Earth-Dwellers and Heaven-Dwellers
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Acts 28

Earth-Dwellers and Heaven-Dwellers

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Gen. 1:1.

But it is clear that Lucifer corrupted these two spheres in seemingly short order.

  • By Lucifer, long before Adam was created, the ‘Heavens’ became “unclean” (Job 15:15) with him and his 1/3 of the angelic host in rebellion against the Lord.
  • Later, the first man Adam was created, and thereby all humanity with him soon became corrupted by wiles of the Evil One, in the form of a Serpent.

Nevertheless, God had etenally planned that “the heaven and the earth” are to be recovered and reigned over by His two different chosen people groups as His agents; Israel On Earth and the Gentile Spiritual “body of Christ” “In the Heavenly places.” Looking toward the culmination of the Biblical Dispensational ages we see;

  1. The believers of the Nation Israel [with her Gentile proselytes] held the EARTHLY Kingdom hope to ultimately dwell eternally with Christ, in his kingdom COME ON EARTH (Rev. 5:10, 20:6).
  2. By contrast, the believers of Paul’s Post-Acts the Spiritual Gentile “body of Christ” according to their calling, expect to “APPEAR With Christ In HEAVEN’s Glory” (Col. 3:4) and reign with Him (2Tim. 2:12).

These two differing hopes are to be seen Dispensationally according to God’s two ‘chosen’ people groups.

1) The EARTHLY Hope of the Nation Israel’s looks for dispensational age of “promise.” In Gen. 12:1–3 we read of God’s ‘promise’ of a ‘land’ to Abraham for his “seed,” in whom “all families of The Earth shall be blessed.” The Nation Israel is destined to bless the families of the ‘EARTH’ through Abraham’s “Seed” (Gal. 3:16), Jesus Christ. The ‘promise’ of the Messiah and His Kingdom On Earth was repeated throughout the O.T., then by Jesus, and preached by His Twelve Apostles to Israel, then Paul only during the Acts period.

2) The HEAVENLY Hope of today’s Dispensational age of “Great MYSTERY [Grk. musterion, Great Secret, Eph. 5:32]” concerns the Gentile “body of Christ” to dwell and reign “in the HEAVENLY Places.”

“If ye [the GENTILES, cf. v1] have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me [Paul] to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he [Christ] made known unto me [Paul] “the mystery [the sacred secret]”; (as I wrote afore in few words,” Eph. 3:1-3             “Even [that is] the MYSTERY [God’s sacred secret] which Hath Been HID From Ages And From Generations, but now is made manifest [revealed] to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this Mystery among the GENTILES; which is CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF [HEAVEN’S] GLORY:” Col. 1:26-27

“For our conversation [Old English for ‘citizenship’] Is IN HEAVEN; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his [Jesus’] glorious [resurrection] body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Phili 3:20)

FIRST to Occur - The Manifestation (i.e., ‘the Appearing’ in Col. 3:4 KJV) concerns those whose ‘citizenship is in Heaven’ (Phili. 3:20-21).  Paul says they are ALREADY Spiritually ‘Seated With Christ At The Right Hand Of God’ (cf. Eph. 1:19-21). They are those who are to “APPEAR WITH HIM” In Heaven and to Be Seen NOT by men on earth, but rather Be Seen By God’s Angelic Principalities and Powers Located IN HEAVEN (read Eph. 1:19-21). Those who “APPEAR WITH HIM” are today’s faithful, intelligized, believers, who today understand Paul’s “Revelation of the Mystery [secret]” (read Rom.16:25, Eph. 3:1-11). The life of these believer’s “is HID with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3) while looking for the time … “When Christ, Who Is Our Life, Shall Appear, then shall YE ALSO APPEAR WITH HIM In [Heaven’s] Glory.” Colossians 3:4 KJV

SECONDLY - By contrast, the so-called ‘RAPTURE’ (as noted in Matt. 24, Luke 21, 1Thes. 4:17, 1Cor. 15:51-52) had concerned the resurrection of the believing EARTH People of the Nation ISRAEL (with their Gentile proselytes) who during the Acts period expected the King and His Kingdom to come ON EARTH. But we learn in Acts 28:26-28 Israel’s Kingdom hope Expired when Israel became “fallen” and the kingdom hope is set aside, being ‘paused.’ Yet, many Christians misunderstand, Israel’s hoped for Kingdom With Christ is not to come with Christ’s 2nd Coming to EARTH those who will be His Kingdom Earth-Dwellers.

  • Note that the prophesied resurrection hope of ISRAEL was Never a Secret “hid in God from ages and generations.” Martha’s refers to Lazarus’ resurrection in “the last day” (Jn. 11:24-26). The is “the Day of the Lord” at His 2nd Coming in which the Dead believers of Israel will be Resurrected and the living believers will be “changed” (cf. 1Cor 15:51-52), both will Live Forever as everlasting EARTH-Dwellers.
  • By contrast, the people of the Gentile “body of Christ” expect their silent resurrection To Heaven, to “appear with Him” as “the Head” of “the body of Christ” as everlasting Heaven-Dwellers. This was “kept secret” until it was revealed to Paul, “the Apostle to the GENTILES,” AFTER the Acts 28:28 ‘fall’ of Israel.

In the so-called Rapture, Israel’s believers of the Acts period were to be caught up to “the air” (Grk. aer, ‘the atmosphere’, not heaven) in their ‘new spirit-bodies’ to “meet the Lord [Jesus]” as He comes to take over the existing Kingdoms of This Earth and rule in His Millennium Kingdom from the throne of King David “with the rod of iron” (Rev 12:5). But, the Nation Israel fell in Act 28:26-28, as such the offer the kingdom and the rapture to it EXPIRED, God then turned to the Gentiles and their “blessed hope” of glory (Tit. 2:13, Col. 3:1,4).

Ultimately, with Christ’s 2nd Coming to earth, the ‘wedding guests’ and virgins of Matt. 22 and Luke 14 will also return with Him to The Earth. Metaphorically, Jesus speaks of the Nation Israel being invited to the ‘marriage supper,’ but they REFUSED the invitation, killing some of the servants who gave the invitation. Yet a day is coming when God’s angels will gather the scattered “Outcast of Israel’ and ‘of Judah’ from among the Gentile nations (cf. Isa. 11:12 below) and bring them to “the supper.” These are those of the “nation born in a day” (cf. Isa. 66:8), who will ‘bring forth the fruits of righteousness’ in place of those of Israel who rejected the Lord. These “outcasts” will be the eternal Earth-Dwellers of His Kingdom.

“And he shall set up an ensign [sign] for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Isaiah 11:12 (KJV)

“7 Before she [Israel] travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.  8… Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” Isaiah 66:8

Then also, by contrast, the “appearing” of the Gentile “body of Christ” “with Christ in [heaven’s] glory” (Col. 3:4) has NO Earthly connection. In fact, when ‘Satan is cast out’ of the heavens into earth’ with his fallen angels, (Rev. 12:9). Only then will Christ be manifested (seen) “in heaven’s glory,” simultaneously with His heavenly “church, which is His BODY.”

“When Christ, Who Is Our Life, Shall Appear, Then Shall Ye Also Appear With Him In [heaven’s] Glory.” Col. 3:4

The members of “His body,” the living and the dead, are already “blessed” Spiritually in heaven, “in Christ”

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who HATH [I.E., ALREADY] BLESSED US WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST: Ephesians 1:3 (KJV)

Today, as grace believers, our lives are “hid with Christ in God” and will continue so until our literal resurrection to … be ‘manifested [appear] In Heaven With Him.’ Yes, eventually, the members of “His body” will silently and secretly resurrect to “appear with Him in [heaven’s] glory” (Col. 3:4), some Years BEFORE His 2nd Coming to save Israel and pour out His wrath on the world. (https://artlicursi.com/articles/israels-lo-ammi).

You see, with Paul’s judicial pronouncement of the great Dispensational Divide of Acts 28:26-28, the offer of the promised Kingdom on earth EXPIRED’ until a time AFTER His Gentile [non-Jewish] body “Appears With Him In Heaven’s Glory.” Israel’s hope of ‘the kingdom on earth’ was ‘Set Aside’ for a time … while God set another Dispensation in motion, which Paul called “a Great Mystery [secret]” (Eph. 5:32). Thus, Paul wrote;

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this Mystery [sacred secret], lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that Blindness In Part Is Happened To Israel, UNTIL the Fulness Of The Gentiles [body of Christ] Be Come In. Romans 11:25

Yet, all through the Dispensational ages there were believers who died never taking part in either of these two hopes, people such as Adam, Job, Noah, and others who ultimately believed God’s words to them long BEFORE Abraham was called. As Job said, they will be resurrected from their graves to the New Earth Paradise … “When The Heavens Are No More.”

Job wrote: 12 So man lieth down [dead in the grave], and riseth Not: TILL The [Lower] Heavens Be No More, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep [of death]. Job 14:12 (KJV)

 

  • By Arthur J Licursi with portions adapted from Oscar Baker