RushwaveDetailed Statement of Faith
Below is a very condensed/abridged version of the book series "The Christian Faith."
The Bible is God’s written revelation to man, equally inspired in all parts and in every word, inerrant in the original autographs. It constitutes the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
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God is a living, personal, sentient, intelligent Being. He is self-aware with the capacity to conceive thoughts, make decisions, and experience feelings and emotions.
There is only one God. Other gods do not exist, and there is only one Supreme Being.
God is eternal. He always has been, is now, and always will be. There never was a time when He was not, nor will there ever be a time when He ceases to be.
God is incorporeal. He is not comprised of physical matter or any substance, visible or invisible, as if it were possible to touch or see Him given the right conditions or senses.
God has no form. There is no image that can be conceived in one's mind that looks like God, because He has no shape.
God is just and righteous. Any thought He conceives, any decision He makes is always in keeping with what is right, good, and just.
God is all-powerful. Nothing is impossible with Him. The exercise of His power is only limited by His other attributes. He will always only execute His power in accordance with what is right, just, and wise.
God is all-knowing. God knows what has been, is now, will be, and what would have been given a change in any infinite number of variables.
God is always there. There is no place where He is not, and He cannot be conceived of as being here, but not there, or there, but not here. He can more properly be described as simply being.
God is all-wise. His thoughts and acts reflect great ingenuity and complexity. This wisdom is revealed in the variety, creativity and cleverness within creation. It is also displayed in His incorporating man's rebellion into His own noble purposes.
God can be pleased. There is that which brings God delight. He delights in lovingkindness, justice and righteousness. He also delights in witnessing the love, order, power and complexity of His own creative acts.
God can be greived. Figuratively speaking, God can weep. He grieves over the suffering and misery man's rebellion brings onto His fellow man. He grieves over the blessings sinners forfeit on account of their rebellion, as well the judgment He is obligated to impose on account of their unrepentance.
God can be provoked. He slow to anger, and His wrath is not an uncontrolled, tempermental reaction. God's anger is an expression of his just, righteous character, and reflects His love of justice and hatred of evil.
God is love. He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.
God abounds in truth. He cannot lie, and always perfectly describes what is and is not the case.
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God exists as a trinune Being. He experiences His own existence as one solitary Being in three distinct ways or modes.
God's triune existence is as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These terms reflect Persons within the Godhead and the loving, relational dynamic between them.
God's triune existence is independent of His creation. If God never chose to engage in any creative act; if only He and He alone existed and there were no universe, He would still exist as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God's triune existence reflects His existence in relation to Himself, not His creation.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit denote one Being, not three. If it were otherwise, there would be three Gods. But there is only one God, and hence the use of the word "name" as opposed to "names" is appropriate in the phrase "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are Persons. The term "Person" when applied to the trinity is used in a specialized sense. Each is a Person not in the sense each can exist independently of or act contrary to the other. Rather, each is a Person in that each is living, conscious, and relational within the one God.
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God created angels as intelligent, powerful, righteous, holy, spirit beings. God assigned them various roles, ranks, and powers in their service to Him. Angels do not procreate between themselves; they have no offspring. Among these angels God created was one who would come to be known as Satan.
Satan fell through pride, desiring to receive the glory and honor reserved for God alone. He is exceedingly evil and properly described as a murderer, thief, liar, destroyer, adversary, and tempter.
Numerous angels rebelled with Satan and thereby became corrupt, evil and wicked as well. Collectively all these fallen angels constitute powers of darkness who are opposed to God.
All fallen angels are perpetually evil. They will never turn from their rebellion to return to God's service. The are utterly intransigent and irreversibly evil.
The elect angels are those who freely chose not to join Satan and rebel. These holy angels remain in God's service, occupying various ranks and fulfilling tasks as God assigns.
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God created the heavens and the earth. Everything that exists did not come into being by itself out of nothing. The all-powerful, eternal God created all things visible and invisible, earthly and heavenly, miscroscopic and cosmic.
God created the first man, Adam, on the sixth day of creation. He was made from the dust of the earth, and became a living being through God supernaturally imparting life to him. He was created holy and righteous, indwelt by divine life, the Holy Spirit, and therefore capable of intimacy with God.
God created man in His image, which is to say Adam's thoughts, words, and character were reflective of God Himself – in every way he was holy, righteous, and divinely inspired. In his original state man could not conceive evil thoughts such as murder, cheating, lying, or the like.
God placed Adam in the garden of Eden. This garden was a literal, physical location, and not a myth. It was a pristine, beautiful environment lovingly created by God Himself. There were no hailstorms, tornadoes, earthquakes, or other disturbances. There were no thorns in any shrub. And Adam himself, and all the animals, were herbivores and lived peaceably together; there was no agression or hostility.
God forbade Adam to eat of one particular tree under the penalty of death. This tree, named the tree of knowledge of good and evil, was God's one prohibition in the midst of many blessings within the garden. And this tree, as well as all the other fruit bearing trees in the garden, was beautiful and contained healthy fruit. The threat of death was due to God's imposing a legal sentence for disobedience, and not on account of any poisenous nature within the fruit.
God created Eve, Adam's wife as Adam's loving companion and helper. Together, under Adam's loving headship, they were to enjoy and cultivate the garden while in fellowship with one another, and with God.
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The fall of man occurred in this historical garden of Eden through Satan. Satan deceived Eve and she ate of the forbidden fruit, offering it to her husband Adam thinking it was in their best interest. Adam then ate of the forbidden fruit, having been offered it by his wife.
God imposed the death penalty as a result of Adam's sin in accordance with what He had threatened. This death involved the removal of the indwelling divine life, the Holy Spirit, and consequently separation from God and physical death. Intimacy with God was therefore no longer possible and sickness, disease, suffering and physical death ensued.
Adam and Eve became possessors of a sinful nature after their sin. With the removal of the Holy Spirit and divine influence, there was nothing left to keep their God-given human desires, thoughts, feelings, etc. within righteous bounds. They thus became possessors of an unrestrained, lawless human nature, or a sinful nature.
The sinful nature was passed on to all of Adam’s descendents, being legally imputed to all mankind as a corporate whole. As a result, every man born of Adam is born spiritually dead; he is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Thus each individual possesses a lawless human nature and therefore a sinful nature as a consequence of being related to Adam.
Thus being sinful from conception man is depraved before God. He is absolutely helpless to deliver himself from his sinful nature, and he can in no way be deemed righteous before God. Neither good works, nor membership in a local church, nor observance of church ordinances (such as baptism), nor any amount of sincere effort will change man’s sinful condition.
Man’s depravity made him susceptible to God’s judgment. Because of his unrighteous nature and deeds, he owes God an insurmountable debt. Thus all men are liable to God’s judgment.
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Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God who existed in the beginning with God the Father, was Himself also God. He was sent by God the Father into the world to give His life as a sacrifice for man's sin, laying down His own life as a propitiation for the sins of the world. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary and therefore void of a sinful nature. He remained God even though He had become a man. During His earthly ministry He performed many miracles and supernatural signs. He was ultimately crucified, died and was buried. On the third day He rose bodily from the dead. He ascended into heaven, having fulfilled God the Father's righteous requirement and satisfaction for sin.
On account of the work of Jesus Christ man can be saved from God's judgment. He need not bear the penalty for his evil thoughts, words and deeds. And God is not willing that any should perish, but that all would be saved. However this salvation is not universally applied to all mankind, but only to those who exercise faith.
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Faith is the means through which God saves. This faith is synonomous with believing in, trusting in, relying on, calling on, or appealing to God through Jesus Christ to forgive one's sins, be spared judgment, and inherit eternal life. The sinner understands he is utterly condemned and morally bankrupt, and God is completely within His rights to judge him. The sinner therefore looks entirely to God's mercy and grace as displayed in Jesus Christ to save him, much like a debtor would appeal to a lender to graciously forgive the debt.
God's grace is the source of salvation. When God saves a person, it is a display of His unnmerited, underserved, kindness and mercy towards the sinner. The sinner looks to God in Jesus Christ to be saved from the penalty of his sins, and God responds to the sinner's lowly, miserable state by granting salvation. The sinner's trusting in or calling upon God to be saved does not morally obligate God to save him. It is rather that God, in keeping with His loving, gracious character, grants salvation as a free gift. Salvation by grace stands in stark contrast to salvation by works, which would obligate God to save a person on account of some good, noble, righteous deed. But salvation is not by works, it is by grace.
Genuine faith involves godly repentance; a godly remorse, sorrow, regret, guilt and change of heart towards God as respects sin. Yet this godly repentance is in no way an additional requirement to saving faith, but rather the only rational grounds upon which genuine faith can be exercised towards God to be saved from sin. For if a man regards himself as not guilty of works warranting God's judgment, or if he himself does not take responsibility for those evil works, or if he believes his good works will atone for his evil works, he will not look to God's mercy to be saved. It is only when a man truly understands his utterly hopeless condition that he is in a position to trust in God's kindness, faithfulnes, and power to save him.
Godly repentance is not a vow, promise, committment, or resolution to be a good person, stop sinning, or live righteously. It is simply a broken spirit before God regarding one's sinful condition. And it is this brokeness that God will not despise.
Godly repentance is distinct from worldly repentance. Worldy repentance is a self-centered remorse, guilt or sorrow over the grief, hurt and offense caused towards onself. Cain and Judas are examples of worldly repentance. Godly repentance is a God-centered remorse, guilt or sorrow over the grief, hurt and offense caused towards God. David and Peter are examples of godly repentance.
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The gospel is the good news that man can be reconciled to God, forgiven his sins, and not perish but instead receive eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world and rose again from the dead.
A false gospel is any teaching that either 1) adds or takes away from the sole condition of faith God requires for salvation, or 2) adds or takes away from the outward evidence of a godly lifestyle as the necessary outworking of the new life received as a free gift through genuine faith.
Examples of adding to the true gospel are the false teachings that to be saved one must fully submit to Christ's Lordship, make a solemn vow of to live righteously, be water baptized a certain way, prophesy or speak in tongues, become a member of a specific denominiation or church, or the like.
Examples of taking away from the true gospel are the false teachings that a man can be saved, have genuine faith, and/or be indwelt with God's divine life and yet 1) deny Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God sent to die for the sins of the world (as is the case in religions outside Christianity), 2) have an overall character of an unloving, unkind, uncaring, selfish and contentious person, or 3) have a celebratory, casual, or indifferent attitude towards sin and therefore either leads or affirms a life characterized by sexual immorality, drunkenness, hallucinogenic drug, gambling, or the like.
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Water baptism by immersion should follow immediately after a person has believed in Jesus Christ. Baptism is the initiation rite into the Christian faith. It in itself does not save a person, but it is to always be included in the presentation of the gospel and given as the outward action point in evangelization.
A man is not regnerated upon being baptized. While baptism is to be given as the outward decision point for people to act upon when choosing to believe, there is necessarily a gap between a man believing and his actually being baptized. This gap is not a limbo state as respects the man's salvation, for salvation is through faith, not through baptism.
Water baptism symbolizes having one's sins washed away. In every culture, it is understood water is a cleansing agent to remove filth. Water baptism takes this common understanding and use of water and makes immersion in water the initiation right into the Christian faith.
There is no special anointing or spiritual empowerment in water baptism. God is of course free to do as He chooses, and there may be instances where such experiences take place. But such experiences are not common, nor should the absence of these experiences cause one to view his baptism as somehow inferior.
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When a man believes in Jesus Christ he becomes regenerated and receives a new nature. He becomes indwelt by God's divine life, the Holy Spirit and therefore becomes “born again.” This new nature manifest itself in that whereas before he was disposed to be a sinful man, now he is disposed to be a godly man. He still experiences sinful desires and affections and falls into fulfilling those evil desires at times. But His affections preponderate toward fulfilling the will of God and hence he finds he can no longer comfortably live in sin as he did before. He has a new, virtuous disposition and hence things such as lying, cheating, stealing, gossiping, envy, selfishness, hatred, drunkenness, sexual immorality, and the like are unnatural and grieve the Spirit within.
The aforementioned salvation by grace through faith is irreversible and keeps a man eternally secure. The man who is truly saved has received the divine life and is kept by God. There will never come a time when this divine life is removed. However, if a man is truly saved, this divine life indwelling within will cause him to be a new person, as stated before. It is therefore impossible for a truly regenerated person to have the same relationship with sin after salvation.
The baptism with the Holy Spirit is the baptism administered by Jesus Christ and consists of sealing the believer with the Holy Spirit. This is not a second blessing which occurs after salvation. Speaking in tongues is neither the necessary or common sign of being baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Every believer should continually be being filled with the Holy Spirit once they are saved. This is distinct from the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This filling consist of being controlled by the Holy Spirit, which primarily involves being obedient to the word of God as the Holy Spirit is faithful to bring scriptures to one’s remembrance and maintaining a spiritual orientation. This filling is not a one time event, but rather an ongoing obligation every believer is to fulfill and results in the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, and other godly traits. Speaking in tongues is neither the necessary or common sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Believers will face many situations where they will need to discern the will of God from a spectrum of choices which are all biblically permissible (which Christian to marry, which career path to choose, where to live, etc.). While God can use visions, dreams, an audible voice, a strong impression by the Holy Spirit, or any number of other means to communicate His will, the primary way God guides believers is by their walking in faith and exercising sound Christian judgment. This faith and judgment consist of patiently depending on God for guidance, trusting God to superintend circumstances, examining choices from a biblical perspective, examining one’s heart for purity of motive, obtaining counsel from other godly believers, carefully weighing the pros and cons, and similar activities of the heart and mind. God may, in accordance with His sovereignty, choose to give a believer a supernatural, direct personal leading to reveal His will in the matter, but this must be qualified in that 1) such a leading will never contradict God’s word, 2) a direct leading should be viewed as the exception, not the norm, 3) such a leading is only authoritative to the person who received it and not to anyone else because the person who received it has no prophetic authority over others.
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A person becomes a member of the universal church when he has believed on Jesus Christ and is born again. This universal church consists of all those who have believed and been indwelt by the Holy Spirit and is not limited to any particular denomination or independent church.
There is a local church in addition to the spiritual, universal church. The local church consist of professing believers gathering together weekly to stir one another up to good works in the context of worship, teaching, the Lord’s supper, and other biblically prescribed activities.
The Lord’s Supper is an ongoing ordinance in the church. It consists of believers gathering together for a worship meal with the elements of bread and wine. Believers take of the bread and cup in remembrance of Christ' death.
The local church is governed by officers called Elders, but the authority of the Elders must be exercised within biblical parameters. Elders are therefore not to be domineering but are instead to lead by example. They are to meet high character qualifications (as described below), as a man with these character qualifications will neither disqualify himself by either his inability to manage or by his managing in an overbearing manner. Elders are therefore to be men of character and integrity, deferring to one another, making decisions in accordance with the word of God. At the same time, Elders do not make all decisions for the congregation among themselves, but instead defer to the congregation where appropriate.
Elders are to meet certain qualifications. They must be able to teach, self-controlled, not greedy, hospitable, manage their homes well, along with the other qualifications given by Paul in 1Timothy 3. Being divorced does not necessarily exclude a man from becoming an Elder, nor does having unbelieving children.
Deacons oversee the physical aspects of the church, managing things such as church finances, church property, etc. They do this so as to free the Elders to oversee the spiritual aspects of the church. Their qualifications are basically the same as that of an Elder, with the exception that they do not need to be skilled in teaching nor must they be older in the Christian faith.
Christian men are to exercise spiritual leadership in the church and in the home, but this authority is to be exercised within biblical parameters. Men must therefore guard against falling into the two extremes: being domineering or authoritative on the one hand, or being passive and abdicating spiritual responsibility on the other hand. Christian men should be faithful to love their wives sacrificially, laying down their lives for them as Christ loved the church, not abusing their God-given authority in the home by being either self-serving and domineering or spiritually weak and feeble.
Christian women should be considered an integral part of the local church, equal before God in their justified standing in Christ. At the same time, women should not assume places of spiritual authority in teaching, such as the office of Elder. In the home, women must guard against the two extremes of on the one hand usurping the authority of their husbands and being unsubmissive, or on the other hand being slavishly submissive with no self-respect.
Tongues is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but this should be qualified in that 1) the gift of tongues is not given to every believer, 2) speaking in tongues is neither the common or necessary sign of either the baptism of the Holy Spirit or the filling of the Spirit, 3) a person can speak in tongues and yet still be spiritually immature, 4) tongues should be considered one of the less edifying gifts, 5) the understandable, intelligible interpretation of a tongue is necessary so the congregation can receive edification.
Church discipline involves dealing with a professing believer within the church who is sinning and unrepentant of sins such as sexual immorality, stealing, drunkenness, gossip, divisiveness, and the like. When a church member becomes aware that another church member is committing such sins, the process is to 1) confront the brother about his sin one on one, 2) confront the brother with two or three other witnesses, 3) confront the brother with the church, 4) avoid socializing with him in the hope that he will repent of his sin. If at any stage of this process the brother is repentant of his sin, then at that point those who are spiritual are to help restore such a person. But if the brother is unrepentant throughout the process, then ultimately the church must avoid socializing with him. However, the church should not count him as an enemy and be hostile towards him, but should instead exhort him to turn from his sin.
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Abortion at any and all stages involves the taking of a human life. Abortion, as with any sin, is forgiven on the basis of Christ' finished work, and a woman is neither more commendable before God because she never had an abortion, nor is she less commendable for having had one. The believer's role in abortion is fivefold: 1) pray for those women considering abortions that their hearts would be changed, 2) educate women who are considering an abortion as to the true nature of the procedure, 3) offer practical help to those women who choose to carry their baby to term, 4) pray for godly officials to be put in place to overturn the present abortion policies and 5) take the pro-life position into account when voting for officials.
When it comes to believers being wealthy (in this life), it should be noted that 1) it is not God’s will for every believer to be wealthy, 2) wealth should be considered one of the lesser of God's blessings, 3) the love of money, and not the use of money itself, is corrupting, 4) believers are called to be good stewards of their finances, 5) believers should not strive to be wealthy but instead should learn to be content with what they have, 6) a believer can be living a holy life and yet still be poor and 7) while wealthy believers are under no scriptural obligation to completely disburse their wealth, they should nonetheless as all believers be ready to give and willing to share.
While there is no scriptural command to abstain completely from alcohol, this must be qualified by noting 1) the abuse of alcohol results in drunkenness and a lack of self-control, and drunkenness is clearly forbidden by God, 2) while it is possible to partake of alcohol without abusing it, believers should nonetheless be careful to avoid becoming casual in their use of it and 3) a believer’s liberty to lawfully use alcohol must be tempered by Christian love towards those who hold different convictions, and therefore believers should avoid using alcohol in those contexts where it would stumble others.
At times Christians will experience illness and desire healing. In this matter Christians can note 1) the onset of an illness or the failure to be healed is not necessarily the result of personal sin, 2) even when illness is the result of personal sin, it is born of God's love and is not beyond the pale of God's granting healing, 3) the common way God chooses to heal is through medical treatment, 4) those who are ill may call upon the Elders of the church for prayer, 5) healing should ultimately be attributed to God, whether it be through medical or miraculous means, 6) God does not always will that believers be healed, but instead chooses higher blessings that are the fruit of suffering, 7) at times God does choose to miraculously heal a person, in accordance with His sovereign will and 8) when God does grant healing, it is of grace.
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A person is male or female by God's design from conception, and this is an immutable characteristic. Attempts to create other classifications beyond male and female reflect man's defiance of God's natural order. Neither medical surgery, hormonal treatments, cross-dressing, cosmetics, or any other conceivable action changes one's being a male or female. At the same time, those who have engaged in these practices should in no way be deemed more in need of salvation and the transforming power of the gospel than anyone else. For before God there is no difference: all have sinned.
Same-sex relationships are not only immoral but also contrary to nature. They constitute rejecting not only God's self-revelation in creation as a transcendent Being, but also rejecting what nature reveals regarding human sexuality: that men and women were sexually designed for one another. A basic understanding of human anatomy makes it obvious same-sex relationships are unnatural. At the same time, those engaged in same-sex relationships should in no way be deemed more in need of salvation and the transforming power of the gospel than anyone else. For there is no difference: all have sinned.
Physical intimacy between a man and a woman is a beautiful gift from God designed by Him to be experienced in the context of a monogamous, heterosexual marriage relationship. However physical intimacy before marriage, with a person other than one's spouse, with a relative, or with the same-sex is utterly contrary to God's commandments.
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God, not the state, defines marriage. The state may classify certain relationships as a marriage (such as same-sex relationships) which God classifies as immorality. Likewise the state may deem certain marriages unlawful (such as interracial marriages) while God deems it legitimate. Conversely, the state may deem a certain marriage as dissolved with each party free to remarry, while God may deem that marriage still binding with each party having no such liberty. A distinction, therefore, must be maintained, differentiating what constitutes a marriage and divorce before God and before the state. And this distincition is made not to suggest believers should disregard state requirements to be married or divorced, but rather to think properly about what constitutes immorality, a marriage, and a divorce from God's perspective.
Marriage before God consist of one man and one unrelated woman freely vowing to be intimate companions until death. While countries and cultures differ in the formalities, traditions, attire, and phrases used in a wedding ceremony, it is this element of freely exchanging vows that is the essence of marriage.
A Christian is free to marry one believer of the opposite sex and reap the many benefits of being one flesh in the Lord. However, Christians are commanded by God to avoid marriage with unbelievers. Single Christians should therefore use wisdom and guard their heart, avoiding situations that lend themselves to developing a romantic interest in an unbeliever.
Marriage was designed by God to be a permanent, indissoluble relationship and divorce should not be considered an option in times of relational trial. Nonetheless there are certain exceptions where it is permissible for a believer to initiate a divorce such as in cases of an unrepentant adultery, desertion, or physical abuse. In all these cases, however, divorce is not necessarily prescribed, but neither is it prohibited. Furthermore, even though a spouse may be immoral and unrepentant of the adulterous relationship, divorce should only be considered after earnest attempts towards reconciliation have failed.
A Christian who is divorced is free to remarry provided one of the following conditions are met: 1) the former spouse is deceased, 2) the Christian had biblical grounds to initiate the divorce (as described above) or 3) the spouse (believer or unbeliever) initiated the divorce and has rejected earnest attempts to reconcile. If one of these conditions are met the Christian is free to remarry, but only to another believer.
All humans experience physical death, which consist of the separation of the soul and spirit from the body. Believers who die are consciously and immediately present with the Lord, enjoying fellowship with Him in heaven and continuing in that state until the time when the Lord returns for His church, at which point they are reunited with their resurrected but glorified bodies. Unbelievers who die are consciously and immediately in hell suffering torments, continuing in that state until the white throne judgment, at which point they are reunited with their resurrected bodies and cast into the lake of fire.
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Israel and the church are distinct in God's redemptive program. In Old Testament times God chose national Israel as His special people to bear His name, walk in holiness and convey God's redemptive plan in the world. Israel's national rejection of her Messiah was in the sovereignty of God with a view to presently unite both Jew and Gentile into one new corporate group, the Church. God's program for national Israel, however, has not been annulled but merely suspended until God's program for the Gentiles and the Church is complete.
One day Christ will rapture His church from the earth. First, the believers who have died will be resurrected from the dead to meet Christ in the air and then those believers who are alive will immediately follow. But the day and hour of this return is not known by anyone. Believers should live as if the Lord could return at any moment, disregarding any claim that the Lord will return for His church on a certain date or within a certain generation.
Christ will one day return in glory to the earth. He will come personally, visibly and powerfully to crush the powers of darkness. This glorious return of Christ to the earth will mark the beginning of a new age called the millennium.
The millennium will consist of the saints ruling with Christ on the earth. It will be an age of peace; an age where the lion lies down with the lamb, and where Satan is restrained from his deceiving tactics. At the end of the millennial age, Satan will be temporarily released to deceive the world. The nations will gather together against God’s people, but God will destroy them and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire.
After God’s victory over Satan, there will be a resurrection of the wicked at the great white throne of God. The wicked will be reunited with their earthly bodies, judged according to their works and cast into the lake of fire.
Following the great white throne judgment the earth will be dissolved by fire so that God can create a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no more sin, sickness, sorrow or suffering and righteousness will dwell on the earth. Jesus Christ and His saints will reign forever in the new, glorious creation. (Amen! Even so come Lord Jesus!).
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