WHEN JESUS COMES AGAIN –
LIFE ON THE NEW EARTH #4
What about the animals?
·
Scripture
says a great deal about animals, portraying them as Earth’s second most
important inhabitants.
·
Like mankind,
it appears that God has a plan for the animals on the New Earth because like
humans he had a plan for them on the first earth!
Genesis
25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds,
the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along
the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
·
Animals
existed in the _______________(Garden) of _________________(
·
Like humans,
animals were formed from the ground.
Genesis 2:7 says:
7 the LORD God formed the man [a] from the dust of the ground and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all
the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the
man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living
creature, that was its name.
·
Remarkably,
the same Hebrew word, “nephesh”, is used for animals and for people.
·
The Bible
says that both humans and animals were formed from the ground and have the “__________________(breath)
of ________________(life)” in them.
Genesis
“And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds
of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has
the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food."
Genesis 2:7 says:
The LORD God formed the man from the dust
of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man
became a living being.
·
When mankind
fell, the ____________________(Animal) Kingdom and the rest of
___________________(creation) came under the same __________________(curse).
Genesis
17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to
destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life
in it. Everything on earth will perish.
·
When God
judged mankind and cursed him with the flood, the animals were included in that
massacre.
Genesis
22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life
in its nostrils died.
·
When God
__________________(rescued) a ____________________(remnant) of mankind from the
flood, He also saved a remnant of each __________________(species) of animals!
Genesis
15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life
in them came to Noah and entered the ark.
·
God made
animals, linking them both to earth and humanity forever.
·
Animals may
have souls, but they do not have human souls.
·
Animals are
not ________________(equal) to human beings in any sense and we should not put
them on the same level - Man was created in God’s ______________________(image),
not the animals.
·
The Animals
were _________________(created) for __________________(man) to provide food, work
and companionship.
·
Animals were
created to be ruled and subservient to God’s most prized creation – mankind.
Genesis
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful
and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the
sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the
ground."
Psalm 8:6-8 says:
6 You made
him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks
and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
8 the birds
of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
Proverbs
10 A
righteous man cares for the needs of his animal,
but the kindest acts of the wicked are
cruel.
2 Samuel 12:3 says:
3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe
lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It
shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a
daughter to him.
·
Mankind was
called to be a steward of all of creation and everything in it including the
animals.
·
Needless to
say, there’s strong biblical case for animals having non-human souls.
·
The fact is,
the Greek words “nephesh” and “psyche”, often translated “soul” when referring
to humans also is used in referring to the souls of animals.
·
It appears
that animals have some kind of ________________(soul), although clearly not on
a equal plain with the human soul.
·
It wasn’t
until seventeenth century enlightenment that the existence of animal souls was
even questioned in Western civilization.
·
Throughout
the history of the church, the classic understanding of living things has
included the doctrine that animals as well as humans, have souls.
·
With that
said, clearly humans and animals are different.
·
Humans
continue to exist after death, but that may not be the case for animals.
·
But humans
and animals share something in common, both are created living beings.
·
Because God
has a future plan for both mankind and Earth, it strongly suggest that he has a
_____________________(future) plan for _________________(animals) as well on
the New Earth.
·
One of the
most revealing Old Testament pictures of God’s redemptive work is the Flood and
Noah’s ark.
·
WHY DID GOD
SAVE ANIMALS FROM THE FLOOD?
·
The fact is,
when God saved people from the destruction of the flood, he also took great
care to __________(save) the ______________________(animals).
Genesis 6:19-20 says:
19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living
creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20
Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of
creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.
·
God made a
covenant with Noah, and in that covenant God included the protection for the
_________________________(animals).
Genesis 9:9-17 says:
9 "I now establish my covenant with you and with
your descendants after you 10 and with every living
creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals,
all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life
be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to
destroy the earth." 12 And God said, "This is
the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living
creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant
between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds
over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15
I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of
every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it
and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of
every kind on the earth." 17 So God said to Noah,
"This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all
life on the earth."
·
ANIMALS ARE
INCLUDED THE RAINBOW COVENANT!
·
God’s plan
for a ___________________(renewed) earth after the
flood emphatically involved ____________________(animals).
QUESTION: Wouldn’t we
expect his plan for a renewed earth after the future judgment to likewise
include animals?
KEY QUESTION: If the
rescue of mankind in the ark is a picture of redemption, doesn’t the rescue of
the animals in the ark also anticipate their restoration as part of God’s
redemptive purposes on the New Earth?
2 Peter 3:5-7 says:
5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's
word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and
destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and
earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction
of ungodly men.
·
In 2 Peter
3:5-7, we see a direct parallel between God’s past judgment of the earth with
water and his future judgment with fire.
·
Mankind was ___________________(judged)
in the ______________________(flood), and on his coattails most animals ______________________(perished).
·
Eight human
beings were rescued from to flood to inhabit the new post flood earth, but God
didn’t _________________(limit) his rescue to people – He also rescued
representatives of every animal species to also _____________________(occupy)
the new Earth.
·
This is a
powerful picture of what Romans 8 states – mankind and animals and all creation
are _____________________(linked) together not only in
__________________(curse) and __________________(judgment) but also in __________________(redemption)
and __________________(deliverance).
Romans 8:18-25 says:
18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The
creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its
own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from
its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of
God.
22We know
that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right
up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for
our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For
in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes
for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do
not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Romans 8:18-25
KEY QUESTION: Select
human, animals, vegetation, and geographical features including mountains were
preserved by God in the judgment by _______________(water) - Shouldn’t we
expect the same in his judgment by ______________(fire)?
·
THERE IS
FURTHER BIBLICAL EDIVENCE PROVING THAT MANKIND AND THE ANIMAL KINGDOM ARE
LINKED TOGETHER AND SHARE IN THE FALL OF MAKIND.
·
God commanded
that both mankind and the animals to __________________(rest) on the Sabbath
proving once again that there is a connection between the two.
Exodus 20:9-10 says:
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On
it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your
manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
·
In Jonah
3:7-8, Like humanity, God also ordered humanity to wear sackcloth and mourn.
Jonah 3:7-8 says:
7 Then he issued a proclamation in
"By the decree of the king and his
nobles:
Do not let any man or beast, herd or
flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on
God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.
·
God commanded
the _________________(animal) kingdom along with __________________(humanity)
to fast form drink and food.
Jonah
11 But
·
When God sent
Jonah to rescue
·
Both people
and animals were commanded to fast and put on Sackcloth – explicitly spiritual
rituals.
·
All of
Creation including animals are presently in a fallen state.
·
The Bible
suggest that on the New Earth all of creation including the ___________________(animals)
will be live in a ________________________(redeemed) state.
·
Many
theologians believe because of the fall, many animals kill each other and even
humans, but after the Jesus comes and creates the New Earth there will be no
more __________________(death) even among the ________________________(Animal)
Kingdom.
Isaiah 11:6-9 says:
6 The wolf
will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling [a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow
will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant
will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the
viper's nest.
9 They will
neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the
knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
·
Isaiah 11:6-9
speaks of a coming glorious era on earth when the “leopard will lie down with
the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together, and a little child
will lead them.
·
The cow will
feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat
straw like an ox.
·
The infant
will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child will put his hand in
the viper’s nest.
·
Some Bible
scholar contend that this passage speaks only of the Millennium 1000 year
reighn, but Isaiah anticipates an eternal
Isaiah 65:17 says:
17
"Behold, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
Isaiah 66:22 says:
22 "As
the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,"
declares the LORD, "so will your name and descendants endure.
·
These
passages speak of the new earth.
·
Sandwiched
before them is a reference very similar to that in Isaiah 11: “The wolf and the
lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox….They neither
harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,’ says the Lord” (65:25)
·
QUESTION: When
will there be no more harm or destruction on the earth?
·
ANSWER: Not
on the old Earth or even the Millennium, which will end in rebellion and
warfare, but on the New Earth, where there will be no more sin, death and
suffering.
·
ON THE NEW
EARTH, THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH AND PAIN.
Revelation 21:4 says:
4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will
be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has
passed away."
·
MANY
THEOLOGIANS BELIEVE THIS PASSAGE EVEN APPLIES THE ANIMAL KINGDOM!
·
GOD ALWAYS
HAS AND ALWAYS WILL HAVE A _____________________(PURPOSE) FOR THE ANIMALS –
EVEN ON THE NEW EARTH!
·
God uses
animals to _________________(fulfill) his Holy purposes.
1 Kings 17:4-6 says:
4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered
the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he did
what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the
Jonah
17 But the
LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish
three days and three nights.
Matthew
"Then the sons are exempt,"
Jesus said to him. 27"But so that we may not offend
them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch;
open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to
them for my tax and yours."
D. God spoke through
Balaam’s Donkey
Numbers 22 says:
1 Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of
2 Now Balak
son of Zippor saw all that
4 The
Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "This horde is going to lick up
everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field."
So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of
Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to summon Balaam
son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, [b] in his native land. Balak said:
"A people has come out of
7 The elders
of
8
"Spend the night here," Balaam said to them, "and I will bring
you back the answer the LORD gives me." So the Moabite princes stayed with
him.
9 God came
to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men with you?"
10 Balaam
said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of
12 But God
said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those
people, because they are blessed."
13 The next
morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own
country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you."
14 So the
Moabite princes returned to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with
us."
15 Then
Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. 16 They came to Balaam and said:
"This is what Balak son of Zippor
says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, 17
because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a
curse on these people for me."
18 But
Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver
and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of
the LORD my God. 19 Now stay here tonight as the others
did, and I will find out what else the LORD will tell me."
20 That
night God came to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon
you, go with them, but do only what I tell you."
21
Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of
24 Then the
angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on
both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the
LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he
beat her again.
26 Then the
angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no
room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27
When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he
was angry and beat her with his staff. 28 Then the LORD
opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to
you to make you beat me these three times?"
29 Balaam
answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my
hand, I would kill you right now."
30 The
donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always
ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?"
"No," he said.
31 Then the
LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the
road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
32 The angel
of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times?
I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. [c] 33 The donkey saw me
and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would
certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her."
34 Balaam
said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were
standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go
back."
35 The angel
of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell
you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
36 When
Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town
on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. 37
Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn't
you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?"
38
"Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say
just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."
39 Then
Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. 40 Balak
sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes who were
with him. 41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to
Bamoth Baal, and from there he saw part of the people.
·
God sends an
angel to stop Balaam from doing evil.
·
Balaam does
not see the angel, but the donkey does.
·
She veers off
the road, and Balaam beat hers.
·
The angel
sees the donkey twice more.
·
Each time she
veers off, and each time Balaam beats her.
·
Then God opened
the donkeys mouth permitting her to verbalize what appear to be actual thoughts
and feelings.
·
Finally God
opens Balaam’s eyes to see the angel, who asks him, “Why have you beaten your
donkey these three times?...If she had not turned away, I would certainly have
killed you by now, but I would have spared her”.
·
Note that the
angel says that the donkey saved Balaam’s life.
·
If she
hadn’t, the angel would have killed Balaam while saving the donkey.