When there is no heaven and earth, where will God dwell?

Matthew 24:35, Mark13:31, Luke21:33, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” If these scriptures were literal, the question’s point would be valid.

These texts are in reference to the “passing away” or destruction of the symbolic heavens and symbolic earth. The “earth” represents the evil earthly governments and social orders. Whereas the heavens are the false church systems. In Isaiah 24:19-23, the earth in verse 19 is obviously symbolic because in verse 23, the Lord is reigning from Mt. Zion and in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 24:19-23: “The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth…Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.”

The returning Lord will judge and find the present nations, religions, and their works to be unrighteous. These ecclesiastical and social orders on earth and in the spiritual heavens will be removed and eliminated. Then Christ will establish His righteous rule on earth and the Lord’s prayer will be fulfilled: “…thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  We are assured that the planet earth will not be literally destroyed because “…the earth abideth forever.” 

What is Abraham's bosom?

Abraham’s bosom represents the Abrahamic covenant.  The reference to Abraham’s bosom or chest is found in Luke 16:22as part of the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. 

The parable starts with the Rich Man clothed in purple and linen living in luxury.  The Rich Man represents the nation of Israel.  Lazarus represents the gentiles – all who are not Jews. At the beginning of the parable, the Rich Man lived a life of luxury and was fully fed – just as the nation of Israel had God’s favor. The Jewish nation was His people, and had the law and prophets.  Whereas Lazarus was waiting on the crumbs from the Rich Man’s table.  This was the state of the gentiles, publicans, and sinners at the time of Jesus’ ministry who did not have God’s favor.  The state of gentiles is seen in Jesus’s interaction with the Syro-Phoenician woman and her daughter (Matthew 15:21-31). 

A transition occurs within the parable with the death of Lazarus and the Rich Man.  The death of these two people represents a change between these two groups after Jesus’s ministry and death.  The nation of Israel lost God’s favor – represented by the Rich Man’s suffering or torment and distance from Abraham.  Lazarus – representing the gentiles and cast offs of Israel – received the favor of God by having the opportunity to become followers of Christ and joint heirs with him. Lazarus, being close to Abraham’s bosom in the parable, represents the gentiles receiving an opportunity to be part of the Abrahamic promise (Genesis 22:16-18). 

Two scriptures support this new position of the gentiles.  First, in Galatians 3:16, 29  Paul links believers in Christ to being part of the Abrahamic covenant: “The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed.  The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person who is Christ. … If you belong to Christ you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.”  Second, Paul explains that gentiles will have this special favor until the full body of the heavenly church is complete. Paul says “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in. And so Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25-26).

Finally, a great gulf appears between the Rich Man and Abraham.  This represents the great gap that has occurred between the nation of Israel/the Jewish people and God’s favor for Christians during this present Gospel age.  Lazarus was not able to even comfort the Rich Man with water (truth) in the parable because the Jewish nation had not listened to Jesus or to the law and prophets, which pointed to the Messiah.  Nor, would the raising to life of Lazarus be able to help the Rich Man’s five brothers (the Jews scattered throughout the Roman world) because they had been given the law and the prophets and would not listen to them either – just like their brother, the Rich Man, who lived and witnessed Jesus’s work in Judea. 

What is a Christian?

Today the term “Christian” is typically used to name a person who is a believer in Jesus Christ, usually in the sense of distinguishing that person from people of other religions.  However, the true meaning of “Christian” is to be a follower of Christ. “Jesus said, ‘My sheep listen to my voice… and they follow me.’ ”  (John 10:27) 

To become a Christian, a person must first recognize he is a sinner, believe Jesus died for his sins, and give his whole life and heart to God to obey His will. (I Peter 3:18, Hebrews 10:7, Proverbs 23:10)

A few of our Lord’s instructions are as follows: 

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24); “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44); do good deeds in secret (Matthew 6:1-4); forgive others (Matthew 6:15). “Seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness” and God will take care of your necessities. (Matthew 6:33)

Additionally, Christians “correctly handle(s) the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15) and accept that “all scripture is God-breathed” (II Timothy 3:16). Christians “resist the devil” and do their best to “purify [their] hearts” (James 4:7,8). 

Christians have special promises which will be fulfilled at their resurrection:

Jesus said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me…"  (John 14:3)  “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne…” (Revelation 3:21)

Christians will be “co-heirs with Christ, if indeed [they] share in his sufferings” They will share in His glory (Romans 8:17).  They know that "the creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed" and look forward to the time when "the creation itself will be liberated… and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Romans 8:19-21).  If faithful, the consecrated Christian will reign in the resurrection, blessing those raised to life on earth.  (Revelation 5:10)