Man’s Inheritance Restored

“And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

Robert Davis

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Inheritance implies passing something from parent to child. God is the wellspring of life, and the Master Builder of all creation. All we know originated under His ownership. Man was given life, a blessing even for a short span, but he was given provision for life eternal; and unlike the other animals, he was made in the image of God. He was endowed with a mind for love, wisdom, justice, and power to more fully appreciate God’s character, and an advanced intellect to comprehend His ways. Man also inherited the creative genius of the Creator so that we can delight in His creations. The passions and emotions imprinted in our hearts help us identify with those our Lord must have.

Mankind’s Intended Inheritance

God placed the first man and woman in a garden of His own planting. The results could not have been a more perfect habitat for them. In it grew all the necessary sustenance for eternal life (1) and the pageantry of nature was a delight to his soul. He was given dominion over all the animal creation and even Earth itself. (2) Man and woman were given to each other, each gender having their own unique abilities making the combination stronger than the individuals separately, and supplying one person in the entire world who cares for one’s well being above all others. Additionally, God walked with Adam, i.e., the Creator having direct communication with the created. (3)

Falling From Grace

This wonderful inheritance was lost in one small act of disobedience. While eating a piece of fruit may seem a trivial transgression, Adam and Eve were perfectly capable of being loyal to their loving and generous Father by resisting the suggestions of Satan. Such independence from the will of God wreaks havoc with the wellbeing of mankind, a lesson future experiences were designed to convey. (4) Lost was an easy, pleasant, eternal life. Men were condemned to toil, women to pain in childbirth and subservience to their husbands. Most importantly, they both lost intimate communion with God.

Yet, God choose to form a special relationship with Abraham and his progeny. (5) Again, God would draw close to certain of mankind, but this time it would be through mediators, such as the patriarchs, high priests, and prophets, as well as making His presence known through miracles.

A special pact was made between God and Israel which was the Law Covenant. God gave them a land to abide in and Israel was entrusted with God’s written word. Righteousness has always dwelt in a hostile world so, when deserved, God gave Israel protection from Satan’s assaults. In addition, they were blessed with prosperity and freedom.

(1) Researchers have suggested that a healthy diet can have a positive effect upon genetic deterioration. See: medicalxpress.com/news/2014-12-mediterraneandiet-longer-telomeres.html

(2) Genesis 1:28 uses the word “subdue” (KJV), H3533, in a positive sense, meaning to conquer or subjugate. Nature is meant to be a resource for man, not a sacred object as secular and religious sources want to define it. Genesis 2:5 indicates that man is a vital part of the ecological process.

(3) Genesis 3:8

(4) Genesis 3:1-6: The name of the forbidden fruit tree, “the knowledge of good and evil,” implies that when eating the fruit they would have this knowledge from the firsthand experience that followed. Indeed, they gained this insight that the angels of heaven already knew.

(5) Amos 3:2

The first — and to date only — government imposed by God upon Israel allowed for the greatest of personal freedoms.(6) Judges were appointed to settle differences. Neither they nor priests wielded any authority over individuals. It was the Israelites themselves that wanted “big government” with the installation of a monarchy. They expected a strong government would do more for the people. However, as always happens, they suffered instead under the lordship of unrighteousness men. (7)

Israel’s hearts became proud and hard and the people lost their inheritance: land, temple, protection, and their close communion with God. They lost their freedoms to their enemies when being forced to dwell fearfully in strange lands and strangers inhabited their land.

But out of this second falling sprang Christianity, which within itself formed both a third falling away, (8) the antichrist apostasy, and a little flock of individuals whose faithfulness finally formed a body perfected in righteousness. The latter become one with Jesus, as a wife does to her husband, and thus marries into the family of God. They will set to the work God intended for them, i.e., as judges of angels and men, (9) to assist in bringing them back to the righteous condition necessary for eternal life as originally possessed by Adam.

Israel’s Future Inheritance

By suggesting Jesus’ principle “the first will be last and the last first” (10) applies to the general order of resurrection, perhaps Israel will be resurrected after the first resurrection of the Saints, then finally the children of Adam. A new pact will be formed with Israel which Jeremiah called “a New Covenant,” combined with a new heart among re-born Israelites. (11) This covenant will be unique among mankind,
and will place Israel, headed by King David (12) and Israel’s ancient worthies, as the administrators of God’s laws, commandments, and other divine communications. A temple will again be built for this purpose (13) and they will forever inhabit the land promised to their Father Abraham. The flourishing of the nation of Israel, despite worldwide opposition to its existence, is a testament to this process having begun.

The land of Israel has been in dispute since the Hebrews returned after a 430 year hiatus in Egypt (14) to find their father Abraham’s inheritance heavily settled by Semitic and Non-Semitic (15) peoples. At the commencement of the coming Kingdom of God, those peoples who are related to the Jews through Shem will have the choice to live in the land with the Jews or be expelled if they obey not the commandments of the Lord. (16) All mankind will be required to recognize the spiritual, and maybe even the legislative, authority of Israel. She will be the capital for the perfected society of mankind. (17)

(6) Judges 21:25

(7) 1 Samuel 8:18

(8) 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The papacy was the birth of the gestating Man Child of Revelation 12 and represented a third and the most sinful decline in a once God-favored class.

(9) Matthew 19:28, 1 Corinthians 6:3, Revelation 20:4

(10) The phrase was used by Jesus at the end of a symbolic rendering of rewards for righteousness, i.e., Matthew 19:30. Here, the first under the law, and even in wealth, are superseded in the resurrection by those that follow Jesus.

(11) Note the context of Jeremiah 31:31; it places the focus upon natural Israel. Also Ezekiel 16:61-62.

(12) Ezekiel 34:23,24, 37:25, Jeremiah 30:8-9. Note how later kings of Israel were said to have sat upon the throne of David. (Editor’s Note: Luke 1:32 suggests that David’s throne is given to Christ and the Church.)

(13) Amos 9:11. (Editor’s Note: The Hebrew word translated “tabernacle” is sukkoth, and is used for the booths of the feast of tabernacles.)

(14) Exodus 12:40. (Editor’s Note: Some translations such as the Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint suggest only a portion of the 430 years was actually spent in Egypt.)

(15) Genesis 10:14 states that the Philistines were descendants of Ham. (16) Jeremiah 12:14-17, Ezekiel 47:22-23

(17) Zechariah 8:23

The Resurrection

All will hear the voice of the Son of Man and come forth. (18) This
resurrection initiates the application of the ransom to mankind, the blood of Christ that, from the cross, fell to earth. What a wonderful time that will be, as loved ones unite in realization that they are alive! It will not be an easy time, for while Satan’s influence will be removed and mankind will be under the iron scepter rule of Christ, there will still be rebellion concealed in some hearts. Many who thought themselves in favor will weep and gnash their teeth (19); some will be sorrowfully disappointed; others will harbor anger. Thus, resurrected mankind educated in the knowledge of good and evil will have their hearts judged. This thousand year period, the Judgment Day, is not a day of dread but of opportunity for life.

Any remaining rebelliousness in the hearts of men will be drawn out in a final test when Satan is released from his prison. He will not be able to obtain ruling authority, for Christ will tolerate no other authority. (20) However, he will use his powers of deception to falsely accuse the righteous and draw out the wickedness remaining in any heart. The rebellion will be crushed in dramatic fashion from heaven (21) as one clear demonstration to mankind of God’s power and presence.

Mankind’s Future Inheritance

So, what will mankind have gained in the end? Fundamentally, it is eternal life. However, this provision is dependent upon a continuation in righteousness. Mankind will then be in a much stronger position to accomplish what is now impossible to grasp, having gained a maturity through the knowledge that Adam and Eve lacked. With the benefit of hindsight, they will understand the results of following their own will and not the will of God. They will have received a full education in the knowledge of good and evil, i.e., the positive results from following His will and the negative experience from disregarding it. This will weld in their hearts not just a desire to do God’s will but a thirst to seek it.

The earth could become as the Garden of Eden. The poles may warm considerably and possibly the equatorial regions will become more moderate in temperature. (22) There will be enough temperature differential to maintain seasons (23) but the extremes in weather conditions will be moderated. We can observe this process taking place as the last sheets of ice which once covered much of North America are in final retreat. Earth’s warming poles increase lighter-than-air water vapor concentrations in the upper atmosphere (24). Water and water vapor, not CO2, has always established climatic conditions on the earth. (25) Even man’s burning of fossil fuels is placing heavier-than-air CO2 at surface levels stimulating increased plant growth.(26)

(18) John 5:28-29 mentions those who are resurrected to the 1000 year judgment day of Revelation 20.

(19) The phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (KJV) always sums up parabolic illustrations of those who thought themselves in favor being actually cast off, implying their sore disappointment when this realization is met after their resurrection.

(20) Revelation 19:15. Christ’s millennial iron rod (scepter) rule. See Strongs G4464. A crown represents the authority to rule, the scepter represents the power to rule. Iron represents all-conquering ability which will brook no competitive rule.

(21) Revelation 20:9.

(22) Reprint 5159:11. Charles T. Russell viewed global warming correctly by noting melting ice was the cause for, and not the effect of, global warming. Note: he observed global warming in an era when man-made CO2 emissions were much less abundant.

(23) Genesis 8:22. This could imply a major change in weather patterns post-flood.

(24) “Water vapor in the stratosphere increases in tandem with increases in the Earth’s surface temperature.” cires.colorado.edu/news/press/water-vapor-upper-atmosphere-amplifies-global-warming-says-newstudy/

(25) In Genesis 1:7, layering a band of water vapor above the atmosphere is an important step in making earth habitable. Job 38:9 suggests a cloud layer of water formed a blanketing type arrangement for the maturing earth (as a child is swaddled). For a water vapor/CO2 greenhouse gas comparison see: geocraft. com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data.html—

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Think of the vast frozen wastelands of Canada, Greenland, and the Tundra regions that will be freed for mineral exploitation, habitation, and crops. The long period of sunlight in these northern latitudes coupled with much warmer temperatures will produce bountiful crops to feed the billions of earth’s inhabitants. The drier places may experience conduits of water perhaps squeezed from the vast, newly discovered amounts of water trapped in earth’s mantle. (27) If earth’s atmosphere returns to an antediluvian vapor canopy, atmospheric pressure may increase from the canopy’s added weight. Increased atmospheric pressure coupled with higher CO2 levels could dramatically increase plant growth  (28) and, when coupled with oxygen, benefit the health and well being of the human body. (29) The curse on the ground will be lifted, and beautiful and fruitful plants will grace a verdant planet. Nature will work more with, than against, earth’s inhabitants.

Mankind, as well as animals, will lose the necessity and desire to eat meat. (30) The available vegetation will provide all the nutrients necessary with excellent flavor. Grains, vegetables, and fruit produce much more food value per acre than meat production, thus freeing up more land for other uses such as food crops, forestry, recreation, and habitation. Procreation will cease so marriage unions will not be made anew. (31)

The rule of Christ and the Church through the special nation of Israel will be beneficial to freedom and prosperity. The individual will not be constrained by limitations placed upon him by tyrannical or socialistic forms of government. Ambitious and hardworking individuals will be able to expand the fruits of their labor in the direction they find their talents and interests lie, which will benefit both themselves and greater society. (32)

Those less ambitious or hardworking will live responsible, self-sustaining lives because of the ease of living and ubiquitous freewill generosity available if their best efforts fail. Possibly, some principle of the Jubilee will be followed and people will never be allowed to be divested of personal property forever, as is now the case. It will be a time when talent and genius will find no time limits as the current few short years of health and strength impose. Mankind will function in much more efficient bodies. Can you imagine what will be accomplished in science, the arts, inventions, etc.? How efficient will society be when resources spent on safety such as security systems, police, and armies can be redirected toward productive activities? (33)

Revelation 21:3,4 reads: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

At this time God will say: “It is done” (Revelation 21:6) when the grand work of salvation is complete and all intelligent creation lives forever in peace and harmony with their Creator, each other, and themselves.

(26) “11% increase in global foliage since 1982.” climatenewsnetwork.net/plant-growth-surges-as-co2-levels-rise/. Compare the high atmospheric CO2. Also: iloveco2.com/2009/01/co2-climate-facts.html.

(27) Isaiah 35:6; Ringwoodite reservoir: extremetech. com/extreme/184564-scientists-discover-an-ocean- 400-miles-beneath-our-feet-that-could-fill-our-oceansthree-times-over.

(28) madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-02/107576467 6.Bt.r.html

(29) High pressure, oxygen rich chambers used to treat illnesses: formerly appeared at http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures, but appears to have been dropped from that site presently.

(30) Isaiah 11:6-9

(31) Matthew 22:30

(32) Micah 4:4. Every man will be self-supportive owning his own means of production.

(33) Micah 4:3