Heaven (31 page)
Authors: Randy Alcorn
As I read Revelation 21-22, I'm struck with how the Elven paradise reflects the Edenic elements of the New Jerusalem—rivers,
trees, fruits, and mountains—while the Dwarves'view of beauty reflects the vast detailed architecture and precious stones
of Heaven's capital. Which kind of beauty is better? We needn't choose between them. The New Earth will be filled with both.
Whatever God's people create is also God's creation, for it is he who shapes and gifts and empowers us to create.
It's likely that our tastes will differ enough that some of us will prefer to gather in the main streets and auditoriums for
the great cultural events, while others will want to withdraw to feed ducks on a lake or to leave the city with their companions
to pursue adventures in some undeveloped place. Wherever we go and whatever we do, we'll never leave the presence of the King.
For although he dwells especially in the New Jerusalem, he will yet be fully present in the far reaches of the new universe—in
which every subatomic particle will shout his glory.
WILL THERE BE SPACE AND TIME?
A
number of books suggest that our existence in Heaven will be without space or time. One book describes Heaven as "a mode of
existence where space and time are meaningless concepts."
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Is that true?
WHAT WILL THE NEW CELESTIAL HEAVENS BE LIKE?
What does the Bible mean by the term
new heavens}
Let's look at a few passages.
The Old Testament uses no single word for
universe
or
cosmos.
When Genesis 1:1 speaks of God's creating "the heavens and the earth," the words are synonymous with what we mean by
universe. Heavens
refers to the realms above the earth: atmosphere, sun, moon, and stars, and all that's in outer space. Then in Isaiah, God
says, "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17). This corresponds to Genesis 1:1, indicating a complete
renewal of the same physical universe God first created.
Revelation 21:1-2 says, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away....
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." Because "new heaven" (singular) is used here,
some think it's God's dwelling place that passes away and is renewed. But the present Heaven is described as unshakable in
ways the physical universe isn't (Hebrews 12:26-28). The "new heaven" in Revelation 21:1 apparently refers to exactly the
same atmospheric
and
celestial heavens as "heavens" does in Genesis 1:1. It also corresponds to the "new heaven(s)" of Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22,
and 2 Peter 3:13. In Revelation 21:2, we see God's dwelling place isn't replaced but
relocated when
the New Jerusalem is brought down to the New Earth.
The new heavens will surely be superior to the old heavens, which themselves are filled with untold billions of stars and
perhaps trillions of planets. God's light casts the shadows we know as stars, the lesser lights that point to God's substance.
As the source is greater than the tributary, God, the Light, is infinitely greater than those little light-bearers we know
as stars.
The Bible's final two chapters make clear that every aspect of the new creation will be greater than the old. Just as the
present Jerusalem isn't nearly as great as the New Jerusalem, no part of the present creation—including the earth and the
celestial heavens—is as great as it will be in the new creation.
While some passages suggest that the universe will wear out and the stars will be destroyed, others indicate that the stars
will exist forever (Psalm 148:3-6). Is this a contradiction? No. We too will be destroyed by death, yet we will last forever.
The earth will be destroyed in God's judgment, yet it will last forever. In exactly the same way, the stars will be destroyed,
yet they will last forever. Based on the redemptive work of Christ, God will resurrect them.
Earth is the first domain of mankind's stewardship, but it is not the only domain. Because the whole universe fell under
mankind's sin, we can conclude that the whole universe was intended to be under mankind's dominion. If so, then the entire
new universe will be ours to travel to, inhabit, and rule—to God's glory.
Do I seriously believe the new heavens will include new galaxies, planets, moons, white dwarf stars, neutron stars, black
holes, and quasars? Yes. The fact that they are part of the first universe and that God called them "very good," at least
in their original forms, means they will be part of the resurrected universe. When I look at the Horsehead Nebula and ask
myself what it's like there, I think that one day I'll know. Just as I believe this "self-same body"—as the Westminster Confession
put it—will be raised and the "self-same" Earth will be raised, I believe the "self-same" Horsehead Nebula will be raised.
Why? Because it is part of the present heavens, and therefore will be raised as part of the new heavens.
Will the new planets be mere ornaments, or does God intend for us to reach them one day? Even under the Curse, we've been
able to explore the moon, and we have the technology to land on Mars. What will we be able to accomplish for God's glory when
we have resurrected minds, unlimited resources, complete scientific cooperation, and no more death? Will the far edges of
our galaxy be within reach? And what about other galaxies, which are plentiful as blades of grass in a meadow? I imagine we
will expand the borders of righteous mankind's Christ-centered dominion, not as conquerors who seize what belongs to others,
but as faithful stewards who will occupy and manage the full extent of God's physical creation.
WHAT IS THE MORNING STAR?
Jesus says of the overcomer, "I will also give him the morning star" (Revelation 2:28). The morning star is a celestial object—the
planet Venus. Although most people consider Jesus' statement to be figurative, it could suggest that God might entrust to
his children planets or stars (with their respective planetary systems) in the new heavens. If the new creation is indeed
a resurrected version of the old, then there will be a new Venus, after all.
Currently Venus is a most inhospitable planet. Humans could never survive its incredible heat and corrosive atmosphere. However,
it's possible that indestructible resurrected bodies could endure its atmosphere. It's also possible that when the Curse
is lifted, Venus may become a beautiful paradise.
We know God will put one world under his children's authority—Earth. If the rest of the planets and the entire universe fell
with and will rise with mankind, I can easily envision our inhabiting and governing other resurrected planets.
For those of us who love astronomy and for fantasy and science-fiction fans, this has exciting implications. I believe the
great nebula of Orion, which has drawn hearts, including mine, to worship through its expansive beauty and wonder, will be
refashioned as part of the new heavens. Will we see a new Saturn, new Jupiter, new Ganymede, new Pleiades, and a new Milky
Way? I think that's the logical conclusion based on what Scripture reveals. In the same way that the New Earth will be refashioned
and still be a true Earth,
with continuity to the old,
the new cosmic heavens will likewise be the old renewed.
In my novel
Dominion
I try to depict this in a scene in which Jesus takes a woman who has died to a new world:
Eventually they arrived on a world more beautiful than Dani could fathom—cascading waterfalls, rainbows of a hundred colors,
mountain peaks five times higher than any on earth. Oceans with blue-green water, and waves crashing upon rocks the size of
mountains. Grassy meadows, fields of multicolored flowers—colors she had never seen before. This place seemed somehow familiar
to her, yet how could it, since it was like nothing she'd ever seen? Still, she felt profoundly at home.
"Why hasn't anyone told me of this place until now? I'd think it would be the talk of heaven!"
The Carpenter smiled at her. "They did not tell you because they do not know of it. They've never been here."
"What do you mean?"
"You are the first to visit this world."
"No," she said, then her face flushed. "How could that be?"
"This is yours. As your father once built you that tree house, I fashioned this place just for you."
Nancy beamed. "He gave us our own worlds too," she said. "Beautiful as this is, mine seems the perfect one for me. The Master
tells me each world he gives is tailor-made to the receiver."
"This is all for me?"
"Yes," the Carpenter said. "Do you like it?"
"Oh, I love it. And I haven't even begun to explore it! Thank you. Oh, thank you." She hugged him tight. He took delight in
her delight.
"This is not the ultimate place I have prepared for you, my daughter. But it is a pleasant beginning, isn't it?"
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God has built into us the longing to see the wonders of his far-flung creation. The popularity of science fiction reflects
that longing. Visiting a Star Trek convention demonstrates how this—like anything else—can become a substitute religion,
but the fervor points to a truth: We do possess a God-given longing to know a greater intelligence and to explore what lies
beyond our horizons.
In the Star Trek movie
Generations,
the character Guinan tells Captain Picard about a place called the Nexus. She describes it this way: "It was like being inside
joy, as if joy was something tangible, and you could wrap yourself up in it like a blanket."
I don't believe in the Nexus. But I do believe in the new heavens and the New Earth. What will the new heavens be like? Like
being inside joy, as if joy were something tangible, and you could wrap yourself up in it like a blanket.
Scottish novelist George MacDonald wrote to his dying daughter, "I do live expecting great things in the life that is ripening
for me and all mine—when we shall have all the universe for our own, and be good merry helpful children in the great house
of our father. Then, darling, you and I and all will have grand liberty wherewith Christ makes free—opening his hand to send
us out like white doves to range the universe."
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What has God made in the heights of distant galaxies, never seen by human eyes? One day we'll behold those wonders, soaking
them in with openmouthed awe. And if that won't be enough, we may see wonders God held back in his first creation, wonders
that will cause us to marvel and drop to our knees in worship when we behold them in the new creation.
WILL WE LIVE IN A SPATIAL WORLD?
The doctrine of resurrection is an emphatic statement that we will forever occupy space. We'll be physical human beings living
in a physical universe. The resurrected Christ said, "Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see
I have" (Luke 24:39). He walked on Earth; we will walk on Earth. He occupied space; we will occupy space.
We are finite physical creatures, and that means we
must
live in space and time. Where else would we live? Eden was in space and time, and the New Earth will be in space and time.
We will be delivered from all evil, but space isn't evil. It's good. God made it. It's Christoplatonism that tries to persuade
us something's wrong with space and time.
One writer says of Heaven, "It is certainly justifiable to abandon the scheme of time and space and to put in its place a
divine simultaneity."
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This has a high-sounding resonance, but what does it mean? That we can be a thousand places at once, doing ten thousand different
things? Those are the Creator's attributes, not the creature's. There's no evidence that we could be several places at once.
The promise of Heaven is not that we will become infinite—that would be to become inhuman. It's that we'll be far better finite
humans than we have ever been. Even if we're able to move rapidly from one place to another or to pass our resurrected molecules
through solid objects, as the risen Jesus did, we'll still be finite. (As I said before, I'm not certain we'll have that power,
though it's possible.)
If we plan to get together with friends, the question is, "Where and when?"
Where
is space;
when
is time. The three gates on the west side of the New Jerusalem are a minimum of fourteen hundred miles from the gates on
the east side. If I wait for you at a gate on the west side, you won't see me if you show up at a gate on the east side. (Even
if the stated dimensions are figurative, the principle remains the same.) When we walk outside the city gate, we won't remain
inside. People, even resurrected people, can be in only one place at one time. There's no suggestion that even the resurrected
Jesus was in two places at once.
We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we began And know the place for
the first time.
T. S. ELIOT
One author say, "Time and space will not be the same as known T s Fl lf)T here on earth, and relationships will be of a different
order. This being so, it is clear that the life of the new humanity in their resurrection bodies of glory can be described
only in symbolic terms."
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But what's the biblical evidence for this claim? The biblical texts speak of time and space in the New Earth similarly to
how they speak of them here and now. By reducing resurrected life to symbols, don't we undermine the meaning of humanity,
Earth, and resurrection?
Jesus spoke of the uttermost parts or farthest ends of Heaven (Mark 13:27, NKJV). Even the present Heaven appears to occupy
space. But certainly the new heavens and the New Earth will. Resurrection doesn't eliminate space and time; it redeems them.
In the heavenly realms, even angels, whom we think of as disembodied spirits, can be hindered in space and time due to combat
with fallen angels (Daniel 10:13). In other words, they can be delayed (time) from arriving at a particular destination (space).
People imagine they're making Heaven sound wondrous when they say there's no space and time there. (If it doesn't have space,
it's not even a "there.") In fact, they make Heaven sound utterly alien and unappealing. We don't want to live in a realm—in
fact, it couldn't even
be
a realm—that's devoid of space and time any more than a fish wants to live in a realm without water. If fish could think,
try telling one, "When you die, you'll go to fish Heaven and—isn't this great?—there will be no water! You won't have fins,
and you won't swim. And you won't eat because you won't need food. I'll bet you can't wait to get there!" After hearing our
christoplatonic statements about Heaven, stripped of the meaning of resurrection, no wonder we and our children don't get
excited about Heaven.
Sir Isaac Newton said of God, "He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is, his duration reaches from eternity
to eternity; his presence from infinity to infinity"
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God is the one "who inhabits eternity" (Isaiah 57:15, NKJV). Creatures inhabit time. Jesus, as the God-man, inhabits both.
By being with him on the New Earth, we will share space and time with God.
