Mystery of The Ages
Mystery of The Ages© -is a book written by Dr. James Modlish
-reprinted here with the author's permission-

ETERNITY

INTRODUCTION: The last dispensation in the Bible is Eternity which is given the greatest amount of attention in the last two chapters of Revelation. The Bible is a circle, an infinite Book. The Book of Revelation leads us right back into the Book of Genesis. In Genesis there was "a tree of life" and it shows up again in (Rev. 22:2). Abel's lamb is slain as a sacrifice in Genesis and "the Lamb" is in (Rev. 21:23). In Genesis it is "paradise lost" and in Revelation it is "paradise restored". In (Gen. 1:1) you read "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" and in (Rev. 21:1) you read, "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." God begins with man in Genesis 1 and ends with man in Revelation 22. The Bible is a circle so infinite in scope that no finite mind can totally comprehend the completeness of it. There are three distinct dwelling places in eternity that need to be discussed according to (1 Cor. 10:32).


I. THE NEW JERUSALEM - (Rev. 21:9,10)

The New Jerusalem is said to be the "mother" of every born-again believer in the Church Age (Gal. 4:26).

This city is pure gold (Rev. 21:18; 21:21), and it is shaped like a double pyramid. It is "squared" four times. In plainer words, it is not just a cube, but a double cube, each cube having five sides.

The city is so set up that when you put it together, it has eight sides, with the two bases together (which makes ten sides in all). It makes a "city" with a foundation that points down underneath it, and it balances like a gyroscope on whatever it sits on. The foundation underneath is as big as the city, and the city above is "twelve thousand furlongs." The wall is about 264 feet high. (This is a tremendous city. When John said that he saw that "great city," he meant "great city"!) This gold crystal is a double pyramid, containing jasper (carbon), which is the chief constituent of all living things, and it is transparent. This city stretches from Boston, Massachusetts, to Miami, Florida; from Miami, Florida, to Denver, Colorado; and from Denver, Colorado, to Buffalo, New York. So, this city is 1200 miles long, 1200 miles wide, and 1200 miles high. Think of a city whose top is 1200 miles in the air, each mile being 5,280 feet!

This city has 5,000,000 apartments every cubic mile; there are 41 trillion rooms, 15 feet square, or 207 trillion rooms, 10 feet square.

There are more than ten rooms for every saved person who dies between Pentecost and the Second Coming of Christ, if 100 million Christians died every year. In plainer words, when you get to heaven, you will settle down in a house that has at least 10 rooms, 10 feet square, out of solid gold.

The streets are to be lined with trees, as are also the banks of a wonderful river. These trees are not mere shade trees, but beautiful fruit trees, called the "TREE OF LIFE," that bear twelve kind of fruit, a different kind each month. The fruit of these trees is for overcomers only.

"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Rev. 2:7)

The leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations that shall occupy the New Earth. Not that there will be any sickness, but to preserve them in health, as Adam would have been preserved in health if he had eaten of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:22- 24).

The wonderful river is called the river of the "Water of Life," because of its "life giving" properties. Earthly streams have their source in the Throne of God. (Rev. 22:1)

Whoever heard of an earthly city without some place of worship, be it heathen or Christian? But the wonderful thing about the New Jerusalem is that it has no temple. Why would you need a temple when the object of worship is present, for "The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it." In fact the whole city itself will be a temple.

"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. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Rev. 21:3,4)

II. THE NEW EARTH

By studying (Isa. 66:22) it appears that the new earth will principally be for Israel. Notice the context of (Isa. 66:22-24), the "new moon" and the "sabbath," and all "flesh" coming into New Jerusalem to worship the Lord on the "new moon" and the "sabbath" in the new heavens and the new earth. The Jew is still on the earth. (Eph. 1:10; Isa. 65:17; Jer. 33:21, 17,18; Eze. 46:3; 44:24; 37:25-27). In connection with these nations on the earth in eternity (the ones that were saved in the Tribulation and the Millennium), you need to study (Isa. 66:2; Ps. 68:29; and 2 Chron. 23:19). In connection with the Jew ruling the earth in eternity you should study (Gen. 17:8; 17:20-21 Ps. 24:7; Isa. 66:22,23; 9:6,7).

However, there will be 12 nations on the earth in eternity (Deut. 32:7-9; Rev. 21:24,26). So, the Bible plainly teaches that there are twelve boundaries on this earth, matching twelve months. These twelve "boundaries" have twelve nations in them, and these nations match the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. (If you could find out which tribe matched the United States, you would have more information available about the future of the United States than any history book contains that has ever been published!)

According to (Rev. 22:14), the tree of life enters into the picture of individual salvation for earth bound people in eternity. We might assume that if the people who are born do not partake of the "tree of life," they die. But in Revelation 20, we read that "death and hell were cast into the lake of fire," so this conclusion may not be the truth. Therefore, we will alter it just a little and say this: for 33,000 years (This is the period that Larkin calls the "Age of Ages" before eternity begins. (See Deut. 7:9 and 1 Chron. 16:15-19), or a period that only God knows, people will have to take of the "tree of life." There is a possibility that once a man partakes of the "tree of life," and reproduces seed, his seed receives eternal life and the offspring does not have to take of the "tree of life." This means that people in the Tribulation and the Millennium who "keep His commandments" will be able to partake of the "tree of life" in their month - the month of their birth - and from then on their offspring are born with eternal life. However, at best, it is impossible to figure for certain. But somebody is going to partake of that "tree of life." We are left with two alternatives.

[1]. The flesh-and-blood nations on the earth all have to take of the "tree of life" sometime after they are born, or in eternity they die.

[2.] The generations that came through the Tribulation and the Millennium must take of the "tree of life," and from then on their progeny is secure, for they are born with eternal life.

III. THE NEW HEAVENS

An examination of (Isa 9:7; Lk. 1:30-33) reveals that not only is Christ coming back to rule over a political, visible, Davidic, earthly, kingdom, but this kingdom is going to branch out - with its branches named after the sons of Jacob - and go out to the solar system and galaxies, infinitely, and go out to the stars forever (Heb. 11:14-16).

(2 Peter 3:12,13) indicates that righteousness is not just going to dwell on a new earth, but in the new heavens also. The implications are staggering. It means God is going to spread mankind out and fill out the whole universe indefinitely.

When (Isa. 45:11-18; Rev. 22:3-5; and Dan. 7:14,18) are put together it becomes clear that the saved nations that can go into the city to partake of the "tree of life" to get eternal life, spend eternity reproducing and multiplying infinitely and going out into outer space, and populating first the 12 constellations that make up the Zodiac (12 signs-12 nations), and then from there they move on out into outer space.

-Page Navigation-

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17