So far we have read about the judgement of God that will bring to an end the present material and celestial orders. However, what will become of the new humanity that God is redeeming for Himself? The Bible never gives us a detailed account of God’s plans for the world to come, in fact it specifically tells us that we aren’t even able to comprehend those truths (1 Cor 2:9). That said it does give us several glimpses into that reality, at least in forms that we are able to apprehend, so as to comfort us as we go through afflictions in our present life. These glimpses strengthen the Christian’s resolve to persevere in the faith, knowing what lies ahead. These glimpses are of things promised to us by God Himself and therefore we can be certain that we will inherit those promises if we persevere in Christ.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
When Christians think of the world to come, they often think of heaven as an ethereal spiritual realm that will be the focus of eternity. Yet, the pattern of eternity revealed to us in the Word of God is that of a new heavens and a new earth which mirrors the present cosmic order and yet is without the curse that brought frustration to the present world. Peter says that we look forward to the promise of the new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (2 Pet 3:13). God Himself promises to create this new heaven and new earth (Isa 65:17) and John sees a vision of this new cosmic order (Rev 21).
This theme of a new earth is quite central to the Biblical message. As we have seen, one of the aspects of the Redemptive Kingdom is how God is forming a new humanity in Christ, distinct from fallen humanity in Adam. The destiny of this new humanity is to rule the world to come. The Bible plainly teaches us that we will have physical bodies in the resurrection. Our resurrection bodies will be similar to Christ’s own resurrection body (Phil 3:20-21). And we know that Christ ate and drank with His disciples after He was raised from the dead. His disciples could touch, feel Him and recognize that he wasn’t merely some disembodied spirit. That said, our bodies will not merely be physical, they will also be spiritual. We will be like the angels in heaven (Matt 22:30, Mk 12:25). We will be raised with a spiritual body after dying in a natural body (1 Cor 15:44). Note that the antithesis here isn’t between physical and spiritual but between what is natural and spiritual. The present cosmic order and thus nature is under a curse but the future one won’t be. Therefore, the physical and the spiritual can coexist in perfect harmony, united together.
We are not given many details about what this new cosmic order will look like. At times the Bible reveals that reality to us in analogical terms, terms that we can understand. What we do know is that this cosmic order will be different, greater and better than the best of what we can think of in this present world. It will be so much better that this present world will not even come to our mind or memory (Isa 65:17). When we as humans have times of great joy, we tend to forget the dark times of trials and afflictions quite quickly. The joy permeates through our being and we forget many painful experiences that we endure living in a fallen world. The Bible uses that same analogy with regards to the world to come so that when compared to that world, the greatest joys of this present world are like sorrows that are forgotten in days of joy.
It is also very important to note that while the Bible gives us this hope that we will enjoy the physical aspects of the new creation, it isn’t given so that we become consumed with the physical aspects of this present world. This present world is under a curse and it is impossible for us to even perceive what an ideal physical world would look like. We often like to read back our presuppositions from a fallen world back into Eden and think that the Edenic state would have looked like that. Thus, we often look forward to the world to come with several similar presuppositions. Many Christians find it difficult to comprehend how they can enjoy the world to come if it wouldn’t have many of the things they enjoy in this life – marriage, family, pets, houses, etc. However, in doing so they’ve completely missed the whole point. We are reminded of the physicality of the eternal state that as physical beings we might be encouraged by the reality of how we will experience great pleasures and joys in the Lord. We are not reminded of its physicality so that we would expect that world to be like the present one. The greatest joys of this present world are tainted with the curse and sin. We are often made dull by the curse, being unable to perceive true pleasure and joy, we tend to think that the good things that we enjoy in this life have eternal qualities. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom 14:17). It is good for many of us to examine our hearts and find where our affections lie, in meat and drink that is passing away or in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. God says to His people, “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed” (Joel 2:25-27).
We have completely misunderstood the meaning of this prophecy if we read it through the eyes of the flesh, without Christ. This isn’t some promise of national restoration along with a return to an agrarian lifestyle. Rather, God is promising His people that in and through Christ, His people will receive far greater in the world to come than what they have lost in this present life. Paul says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor 2:9). In other words, what that world to come will look like is beyond our grasp and we ought not to compare our present world, even in its greatest joys, to the world to come. That said, we can be certain that God who has said that at His right hand are pleasures for evermore (Ps 16:11) will bless us in Christ even more abundantly than we would have been blessed in Adam had our earthly father been faithful to God. In Christ, we will gain far more than we lost in Adam. The eternal state will be an increase to the greatest physical pleasures Eden could have offered, not a decrease.
An Expansion of the Divine Council
Theologians speak of salvation as having three aspects – justification, sanctification and glorification. We often hear a lot about the former two aspects but we seldom hear much about glorification. Yet, our glorification is simply the final aspect of being conformed to the image of Christ. Paul tells us that we who suffer with Christ will also be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17). Sharing in His sufferings, which forms the basis for our sanctification results in sharing in His glorification. What exactly does this glorification entail? Often when we as Christians read the Bible and see words that we don’t clearly understand or seem supernatural, we tend to ignore them or not pay much attention to their significance. However, several such words throughout the Bible give us glimpses into the reality of the glorification that we look forward to.
In the same verse in which he speaks of our shared glorification with Christ, Paul calls us children of God, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:16-17). Similarly, we are told that we have been seated in the heavenly places with Christ (Eph 2:6). What does all of this mean? The fact that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places should offer some clues. Paul states that the manifold wisdom of God is revealed through His assembly to the principalities and powers in heavenly places (Eph 3:10). We have seen that these principalities and powers, throughout the Bible are referred to as the sons of God, the original image bearers of God. Thus, in positionally seating us with Christ in the heavenly places, God has revealed that His assembly, the new humanity, will soon replace the principalities and powers who are presently seated in the heavenly places. This is simply a reference to God’s Divine Council. Thus, the people of God will replace fallen angels and become part of God’s Divine family.
The apostle John declares, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). Jesus Christ is the uncreated and eternal Son of God. By becoming more and more conformed to His Image through the Holy Spirit, which is the goal of our sanctification, we become more like Him. Thus John continues, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Not only this, the apostle Peter says that we will be partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4). Thus, the assembly, which is the new humanity of Christ, is restored to that from which Adam fell – for Adam was called the Son of God (Lk 3:38) and participated in the Divine Council in Eden.
The specifics of what these things will look like have not been revealed to us as the apostle John makes clear. It would be best for us to not speculate into these things. It is very likely that these things haven’t been revealed to us because we are simply not capable in our present form to understand those things. In other words, it’s not possible to say what life would be like in the Divine Council. That said we can be certain that the promises of God for His people include our sonship, i.e. we become incorporated into God’s heavenly family – His Divine Council. We become children of our Father in Heaven, of who’s name the whole family in heaven and earth is named (Eph 3:15). We will join with Michael, Gabriel and the other angels in the Divine Council and the saints who have gone before us and become part of God’s family.
The ramifications of this truth must have a profound impact on our lives. We often hear Christians say that they are children of God. Very rarely do they pause to actually meditate on what that means. To be a child of God is to become part of the dynasty that will rule the world to come and which wages warfare on the present world through its worship and very presence that beckons the coming judgement on this age.
While the specifics of what it will mean to be part of God’s Divine Council through eternity have not been revealed to us, we do see several glimpses of how those things will play out –
We Will Judge Angels
Paul tells us that we will one day judge the world and angels (1 Cor 6:2-3). In other words, we will be involved in the judgements that befall the present material and celestial orders. Paul uses this to teach Christians why they ought not to appeal to those outside for judgement (v1,6). Sadly, this is a much neglected teaching in churches as Christians have become more and more entrenched in the world. Paul isn’t merely saying that Christians ought not to go to the world for judgement as pertaining to matters against one another but he is emphasising a broader category – why should we appeal for judgement from them whom we ourselves will judge?
Remember that one of the roles of the sons of God was judicial – they were to rule the world as a reflection of God’s justice. Instead we have seen in Psalm 82 that these sons of God perverted justice and ruled according to their own desires, for which they will now face judgement. Having forfeited their judicial role by rejecting God’s standards of justice, they are dethroned and replaced by the people of God. This is made evident by the prophet Daniel who shows us that when God establishes His final judgement, this judgment was given to the saints of the most High when the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Dan 7:22). Thus, God’s people will play a major role as part of God’s Divine Council in executing judgements against both the material and celestial order on the day of the Lord.
We Will Rule the World to Come
The destiny of God’s people is to share in Christ’s glory – to become a co-heir with Him. Adam was made to be a priest-king in the family of God. Through His failure to keep covenant with God, he alienated all his progeny from the promises of God. But God sent Christ into the world to perfectly accomplish what Adam failed to do and destroy the kingdom of Satan. Through this Christ received the blessings that Adam failed to receive – having all rule and power subjected to Him. Since Christ received these blessings, all those who are in Christ, become inheritors of those blessings.
As we have seen God hasn’t subjected the world to come to angels (Heb 2:5). Rather, the world to come has been subjected to Christ, even though we don’t see that reality in its consummate state yet (Heb 2:7-8). Again, we should be careful not to ignore the emphasis of the author of Hebrews. He is contrasting the present world, which is subjected to the elohim beings against the world to come, which is subjected to Christ, who’s manhood is the main emphasis of Heb 2:5-10. Unlike the present world, the world to come is placed under the subjection of Christ and therefore the new humanity that is being restored in His image. The physical always reflects the spiritual and therefore the new humanity will physically image the rule of God in the world to come. This is the greatest and final humiliation of Satan and the elohim. Rather than receiving worship from humanity as they desired, God creates a new humanity that ultimately replaces them, judges them and rules under God in the world to come.
Paul plainly states, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tim 2:12). The chorus in heaven is that Christ has made us kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth (Rev 5:10). Likewise, we hear the voice of Christ that says if we persevere till the end, He will give us authority over the nations and the morning star (Rev 2:25-28). This term morning star is used to refer to the highest angelic beings (Job 38:7, Isa 14:12). It is also a term Christ uses to refer to Himself (Rev 22:16). Thus, the granting of such a title to the persevering Christian is indicative of the rank God’s people will enjoy in the world to come. God’s people will share in the glorification of Jesus Christ.
We Will be Priests Unto God
The worship of God will always be the central theme of the heavenly realm. The primary purpose for which Adam was created was that he would be a priest-king in God’s Divine Council and in union with God. Thus, Adam was to perform His priestly duties in the garden of the Lord. We have seen how the Bible lays out this theme of the new humanity being a nation of priests throughout redemptive history ( Exo 19:6, Isa 61:6, 1 Pet 2:9, Rev 1:6). This is a song of praise that is constantly sung around the throneroom of God (Rev 1:6, 5:10).
This theme will be fulfilled in perfection in the new heavens and the new earth. The centrepiece of this new creation is the holy city of God, New Jerusalem (Rev 21:2). In this city is the tabernacle of God, where He dwells with them (Rev 21:3). As we have seen previously, the tabernacle was the place where God met with His nation and where they felt His presence on earth. It was the priests of Levi who ministered to the tabernacle and later temple of God in Jerusalem. Likewise, those who dwell in this holy city will be the priests of God and the Lamb that dwell in that city with them (Rev 21:22).
Interestingly, John’s vision of this new creation in Rev 21 has several parallels to the original creation in Eden. Just like Eden was on a mountain, John is taken to a high mountain to see the descent of the holy city (Rev 21:10). The city is built with an abundance of precious metals and stones (Rev 21:18-21), reminiscent of Eden (Gen 2:11-12). Moreover, the tree of life is present there (Rev 22:2, Gen 2:9). The purpose of all of this is to show us how we inherit great riches in Christ, far greater than we lost in Adam. In other words, New Jerusalem is greater than Old Eden.Keeping with the Edenic theme, John mentions that no defiling or abominable thing shall ever enter into this holy realm (Rev 21:27). That is a reminder of the days when the Serpent entered Eden, bringing with him his craftiness and deceiving mankind. Yet now because Christ has purified this holy realm and has perfectly done what Adam couldn’t – banishing the Serpent, the fallen elohim and fallen humanity into the lake of fire (Rev 21:8). Thus, everything unholy is forever purged out of the cosmos and can no longer corrupt it again and the people of God can faithfully serve as priest-kings, inheriting these privileges through Christ. These truths ought to greatly inform and affect every aspect of our life.
Deo Vicit Mundum 