the Medgiddo Valley (Book of Yahweh).”

The blowing of the 7th trumpet and the Kingdoms of this earth becoming the kingdoms of the Almighty

Revelation 11:15-18–This passage addresses the famous blowing of the 7th Trumpet that an angel in heaven will sound at the end of days. Rood’s Chronology places this event right at the time of the first resurrection and the rewarding of the saints. The key verse to focus on as it relates to our discussion of earth being the ultimate destination of the saints, is found in verse 15 which reads:

“The seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of the Almighty, and of His Messiah; and He shall reign forever and ever.’”

I want you to look specifically at what the voices in heaven were saying: that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of the Almighty. If all this was to culminate and end with the saints going to heaven, how do the kingdoms of this earth become the kingdoms of the Almighty and His Messiah? The only kingdom we know that exists in heaven is of course that belonging to Yahovah and His Messiah. However, if we expand our minds and look at what is being said here, we will quickly realize that the focus is really on the reality of the broken and evil kingdoms of this world of ours that Father and Yeshua will abruptly overtake and replace with their government.

I have to say, doesn’t this all make more sense when you factor in the thinking that Father created this world for man, and the world that He created for man was perfect and man was to have responsible dominion over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Man forfeited the title deed to this world, which effectively went to hasatan, and ever since, man and hasatan have destroyed that which Father gifted to man. Thus, it falls to Father and Messiah to strip that title deed from hasatan and restore the earth to her former glory. And the saints of the Most High will play an intricate role in that transition. Lots of work to do. Now I ask you: does this scenario not sound more sensible and even more exciting than that of a heaven scenario? Maybe those who would rather just sit around and do nothing for all eternity would prefer the heaven scenario. Those of us who crave nothing more than to serve the Creator and His Messiah for all eternity, however, should find the scripturally-based earth scenario much more appealing and sensible. Of course, I’m not saying that this is a matter of preference or sensibility. I’m simply saying that as we move through this discussion, the earth bound scenario is better supported by the biblical record than that of the heaven bound scenario.

Messiah returns to this earth, rights all wrongs and returns the earth to her former glory

Zech. 14—As believers in Yeshua Messiah, when the topic of end times comes up, we tend to only focus upon New Testament writings, in particular the writings of Paul and the Book of the Revelation. However, the Prophet Zechariah revealed a treasure trove of information relating to earth being the ultimate destination of the saints of the Most High Elohim. If you’ve not read the 4th chapter of Zechariah, I would highly encourage you to do so. But for the sake of this discussion, allow me to provide some evidentiary highlights for your consideration:

• • The nation of Israel will be overtaken by evil nations seeking her destruction in the last days. However, Yahovah will fight on behalf of Israel against those evil nations (verses 2 and 3).
  • Messiah shall descend along with the saints and split the Mount of Olives (verse 5).
  • It will be a day in which time will essentially stand still and day and night will be replaced with light—just light—no night (verse 7).
  • This will be sort of a rehashing of the sun standing still on the day Israel fought against the Ammorites at Gibeon, as famously recorded in Joshua 10:1-15.
  • Living waters will flow out from Jerusalem (verse 8).
  • Yahoshua will be King over all the earth and it will be recognized that there is but One God and His name is Yahovah/Yahuah/Yahweh (verse 8). Now, one may read that this verse singles out Yahovah being King over the whole of earth and indeed that is true. But leading up to the final restoration of all things, Yahoshua will reign as King over the earth as the Creator’s proxy of sorts. This is all outlined in the Book of Hebrews, where the writer brilliantly lays out for us how Father will subject all things on this earth to Yeshua’s oversight and complete control. Paul takes up this particular discussion in I Corinthians where he writes the following: “Then comes the end, when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to Yahuah, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He (speaking of the Creator) has put all things under His feet. But when He says, all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did not put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that Yahuah may be all in all (I Corinthians 15:24-28; Cepher).”
  • Once uninhabited areas of the earth will become habitable for men to dwell in peace (verses 10 and 11).
  • The nations of the world will be required to go up to Jerusalem each year to observe the Feast of Tabernacles (aka, Sukkot) and worship the King, Yahovah Tseva’ot (verses 16 to 19).

Torah will be the world’s constitution and rule of law

Micah 4 speaks of the world tomorrow where Torah will flow from the mountain of the house of Yahovah and Jerusalem. In the world tomorrow, peoples of the nations of the world will flock to the mountain of Yahovah and the House of Elohim and be taught Torah. The peoples of the nations of this world will be judged and rebuked. War will be but a distant memory as swords are beat into plowshares and spears into pruninghooks (verse 4). Prosperity and complete peace will be the norm for every obedient citizen of the world (verse 5).

The Saints of the Most High will rule over the nations of this world

Daniel 7—The great Prophet Daniel foretold of a time when the saints would be persecuted and tribulated against by hasatan and his ilk. But glory be to Yahovah our Elohim, Father will give to the saints judgment against their tribulators as well as He will give to them the Kingdom. All of the kingdoms of this earth will have to fall under the subjection of the Kingdom of Yahovah and the saints will play a key role in the restoration of all things.

Messiah establishes His 1,000-year reign with the resurrected saints

Jude 1:14; Revelation 20:4-6—reveals that some saints will be given thrones to sit upon with authority to judge the peoples and nations of this world. In particular, verse 4 reads:

“…and they lived and reigned with Messiah a thousand years.”

But then verse 5 of this passage addresses the issue of those who are not part of the first resurrection, which reads:

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection (speaking of the saints operating in the Kingdom of Yahovah during the Millennial reign)! Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them. They shall be priests of Yahovah and of Messiah. And they shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

And just to affirm that all this will take place upon the earth, I will refer you to Revelation 5:7—10, which reads: “And He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him Who sat upon the throne. And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one of them having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain and have redeemed us to Yahweh by Your blood out of every tribe, and language, and people, and nation; and have made us kings and priests to your Father; and we will reign upon the earth.’” Again, mankind NOT reigning as kings and priests in heaven, but reigning as kings and priests on earth.

The Government of Yahovah will have precise order with leadership roles being filled by select saints.

• • King David will be over the 12-tribes of Israel (Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23,24).
  • Master revealed that His select disciples will sit on 12-thrones, judging the 12-tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).
  • Jeremiah 31 speaks to the restoration of Ephraim and Manasseh to the Land of Promise.
  • Revelation 2:26 and 27; 3:21; 5:10 tell of regular ole Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah—yes, just like you and I—any of us who have overcome this world, being given important, relevant and authoritative positions in Messiah’s Millennial Kingdom.
  • According to Isaiah 2: 2-4 and Jeremiah 3:17, the capital of the world will be Jerusalem.

One language spoken in the new kingdom

Zephaniah 3:9 seems to suggest that the world will finally return to the speaking of a single language. We will see a reversal of the confounding of the languages at the tower of Babel. One can only assume that that one language will be some form of Hebrew, at least that’s what I believe.

Paradise lost, paradise restored

Isaiah 35:1-7; Zechariah 4:8–Ultimately, in the world tomorrow, paradise lost will become paradise restored, as Father, through the works of His Son, Yeshua Messiah, will restore the natural order of this world.