New Heaven and New Earth... Absolute Perfection

This is the final part of the series I started a few weeks ago. If you haven't read the previous blogs on the rapture, the great tribulation, and the millennial kingdom, please do so first to follow along the future events in chronological order.

I want you to imagine your future as is written below.

Physically... you will always look your absolute best without any blemish or imperfection, always be at the perfect adult age and never grow old, never die, never have any type of sickness and disease, never get tired, never get hurt, never feel pain, never have an accident, never have to deal with natural disasters and extreme weather, never be overweight or underweight, never feel hunger and thirst although you can eat and drink for its pleasure, fly in the sky as high as you desire, run up and down the mountains and valleys as fast and far as you want, swim under water without needing oxygen, appear and disappear at will.

Mentally... your brain will function at 100% capacity all the time, will never lose your memory, will never be victim to forgetfulness and confusion, will be able to remember and recall everything perfectly and vividly, will have unlimited capability to learn new things and understand anything without feeling any unwanted pressure, never feel dumb or stupid, will possess supernatural intelligence, never feel bored, and have extraordinary creativity and functional knowledge that you will get to put to use.

Emotionally... you will never feel sad, never feel angry, never feel annoyed, never feel disappointed, never feel embarrassed or ashamed, never feel depressed, never feel bitter, never feel jealous, never feel fear or anxiety, never shed a tear in sorrow, will always be joyful, always be content, always feel peaceful, always feel safe, and always be in a constant state of ecstasy... not the false temporary type as provided by alcohol and drugs, but will experience a true everlasting divine sense of blissful constant euphoria.

Spiritually... you will never have any urge to sin, never feel guilt, never have to face any kind of evil (whether its satan, demons, entities, or people), never have an unholy thought, never desire to disobey God, will always do God’s will by choice, never face any more judgments, will always be holy and righteous, never feel the disappointment of unanswered prayers, or experience separation from God because You will forever be in the presence of our Creator, our Lord, our King, our Savior, our God Almighty. Welcome to the wonderful future reality that awaits a believer in the new heaven and new earth!

Sounds too good to be true? You might think how I can say the above situations/feelings will 'always' or 'never' happen etc. with such certainty. Normally I avoid using such absolute and extreme words while speaking or writing about anything since the reality of our current flawed existence and situations we encounter does not allow us to expect and experience only the most positive and best outcomes. It's by the authority of the written scriptures about this glorious eternal state that enables me to write with absolute conviction about a future that will be unimaginably perfect in the new heaven and new earth.

A lot of people think of the overall concept of heaven as the place where 'good people' will go to when they die and exist forever. First of all, not all 'good people' will go to heaven, only the ones who are saved by accepting Jesus Christ as their only Lord and Savior will do so. Furthermore, some may imagine heaven to be a place in the sky where we just have nonphysical spiritual bodies that resembles something like smoke, or even as babies in diaper playing a harp in the cloud as depicted in some Christmas cards. Or is heaven this constant and continuous church service where we just stand in one place and sing? How boring would that be? Thankfully, our God is amazingly creative and the current and new heaven and new earth the bible talks about is anything but boring! As noted in the previous blog, satan will be thrown into the lake of fire after the millennial kingdom to be punished forever and ever. The unbelievers will also face the same eternal fate after the great white throne judgement. (Revelation 20). After this, the bible talks about the current heaven, along with current earth, being replaced by a new heaven and new earth. Let's look at some verses. "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. (Revelation 21:1). "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind." Isaiah (65:17). "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands; They will perish, but You remain; And they all will wear out like a garment, and like a robe You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end." (Hebrews 1:10-12). There are many bible scholars who debate whether the new heaven and new earth will be brand new or whether it's remodified and restructured. Whatever the mode of replacement is, we can be guaranteed it will be perfect without any blemish since the scriptures guarantee us that. What interests me more is why the current heaven and earth will be replaced in the first place. During the millennial kingdom, the earth will undergo a major transformation and the conditions, as we discussed in the last blog, will be almost ideal but not completely perfect. Revelation 20 describes the rebellion that occurs at the end of the millennial reign when the people deceived by and siding with satan are destroyed. Additionally, Revelation 12 talks about a war in heaven where subsequently, satan and his angels will be thrown out from heaven to earth so he can no longer access God to accuse the people. This shows that there is a portion in the current heaven where God still allows satan some access. Maybe part of the reason why God creates a new heaven and new earth is due to the current heaven and earth being tainted by some of the above events? We can ask God, among many other things that are currently a mystery, when we get there. In the meantime, we can be comforted in the fact that scriptures make it clear that the new heaven and new earth won't have any imperfections and where only righteousness will exist.

John states, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, 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 21:3-4). "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness. I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; and there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying." Isaiah (65:18-19). Furthermore, "But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells."(2 Peter 3:13). These scriptures, among many others, confirm the reality of a perfect environment that will not be tainted by any effects of sin, sorrow, sickness, and death in the new heaven and new earth. What caught my eye in the above verses though is that God will wipe away 'every' tear. This made me wonder whether the glorified believers would still experience sadness after the rapture. What would be the need for us to have ours tears wiped away as well after the millennium if we are already glorified? While the current believers will receive incorruptible glorified bodies, similar to that of Jesus, at the soon rapture, I believe we would still experience some sorrow. For example, we will know some of our loved ones will have rejected Christ during the tribulation and is destined for the lake of fire. Additionally, in the millennium, we will be ruling and reigning over the nations under Christ. Since the deceived people who rebel against God are like sand in the sea at the end of the 1000-reign upon satan's final release, obviously some of those rebelling would be from the jurisdiction that we would have ruled and reigned over. As bible teacher Amir Tsarfati said in a conference, I bet this would cause great sorrow within us after all the time we would have invested in the millennium serving them, teaching them, witnessing to them, loving them, guiding them, nurturing them, and still see them rebel in the end against God. I assume there would also be some lingering disappointment in us during the millennial kingdom with the realization that we could have served Christ more fully during our current earthly lives and thus having missed out on some potential rewards during the millennial reign. Similarly, we discussed that during the millennial kingdom, the mortal humans with earthly bodies (although they will have lived many centuries) will still have sin in them and will eventually die. These people need to be resurrected as well (prior to the great white throne judgement). All the believers of all eras, made righteous by Christ, will be given immortal bodies and allowed into the new heaven and new earth while all the unbelievers of all eras will be sentenced to eternal damnation into the lake of fire to join satan, antichrist, false prophet, and fallen angels to suffer various degrees of punishment according to their earthly deeds forever and ever. It is after all these events taking place at the end of the millennial kingdom that the truly perfect eternity in the new heaven and new earth will begin for the believers of all eras. This is why it is necessary for God to wipe away every tear before the glorious eternity without any more sin, death, pain, and sorrow.

A beautiful aspect of the new heaven and new earth is the new Jerusalem. Revelation 21:10-27 and Revelation 22:1-5 describes the magnificence of the new Jerusalem that will descend from heaven to earth in great detail. Just as Jerusalem will be the capital and central place from where Jesus will rule and reign from in the millennial kingdom, the new Jerusalem will be the eternal capital of the new heaven and new earth. Following are some excerpts. "It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on the gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal. And he measured its wall, 144 cubits, by human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever." What a gloriously spectacular city, that we will get to see, walk on, and where our God will reside without any separation from us!

So, what can we speculate about the new heaven and new earth? One aspect that I am very excited about is that we will get to keep our identity and will be recognizable in our glorified bodies as we currently are, with all the imperfections removed and our positive attributes enhanced. We will receive a body similar to that of Jesus as per scriptures as described in the rapture blog. Note that Jesus was still recognizable to everyone after His resurrection. Peter, John and James also recognized Elijah and Moses, during the transfiguration of Christ, in their glorious appearance. (Luke 9:28-33). Since we won't get old and die and will look our physical best all the time, it is also fun to speculate what our 'appeared age' would be. Note that Jesus died and resurrected in his early 30s. It is also evident that Adam and Eve were not created as infants who grew up but as young adults before their sin caused them to grow old and eventually die. Scientific studies state and our own experience confirms that humans are at their peak in their 20s and 30s before the body starts getting weaker and eventually dying. So perhaps, we would all look like glorified 20 or 30 somethings in the new heaven and new earth? Whatever it is, it will be perfect. In my previous blog, I mentioned how I love travelling. I can't even imagine how beautiful and magnificent the new heaven and new earth will be considering how awestruck we get while visiting some of the locations in our current fallen earth. Revelation 21 states how the kings of the earth also bringing their glory into the new Jerusalem. Just as we will keep our identity and will be recognizable, I suppose the nations will keep the good aspects of their culture and will be recognizable in their distinctiveness and uniqueness in the new earth. In addition to exploring the flawless new earth, think about the glorious adventures that await us in the universe. There will be countless galaxies that are billions of light-years away that we may be able to explore with our glorified bodies; and perhaps, God will involve us in many projects there. Since time will never be an issue in eternity, it is truly exciting to think of all the possibilities that await us in the new heaven and new earth! What are some of the things we will do in eternity? We will have plenty of glorious work and adventures! Some of you may have cringed at the thought of work. Keep in mind, work will no longer be having to get up early in the morning in tired bodies to go to a job that we don't like just to be able to pay our bills. Work in the new heaven and new earth will be extremely meaningful, creative, and free from sin, pressure and boredom, as we get to utilize our uniquely God given interests and talents to bring ultimate glory to Him. Work will not be tedious and tiring; instead, it will be completely fulfilling and pleasurable. As you can imagine, jobs that are associated with sin and death such as police force, fire force, health care etc. will not be needed at all in the new heaven and new earth. If you are in this field and wanted to continue in it in eternity, don't worry, God will give you work that will be beyond your wildest dreams. At the heart of what we do in the new heaven and new earth is having the privilege to be near God, to see God, and worship Him for eternity. As I mentioned earlier, worship is not just an act of standing and singing in service. True worship and fellowship will be perfected in the new heaven and new earth as anything we think, say, and do for all of eternity at every single moment will be glorifying God!

(I would like to credit christianworldviewpress.com and Dr. Jeremiah's YouTube video on the new heaven and new earth for a few clarifications while researching this topic.)

I always remember an analogy I witnessed at a service once. One of the speakers walked out on to the stage with a long rope that he kept pulling and pulling. He told us to imagine that the rope is endless. He also pointed to a tape wrapped around a spot in the rope. He compared that tape to the length of our lives and the endless rope to eternity. Our 70 to 80 years on earth (sometimes much shorter or a little longer) is nothing but a passing moment when viewed against eternity. However, the choice we make regarding accepting Jesus Christ and what we do to proclaim and advance His Kingdom during this very brief moment will determine our destiny for eternity. If all the above as written in scriptures regarding the new heaven and new earth excites a believer in Christ, there is a flip side for the unbeliever. If you reject Jesus Christ as your only Savior from your sins and for your salvation, you will not experience any of the future blessings and this glorious eternity as outlined above. Instead, you will be in the lake of fire, without dying, for not hundreds, not thousands, not millions, not billions, not trillions... but for all of eternity without any hope of escape. There is no purgatory after death to work your way eventually into heaven. Your loved ones won't be able to pray you into heaven on your behalf after you die. You only have your current life now to make the choice for yourself while you are alive. You might say this is such an unloving and extremely bigoted thing to say. If someone who is trying to go to Chicago is waiting in line for the flight that goes to New York, is the loving thing to do to simply watch them get on the New York flight thinking you might offend them or hurt their feelings if you tell them the truth? Similarly, it is not loving to avoid telling people the truth about Jesus. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6). "Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before people, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33). If God, the creator of the universe, tells you He is the only way, and not just one of the many ways, you better believe it. You wouldn't want yourself, nor would you want your spouse, child, parent, sibling, friend, relative, or anyone for that matter, to see what's in store for eternity if they reject Christ. It is not enough to just 'know about' Jesus; you have to believe in His finished work on the cross for your sins and accept Him as your only God and Savior. There will be many 'good people' who reject Christ heading to the lake of fire, and many 'bad people' who accept Christ who will be in Heaven. Whatever trials and tribulations believers suffer now will pale in comparison to what awaits us. Paul writes, "for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18). Additionally, scriptures state, "but just as it is written: Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the human heart, all that God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9). This world is the worst it will ever get for a believer, followed by an absolute perfect eternity in the new heaven and new earth with fellowship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit. Similarly, this world is the best it will ever get for an unbeliever, followed by eternal damnation into the lake of fire and eternal separation from God. Let's say you don't believe anything that was written over this series of blogs. Hypothetically speaking, if the bible is wrong and just a bunch of fables, then the believer may die as a fool, but ultimately no great harm is done. However, if the bible is right and is the only true word of the only true God, then the eternity following an unbeliever's death will be truly horrific. If you don't believe yet, sincerely seek and ask Jesus if He is real and to be revealed with the truth. You won't regret it. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." (Revelation 3:20).

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