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Where and how will the saved live in eternity? Are they going to live as actual physical beings on an actual earth? Or will they dwell as invisible beings that need nothing to be sustained and do not have any occupation?
Thank God that the precious book of the Word of God deals with realities! We read of a real Creator who has created actual worlds with physical beings living in them. Our forefathers were placed in a real garden on our earth that was free from sin and Adam received dominion over actual things.
What state would the world be in if man had not sinned? If it was possible in some mysterious way to remove all transgression and all the consequences of sin and receive eternal life, we would wake up one day and find this world to be paradise, far from any grief and sorrow – and we would certainly call this earth a heavenly country, a beginning of bliss.
The dominion that was lost through sin
The words of the Bible when it speaks of those who are “redeemed”, “chosen”, “glorified” and “saved” are so rich in meaning, and in the light of Isaiah 45:17-19, we at once begin to understand that the initial plan of God in Creation will be accomplished with success through the gospel of the Son of God.
The devil has not put in operation any device that the Almighty One has not been able to overrule for the good of His servants. Nor has the leader of the rebellion succeeded in thwarting the initial plan of the Creator, so that His all-wise plans could not be fulfilled to the end.
At Creation, Adam who was created in the image of God had dominion over every creature on earth (Gen. 1:26-28). Through disobedience he lost his innocence, his life and his country. All his posterity inherited his carnal mind. He sold himself “for nought” (Isaiah 52:3), and the glorious paradise of earth fell in the hands of “the prince of this world”, the devil (Matthew 4:8, 9).
After the fall, the earth came under a curse (Gen. 3:17-19). Thorns and thistles sprang up, and all kinds of poisonous plants. Ravenous birds and carnivorous animals began to multiply everywhere. Man – the crown of Creation, became so corrupt with time, that “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”, and “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” (Gen. 6:6, 11).
The earth – regained through Christ
That which was lost by Adam through disobedience, Jesus came to find and save through obedience (Luke 19:10). Through the promises and the typical service, pointed to the Lamb that was to be sacrificed for the redemption of the fallen race. And when the time was fulfilled, the great sacrifice was offered – God sent His Son (Gal. 4:4), to provide, through His first coming, a means of salvation for mankind. And to confirm the Christian believers in their faith, Christ redeemed all that Adam had lost (2 Cor. 8:9), He paid the price of His own precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19) and He will always bear upon Himself the marks of the redemption of the human race.
The cross of Calvary guarantees the destruction of the devil (Heb. 2:14) and all his works (1 John 3:8). And when the Lord shall come a second time in glory, to receive His own purchased possession, He shall have a saved and purified people on earth that He will later bring to the purified and renewed earth. It is no wonder that this earth that is marred and burdened by the load of sin and woe is groaning and longing for the day when the Savior will finish the plan of redemption and make it new (Ps. 96:11-13; 98:4-9).
The dominion recovered
In his sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth…” (Matt. 5:5).
The last blessing, as it is revealed to us in marked clarity after the Ascension, reads:
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” (Rev. 22:14).
Because of his disobedience, Adam was expelled from the Tree of Life. This same tree of life that shortly before the Flood was taken from this earth up into heaven, is now located in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 2:7; 22:1-2). This holy city with eternal foundations will become the capital city of the earth made new (Rev. 21:1-5). Only those who have repented of their sins (Matt. 13:3), those who have been converted and have received the new birth (John 3:3-5), and who have been tried in the furnace of affliction, who will never have the desire to be disobedient – will be admitted to come in through the gates into the New Jerusalem.
From very early times God had revealed that the dominion that Adam lost would come through the “tower of the flock”, and that “the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever” (Micah 4:7-8). Daniel pointed to this most important point in Bible prophecy when he explained:
“And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” (Dan. 7:27).
A saint is one who keeps the commandments of God (Rev. 14:12).
“The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.” (Proverbs 10:30).
The tare of satanic disobedience will be utterly uprooted through the purifying fire of the last great day (Matt. 13:37-43; Mal. 3:19). On the renewed earth, all will do righteousness only (2 Peter 3:10-14).
The expression “the end of the world” does not in any way mean that this earth will cease to exist. The Creator has not changed His original plan. In the days of Noah, the earth was purified by water. In the future, it will be purified forever through fire. Yet it will not be wiped out of existence. It will melt in fervent heat and the things that are therein will be burned (2 Peter 3:10-43).
Yet from all this, as Peter says, a new earth will come about – not in the sense that this earth will disappear but that it will be renewed. Redeemed men who have been truly born again, as new creatures, will live forever more on the renewed earth. This is the aim of God’s plan, and He will accomplish His initial purpose at Creation.
Our eternal homeland
What country will this be like? Every curse will be removed forever (Rev. 22:1-4). No sickness, no surgical operations, no hospitals, and no doctors would be ever needed (Isaiah 35:5, 6). No death, no graves, and no funerals will be ever held (Rev. 22:3-5). Not only the tears will be wiped out, but also all the causes for shedding tears will disappear forever. Animals that are now wild and fierce, will become meek as lambs, and the lions that are now carnivorous, will “eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 11:6-9).
Men will build houses to live in them (Isaiah 65:21-23). Men’s work will not turn out to be in vain, because there will be no draught, no noxious weeds and poisonous plants, but nature will bring forth abundant fruit. What a wonderful homeland this will be! The air in the new earth will be mild, without unbearable heat or cold, without storms, earthquakes, and devastations.
And who can dream of better neighbors than the redeemed who have been saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, tried to the uttermost, and made immortal, all by their personal choice? Who can imagine better neighbors than those who have been in all ages the salt of the earth?
In Isaiah 66:22, 23 we read that “all flesh” in the new earth will keep the initial seventh day of rest of the Creator – the Sabbath. There will be men who have been saved because they have lived up to the light that has been given to them by the mercy of God. All the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem will gather together at certain intervals for worship.
No one will stay at home sick, no one will keep himself aloof, but every Sabbath a great multitude will pass through the gates of the New Jerusalem to worship God and the Lamb in the city of gold. And every month they will go there to eat of the fruits of the tree of life (Rev. 22:1, 2).
What a worship service this will be! Our eternal Father shall sit on the throne, the great Teacher Himself will break the “bread of life” for the people, and the choir of the multitude with their golden harps will give melodious praise.
Who would like to join in the prayer of Christ: “Thy Kingdom come”?