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We have several articles on the site
that cover the tribulation period, but we’ve received
quite a few e-mails asking questions about the events that
take place after the tribulation and in eternity. The
purpose of this article is to lay out for you the events
that will take place following the tribulation, and to
explain the millennial kingdom and God’s plan for a
prophesied heaven on earth to follow the millennial
kingdom. Many wonderful things will happen before
Christ’s glorious appearing and during His reign on
Earth. Too often, these future events are not expounded
upon in Sunday sermons. We teach often on the topic of
God’s wrath and judgment on a lost world, and forget to
teach believers of the reward and eternity that awaits
them when Christ wins the final battle. I hope this study
of scripture will leave you with a renewed hope in what
awaits us after the rapture, when we will dwell with God
for eternity.
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
In
chapters 17 and 18 of the book of Revelation, John
describes the impending doom that will come upon the earth
and all it’s inhabitants during the tribulation. Then in
chapter 19, as the tribulation is coming to a close, he
gives us a view of the rejoicing in heaven, because God’s
judgment will finally be settled on earth. At this point
the Old Testament Saints and the Church Age Saints are all
gathered together before the final battle to celebrate the
coming reign of Christ on Earth.
There is some debate on the timing of the judgment seat of
Christ. It will happen either after the rapture and take
place in heaven before the marriage supper of the Lamb,
or, as some believe, it will take place on earth after the
glorious appearing. Most who believe in a pre-tribulation
rapture believe that, because at the marriage supper of
the lamb the bride (the church) is made ready through her
righteous acts (Rev. 19:8), these acts must be judged
before the marriage supper in heaven. Ephesians 5:27 also
indicates that the bride will be presented to the
bridegroom (Jesus) without stain or wrinkle or any other
blemish, but holy and blameless. Since this condition
will exist only after the judgment of Christ when
believers have been completely cleansed and the Church is
made whole, they believe the judgment seat of Christ
happens during the tribulation, and before the marriage
supper of the Lamb.
The
other point of view teaches that the judgment seat of
Christ will take place after the Glorious appearing when
Christ separates the unbelievers from the believers and
throws the unbelievers into the lake of fire. They
believe that Jesus then judges all the saints before He
establishes the millennial kingdom. This point of view
includes tribulation saints in the judgment, where the
first point of view holds that the judgment is just for
the church.
I
tend to subscribe to the view that our judgment will take
place in heaven after the rapture. For the purposes of
this article, I will take things in that order. However,
I encourage you to study this for yourselves and come to
your own conclusions. Of one thing we can be certain - we
will come before Christ to be judged, and this will happen
before Christ establishes His millennial kingdom.
With that said, we’ll begin our study at a point in time
when the church is gathered in heaven to go before the
judgment seat of Christ where believers will be judged for
their works and rewarded for their service to God.
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 “So we make it
our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body
or away from it. For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is
due him for the things done while in the body, whether
good or bad.”
You may be surprised to hear that
believers will come before a judgment seat. Our churches
are very good about making sure we know our works do not
save us, and that we are saved by faith alone. However,
they tend to spend less time on the importance of works in
our lives as Christians. Perhaps if the doctrine of
judgment and reward were expounded more from our pulpits
there would be more attention given to living a life of
holiness and obedience.
Revelation 19:8 tells us that the
Saints are made ready for the marriage supper of the lamb
by their “righteous acts”. The judgment seat of Christ is
where these righteous acts, or lack of righteous acts as
the case may be, are judged.
It is the clear teaching of the Old
Testament and the New that a time of final judgment for
everyone is coming. The Bible does not teach that only
the unsaved will be judged. We will all be judged, but
the saved and unsaved will be judged differently and
separately.
Ecclesiastes 12:17 “God will
judge us for everything we do, including every secret
thing, whether good or bad.”
The purpose of God’s judgment is to
impose the death penalty for sin on those who did not
accept Christ’s forgiveness (Romans 6:23), OR to reward
those who have been forgiven for their service to God
(Matthew 25:14-30).
Romans 2:16 “The day will surely
come when God, by Jesus Christ, will judge everyone’s
secret life.”
"This is how one should regard us,
as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of
God. Moreover it is required of stewards that they be
found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing
that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do
not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against
myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who
judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the
time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the
things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the
purposes of the heart." Then every man will receive his
commendation from God. (1 Cor.. 4:1-5)
Notice we will receive commendation,
not condemnation, when God judges us. Christians don’t
escape judgment by accepting Christ as their Savior.
However, their judgment will be completely different than
the judgment for unbelievers. Unbelievers will be judged
for their sins and condemned. Christians have had their
sins forgiven and been declared not guilty, so it is our
works that will be judged and, rather than being
condemned, we will be rewarded.
Romans 8:1 “So now there is no
condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Hebrews 12:23 says that God is the
judge of all. However, we’re told in the book of John
that The Father has delegated this task to His Son, Jesus
Christ.
John 5:22, 23 “The Father leaves
all judgment to his Son, so that everyone will honor the
Son, just as they honor the Father.”
When our Lord challenged us in
Matthew 6:20 to store up for ourselves treasures in
heaven, he was referring to the works we do as believers
and the reward we will receive when we are judged at the
judgment seat of Christ. This doesn’t mean that we do
good works only to receive a reward. We do good works
because we are eager to please our Lord.
2 Timothy 2:11-12 “Here is a
trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also
live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with
him.”
These verses tell us that if we
endure, we will also reign with Christ. Faithfully
bearing up under suffering and trial and forging ahead
with the work of Christ will result in reward when Christ
returns. In other words, our reign with Christ will be
determined by how we endure now. Luke 19:11-17 supports
this teaching through the parable of the ten minas. In
these verses Christ is talking to people near Jerusalem
who thought the kingdom of God was going to appear
immediately. Jesus was going to be leaving them after the
resurrection, and he wanted them to be aware that, in his
absence, followers of Christ are entrusted with His work
on earth.
Ten servants were given one mina each before their master
left for a distant country to appoint himself king.
Upon the king’s return he called for the servants to come
before him and make an accounting for what they had done
with what they’d been given. The first servant
invested his mina and when the master returned he had
multiplied his mina by ten. Upon hearing this news,
the king tells the servant that he has done well and
because he has been trustworthy in a small matter, he will
be given charge of ten cities in the king’s kingdom.
Each successive servant had done less with the mina
entrusted to him and he was rewarded accordingly.
The final servant had done nothing with the mina he was
given, and he received nothing as a reward from the king.
In fact, his mina was taken away from him and given to the
servant who had ten minas.
Matthew 13:12 “Whoever has will be given more, and he will
have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what
he has will be taken from him”
This verse in Matthew concludes the
parable of the sower. In this parable a farmer goes
out to scatter his seeds. Some seeds fell on the
path and were eaten by birds. Some fell on rocky
places where there wasn’t much soil, and plants sprang up
quickly, but not having good roots, withered quickly.
Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked
the plants. Still other seeds fell on good soil,
where they produced a large crop. After telling this
parable, Jesus went on to explain the meaning of what he
had spoken. The seeds on the path represent those
who allow the evil one to snatch away what was sown in
their heart. The seeds that fell on rocky places
represent those who hear the word of God and eagerly
receive it, but since they are not rooted in that Word
through faithful study, they quickly fall away. The
seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear the
word of God, but the worries of life and the desire for
wealth and worldly things choke it out. Finally, the
seeds that fell on good soil are those who hear the Word,
understand it, and then put it to use to yield something
for the kingdom of God. As verse twelve says, when
Christ returns those who have something to show for their
life as a believer on earth will be rewarded. Those
who have done nothing with their lives as believers, while
still being saved by their faith, will have no treasures
stored up in heaven.
The Greek word used by Paul for
“judgment seat” is bema. The bema was the judge’s
bench at the Olympic stadium in ancient Corinth in
Greece. When an athlete won the race, he would step up
onto the bema to receive his award.2 Because
of this, the judgment day for Christians is called the
“bema seat” judgment. It won’t be an examination of our
sins, but an examination of the quality of our service to
God, and how well we used the gifts, talents, resources,
and opportunities God gave us.
Paul gave another good analogy to
explain the nature of this judgment. He used the building
trade to explain the judgment seat. He described the
foundation of a building as solid because it represents
salvation in Jesus Christ. But, the building inspector
(Christ) is going to inspect the quality of what we build
on that foundation.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “But whoever
is building on this foundation must be very careful. For
no one can lay any other foundation than the one we
already have – Jesus Christ. Now anyone who builds on
that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay,
or straw. But there is going to come a time of testing at
the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has
done. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire to see
whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives
the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the
work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss.
The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone
escaping through a wall of flames.”
What Paul is saying here is that some of the works we do
in our lives on Earth are valuable like gold, silver, and
jewels. These works are the works we do for our Lord, and
they are the treasures we store up in heaven. Christ
calls us all to serve Him in our lives on earth and our
response to that call will be rewarded at the judgment.
Some things we do on earth are worth nothing because they
do nothing to further the kingdom of Christ. God will not
be fooled by our attempts to act religious, or our claims
to living a Christian life when in actuality we did
nothing to actively serve God and bring others to Him.
These works will not be rewarded.
While we will each be judged, it’s important to know that
we will not be competing against each other. We will be
judged not in comparison to other Christians, but by how
we used the opportunities, resources, and talents God gave
us. For example, if we have the opportunity to share the
gospel with family and friends, did we take that
opportunity? Did we use the gifts God gave us for our own
gain or for His glory? As the king in the parable of the
minas asked, Jesus might ask us at the judgment seat,
“What have you done with what I have given you?” We
should all ask ourselves how we will stand on that day.
Will we stand before Christ with confidence, or will we be
ashamed of a life wasted on earthly pleasures. For some
on that day, the judgment seat will be a most solemn
occasion, for others it will be a day of great reward for
a job well done. The reminder of this day in our future
should be incentive enough to awaken even the most
slumbering Christian.
You might be wondering, what kind of
rewards we will receive. No one knows for sure what
rewards the faithful saints will be given at the judgment
seat of Christ. Many Bible Scholars believe that the
rewards will be some type of privileged service to God,
such as ruling in a position of authority during the
millennial kingdom. Others believe that part of our
reward will be the crowns believers will wear and then
cast before the throne of Christ (Rev. 4:10). The five
crowns mentioned in the Bible are as follows:
(1) The Crown of Life
or "Martyr's Crown" (Js. 1:12; Rev. 2:10). The
believer must love the Lord even more than his own life
and be faithful unto death if he is to receive the crown
of life. Jesus said,
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but
whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the
gospel's, the same shall save it"
(Mk. 8:35). Norman H.
Camp notes, "During the coming Great Tribulation many will
receive the crown of life because they will be slain for
the Word of God and for the testimony which they hold
(Rev. 6:9-11)."
(2) The Crown of Glory or "Pastor's Crown"
(1 Pet. 5:2-4). This is for the pastor who feeds the
flock and does not lord it over "God's heritage." He is
an example to others and not in the ministry for profit or
financial gain. It will be awarded by the
"chief shepherd"
when He appears.
(3) The Crown of Rejoicing or "Soul Winner's
Crown" (1 Thess. 2:19, 20; Phil. 4:1). This crown is given
to those who win souls for the Lord. The winning of souls
should be every Christian's responsibility. The Apostle
James explains: "He which
converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save
a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins"
(Jas. 5:20).
(4) The Crown of Righteousness for those
who "love His appearing"
(2 Tim. 4:8). This is the crown for those who are looking
for the "blessed hope," the return of the Lord for His own
at the Rapture. They are living
"soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present world" (Tit. 2:12).
(5) The Incorruptible Crown or "Victor's
Crown" (1 Cor. 9:25-27). This is the crown for those who
practice self-control over their impulses and desires.
Paul was careful to keep his body in subjection,
"lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I
myself should be a castaway" (1 Cor. 9:27). Paul was not
afraid that he might lose his salvation, but that he might
be (adokimos) "disqualified for the prize" (NIV).
Here Paul is thinking of rewards that would be given at
the judgment seat of Christ. 1
THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB
Following the judgment seat of Christ and just before the
Glorious Appearing, the marriage supper of the Lamb will
take place in heaven. This event is described in
Revelation 19:7-9.
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has
made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the
righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said
to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the
wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These
are the true words of God.”
Jesus used marriage suppers in his parables often
throughout the New Testament. The bridegroom at this
marriage is Jesus Christ. From many verses in scripture
we know that Jesus is the lamb, and in John 3:29, John
refers to Jesus as the bridegroom. The identity of the
bride is found in Ephesians 5:32 where Paul likens the
husband in a relationship to Christ and the wife to the
Church. 2 Corinthians 11:2 also says, “I am jealous for
you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband,
to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to
him.”
In
Revelation 19:9 we also find that there will be guests at
this marriage. The guests can’t be the Church because the
bride is never considered a guest. From John the Baptist,
who lived before the death and resurrection of Christ, we
know that he was a friend of the bridegroom (John 3:29).
The Old Testament saints and those who lived before
Christ’s sacrifice but had faith in God are the friends of
the bridegroom that make up the guests who are honored and
blessed to be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
I want to point out here that this does not mean the Old
Testament Saints are somehow inferior to the Church.
These saints will also have promises fulfilled and enjoy a
special relationship with the Lamb that we will not share
in. The marriage supper of the Lamb is simply a special
blessing reserved for the Church.
THE GLORIOUS APPEARING
It
was customary in Biblical times, as it is today, to have a
celebration or reception following a wedding. John’s
vision is no different. Following the marriage supper,
John describes the glorious appearing of Christ when he
will come to establish His kingdom on earth. Furthermore,
in Matthew 24:27-31 we read “For as lightning that
comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will
be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a
carcass, there the vultures will gather. “Immediately
after the distress of those days” ‘the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars
will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be
shaken.’ “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will
appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will
mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds
of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send
his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather
his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens
to the other.”
When the Lord returns, all will see Him. The sign of the
Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of
the Earth will mourn. They will finally realize, although
too late, that they are not prepared for His coming. It
is at this point that the second “installment” of the
rapture will happen. Those believers who accepted Christ
after the rapture of the church will be gathered together
and raptured just as the church was before the
tribulation. We know this cannot be a description of the
rapture of the church because the return of Christ is not
described in this way when the Church is raptured. Also,
as we’ve just read, the marriage supper of the Lamb is
celebrated prior to Christ’s second coming, therefore, the
Church has already been raptured when this second
installment of the rapture takes place.
Having gathered to him all believers throughout time,
Christ comes to an earth peopled by the unsaved. He
returns with His saints to execute judgment on those who
did not accept Him.
Jude 14-15 “See, the Lord is coming
with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge
everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the
ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all
the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY OF THE LORD
The
final battle between good and evil, and between God and
Satan, will be fought in one day and will consist of
several battles. Rather than detail each battle, I will
list below each battle that makes up the great and
terrible day of the Lord, and where you can read about
each of them in scripture.
The Battle of Armageddon –
The armies of the world
will be gathered against Jesus in the Valley of Megiddo
where He will destroy them. Revelation 16:12-16; Ezekiel
39:17-22; Revelation 19:15
The Battle of the Valley of Jehoshaphat –
More armies of the nations
will battle Christ. He will reap a judgment harvest on
the nations of the earth for their persecution of the
nation of Israel. Joel 3:1-2; 9-17, Revelation 14:14-20.
The Battle of Jerusalem –
The final battle in the
war of the Great Day of the Lord. Satan will make one
final attempt to destroy Jerusalem. In this final battle
Satan, the Antichrist, and his armies are defeated.
Zechariah 12:1-9, Revelation 16:17-21.
The
only remaining evil in the earth after these battles is
the source of evil itself - Satan and his two henchmen,
the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. Chapter 20 in the
book of Revelation describes their destruction, starting
with the beast and his co-deceiver.
Revelation 19:20 – “But the beast
was captured, and with him the false prophet who had
performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these
signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of
the beast and worshipped his image. The two of them were
thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”
With the Antichrist and the False Prophet judged and
condemned, that leaves only Satan to be dealt with.
Revelation 20:1-3 – “And I saw an
angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the
Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized
the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or
Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him
into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep
him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand
years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a
short time.”
During the Millennial Kingdom, Satan will be bound and the
world will no longer be tempted by his evil, or deceived
by his lies. This kingdom, where Christ will reign for
1,000 years, will be the Utopia we’ve always longed for,
and the world human governments were never able to build.
The majority of people living during this time will be
believers. However, Satan will be loosed one final time
for the final deception before Satan is destroyed. This
will be discussed in further detail later.
After the Antichrist’s armies are
dealt with, and Antichrist, the False Prophet, and Satan
have been judged, Jesus will judge the nations. During
this time when Satan is bound and evil is defeated, the
tribulation saints – those believers killed during the
tribulation – will be raised. With all believers from
throughout time present, the unbelievers from the
tribulation will be judged.
Matthew 25:31-34, 41 “When the Son
of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he
will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations
will be gathered before him, and he will separate the
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and
the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on
his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take
your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the
creation of the world……Then he will say to those on his
left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
With the believers separated from the
unbelievers, believers on the right and unbelievers on the
left, those who had followed the Antichrist and persecuted
the saints throughout the tribulation will be thrown into
the fiery pit for eternity, leaving only those who
followed Christ and were saved. Now begins Christ’s reign
with His church in the Millennial Kingdom.
THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM
The Earth is destroyed three times in
the Bible. The first being the flood in Noah’s time, the
second being the renovation of the earth by fire before
the millennial kingdom, and the third being before the new
earth that will follow the millennial kingdom.
Isaiah 65:17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a
new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor
will they come to mind."
This verse comes just before the
Millennial Kingdom is described telling us that God will
create a new heaven and earth before setting up his
kingdom. In 2 Peter 3:1-16, the Apostle predicted that
the Day of the Lord will be a time of great change on the
earth. The earth’s surface will be destroyed before
Christ sets up his kingdom. Referring to this time, Peter
says in 2 Peter 3:11, “Since everything will be destroyed
in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You
ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to
the day of God.”
Some Bible scholars identify the
destruction in Isaiah 65:17-20 and 2 Peter 3:4-14 with the
destruction after the Millennial Kingdom in Revelation
21:1. However, this presents some problems. The verses
in Isaiah speak of death and the judgment of the nations,
so could not be referring to the destruction after the
millennium, and the verse in 2 Peter refers to the Day of
the Lord, which happens before the millennium.
Isaiah 65:20 describes the Millennial
Kingdom this way – “Never again will there be in it an
infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does
not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be
thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach one hundred
will be considered accursed.” When the millennium
begins, the world will be peopled with believers, and
Satan will be bound, unable to tempt the children of God.
This leaves only the temptation of the flesh to those who
are alive in the flesh during the Millennial Kingdom.
Those believers who lived through the tribulation and are
still alive in the flesh will continue to have children,
and will populate the millennial kingdom. There will be a
huge population explosion because people’s life spans will
parallel that of people from Adam and Eve to the time of
the flood. Those alive at the start of the millennium and
those who accept Christ during the millennium will live
until the end of the 1,000 years. Couples will be able to
have children not only during the first one hundred years
but also for hundreds of years thereafter. During this
time of unprecedented blessing and food supply, couples
will be able to have as many children as they want.
Those born in the millennium, having
free will, must choose to follow Christ just as the church
did, and most of them will. However, if someone fails to
accept Christ before he reaches one hundred years old, he
will be considered accursed and will die. This puts the
lie to the secular teaching that people are born
inherently good and it’s their environment that makes them
bad. Even while living in a heaven on earth, some will
still rebel against Christ. During the unbelievers’ 100
years of life, they will no doubt propagate a generation
of unbelievers who will follow Satan when he is once again
released for a time at the end of the Millennium (Rev.
20:8). Remember Satan will be loosed to wage one final
rebellion against the Lord. Those unbelievers who have
not yet reached 100 will side with Satan in his final
battle and defeat.
In God’s grand design, however, the
majority of human kind will receive salvation during the
millennial kingdom. There will be far more people saved
than condemned during this 1,000 years. God, in his
infinite wisdom, did not cast Satan into the lake of fire
after the tribulation as he did the Antichrist and the
False Prophet. Instead he bound him in the abyss.
Because of God’s great love he gives every chance for as
many to become saved as possible before the final judgment
at the end of the Millennial Kingdom.
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
The great white throne judgment will
take place at the end of Christ’s thousand-year reign on
earth. Revelation 20: 5 says, “the rest of the dead did
not come to life until the thousand years were ended.”
The rest of the dead are those who died in unbelief
throughout the ages, including those who were cast into
the lake of fire at the end of the tribulation. These
resurrected unbelievers will be judged at the great white
throne judgment described in Revelation 20:11-15.
“And I saw a great white throne,
and I saw the one who was sitting on it. The earth and
sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to
hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing
before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including
the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to
the things written in the books, according to what they
had done…And anyone whose name was not found recorded in
the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
This judgment is for those who never accepted Christ and
died in their sin. Verse 13 says, “The sea gave up the
dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead
that were in them, and each person was judged according to
what he had done.” Even those who died at sea and their
remains scattered will have their bodies raised. Just as
believers were judged for their righteous acts, the dead
in their sins will be resurrected, reunited with their
soul from its place in torment, and stand before the Great
White Throne.
Judgment of the condemned’s works is followed with
judgment from the Book of Life (Rev 20:15). This is
referring to the Lamb’s Book of Life, not the book of life
that all names are written in. The New Testament refers
to the Lamb’s Book of Life eight times. If their name
isn’t found in the book of life, and of course it won’t
be, they are cast into the lake of fire for eternity (Rev
20:15). You might be wondering why these people’s works
would be judged if they are condemned already. Remember
the Bible tells us we will ALL have to make an accounting
for what we have done. The condemned are included in
this. With all unbelievers from throughout all time
judged and condemned for eternity, this leaves only
believers from all time to live out their eternity with
God.
THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH
When Christians speak of people going
to heaven, they are speaking of our souls. Our souls go
to heaven when we die, however we will be returned to our
new glorified bodies at the rapture and glorious
appearing. Our eternity will be spent in these glorified,
perfect bodies on a new earth with God.
Revelation 21 introduces this eternal future and the
ultimate purpose God has for the human race. This is the
eternity that all believers have to look forward to. And
what a blessed, beautiful thing it will be.
When the new heaven and earth are created after Christ’s
1,000 year reign, Jesus turns the kingdom over to God the
Father.
1 Corinthians 15:24-28 “After that
the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to
God the Father, having put down all enemies of every
kind. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his
enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be
destroyed is death…Then, when he has conquered all things,
the Son will present himself to God, so that God, who gave
his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme
over everything everywhere.”
Revelation 21:2,3 “I saw the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her
husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live
with them. They will be his people, and God himself will
be with them and be their God.”
Chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation reveal seven things that
will be a part of our eternal state.
1.
A new heaven (21:1)
2.
A new earth (21:1)
3.
A new Jerusalem (21:2)
4.
New things (21:5)
5.
A new paradise (22:1-5)
6.
A new place for God’s throne (22:3)
7. A new source of light (22:5)
As already discussed, the earth will
be destroyed a total of 3 times, once during the flood,
then again in the destruction by fire following the
tribulation, and a final time when the earth is destroyed
after the Millennial Kingdom.
Revelation 21:1 “Then I saw a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first
earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.”
There are three heavens mentioned in
the Bible – the atmosphere of the earth, the stellar
heaven (space), and the headquarters of God (2 Cor. 12:2,
Rev. 4-5). This verse is speaking of the atmospheric
heaven around the earth.
God’s plan for humankind is to
inhabit the earth forever in fulfillment of His promises.
After he does away with the old earth, he will create a
new heaven and earth far better than anything we’ve ever
known, complete with a Garden of Eden. This new earth
will indeed be “heaven on earth”. It will have a river
and an abundance of water, but none of the landmass will
be wasted by seas.
Revelation 21:2 “I saw the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her
husband.”
This is the holy city that Jesus went
to prepare for his saints in John 14:1-3. The New
Jerusalem will come down from heaven to the new earth, and
will be the city of righteousness prepared for the
enjoyment of His people. Revelation 21:3 says, “Now the
dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them”.
God will no longer dwell in the third heaven, but will
dwell with us in the New Jerusalem. It’s exciting to
think that we will dwell with God for eternity. We will
be His people, and He will be with us and be our God.
What a wonderful and loving God we have.
There is a great deal said about the
New Jerusalem in several places throughout the book of
Revelation. Here, we will only touch on a few of the
descriptive passages that speak to the nature of the
city. I encourage you to read Chapter 21 to get a fuller
picture of God’s headquarters during eternity.
Revelation 21:15-16 “The angel who
talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the
city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like
a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city
with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length,
and as wide and high as it is long.”
In terms we can understand, the city
itself would stretch from about the eastern seaboard of
the United States to the Mississippi River on one side and
from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico on the
other. It would also be this same distance in height.
We’re not told if it will be in the shape of a pyramid or
a cube, but suffice it to say it will be plenty big enough
for the gathering of saints from all ages. Tim Lahaye
explains it this way in his book Revelation Unveiled:
Dr. Henry M. Morris, an expert
engineer and author, has done the math on this and
concluded that given the estimated population of a
possible twenty billion residents, each person would enjoy
a block of space of approximately one cubic mile, or its
length, breadth, and height would be a little over a third
of a mile in each direction. 3
Wow! I can’t fathom something that
large, but I like the sound of a cubic mile of space in a
beautiful city. It sure beats my little yard in the
middle of a less than spectacular and nowhere-near-holy
North American metropolis.
Revelation 21:22 tells us that there
will be no temple in the new Jerusalem, because God
Almighty and the Lamb are its temple, and Revelation
21:22-24 declares that God will be the light for the city,
and the city the light for the nations.
Revelation 21:24-26 "The nations will walk by its light,
and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into
it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will
be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations
will be brought into
it."
Just as God maintained a fellowship with Adam and Eve
before the fall, God will maintain a fellowship with us on
the New Earth. All of the Old Testament saints, the
believers from the church age, the tribulation saints, and
the great multitude who followed Christ in the millennium
will live out eternity with God. He will wipe away
every tear. There will be no more death, and there
will be no more mourning or pain.
Revelation 21:4 “He will wipe
every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things
has passed away.”
For those who feel the pain of
knowing some of our loved ones may not join us in eternity
with God, remember verse 4 and take comfort in God’s
promise to wipe away every tear. We will not feel sorrow
or pain in eternity. Perhaps God will remove every memory
of those loved ones. We can’t know for sure. But, we can
know with certainty that we will not experience despair or
grief when all things are made new.
This unimaginable peace and happiness
that we as Christians will experience for eternity stands
in stark contrast to the fate of those who do not accept
Christ’s free offer of salvation.
Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly,
the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually
immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and
the liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of
burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
There is no second chance after
death. Verse 7 and 8 reiterate this consistent biblical
teaching that our choice must be made before we die. If
you are a believer, you will spend eternity in a heavenly
state with God. If you are an unbeliever, your place will
be in the lake of fire for eternity. I would urge you to
examine your life right now. Now is the time to accept
Christ’s free gift. Revelation 21:6 says that if you call
on the name of Christ He will “give to drink without cost
form the spring of the water of life”. If you have any
doubt about where you might spend your eternity, now is
the time to ask Him to save you.
Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and
the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say,
“Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever
wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life”
FOOTNOTES
1. The Judgment Seat of Christ, prophecyforum.com,
http://www.prophecyforum.com/judgment_seat_of_Christ.html
2. Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz,
Guide to the End of the World (Harvest House
Publishers Eugene Oregon 1999), pg. 251
3. Tim Lahaye, Revelation
Unveiled, Alive Communications (Colorado Springs, Co
1999), pg. 361
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