{"id":4971,"date":"2026-08-11T07:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T13:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=4971"},"modified":"2026-08-11T07:15:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T13:15:15","slug":"eden-the-promised-land-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=4971","title":{"rendered":"Eden. The Promised Land. Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nothing unclean will ever enter the city. No one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever enter the city. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb\u2019s book of life will enter the city.<\/em> Revelation 21:27 ERV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When God created the heavens and the earth, He placed the first man and woman in a garden paradise. However, sin entered, and the place that the Lord intended to be the home of the righteous became a place of desolation. Adam and Eve were cursed and expelled from this place of perfection where God lived among them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            We usually see heaven as the final restoration of that which God intended from the beginning. Revelation 21:3 ESV \u201cAnd I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, \u201cBehold, the dwelling placeof God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 From Genesis, we see the Lord beginning the process of redeeming people to that condition and place that He desires for them. He calls Abraham and then Jacob and his twelve sons and then the tribe of Judah and then David and then Christ to bring us back to God to live one day in His presence in the place He has prepared for all those who \u201clove Him and long for His appearing.\u201d<\/em> (2 Timothy 4:8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Until that time, God is bringing a new people, those called by His name and forgiven by His love and grace. Today, they are called Christians or followers of Christ. Those who live with confidence in a personal relationship with Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            But humanity is still flawed. Therefore, we need continual forgiveness that allows us to live in right relationship with Jesus Christ. The cross provided that through God\u2019s forgiveness and grace and our continual repentance when convicted of our sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away<\/em>. (1 John 1:7 CEV) John speaks to this ongoing forgiveness in his first letter. Christ forgives and continues to forgive by the provision of the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now consider God\u2019s people in the Promised Land. As the Lord called a nation out of bondage in Egypt, He brought them to the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This land was inhabited by idolatrous nations that the Lord was going to displace with His people. God\u2019s plan was to have His people in this land that was devoid of idolatry. It was to be inhabited by His people who worshipped Him and had an ongoing relationship with the Lord through the sacrificial system God created through Moses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            But God\u2019s people failed. They allowed idolatry to remain in the land, and it led to their corruption and downfall. There were those who remained faithful to the Lord and who sought to obey the Lord and worship Him alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So, we find ourselves today like those Israelites of old. We are called to serve the Lord in the midst of a world of sin and idolatry. Idolatry not in the form of actual idols but the allegiance to false gods and ideology. Just like God\u2019s people in the Land of Promise, there will be those who remain faithful and those who allow the ways of the world to pull at them and take them away from their pure devotion to Christ. \u00a0The Apostle Paul warned, \u201cBut I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ.\u201d<\/em> (2 Cor. 11:3 NCV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            There is safety and security in Christ. That is why the Cross is so important. \u201cHe gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.\u201d<\/em> (Titus 2:14 NLT)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Adam and Eve failed. The Israelites failed. But in Christ there is victory, and God\u2019s plan for His place of perfection, where He alone is worshipped, will come to pass. Until then, we can be confident that nothing can separate us from the Lord of God in Christ Jesus. Through Him we have victory over sin and the world. And we have the hope of an eternity in His presence. God\u2019s dwelling with His people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nothing unclean will ever enter the city. No one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever enter the city. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb\u2019s book of life will enter the city. Revelation 21:27 ERV \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When God created the heavens and the earth, He placed the first man and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4972,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4971\/revisions\/4972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}