The Biblical Necessity of a Third Jewish Temple – Jonathan Brentner - https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config/2022/9/15/the-biblical-necessity-of-a-third-jewish-temple   The third Jewish temple has been in the planning stage for three decades. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has completed all its furnishings with the exception of the Ark of the Covenant for which they claim to know the location of the original one. The institute is currently training Levites to serve as priests in the future temple.   On its Facebook page, the Temple Institute just announced a major development in its quest to find the perfect red heifer necessary for the cleansing sacrifice of the next temple. Judging from the live video that I am watching as I write, it appears that five red heifers vying for perfection have arrived in Israel amid much excitement. We live in amazing times!   The government of Israel is also preparing for the completion of the third temple. Consider the quote below from an article on the Israel 365 News website:   Israel is upgrading its already impressive international airport. The government is also working on a railway infrastructure that will bring international travelers directly from the airport to the Temple Mount. This will enable all 70 nations to come to worship God in Jerusalem’s House of prayer, a vision that the government has already hinted is their true intention. [i]   Are all these things relevant to scriptural prophecies regarding the last days? Absolutely! They all point to the fulfillment of biblical prophecies concerning the construction of the third temple, which is a biblical necessity. It must happen in order to fulfill scriptural prophecy.   Lest you think I’m crazy for putting it that strongly, please allow me to build my case.   DANIEL’S PROPHECY REGARDING THE DESECRATION OF A FUTURE TEMPLE   In Daniel 9:24-27, the prophet lays out a timeframe of seventy weeks of years that God had determined to fulfill His purposes for the nation of Israel. Verse 27 describes a significant event that occurs during the last “week,” or final period of seven years:   “And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”   Daniel 12:11 also refers to this time when “the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up.”   The Lord, though the prophet Daniel, tells us that a future prince will make a seven-year agreement with Israel and at the halfway point of the covenant, he will desecrate the temple in Jerusalem. He will put an end to animal sacrifices, which will have started during the first half of Daniel’s seventieth week.   Lest you doubt that there will be another temple with actual animal sacrifices, please know that the Israeli government envisions religious Jews with “vegetable and animal sacrifices” riding the train to the Temple. [ii] How amazing is that!?   The nation of Israel is not only preparing to get travelers from the Ben Gurion Airport to the future temple, it’s also making provisions to get the sacrifices there as well.   JESUS PLACED THE TEMPLE DESECRATION IN THE FUTURE   How do we know Daniel’s prophecy did not already happen in history? How can we be sure that there’s a lengthy gap between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week?   Almost four centuries after the time of Daniel, Antiochus Epiphanes came to power in BC 170. He later desecrated the second Jewish temple by setting up idols in it and by offering pigs on its altar.   Although the actions of Antiochus Epiphanes may have foreshadowed what the prophet wrote about, it was not it. We know this because Jesus, in Matthew 24:15, referred to the fulfillment of Daniel 9:27 as a still future event:   So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand).   About two hundred years after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, Jesus said that the fulfilment of Daniel 9:27 would happen in the future. He also predicted that it would lead to a severe persecution of the Jewish people during a time of “great tribulation” on the earth (Matthew 24:16-21).   Roughly forty years after Jesus spoke those words, a Roman general named Titus destroyed the second Jewish Temple along with much of Jerusalem. This set off a persecution of the Jewish populace that resulted in the deaths of a great many.   Did Titus fulfill Daniel’s prophecy regarding the “abomination of desolation?” No, he did not. We know this primarily because of a key detail that the Apostle Paul adds to the fulfillment of Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24:15.   JESUS HIMSELF WILL DESTROY THE DESOLATOR AT HIS SECOND COMING   In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul identifies the person who will desecrate the temple as the “man of lawlessness,” or the one we refer to today as the “antichrist.”   “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)   The apostle tells us here that the coming desolator will be blasphemous against the Lord, sit in the “temple of God,” and “proclaim himself to be God.” Then he adds one essential detail about the one that will commit Daniel’s “abomination of desolation:” The Lord Jesus Himself will kill him at His Second Coming:   “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8)   At His return to earth, Jesus will destroy the man that fulfills Daniel’s prophecy in 9:27. Since the Lord did not kill Titus, nor did the Second Coming happen during the general’s lifetime, he cannot be the one who fulfilled this prophecy as the desolator of the temple.   THE APOSTLE JOHN WITNESSED THE DESOLATOR’S FUTURE DEMISE AS PREDICTED BY PAUL   In Revelation 13:6, John tells us that the coming beast, whom we today identify as the antichrist, will open “its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling.” This is the guy of Daniel’s prophecy (9:27 and 11:36) as well as the one Jesus referred to Matthew 24:15. He is also the “man of lawlessness” of 2 Thessalonians 2.   In Revelation 19:19-20, John provides an eyewitness of the future destruction of this future beast that will desecrate the Jewish temple:   “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.”   Just as the Apostle Paul prophesied in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Jesus Himself will destroy the “desolator” of Daniel 9:27 at His Second Coming. He will cast him into the lake of fire.   No one has ever fulfilled all that we know about Daniel’s “abomination of desolation“ from Matthew 24:15 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8.   THE WITNESS OF IRENAEUS (AD 130-202)   Irenaeus, an early church leader, bishop in Lyons, France, and prominent theologian, wrote Against Heresies in AD 180 to combat the spread of Gnosticism in the early church. He was born in Smyrna and received his training in the faith by Polycarp, whom the Apostle John himself discipled.   In Against Heresies, book 5, chapter 30, section 4, Irenaeus wrote these words:   “But when the antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple in Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous times of the kingdom . . . .”[iii]   This direct quote from Irenaeus reveals significant details about his beliefs regarding the desecration of a future temple:   Irenaeus, writing 110 years after Titus destroyed the second temple, believed that there would be another temple in Jerusalem.   Irenaeus said that the antichrist would “sit in the temple in Jerusalem” just as Paul said he would do in 2 Thessalonians 2:4.   Irenaeus predicted that Jesus Himself would destroy the antichrist at His Second Coming, exactly as Paul prophesied and as John witnessed in Revelation 19:20.   Although Irenaeus believed that God had rejected Israel, he nonetheless asserted that there would be a third temple in Jerusalem, which the antichrist would someday defile. I cannot explain such a glaring contradiction, but I believe the words of Daniel 12:9-13 shed light on it. There the prophet said that the understanding of the prophecies regarding the last days would greatly increase when that time arrives, which is now.   Although Irenaeus’ words are not Scripture, it’s highly significant that a highly respected second century AD theologian believed there would be a third temple in Jerusalem in which the antichrist would sit and defile.   THE EVIDENCE FROM SCRIPTURE TELLS US THERE MUST BE A THIRD TEMPLE   The above evidence for the biblical necessity of a third Jewish temple in Jerusalem finds its basis in the words of Scripture. If the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture apply to the words written by its many human authors, and that’s most certainly the case, then we know that God’s purposes for Israel and Jerusalem remain intact, there must be a third Jewish temple in Jerusalem by midpoint of the Tribulation.   In addition, since a key event in the seventieth week of Daniel remains unfulfilled to this day, that signifies that the entire time frame of the prophet’s last week of years awaits a future fulfillment. We have not reached the completion of the Lord’s purpose that He determined for the seventy weeks of years as Daniel wrote about in 9:24:   “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.”   God’s ultimate purposes for both the people of Israel and Jerusalem are still in play. It will be at the end of the seventieth week that the Lord will “bring in everlasting righteousness” with His return to earth and the setting up of His thousand-year reign over all the nations of the world.   WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US TODAY?   Since the seventieth week of Daniel is all about God wrapping up the purposes He revealed in Daniel 9:24 (and we see this time rapidly approaching), this tells us that Jesus’ appearing for His church is ever so close.   This seven-year period is all about Israel and Jerusalem, not the church. The Rapture must happen before this time begins since its then that God’s focus turns once again to Israel.   A Welsh Baptist preacher named Morgan Edwards, who lived 1722-1795, wrote about his belief in a pretribulation Rapture:   I say, somewhat more—, because the dead saints will be raised, and the living changed at Christ’s “appearing in the air” (I Thess. iv. 17); and this will be about three years and a half before the millennium, as we shall see hereafter: but will he and they abide in the air all that time? No: they will ascend to paradise, or to some one of those many “mansions in the father’s house” (John xiv. 2) and disappear during the foresaid period of time. The design of this retreat and disappearing will be to judge the risen and changed saints; for “now the time is come that judgment must begin,” and that will be “at the house of God” (I Pet. iv. 17).[iv]   A century later, John Darby, like Morgan Edwards, initially believed that the Tribulation would last three and a half years, the second half of Daniel’s seventieth week. However, as he studied the differences between the church and Israel, he then placed Jesus’ appearing before the antichrist’s covenant with Israel. He realized that the church did not belong in any part of the seventieth week of Daniel.   All these things tell us that we are very close to the fulfillment of Jesus’s promise in John 14:2-3:   In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.   He’s coming for us just as He said and He will take us to the place He’s preparing for us. This is the future tense of the Gospel.   In the meantime, hold the words of Philippians 3:12-4:1 close to your heart and never forget that when Jesus appears, we will appear with Him in glory (not on the earth):                         When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:4).   My book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is available on Amazon. In it, I lay a firm biblical foundation for our hope in Jesus’ soon appearing to take us home.   Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/ . It will greatly help me in reaching more people. Thanks!   [i] Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Ben Gurion Gearing Up To Bring All 70 Nations Straight From The Airport To Third Temple, September 7, 2022 @ https://www.israel365news.com/274549/ben-gurion-gearing-up-to-bring-all-70-nations-straight-from-the-airport-to-third-temple/   [ii] Ibid.   [iii] Irenaeus, “Against Heresies,” The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 10 vols., Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1979), p. 560.   [iv] Morgan Edwards, Two Academical Exercises on Subjects Bearing the Following Titles; Millennium, Last-Novelties (Philadelphia: Dobson and Lang, 1788), p. 7.

Red Heifers arrive in Israel in preparation for “Third Temple” - https://endtimeheadlines.org/2022/09/red-heifers-arrive-in-israel-in-preparation-for-third-temple/   The Temple Institute and Boneh Israel made a huge step towards reinstating the Temple service on Thursday when five red heifers landed at Ben Gurion International Airport.   The red heifer was the main component in the Biblically mandated process of ritual purification for impurity that results from proximity or contact with a dead body. Because the elements needed for this ceremony have been lacking since the destruction of the Second Temple, all Jews today are considered ritually impure, thereby preventing the return of the Temple service.   The Temple Institute launched its Red Heifer program about a decade ago, led by Rabbi Azariah Ariel. But even in Temple times, an animal that fulfilled the Biblical requirements was exceedingly rare. Failing to produce a suitable candidate from ranchers in Israel, The Temple Institute began investigating alternative sources for a red heifer.   Boneh Israel, an organization that connects Christian lovers of Israel to the Holy Land, stepped in to help. Led by Byron Stinson, a native Texan, Boneh Israel understood ranchers.   “I didn’t set out to do this, but right now, I am probably the best red heifer hunter in Texas,” Byron quipped. “The Bible says to bring a red cow to purify Israel, and I may not understand it, but I am just doing what the Bible said.”   “The prophecies came true, and the Jews are back in Israel,” Byron said. “Now they need to build a Temple. But it’s like buying a really nice car. If you don’t have the key, you aren’t going anywhere. The red heifer is the key to making the Temple work like it’s supposed to.” Boneh Israel took out full-page ads in ranching magazines, explaining the situation to ranchers. They requested that any red calves be set aside.   “Several years ago, the farmer is a devout Christian who became intensely interested in the Biblical commandment,” Stinson explained to Israsel365 News.”He began breeding cattle for this trait. So when my team and I set out to search ranches in Texas for a red heifer, his were already better suited.”   One of the major difficulties was that the government requires tagging calves right after birth. The ear tag creates a hole in the calve’s ear, a blemish that disqualifies the calf for the Mitzvah. The farmer explained that because of COVID, the employee who normally puts in the tags did not come to the farm when these five calves were born.   A team of rabbis from the Temple Institute flew out to inspect the calves last year. The requirements are incredibly demanding, requiring that there be no more than two non-red hairs on the entire calf. It must also never have been used for any labor or have been impregnated.   The heifer must be two years and one day old to be suitable for the ceremony. Sometimes, a calf that is perfectly red when it is young develops black or white hairs as it grows older or may develop a blemish. Sometimes, the colored hairs fall out or disappear. Certifying the calf requires a complete and intensive inspection in which a rabbi knowledgeable in the laws goes over the entire calf with a magnifying glass.   Chanan Kupietzky, an Orthodox Jewish resident of Efrat, is the liaison between Boneh Israel and the rabbis of The Temple Institute. “The Jews don’t need to be pure to build the Temple or to bring the public sacrifices,” Chanan explained. “On the other hand, purity will take it to the next level and will facilitate rebuilding the Temple and doing the service.”   “Education is essential to move forward, for the Jews and non-Jews,” Chanan said. “Boneh Israel is an Israeli organization whose main goal is education.”   The cows were between 5-8 months old. To be suitable for the red heifer ceremony, the cow must be two years and one day old so these heifers will be raised in Israel until they reach the proper age. Chanan pointed out that last year was 5781 in the Hebrew calendar.   “In Hebrew numerology, this is תשפא. That is an acronym for תהיה שנה פרה אדומה (it will be the year of the red heifer). The cows we are looking at now were conceived last year,” Kupietzy said. “This year is תשפ,ב 5782, an acronym for תהיה שנה פרה בישראל (It will be a year for the heifer in Israel). In two weeks we will begin תשפג, 5783, the year in which the ceremony of the Red Heifer will be performed. This is an acronym for תהיה שנה פרה גאולה (It will be a year of the Red Heifer of redemption).”

Worldview: Perfect Economic Storm – By Amir Tsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/worldview-w-amir-tsarfati-perfect-economic-storm/   I would like to begin by once again expressing my condolences to my all my dear friends in the United Kingdom over the death of Queen Elizabeth II. For decades, she has been a steady constant in a very unstable world. My prayers, and those of the entire Behold Israel team, go out for you during this time of loss and transition.   North Korea is officially a nuclear state, according to a law recently passed by the nation’s government. As such, it reserves the right to employ a preemptive nuclear strike when necessary. Also, it declares that its nuclear status is irreversible, while barring any future denuclearization talks.   It is very unlikely that a nuclear agreement will be signed with Iran before November. This is a good thing, says Mossad head David Barnea. He went on to state, “The deal is based on Iranian lies. Iran has sought to build a nuclear weapon that endangers Israel’s existence. This deal will easily help them reach this goal under international legitimization.” Whether or not a deal is ultimately signed, few people believe that Iran will be deterred in their nuclear ambitions through any method other than force.   In the same speech, the Mossad’s Barnea openly accused the Iranian regime of using terror as their primary method of diplomacy. “Terror serves to help the survival of the regime, prevents any change by the Iranian public, undermines the sovereignty of its neighbors, and deters them from cooperating with Israel. Terror is used to extort countries all over the world.” Included in this program of terror are dozens of Iranian attacks against Israelis abroad that have been thwarted by Israel’s intelligence agency, according to its reports. As for their habit of hiding behind their proxy militias, Barnea was having none of it, saying, “The Iranian leadership must understand that attacks against Israel or Israelis, directly or indirectly by proxies, will be met with a painful response against those responsible, on Iranian soil. We will not pursue the proxies, but the ones who armed them and gave the orders, and this will happen in Iran.”   In this same vein, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz revealed more than ten facilities where precision missiles are being manufactured in Syria for use by Iran and the Shiite militias. Using a map, he pointed out where the Syrian Military Industry (SERS) is creating these weapons for use against Israel.   The Lebanese lira is nearing a historic low, trading in the markets around a rate of 37,000 lira to one US dollar. In October 2019, the rate was 1500 lira to the US dollar.   The Russian military is suffering heavy losses in the northeastern front. The Ukrainian army seems to have caught them flatfooted and was able to repatriate thousands of square miles of land, including the city of Izium, in the worst Russian setback since March. In retaliation, Moscow has used the same weapon they are employing against the rest of Europe – energy. The Kharkiv and Donetsk regions went dark Sunday and three other regions partially lost power after the Russian army shelled power plants throughout the area. Separately, the Russians have shut down Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which supplies 20% of the nation’s electricity. There are also reports of Putin’s military attacking hydroelectric plants and destroying dams.   As mentioned above, Russia still has Europe in an energy headlock. The Eurozone is now paying for its addictions, first to the chimera of alternative energy, and second, to Russian gas. The former has disappointed them with its impracticality and limited reach, while the second is controlled by a man who won’t hesitate to shut off the spigot to extort what he wants.   In a not-at-all unconnected story, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised it rates by an unprecedented 0.75%. Ostensibly to combat its record inflation of 9.1%, energy fears have a strong hand in guiding Europe’s current economy. Along with the announcement, the ECB warned that there would likely be more rate hikes in the months to come.   As US President Joe Biden held a White House celebration over his Inflation Reduction Act, the country’s inflation rate hit 8.3% and the stock market tumbled over 1300 points. But the legendary James Taylor sang a song, so I suppose that made it all alright.   Quite possibly the most concerning economic news is China’s recession, which is only going to get worse. Severe long-term drought has caused major increases in the cost of transportation, water, and electricity. Housing is in crisis mode because of a government sponsored Ponzi scheme forcing Chinese people to buy more houses. The Belt and Road Initiative that was intended as a sort of new “Silk Road” for linking China to Europe and other parts of the world has failed due to many of the poorer countries to whom China has loaned money – Tajikistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and other African countries – defaulting on their payments. Finally, they continue their zero COVID tolerance policy that is shutting down whole cities. Mix all that together and you have a perfect economic storm. It is likely to be a very eventful six months ahead of us.   The Armenia-Azerbaijan hot spot has boiled over and there are reports of fierce fighting along the border. Armenia is claiming that the Azerbaijani army is attacking cities and towns with drones and mortars, and reports of the dead on both sides are reaching 100-150. Shia and Sunni are once again squaring off as Iran threatens Azerbaijan to not make changes to the border with Armenia, even as Turkey is sending cargo planes full of military equipment to the Azerbaijanis.   Turkey may turn to Russia for fighter jets if the US reneges on a deal to sell the country F-16s. In 2019, Turkey purchased an advanced missile defense system from Russia, causing Washington to cut them out of a deal to update their military aircraft. Fine, says Erdogan. “The US is not the only one selling war planes in the world. The UK, France, and Russia sell them as well…and others are sending us signals.” With the burgeoning relationship between Putin’s Russia and Erdogan’s Turkey, it is likely that the deal will be struck between those two nations.   Today begins the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Among those attending will be Russian President Putin, Chinese President Xi, Indian Prime Minister Modi, Turkish President Erdogan, and Iranian President Raisi. Originally intended to combat extremism and terrorism in Central Asia, the organization has morphed to become an economic, industrial, and technology alliance. While Turkey and Iran are not full-fledged members, they still participate and Iran’s membership into the alliance is on this year’s agenda.

The New Heavens and Earth – Recreation or Renovation? – Lee W. Brainard - https://www.rev310.net/post/the-new-heavens-and-earth-recreation-or-renovation   Many prophecy teachers in our day believe that the current heavens and earth will be annihilated (cease to exist) and be replaced by a second ex-nihilo creation. This and this alone, they insist, is what is meant by the new heavens and earth. But I believe this is a mistake. Consider the following points.   ONE—GOD CREATES ETERNAL THINGS. In Ecclesiastes 3:14 we read the amazing statement, "I know that whatsoever God does, it shall last forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before him.” This is an intrinsic part of God's nature. The eternal God creates eternal things. When He made the angels, mankind, the earth, and the heavens above, he made them eternal institutions. Their annihilation is morally impossible. To insist that any one of these institutions will cease to exist is to impugn God with either a superintendence failure or a design flaw.   But the argument doesn't hang on the application of the broad principle alone. There is a multitude of passages in the Bible that testify to the eternality of such divine institutions as the heavens, the earth, the land of Israel, Mt. Zion, Jerusalem, and David's throne.   Take the heavens, for instance. God pointed the patriarchs to the heavens above their heads and promised them that Israel would endure for as long as the sun and moon endure (Jer. 31:35-36). He didn't misspeak here. This is the eternal truth of the God who cannot lie. The future destinies of the heavens and Israel are inseparably intertwined. If the current heavens are going to cease to exist, then Israel will also cease to exist. But Israel will never cease to exist. Therefore, the current heavens will never cease to exist.   This same truth is also stated absolutely. Psalm 148:3-6 reads, "Praise him, you sun and moon. Praise him, all you stars of light … Let them praise the name of the Lord. For he commanded, and they were created. He has established them forever and ever. He has made a decree which shall not pass.”   For another example, the eternality of Mt. Zion is unequivocally stated. Psalm 132:13-14 says, “The Lord has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his dwelling place. This is my resting place forever.” And Micah 4:6-7 adds, "In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble the lame, and I will gather the outcasts and those whom I have afflicted. I will make the lame a remnant and the outcasts a strong nation. And the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from that point on, even forever.”   TWO—THE PRECEDENT OF THE PHYSICAL REALM. In the Bible, we read about three earths. The earth that existed prior to the flood. The earth that exists now. And the new earth that shall exist after the current earth is destroyed by fire. These three are detailed in 2 Peter 3:1-13. This same passage also establishes God's precedent for the destruction of the earth. Notice that when He destroyed the former earth and introduced the current earth, he did not do so with annihilation and recreation but with radical transformation of the earth through the flood (2 Peter 3:6). The earth did not cease to exist. Mankind today lives on the same orb of rock and dirt that mankind lived on prior to the flood. This raises an important question when it comes to the new earth. Why would God depart from this precedent? He is the God of order and pattern. And this precedent suggests that the coming destruction of the earth will be a renovation by fire (2 Peter 3:7) rather than a cessation of existence and replacement.   THREE—THE PRECEDENT IN THE MORAL REALM. God's handling of defilement in the moral realm sheds much light on how he will handle the effects of defilement in the physical realm. God doesn't fix the defilement problem in his moral creation with annihilation. He fixes it with sequestration. He casts the wicked angels and men into the lake of fire forever. They don't burn up. They don't cease to exist. They experience eternal punishment with the smoke of their torment ascending day and night forever. But the annihilation-and-recreation theory introduces a conundrum that challenges the wisdom of God. If he can fix the problem in the moral creation without the annihilation of the guilty perpetrators, why can't he fix the problem in the physical creation, which is an innocent victim, without annihilation? Why would he subject physical creation to a worse fate than moral creation? Physical creation, mind you, has no sin, no wickedness, and no iniquity to remove. It only has scars caused by rebels, both angelic and human. And God can easily remedy these scars by renovation.   FOUR—THE SANCTITY OF PLANET EARTH. There is a sanctity about this planet that precludes its non-existence. It absorbed the sweat, tears, and blood of the Lord. He was born here, lived here, died here, buried here, and raised here. He walked its dusty surface. It is the scene of many glorious victories he wrought on behalf of his people over the centuries: the ark, the Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, the battle of Jericho, and crossing the Jordan on dry ground. Dozens of his prophets and apostles testified here. Millions of his martyrs had their blood mingled with the dust of this planet. To think of God separating himself and his people forever from the scene of all this moral glory is simply unthinkable.   FIVE—GOD'S ORIGINAL INTENTION. God's original intention was to enjoy fellowship with Adam, Eve, and their progeny in the paradise that he had created for them here on earth. If the serpent hadn't introduced sin and rebellion into the world, this happy relationship would have continued for eternity. When man succumbed to the serpent's temptation, he not only lost his standing with God and came under the strong influence of the deceiving spirits, he suffered banishment from the garden and the judgment we know as the curse. The planet also fell under the effects of the curse and suffered defilement from the cooperation between mankind and the fallen angels. But God provided redemption for mankind. This comes through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed his blood for all mankind that whosoever believes on him might be saved and inherit eternal life. And this redemption, while not directly for the planet, does involve the planet. For we clearly read in Scripture that on that happy day when the saints receive their resurrection blessings and eternal life, creation itself gets to participate in the glorious freedom of the children of God (Rom. 8:19-21). Moreover, Satan and his evil minions are bound and cast into hell, leaving man and nature completely free from the influences and damage of the wicked angels.   But there is no full and glorious restoration according to the annihilation and recreation theory. There is no restitution of all things. Nature receives no permanent enjoyment of the glorious freedom of the children of God. It only gets a temporary taste, then it shall cease to exist. This tarnishes the sovereignty of God. If this theory be true, God will redeem less from the clutches of the serpent than was lost in the garden. Mankind will be redeemed, but the earth will not be. God will be forced to scuttle this planet, indeed the entire creation, to deal with the defilement problem. He will be obligated to ferry the redeemed survivors of the ordeal to a new creation.   CONCLUSION. I trust you can see that there are numerous weighty objections to the new heavens and earth being an annihilation and ex nihilo replacement of the current heavens and earth. If you want to study this subject in depth, I cover it with much more detail in my book The New Heavens and Earth: Recreation or Renovation?, which is available on Amazon in paper and Kindle. There are also links on my website (soothkeep.info) under the Books menu for various purchase options including iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.   Eyes wide open, brain engaged, heart on fire.

Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: Death of a coach - Bill Wilson – www.harvest.org   I just found out that my high school football and track coach passed away. Martin “Marty” Tausch was 86. He had a profound impact on my life and I’ve been debating how to depict it. I met Coach going into my sophomore year. There was a meeting called of all those who wanted to play football. We were gathered together in the gym in August. Coach made a grand entrance sporting a goatee. It wasn’t a friendly meeting. He kind of explained that he was the new football coach and that he had expectations. He said that the football coach should be viewed as a benevolent dictator—we do what we are told and he would do what was best for the team. Kind of scary. Not what many of us expected.   He gave us the schedule and right away I had a conflict because I was in Horse 4-H and had to take a week off at the end of the month for the Randolph Fair. That set our relationship on a path that never really changed. I think he saw that as choosing horses over football and that choice was a question of dedication. Over the next three years, I moved back and forth from starting to sitting and listening to crazy criticism that had very little to do with my football play, but a lot to do with personal sarcastic digs. I remember recovering a fumble one night and he pulled me aside and told me, “That was the only thing you did all game.” I think he believed in the old school of thought that negativity and conflict was motivational. On one hand it can motivate for a short time. On the other it discourages. And that eventually was reflected in my attitude.   Marty was also our track coach. If you were going to play football, you had better run track or play baseball in the spring. We never had a good track team until my class of freshmen came up. We were fast, athletic and tough. Coach took advantage of that to get us in shape and win track meets. And win we did. Changed the whole complexion of our league’s All-Sports Trophy. But we didn’t win championships in football, usually second or third. We didn’t lose because we were out of shape—he was great on conditioning. I believe we lost games because of the culture he established. In track, I was like his best buddy. In football, I was a pretty good scapegoat. Especially, when I had to take off to go to the fair each year. The horse thing finally got the best of Coach, though. His two daughters loved horses. And he loved his daughters.   He finally came to me and asked if they could come over and ride. He would even pay. Dad and I talked it over and they were welcome without any pay. I think that allowed Coach to see who we really were. I hope it did. Years later, we greeted each other fondly at a game. And I think of Coach Tausch a lot. My success as a coach was in part due to him. He really taught me what I didn’t want to do. But he also taught me mental toughness. He acquitted his life well. He won many track titles and as his obituary says, “coached some outstanding athletes.” He was involved with developing young men throughout his life. We all have our journey and Coach Tausch is part of mine. As in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” I’m sure he did all three in his own way. I respect him for it.

Daily Devotion: Run to Win! - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org   Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! —1 Corinthians 9:24   https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/run-to-win/ - Listen   My son Christopher was a great runner, and we used to race on the beach. For many years, I somehow managed to beat him, probably because I was a sprinter and he was a long-distance runner. But one day, we were walking along the beach, and I said, “Let’s race to that rock. Ready?”   Christopher not only won the race that day, but he won big. Then he went to Heaven before me when his race ended at age 33, so he beat me in that race as well.   In the race of life, we should be running for gold. The apostle Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!” (1 Corinthians 9:24 NLT). We want to run to win. We want to do the best we can with the life that God has given us.   There will come a time in our lives when we’ll have our last meal, give our last statement, and breathe our last breath. Hopefully, we can say, as Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8 NLT).   Maybe you’ve thought, “Well, I have a long way to run in this race. Maybe I’ll get right with God when I’m in my 80s or 90s.” But you don’t know when the end of your race will come. It may be coming to an end more quickly than you planned.   Always be able to say, “I fought the good fight. I kept the faith. I finished the course.” Run your race well—and finish it well.