| The Earth, Standing Out of Water and in the Water
By Steve Magua
April, 2023
For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, II Peter 3:5 NKJV
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:1-2, 9-10 NKJV
At first glance it seems as if Genesis 1 is describing the creation of the physical universe. But the closer you look, the more you see that is not the case.
For one, the dichotomy of dry land versus Seas is strange in the world of Genesis. Totally unlike what we see on our planet. The waters on this planet are not gathered in one place. Neither is there only one piece of dry land. Moreover, Peter complicates the case by saying that the dry land stand "out of water and in water"!
When you get to Revelation, the picture begins to become very clear. Heaven and earth and sea are a description of God's dwelling, i.e., the Temple.
In Rev 17, John is taken to a wilderness where he is shown a prostitute seated on a beast standing on many waters. The prostitute is dressed in the priestly garments of Aaron and his sons:
"And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. “They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, and they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artistically worked. And the intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. Exodus 28:2, 5-6, 8 NKJV
“Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. You have also taken your beautiful jewelry from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them. Ezekiel 16:2, 13, 17 NKJV
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. Revelation 17:1, 4 NKJV
The harlot is Jerusalem, particularly the apostate temple. In the one level the arrangement of the literal temple is that it has an outer court where there is huge basin filled with water called the Sea. This outer court is also known as the courtyard of the Gentiles. In Rev 11:2 it is given to the nations. On the other level, the temple which is located in the promised LAND is surrounded by Gentile nations which makes up the sea. So, either way you look at it, both the temple and the land are surrounded by the sea.
It is standing out of water!
THE NEW CREATION
In the new creation, however, there is heaven and earth but no sea. In other words, God's dwelling, the temple no longer distinguishes Israelites and Gentiles. That distinction vanishes away altogether. Paul puts it this way:
"Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:11-14, 17-22 NKJV
Now please catch that last statement! During Paul's ministry God was building a spiritual temple in which to dwell! John sees the completed temple in Rev 21 & 22.
Peter also envisioned this temple that was in process and almost complete during his ministry:
"Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. I Peter 2:4-5 NKJV
But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. II Peter 3:7, 10, 13 NKJV
The physical apostate temple was going to replaced by a new spiritual temple which was going to include people from all over the world!! There was going to be a REFORMATION of the God's dwelling.
"the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience— concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.Hebrews 9:8-10 NKJV
It is imperative to see that the reformation would take place at the time the sacrifices and ordinances of the old temple ended officially per heaven's decree. It should be clear to all Christians today that these activities ended 1900 years ago when Jerusalem and the temple were literally dissolved by fire!!
Where has righteousness been dwelling since then? Which is the only temple of God that exists today? Which heaven and earth is in operation today?
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