Because of the sin of Adam and Eve the material creation was placed by the Lord under the bondage of corruption. But the Lord has bound the creation in corruption and futility in the hope that one day He may find the physical creation worthy to be released into the glorious liberty of eternal life. The Scripture teaches that all of the material realm, including its inhabitants that God deems worthy of salvation, together with the elect of the spirit realm, will be made one Kingdom in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament the term heaven is used to indicate the material heaven, the firmament, the sky, and also the holy area of the spirit realm—the Throne of God Almighty.

In the Old Testament the same Hebrew word is used for the sky and for the place of the Throne of God. In the New Testament the same Greek term is used for the sky and for the place of the Throne of God.

We understand that the "heavens" that were created "in the beginning" were the physical heavens, the firmament, not the spiritual Heaven. The material heavens, the firmament, are part of the material creation. In the material heavens were placed the sun, the moon, and the stars. All of these are part of the "creation," of Romans 8:20,21. The creation includes also the waters below and above the heavens, the earth and its vegetation, animals, man, the wind, and all other things. The creation consists of the things described in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis.

The creation is made up of things that can be perceived by the human senses, as distinguished from the spirit realm of God and the angels that cannot be perceived by the human senses.

We are using the term "creation" to refer to the things the eternal God spoke into existence through the Lord Jesus at the time of the beginning of the world. As we are using the term, the creation does not include angels, cherubim, seraphim, or other creatures of the spirit realm. While they are created beings we do not believe they are mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis. Therefore they are not included in the deliverance announced in Romans 8:21, although all created beings that are saved, both in the material realm and the spirit realm, will finally have their center and circumference in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It truly is a wonderful thought that God is not making all new things but all things new. I think our tradition of mansions does not express what truly is in our heart. Perhaps what we would enjoy would be a world that is much the same as our present circumstances, but without the sin, pain, worry, and sickness.

Am I correct? Would we really enjoy a huge mansion with a circular driveway and a chauffeur waiting at the door of a black limousine? Or would we rather go to a small cottage in a rural area if our family and pets were there? Are we context

thinking clearly about this?

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (Ephesians 1:10)

To be continued.