[donfriesen1]

[QUOTE=Amanah;1617679]Don, Thank you for your reply! Very interesting.

Do you think that non-covenantal believers will exist in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21-22) along with the covenant believers?

(Plz forgive me while I refer to the past, and the comments which rightly should be in another thread - now locked) I fear you ask a trick question because of past comments in another thread of mine, where we disagreed on a topic related to heaven and those who went there. If it is a trick question about believers and unbelievers, then I ask you to define what they are. If not a trick question (plz forgive me my suspicious mind) and you mean 'people believing in Jesus but not born again' then I would say the following: The new Jerusalemn is heaven. Without are the unbelievers and sinners. Re21.8; 22.15

And if so will they have the same status or will there be a hierarchy of believers?

I believe that there will be a hierachical system because a hierachical system is seen among the angels and that something similar will exist for humans. Greater obedience and greater scarifice on earth, would logically be given greater rewards. Among them may be positional rewards (we will co-reign with him) He talked about those who sit on the right/left of him. Those martyrs in Rev7 are shown positionally nearer to the Lamb. Comments Jesus made, when he said that the least in the kingdom of God (on earth?) are greater than the prophet John Baptist (whose was the greatest prophet), hint at this hierachy. Speaking of rewards in parables, he said that some will rule over more than others - hinting again at hierachical systems. Perhaps, I say without having any scriptural evidence to present to back it with, it is logical to believe those born again will be in the upper hierachy and the other-than-born-again in a lower.

Sometimes, when the scripture isn't detailed enough to say it speaks clearly, it is best to be silent or speak with a caveat that it is an opinion. But its always fun to speculate, don't you agree?