Are The New Heaven And The New Earth Already Here? - Part Four

At the conclusion of Part Three, we saw that God is now dwelling among people - believers in Jesus.

Those who have placed their faith in Jesus have become the spiritual dwelling place of God on the earth…his new spiritual temple of grace.

How do we know this?

Paul explained it clearly in Ephesians 2:11-22.

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his 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. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

In these verses, Paul explained that the old testament of law separating the Jews and Gentiles has been destroyed, along with the hostility that existed between them during the old testament of law period.

The law, the dividing wall of hostility, was destroyed at the cross.

Believing Jews and Gentiles have now been brought together through faith in Jesus.

They have been brought together as one spiritual family of grace, resulting in peace between believing Jews and Gentiles.

This new family of grace is the new holy, spiritual temple of grace where God dwells by his Spirit.

Jesus is the chief cornerstone of this temple, meaning that he joins believing Jews and Gentiles together in this spiritual temple of grace.

God now dwells on the earth in individual people who together form the spiritual temple of God all over the earth.

This spiritual temple will continue to expand as individual people believe in Jesus.

Upon belief, they are added to the temple as living stones.

Peter wrote about this in 1 Peter 2:4-10,

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house a to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in [Jewish] Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” [Isaiah 28:16] Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” [Psalm 118:22] and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” [Isaiah 8:14] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Those who trust in Jesus are placed into the spiritual family of God, his spiritual temple of grace on earth.

This spiritual temple of grace resides in the new spiritual city - the new Jerusalem.

The spiritual temple of grace exists on earth today...right now!

This is what Revelation 21-22 is all about.

The new heaven and new earth that Yahweh spoke about through Isaiah in Isaiah 65: 17-19 is now here.

The spiritual family of the new testament of grace is the spiritual new Jerusalem on earth today where God dwells by his spirit.

We have become God’s spiritual temple of grace!

The spiritual family of God is the spiritual temple of grace existing on earth today in the form of all believers all over the world.

This leaves us asking a major question.

If the new heaven and new earth are here now through the establishment of the testament of grace and the presence of the new spiritual temple of God, then why is there death, mourning, crying, and pain, since the new earth will not have these?

Great question!

Let’s examine this question in Part Five of Are The New Heaven And New Earth Already Here? CLICK HERE to read Part Five