[singlepic id=16 w=550\u00a0 float=left]<\/p>\n
Every now and then I like posting something incisive that was written in the past because it speaks so well into the present. The sweet thing about this is that these guys, who are often waved away today, have dealt with a lot of the same issues while remaining simultaneously (by the modern mind) ignored. This one comes from the Early Church Father Irenaeus:<\/p>\n
Now all these things being such as they are, cannot be understood in reference to super-celestial matters; \u201c\ufefffor God,\ufeff\u201d it is said, \u201c\ufeffwill show to the whole earth that is under heaven thy glory.\ufeff\u201d<\/p>\n
But in the times of the kingdom, the earth has been called again by Christ [to its pristine condition], and Jerusalem rebuilt after the pattern of the Jerusalem above, of which the prophet Isaiah says, \u201c\ufeffBehold, I have depicted thy walls upon my hands, and thou art always in my sight,\ufeff\u201d And the apostle, too, writing to the Galatians, says in like manner, \u201c\ufeffBut the Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.\ufeff\u201d<\/p>\n
He does not say this with any thought of an erratic Aeon, or of any other power which departed from the Pleroma, or of Prunicus, but of the Jerusalem which has been delineated on [God\ufeff\u2019s] hands. And in the Apocalypse John saw this new [Jerusalem] descending upon the new earth. For after the times of the kingdom, he says, \u201c\ufeffI saw a great white throne, and Him who sat upon it, from whose face the earth fled away, and the heavens; and there was no more place for them.\ufeff\u201d<\/p>\n
And he sets forth, too, the things connected with the general resurrection and the judgment, mentioning \u201c\ufeffthe dead, great and small.\ufeff\u201d \u201c\ufeffThe sea,\ufeff\u201d he says, \u201c\ufeffgave up the dead which it had in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead that they contained; and the books were opened. Moreover,\ufeff\u201d he says, \u201c\ufeffthe book of life was opened, and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books, according to their works; and death and hell were sent into the lake of fire, the second death.\ufeff\u201d<\/p>\n
Now this is what is called Gehenna, which the Lord styled eternal fire. \u201c\ufeffAnd if any one,\ufeff\u201d it is said, \u201c\ufeffwas not found written in the book of life, he was sent into the lake of fire.\ufeff\u201d And after this, he says, \u201c\ufeffI saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth have passed away; also there was no more sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, as a bride adorned for her husband.\ufeff\u201d \u201c\ufeffAnd I heard,\ufeff\u201d it is said, \u201c\ufeffa great voice from the throne, 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 as their God. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, because the former things have passed away.\ufeff\u201d<\/p>\n
Isaiah also declares the very same: \u201c\ufeffFor there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and there shall be no remembrance of the former, neither shall the heart think about them, but they shall find in it joy and exultation.\ufeff\u201d Now this is what has been said by the apostle: \u201c\ufeffFor the fashion of this world passeth away.\ufeff\u201d To the same purpose did the Lord also declare, \u201c\ufeffHeaven and earth shall pass away.\ufeff\u201d When these things, therefore, pass away above the earth, John, the Lord\ufeff\u2019s disciple, says that the new Jerusalem above shall [then] descend, as a bride adorned for her husband; and that this is the tabernacle of God, in which God will dwell with men. Of this Jerusalem the former one is an image\u2014that Jerusalem of the former earth in which the righteous are disciplined beforehand for incorruption and prepared for salvation.<\/p>\n
And of this tabernacle Moses received the pattern in the mount; and nothing is capable of being allegorized, but all things are steadfast, and true, and substantial, having been made by God for righteous men\ufeff\u2019s enjoyment. For as it is God truly who raises up man, so also does man truly rise from the dead, and not allegorically, as I have shown repeatedly. And as he rises actually, so also shall he be actually disciplined beforehand for incorruption, and shall go forwards and flourish in the times of the kingdom, in order that he may be capable of receiving the glory of the Father.<\/p>\n
Then, when all things are made new, he shall truly dwell in the city of God. For it is said, \u201c\ufeffHe that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And the Lord says, Write all this; for these words are faithful and true. And He said to me, They are done.\ufeff\u201d<\/p>\n
And this is the truth of the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[singlepic id=16 w=550\u00a0 float=left] Every now and then I like posting something incisive that was written in the past because it speaks so well into the present. The sweet thing about this is that these guys, who are often waved away today, have dealt with a lot of the same issues while remaining simultaneously (by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,533],"tags":[613,612,361],"class_list":["post-2468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eschatology","category-quotables","tag-gehenna","tag-hell","tag-irenaeus"],"yoast_head":"\n