I still do believe that the earth is here to stay and that it will be populated. I believe in the scripture at Revelation 22:1,2 and here it is from the KJV: "And he shewd me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
My reasoning on this is anyone who is destined to live in heaven, doesn't need healing. And are there going to be nations in heaven? I don't think so. I believe the healing of the nations is going to be done right here on earth.
The how's, wherefores, etc. is not mentioned in the Bible, so the society shouldn't speculate on it--but they do, and that's the part that's going beyond scripture. I'm not one to look at types, but I do believe in this one: Abraham's attempt at offering up Issac, was a drama played out which represented the Creator actually offering up his SON, for mankind. Because this was done BEFORE the nation of Israel was formed, it was not just for Israel, but for all of the human family. It must mean more than that there is just going to be one destiny and that is for people to live in heaven. The one hope is LIFE--but there are two places where it can be spent. Here on earth, after the healing has taken place, or in heaven, where those who dwell there are already healed.
And Panda, as much as I love scientific explanations, can any scientist explain where magnetic gravity came from, where the elements came from, where the energy came from, and where "certain" masses came from, etc.? There weren't just always there. SOMEONE had to make them.
