Precious friend(s), Is This not our hope?
"To whom God would make known what is the Riches of The Glory of This
Mystery among the Gentiles; Which is CHRIST in you, The Hope of Glory:"
(Colossians 1:27 KJB!)
Is not This Hope of Glory, our Home-going To our Final Destination, Heaven?:
The verses you quote does not teach that our 'final destination' is heaven.
Revelation 21:1 says,
21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Peter also wrote about the new heaven and the new earth. Jesus said that the meek shall inherit the earth.
"For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before
in The Word of The Truth Of The {GRACE} Gospel;" (Colossians 1:5 KJB!)
The hope is laid up in heaven. But we are waiting to be clothed with the heavenly.
II Corinthians 5
5 For we know that if our earthly house,
this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in
this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing
is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
(NKJV)
Paul associates the Spirit as a guarantee of the resurrection in other passages. See Romans 8 for just one example. At the resurrection of the dead and transformation of the surviving saints, we see this will happen in
I Corinthians 15.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
(NKJV)
So we should take these verses in II Corinthians 5 as referring to resurrection. Notice the similarity of these passages.
In Acts 1, the men who spoke to the apostles a the resurrection told them that the Lord Jesus would return as he ascended. When Christ ascended, He did not come go up, then hang up to earth forever. he did not go part-way up, then go back down for seven years. He ascended, as far as we know, in one direction until he got to his final destination.
'Parousia'-- or 'coming' in passages that refer to the coming of Christ, was used to refer to visits from dignitaries out of town. At an official's arrival, people from the city would go out to meet Him and welcome Him with celebration, escorting Him into the city. When Christ returns, the saints will be resurrected or transformed and will go up to meet Him in the air.
Is there more? Yes, Many more Heavenly Passages, Be Blessed!:
Fellow "members" In CHRIST, who told you were NOT "going to Heaven"?
Are not The Following Also part of "The Riches of The Glory Of This Mystery"?:
What Saith The Scripture?:
Our position In CHRIST!:
"Blessed be The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who Hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ:" (Ephesians 1:3 KJB!)
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"Which He Wrought in Christ, when He Raised HIM from the dead, and set
HIM at His Own Right Hand in The Heavenly Places," (Ephesians 1:20 KJB!)
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"And Hath raised us up together, and Made us sit together
in heavenly places In Christ Jesus:" (Ephesians 2:6 KJB!)
We are waiting to be clothed with mortality from heaven. Now, while we are physically on the earth, we are in Christ, who is at the right hand of God in heavenly places, so we are seated in heavenly places. But that does not say we will physically go to heaven.
"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look
for The Saviour, The Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20 KJB!)
+
We are waiting for our Savior to come from heaven. How does this prove your point?
"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with
hands, Eternal in the heavens." (2 Corinthians 5:1 KJB!)
See verses above. We are waiting to be clothed with this, to be clothed with immorality. It's in heaven. But where does it say we will be clothed with it in heaven? The dead will be resurrected on earth.
If we Don't go to heaven, how, exactly does possessing
God's Eternal Heavenly building work?
"For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with
our house which is from heaven:" (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJB!)
Notice FROM heaven in that quote.
Our Culmination to be With CHRIST, In Glorification, At Great GRACE Departure?:
Even though we are "changed into immortality, and put on the incorruptible,"
at This Event, do we not still have the Bema Judgment Seat Of CHRIST, for
"rewards for good works," AND Also "to Clean Up" All our "losing rewards/
bad works" (1 Corinthians 3:8-15 KJB!), to Be Ready For The Following?:
"In The Body Of HIS Flesh through death, to Present you holy and
unblameable and unreproveable in HIS Sight:" (Colossians 1:22 KJB!)
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"That HE might Present it To Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:27 KJB!)
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"To the end HE may Stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness Before God, even our
Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ With All HIS saints." (1 Thessalonians 3:13 KJB!)
At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. Jesus is coming. Why would it be called the parousia/coming if Jesus were in heaven and going to heaven, instead of coming to earth? We are waiting for Jesus to come to earth. At the ascension, the apostles were told Jesus would return.
Another thought would be: who is going to be occupying the vacancies in heaven, where "the
1/3 of the angels Fell With Lucifer"? Possibly The Body Of CHRIST, ruling/reigning in Heaven?
That is a bit speculative. But there are some beings known as 'sons of God'. Them that believe in Christ's name are given power to become the sons of God. So there may be something there, but it is not explicit in the scriptures.
It may be that the spirits of the disembodied dead 'go to heaven' to be with Christ. And after the 1000 years, the New Jerusalem, which is like a bride prepared for her husband, descended out of heaven in the vision. It could be the church is in heaven when the elements melt with fervent heat before returning to the new earth. But eternity in heaven? None of the scriptures you present prove that. We are waiting for the heavenly to come to earth and for the new earth. Our hope, that we should be looking forward to, is the resurrection of the dead, the redemption of our body.
