the passing away of heaven & earth: the passing away of OC Israel

the passing away of heaven & earth: the passing away of OC Israel

Last week we began looking at the doctrine of the passing away of heaven and earth and the establishment of the new heavens and new earth.  We looked at the problems of a strictly literal interpretation.  While there are perhaps a number of problems contained in a strictly literal interpretation of these things we focused on four of them.  As a brief review:

1.        Peter claims that the earth was already destroyed in Noah’s day.  If the earth is to be understood in strictly literal terms as referring to the planet, then we are forced to admit that Noah was transported to a new planet, since the first one was destroyed and that we are actually on the second planet now awaiting its destruction so that God can create a third planet.  But that doesn’t square with John’s revelation since he said in his prophecy that the heaven and earth that would pass away were the first heaven and earth, not the second.

2.       Isaiah says that people will still die in the new heavens and earth, yet Rev 21 says that there will be no more death.  Death cannot be interpreted in a strictly literal sense in both passages or the Bible contradicts itself in the worst way.

3.       Jesus said that until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter or the least stroke of a pen would disappear and that anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  If this is to be interpreted literally, then God’s covenant people are still under the Law of Moses, not just part of it, but down to the minutia, every jot and tittle, but God would then be a very cruel God because He destroyed the most crucial elements of their religion in 70 AD, rendering it impossible to follow not just every jot and tittle but THE BROAD STROKES OF THE LAW.

4.      Rather than a new physical planet that has only righteous people on it we will have a new physical planet where there are still wicked people even though they were supposed to go to hell.  And rather than a new physical planet that resembles heaven on earth, we are actually looking forward to a new physical planet – something that resembles hell on earth because we will go out and look on these dead bodies that are burning forever and ever.

5.       Just for kicks this morning I’ll go ahead and toss out a fifth: the Bible teaches that the earth will endure forever:

a.       Ecc 1:4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 

b.      Psalm 104:5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. 

c.       Psalm 78:69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever. 

If we interpret the passing away of heaven and earth as the passing away of the planet, how can the planet both endure forever and yet pass away?  It can’t.

We concluded that a strict literal interpretation fails to say the very least.  So if the strictly literal interpretation of the passing of heaven and earth fails, how do we interpret this doctrine?  This morning we are going to venture into the Scriptures to see if we can discern a more consistent interpretation of these things, one that flows from the text and that is free of contradiction.

Before we get going, I’d like to share with you my thesis and framework:

1.        Heaven and earth refers to rulers and people

a.       Heavens = rulers and their respective socio-political and/or religious order

b.      Earth = people

2.       Thus, in these eschatological texts the passing away of heaven and earth refers to the dissolution of rulers and people: namely OC Israel (that is the Bible’s concern)

a.       The judgment of the people that rejected their God and His Son

b.      The judgment of the rulers (chief priests, elders, teachers of the Law) and dissolution of their socio-political-religious order (namely the OC)

3.       The establishment of a new heaven and earth refers to the establishment of a New People of God under a new covenant.

a.       New people (Christians)

b.      New rulers

                                                               i.      new shepherds (good shepherds – as opposed to the bad in Ez 34) beginning with apostles

                                                             ii.      ultimately Jesus THE Good Shepherd and The King on David’s throne

c.       New religious order: New Covenant

SOMETIMES THE HEAVENS AND EARTH ARE LITERAL

To ensure that I am not misunderstood, I want to state clearly that the Scriptures do speak literally of earth as being the ground or planet.  The Bible does speak literally of the heavens as being the atmosphere, or solar system or residency of God.  So I am NOT saying that every time the Scriptures speak of earth they mean people or that every time the Scriptures speak of heavens they refer to rulers or governments or political/religious systems. 

What I AM saying is that in the eschatological contexts of the passing away of heaven and earth it is not referring to the planet and the solar system but the passing away of a people and rulers along with socio/political/religious system, namely Old Covenant Israel.  And I AM saying that consequently, the establishment of a new heavens and a new earth is the establishment of a new people under a new political religious system, namely the church in the New Covenant.

Let’s open our bibles to Deut 32.  After God gives the Law through Moses and confirms the Mosaic Covenant also known as the Old Covenant, Moses recites the words of a song – this is called the Song of Moses.  It is found in Deut 32.  At the end of Deut 31, we find our context for this song; it is important to note the audience.  God called together the elders and officials and the whole assembly of Israel.  So the audience, those to whom Moses spoke the words of this song are the people and rulers of the newly established OC Israel.   Look what Moses says to this newly established Covenant people of God, Israel.  Deut 32:1-6  ¹ Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth. ² Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. ³ I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! ⁴ He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.  ⁵ They are corrupt and not his children; to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation. ⁶ Is this the way you repay the LORD, you foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?

I want to draw your attention to several things.

1.        First, the literary genre: a song; this is poetic and prophetic in nature (not all literally – some metaphor)

2.       This is prophetic of the last days generation, the wicked and adulterous generation of Christ’s contemporaries (v5)

3.       Israel is called a foolish, unwise people who have become “not his children.”(vv5-6)

4.      God is called their Creator.  They are made and formed by God.  They, Israel, are God’s workmanship, his creation.  God’s creation is summed up in the phrase heavens and earth.

5.       They (Israel) are addressed at the very beginning as heavens and earth.

Notice who this is being spoken to: the whole assembly of Israel: the people and rulers of OC Israel.  Look what he calls them in verse 1: heaven and earth.  The people and rulers of OC Israel are called heaven and earth.  I believe it most consistent to see that when the Scriptures speak of heaven and earth passing away, it is this heaven and earth that will pass away: OC Israel will pass away.

Let’s now look at another passage that is parallel to Deut 32. Flip with me to Isaiah 1.

¹ The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

 ² Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. ³ The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”

 ⁴ Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.

 ⁵ Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. ⁶ From the sole of your foot to the top of your head 
   there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil.

 ⁷ Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. ⁸ Daughter Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field, like a city under siege. ⁹ Unless the LORD Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.

1.        ¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, 
   you people of Gomorrah! ¹¹ “The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. ¹² When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?  ¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. ¹⁴ Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Reformed Church in Georgetown Texas.  Preterist church in Georgetown Texas.  New Covenant Fellowship Church in Georgetown Texas.  Pastor David Boone.preterism covenant eschatology.

I’d like to draw your attention to a few things:

1.        Same context as Deut 32 and thus Olivet Discourse (read on your own)

2.       The audience is the people and rulers of OC Israel

3.       Note what God calls them in verse 2:

a.       Heaven and earth

b.      May be tempting to say that God is talking to the literal heavens and earth about Israel

4.      But with that type of strict literalism (which is hermeneutically unsound when reading the prophets) we run into a problem in verse 10: is he then literally now talking to the people and rulers of literal Sodom and Gomorrah?

a.       No, these were literally destroyed centuries before in a judgment of wicked men

b.      Sodom and Gomorrah weren’t the ones who celebrated New Moons, Sabbaths and appointed festivals, or sacrificed the blood of bulls and goats to Jehovah.

c.       God is calling the people and rulers of OC Israel Sodom and Gomorrah, showing that they have become wicked; as we read in the text:

                                                               i.      They rebelled (v2) Don’t know God as master (v3)

                                                             ii.      Don’t understand (v3) Sinful nation (v4)

                                                            iii.      Guilt is great (v4) Brood of evil doers (v4)

                                                           iv.      Given to corruption (v4) Persistent in rebellion (v5)

                                                             v.      Hands full of blood (v15)

d.      God was no more talking to literal Sodom and Gomorrah than he was talking to the literal planet sun moon and stars.  He was literally talking to the people and rulers of OC Israel.

e.      In verse 2 He calls the rulers and people of OC Israel heaven and earth.

f.        I propose to you that it is once again this heavens and earth (OC Israel) that will pass away.

So far we have seen 2 passages that identify the people and the rulers of OC Israel as the heavens and the earth.

When we interpret the Scriptures with the Scriptures, we find that God consistently refers to OC Israel as heaven and earth.  Thus, by bringing this Biblical understanding of heaven and earth into the texts speaking of the passing away of heaven and earth, we understand that it is not the planet and solar system that passes away but OC Israel and her rulers along with the geo-political, social and religious order – namely the OC order.

Now turn with me to Isaiah 50.  In Is 50, we find one of 4 servant songs which speak of the suffering servant.  Christ was to be a conquering King, but also a suffering servant.  This is what the religious leaders seemed to overlook so often.   We are going to read from this servant song in Is 5o:4-9, which is spoken from the perspective of Jesus.  As we read this put yourself in the sandals of our precious savior.

 Is 50:4-9  ⁴ The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, We know that Jesus had a well-instructed tongue.  When he finished speaking the words of SOM, the people were astonished at his teaching as one with authority. Matthew 13:54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.  Back to Is 50:4 The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue,   to know the word that sustains the weary. Come to me you who are weary and heavy laden.  Jesus indeed knew the word that sustains the weary.
He (Jehovah) wakens me (the suffering servant Jesus) morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.  ⁵ The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. We know this is true of Jesus, he was not rebellious.  Unlike the first Adam who rebelled, Jesus, the last Adam was obedient.  He was tempted in every way as we are and yet was without sin.  We all like sheep have turned away, but not Jesus – he was not rebellious, he did not turn away.
⁶ I offered my back to those who beat me, see Jesus.  my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; see Jesus I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Very clearly speaking of his sufferings at the hands of the OC religious leaders just hours before his crucifixion.
⁷ Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. Though they strip him down to his birthday suit, hang him shamefully on a cross with a crown of thorns, he knows that he will not ultimately be put to shame, but he will ultimately be vindicated.
⁸ He who vindicates me is near. God vindicates him.   Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! Who was it that brought charges against him?  Rulers of OC Israel, you have heard the blasphemy.  Crucify Him.  Who was his accuser?  Unbelieving OC Israel, namely his wicked and adulterous crooked and depraved contemporary generation.


⁹ It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who will condemn me? Who will condemn him?  OC Israel and her rulers.  They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.

Who will wear out like a garment?  Christ’s accusers – those who brought charges against him!  Look at what this suffering servant, the Messiah is saying: who will bring charges against me, who is my accuser, who condemns me?  We know who it was that brought charges against Jesus, who accused him, who condemned him: OC ISRAEL and her rulers.

Look what he says about them: They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.  OC Israel and her rulers will wear out like a garment.

Stay here in Isaiah because we are going to be camped out here, but I am going to read you Heb 1:10-12.  I would encourage you to take a look at this on your own as well and contemplate these verses.  As I read this to you, keep your mind fixated on who exactly is wearing out like a garment in Is 50:9 – OC Israel.  Heb 1:10-12  ¹⁰ He also says,  “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. ¹¹ They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. ¹² You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”

Hebrews 1 says heaven and earth will wear out like a garment.  In Isaiah 50:9 the suffering servant says OC Israel and her rulers would wear out like a garment.  I propose to you that the author of Hebrews and Isaiah are saying the same thing: OC Israel and her rulers is the heaven and earth that will wear out like a garment.

When you look at these 2 passages side by side and interpret Scripture with Scripture, you see that OC Israel is the heavens & the earth that would pass away.  I believe that this was manifest in their destruction by the Romans in 70 AD.

With that established, I’d like to continue in Is 50 and through 51 to develop this further.  Here, we will see the concurrent passing away of heaven and earth and establishment of a new heavens and earth.  Remember what John says in Rev 21:1  Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.  Isaiah 51 is parallel to Rev 21:1-4.  For clarity’s sake, this, I believe is best interpreted as the judgment and passing away of OC Israel and the establishment of a New Israel under a new covenant.

We finished in Isaiah 50:9 at the “end” of the servant song from the perspective of Jesus who says that his accusers will wear out like a garment and be eaten by moths.

Before we pick up in verse 10, I want to share with you an interpretive key to unlock an understanding of the prophets.  The best one is familiarity with Deut 28, but with regards to eschatological prophecies, it is crucial to understand the proper interpretive framework of the concurrent vengeance and redemption.  We have a simultaneous judgment and salvation.  Without understanding this framework, we come to the conclusion that God seems to be quite schizophrenic.  In one breath he calls Israel his enemy and judges her, in the next breath he calls her precious, speaking of her restoration and salvation.  And then he hates her again and devours her with his sword bathed in blood and spends his arrows against her.  Then his face is shining upon her and then His face is turned away from her.  We have in the Scriptures, the doctrine of the 2 Israels, 2 Jerusalems.  One is Israel according to the flesh (OC Israel), the other is Israel according to the Spirit (the Church).  Old Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem.  I believe this prophetic teaching is best understood in light of the NT, where we see these very prophecies fulfilled in Christ who draws a clear distinction within the house of Israel.  There are those of Israel (the majority) who are rebellious and hypocritical; it is those who reject their God who was manifest in the flesh – Jesus.  On the other hand there are the poor in spirit, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the peacemakers who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, it is those who believe Christ in faith (the minority) who make up the remnant of the true Israel.  It is rebellious Israel according to the flesh that are the subject of the verses containing judgment language, while the believers are the subject of the salvation and redemption verses. 

To put it very bluntly:

·         this is the separation of the sheep and the goats (Matt 25)

·         the distinction between those who are sons of God and who are the sons of the devil (John 8)

·         it is the distinction between those who are truly Jews and those who claim to be Jews but are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan (Rev2:9, 3:9)

There are 2 Israels in the prophetic texts.  One is Israel according to the flesh, OC Israel which is the heaven and earth that passes away.  The other is Israel according to the Spirit, NC Israel, which is the new heaven and the new earth that remains forever.

Keep this framework in mind as we continue in the text.  God distinguishes between these 2 different Israels by calling one His enemies and the other his servants. 

Thus far, we have been reading in Is 50 of the words of the suffering servant aka Jesus, who speaks of his accusers.  This is referring to the religious leaders and the people who rejected and crucified their Messiah.  This was the enemy – Israel according to the flesh.  Pay attention to the introduction of another group – the remnant, often called his servants.  And carefully distinguish between these 2 Israels.

Let’s keep reading at the end of chapter 50:10¹⁰ Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on their God.  This is a call to come out of the darkness and into the light and trust Christ. ¹¹ But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.  You who don’t walk in the true light of the world Jesus, but who walk in the darkness and try to walk in the light that you create, this is what you will have from God’s hand: torment (consistent with the judgment language).

Is 51:1ff¹ “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Remember our 2 Israels.  He has spoken of the accusers and their passing away, their vanishing like smoke, wearing out like a garment, now the text turns to the other Israel, as its direct audience – those who pursue righteousness, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who seek the lord, true Israel.
Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn. 
² “Look to Abraham your father in other words, it is these who obey the servant that are truly children of Abraham.  And to Sarah who gave you birth; When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many.” It may look dismal to you, you may be few in number, but you started out with ONE: Abraham.  God multiplied this one and he can also multiply you few who make up the believing remnant.  The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, starting small but becomes a huge spreading tree upon which the birds perch.

³ The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. God’s true people, believers will find their estate comparable to that of the garden of God, like Eden – with the presence of God, joy and gladness, not the weeping and gnashing of teeth that would characterize their tormentors as they will be tormented.

 ⁴ “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; (NASB,ESV,NKJV: law will go forth from me) my justice will become a light to the nations. ⁵ My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. the law of Christ written on the heart will begin with a remnant of ethnic Jews but will extend to the coastlands, the islands, like Cyprus and Crete and the others of the gentiles as this true Israel will be made up not only of Jews but also gentiles.
⁶ Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
Remember the last chapter in the servant song.  Is 50:6 says that the people who accused Jesus would wear out like a garment.  Here it is the heavens and earth that will vanish and wear out like a garment.  In other words, this is a parallelism in which we have a positive identification of the heavens and earth that will pass away – it is the unbelieving OC Israel. 
NASB/NKJV & ESV render this next portion more consistently and I believe more accurately than the NIV (I would encourage you to compare them on your own).  I’m going to read from NASB:
⁷ “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, speaking to believers  A people in whose heart is My law; where do we find the law written on the heart?  new covenant people (Jer 31, Heb 8)  This is all in the context of the establishment of New Covenant Israel.
Do not fear the reproach of man, don’t fear those who can kill only body but after that do no more, fear him who can kill the body and the soul.  This is the encouragement from Christ to His followers who would receive the reproach of men and be persecuted for his name’s sake.
Nor be dismayed at their revilings. ⁸ “For the moth will eat them like a garment, Who will be eaten like a garment?  Unbelieving OC Israel. And the worm will eat them like wool. Once again, parallel language to Is 66:24.  But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations.”
 ⁹ Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces, Who pierced the dragon? ¹⁰ Was it not You who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea a pathway 
For the redeemed to cross over? ¹¹ So the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, 
And sorrow and sighing will flee away. Parallel to Rev 21.  There will be no more mourning or crying.  They will be filled with joy and gladness because their accusers who were persecuting them – OC Israel are being judged.
 ¹² “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies 
And of the son of man who is made like grass, ¹³ That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth, That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, As he makes ready to destroy? 
But where is the fury of the oppressor? Your brothers and sisters – kinsman according to the flesh –  have been oppressing you, but be comforted.  You will soon be set free from this captivity under this bondage under the OC order as Paul says in Galatians.
 ¹⁴ The exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his bread be lacking. ¹⁵For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar (the LORD of hosts is His name).¹⁶ I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
Here, God says that he puts his word in true Israel’s mouth to establish the heavens and earth and to say to Zion you are my people.  It is pretty clear here that this isn’t the creation of a planet, but the creation of a covenant people.
So in Isaiah 51 we have in verse 6 the passing away of the Old heaven and earth which is identified as OC Israel.  Here in verse 16 we have the establishment of a new heavens and earth, aka Zion, the new people of God under a new covenant.  This is parallel to Rev 21:1 I saw a new heaven and earth for the first heaven and earth passed away.
If you continue reading through the rest of the passage you can see that it is clearly the context of covenantal wrath – the destruction of OC Israel (famine, sword, etc).  I propose to you that it is the same as the context of the Olivet Discourse and finds its fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Rome.

So not only have we shown that a literal interpretation of these doctrines fails, but we have now shown that a more Biblically consistent and exegetical interpretation of the passing away of heaven and earth is the passing away of OC Israel as God’s covenant people and the new heaven and earth is best understood as the establishment of a new people under a new covenant.

This may sound foreign to you – it did to me, as I was taught for years that the physical planet was going to burn up.  So, after I arrived at these conclusions exegetically, I decided to see what the scholars and commentaries had to say on the matter.  To my surprise, they agree with me.

(I found these online at bible.cc)  Is 51:16

Wesley’s commentary  51:16 (last verse we just read) I have - These words are spoken by God to his church and people, to whom he speaks both in the foregoing and following verse s. For God's word is frequently said to be put into the mouths, not only of the prophets, but of the people also. Covered - Have protected thee by my almighty power, that I may bring thee to that perfect and blessed estate which is reserved for the days of the Messiah, which in scripture phrase is called a making of new heavens, and a new earth

Barnes notes on the Bible  (Is 51:16) But the language here is evidently entirely figurative. It refers to the restoration of the Jews to their own land; to the re-establishment of religion there; to the introduction of the new economy under the Messiah, and to all the great changes which would be consequent on that. This is compared with the work of forming the heavens, and laying the foundation of the earth. It would require almighty power; and it would produce so great changes, that it might be compared to the work of creating the universe out of nothing. Probably also the idea is included here that stability would be given to the true religion by what God was about to do permanency that might be compared with the firmness and duration of the heavens and the earth.

Gill’s exposition of the entire Bible  that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth; form and establish Gospel churches in the world, in the Roman empire, and elsewhere, both by the words and doctrines of the Gospel; by the ministry of the apostles, and other preachers of the word; and by the hand of almighty power, the efficacious grace of God attending the same.

Those are just a few.  There are a multitude of expositors who say that the very same things we have said this morning. So a brief recap before we close.

In considering the passing away of heaven and earth we have found that the Scriptures identify heaven and earth as rulers and people.  The Scriptures deal primarily with Israel and identify heaven and earth as Israel.  While the Scriptures do speak of the heavens and earth in a literal fashion, the texts about the passing away of heaven and earth and establishment of a new pertain not to the planet and solar system but to the passing away of OC Israel and the establishment of a new Israel under a new covenant.

As you can see, this doctrine of the passing away of heaven and earth and establishment of a new, is already quite extensive.  It is something we could spend the next several weeks unpacking.  My goal in this is to strike a balance, to do justice to the doctrine, but not to the degree that we end up spending the rest of the year on it.  So just to let you know where we will be heading from here: next week we will revisit the passages we looked at last week using this hermeneutic.  We will take another look at Matt 5, 2 Pet 3, Rev 21 and Is 65 & 66 to see if this eschatological understanding of heaven and earth is truly consistent.  Do these passages teach what we have proposed this morning – that the passing away of heaven and earth is indeed the passing away of OC Israel and the new heaven and earth is indeed the establishment of a new people under a new covenant.  Then we will conclude this little miniseries by answering the so what question.  Okay, now that we understand this doctrine from a Biblical perspective, since heaven and earth have passed away, what now?  What does it mean for us and how does it apply to our lives in the 21^st century?