Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

                                                             Matthew 5:5

It is easy for us to understand the concept of being gentle, but what does it mean when Jesus says that the gentle will “inherit the earth?” I believe that if we understand the biblical description of what heaven and earth were, are now, and will be in the future, we can better comprehend what this phrase means.

First, we need to understand how the Bible is structured. At the beginning and the end of God’s Word are two chapters. Each of these pairs act as bookends to the entire Bible. In the first two chapters we see heaven and earth the way God had originally intended it to be. Before the fall of mankind, there was no spiritual separation between heaven and earth. God was in the garden with man and they were enjoying unhindered fellowship with one another. There were no barriers between Creator and His creation. Our lives should be centered in God primarily because that is His design. We are to honor Him and enjoy Him as He cares and provides for us. But then sin came into the picture.

Secondly, we need to understand the last two chapters of the Bible. In the book of Revelation we are given a glimpse into the future of how God will eventually set things right, establishing a new heaven and a new earth. Along with this establishing of new things will come a complete restoration of creation as it was in the garden before the fall. Consider the following description of things to come: 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

                                                                                               Revelation 21:1-4

This passage allows us to see the restoration that will take place for creation. The ones who will benefit from this return of Christ will be all of the believers. The enemies of God and all of those who reject Him will be separated from this glorious reunion. But for those who place their faith in Jesus, what a celebration it will be!

So how is all of this applicable to the statement that the gentle will inherit the earth?” If we understand the unhindered fellowship of heaven and earth before the fall of man (Genesis 1-2) and comprehend this future establishing of a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21-22), then “inheriting the earth” makes perfectly good sense. Consider this excerpt from the model prayer given to us by Jesus:

Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

                                                                               Matthew 6:10

When we pray this portion of the prayer, I believe that we are longing for what used to be (in the garden) and are looking forward to the ushering in of God’s kingdom in the future (a new heaven and a new earth). We are praying for God’s kingdom and His will to be done on earth just like it is in heaven. We know that believers in Jesus are sons and daughters of God and fellow heirs of His kingdom. So if all that belongs to God is ours, that would suggest that the newly established works of God in the future would also be included.

So the gentle are those who find themselves in Jesus Christ and are being guided by the Holy Spirit. It is the presence of the Spirit in our lives that gives us the ability to face a harsh world with gentleness. To be a child of the King is the very best existence in which we could ever find ourselves. 

Happy are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth!