Salvation Series 6:Where?

In the preceding Salvation Series 5 When? and Salvation Series 4 How?, we learned that we are actually saved when we become “a new creation“, all “sons of God” and “one” with Jesus as Son of God and by extension “one” with the Father, as “one” divine family. This is the “gospel of the kingdom of God“, not kingdom of plants, animals, humans, and not even that of the angelic species, but a “kingdom of God”.

The last question in this Salvation Series of 6, is where is our destination, our abode at the time of salvation?

Milllenium and First Resurrection:

Consider the following verses showing that those with “spirit-glorified-bodies“ in the 1st resurrection will “meet the Lord in the air and so shall always be with the Lord”, to reign “for a thousand years”(Millenium) after the battle of Armageddon(Revelation 16) and the beast and priest were killed in Gehenna fire.

I Thes. 4:15-17 “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.…”

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years …Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4, 6).

But, still it begs the question, where? This first resurrection will be simultaneous with Jesus’ return on earth as the “firstfruits” will meet him in the clouds as he was coming down. And, they will descend on earth in Israel. 

 Luke 21:26-27 “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”  

Additionally, the following quotes clinch the place to be on earth after the Nebuchadnezzar/Babylonian kingdom and subsequent kingdoms that came out of her were destroyed at the battle of Armageddon, with Jerusalem as the center of government at the Millenium:

“ Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest † till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: : and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.”(Daniel 2:31-45). 

Notice that all these are “kingdoms” on earth and will be consumed and replaced by God’s kingdom on earth.

Battle of Armageddon: Revelation 16:12-21 …”And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”

Here, it is clear that this battle will be on earth.

Then, after the Millenium on earth, the following will come:
1. Second resurrection: Rev. 20:5 “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed”.

2. Satan will be released after having been chained for a thousand years during the Millenium (Rev. 20:2).
Revelation 20:7-10, “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Read also the prophecy against Gog and Magog are in Ezek. 38-39.

Notice, that those in the 2nd resurrection are flesh-composed, but not “glorious bodies”. This was prophesied in Ezek. 37:1-14, “The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

Notice that the “breath of life/psyche” will enter those resurrected/reconstructed flesh-bones before coming to life; then the Spirit of God will be put in them who believed (faith) for “sanctification” and when they “bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit“ then thy will be changed to “glorious-immortal spirit-composed bodies “ to live forever. 
Read also, Job 19:26-27″Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me! ” Notice that Job did not partake of the “first resurrection” and by extension other patriarchs of old, as they will still be “flesh-composed” at the “2nd resurrection”.

These are people, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc, who had faith which was counted (as an example) for righteousness but did not receive the promise at that time. They will be given the promised Holy Spirit to in-dwell in them, “bear fruits” and be changed from mortal to immortal for life eternal. Some will dwell in the promised land of Israel while some will be in other lands. As prophesied, “It shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isa. 2:1-5). Note: they will not participate in upcoming war of Gog and Magog

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:1-10).

But, there will be those in the second resurrection who will continue their disobedience and fight God in the last Battle of Gog/Magog. Gehenna fire is a consistent final judgment for the evil ones. It will eternally end the life of the unrepentant disbelievers, whether in the Battle of Armageddon or in this battle against Gog and Magog. The body and breath of life/psyche/spirit of man, will suffer “eternal death” from which there is no resurrection. Notice Matt.10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell(Gehenna not hades). Also Lu.12:4-5, “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no † more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell(Gehenna, not hades); yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” On the other hand Satan and those unrepentant angels, being spirit, will live “tormented” for eternity.

New heaven and earth :

After all these things that will come to pass, a new heaven and earth will be created and the Father comes down to live with us.
“ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Rev 21:1-8)

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” (Isaiah 65:17)

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13)
Summary

Jesus will come down from heaven and rule on earth with his “firstfruits“. The “latterfruits” will join them to rule thereafter, but still on earth. A “new heaven and earth” will be created as the old passed away. Indeed, the Father will come down from his previous abode and will dwell with us on the “new heaven and earth“.
Original post: October 4, 2015

Revised and posted:February 20, 2017