Back to those gold rush guys. They were sifting through the rivers and streams to find golden nuggets-after all, even a small gold nugget is worth a lot more than a big rock. When we study, we must use that sifting process to gather as much information from the texts as possible. As an example, when we read Zephaniah 3:8 we find- “Therefore wait for me,” says the LORD, “for the day when I arise as a witness. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all the heat of my anger; for in the fire of my jealous wrath all the earth shall be consumed.” (RSV).

When I ask people what that sounds like, most respond “that sounds like God is sure ‘nuff going to burn the planet up with fire”. However, as we sift through all the information in the context, we find these significant nuggets that guide our understanding of the text:

1. Verse 9-(RSV) “Yea, at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. Following this fiery judgment, there is a purifying and turning back to God of the people of God. 2. Verses 11-13-(RSV) 11 “On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. 12 For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD, 13 those who are left in Israel; they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall pasture and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.”

Pride and arrogance will be replaced by humility and the seeking of God. This will result in blessing and security.

3. Verse 19 & 20- (RSV) “Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you together; yea, I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the LORD.”

God’s penitent and purified people will have a good name and praise among the nations. God will restore them and bless them.

These nuggets of information show us clearly that this is not a prophecy of a literal-fire end of planet earth. Instead, following the fiery outpouring life on planet earth continues. The result is not “planet earth no more”, but a turning and restoration of the people of God among the nations of the earth. Life continues…the planet continues, but with a renewed relationship with God.

That same sifting process aids our understanding of Revelation 21 & 22. There are two basic views of Revelation 21 & 22. One is that what is pictured is life in heaven after the literal-fire destruction of the earth. The other is that the New Jerusalem (bride of Christ) is the church (see Ephesians 5:22-32), and the glorious life pictured is life in the fulfilled messianic kingdom of prophecy now on earth following the destruction of physical Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. That certainly would fulfill the prayer “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. The prayer was not “ thy kingdom come as the earth is destroyed and thy will be done in heaven afterwards”. As we sift through the information in 21 & 22 we find a couple of nuggets similar to Zephaniah 3.

1. Verses 22-27-(RSV) 22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light shall the nations walk; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates shall never be shut by day—and there shall be no night there; 26 they shall bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Notice that planet earth isn’t gone, it is still around…the nations are still around, and the kings of nations are still around. The difference is that a new city, the city of the living God has now been prepared and placed among the nations. It is God’s home town, the place where he now lives. And the earth is provided with hope and direction by the light found in that city.

This is no description of life after the destruction of our planet when there is no earth, no people, no nations. This is a glorious picture of what God has brought about through the redemptive work of the messiah by which men and women can be actually reconciled to the presence of God right here-right now. This is a picture of life in the messiah’s kingdom, as our walk with God fills us with his light, and we in turn share His light providing the wisdom, counsel, love and healing of God to those around us.

2. Revelation 22:1-2 1 Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Sifting through these verses we find again that, rather than the earth being none existent (and with it all life), earth history continues. There are nations. They are hurting and need the help of God. And the people of the city of God have a tree , a tree of life, whose leaves are able to bring healing to those hurting nations. This is an exciting and golden picture of our lives right now in the Messiah’s Kingdom. Though we live in a time of super-abundance of information and material plenty, there seem to be more troubled and hurting people than ever. Aids, drugs, teen pregnancy, suicide, depression, broken marriages and broken lives. The pessimists say “the world is a pretty lousy place, and life is pretty lousy.” The prophecy futurists chime in “ That’s right and it’s going to get a lot worse until God gets so angry he destroys it all”. And the world offers solutions that have proven over and over to be ineffective.

The truth is that the world is a glorious creation of our God, created and given to us for our sustenance and pleasure. Life is such a phenomenal gift- filled with sights, sounds, tastes, textures, memories, plans, dreams, accomplishments, and experiences. There is nothing wrong with life…nothing wrong with this world. There are three things that steal the joy of life from us-sin, ignorance and folly. Jesus and the Lord God have provided to the Christian community exactly what the hurting people and nations around really need. 1.) A savior who has atoned for our sins and extended cleansing to us through his blood. This is a whole new world which could only be brought about by God’s true messiah. The animal sacrifices of the typological Jewish kingdom could not atone for sin, leaving man separated from God (Hebrews 10:4, Acts 13:38-39).

2.) The restoration of God’s presence to the lives of believers…a presence and relationship that provides the light of heaven for us and all with whom we share that blessed illuminating guidance. That now-fulfilled promise is pictured gloriously in Ephesians 2 where believers are portrayed as the new temple (i.e.-dwelling place prepared for God)-established as the old prototypical temple of animal sacrifices and Levitical priests was about to be removed. Thus the glorious announcement of Revelation 21 “THE DWELLING OF GOD IS WITH MEN”. The old temple with its animal sacrifices that left a curtain of separation is now gone. It is replaced by a new temple of human lives, cleansed by the blood of God’s true lamb…made clean so that the holy God of the universe may come and make his active habitation.

What a wonderful time to be alive- not waiting for a savior, but having a savior. Not waiting for reconciliation to God, but walking in a living relationship with him. The world doesn’t need more laws and prisons. The world doesn’t need more stuff, a bigger buzz, or more freedom for immorality. What the world needs is a savior, a shepherd. The world needs God, the light of his truth, the healing of his grace, and the replenishment of his love. Those leaves will heal. By the way, what prompted this writing was a thought that came to me in prayer and study. In Revelation 22 the description of the tree of life is that it is to be found on either side of the river of life. It’s the only tree I know of that is found on both sides of a river. But it makes sense when we see through scripture that the holy city, New Jerusalem, is made up of believers of all ages, those who have passed on, and those who yet live. There are two parts to the city, but the river of life flows through the middle and is available to all. And the tree of life is available as well, not only to those who have passed on, but to those of us here ministering to a hurting world on behalf of God. Paul wrote of this time following prophetic fulfillment and God’s restored presence in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11-“