Heaven (17 page)

However, the debates about entropy, plant death, animal death, and the earth's age should not deter us from a central agreement
that, as Paul says, "the whole creation" has come under mankind's curse, and God will deliver the whole cre­ation by our resurrection.

FROM THE FALL TO OUR RESURRECTION

How will the effects of our bodily resurrection be felt by the entire universe? In exactly the same way that all creation
suffered from our fall into sin. There is a metaphysical and moral link between mankind and the physical universe.

Romans 8 is a profound theological statement in that it extends the doctrine of the Fall far beyond what we might have expected.
But in doing so—and we often miss this—it extends the doctrine of Christ's redemption every bit as far.

We should expect that anything affected by the Fall will be restored to its original condition. Things will no longer get
worse. When they change, they will only get better. That will be true of our bodies and our minds and human culture in the
new universe. And there are no grounds to imagine that the link between mankind and the universe will cease. Why shouldn't
it continue for all eternity?

"We know," Paul says, "that the whole creation has been groaning" (Romans 8:22). Consider the shocking cruelty in the animal
world, where mothers some­times devour their offspring, and most of those that survive are mercilessly killed by predators.
If "the whole creation" is as comprehensive as it appears, then there is not an amoeba or chromosome or DNA strand or galaxy
unaf­fected by mankind's fall. That is the bad news. Paul follows with the good news—that what went down with mankind in the
Fall will come back up with us when Christ's redemptive work is completed. The God who raised Jesus will in turn raise his
people and the universe.

There is such a close biblical connection between the inhabitants of the earth and Earth itself that the phrase "the world"
(kosmos)
is sometimes synony­mous with
people.
"God so loved the world," and "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ" (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:19). In John's
Gospel, "the world" often refers to fallen humanity in rebellion against God. And it is people, not the planet, who believe
in Christ. Still, there are words for mankind that don't connect us to the earth, unlike
kosmos,
which does. In Romans 8 we see that the redemptive work of Christ not only rescues people who believe in him, it rescues the
world itself. Just as we will die, the earth will be destroyed; and just as we will be raised, the earth will be renewed.

John Piper writes, "What happens to our bodies and what happens to the creation go together. And what happens to our bodies
is not annihilation but re­demption. . . . Our bodies will be redeemed, restored, made new, not thrown away. And so it is
with the heavens and the earth."
¹⁰²

THE PAINS AND PROMISE OF CHILDBIRTH

It's fair to say that most Christians believe there will be no carryover into Heaven of our present culture, art, technology,
or the products of human cre­ativity. Indeed, it's common to doubt if we will even remember our lives on Earth or the people
whom God used to influence and shape us, including our families and closest friends.

If our assumptions about the end of the world were correct, what analogy would we expect Paul to use for what will happen
to creation? An old man dy­ing? A mortally wounded soldier gasping his final breaths? Those images would fit well with a belief
that the universe will come to a violent, final end. But Paul doesn't use analogies of death and destruction. He uses the
analogy of child­birth: "The whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up until the present time"
(Romans 8:22).

There are pains in childbirth for mother and child, but the result is a contin­uation, a fulfillment of a process that has
long been underway. The pains of childbirth are analogous to the present sufferings of mankind, animals, and the entire universe.
But those sufferings are temporary because of the imminent miracle of birth. A far better world will be born out of this one,
and a far better humanity will be born out of what we now are.

The fallen but redeemed children of God will be transformed into some­thing new: sinless, wise stewards of the earth. Today
the earth is dying; but be­fore it dies—or in its death—it will give birth to the New Earth. The New Earth will be the child
of the old Earth, just as the new human race will be the children of the old race. Yet it is still
us,
the same human beings, and it will also be the same Earth.

Romans 8 contains a powerful theology of suffering. There's the groaning of those dying without hope, and in contrast, the
groaning of those in childbirth. Both processes are painful, yet they are very different. The one is the pain of hopeless
dread, the other the pain of hopeful anticipation. The Christian's pain is very real, but it's the pain of a mother anticipating
the joy of holding her child.

It is no coincidence that the first two chapters of the Bible (Genesis 1-2) be­gin with the creation of the heavens and the
earth and the last two chapters (Revelation 21-22) begin with the re-creation of the heavens and the earth.

All that was lost at the beginning will be restored at the end. And far more will be added besides.

†Some people argue that walking, breathing, digestion, and solar heating of the earth all involve the law of entropy. When
I speak of that law, however, I mean specifically the parts related to death, decay, and the deterioration of things, especially
living beings, as a departure from their ideal created state.

CHAPTER 13

Why does God go to all the trouble to dirty his hands, as it were, with our decaying, sin-stained flesh, in order to reestablish
it as a resurrection body and clothe it with immortality?. . . Because his Son paid the price of death so that the Father's
purpose for the material universe would befulfilled, namely, that he would be glorified in it, including in our bodies forever
and ever.

John Piper

J
esus became a man and lived as a man on Earth, in order to redeem mankind. His victory had to take place on Earth—the dwelling
place of mankind—and it has to culminate on Earth, where Christ will return to set up his King­dom with his redeemed and resurrected
people.

We were
created from
the earth to live
on
the earth. Our hope isn't that we'll be delivered_/row our bodies but
into
our new bodies, and into the new world where we'll live with Jesus.

The only unearthly eternal destination spoken of in Scripture is Hell, not Heaven. Yet even in Hell the condemned will have
a physical presence. Jesus said that all people will be resurrected, some to life, some to condemnation (John 5:28-29). While
some will forever experience the physical pleasures of Heaven, others will experience the physical torments of Hell.

THE RESURRECTION OF OUR DEEDS

Anticipating eternal life as resurrected beings in a resurrected universe has pres­ent, practical implications. "Therefore
[in light of our eventual resurrection], my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully
to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

How do we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain? Because of our bodily resurrection. Just as we will be carried over
from the old world to the new, so will our labor. In a sense, not only our bodies but our service for Christ will be resurrected.
J. B. Phillips renders 1 Corinthians 15:58 as follows: "Let nothing move you as you busy yourselves in the Lord's work. Be
sure that noth­ing you do for him is ever lost or ever wasted."
¹⁰³

Bruce Milne writes, "Every kingdom work, whether publicly performed or privately endeavoured, partakes of the kingdom's imperishable
character. Every honest intention, every stumbling word of witness, every resistance of tempta­tion, every motion of repentance,
every gesture of concern, every routine en­gagement, every motion of worship, every struggle towards obedience, every mumbled
prayer, everything, literally, which flows out of our faith-relationship with the Ever-Living One, will find its place in
the ever-living heavenly order which will dawn at his coming."
¹⁰⁴

If the creation itself will be resurrected, could this also include some of the works of our hands? "If any man builds on
this foundation [Christ] using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, be­cause
the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what
he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but
only as one escaping through the flames" (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

We have the assurance of Scripture that all believers will survive the fire of testing and be raised. But it is not only ourselves
that will outlast this world and be carried over to the new one. It is what we do with our lives. Our righ­teous works will
follow us to Heaven (Revelation 14:13). Not only will some things that God has made survive his judgment, but so will some
things
we
have done. Products of faithful lives will endure. They will be purified and "laid bare," so their beauty will be forever
seen. God's fire will not destroy the whole Earth; it will destroy all that displeases him. But there is much that pleases
him, and these things will endure the fire, to be reconstituted after the final resurrection of the dead. Not only will acts
of obedience and spiritual sacrifices be carried over from one world to the next, but everything else good will also last
forever.

Moses prayed, "Establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17). The He­brew word translated "establish," as indicated in the
margin notes of the
New American Standard Bible,
means "make permanent." So Moses was asking God to give permanence to what he did with his hands.

If the components of our disintegrated bodies will endure the fire and be re­assembled in resurrected bodies, what about the
gold, silver, and costly stones of our works? Paul appears to be saying more than just that we will be rewarded for what we
did on Earth. He appears to be saying that what we did on Earth will itself endure. Does he mean that these things too will
be resurrected?

In my book
The Law of Rewards,
I make a case from these passages and many others that what's done in this life has a direct carryover to the next life.
¹⁰⁵
Resurrection
is not a figurative expression. It indicates durability. If our physical bodies will survive, doesn't it suggest that other
physical things might also survive?

USING OUR IMAGINATION ABOUT THE RESURRECTION

Biblically, the resurrection of the dead extends much further than most of us have been taught. How much further might the
power of resurrection go? Let's use our biblically informed imaginations. Could a child's story written out of love for Jesus
survive this world, either in Heaven's handwriting or the child's own? Might certain works of art, literature, and music survive
either literally (on the canvas and paper they were written on) or at least be re-created in Heaven? Obviously, we can't be
certain, but isn't the idea consistent with what we've seen of the nature of resurrection?

If our bodies and the works of our hands that please God will be resurrected, why not a chair, cabinet, or wardrobe made by
Jesus in his carpenter's shop in Nazareth? Couldn't God reassemble those molecules as easily as our own? Are they not as much
a part of God's "very good" creation as our bodies, and ani­mals, lakes, and trees? What about things we made to God's glory?
Could these be resurrected or reassembled?

In my novel
Safely Home,
I portray a faithful Chinese servant who builds a chair for Jesus, a chair on which no one else ever sits. It represents Christ's
presence in his home. Might Jesus resurrect such a chair and use it on the New Earth? If Jesus will resurrect people and flowers,
might he also resurrect a spe­cific flower arrangement given to a sick person that prompted a spiritual turn­ing point? Might
he resurrect a song or book written to his glory? or a letter written to encourage a friend or stranger? or a blanket a grandmother
made for her grandchild? or a child's finger painting? or a man's log cabin built for his pioneer family? or a photograph
album lovingly assembled by a devoted mother? or a baseball bat that a man handcrafted for his grandson's eleventh birthday?

Some may think it silly or sentimental to suppose that nature, animals, paintings, books, or a baseball bat might be resurrected.
It may appear to trivialize the coming resurrection. I would suggest that it does exactly the oppo­site: It
elevates
resurrection, emphasizing the power of Christ to radically renew mankind—and far more. God promises to resurrect not only
humanity but also the creation that fell as a result of our sin. Because God will resurrect the earth itself, we know that
the resurrection of the dead extends to things that are inani­mate. Even some of the works of our hands, done to God's glory,
will survive. I may be mistaken on the details, but Scripture is clear that in some form, at least, what's done on Earth to
Christ's glory will survive. Our error has not been in overestimating the extent of God's redemption and resurrection but
underesti­mating
it.

Close your eyes and picture something special hanging on your living-room wall or posted on your refrigerator. You may see
these things in Heaven, and not just in your memory. Picture the kinds of things done by his children that God, the ultimate
father, would put on display. God rewards with permanency what is precious to his heart. What pleases him will not forever
disappear.

If we understand the meaning of
resurrection,
it will revolutionize our think­ing about the eternal Heaven. God, whose grace overflows, may be lavish in what he chooses
to resurrect.

Let's pray with Moses,
"~M.2ke permanent the
works of our hands."

REFORMING OUR VOCABULARY TO FIT THE RESURRECTION

A radio preacher, speaking about a Christian woman whose Christian husband had died, said, "Little did she know that when
she hugged her husband that morning, she would never hug him again."

Though the preacher's words were well intentioned, they were not true. He could have said, "She'd never again hug her husband
in this life," or better, "She would not be able to hug her husband again until the next world." Because of the coming resurrection
of the dead, we
willbe
able to hug each other again—on the New Earth.

Someone might say, "We all know what the preacher meant." But I'm not sure we really do—or that
he
really did. I'm not trying to be picky, but we need to carefully reform our vocabulary to express what's actually true. If
we don't, we will ultimately fail to
think
biblically and continue to embrace predominant ste­reotypes of Heaven.

"That's the last time I'll ever see him in his body," a man said of his son who died. No. Because they were both Christians,
they will see each other again in their resurrection bodies.

"I'll never see my daughter again on this earth." But if she is a believer, and you are, then the statement is wrong. You
will
see her again on this earth. You and she will be transformed, and the earth will be transformed, but it will still
really
be you and your daughter on an Earth that
really
is the same Earth.

We do not just say what we believe—we end up believing what we say. That's why I propose that we should consciously correct
our vocabulary so it conforms to revealed biblical truth. It's hard for us to think accurately about the New Earth because
we're so accustomed to speaking of Heaven as the opposite of Earth. It may be difficult to retrain ourselves, but we should
do it. We must teach ourselves to embrace the principle of continuity of people and the earth in the coming resurrectionthat
Scripture teaches.

We nee a clear understanding of the doctrine of the new earth, therefore, in order to see God' redemptive program in cosmic
dimensions. We need to realize that God will not be satisfied until the entire universe has been purged of all the results
of mans fall.

ANTHONY HOEKEMA

Because ethereal notions of Heaven have largely gone unchal­lenged, we often think of Heaven as less real and less substantial
than life here and now. (Hence, we don't think of Heaven as a place where people will hug, and certainly not in
these
bodies.) But in Heaven we won't be shadow people liv­ing in shadowlands—to borrow C. S. Lewis's imagery. Instead, we'll be
fully alive and fully physical in a fully physical universe.

In one sense, we've never seen our friend's body as truly as we will see it in the eternal Heaven. We've never been hugged
here as meaningfully as we'll be hugged there. And we've never known this earth to be all that we will then know it to be.

Jesus Christ died to secure for us a resurrected life on a resurrected Earth. Let's be careful to speak of it in terms that
deliver us from our misconceptions and do justice to the greatness of Christ's redemptive work.

RESURRECTION DAY

What will it be like on our resurrection day, when we return with Christ to this old Earth, when we are given new bodies in
the knowledge that we will together colo­nize a New Earth (whether that is immediately, or after a thousand years)? At the
end of my novel
Safely Home,
I tried to catch a flavor of what it may be like:

The battle cry of a hundred million warriors erupted from one end of the heavens to the other. There was war on that narrow
isthmus between heaven and hell, a planet called Earth. The air was filled with the din of combat—the wails of oppressors
being slain and the joyous celebrations of the oppressed, rejoicing that at long last their liberators had arrived.

Some of the warriors sang as they slew, swinging swords to hew the oppressors with one arm and, with the other, pulling victims
up onto their horses.

The long arm of the King moved with swiftness and power. The hope of reward that kept the sufferers sane was vindicated at
last. No child of heaven was touched by the sword this day, for the universe could not tolerate the shedding of one more drop
of righteous blood.

Heaven released fury. Earth bled fear. It was the old world's last night.

At the Lion's nod, Michael raised his mighty sword and brought it down upon the great dragon. His muscles bulging at the strain,
Michael picked up his evil twin and cast the writhing beast into a great pit. The mauler of men, the hunter of women, the
predator of children, the persecutor of the righteous shrieked in terror. The vast army of heaven's warriors cheered.

The battalions of Charis gazed upon the decimated face of the earth, the scorched soil of the old world. Nothing had survived
the fires of this holocaust of things. Nothing but the King's Word, his people, and the deeds of gold and silver and precious
stones they had done for him during the long night since Eden's twilight.

Soldiers dropped their weapons, the crippled tossed their crutches and ran, the blind opened their eyes and saw. They pointed
and shouted and danced, throwing their arms around each other, for each knew that any now left on earth were under the King's
blood and could be fully trusted. The King gathered children upon his lap. He wiped away their tears. . . .