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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Vision of the New Covenant, #6
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (Matthew 6:20)
Redemption and restoration have to do with the regaining of what has been lost. The Scriptures do not speak of Heaven as being that which was stolen from mankind.
The Old Testament seldom or never points toward Heaven as the reward of the righteous. This is true also of the Epistles of the Apostles.
Jesus spoke much concerning Heaven but never of our making our eternal residence there. Rather, Jesus told us that the Kingdom of which we are a part is in Heaven now; also, that our rewards are spiritual and are in Heaven and from Heaven. Christ will bring both the Kingdom and the rewards with Him when He returns to the earth.
Heaven on earth was lost. Heaven on earth will be regained.
It was easy for man to lose the Presence of God (which is the Essence of Heaven). It is proving to be exceedingly difficult to regain the Presence of God on the earth, and so we call unceasingly on the Lord Jesus to return.
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on the earth as it is in heaven."
As noted earlier, Paradise was easy to lose; it is difficult to regain. Christ (and His Body) is a ladder reaching from the earth to Heaven (God's answer to the Tower of Babel). The angels of God ascend and descend on this ladder, revealing that the point of origin is the earth. The angels are here because it is on the earth that the restoration is being accomplished. The angels ascend to receive the life and glory of Heaven, and return with Divine grace so the sons of God may be restored (John 1:51).
Let us look now at the scriptural vision of the restoration. Perhaps the first mention of the restoring of what Adam and Eve lost is the well-known Genesis 3:15:
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Christ is the Seed of the woman. He will destroy the ancient serpent. This concept is repeated throughout the Prophets.
Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. (Micah 5:9)
Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. (Habakkuk 3:13)
One of the most important goals of the Divine restoration is to crush the head of Satan. The crushing will be accomplished through Christ-filled people and is the coming of the Kingdom of God.
And the God of peace shall bruise [crush] Satan under your feet shortly. . . . (Romans 16:20)
The destiny of the members of the Body of Christ is to be filled with the Life of Christ so they can bring judgment on the adversary who robbed them in the beginning.
If we will place our faith in God He will enable us to regain all that has been stolen from us.
To be continued.