THE SPIES' RETURN
"The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land." Num. 14:7.
THE HOME OF THE SAVED
The Land of Peace
The Bible opens with a new heaven and a new earth, perfect from the Creator's hand; with man sinless and having access to the tree of life in the midst of the Eden paradise, out of which flowed a river that spread its life-giving waters through the earth.
The Bible closes with a new heaven and a new earth; with man upright and sinless, having right to the tree of life growing in the midst of Eden; with the river of life flowing out from the garden of God, clear as crystal.
Between the two scenes spreads out the panorama of six thousand years of conflict with sin. It is a story of the fall of man, of the loss of his Eden home, of the curse that marred the earth, of sin and sorrow and death overspreading all.
The Restorer
But from the hour when the shadow of sin fell upon the earth, there has been a light shining in the darkness. Amid the ruin that sin had wrought, there appeared the great Restorer.
The inspired record gives a word-picture of Jesus taking man's place to win back the lost dominion:
"Unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of Thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus." Heb. 2:5-9.