Bible Poetry Reading Plan: Job 19-20
Heaven, Eden and Restoration
Acts 3:19-21 19Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, 20that times of
refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for
you, Jesus, 21whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God
spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago. (ESV)
Peter is very clear in this passage that when Jesus returns, His purpose is not to inaugurate a
brand new thing that’s never been before – His purpose is to restore things. Here’s the thing about
the word ‘restore;’ you can’t ‘restore’ something that’s never been. Restoration is all about the past
– you ‘restore’ something back to the way it once was. If you make something brand new, from
scratch, you haven’t restored that thing, you’ve created it. God’s plan for the end is not to destroy
everything and start from scratch; He’s going to take things back to the beginning with restoration,
renovation and re-generation. The apostle Paul is very clear that Jesus’ plan is to reconcile all
things in Heaven and earth – for there to be reconciliation between the things of Heaven and the
things of earth, the things of Heaven and earth would first have to have been together at some
point. You can’t have reconciliation between things which have never been together. Colossians
1:19-20 tell us that through Jesus all things will be reconciled to Himself, whether on earth or in
Heaven. In the beginning God made things perfect, the exact way that He wanted them to be.
When God created the universe in Genesis 1, He didn’t give His second best, He didn’t do a second
rate job – He made the best world possible. He made everything perfect. If God did His best in
Genesis 1 then that means there is no possible realm that is better for human beings to live in than
what God made in the Garden of Eden. Eden was Heaven. Eden is the blue print, the starting
point, yet God’s creativity is so infinite that things may continue to improve for all eternity. God is
not planning to utterly destroy planet earth in the end. Yes, there will be cataclysmic and fiery worldwide
judgments upon the surface of the earth but God’s plan is to eventually return to this earth
once Jesus has restored it therefore we will remain on this earth forever. Although we will be living
on the same earth, things will be vastly improved. Death will be defeated and things will be greatly
changed for the better – no droughts, no famines, no disease, no pollution, no cancer, no war…
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Why is restoration all about the past? How does Christ restoring the Earth show that Heaven
and Earth were once united?
2. Why does it make sense that Eden was the blueprint for Heaven?
3. Thank the Lord for the way He made the earth and how He’s going to restore it.
