Heaven (12 page)

Tolkien reflects biblical theology in the phrase "until the world is re­newed." Thorin says he goes "to the halls of waiting
to sit beside my fathers." This would be the intermediate Heaven. But he would wait there "until the world is renewed." This
would be the eternal Heaven—not to be lived in a netherworld but in a resurrected world.

The predominant belief that the ultimate Heaven God prepares for us will be unearthly could not be more unbiblical. Earth
was made for people to live on, and people were made to live on Earth. According to the prophets, the apostle Peter, and Christ
himself, our destiny is to live forever on a restored and re­newed Earth.

In the movie
The Passion of the Christ,
when Jesus is headed toward Calvary, on his knees under the weight of the cross, he says to his shocked and grief-tom mother,
"Behold, I make all things new." These words are straight from Revelation 21:5, where they are spoken by the risen Jesus concerning
the New Earth, where a renewed humanity will live on a renewed Earth, joyful in the presence of their res­urrected Savior,
who made it all possible by paying a price that was inconceivably great.

REDEMPTION = RETURN

Redemption buys back God's original design. In the words of one writer, "Adam and Eve (and their children) were to extend
the blessings of Paradise throughout the entire world. . . . Salvation, therefore, restores man to his origi­nal calling and
purpose, and guarantees that man's original mandate—to exer­cise dominion under God over the whole earth—will be fulfilled."
⁷⁴

If, due to the Fall, God would have given up on his original purpose for man­kind to fill the earth and rule it (Genesis 1:28),
he surely wouldn't have repeated the same command to Noah after the Flood: "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the
earth" (Genesis 9:1). Still, until sin and the Curse are permanently removed, people would be incapable of exercising proper
stewardship of the earth.

Our present purpose is inseparable from God's stated eternal purpose for us to rule the earth forever as his children and
heirs. That is at the core of the Westminster Shorter Catechism's defining statement: "Man's chief end is to glorify God,
and to enjoy him forever."
⁷⁵
We will glorify God and find joy in him as we do what he has made us to do: serve him as resurrected beings and carry out
his plan for developing a Christ-centered, resurrected culture in a res­urrected universe.

"For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when
he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed
all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign un­til he has put all his enemies under his feet" (1 Corinthians 15:22-25).

Most scholars agree that the point of this passage is not that Christ will someday cease to reign, but that his reign will
continue
until
and
after
his ene­mies are conquered and judged. (When a prince handed over to his father a kingdom he had conquered, it was common
for the king to entrust rulership of that kingdom back to his son.)

Christ's mission is both to redeem what was lost in the Fall and to destroy all competitors to God's dominion, authority,
and power. When everything is put under his feet, when God rules all and mankind rules the earth as kings under Christ, the
King of kings, at last all will be as God intends. The period of rebel­lion will be over forever, and the universe, and all
who serve Christ, will partici­pate in the Master's joy!

GOD'S GLORY ON GOD'S EARTH

The physical heavens are constantly declaring God's glory (Psalm 19:1-2). Even now, in reference to an Earth under the Curse,
God says, "The glory of the Lord fills the whole earth" (Numbers 14:21). But the universe will behold an even greater display
of God's glory, one that will involve redeemed men and women and redeemed nations on a redeemed earth. It is on Earth, God
prom­ises, that "the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it" (Isaiah 40:5). That God will
be glorified on Earth is central to innumera­ble passages, including these two:

Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. (Psalm 85:9)

I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. . . and the land was radiant with his glory. (Ezekiel 43:2)

In both these passages, the word translated as "land"
(erets)
is the word for "earth." Ezekiel saw God's glory at the gates of Jerusalem—manifested not in some immaterial realm but on
the earth.

To understand why Peter preached that God promised through the proph­ets that he would "restore everything" (Acts 3:21), consider
this sampling of passages that promise God's glory will be manifested to all the nations of the earth, particularly in the
New Jerusalem:

The nations will fear the name of the Lord, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and appear in his glory. (Psalm 102:15-16)

They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the
waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him,
and his place of rest will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:9-10)

"They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain
in Jerusa­lem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels," says the Lord. (Isaiah
66:19-20)

This is what the Lord Almighty says: "In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the
dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory," says
the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:6-7)

God's Kingdom and dominion are not about what happens in some remote, unearthly place; instead, they are about what happens
on the earth, which God created for his glory. God has tied his glory to the earth and everything con­nected with it: mankind,
animals, trees, rivers,
everything.
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3). The He­brew here can be translated
"the fullness of the earth is his glory." His glory is manifested in his creation. The earth is not disposable. It is essential
to God's plan. God promises that ultimately the whole Earth will be filled with his glory (Psalm 72:19; Habakkuk2:14).

God has his hands on the earth. He will not let go—even when it requires that his hands be pierced by nails. Both his incarnation
and those nails secured him to Earth and its eternal future. In a redemptive work far larger than most imagine, Christ bought
and paid for our future and the earth's.

A VISION OF THE NEW EARTH

Another significant passage that describes the New Earth is Isaiah 60. Al­though it doesn't contain the
term New Earth
(as do Isaiah 65 and 66), we can be certain that's what Isaiah intended because his precise language is used in John's depiction
of the New Earth in Revelation 21-22. Thus, Isaiah 60 serves as the best biblical commentary on Revelation 21-22.

At the beginning of Isaiah's remarkable prophetic message, God says to his people in Jerusalem, "The Lord rises upon you and
his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn" (w. 2-3). God's people
will have a glorious future in which the earth's nations and kings will participate in and benefit from a renewed and glorious
Jerusalem. It won't be only some nations, but all of them: "All assemble and come to you" (v. 4).

This will be a time of unprecedented rejoicing: "Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy"
(v. 5). On the renewed Earth, the nations will bring their greatest treasures into this glorified city: "The wealth on the
seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come" (v. 5).

There will be animals on the New Earth, from various nations: "Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian
and Ephah" (v. 6). Re­deemed people will travel from far places to the glorified Jerusalem: "And all from Sheba will come,
bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord" (v. 6).

People who dwell on islands will worship God, and ships will come from "Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their
silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor" (v. 9).

Most of us are unaccustomed to thinking of nations, rulers, civilizations, and culture in Heaven—but Isaiah 60 is one of many
passages that demonstrate that the New Earth will in fact be
earthly.

Isaiah speaks words that John applies directly to the New Jerusalem (in Rev­elation 21:25-26): "Your gates will always stand
open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations—their kings led in triumphal
procession" (v. 11).

The magnificence of nations will be welcomed into the King's great city: "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine,
the fir and the cypress to­gether" (v. 13). The hearts of the nations will be transformed in their attitudes toward God, his
people, and his city: "The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your
feet and will call you the City of the Lord" (v. 14). God promises the New Jerusalem, "I will make you the everlasting pride
and the joy of all generations" (v. 15). This is not a temporary period of fleeting prosperity but an "everlasting" condition.
It will not be limited to one time period but will be for "all generations."

The New Jerusalem will be the beneficiary of all people groups and their rulers: "You will drink the milk of nations and be
nursed at royal breasts" (v.16). The fulfillment of all these promises will testify to God's greatness: "Then you will know
that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (v. 16). God promises something that has never yet
been true of the earthly Jerusalem: "I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler. No longer will violence
be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates
Praise" (w. 17-18).

Isaiah then tells us what John connects directly to the New Earth (in Reve­lation 21:23; 22:5): "The sun will no more be your
light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God
will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sor­row will end" (w. 19-20).

Of the New Jerusalem, we're told that "nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful,
but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27). Isaiah tells us the same, using inclusive
language that could not apply to the old Earth under the Curse: "Then will all your people be righteous" (60:21). Isaiah adds,
"and they will possess the land
[erets]
forever." The earth will be theirs, not for a glo­rious decade or century or millennium, but
forever.
⁷⁶

Though Isaiah's reference to animal sacrifices and a temple (v. 7) raise ques­tions, it's clear that the passage as a whole
is a prophetic depiction of the future New Earth. There is no interpretive reason to believe that the descriptions in Isaiah
60 of the New Earth will be fulfilled any less literally than those in Isaiah 52-53.
†
Because Isaiah's words about the Messiah's first coming were so metic­ulously fulfilled, down to specific physical details,
shouldn't we assume that his prophecies in subsequent chapters concerning life on the New Earth will like­wise be literally
and specifically fulfilled?

Christ's millennial reign may prefigure the fulfillment of God's promises about Jerusalem's future. But we will see their
ultimate fulfillment only in the New Jerusalem on the New Earth, when the Curse is gone, death is no more, and God's people
will live on the earth forever.

REDEMPTION OF NATIONS AND

CULTURE

Both Isaiah and John,using similar language, state that on the New Earth "the kings of the earth will bring their splendor
into" the New Jerusalem and "the glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it" (Revelation 21:24,26; cf. Isaiah
60:3, 5).

Though John doesn't elaborate in Revelation, Isaiah is specific about what will be brought to the Holy City. He mentions the
cultural products of once-pagan nations: the ships of Tarshish and the trees of Lebanon and the camels of Ephah and the gold
and incense of Sheba, which will be brought in by its peo­ple "proclaiming the praise of the Lord" (Isaiah 60:6). Treasures
that were once linked to idolatry and rebellion will be gathered into the city and put to God-glorifying use. Both Isaiah
and Revelation indicate that the products of human culture will play an important role on the New Earth.

In his excellent treatment of Isaiah and the New Jerusalem,
When the Kings Come Marching In,
Richard Mouw points out that the same ships of Tarshish and trees of Lebanon mentioned in Isaiah 60 are regarded in Isaiah
2 as objects of human pride that God promises to bring down (w. 12-13, 16-18).
⁷⁷
Isaiah speaks of a day of judgment in which "men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of
the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth" (2:19). This language is strongly evocative of
the depiction of God's end times judgment, in which men try to hide "in caves and among the rocks of the mountains" (Revelation
6:15).

In Isaiah 10:34, the prophet tells us that God "will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the
Mighty One." Because people put their pride and hope in "their" forests and ships, God will demonstrate his superiority by
bringing down the forests and sinking the ships.