Judgment and renovation. God created everything good. Satan deceived man into spoiling this creation through sin. Since that time, God has been in the process of re-creation and redemption. God cannot make all things new without first removing all that offends. He must destroy all that is associated with sin. This purging frees the new to emerge.
The re-creation of the Earth (Genesis 1:2,3; Jeremiah 4:23-26; Isaiah 24:1; 45:18).
God found it necessary to judge the Earth and its immediate surroundings because of Lucifer’s rebellion (Ezekiel 28:1119; Isa. 14:12-15). God enveloped the Earth in dark chaos and water, as His judgment against evil. The purpose of this judgment was cleansing. Then God progressively and systematically created things anew (Genesis 1:3-27). Through re-creation God restored His control over the Earth and once again could call everything “good” (Genesis 1:31).
The flood and Noah’s ark (Genesis chapters 6-9). God found it necessary to put an end to humanity because of spiritual corruption (Genesis 6:3-7; 11-13).
God’s purpose was to destroy men with their evil imaginations and practices and start over with Noah and his family (Genesis 6:17; 7:2123). This preceded God making a fresh start from Noah’s family and the animals He selected to be saved from the flood (Genesis 6:19, 20; 8:1). Only after the 40-day rain and resulting flood had done their work of cleansing destruction could God begin to repopulate the Earth (Genesis 9:1). This judgment of water had separated evil from the Earth.
Israel’s exodus through the Red Sea (Exodus chapters 14, 15).
Passover with its blood sacrifice was not all that was needed to make a new nation out of these Hebrew slaves; they needed deliverance from their enemies through judgment, and they needed to be cut off from any possibility of return to the old. For this reason, God led them through the Red Sea and then closed these waters over upon the pursuing Egyptians (Exodus 14:13, 26-31). By destroying Israel’s way back to the land of bondage. God forced them into walking in a new territory by redemptive judgment. A new nation had been born-one separated unto God.
John’s baptism (Matthew 3:1-17; Mark 1:2-11; Luke 3:2-18; John 1:6-8, 19-34).
John’s baptism prepared the way for the whole new economy of the kingdom. It cut off God’s previous dealings with Israel through the law and the prophets (Luke 16:16) in preparation for the Messiah (Matthew 3:11, 12; Mark 1:7, 8). Before the new order could be received, these people had to forsake their reliance upon the previous order (Luke 3:8). They were cut off from natural Israel and made ready to become God’s new nation, “spiritual Israel” (Romans 2:28, 29; 9:6-8).
The new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Galatians 6:14-16; Ephesians 2).
Adam was the head of the whole race and when he sinned, we all sinned in him. Jesus Christ was made the second Adam, the head of a whole new race without sin. This could only be accomplished through judging sin to its full extent in the person of Christ after He had become a son of Adam by being born of a woman (Galatians 4:4, 5). Christ as our federal head died and rose again that through total identification with Him we too might live forever. He identified with us in our sin-was made sin-to make us righteous in himself. We were in Christ when He was eternally judged, and for this reason we will never face God’s wrath. Christ’s judgment in our stead paved the way for God to make us spiritually alive in Him-brand new people who could be conformed to His likeness.
The renovation of the Earth by fire (2 Peter 3:10-13).
Before the new heavens and the new Earth appear, God will send a fire to consume all that offends. The purpose of the fire is to purge the Earth of the curse put upon it when Adam sinned (Genesis 3:17, 18). The last vestige of this curse must be removed before the eternal kingdom is manifested-the new heavens and the new Earth (Matthew 24:35; Hebrews 1:10-12; Isa. 66:16, 17; Ezekiel 39:6-8; 11 Thessalonians 1:7-10, etc.).