THE EARTH RECLAIMED
by Lucretia Mccloud aka Seah Greenhorn
(poem with copyright)
Legends
of a Golden Age
or Blessed Era
of Sinlessness
Exists
among Egyptians, Mexicans, Peruvians, and Tibetans too.
They also spoke of tragedy:
A Fall Into Sin
where deep darkness begins
to drive the Light of Righteous
to flicker
and die
within
growing nations
feeding no hungry
desires
to try to rekindle
a worthy fire
or zeal
for cultivating
Gardens of fruitages
Divine
like posies
of meekness and peace
and roses of
simply kind.
Though distorted
yes... embellished, these stories grew
yet many common threads weave harmoniously through
verifying, not coincidence,
but 'Truth.'
Were world accounts tied to historical events?
Indeed, does not an image
emerge
mirroring Genesis's
chronology
of mankind's descent
lacking the mystery
and vagueness of fantasy;
but embedded with specifics
which validate authenticity
heaven sent?
Over time
prophecy revealed
this message of hope
multitudes of meek
to thrill.
This Light
travelled up a mountainous hill
lighting the way back
to man's beginning--
perfection
with families taught
God's will and purpose
where dangerous were naught.
His Son spoke of Blessings
future fulfilled:
Meek to inherit
and spiritually hungry
filled
under a Kingdom established
to finish Father's will:
"Be fruitful and become many,"
Yes... "fill
the earth." With future
Son's of God
chosen
with Christ to reign,
since only these
and not angels
can understand
mankind's now suffering
and pain in all our land.
Yes, a victory over Death
the struggling righteous
will gain.
And
Harmony between
heaven and earth
Again.
Reclaimed.
of a Golden Age
or Blessed Era
of Sinlessness
Exists
among Egyptians, Mexicans, Peruvians, and Tibetans too.
They also spoke of tragedy:
A Fall Into Sin
where deep darkness begins
to drive the Light of Righteous
to flicker
and die
within
growing nations
feeding no hungry
desires
to try to rekindle
a worthy fire
or zeal
for cultivating
Gardens of fruitages
Divine
like posies
of meekness and peace
and roses of
simply kind.
Though distorted
yes... embellished, these stories grew
yet many common threads weave harmoniously through
verifying, not coincidence,
but 'Truth.'
Were world accounts tied to historical events?
Indeed, does not an image
emerge
mirroring Genesis's
chronology
of mankind's descent
lacking the mystery
and vagueness of fantasy;
but embedded with specifics
which validate authenticity
heaven sent?
Over time
prophecy revealed
this message of hope
multitudes of meek
to thrill.
This Light
travelled up a mountainous hill
lighting the way back
to man's beginning--
perfection
with families taught
God's will and purpose
where dangerous were naught.
His Son spoke of Blessings
future fulfilled:
Meek to inherit
and spiritually hungry
filled
under a Kingdom established
to finish Father's will:
"Be fruitful and become many,"
Yes... "fill
the earth." With future
Son's of God
chosen
with Christ to reign,
since only these
and not angels
can understand
mankind's now suffering
and pain in all our land.
Yes, a victory over Death
the struggling righteous
will gain.
And
Harmony between
heaven and earth
Again.
Reclaimed.
For contest:The Beatitudes
A Perfect Start
The book of Genesis tells us that when God created the first humans—Adam and Eve—he placed them in a well-watered garden called the Garden of Eden. They had perfect health and the prospect of everlasting life. Death was the penalty for sin. (Genesis 2:8-17; Romans 5:12) Adam and Eve were to “be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28) The result would be a global paradise filled with perfect humans in joyful subjection to God, their Ruler.
Sadly, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, forfeiting both their opportunity to fulfill their Creator’s purpose and their prospect of living forever. Nevertheless, Jehovah God will fulfill his purpose for the earth. “My word that goes forth from my mouth . . . will not return to me without results,” he said, but “it will have certain success.” (Isaiah 55:11) Indeed, Jehovah’s purpose for the earth to be a paradise home for humans who reflect his qualities is a major theme of the Bible.—Romans 8:19-21.
“You Will Be With Me in Paradise”
Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, God promised to produce a “seed,” or offspring, who would ultimately destroy “the original serpent,” Satan the Devil, and break up his wicked works. (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 12:9; 1 John 3:8) That “seed” proved to be primarily Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:16) What is more, God appointed him King of a heavenly Kingdom, or government, that will rule over the earth.—Daniel 7:13, 14; Revelation 11:15.
Christ will fully accomplish what Adam failed to do. In fact, the Bible calls Jesus “the last Adam.” (1 Corinthians 15:45) Moreover, in his model prayer, Jesus linked earth’s future to God’s Kingdom, saying: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”—Matthew 6:10.
When Jesus was on earth, he—as earth’s future King—could rightly say to the repentant evildoer impaled alongside him: “You will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) The Paradise that Jesus had in mind would be on earth, as God originally purposed. This fact is well supported in the Bible. Consider the following texts.
“The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” (Psalm 37:29) “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.” (Psalm 72:16) “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it.” (Proverbs 2:21) “They [the blameless] will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”—Isaiah 11:9.
In harmony with those statements, in his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) Later, the apostle John wrote: “The tent of God is with mankind . . . He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3, 4) Clearly, these Bible texts refer, not to a heavenly “paradise,” but to a physical one here on earth.
What Bible Scholars Have Said
Many Bible scholars maintain that under Christ’s Kingdom, earth will become a paradise. Said theologian Joseph A. Seiss: “The whole earth under the Messiah must then ultimately become . . . what it . . . would have been if Adam had never sinned.” In the commentary The New Testament for English Readers, Henry Alford wrote: “That kingdom of God . . . shall work onwards till it shall become actually a kingdom over this earth, and its subjects shall inherit the earth . . . , finally in its renewed and blessed state for ever.”—Italics his.
Likewise, famous scientist and keen student of the Bible Isaac Newton wrote: “The earth shall continue to be inhabited by mortals [humans] after the day of judgment and that not only for 1000 years, but even for ever.”
Because the earth will come under the direct rule of Jesus Christ, wickedness will never again take root. (Isaiah 11:1-5, 9) Yes, the earth will be a paradise in every respect, forever a credit to its Creator.
A Perfect Start
The book of Genesis tells us that when God created the first humans—Adam and Eve—he placed them in a well-watered garden called the Garden of Eden. They had perfect health and the prospect of everlasting life. Death was the penalty for sin. (Genesis 2:8-17; Romans 5:12) Adam and Eve were to “be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28) The result would be a global paradise filled with perfect humans in joyful subjection to God, their Ruler.
Sadly, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, forfeiting both their opportunity to fulfill their Creator’s purpose and their prospect of living forever. Nevertheless, Jehovah God will fulfill his purpose for the earth. “My word that goes forth from my mouth . . . will not return to me without results,” he said, but “it will have certain success.” (Isaiah 55:11) Indeed, Jehovah’s purpose for the earth to be a paradise home for humans who reflect his qualities is a major theme of the Bible.—Romans 8:19-21.
“You Will Be With Me in Paradise”
Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, God promised to produce a “seed,” or offspring, who would ultimately destroy “the original serpent,” Satan the Devil, and break up his wicked works. (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 12:9; 1 John 3:8) That “seed” proved to be primarily Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:16) What is more, God appointed him King of a heavenly Kingdom, or government, that will rule over the earth.—Daniel 7:13, 14; Revelation 11:15.
Christ will fully accomplish what Adam failed to do. In fact, the Bible calls Jesus “the last Adam.” (1 Corinthians 15:45) Moreover, in his model prayer, Jesus linked earth’s future to God’s Kingdom, saying: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”—Matthew 6:10.
When Jesus was on earth, he—as earth’s future King—could rightly say to the repentant evildoer impaled alongside him: “You will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) The Paradise that Jesus had in mind would be on earth, as God originally purposed. This fact is well supported in the Bible. Consider the following texts.
“The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” (Psalm 37:29) “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.” (Psalm 72:16) “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it.” (Proverbs 2:21) “They [the blameless] will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”—Isaiah 11:9.
In harmony with those statements, in his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) Later, the apostle John wrote: “The tent of God is with mankind . . . He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3, 4) Clearly, these Bible texts refer, not to a heavenly “paradise,” but to a physical one here on earth.
What Bible Scholars Have Said
Many Bible scholars maintain that under Christ’s Kingdom, earth will become a paradise. Said theologian Joseph A. Seiss: “The whole earth under the Messiah must then ultimately become . . . what it . . . would have been if Adam had never sinned.” In the commentary The New Testament for English Readers, Henry Alford wrote: “That kingdom of God . . . shall work onwards till it shall become actually a kingdom over this earth, and its subjects shall inherit the earth . . . , finally in its renewed and blessed state for ever.”—Italics his.
Likewise, famous scientist and keen student of the Bible Isaac Newton wrote: “The earth shall continue to be inhabited by mortals [humans] after the day of judgment and that not only for 1000 years, but even for ever.”
Because the earth will come under the direct rule of Jesus Christ, wickedness will never again take root. (Isaiah 11:1-5, 9) Yes, the earth will be a paradise in every respect, forever a credit to its Creator.
