How big is the living room in your dream home? How many rooms does it have?
We aren’t the only ones who imagine the creation of ideal spaces.
Sometimes we need to be reminded that the Bible starts with the construction of God’s dream home and ends with Him completely moving in. Everything in between tells the story of Him moving heaven to earth.
“Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? That’s what this is about.
God moved heaven into the Garden of Eden first. According to historian John Walton, ancient Israel would have recognized Eden as a temple.
What’s a temple? It’s the home of a god. It’s no surprise that the Israelite’s temple for God echoed Eden. God was present with humanity in both spaces.
But Eden was a temple that was designed to grow and expand. It started small – small enough for two priests to care for it. As these priests had children and taught them the family business, they would partner with God and grow the temple until it – and heaven – filled the entire earth. (Connect the dots between Gen 1:28 and Gen 2:8-15. It’s in there.)
Humanity didn’t ruin God’s plan. We just made it a LOT harder than it needed to be. (We are good at that.)
How does the Bible end? With a renewed earth that is completely covered in heaven and where chaos has been fully eradicated. The renewed earth is described as a massive city – a city that practices Shalom (Peace).
What are cities filled with? Living, breathing people. Not just any people but people who want to live there. The new City of Peace will be filled with peacemakers – people who want what God wants. They are reconciled with God and want Him to be their King so they can reflect His character and ways. Just like the first human priests originally did in the Garden of Eden.
If your dream home looks like God’s, this is all very good news.
Tomorrow: Human’s God-given role in His plan to move heaven to earth
