When Father God   
Comes  "Home!"
                                                                                       By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                       September 3, 2019
     "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 he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heavn from God.
     Having the glory of God: and her light was like a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal," Rev. 21:10-11.  
Introduction
     This study IS NOT about the return [Second Coming] of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Rather, this study is about THE RETURN OF GOD HIMSELF [Abba...Father God] back to the Earth as seen and described by John in his vision in Revelation 21 - 22..   
     What our readers are about to read may at first seem merely a theory to some, however this exact same truth is set forth in type in the inspired account of King David and his son, Absalom.  Carefully study the entire account of David and Absalom set forth in 2 Samuel, chapters 13 through 19.  STUDY what is written carefully for a blessing.......
 Two Truths Commonly  Overlooked or Ignored
     [1]   This Earth was once the "home" of God Himself!  He created it to serve as His own residence [home; capitol; Temple], from which He would rule the entire universe.   
     [2]    The age of the earth is no where stated in the Scriptures.  The age of mankind upon the earth can be determined from studying the geneaologies of mankind set forth in the Scriptures.  But the actual age of the Earth is never found anywhere in God's Word.  The Earth is certainly 6,000 years old, for mankind has been living upon the Earth  that long, but the Earth was created in "Eternity past," and could be, and likely is,  much older than 6,000 years.  
Why I Know This to be Scriptural Truth
     There are a few places in God's Word which refer to events which happened in "Eternity past" before this present world system was established upon the Earth.
     One example of this truth is the creation of "the anointed cherub" as recorded in Ezekiel 28:11-19.  Our readers should carefully  study these Scriptures .   
     The "anointed cherub"  was the most beautiful creature God had ever created.  "Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty," Ezekiel 28:12.   It is glaringly obvious  from what is said about him in these Scriptures, that his creation occurred BEFORE this present world was created upon the Earth.  So where was God and His angelic hosts dwelling at that time?  Likely on the Earth, as originally created in Genesis 1:1 at some point in past eternity.
     But "the anointed cherub," due to his beauty, and likely the position for which he had been created, lifted himself up in pride, and rebelled against God, seeking to overthrow God and seize God's throne for himself, Ezekiel 28:15; 28:17.    
      The "anointed cherub"  convinced one-third of the angels to join him in his rebellion  against God.  This resulted in a war between the Angelic hosts.  The evidences of such a war still remain on some of the planets in the solar system right to this present day.   In this terrible conflict between the angels,  the Earth as originally created was brought into the state of waste and desolation [tohu waw bohu] described in Genesis 1:2.  And the "anointed cherub" became the one we believers today know as "Satan."   All of this happened in "Eternity past" before God began restoring the Earth as recorded in Genesis 1:3-31.   
          God Then Left the Defiled Earth
     It is almost impossible for the human mind to grasp the holiness and righteousness of Almighty God.  Only those readers who are true believers even come close to having some Scriptural concept of Almighty God, 1 Corinthians 2:14.   Lost Christ rejectors  don't have a clue about the holiness of Almighty God.    
     But God, the spirtual Father of all true believers, is so holy and righteous that He will not dwell in the presence of sin, wickedness, and evil, or even look upon sin, Habakkuk 1:13.
     Therefore, at some point, in eternity past, following the rebellion of the "anointed cherub," God left the earth.  I do not know the exact point in time when God left the earth, but I do know that He left it, for His inspired Word says so.......  
      "The Lord has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all,"  Psalm 103:19.  
     Every true believer expects to go to Heaven when their life on earth ends, but where is Heaven?  Of course it is somewhere in space above the Earth.  But where?  
     God Himself called the space between the waters left on the Earth, and the waters in space above the Earth;"Heaven," Genesis 1:8.   So is that where the souls of those who are true believers go when we leave this life and this Earth?  To reside a ways out in space around the Earth?   Think about it!   
     According to the inspired statement of David in Psalm 103:19, the Lord "prepared" some certain place for "His throne in the heavens."  Notice that this is plural; "heavens," not heaven [singular].  So somewhere in the vast heavens above the Earth, there is a special "prepared" place from which God is ruling, and believers today refer to that place simply as "Heaven."
     Dear readers, one thing I have learned well in 65 years of Bible study, is that the Word of the Lord sets forth literal truth.  The statements set forth in God's Word are absolutely true and can be relied on by those seeking TRUTH.    
     At some point after the rebellion of "the anointed cherub," God left the earth, moved out into the vastness of space, and "prepared" Himself a place from which He could rule over His entire Kingdom [all that which He had created].  See Daniel 2:20-22.    
     Truth Verified   
     In April of 1990,  the Hubble Space Telescope was built and put into orbit in space, under the supervision of NASA.   Hubble is a highly advanced, computer controlled, infra-red, radar telescope, similar to the super powerful telescopes used in observatories on Earth today. However,  the Hubble Telescope has the advantage of operating in space, beyond the atmosphere of the Earth, which gives it a much clearer view of everything it examines  in space.  After its mirrors were repaired in 1993, it was sent to the outer edge of the solasr system, to look into space beyond the solar system, and send back photos of what was out there.   Right there I believe Almighty God intervened, for the Hubble Telescope locked onto a tremendous bright light in the northern sky outside of the solar system.  The light was so bright and large that those at the controls at NASA in Houston, first thought it had to be a planet which had somehow been overlooked.  But  when the infra-red radio telescope was used to examine the light, it was glaringly apparent that the light was being emitted by a gigantic glowing CITY floating freely in space.  They identified it as a CITY, because, even though thousands of miles away, they could make out the outline of buildings in the CITY.  Hubble took hundreds of photos of this CITY IN SPACE, all of which were filed under the classification of HEAVEN, because someone at NASA suggested that what they were photographing looked like HEAVEN to them.    
     Their file of photos of the object, instead of being released to the public, as had been their usual procedure up to that time, was immediately classified as TOP SECRET and sealed.  Those who had seen the photos were sworn to secrecy, under threat of being prosecuted by NASA for releasing information from classified government files.  
     But God has a way of revealing whatever He wants revealed, and WHEN He wants it revealed.   Remember that we are living in "the last days."  Praise the Lord!  
      An employee of NASA, who had seen the photos as they came in, felt that the public had a right to know about this amazing  discovery in space.  So he smuggled out one of the photos of the great CITY floating in space, and offered the story of the discovery and photo to several world news organizations.  But they all refused to publish the photo or story, for fear of prosecution by NASA.    The photo and story was finally published in a tabloid and thereby became public knowledge.  I have a copy of the photo and the story of it's discovery in my personal files.  Significantly, it looks like a great GOLDEN CITY floating in space.  
     Now some readers can laugh, and throw this study aside  if they so choose, but this fits exactly what the Word of the Lord says in Psalm 103:19.  When God left the Earth, He "prepared" a place for "His thone in the heavens."  Just "coincidence?"  Be careful!  The inspired Word speaks of some living in these "last days" who choose to be "willingly ignorant," 2 Peter 3:4-5.  I hope none of our readers are in their ranks.  
A Temporary Residence
     What this means is that the "Heaven" that the souls of all true believers go to when our life ends, is only a temporary dwelling place.  God created the Earth as the place where mankind was to  dwell.  God also gave mankind "dominion" [rule]  over the whole Earth, Genesis 1:26-28.  The whole earth is then " the kingdom" over which mankind was to rule, with all creatures on the earth under the "dominion" of man.  But when the first man, Adam, disobeyed God and introduced SIN into the world, he lost "dominion" over the earth, and everything in it, and Satan became, "the god of this world," 2 Corinthians 4:4.  
The Kingdom Restored
        Dear readers, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this Earth following the end of the Tribulation Period, WHO does He bring back to Earth with Him?   Every saved person in Heaven!  Read it for yourself in Zechariah 14:5 and 1 Thessalonians 3:13.  Don't fail to notice the word "all" in both of these Scripture passages.  Every "saint" in Heaven is coming back with the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming.  Glory to God!  
       Why is the Lord Jesus bringing back "all"  of  saved mankind  which are presently in Heaven above?  He is bringing them back to rule and reign with Himself over "the Kingdom" which Adam lost when he fell from his state of innocence, and brought sin and death upon all of mankind, Romans 5:12. We who have been redeemed, and are new creations "in Christ," 2 Corinthians 5:17,  are coming back to exercise the "dominion" over the Earth, that was promised to mankind some 6,000 years ago when God created Adam, Genesis 1:28.  Compare Revelation 5:8-10.   Glory to God!  Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!  
Back to the Future.......
     All that I have given our readers so far is background for what is yet to come for God's redeemed people.  Now let's go to the vision John received in Revelation 21 - 22.  John was shown.....
A New Heaven and a New Earth
       A new heaven and a new earth, Rev. 21:1.   
      Yet the new Earth was on the same Planet Earth, on which we live today, being signified by John's statement, "and there was no more sea."   
     Why?  Because God will  have "renewed" the face of the Earth, Psalm  102:25-26; 104:30.  There will be "no more sea" because God will have used the "mountains" presently on the Earth, to fill up the beds of the seas and oceans, restoring the Earth to one gigantic land mass, exactly as it was "in the beginning," Genesis 1:9, Psalm 46:1-3, Isaiah 54:10; Ezekiel 38:19-20,  Revelation 16:20.
    I am certain some reader will  object, saying that all that water in the seas and oceans could not possibly be displaced without flooding the entire Earth again.  That is true!  But God isn't going to flood the Earth again, Genesis 9:9-17.       
     Rather,  at the same time God is filling the sea and ocean beds with the mountains, He  will remove all of  the water from the seas and oceans, a placing it again in space above the Earth [possibly as rings around the Earth  ?], just as He did "in the beginning," Genesis 1:6-8.   Glory to God!   What a mighty God is our Heavenly Father.  
     New Jerusalem
     Then in Rev. 21:2, John was shown New Jerusalem  "coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."  
      Obviously God Himself is directing in the moving of that CITY, presently somewhere in space above the Earth, which we believers  refer to as "Heaven," bringing it  down to the surface of the Earth.  It is the CITY God "prepared" especially for a temporary dwelling place for  the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ; His chosen bride.  At this present time, it serves as the home of every person who has placed their faith in the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I hope every reader has done so.    
  Questions  Answered
    [1]  The measurements of this heavenly city are set forth in Rev. 21:15-17.  Transposed into English measurements,  one wall of this city would be 1,500 miles in length.  And the city is foursquare.  This means it would be 6,000 miles around the entire city.  So where could such a gigantic city coming down out of space set down on this Earth?
    Many claim  that it would be impossible for such a city to set down on the Earth, so they have it orbiting above the Earth in space.  I once believed this, until the Lord God graciously put the pieces of the puzzle together for me.  What is impossible with men, is a  simple matter  for Father God, Matthew 19:26.  
     God will simply fill up the sea and ocean beds with soil from the mountains, placing the waters back in the heavens, and making the Earth just one giant land mass again, just like it was "in the beginning," Genesis 1:6-8; Psalm 46: 1-3.     
     This will provide plenty of room for New Jerusalem to set down on the surface of the Earth, when the sea beds are filled up with soil from the mountains being carried into the seas, Psalm 46:1-2.  Figure it out for yourself.  
       The wall is only 1,500 miles in length.  Folks, it is from three to five thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean, and some 3,000 miles across the Pacific.   New Jerusalem can set down on either of those filled sea beds, and have room left over.  Glory to God!
     [2]   Some claim that since New Jerusalem is a great GOLDEN CITY, the surface of the Earth could not possibly support the weight of the city, so when it comes down it has to orbit in space above the Earth.  
     Pshaw!  Have those making this claim seen the "foundations" of the Earth?  No?  Neither have I, but I am certain that the Earth's "foundations" will support anything ALMIGHTY GOD chooses to set on them.  In addition, isn't it God who decides how much anything is to weigh, at any given time?   Stop limiting the POWER of Him who is Almighty!   Plain enough?   
The Tabernacle of God
     Then in Rev. 21:3, John heard "a great voice out of heaven," telling him that the tabernacle [residence; dwelling place] of God Himself was  with mankind, even though at that instant it had not yet come down from Heaven.  
     It appears to me that this Scripture lays bare the heart of God for mankind whom He created.  Obviously, when God created mankind, He wanted some beings similar to Himself, with whom He could have fellowship.  Read it for yourself in Genesis 1:26-27.  So even before
John was shown  New Jerusalem literally coming down, he was told that God,s place with mankind had already been determined.  Glory to God!    
       One of the main  excuses wicked men have used ever since the fall of Adam, for making idols of wood and stone, is that they want a god they could see and touch and hear,  and bow before, as they worship.  The true God knew this, and hid himself from fallen mankind, demanding that they receive Him by faith.  But at that future time, God will reveal Himself to all of mankind on the Earth, and "will be their God,"  because every one of mankind living on the Earth at that time,  will have been redeemed by faith in the precious blood of Christ.  Every redeemed person will also have been  totally cleansed of the "sin nature" we presently  receive as a result of Adam's fall.    Glory to God!
     The Results of God Coming "Home"
     Then in Rev. 21:4, John was told that Father 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."  
      Dear readers, it is "the wages of sin" that brings  "death" upon mankind. Romans 6:23.  This inspired Scripture assures us who are true believers that there will be no more sin upon the Earth.  Not some!  None!  Sin will be gone "for ever."  
     This means that there will be no more funerals to attend; that every baby born will be born without a sin nature, and will then  live forever.  Oh, glory to God!  Hallelujah!   
      But it also means that no one will ever grow old again, and have to endure the sorrow and sickness and pain that comes with old age.  Right here stop and read Job 33:23--25 and Psalm 92:12-15.  
        All of "the former things" we presently have to endure during our lives, will be gone for ever, as  Father God will come "home" and make "a new beginning."   
     All Things Made New
     This truth is clearly stated in Rev. 21:5, where John hears Father God Himself saying to him, "Behold, I make all things new.  And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful."   We who are true believers, like John was,  can then believe these words without any reservations.  Father God's words will come to pass!   Hallelujah!  
     Spoken by our Eternal Father
     In the next two Scriptures, Rev. 21:6-7 God spoke directly to John, clearly identifying Himself to John, by saying.......
      "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."   
      And who is "the overcomer" to whom this promise applies?  Stop right here and read 1 John 5:1-5.  Then praise the Lord!   
     Dear readers, this is an invitation from God Himself to receive His salvation in Christ Jesus, John 3:16.  Being saved then means that YOU will be present when Father God Himself RETURNS back to the Earth; when all of these prophecies literally come to pass.  This present evil world [Galatians 1:4] will SOON pass away.   Don't and reader  miss this glorious future due to your love for the world!  
What Awaits the Wicked
     Then in Rev. 21:8 Father God graciously gave a stern warning to those of mankind who refuse to believe.....
     "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."  
     Dear readers, it is true!  Those true believers who receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior, who die before the rapture. will only die once, and yet will live "for ever,"   But those who stubbornly reject Christ will die twice!  Every reader, by the GRACE of God,  has been warned!  
Then God Comes Home
     In Rev. 21:9-10 John was graciously carried to the top of a high mountain [likely to get above earth's atmosphere in order to see more clearly], and there he was shown "the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God."  
     From this point on through the rest of chapter 21, and the first five verses of chapter 22, John describes in detail what he is being shown about Father God, the Lord Jesus, and New Jerusalem.  
     I am not going to expound each of these Scriptures, as this study is long enough already.  But please study it all!  
     Then beginning in Rev. 22:6 and extending through the remainder of the chapter, John concludes his vision, by exhorting and warning his readers about the consequences of refusing to believe what he has written by the Divine Inspiration of Almighty God, 2 Timothy 3:16.  
     FATHER GOD is coming "home" to the Earth He left so long ago.  Will YOU be among the great gathering of the redeemed ready to meet Him when He arrives back on Planet Earth?  
     And may God bless His wonderful Word to the hearts and minds of every reader is my prayer.  
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     My personal contact information:
POSTAL.....Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd. 8120, Rolla, MO 65401
EMAIL.......francismriley34@gmail..com
PHONE.....573-202-6493
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