There is a big difference between:
... NOT KNOWING scripture...
... and...
... DISREGARDING scripture.
There are many denominations that teach we go into heaven and once we are in heaven that we stay there for all eternity. They simply do not know the scripture. But there are others which KNOW what the scriptures say but they DISREGARD the scriptures and claim it does not apply today. Among those that claim to rightly divide the scriptures, the brethren involved in the Acts 28 doctrine have a high disregard for the scriptures. Let's look at this image:
On the left we see a man named E.W.Bullinger and on the right we see a man named Charles H. Welch. These guys are the founders of the Acts 28 doctrine. This doctrine is just a little over 100 years old. You can see much of this Acts 28 material here at this:
These men have written many books on Dispensational Theology and many people have read their books and passed the information down to the last few generations so much of their doctrine has been widespread among those that claim to rightly divide the scriptures.
The foundation of their doctrine is that they claim that Israel was "SET ASIDE" in Acts 28. In other words, they believe that God quit dealing with Israel as a nation in Acts 28 when Paul went to Rome. Because of this flawed foundation, they teach that a NEW body was formed in Acts 28. Among other things, they teach this NEW body:
1. Has nothing to do with Israel
2. Has an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE
In other words, they teach this NEW body will go into heaven and stay in heaven for all eternity. So in order to separate this NEW body from Israel they claim and teach that this NEW body has an:
ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE
... and that Israel has an:
ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE
... as this chart illustrates:
Now here is a chart that illustrates their teaching of a new body being formed in Acts 28 that has nothing to do with Israel and has an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE:
Please notice in green the NEW body of Christ they teach was formed in Acts 28. The green line shows this NEW body going into the heaven far above all heavens and has an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE there. Please also notice that below this New body that this NEW body has nothing to do with Israel.
I also made note on this chart that some brethren take this doctrine: "WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ISRAEL" ... and apply it to the one new man (body) that started in Acts 9 with the apostle Paul. They also take this doctrine:
"WE HAVE AN ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE"
... and apply it to the body that started in Acts 9 with Paul also. This is where they get it from. It is a false doctrine made up in the minds of Bullinger and Welch. There are many brethen that try to combine Acts 28 doctrine with Acts 9 doctrine and it simply does not work. These brethren are known as teaching "the Acts 9/28 Doctrine" among those that rightly divide. They will take these Acts 28 teachings:
"WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ISRAEL"
"WE HAVE AN ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE"
... and apply them to the one new man (body) that started in Acts 9 with the apostle Paul. This next chart illustrates them doing this:
As you can see, they take some Acts 28 teachings and try to apply them to Acts 9 doctrine which simply causes confusion and will not allow brethren to believe the Bible means what it says.
Now what the Acts 28 doctrine does is separates Paul's pre-prison epistles and post-prison epistles such as this:
But because they teach a NEW body was formed in Acts 28, they teach that the pre-prison epistles NO LONGER APPLY such as this chart illustrates:
They claim that the pre-prison epistles only apply to the OLD body but the post-prison epistles apply to the NEW body. But what the Acts 9/28 doctrine does is try to keep ALL of Paul's epistles intact but still try to teach the Acts 28 teachings and apply them to the one new man which started with Paul in Acts 9. It simply does not work.
What happens is that these Acts 28 teachings will not allow brethren to believe the scriptures mean what they say. The Acts 28 doctrine KNOWS what they say but they just claim that they no longer apply. The Acts 9/28 doctrine try to keep these pre-prison epistles intact but they do not match the Acts 28 doctrine.
Serious dilemma.
Here is a chart that shows the main differences between the Acts 9, Acts 9/28 and Acts 28 doctrines:
OK, let's get started in the scripture.
In Acts 26 Paul is teaching what Jesus said to Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9,
"16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."
Notice:
"... and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."
The Lord Jesus is sending Paul to the Gentiles and he is to tell these Gentiles that they would receive inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Christ.
Well, there were no Gentiles sanctified at this time so who is Jesus talking about?
Answer: The Jews - Peter, the apostles and all the Jews who just previously received Christ as their Saviour. They are the ones that are sanctified by the faith of Christ.
So the Gentiles are to receive inheritance among the circumcision that are sanctified by the faith of Christ. There is no different inheritance. The ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE and ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE is a made up doctrine by men - the men of the Acts 28 doctrine.
In Romans 4 Paul says,
"12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,"
Notice:
"For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world,..."
So what was the promise given to Abraham?
Answer: THAT HE SHOULD BE HEIR OF THE WORLD.
Paul says this promise was passed on to all the seed which includes the apostle Paul and us. Paul also says that Abraham is the father of us all.
In Galatians 3 Paul says,
"29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
According to Paul, we that are saved are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
In Hebrews 11 it says,
"8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:"
Notice:
"... with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:"
Isaac and Jacob were heirs of the same promise given to Abraham.
In Galatians 4 Paul says,
"28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise."
As Paul says, we are the children of promise just as Isaac was. Now let's dwell on these few verses for just a minute. I believe these scriptures with all my heart. Abraham was given a promise that he should be heir of the world and that promise was passed along to me. I do not have any problems with these verses. I teach SOLID Acts 9 doctrine.
The Acts 28 doctrine teaches that these verses mean what they say, but they believe that the OLD body during Acts will be heirs with Abraham in his promises but the NEW body formed in Acts 28 has nothing to do with Israel and will have an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. Therefore they teach these scriptures do not apply to us today. They just DISREGARD these scriptures.
But the Acts 9/28 doctrine tries to keep all of Paul's epistles intact, but they do not want to believe that they are partakers of Abraham's promise to be heir of the world as Paul says. They just choke on these verses and do not know what to do with them. Then they claim stuff as "Christ is the seed, not us" to try to keep their doctrine of the ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE in compliance. Then you ask them, "When Jesus comes back to the earth, does Jesus have an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE or an ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE?"
Then they will come up with stuff like, "He has a dual inheritance". Anything to try to keep their doctrine from falling apart. In other words, their doctrine of the ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE will not allow them to believe these scriptures mean exactly what they say. They will try to change the meaning of these verses to claim that we DO NOT have the same promise given to Abraham that he should be heir of the world. That is simply contrary to the teachings of the apostle Paul.
So we just covered scripture that the apostle Paul gave of the promise given to Abraham that he should be heir of the world. This promise was passed along to all the seed which includes the apostle Paul and us.
In 1st Corinthians 6 Paul says,
"1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?"
Notice:
"Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you,..."
So according to the apostle Paul we shall judge the world. Now many brethren that believe the ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE doctrine will take this:
"... Know ye not that we shall judge angels?..."
To make it look like we will be in heaven judging angels and bypass us judging the world. But where will these angels be?
In Revelation 12 it says,
"7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
Satan and his angels will be cast upon the earth. They will not be in heaven. So if we judge the fallen angels they will be on the earth. Well, what about the holy angels? I seriously doubt we will judge the holy angels but when the Lord comes back to the earth the holy angels are coming back with him.
In Matthew 25 it says,
"31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:"
So all the fallen angels will be on the earth and all the holy angels will be on the earth. We will judge the world and we will judge angels. We are partakers of the promise given to Abraham that he should be heir of the world that was given to him and his seed...
... saith the Paul.
OK, Since we covered scripture about us judging the world, let's go ahead and cover scriptures about reigning with Christ and where this will be at. First of all, not every saint will reign. Reigning with Christ is part of the reward handed out for those which suffer for Christ.
In Romans 8 Paul says,
"16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
Those that suffer with Christ will become joint-heirs with Christ and will be given the power to reign. The saints that do not suffer will be regular heirs.
In 2nd Timothy 2 Paul says,
"11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."
Notice:
"... we shall also LIVE with him:..."
"... we shall also REIGN with him..."
So those that suffer shall also reign with Christ. So here is the question: Where will they be reigning at?
The one new man is not the only group of believers that will live and reign with Christ.
In Revelation 20 it says,
"4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
Notice:
"... and they LIVED and REIGNED with Christ a thousand years."..."
These brethren that will be resurrected at the second coming will live and reign with Christ on the earth and so will we.
Christ will be king over all the earth.
In Daniel 7 it says,
"13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
There will be a kingdom given to the Lord Jesus and he will be king over all the earth.
In Zechariah 14 it says,
"9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one."
The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.
In Revelation 11 it says,
"15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."
This kingdom will be given to the saints of the most high which includes ALL the saints, even us.
In Daniel 7 it says,
"18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
>>>
22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
>>>
27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."
In this kingdom the Lord will have his government that will have no end.
In Isaiah 9 it says,
"6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."
Those that reign with Christ will be in his government.
Now just because a saint receives a spiritual or glorified body and goes into heaven does not mean that they stay in heaven for all eternity. The saints will come back to the earth with Christ and possess the kingdom as we saw in Daniel 7. The 24 elders in heaven will come back with Christ and reign on the earth.
In Revelation 5 it says,
"8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
Notice:
"... and we shall reign on the earth."
In Revelation 14 it says,
"1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God."
Notice:
"... These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth...."
The 144,000 will follow the Lord Jesus back to the earth. We also will always be with the Lord.
In 1st Thessalonians 4 Paul says,
"17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Notice:
"... and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
We will always be with the Lord Jesus, so just as the 144,000 we will follow the Lord wherever he goes. This includes coming back to the earth.
In 1st Thessalonians 3 Paul says,
"12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
Notice:
"...at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
Jesus will be coming back with ALL his saints. This matches Zechariah 14 which says,
"5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee."
Notice:
"... the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee."
Whatever saints are with Christ in heaven at the time of his return, ALL of them will be coming back with him.
In 1st Thessalonians 2 Paul says,
"19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"
We will be in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming.
In Ephesians 1 Paul says,
"10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:"
Jesus will gather together in one all things in Christ. He is going to take the saints in heaven and bring them back with him to the earth and join them with the saints on earth and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.
In John 10 it says,
"16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
So all of the saints in heaven and on earth will be gathered together in one at the second coming of Christ as this chart illustrates:
To see all the details of this chart, here is the chart in full UltraHD resolution.
When the Lord Jesus comes back to the earth with all his saints, then the Lord Jesus will be glorified in his saints and his saints will be glorified in him.
In 2nd Thessalonians 1 Paul says,
"7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Let's do a few more scriptures of the saints coming back with the Lord.
In Revelation 17 it says,
"14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
So the saints coming back with the Lord are:
1. called
2. chosen
3. faithful
In 2nd Thessalonians 2 Paul says,
"14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The saints under Paul's ministry are called. In Ephesians 1 Paul says,
"4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:"
The saints under Paul's ministry are chosen. In verse 1 Paul says,
"1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:"
So we see here that at least some of these saints are faithful, if not all. So we have a clear match of the saints of Paul's ministry with those that will be coming back with the Lord.
Again in 1st Thessalonians 3,
"13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
The Lord is coming back with ALL his saints that are with him in heaven. This includes the one new man (the great multitude), the 24 elders and the 144,000 and whatever other saints that might be up there at the time of his coming.
Again in 1st Thessalonians 2,
"19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"
Notice:
"... in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"
This matches Revelation 17 where it says,
"... and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
In Revelation 19 it says,
"11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."
Notice:
"... And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."
This matches the great multitude of Revelation 7 which is the one new man (us).
"9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
>>>
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?"
Notice the white robes.
Once again, the Acts 28 doctrine and the Acts 9/28 doctrine claim and teach that we, the one new man (body of Christ) have an...
... ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE...
... and Israel has an...
... ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE...
So why do they do this? To try to separate us from Israel. They make divisions where there are no divisions and separations where there are no separations. For some strange reason they think that the more divisions they make the better they are at rightly dividing.
Instead of teaching that we have become partakers with Israel in their covenants and promises as Paul teaches, they teach we have NOTHING to do with Israel and we have a different inheritance than they do.
So let's cover a few verses to see what is promised to Israel and what they will be receiving.
In Hebrews 3 it says,
"1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;"
Israel are partakers of the heavenly calling.
In Hebrews 11 it says,
"14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."
Israel will obtain a heavenly country.
In Hebrews 12 it says,
"22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,"
Israel will obtain the heavenly Jerusalem.
Israel's names are written in heaven.
In 1st Peter 1 Peter says,
"4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,"
Israel's inheritance is reserved in heaven.
In Matthew 6 Jesus says,
"20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:"
Israel is to lay up treasures in heaven.
In Matthew 8 Jesus says,
"11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven."
Israel will obtain the kingdom of heaven.
So here is a short list of things that pertain to Israel:
1. ... partakers of the heavenly calling.
2. ... will obtain a heavenly country.
3. ... will obtain the heavenly Jerusalem.
4. ... names are written in heaven
5. ... inheritance is reserved in heaven.
6. ... to lay up treasures in heaven.
7. ... will obtain the kingdom of heaven.
Does this sound like an ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE to you?
This doctrine made up by the Acts 28 founders and brethren is a false doctrine.
There is no NEW body that was formed in Acts 28.
There is no NEW body that is separate from Israel.
There is no NEW body that stays in heaven for all eternity.
It is a made up man-made doctrine and all it has done is caused confusion and division in the body of Christ.
In Revelation 21 it says,
"1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
God the Father and his tabernacle, the New Jerusalem, will be coming to the earth and he will reign from the earth forevermore.
In Revelation 22 it says,
"3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever."
In Psalm 132 it says,
"13 For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it."
So in the end, even God the Father is coming to the earth to reign from the earth forever and ever. So according to scripture, on the earth will be:
1. God the Father
2. The Lord Jesus Christ
3. The New Jerusalem
4. The 4 Beasts
5. The 24 elders
6. the 144,000
7. The one new man
8. All of Israel
9. All the saints
10. The people outside the new Jerusalem
11. All the angels
But the Acts 28 doctrine teaches that we, the one new man, will be in heaven for all eternity. So according to their teaching it's like this:
IN HEAVEN:
1. The one new man
ON THE EARTH:
1. God the Father
2. The Lord Jesus Christ
3. The New Jerusalem
4. The 4 Beasts
5. The 24 elders
6. the 144,000
7.
8. All of Israel
9. All the saints
10. The people outside the new Jerusalem
11. All the angels
Now here are a few questions I have for my Acts 28 brethren:
1. Does God the Father have an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE or an ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE?
2. Does Jesus Christ have an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE or an ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE?
3. Does the 24 elders have an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE or an ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE?
4. Does the 144,000 have an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE or an ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE?
See what I mean? This doctrine makes no sense whatsoever. It is a made up, man-made doctrine to try to convince people the Acts 28 doctrine is correct. It is not correct, it is a false doctrine. There is absolutely NO scripture that declares that we stay in heaven for all eternity.
NONE!
But the Acts 28 doctrine takes a few scriptures to try to convince you that is what they mean.
Example:
In Philippians 3 Paul says,
"20 For our conversation 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 glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."
Notice:
"... For our conversation is in heaven;..."
Even as we are still on the earth today, our conversation is in heaven just as Paul says. This says absolutely nothing about staying in the 3rd heaven for all eternity but they will try to influence you that that is what it means.
Now the Acts 28 doctrine drops Paul's pre-prison epistles and claim they no longer apply, but I have seen Acts 9/28 brethren take this verse out of 2nd Corinthians 5 and try to claim it means we stay in the 3rd heaven for all eternity:
"1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
Now what they do is take this:
"... eternal in the heavens."
... and claim that we will be in the 3rd heaven for all eternity. But Paul did not say that nor did he mean that. He meant exactly what he said. First of all, Paul says heavenS - plural - more than one. These new bodies that we will be getting are eternal bodies that will not dissolve regardless of what heaven they are in.
In 1st Corinthians 15 Paul says,
"52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."
Again from Philippians 3,
"21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."
In Romans 8 Paul says,
"29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
So we are going to get incorruptible, immortal, glorious bodies that will be conformed to the image of his Son. These new bodies will not dissolve regardless if they are in the 3rd heaven, the 2nd heaven or the 1st heaven. They are eternal in the heavens as this chart indicates:
So here are a few questions to help us think:
1. Are we going to get a body fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body?
Yes.
2. Will Christ's body dissolve?
No.
3. Is Christ's body eternal in the heavens?
Yes.
4. Is Christ coming back to the earth?
Yes.
Just because we will be getting a new body that will not dissolve and is eternal in the heavens does not mean that we will stay in the 3rd heaven for all eternity. Paul did not say that nor did he mean that nor did he even try to imply that.
That is a made up teaching that twists the scriptures to try to get people to believe that we stay in the 3rd heaven for all eternity so they can claim that we are separate from Israel which has an ETERNAL EARTHLY INHERITANCE and we have an ETERNAL HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. It is just a false doctrine.
Once again, there is ABSOLUTELY NO SCRIPTURE THAT STATES THAT WE STAY IN HEAVEN FOR ALL ETERNITY!
NONE!
But contrariwise, there are plenty of scriptures that show we come back with the Lord Jesus Christ at his second coming.
...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...