by Randy Alcorn
Some erroneously assume that the wonders, beauties, adventures, and marvelous relationships of Heaven must somehow be in competition with the one who has created them. God has no fear that we'll get too excited about Heaven. After all, the wonders of Heaven aren't our idea, they're his. There's no dichotomy between anticipating the joys of Heaven and finding our joy in Christ. It's all part of the same package. The wonders of the new heavens and New Earth will be a primary means by which God reveals himself and his love to us.
Picture Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Eve says to Adam, "Isn't this place magnificent? The sun feels wonderful on my face, the blue sky's gorgeous. These animals are a delight. Try the mango—it's delicious!"
Can you imagine Adam responding, "Your focus is all wrong, Eve. You shouldn't think about beauty, refreshment, and mouthwatering fruit. All you should think about is God."
Adam would never say that, because in thinking about these things, Eve would be thinking about God. Likewise, our enjoyment of what God has provided us should be inseparable from worshiping, glorifying, and appreciating him. God is honored by our thankfulness, gratitude, and enjoyment of him.
I've heard it said that "God, not Heaven, is our inheritance." Well, God is our inheritance (Psalm 16:6), but so is Heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4). God and Heaven—the person and the place—are so closely connected that they're sometimes referred to interchangeably. The Prodigal Son confessed, "I have sinned against heaven" (Luke 15:18,21). John the Baptist said, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven" (John 3:27). Why didn't he say God instead of Heaven} Because God has made himself that closely identified with Heaven. It's his place. And that's his idea, not ours. He could have offered us his person without his place. But he didn't.
So, thinking about Heaven shouldn't be viewed as an obstacle to knowing God but as a means of knowing Him. The infinite God reveals himself to us in tangible, finite expressions. Next to the incarnate Christ, Heaven will tell us more about God than anything else. Some people have told me, "I just want to be with Jesus—I don't care if Heaven's a shack." Well, Jesus cares. He wants us to anticipate Heaven and enjoy the magnificence of it, not to say, "I don't care about it" or "I'd be just as happy in a shack." When you go to visit your parents in the house you grew up in, it's no insult to tell them "I love this place." It's a compliment. They'll delight in it, not resent it.
Every thought of Heaven should move our hearts toward God, just as every thought of God will move our hearts toward Heaven. That's why Paul could tell us to set our hearts on Heaven, not just "set your hearts on God." To do one is to do the other. Heaven will not be an idol that competes with God but a lens by which we see God.
If we think unworthy thoughts of Heaven, we think unworthy thoughts of God. That's why the conventional caricatures of Heaven do a terrible disservice to God and adversely affect our relationship with him. If we come to love Heaven more—the Heaven God portrays in Scripture—we will inevitably love God more. If Heaven fills our hearts and minds, God will fill our hearts and minds.
Those who love God should think more often of Heaven, not less.
SECTION SEVEN
RULING ON THE NEW EARTH
CHAPTER 20
WHAT DOES GOD'S ETERNAL KINGDOM INVOLVE?
Why do we not know: the country whose citizens we are? Because we have wandered so far away that we have forgotten it. But the Lord Christ, the king of the land, came down to us, and droveforgetfulness from our heart. God took to Himself our flesh so that He might be our way back.
Augustine
If you were to describe a kingdom, what elements would you include? A king, certainly, and subjects to be ruled, but what else? In order to be rightly described as a kingdom, wouldn't it also have to include territory, a government, and a culture? Why is it, then, that when we think of God's Kingdom, we often think only of the King and his subjects, but we leave out the territory and the culture? We spiritualize God's Kingdom, perceiving it as otherworldly and intangible. But Scripture tells us otherwise.
DIDN'T JESUS SAY HIS KINGDOM WASN'T EARTHLY?
When Jesus said to the Pharisees, "I am not of this world" (John 8:23), he did not mean "I am not in or on this world." Rather, he was speaking of his place of origin. His Kingdom is not of the world because it is not from the world. It did not originate here. Furthermore, it's uncontaminated by the fallen Earth and operates by different principles.
When Jesus was on trial, he said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.... You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was bom, and for this I came into the world" (John 18:36-37). When Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world," he did not mean that his Kingdom wouldn't be on this earth after it is transformed. He meant that his Kingdom isn't of this earth as it is now, under the Curse. Although Christ's Kingdom isn't from the earth, it extends to the earth, and one day it will fully include the earth and be centered on it. Christ's Kingdom touches this world through his indwelling Spirit, the presence of the church, and his providential reign. Thus, Jesus could say, "The kingdom of God is near you" (Luke 10:9). He could say of little children, "The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14).
It's important to distinguish between what's "worldly" and what's earthly and physical. God's creation is earthly (Genesis 1:31). The product of fallen human culture is worldly (Romans 12:1-2; Titus 2:12). Similarly, what is of the body is God-made, whereas what is of the "flesh" (sarx) is under the sin principle that dominates our fallen humanity (Romans 7:5,18). However,flesh isn't a universally negative word. Jesus is said repeatedly to have had sarx, or "flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 2:14; 2 John 1:7), but he didn't have sin; therefore, flesh and sin cannot be synonymous. Although our physical bodies are under sin and can be instruments of sin, they aren't the ultimate source of sin. We're commanded to "offer the parts of your body to [God] as instruments of righteousness" (Romans 6:13). In so doing, our bodies are restored to their original purpose of being instruments of a righteous spirit, heart, or mind. And that is what they'll be forever after our bodily resurrection.
JESUS, WORTHY KING OF THE NEW EARTH
Revelation 5:1-10 depicts a powerful scene in the present Heaven. God the Father, the ruler of Heaven, sits on the throne with a sealed scroll in his right hand. What's sealed—with seven seals, to avoid any possibility that the document has been tampered with—is the Father's will, his plan for the distribution and management of his estate. In this case, the entitlement of the estate is the earth, which includes its people. God had intended for the world to be ruled by humans. But who will come forward to open the document and receive the inheritance?
John writes, "I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside" (Revelation 5:4).
Because of human sin, mankind and the earth have been corrupted. No man is worthy to take the role God intended for Adam and his descendants. Adam proved unworthy, as did Abraham, David, and every other person in history. But right when it appears that God's design for mankind and the earth will forever be thwarted, the text continues in high drama: "Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.' Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders... . He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.... And they sang a new song: 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation'" (Revelation 5:5-9).
An old theologian once said, "Who chides a servant for taking away the first course of a feast whe
n the second consists of far greater delicacies?" Who then can regret that this present world passes away when he sees that an eternal world of joy is coming? The first course is grace, but the second is glory, and that is as much better as the fruit is better than the blossom.
CHARLES SPURGEON
Every finite being, angelic and human, stands in amazement at this man and what he has done. The Father, who sits on Heaven's throne, will never die. Instead, the heir, the beloved firstborn son, has died. He was slain that he might "purchase men for God"—and not just a small representation of fallen humanity, but "from every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9).
The passage culminates with a statement about Christ's followers: "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:10).
Psalm 2 speaks of Christ ruling "with an iron scepter" and dashing the nations to pieces "like pottery" (v. 9), a reference to the Messiah's return, judgment, and perhaps his millennial reign. But once we enter the new heavens and New Earth, there's no iron rule or dashing to pieces, for there's no more rebellion, sin, or death. The vanquishing of sin doesn't mean the end of Christ's rule. It means the end of his contested rule and the beginning of his eternally uncontested rule, when he will delegate earthly rule to his co-heirs.
If we understood God's unaltered plan for his people to exercise dominion over the earth, it wouldn't surprise us to find on the New Earth that nations still exist and kings come into the New Jerusalem bringing tribute to the King of kings (Revelation 21:24,26).
THE IMPORTANCE OF LAND
An essential component of anykingdom is land. I don't always agree with David Chilton, but I believe he's correct when he says in Paradise Restored, "When God created Adam, He placed him into a land, and gave him dominion over it. Land is basic to dominion; therefore, salvation involves a restoration to land and property. . . . This is why Biblical law is filled with references to properly, law, and economics; and this is why the Reformation laid such stress on this world, as well as the next. Man is not saved by being delivered out of his environment. Salvation does not rescue us from the material world, but from sin, and from the effects of the Curse. The Biblical ideal is for every man to own properly—a place where he can have dominion and rule under God."161
We are pilgrims on this earth that is passing away, but eventually we'll be pioneers and settlers on the New Earth. The earth is our proper dwelling place: "For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land" (Proverbs 2:21-22). "The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land" (Proverbs 10:30).
Christ says, "I will write on him [who overcomes] the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name" (Revelation 3:12).
Consider how the theme that Earth belongs to God and his people (not to the unrighteous who sometimes rule it now) is carried throughout Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah:
You made [mankind] ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet. (Psalm 8:6)
The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. (Psalm 24:1)
He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. (Psalm 25:13, NKJV)
For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. . . .The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. . . . For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off. (Psalm 37:9, 11, 22, NKJV)
How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth! (Psalm 47:2)
I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages. (Isaiah 49:8, NKJV)
The man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain. (Isaiah 57:13)
In Isaiah 57:13, the Hebrew word erets, here translated "land," is the same word translated "earth" in many other contexts, including those just cited. Erets is the fourth most frequently used noun in the Old Testament, appearing more than 2,500 times.162 The frequency of the word's use reflects its centrality The Old Testament is filled with the idea of place, earth, land. Earth is the place of all mankind; Israel, especially Jerusalem, is the place of God's covenant people.
God gave management of the earth to Adam and Eve. All people would be their descendants, taking up their management responsibilities in turn. Then came the Fall and the Flood. Later, when God made his covenant with Abraham, what did he promise him first? Land (Genesis 12:1,7). Though the whole Earth was under the Curse, God granted Abraham a piece of land that could be lived on, ruled, and managed in a way that would bring glory to God and blessing to all other lands and nations.
"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29). New covenant Christians, not just Israel, are heirs of the promises made to Abraham—and these promises center on possessing the land.
After saying that mankind would rise from the dust of the earth and rule Christ's Kingdom on Earth (Daniel 12:2-3), God promises Daniel, "You will rise to receive your allotted inheritance" (Daniel 12:13). Inheritance typically involves not just money but also land, a place lived on and managed by human beings. After our bodily resurrection, we will receive a physical inheritance. The New Earth is the ultimate Promised Land, the eternal Holy Land in which all God's people will dwell.
THE GOAL OF HISTORY
God is the sovereign ruler of the universe, yet he chooses not to rule the universe alone. He delegates responsibilities to angels, who exist in a hierarchy of command under Michael the archangel (Jude 1:9; Revelation 12:7). God made human beings in his image, as creators and rulers, to carry out his divine will. He does not grudgingly pass on to us management responsibilities. On the contrary, he delights to entrust Earth's rule to us. He has uniquely created and gifted us to handle such responsibilities and to find joy in them.
We've been born into the family of an incredibly wealthy landowner. There's not a millimeter of cosmic geography that doesn't belong to him, and by extension to his children, his heirs. Our Father has a family business that stretches across the whole universe. He entrusts to us management of the family business, and that's what we'll do for eternity: manage God's assets and rule his universe, representing him as his image-bearers, children, and ambassadors.
While we face our daily challenges, the knowledge that a New Earth is coming should reassure us and give us perspective. It means there's not only hope but purpose in our suffering. It means that though injustice is widespread, it will not last. God will make all things right, rewarding his people for trusting him. He will turn this upside-down world right side up, placing it in the care of his beloved children.
The promise of a New Earth reminds us that the events of human history aren't meaningless. Rather, they are heading toward the fulfillment of a divine plan, involving a New Earth with culture and citizens that glorify God.
"We cannot understand biblical revelation, human history, or the events of our own lives if we don't grasp God's plan for the new heavens and New Earth," writes theologian Herman Ridderbos. "[Christ's] redemption acquires the significance of an all-inclusive divine drama, of a cosmic struggle . . . the goal of which is to bring back the entire created cosmos under God's dominion and rule."163
Remember God's explicitly stated plan: "to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:10). His design is through Christ "to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Colossians 1:20).
We're mistaken to leave such verses in the hands of universalists, who isolate them and disregard the emphatic biblical s
tatements that some will spend eternity in Hell. But we must not ignore the broad redemptive significance of these passages. Anthony Hoekema is correct when he insists that "we must see [history] as moving toward the goal of a finally restored and glorified universe. 164
Consider this prophetic statement: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15). It doesn't say that Christ will destroy this world's kingdom. It doesn't even say he'll replace this world's kingdom. No, the kingdom of this world will actually become the Kingdom of Christ. God won't obliterate earthly kingdoms but will transform them into his own. And it's that new earthly kingdom (joined then to God's heavenly Kingdom) over which "he will reign for ever and ever."
This is a revolutionary viewpoint, standing in stark contrast to the prevalent myth that God's Kingdom will demolish and replace the kingdoms of Earth rather than cleanse, redeem, and resurrect them into his eternal Kingdom. This brings us back again to that remarkable statement about the New Jerusalem: "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.... The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it" (Revelation 21:24-26).
Bruce Milne says of this text, "Nothing of ultimate worth from the long history of the nations will be omitted from the heavenly community. Everything which authentically reflects the God of truth, all that is of abiding worth from within the national stories and the cultural inheritance of the world's peoples, will find its place in the New Jerusalem."165