Page 171 - Through New Eyes

T H I R T E E N

THE WORLD OF NOAH

We have already looked at the rite of world transformation,
in Chapter 10. We now begin to apply it to the world and to
humanity. We shall find that Biblical history follows the follow-
ing pattern.
After the fall of man, the world entered into a decline. This
decline is always a prelude to God’s first step, which is His taking
hold of the situation. God comes to a man, a prophet, and an-
nounces judgment on the old world, and His intention to form a
new world. To use the language of the Bible, God announces the
destruction of the old heavens and earth, and His intention to
create a new heavens and earth. For instance:

l At the Flood, the first physical heavens and earth were de-
stro d, and a new physical heavens and earth were set up,
Ye
which will endure until the return of Christ.
. At the Cross and Resurrection of our Lord, the old Adamic
heavens and earth were shaken down, and a new heavens
and earth were set up, with the God-man seated on the heav-
enly throne. Thus, in a judicial sense, the New Heavens and
Earth began at that time.
. At the end of history, the present heavens and earth will be
transfigured into the fullness of the New Heavens and Earth.
. But, each time God brought judgment on His people during
the Old Covenant, there was a sense in which an old heavens
and earth was replaced with a new one: New rulers were set
up, a new symbolic world model was built (Tabernacle,
Temple), and so forth.

So, God’s first step, in terms of the formula we have chosen
to use to organize our material, is His laying hold on the situa-
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