Who will inherit the earth? (Part 3)

As we continue our study through the Bible about who will inherit the earth, it is best to examine Scripture to see what it says about the inheritance rights of the land.

More passages about who will be left behind
Matthew 13:24-30
24Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Looking at this parable, who are the ones to be gathered first. According to verse 30, the tares are gathered first and burned in the fire; the wheat is left behind and gathered in the barn.

Proverbs 2:21-22
For the upright will live in the land,
And the blameless will remain in it;
22
But the wicked will be eliminated from the land,
And the treacherous will be torn away from it.

Proverbs 10:25
When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more,
But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.


Proverbs 10:30
The righteous will never be removed,
But the wicked will not live in the land.


Psalm 52:1-5
Why do you boast in evil, you mighty man?
The faithfulness of God endures all day long.
2
Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
3
You love evil more than good,
Lies more than speaking what is right. Selah
4
You love all words that devour,
You deceitful tongue.
5
But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent,
And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah


Psalm 125:1
Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but remains forever.

Psalm 37:1-3, 7-9, 18-22, 21-22, 27-29, 34-40
1Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

7Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
10For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

18The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
19They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

21The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
22For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

27Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
28For the Lord loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
29The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.

34Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
35I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.
36Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

37Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;
For the future of that man is peace.
38But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.
40And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.

Verses 10, 34 and 36 talks about the wicked being cut off. They were sought for, but they could not be found. If the righteous are taken out of the earth first, how is it the righteous will be searching for the wicked, but they will not be found? The righteous must be the ones left behind, and the wicked must be the ones taken.

Verse 37:11 is what Jesus is quoting in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”


Going back to Matthew 24:
Verses 48-50: “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time’; and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with this habitually drunk; then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and he will cut him in two and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

In verses 48-50, we are given some more details about what the time of the coming of the Son of Man will be like. We are given a story about a slave who says in his heart that his master will not be returning. The salve goes wild. he gets drunk and beats his fellow slaves. he does not expect the return of his master. When his master comes back, the slave is cut in two, assigned a place with the hypocrites and in that place there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Again, this story demonstrates the slaves stops being obedient and starts living worldly ways. He is mean and does not attend to his duties. (We can glean the slave is disobedient. How many drunks do you know are able to hold down a job and attend to all the responsibilities required of him?) When the master comes home, the slave is cut in two. We can assume this is an idiom for the slave is killed. The slave is taken out of the earth and is put in a place where the hypocrites are. The place sounds pretty awful. They weep and gnash their teeth. It does not sound as though the place where the slave is taken is a place where those who were righteous and following God would go. It sounds as though these people are lamenting and are bitter they are suffering.


Where is the kingdom going to be?
1Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

6And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:1-8)

According to verse 2, where is the new earth going to be? It will come down out of heaven and be here on earth. If the wicked are the ones left behind, they will be the ones to inherit the New Jerusalem. God makes it clear in verse 7 who is it who will inherit the earth, it will be he who overcomes. In verse 8 we are told those who commit all sorts of sins will have their inheritance in the lake of fire which burns fire and brimstone.

Again, the accords with Scripture that the righteous shall live on the earth and the wicked shall be taken away to a place where there will be death. As popular as the book series Left Behind is, it is misguided and does not align with Scripture. It makes a good story line that the righteous will be taken away and the wicked will wonder where the righteous went, but actually Scripture tells us the exact opposite is true. The righteous will be left behind and the wicked will be taken away. The wicked will be searched for but they will not be found.