Heaven (47 page)
Authors: Randy Alcorn
Only two people in human history, Adam and Eve, even began to taste what it was like to fulfill God's command to subdue the
earth, and they didn't get far. Was God shortsighted, not anticipating the Fall? Did he give up on Adam and Eve after they
sinned? No. He had a plan that would fulfill his original design in greater ways. Resurrected culture will reach ever-expanding
heights that no society has yet seen.
In
The Promise of the Future,
theologian Cornelius Venema writes, "Every legitimate and excellent fruit of human culture will be carried into and contribute
to the splendour of life in the new creation. Rather than the new creation being a radically new beginning, in which the excellent
and noble fruits of humankind's fulfillment of the cultural mandate are wholly discarded—the new creation will benefit from,
and be immensely enriched by, its receiving of these fruits."
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Bruce Milne shares a similar perspective: "The one who is Lord of the whole of life was never going to bring us at the end
into an eternal existence of mental constriction, or of emotional and creative impoverishment. Creativity will surely be valued,
for such an anticipation must be in keeping with the nature of him who set the morning stars a-singing when he created them
at the beginning, and whose joyful, uninhibited cry echoes across the battlements of the new creation. 'See, I am making everything
new!'... What creative possibilities await us in the unfolding of the eternal ages no present imagination can begin to unravel."
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We should stretch our vision of what's in store for us. God's redemptive work is far greater than we imagine because God himself
is far greater than we imagine.
LIFEBOAT OR ARK THEOLOGY?
Paul Marshall speaks of the prevalent but misguided notion that we've permanently wrecked the world. He says that many assume,
"What's important now is simply that we rescue people from the wreckage."
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He calls this
lifeboat theology:
"It is as if the creation were the
Titanic,
and now that we've hit the iceberg of sin, there's nothing left for us to do but get ourselves into lifeboats. The ship is
sinking rapidly, God has given up on it and is concerned only with the survival of his people. Any effort we make to salvage
God's creation amounts to rearranging the deck chairs. Instead, some say, our sole task is to get into the lifeboats, to
keep them afloat, to pluck drowning victims out of the water, and to sail on until we get to heaven where all will be well."
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Marshall says that this is the assumption and perspective that drives many evangelical Christians. He proposes an alternative
to lifeboat theology, which he calls
ark theology:
"Noah's ark saved not only people, but it preserved God's other creatures as well. The ark looked not to flee but to return
to the land and begin again. Once the flood subsided,
everyone and everything was intended to return again to restore the earth."
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God's preservation of man and animals and the earth itself demonstrates he hasn't given up on his creation. In fact, he commanded
Noah after the Fall to do exactly what he commanded Adam and Eve before the Fall: Fill the earth and rule it. Noah went out
to plant a vineyard (Genesis 9:20), and mankind was back to work again on the earth.
Our gifts and special interests—the way we're wired—aren't accidents.
God
made us this way. He intricately designed each of us to uniquely express his glory. Speaking of God's sovereign distribution
of a variety of spiritual gifts, the apostle Paul says, "To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common
good" (1 Corinthians 12:7). We'll be a great community on the New Earth. The gifts, skills, passions, and tasks God grants
each of us will not only be for his glory and our good but also for the good of our larger family. God will rejoice as we
thrive together, interdependently, in the New Earth's continuously creative culture.
HOW WILL WE EXPRESS OUR CREATIVITY?
In this world, even under the Curse, human imagination and skill have produced some remarkable works. The statues of Easter
Island. Stonehenge. Shakespeare's plays. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The Golden Gate Bridge. Baseball. Heart transplants.
Prenatal surgery. Microwave ovens. DVDs. The space shuttle. Chocolate ice cream. Pecan pie. Sports cars. It's a list that
never ends.
With the resources God will lavishly give us on the New Earth, what will we be able to accomplish together? When we think
about this, we should be like children anticipating Christmas—sneaking out of bed to see what's under the Christmas tree.
Without creativity, music would be a dull succession of sounds. Without creativity, books would be colorless and superficial.
They wouldn't engage our minds and hearts. Paintings would be lifeless or nonexistent. Our homes would be barracks, our buildings
boxes. God's preparing a place for us, and he'll equip us to develop it to his glory.
I agree with Anthony Hoekema when he says, "The possibilities that now rise before us boggle the mind. Will there be 'better
Beethovens' on the new earth? . ..better Rembrandts, better Raphaels? Shall we read better poetry, better drama, and better
prose? Will scientists continue to advance in technological achievement, will geologists continue to dig out the treasures
of the earth, and will architects continue to build imposing and attractive structures? Will there be exciting new adventures
in space travel? . . . Our culture will glorify God in ways that surpass our most fantastic dreams."
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The best is yet to be.
JOHN WESLEY
I imagine that people will express creativity in designing clothes. The precious stones of the New Jerusalem suggest jewelry
may have a place on the New Earth. Some people wear jewelry now for status, but on the New Earth, God-made jewels worn by
people made in the image of God will reflect the Creator's beauty. Isaiah 65:21 suggests that we'll build houses and live
in them on the New Earth. If so, we'll no doubt decorate them beautifully.
Buildings on the scale of the New Jerusalem reflect extensive cultural advancement. Human builders will learn from God's
design, just as Leonardo da Vinci learned by studying the form and flight of birds while working on his flying machine. What
will clear-thinking human beings—unhindered by sin and the barriers that separate us—be able to design and build? What would
Galileo, da Vinci, Edison, or Einstein achieve if they could live even a thousand years unhindered by the Curse? What will
we achieve when we have resurrected bodies with resurrected minds, working together forever?
Some researchers suggest that we now use only 10 percent of our brainpower. Adam and Eve could likely use 100 percent of
theirs—and their brainpower was probably far greater than ours. (Contrary to evolutionary assumptions, according to Scripture,
mankind's greatest capacity was in the past.) On the New Earth, God's gifts to us will never be lost to age, death, pettiness,
insecurity, or laziness. Undistracted and undiminished by sin and the demands of survival, mankind will create and innovate
at unprecedented levels, to God's eternal glory.
WILL WE SHAPE CULTURE INTO NEW FORMS?
In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam to name all the animals. And "whatever the man called each living creature, that was
its name" (Genesis 2:19). Remarkably, from that point forward, God called animals by the names that Adam chose. This demonstrates
the lofty and meaningful role that God grants us in molding and governing culture.
Adam wasn't just preserving creation; he was shaping it. Paul Marshall writes, "We have a creative task in the world. We must
shape things in ways for which there is sometimes no clear direction. This is why imagination is not just a feature of the
arts; it is a feature of human life itself. Without imagination, without experimentation, without openness to new questions
and new possibilities, there can be no science and no technology. We are not challenging God when we do this, at least not
when we do it in humility and faith. We are not stealing fire from the gods. We are taking up our responsibility before God
to shape what he has placed in our hands."
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Angels could have maintained the world as God created it. But it takes God's image-bearers to develop, expand, and enrich
the earth. That is culture. It includes art, science, and technology. The question of whether these creative disciplines will
continue in eternity is settled if we believe the Bible when it says that both mankind and the earth will continue in physical
form. If so, then culture
must
continue.
If this sounds like an overemphasis on the New Earth rather than a proper emphasis on God, consider Christ's words: "I will
write on him 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). Jesus says he will put on us his name and
also
the name of the New Jerusalem—a
place
with people, buildings, and culture. God chooses to mark us not only with his person but also with his place.
God is a creator, and he created us to be creators. Hence, what we create is an extension of God's creation. He accepts, embraces,
and delights in our creation—even as he did the names that Adam gave the animals. He delights in us just as we delight in
our own children's creativity. In
Exploring Heaven,
Arthur Roberts reflects on how life will be after the curse of sin has been removed:
The city of man has had intimations of a coming splendor. Civilization has brought health and safety. It has brought freedom
from toil and provided creative enjoyment to millions of persons. How much more, freed from the curse of sin, will civilization
flourish! Heaven will provide for urban as well as pastoral living. . . . Already the city of man is probing the galaxies.
Already it has catalogued the human genome. . . . With the curse of sin gone, apocalypses past, surely human beings in heaven
will become active stewards of the Lord in completing or extending the universe of things and ideas. The whole creation groans,
said Paul, awaiting human redemption. Civilization is not old; it has barely begun!
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WILL THERE BE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND SPORTS?
M
usic, dancing, storytelling, art, entertainment, drama, and books have played major roles in human culture. Will they remain
a part of our lives on the New Earth? I'm convinced the answer is yes.
WILL WE SING AND MAKE MUSIC?
Have you ever sat in stunned silence after listening to music beautifully performed? If you're like me, you don't want to
leave the presence of greatness. On the New Earth we never will. Our great God will be above all, beneath all, and at the
center of all. We'll see his wonders not only in his natural creation but also in every human achievement.
"I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live" (Psalm 104:33). On Earth, creative,
artistic, and skilled people sing and play instruments to glorify God. The apostle John speaks of trumpets and harps in the
present Heaven (Revelation 8:7-13; 15:2). If we'll have musical instruments in our pre-resurrected state, how much more should
we expect to find them on the New Earth?
The Bible is full of examples of people praising God with singing and musical instruments. In the Temple—a representation
of God's presence—288 people sang and played a variety of instruments (1 Chronicles 25:1-8). The psalmist instructed the people
to praise God with trumpets, harps, lyres, tambourines, strings, flutes, and cymbals (Psalm 150). Hezekiah said, "We will
sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord" (Isaiah 38:20). Jesus sang with his disciples
(Mark 14:26), and the apostle Paul instructed Christians to sing to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19). James says, "Those who have
reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord" (James 5:13, NLT).
The 144,000 "who had been redeemed from the earth" sing a "new song" before God's throne (Revelation 14:2-3). People in Paradise
sing a "song of Moses," a song written on the cursed Earth—likely the song of Exodus 15, rejoicing in the redemption of Passover
(Revelation 15:2-3). This suggests we'll sing both old and new songs, songs written on Earth and songs written in Heaven.
The songs emphasize God's greatness, justice, truth, holiness, and uniqueness (Revelation 5:9-10).
Scripture songs will endure, but other music from Earth may also be preserved. Consider Handel's
Messiah,
Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," the black spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and Isaac Watts's "Alas! and Did
My Savior Bleed?" What about the thousands of great hymns and praise songs from hundreds of cultures? Imagine a remote tribe
singing praises in a beautiful language you've never heard.
Although some lyrics will require theological corrections, others will be suitable as is, ready to be sung in God's presence.
Just as new songs will express old and new insights about God, the old songs will express earthly insights that in the context
of Heaven will have a greater depth of meaning.
Will secular songs survive? Not if they dishonor Christ. But what about songs that cried for perspective and deliverance?
We might recall and even sing such songs to remind us of when we longed for God and when he answered. Maybe other old songs,
less deep but not sin-corrupted, will be sung just for fun. Which of your favorite songs will survive the fire? If there's
a specific reason why some won't, why listen to them now?
Music is transcendent—a bridge between this world and another. That's why people devote so much of themselves to it and gain
such pleasure in it. We love the rich and varied rhythms and harmonies. In Heaven God will unleash our creativity, not confine
it. As a musical novice, I might compose something worthy of Bach. And what kind of music do you suppose Bach will compose?
WILL WE DANCE?
Throughout the ages, people have danced to God's glory on Earth (Ecclesiastes 3:4; Jeremiah 31:12-14). After the parting of
the Red Sea, Miriam and the women of Israel danced and played tambourines, singing praises to God (Exodus 15:20-21). King
David leapt and danced and celebrated before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:16). The psalmist says, "You turned my wailing into dancing"
(Psalm 30:11). When the Prodigal Son returned, the house was filled with music and dancing (Luke 15:25). How much more should
we expect to dance on the New Earth?
God places music and dancing alongside the simple earthlyjoys of planting and enjoying fruit: "I will build you up again and
you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. Again you
will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit" (Jeremiah 31:4-5).
It's God, not Satan, who made us to dance. If you believe that Satan invented dancing or that dancing is inherently sinful,
you give Satan too much credit and God too little. God placed within us an instinctive physical response to music. As music
is a means of worship, so is dancing. True, some dancing dishonors God, just as some eating, drinking, prayer, and religious
activities dishonor God. Unfortunately, much dancing has become associated with immorality and immodesty. But, of course,
that kind of dancing won't exist on the New Earth.
WILL WE TELL STORIES?
God regularly reminds his people of his past acts of faithfulness: "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out
of the land of slavery" (Exodus 20:2). History, when viewed accurately, teaches us about God and about ourselves. It's the
record of our failure to rule the earth righteously, the record of God's sovereign and gracious redemption of us and our planet.
The angels will be able to recount the creation of the original universe (Job 38:1-7). But we'll have an even greater story
to tell—the creation of the new universe (Revelation 21:1-4).
When we gather at meals and other times, we'll tell stories of past battles. We'll recite God's acts of grace in our lives.
(Are we practicing this now?) Some of those acts of grace we didn't understand at the time; some we resented. But we'll see
then with an eternal perspective.
Just as we're now captivated by a person's story of heroism or rescue from danger, we'll be enthralled by the stories we'll
share in Heaven. I want to hear Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, Roger Youderian, and Nate Saint discuss their final
day on the old Earth. I can't wait to hear John Newton's story and William Wilberforce's and Mary Magdalene's. Wouldn't you
love to hear from the angel who strengthened Christ in Gethsemane (Luke 22:43)? Imagine sitting around campfires on the New
Earth, wide-eyed at the adventures recounted. Yes, I mean telling real stories around real campfires. Why not? After all,
friendship, camaraderie, laughter, stories, and cozy campfires are all good gifts from God.
Consider the wonderful ending to John's Gospel: "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down,
I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" (John 21:25). The Gospels contain
wonderful stories, but they record only a small fraction of what Jesus did. And that was only during the brief span of his
life on the old Earth. How much more will there be to tell about his never-ending life with his people on the New Earth? We
can look forward to endless adventures, encounters, profound sayings, and delightful experiences with Jesus. When he tells
a story, we'll all be on the edge of our seats. On the New Earth, our resurrected eyes and ears will see and hear God's glory
as never before, and our resurrected hearts will be moved to see his beauty everywhere. We will live in a land of fascinating
observations, captivating insights, wondrous adventures, and spellbinding stories.
The greatest novels, plays, and movies are stories of redemption. Think of
Les Miserables
or The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings trilogy. They draw their shape and power from the ultimate redemption
story. The greatest story ever told—and it will be told and retold from thousands of different viewpoints, emphasizing different
details—will be permanently engraved in the hands and feet of Jesus. That story, above all, will be in our hearts and on our
tongues.
WILL THERE BE ART, DRAMA, AND ENTERTAINMENT?
God is an inventor and the director of the unfolding drama of redemption. He created the universe, then wrote, directed, and
took the leading role in history's greatest story. We who have lived our own dramas and participated in God's, we whose lives
were enriched through drama, should recognize its value in the new universe. The quality of drama will likely be vastly improved.
Imagine how new minds and bodies on the New Earth will stir us to worship, dialogue, action, and creativity.
Will we use the arts—including drama, painting, sculpture, music, and much more—to praise God? Will they provide enjoyment
and entertainment for resurrected people? C. S. Lewis said, "When you painted on earth . . . it was because you caught glimpses
of Heaven in the earthly landscape."
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Ultimately, the new earthly landscape
will be
Heaven's landscape. But that won't eliminate art, which is a God-given gift to his image-bearers. Art will rise to ever-higher
levels in the new universe.
Will we see movies in Heaven? Many current movies celebrate sin and therefore won't have a place there. But good movies, like
good books, tell powerful stories. Movies on the New Earth might depict sin, as the Bible does, showing it to be wrong. But
for any portrayal of sin, there would be a greater emphasis on God's redemptive work.
Professor Arthur Roberts writes of drama and the arts in Heaven: "Some people may find it difficult to envision drama or literature
without plots involving villainy, deceit, violence, or adultery. . . . Such fears are understandable, because it is difficult
to see beyond the horizon of our experience. These questions reflect an inadequate vision of resurrected life. . . . Do our
aesthetic adventures depend upon sin for flavor? I think not. In heaven, as on earth, effective drama portrays a triumph of
good over evil. I daresay the vastness and the openness of the renewed cosmos offers adventures adequate for epic tales, just
at it provides raw material for the visual arts, for painting, for sculpture, for architecture."
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Rather than forget about our lives on the old Earth, I think we'll depict them in drama and literature with perspective and
gratitude to God. Will people really write new books on the New Earth? Why not? Reading and writing aren't the result of
sin; they're the result of God's making us his image-bearers. Unless we believe the present Earth will be greater than the
New Earth, then surely the greatest books, dramas, and poetry are yet to be written. Authors will have new insights, information,
and perspectives. I look forward to reading nonfiction books that depict the character of God and the wonders of his universe.
I'm eager to read new biographies and fiction that tell powerful redemptive stories, moving our hearts to worship God.
We'll be resurrected people with minds, hands, and eyes. As we've seen, there will be books and buildings in Heaven. Put enough
books in a building, and you have a library. Imagine great rows of books, hundreds of thousands, millions of them. Imagine
oak desks and ladders reaching to great shelves heavy with books. (If you like the sound of that, you may spend a lot of time
in such a library or serve the King by helping others find the right books.) Will you be one who writes new books? Perhaps.
I want to be part of a group that explores the vast reaches of the new cosmos. When my fellow explorers and I return home
to Earth, the capital planet, and enter the gates of the capital city, we'll gather for food and drinks, and catch up on our
stories. I'll listen to your stories; maybe you'll listen to mine. Perhaps I'll write about great planets of star systems
far away. I'll tell how my explorations deepened my love for Jesus. And you'll play or sing for me the music of praise you
composed while I was gone. I'll marvel at its beauty, and I'll see Jesus in it and in you. Maybe I'll write a book about the
Omega galaxy, while you'll write one about the music of the heart. We'll exchange manuscripts, stimulate new insights, and
draw each other closer to God.
WILL WE LAUGH?
"If you're not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there." It wasn't Mark Twain who said that. It was Martin Luther.
Where did humor originate? Not with people, angels, or Satan. God created all good things, including good humor. If God didn't
have a sense of humor, we as his image-bearers wouldn't. That he has a sense of humor is evident in his creation. Consider
aardvarks and baboons. Take a good look at a giraffe. You have to smile, don't you?
When laughter is prompted by what's appropriate, God always takes pleasure in it. I think Christ will laugh with us, and
his wit and fun-loving nature will be our greatest source of endless laughter.
There's nothing like the laughter of dear friends. The Bible often portrays us around the dinner table in God's coming Kingdom.
What sound do you hear when friends gather to eat and talk? The sound of laughter. My wife, Nanci, loves football. She opens
our home to family and friends for Monday night football. If you came to our house, you'd hear cheers and groans, but the
dominant sound in the room, week after week, is laughter. God made us to laugh and to love to laugh. It's therapeutic. The
new universe will ring with laughter.
Am I just speculating about laughter? No. I can point to Scripture passages worth memorizing. For example, Jesus says, "Blessed
are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh" (Luke 6:21).
You will laugh.
When will we be satisfied? In Heaven. When will we laugh? In Heaven. Can we be certain of that? Yes. Jesus tells us precisely
when this promise will be fulfilled: "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven" (Luke
6:23).