The next thing we are allowed to see, after the White Throne judgment, is the new sky and the new earth, and the completed Church coming down through the sky to rest forever on a high mountain of the new earth.

It is our point of view that the description of the temple found in the Book of Ezekiel is a symbolic way of setting forth the inward nature of those who compose the new Jerusalem, the work that must be done before we are ready to wipe away the tears of the saved nations.

How We Should View the Return of the Lord Jesus

The Lord Jesus is not coming to take His Church to Heaven. There is no scriptural basis for this tradition. Search the Scriptures and assure yourself that the Lord is not returning to carry off His Bride to Heaven. This is not the purpose for His coming.

The Scriptures promise fullness of joy to the righteous, pleasures forever at the right hand of God.

What would you like to be true of the coming of the Lord?

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalms 16:11—NIV)

Since God has promised to fill us with joy, what we want to be true of the coming of the Lord is important. His coming should bring joy to us.

We may think our greatest joy would be to be carried off to Heaven to live in a mansion, resting forever in a luxurious surrounding, no cares, no dread, no pain, no concerns, no deadlines to meet, there being nothing for which we are responsible, no pressures of any kind. We think we would enjoy an eternal vacation, something like going to Florida and laying on the beach while the endless ages roll by.

There is no scriptural assurance that the spirit world is this kind of place. Again, search the Scriptures and check me out.

There are several places in the Scriptures where a worry-free environment is discussed. But nearly every one of these places has to do with the earth.

First there was the Garden of Eden, located in the region of the Persian Gulf.

Then there is the description of the earth during the thousand-year Kingdom Age.

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9—NIV)

To be continued.