We read in the last two chapters of the Bible that the new Jerusalem, which is the glorified Church, the eternal house of God, is coming down to remain forever on a high mountain of the new earth. Our eternal destiny is the earth, not the spirit realm.

Will the new earth be a real earth? Of course! An earth is an earth. What else could it be?

But what about there being no more sea? I think the term "sea" here is symbolic referring to the mass of people without Christ. We notice in Revelation, Chapter Thirteen, that Antichrist comes out of the sea. I think this means from the mass of mankind. The wicked are like the sea, the Scripture says.

Every inhabitant of the new earth will have a portion of Christ, some thirtyfold, some sixty, some a hundred, because the Scripture states Christ will fill everything and everything will become part of Him.

Having been brought up in a house overlooking Long Island Sound, I would hate to live on an earth with no seas, no oceans, no lakes, no rivers. How about you? If there is no actual sea I believe I will ask the Lord to make one. He said we are heading toward fullness of joy and I for one would not be full of joy without a sea. Would you? Furthermore, I would like it to be stormy once in a while, for there is just something special about the Atlantic Ocean when it gets going.

God created us here and He wants to be here among the nations of people whom He has created. This is why He is making a house for Himself constructed from living stones, with the Lord Jesus Christ being the Chief Cornerstone.

In God's House, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, there are many rooms, many dwelling places. The members of the Church, the Body of Christ, are the many dwelling places.

Christ—Head and Body—is Mount Zion, the House of God, the Tabernacle of God, the holy city, the new Jerusalem.

Since in the past we have written so much material concerning the Christian Church being the House of God, and this material is available to anyone who is interested, let us present just one passage.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:19-21—NIV)

I think most people would have little trouble recognizing, from the above passage, that the Christian Church, including Jews and Gentiles in Christ, is being created as a "holy temple in the Lord."

It is just a step from this understanding to a proper interpretation of the last two chapters of the Book of Revelation.

To be continued.