CE 1 YEAR: 22 Your Eternal Hope

Week 22

Your Eternal Hope

God has promised you an eternal paradise

Life is full of disappointments. Which is why the Bible tells us to put all our hope in the return of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 1:13). It is so easy to focus on life on this earth. But God commands us to focus our hopes and desires on things in Heaven (Col 3:1-2).

What can help us do this? Having a better understanding of what we will experience on the New Earth. King David summed this up when he said God will fill us with joy in His presence and with eternal pleasures (Ps 16:11). Eternal pleasures. That is a very good biblical description of what God has promised us on the New Earth.

Jesus showed His servant John a glimpse of the New Earth He was creating for us (Rev 21:1-5). From this passage there are three words that could summarize the Bible’s description of the coming Kingdom of God on Earth: PERFECT, NEW, and ETERNAL.

First, it will be PERFECT because God’s home will be there. Where God makes His eternal home is going to be a perfect place with absolutely no sin or defects anywhere. There will be no more death, so there will always just be LIFE! There will be no more sorrow, so there will always just be JOY! There will be no more crying, so there will always just be LAUGHING! There will be no more pain or loneliness or fighting or disappointment or embarrassment or danger or weakness or sickness or trouble or temptation or sin, so there will always just be PLEASURE! Your life on the New Earth will always and only be perfect and eternal HAPPINESS!

Secondly, the coming Kingdom of God on Earth will be NEW. Jesus said, “I am making everything new!” (Rev 21:5). But this does not mean nothing will be familiar. One of the most important things to understand about life on the New Earth is how much it will be like life on this Earth. As we will see from Scripture, there will be land, trees, people, friends, animals, work, cities, houses, gardens, food, and parties!

We will not lose our Christian spouses, children, and friends. But our relationships with them will be new and perfect! We will not lose our most favorite things on Earth like having fun, loving friends, creating things, and serving God. But all of these things will be new and perfect in amazing ways! The New Earth will have all of the best things of this life perfected, and all of the bad things of this life eliminated. Which is why Jesus called it, “the paradise of God” (Rev 2:7).

Thirdly, the perfect and new Kingdom of God on Earth will be ETERNAL. Jesus said death, crying, and pain will be gone forever (Rev 21:4). All of the perfect and new things about life on the New Earth will never end. This is very different from life on this Earth. We experience glimpses of peace, joy, and pleasure, but then they are always interrupted with strife, grief, and pain. Nothing good lasts very long on this Earth. But on the next Earth, every day will be perfect forever.

Perhaps one promise sums up what the eternal Kingdom of God on the New Earth will be like for us. God said we will be happy forever because of what He will create for us (Isa 65:18).

The new and perfect things on the eternal New Earth

Fortunately, we are not confined to the NT for information about what life will be like on the New Earth. God made many wonderful promises to the future converted nation of Israel (Rom 11:26-27). Those in the Church can now claim those same promises because Christ made OT and NT saints into one people of God (Eph 2:12-15). Christians have inherited the OT promises of the New Earth.

Some claim that the OT prophecies about Christ’s return should be interpreted symbolically and have already been fulfilled in the Church (i.e. Amillennialism). But there is one clear argument against such a view. All the prophecies regarding Christ’s First Coming were fulfilled literally. Therefore, it would seem to be a mistake to believe it will be different for His Second Coming. Therefore, our information about life on the New Earth is greatly expanded through the OT Prophets. What kinds of new, perfect, and eternal things are we promised?

First, we will have a new and perfect relationship with God. It is natural to wish that God would give us more detail about our life on the New Earth. Why is there so little information in Scripture about this? Because He has told us HE WILL LIVE THERE with us (Rev 21:3). What else do you really need to know about your eternal life on the New Earth? You will be with the most wonderful Person imaginable forever! He says, “Come and share your Master’s happiness!” (Matt 25:23). The Bible says we will see His face (Rev 22:4). Imagine that! We will be so close to God we will see His face and His smile.

There will be a new and perfect Earth. It is described as a world-wide Garden of Eden (Isa 51:3)! There will be mountains, rivers, lakes, trees, plants, fields of crops, and flowers (Isa 2:2; 35:2; 41:18-19; Zech 8:12; Amos 9:13).

There will even be animals. God says: “The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow” (Isa 65:25). God likes animals and it would seem they will be a part of our lives for eternity.

There will be new and perfect nations and cities (Ps 66:4; 86:9; Amos 9:14; Rev 15:4; 21:24-26). Kings will rule these nations forever under the authority of Christ (Zech 14:9; Isa 32:1; Dan 7:27). Jesus promised some of His servants will be governors over five or ten cities (Luke 19:17, 19).

There will be nations and cities on the New Earth, but you will have your own land and home. When David was looking forward to the New Earth he said to God, “The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!” (Ps 16:6; cf. Col 3:24). An inheritance in the OT included land (Num 27:1-11; Josh 14:12-14). The promise of an eternal allotment of physical land on the New Earth is a repeated and important promise from God to His OT saints (cf. Gen 17:8; 1 Chron 17:9; Ps 37:9; Ps 105:9-11; Isa 60:21; Ezek 47:13-14; Amos 9:15). The Angel told Daniel, “You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance” (Dan 12:13). And so will you, which in OT language certainly includes land to live on.

Jesus spoke of this inheritance of land when He said: “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places” (John 14:2). By “house” Jesus did not mean a structure of some kind, for God will never be confined to a building. Most Bible scholars agree that the “Father’s house” simply means all of the New Earth.

“Dwelling places” is a more accurate translation of the Greek word here (monai) than the common rendering of “rooms.” In the same chapter of John the same word is translated as “home” (John 14:23). Jesus is promising us a “home” on the New Earth, not a room in a house. Therefore, the famous promise earlier in John 14:2 could be translated, “Where My Father lives, there will be many homes.” God says after He creates the New Earth people will live in the houses they build (Isa 65:21; Ezek 28:26).

You will have a new and perfect body. You will not just float around as some invisible spirit. But your body will be new, perfect, eternal, beautiful, powerful, and glorious! The Bible says Jesus will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Phil 3:21; cf. 1 John 3:2). Like your body now, Jesus ate fish. And there are many descriptions of eating food on the New Earth (Isa 65:21; Ezek 34:25-27; Amos 9:14). But unlike your body now, you will be able to walk through walls (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19).

Your new body will look amazing. It will sparkle like jewels in a crown and be wonderful and beautiful (Zech 9:16-17). Your body will shine with the glory of God (Matt 13:41). It will be eternal, glorious, and powerful, compared to the dishonorable and weak aspects of your current body (1 Cor 15:42-44). You will probably not have to sleep or go to the bathroom in your new body.

You will also be re-created with a new mind. What God desires is that everything sinful, false, and worthless in your current mind will be completely forgotten. Nothing sinful will be allowed to exist where God lives, including sinful thoughts and memories from your past (Isa 65:17).

There will be new and perfect fellowship. Do you know what will be one of the first things to happen when the New Earth begins? People will be gathered from all over the new world and “sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven” on Earth (Matt 8:11; cf. Zech 8:18-22; Rev 19:9). One of the first things that happens on the New Earth is a huge party! OT saints will be meeting NT saints. It might last for many days! And what fun it will be! This illustrates the importance that God places on community. We will not be in the Kingdom to only be with God, but also to be with each other.

Perhaps one of the clearest pictures of “Heaven on Earth” in Scripture is the description of the early Church. All the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes and shared their meals with great joy (Acts 2:44, 46). That kind of fellowship will continue for eternity.

Jesus said that no one will be married on the New Earth (Matt 22:30). But that not mean there will not be love. Remember, the Kingdom of God on the New Earth will be all the best things in this life perfected. We can be assured that in some way there is something even better than marriages in the Kingdom. Nothing is going to be something less than what we experience here.

There will be new and perfect work. The Bible says that after Christ’s return, God’s people will “call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder” (Zeph 3:9). The Revelation says we will serve God (7:15; 22:3). He will have important things for us to do. For example, Jesus said the Kingdom of God will be like a master telling His servants, “I will put you in charge of many things” (Matt 25:1, 21). As noted above, He will tell some servants, “take charge of ten cities” (Luke 19:17). Our reward on the New Earth will not be retirement but responsibility.

Elsewhere, God says His people in the Kingdom will plant vineyards and gardens and eat their crops and drink their wine (Amos 9:14). Townspeople, farmers, and shepherds will be working and living together (Jer 31:24).

The God we will live with is a visionary, who is always planning and accomplishing things (cf. Eph 1:9-11). He is never bored, and we will never be bored. Work is a godly thing and was a blessing before the curse of the Fall. (Gen 2:15). What the curse did was make work on this Earth difficult and frustrating (Gen 3:17-19). But on the New Earth, this curse will be removed (Rev 22:3). God promises our work will be successful and blessed (Isa 65:23).

Finally, many descriptions of the Kingdom of God on the New Earth simply describe a great deal of peace and prosperity (Isa 2:4; 32:16-20; Jer 31:4-5; Ezek 34:25-27; Micah 4:3-4).

This is where you will live for Eternity! God wants that to make you happy everyday.

Practical Applications: What are some things you will most enjoy on the New Earth? Spend some time to think about this. Thank God for these things. And try to remember these things every day so they will give you joy.

In your small group meeting this week, share praises and prayer requests and then discuss these questions:

1) What are three words that are especially true of the New Earth you will live on?

2) Why can the Christian claim God’s promises to future Israel?

3) What do we mean when we say that life on the New Earth will be all of the best things of this earth perfected, with none of the bad? What are examples?

4) What was especially meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?