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Our eternal home, God’s coming creation, will be completely different in every way from His first creation (i.e., our current earth and universe). Most importantly, sin will not be present in the new creation, and God will be at its center.

What do the following verses tell you about our coming eternal home?

1. Isaiah 65:17: "See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind."
   1. ANSWER: Interesting, think about it, our coming home will be so different, so magnificent in every way, and we will be in the constant eternal presence of God—so much so that we will never think of the "former things." It is going to be amazing! Check out what Revelation 21:4 says about "former things." It says "the old order of things has passed away." A new creation, a new order of things, is coming—built in the image of God’s new creation.
2. 2 Peter 3:13: "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and new earth, where righteousness dwells."
   1. ANSWER: This new home gives us hope and a future to look forward to. When God said that he has plans for us, to give us a hope and a future, he meant much more than simply this short life we live on this earth, This current creation is only the beginning of God’s creating and providing an eternal home for all of us who put our faith in Christ.
3. John 14:1-3: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
   1. ANSWER: What a promise, what an assurance! Jesus is preparing a home for each of us. It’s going to be beautiful, and he promises to come back and take us there. I can hardly wait for that day to come! That will be a creation that we will never forget—something completely new, righteous, without sin, and with God as its originator.
4. Revelation 21:1-3: "Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ’Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’"
   1. ANSWER: We will be united with God in the New Jerusalem!
5. Revelation 21:22-26. List all of the things that make the new creation so much different from our current one:
   1. ANSWER 1: There is no sun, moon, stars, or night.
   2. ANSWER 2: God is present and is the center. Because of his presence with us we will not need the sun, as God’s light will be our light—pure, holy, and without sin. Therefore, so will all of his new creation be pure, holy, and without sin.
   3. ANSWER 3: Nothing "unclean," nothing "detestable," nor nothing "false" will be in the new creation; and "only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life" will reside there.

All of this was, and is, a part of God’s eternal plan. When He, through Jesus, created all of this, He already had a plan for our eternal home—including that He, Jesus, the Creator, would have to come in human form, suffer and die, and be resurrected, in order for His eternal plan to be complete. All of this was pre–ordained before Day One of creation.

Now, consider the following:

6. When was Christ slain, when did Christ die for us? This is perhaps one of the most important questions that you need to answer before we take another step toward studying the creation story. (See Revelation 13:8.) What else happened before the foundation of the world was laid? (See also John 17:24, Ephesians 1:4, and 1 Peter 1:20.)
   1. ANSWER: Christ was "slain from the creation of the world." This means that God in His triune being knew before He created anything that man would sin and need a savior—Jesus the Christ. Christ knew that he would need to come to earth, suffer and die, and be raised again—all before anything was created. This also means that, even back then, before a single thing was created, God knew you, and he loved you, and he chose to create you and send his only son to die for you so that you could be a part of his eternal plan for those He loves. God through Jesus chose us, he chose you and he chose me, before the creation of anything. All we need to do is accept His great gift, His only son Jesus as our savior. Then we know that our names are written in "the Lamb’s book of life."
7. Was Christ present at creation? What do John 1:1-5, 14; and Colossians 1:15-17 tell us?
   1. ANSWER 1: Yes, there is no doubt that he was. You might also find the book "Christ Before the Manger: The Life and Times of the Preincarnate Christ" by Ron Rhodes a good read, as it details Jesus’ presence before creation and throughout the Old and New Testaments.
   2. ANSWER 2: John writes that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
   3. ANSWER 3: Colossians states: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
   4. ANSWER 4: The fact that (1) Christ was present at creation, and (2) that all things were created through Him, is supported in many verses in the Bible. This is important, because it shows us that even before God created anything, He knew that he would have to come down to earth as Jesus, i.e., Emmanuel ("God with us"), to die on the cross and be resurrected, in order to save His creation, and mankind. This was all determined before He created anything i.e., all before Genesis 1:1.

I know that this is a lot for many of you to absorb, and I encourage you to read back through this lesson again before we begin our study of Genesis Chapter 1 in our next lesson. I interpret the first three chapters of Genesis much differently today, knowing all that occurred before Day 1 of creation; and it gives me a much deeper understanding of God’s eternal plan when creation began. It shows us that there is more to God’s vision for us than simply providing us with this short life on earth. As we go, along we’ll see that God has a real purpose for us that gives meaning to our lives beyond our day-to-day existence.

For now, my prayer is that through this lesson the Holy Spirit has opened your eyes to God’s plan for each of us—His eternal plan, all of which he knew before he created anything, including us.

In Christ,

Wes

[2022]

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