Meet Your Biggest Booster,
Jesus!
Author, Roger W. Gruen
Publisher, Commendations Incorporated
Copyright 2010 by Commendations Incorporated
322 North Main Street
Medora, Illinois 62063
All Rights Reserved.
618-729-9140
commendations@mail.com
Boost Five
with Him, in Bliss, Forever
What is a reality? It is a period of time and a place in the Universe where a set of natural laws applies. We are living in the “Here and Now”. We are accustomed to the way things work in our surroundings. But, the Bible and our Scientists speak of other realities that have existed or will exist or currently exist in parallel with our present reality.
When You were young, You probably stood in the “batter’s box” and faced a pitcher who wanted to strike You out. The hurler threw. You swung where You expected the ball to go and missed the ball completely. You thought, “That was a curve! It fooled me.” Similarly, our Cosmologists have
found that our present reality throws us “curves”, at times. They have uncovered features of our present reality that defy “common sense”. As You will see, each reality we will discuss is affected by outside forces, objects and beings. For instance, the Bible teaches that God visited
“Eden” to walk and talk with Adam and then went elsewhere; that Christ entered our present reality and lived among us for thirty-three years and then went to sit at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. Each reality seems to be nestled inside the ultimate reality that we cannot perceive, presently.
We step back into our “Here and Now” reality, and,
immediately, we see the answer to the puzzle facing the triangles. “Circle D” is more than a circle. He is a barrel, full of water, sitting on Flatland. The citizens of Flatland see only the bottom of the barrel, which is a circle. Nature has thrown them a “curve” they cannot comprehend. There is another “dimension” to their reality that they cannot explain. Just so, there are “dimensions” to our “Here and Now” reality that our sharpest thinkers cannot explain.
By the way, if You wish to demonstrate Your genius to some friends, memorize this phrase: “See, I have a rhyme assisting my feeble brain its tasks ofttimes resisting.” Now, if You recite this sentence to Yourself and count the letters in each word and speak them out, You will state the value of “pi” quite precisely, 3.141592653589. But, even that is not quite the true value. Mathematicians have proved that no one can ever state the value exactly. The decimal values of “pi” proceed endlessly.
As an example of the “curves” that our reality throws at us, let’s consider one that our mariners discovered years ago. The Earth is not flat. If the Greeks had made their circles on the ground and made them very large, the values they calculated for “pi” would have been less than “pi”. Think of it this way; if they had made a circle at the Equator and drawn its diameter through the North Pole, they would have set the value of “pi” at about 2. That’s because the diameter crossing the North Pole would reach 1/2 way around the Earth and the circle at the Equator would reach all the way around the Earth. So, what is true on a flat sheet of paper is not true on the spherical surface of the Earth in our “Here and Now” reality.
And, here is another “curve”. If You look at a map of the United States, You will see that Sacramento, California is about due West of Raleigh, North Carolina. If You strike a straight line between the cities, You may think that this line represents the most direct flight path from one of the cities to the other. However, because we live on a spherical planet, that is not true. Mathematicians tell us that the shortest path between 2 points on a sphere is an “arc of a great circle”. A “great circle” is a circle drawn on the surface of the Earth that has as its midpoint the center of the Earth. The Equator is a good example. Now, pretend You have a “hula hoop” the size of the Equator. If You position it so that it is snug to the Earth and has its rim passing through Raleigh and Sacramento, You will notice that the rim of the hoop bows up toward Chicago. If You travel the path traced by the rim, You will fly less miles than You will if You fly due West. Quirky, but true.
were driving toward me with Your speedometer reading 60 miles per hour, and I were driving toward You with my speedometer reading 60 miles per hour, then we would perceive that we were approaching each other at 120 miles per hour. So, they presumed that if You were in a spaceship approaching me at 90% of the speed of light, and
· Time passes more slowly at the bottom of a mountain than at the top, because of gravitational forces.
· When traveling between two planets, the faster you travel, the shorter the distance traveled becomes.
· The faster you travel, the slower time passes, so when an astronaut returns to Earth after traveling near the speed of light for several years, he would have aged less than those who stayed on Earth.
This notion of a cosmic fabric has been expanded by many Cosmologists over the last century. The consensus today is that everything in the Universe is made of extremely tiny “strings”. Even sub-atomic particles like electrons are clusters of tiny strings. The whole Universe is a fabric of strings, knit together in countless ways. This thinking excites Christians, because, without knowing a thing about the theory of strings, Bible authors, long ago, spoke prophetically of the fabric of the Universe. Consider these Scripture passages and be amazed. They liken our Universe to the fabrics of “scrolls” and “clothes” and “garments”...
· All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
(NIV Isaiah 34:4)
· Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old [grow old] like a garment... (KJV Isaiah 51:6)
· In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing. You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. (NLT Hebrews 1:10-12)
· ...the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
(NIV The Revelation 6:13-14)
This convergence of thoughts from the ancient men of God and the modern physicists is remarkable.
Adam and Eve lived in a beautiful garden. They spoke with the Lord each day. There was no death in their reality. All the animals were vegetarians. It is awesome to imagine them playing with lions, eating berries off a bush while standing next to a bear, or swimming with alligators. There was no rain in the Garden of Eden. Much of the water on Earth was underground. Each morning, a mist would emanate from the soil to water the plants. This Paradise was ruined by sin. God had given one rule to Adam and Eve...
...of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat...for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (KJV Genesis 2:17)
When our first parents broke this rule, they were evicted from this reality.
2. The “Pre-Flood” Reality
As Adam left Eden, God put a curse on His Creation. He informed Adam...
... Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
(NIV Genesis 3:17-19)
This “Pre-Flood” reality was quite different from “Eden”. Still, there was no rain. A daily mist watered the Earth. But, death was everywhere. Animals ate other animals. Even man ate meat. Still, the air, the water and the food were much better than that which we have today. People lived for hundreds of years. This reality persisted until the world-wide Flood of Noah’s day. Just as sin had brought an end to the “Eden” reality, rampant sin brought an end to this reality. God said unto Noah...
...I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. (NIV Genesis 6:13)
All but the eight souls on the ark were killed by the Flood.
3. The “Pre-Babel” Reality
This reality commenced when Noah’s ark landed on Mount Ararat. Things were much different. No longer did the morning mist water the Earth. The underground water system had been broken up. The seas were much larger. God installed a new system of evaporation and condensation to produce rain. Just as it is today, vast weather systems began to move across the continents. In this reality, life-spans became much shorter. Again, sinful pleasures became the primary motivator of the citizens. Sin expressed itself in a defiant pride. The people said...
[Let us]...build...a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name... (KJV Genesis 11:4)
Apparently, their pride carried them to the extreme. They imagined that they were gods. Instead of worshiping the true God, they worshiped themselves. God would have none of it. He said...
...let us...confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth...
(KJV Genesis 11:7-8)
Some Christians believe the curse of Babel went beyond vocabulary, involving the very organs of speech production. If so, the physical differences may not have shown up at the moment the curse was pronounced. They may have appeared in the future offspring of the diverse groups that were created by the curse. Some of the dispersed tribes had square jaws, others oval faces. Some, thin lips, others thick. Some, large vocal boxes, others small. We do not know the “depth” of the curse, but we do know that the purpose of the curse was to make the tribes “strange” to each other. Prejudices began to cause the groups to disassociate. Great migrations occurred. People clustered with those most like themselves.
From the days of the Tower of Babel till today, our present reality has been in place. The peoples of the Earth are still divided by language barriers and physical differences. Large weather systems still sweep across the continents, bringing blessings and mayhem. The immense oceans still hold the remnants of Noah’s Flood. Men and women, still, must sweat to garner their daily bread. The diversities derived from Babel continually plague the planet. Wars and rumors of wars are endemic. The various tribes still mistrust those who are different. But, praise God, during this reality, Christ appeared and He gave us a profound hope of better realities to come.
As we have discussed, our present reality has its mysterious “curves”. Our best thinkers are diligently trying to unravel these baffling forces and components of our time period. Someday, those of us who are saved, will rise above this reality and see what is behind these “curves”.
During this era, we have received many visitors from Heaven. Moses met God on Mount Sinai. Daniel talked with angels. Jesus became a man and lived among us. But, for most of us modern earthlings, God seems to be veiled. We Christians feel His presence when we pray and worship, but we eagerly look forward to future realities where the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be wonderfully accessible to us.
At the end of this “Here and Now” reality, an epoch the Bible calls the “Day of the Lord” begins. This period over-arches three realities. Its first 7 years are the last 7 years of the “Here and Now” reality. Its next 1000 years span the entire “Millennium” reality. And, its last days are the first days of the “New Heaven and Earth” reality. Interestingly, we who live in the present reality do not know when this epoch will begin. The Apostle Peter said...
...the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night... (KJV II Peter 3:10)
...no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. (NLT Matthew 24:36-39)
God has not revealed, to us, when the “Day of the Lord” will begin. He has left the timing “iffy”, to keep Christians ever vigilant. He wants us to live as though the “Day of the Lord” could start at any time. Even though the folks in Noah’s day were warned by Noah of the impending flood, even though they saw the completion of the ark, even though they saw the in-gathering of the animals, as they boarded ship, still, they refused to believe. Just so, after thousands of years filled with persistent warnings voiced by true-believers, most of mankind refuses to believe the Bible’s Message. These unbelievers will be caught off-guard when the “Day of the Lord” starts and Jesus comes to Earth again.
The first event of the “Day of the Lord” is called the “Rapture”. This is not a Bible word, but we Christians use the term, because it describes how we will feel when this exciting event occurs. Unexpectedly, Jesus will return to Earth. and He will sweep all true-believers off the planet. The Apostle Paul wrote...
...we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. (NLT I Thessalonians 4:14-18)
Did You grasp the details? The deceased saved of all ages are currently in a “Pre-Millennium Heaven”, described below. They will appear with Jesus in the clouds. Then, Jesus will call their bodies from their graves to be united with their heavenly bodies. Why? Well, when Jesus was resurrected, He did not leave His earthly body in the tomb. His body was revived and transformed into His Heavenly body. Also, the Christians alive at the moment of the Rapture will take their transformed bodies with them to meet the Lord. So, it seems fitting that those believers now dwelling in the “Pre-Millennium Heaven” should be re-united with their earthly bodies.
What a shocking time this will be. All true-believers will rise to meet Christ in the sky. You have probably heard Christians sing, “I’ll Fly Away”. Indeed, they will. The Apostle Paul added this information...
...let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. (NLT I Corinthians 15:51-53)
Can You imagine the global upset when, suddenly, all the Christians are gone. The best Church congregations will be left with no members. Of course, some “phony churches” will continue their normal activities, for they were never really Christians. But, who will explain all the “missing persons”? If You are not a Christian when this Rapture occurs, all Your believing friends will be nowhere to be found. You and others that are “left behind” will give very serious consideration to the Bible. And, fortunately, many will come to faith through this astounding event.
Christians refer to the first 7 years of the “Day of the Lord” as “The Tribulation”, because this period will witness world-wide catastrophes. In one of his letters to the Church at Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul gave this sequence of events: first, the Church will be “stolen” off the Earth by Jesus Christ, as if by a “thief in the night”. Next, a season of “peace and safety” will ensue. Finally, the Tribulation period will end in “sudden destruction” under the wrath of God. Paul wrote...
...you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
(NIV I Thessalonians 5:2-11)
As Paul said, we Christians, who are the “children of the light”, do not need to fear this period. “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath.” Whether we are “awake”, are alive, or “sleep”, are deceased, when the Rapture occurs and the Tribulation begins, we will live out this era “together” with Jesus.
The Tribulation will be dominated by a charismatic, ruthless man known to Bible students as the “Antichrist”. This era will be divided into 2 equal parts. During the first half of the period, the Antichrist will lead all the nations of the world into a one-world government. He will become the dictator of all mankind. At first, he will seem to be successful. A tentative peace will be put in place. But, new converts to Christianity will irritate him. In fact, all religions will provoke him. He will allow the Jews to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem and re-institute their sacrifice system. He will try to be friends with Muslims, Hindus, and every other sect in the world. But, after 3 and 1/2 years, with the urgings of Satan, he will decide to eradicate all existing religions and will insist that every man, woman and child worship him. He will step into the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and declare, “I am god. Worship me!” In the words of the Apostle Paul, the Antichrist...
...will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.
(NLT II Thessalonians 2:4)
The next 3 and 1/2 years will be filled with catastrophes. The period will be reminiscent of the time when Judgment after Judgment fell on Egypt before the Pharaoh capitulated and let Israel go. The calamities, disease, and mayhem of this time are described in the pages of the last book of the Bible, The Revelation. The Antichrist, with Satan’s goading, will become a madman, seeking to murder everyone who refuses to deny Jesus and worship him.
Most of the individuals who will become Christians, in the wake of the Rapture and the appearance of the Antichrist, will be martyred. The Apostle John, in the Revelation, calls the Antichrist “the beast”, and tells us of this edict that the Antichrist will institute...
...as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
KJV The Revelation 13:15)
Many Jews and Christians will take refuge in Jerusalem. The Antichrist will react violently. He will lead the armies of the world against the Holy City. In his prophetic vision, the Apostle John saw 3 evil spirits. He said...
...they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (KJV The Revelation 16:14)
This international army will join the Antichrist for the attack on Jerusalem. In the Revelation, John noted that the Antichrist...
...gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
(KJV The Revelation 16:16)
Centuries ago, Zechariah saw this army sacking Jerusalem. And, he saw Christ returning from Heaven to intervene...
Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you! I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped...Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. (NLT Zechariah 14:1-3)
Christ will annihilate the Antichrist and the heathen armies in the valley of Armageddon. In his Revelation, John saw Jesus, seated on a white horse, leading the charge...
...I saw the beast [the Antichrist], and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken...[and] cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain... (KJV The Revelation 19:19-21)
Once again, great sin will mark the end of a reality. Jesus will begin His reign over planet Earth and all mankind. The “Day of the Lord” will continue in the “Millennium” reality, discussed below.
5. The “Paradise” Reality
From the “Pre-Flood” era to, approximately, the moment when Jesus ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, “Paradise” existed as a parallel reality to the others we have catalogued here. It may still exist, but most Christians believe Jesus took its inhabitants to Heaven with Him when He returned there. (Psalm 68:18 and Ephesians 4:8) Its first resident was, probably, righteous Abel, after he was murdered by Cain. From thence, it became the home of all who died as true-believers, until Jesus led its citizens to “Pre-Millennium Heaven”, discussed below.
Jesus spoke of Paradise. He told of 2 men who had died, a rich man and a beggar. (Luke 16:20-31) The rich man went to Hell. The poor man went to “Abraham’s Bosom”, another name for Paradise. The rich man could see Abraham and the former beggar afar off. He could communicate with them, but he could not approach them, because Hell and Paradise were separated by a “great gulf”. Even so, it is interesting to note that Hell and Paradise were within sight of one another.
As Jesus suffered on His Cross, one of the criminals who was executed with Him became a believer. He claimed Jesus as his Lord...
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
(NIV Luke 23:43)
“Paradise” was, probably, like the Garden of Eden and served as a pleasant resting place for those Old Testament saints who were awaiting the Incarnation, Ministry, Sacrifice, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ.
6. The "Pre-Millennium Heaven" Reality
Since Jesus’ return to Heaven, all true-believers go to be with Him in “Pre-Millennium Heaven” when they die. The Apostle Paul wrote...
...we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
(NLT II Corinthians 5:6-8)
And, when we see Him, we will be transformed. Our new bodies will be amazing. The Apostle John wrote...
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (NIV I John 3:2)
The “Pre-Millennium Heaven” reality is like a festive reunion where the Family of God awaits the future realities our Father has scheduled. Old Testament saints such as Moses and Abraham and David are there. New Testament saints such as Peter and Paul and John are there, now. Perhaps, Your parents are there, watching and waiting for You, praying that You will choose to join them. All the residents of this reality are eager to see the “Day of the Lord” and the start of the “Millennium” reality.
7. The "Hell" Reality
This is the infamous, very negative reality that has existed in parallel with the other realities mentioned here. But, unlike “Paradise”, “Hell” is still a very busy place and will remain so forever. Christ often spoke of “Hell”. In Matthew 22:13, He called it “outer darkness”, a place where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” In Matthew 23:33, He called it a place of “damnation”. In Mark 9:43, He referred to it as a place where there is a “fire that never shall be quenched”, and He described the body of a person who goes there as a “worm” that “dieth not”. In Luke 16:34, He depicted a resident of “Hell” as “being in torments”. Contrary to the thinking of some, Hell is not a “honky-tonk” where bad boys and girls fritter away Eternity. It is terrifying to contemplate living in Hell, yet, most of the human race is headed there. Jesus taught...
Enter [Heaven] through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction [Hell], and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (NIV Matthew 7:13-14)
8. The "Millennium" Reality
For centuries Christians have prayed, “...thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth...”. In so doing, we have been praying for the “Millennium” reality, when Jesus returns to Earth and reigns for a thousand years. The details of this era are given in The Revelation, chapter 20. At the onset of the period, Satan will be bound and jailed in a bottomless pit until the last days of that era. When he is freed, Satan will lead a rebellion against King Jesus. Of course, he will lose, and he will be cast into the region of Hell known as the “Lake of Fire”, never to trouble mankind again.
As mentioned earlier, the “Day of the Lord” will begin 7 years before the end of the “Here and Now” reality. It will continue throughout the entire “Millennium” reality and end at the onset of the “New Heaven and Earth” reality.
Who will live during this “Millennium” period? Christians speculate. For sure, the saints who have been waiting in “Pre-Millennium Heaven” for this reality to dawn. And, any souls on Earth who have survived “The Tribulation”, which will close-out the “Here and Now” reality. This group will include both saved believers and unsaved non-believers. Further, some Christians believe that the “innocents” who died in former realities will be resurrected to live in this reality, having their chance to choose Jesus as their Savior. This group would include aborted babies, persons born without comprehension, and, possibly, those who never heard of Jesus during their lifetimes.
...I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (NLT Matthew 19:28)
Won’t it be glorious to see the planet “made new”, looking as it did when Adam first opened his eyes?
Isaiah was given a thrilling picture of this reality. Speaking of the citizens of the “Millennium”, he wrote...
...they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (KJV Isaiah 2:4)
and...
In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. (NLT Isaiah 11:6-9)
Eden will be restored. The underground irrigation system will once again water the plants. All creatures will again be vegetarians. Plants will produce bountiful, delicious fruits.
Jesus will set His throne in Jerusalem. Then, the Apostles will be seated. In The Revelation, the Apostle John wrote...
...I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast [the Antichrist], neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (KJV The Revelation 20:4-6)
It is imperative that You resolve to be in “the first resurrection”. It will be exhilarating. To be included in this spectacular event, You must be “born again”, as we have discussed earlier. Those who are born twice, physically and spiritually, die only once, physically. But, those who are born only once, who never experience the second, spiritual birth, will die a “second death” when they are cast into Hell. The wages, the pay-off, for harboring unforgiven sins will be the “second death”.
John separated those who will “reign” with Christ during the “Millennium” into 3 groups: those who were beheaded for their testimony about Jesus, those who were beheaded for believing the Word of God, and those who had not worshiped the Antichrist. This latter group will be huge. The spirit of Antichrist has been around throughout human history. When one opposes the way of the world, he or she is refusing to worship the Antichrist. True-believers have consistently rejected the marks of worldliness. Sure, there will be those who will have to confront the evil Antichrist face to face, but he has been opposed, in spirit, by believers of every era.
Because Christians hold diverse opinions about the makeup of the “Millennium” population, I offer, here, my speculations, in order to highlight issues that are debated among the saved. Only God knows the whole truth. Certainly, the “resurrected saints”, all of us who have trusted in Jesus, will inhabit this reality. I do not believe that we will be male or female in our resurrected forms. Hence, we will not procreate. Jesus said...
...The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
(KJV Luke 20:34-36)
Even though the resurrected saints will not have any children in this era, the quotations from Isaiah, given above, indicate that there will be little ones present. These are the offspring of the ordinary humans who survive the 7 year Tribulation period at the end of the “Here and Now” reality. And, as we mentioned earlier, it may be that the innocents of prior realities are given a new life and a chance to make Jesus their King. This would add many souls to the population. Also, note that in chapter 65 of his book, Isaiah speaks of some of the “Millennium” citizens dying of old age. That cannot be any of the resurrected saints, for Jesus said, “Neither can they die any more.” Further, at the end of this reality, many citizens rebel against King Jesus and die in the ensuing battle. Certainly, none of these rebels will be resurrected saints. So, we must conclude that the Earth is inhabited by an interesting mixture: King Jesus, resurrected saints, and ordinary human beings.
Those who believe that the innocents will be given a second life, during the “Millennium”, point out that this would be proper. They reason: If a resurrected innocent chooses to be a follower of Jesus, he or she will move on, ultimately, to the next Heavenly reality, the “New Heaven and Earth”. But, if an innocent rejects Jesus, he or she will end up in Hell. This arrangement would assure that every citizen of the “New Heaven and Earth” freely chose Jesus as his or her King.
Many of the ordinary humans of the “Millennium” era will become Christians under the tutelage of Jesus and His resurrected saints, who are called “priests of God”, because they will endeavor to lead the unsaved of the “Millennium” into saving faith. But, staggering as it is, even after meeting King Jesus and fraternizing with His impressive cadre of priests and enjoying the glory of the “Millennium” paradise, some will refuse to acknowledge the authority of Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. They will join Satan in a rebellion against the Lord. How can this be? Well, remember, Satan and all the evil spirits were once angels in Heaven, in the presence of the Trinity, and they refused to have the Godhead reign over them.
As we have noted, at the end of the “Millennium”, Satan is freed and is allowed to woo the citizens of the era into rebellion against Jesus and the priests...
...Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations — called Gog and Magog — in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle — a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
(NLT The Revelation 20:7-10)
After this defeat, Satan will never again be a problem for mankind. Only the saved will be alive on the Earth. The moment for the final Judgment will arrive. John provided an eye-witness testimony to that event...
...I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
(KJV The Revelation 20:11-15)
Did You know that the events of Your life are being recorded? John said that all your works and thoughts are being recorded in “books” that will be opened on Judgment Day. Now, remember that just one unforgiven sin will send You to Hell. This is frightening, until You study the Bible and realize that every transgression You have ever committed, every nasty thought You have ever had can be blotted out of those “books” by the Sacrificial Blood Jesus shed on the Cross. In the book of Acts, Luke recorded words the Apostle Peter preached in Jerusalem. Peter asked his listeners to consider...
...those things, which God before [in the Old Testament Scriptures] had shewed [revealed] by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (KJV Acts 3:18-21)
How exciting! Peter asked his hearers (and that includes You and me) to repent and be converted so that our sins will be blotted out of those “books” that are to be used on Judgment Day. Now, if all Your sins are blotted out of those “books”, and, then, You are judged only by what remains, only the good things You have done will be used to judge You. Hallelujah, praise God! There will be nothing in those “books” to condemn You!
The epic battle between Good and Evil will be over. All the beings who have opposed Almighty God will have been defeated and condemned to Hell forever. The “Day of the Lord” will continue into the next reality.
9. The "New Heaven and Earth" Reality
What happens after the "Millennium"? As we documented earlier, all the unsaved humans, Satan, and all his evil spirits will be consigned to their eternal punishments at the end of that thousand year reality.
In his second epistle, the Apostle Peter said a final reality will dawn at this future moment...
...the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
(NLT II Peter 3:10-13)
We noted earlier that at the onset of the “Millennium”, the Earth and its atmosphere will be “regenerated”. The whole of nature will become like that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden. Even though this paradise will seem, to the saved, to be a fine place in which to dwell for all Eternity, God has an even more impressive “ultimate” reality planned for His saints. The “Millennium” Earth will bear the scars of the last battle with Satan and his band of rebels. Perhaps, there will still be other reminders of the long, vicious history of the planet, such as the “swords that will be beaten into plowshares.” (Isaiah 2:4) Whatever His reasons, God, in His infinite wisdom, has decided to incinerate Earth and replace it with a “New Heaven and Earth”.
Did You note, here, that Peter called the “Day of the Lord” the “Day of God”? He said You and I should be “looking forward to the day of God...On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.” Give Yourself to Jesus, and You will eagerly anticipate this future event, for it heralds the start of the “New Heaven and Earth” reality.
This dramatic inferno will be the climax of the “Day of the Lord”. With great noise, the very elements that make up the material world will melt. The Earth and the structures men have built upon it will be burned. The whole of the “Millennium” reality will be dissolved. So, Peter encouraged us to look forward to the “New Heaven and Earth” reality, which will be filled with righteousness. Jesus taught...
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
(KJV Matthew 5:6)
This promise will be fulfilled in the “New Heaven and Earth” reality.
The Apostle John, in his recording of The Revelation, gave us more details...
...I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
(KJV The Revelation 21:1)
Since the Great Flood of Noah’s day, the seas have covered a large portion of the Earth, but John noticed that the seas will not be a part of the New Earth.
...I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
(KJV The Revelation 21:2)
Often, the Bible refers to the whole body of true-believers of all time as the “Bride of Christ”. Carrying that terminology further, the Bible says that the Bride of Christ, the Church, will be united with Christ at the “marriage of the Lamb” (The Revelation 19:7), up in Heaven. In harmony with that festive occasion, the New Jerusalem will also be decked out as a bride, in gleaming white, adorned with precious jewels.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
(KJV The Revelation 21:3)
This event will mark a huge departure from the nature of all the previous realities. God will place His Tabernacle and His Throne in the midst of the saved of mankind. The “veil” that has hidden God from man in most of the previous realities will be gone. The redeemed will see God’s full splendor and be able to approach the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, freely.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (KJV The Revelation 21:4)
The curse that chased Adam and Eve from Eden and weighed on mankind through so many eras will be fully and permanently removed.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
(KJV The Revelation 21:5)
Everything will be new. There will be nothing for archaeologists to examine. Former things will be a distant memory.
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
(KJV The Revelation 21:6)
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega, the last. We might say that Jesus is everything from A to Z. One way to look at the succession of realities, through which the saved have passed, is to view them as a process through which God has created living souls that are suitable for an eternal life in the presence of the Trinity.
All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
(NLT The Revelation 21:7)
God made us “in His image”. He wanted us to have the experiences through which we have lived. All the troubles and emotions that we have encountered, as we have walked the narrow path to Glory, will culminate in a precious relationship with our Father.
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (NIV The Revelation 21:8)
We who are saved will not experience the “second death”, because we have been born twice, as we discussed earlier. Still, it is alarming to read this list of sins, for surely You and I have committed some of them. Remember, one unforgiven sin will cause You to suffer this second death, but, if You take Your sins to Jesus, and, in prayer, place them on Him, He...
...is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (NIV I John 1:9)
Being sin-free, we will escape the second death.
One of the...angels...said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (NIV The Revelation 21:9-10)
Often, the Bible speaks of Jesus as the Bridegroom and the Church as His Bride. In this context, the Church is the assemblage of all true-believers of all time, both Old Testament saints and New Testament saints. Now, in this passage, the New Jerusalem is called the Lamb’s wife, the Bride. Is the Bride the Church or is the Bride the New Jerusalem? If we reflect on the matter, we understand. The Holy City will be composed of 2 entities: wonderful structures and wonderful citizens. Both are needed to create a Holy City. The Church will provide the inhabitants. This passage depicts the structures God has prepared for His Church. As Jesus said...
The Church and the structures will be lovely. In the famous “wedding passage” in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church at Ephesus, Paul saw the bride and the bridegroom as echoes of the relationship between Christ, the Bridegroom, and the Church, the Bride. He wrote...
...husbands...love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. (NLT Ephesians 5:25-27)
So, we see the Church that inhabits the New Jerusalem will be without blemish. Likewise, John, in the following verse from The Revelation, was awed by the beauty of the structures of the Holy City...
It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
(NIV The Revelation 21:11)
You have seen beautiful displays of precious stones here on Earth. But, the sight of this Holy City will be dazzling. The whole city will gleam as a perfect, huge jewel. And, everywhere You look, You will see gorgeous geometric patterns of precious materials. In our present bodies, probably, we could not survive in such splendor, but, then, all the saved residents will be in resurrection bodies. The city John saw in his vision was breathtaking. It...
...had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.
(NIV The Revelation 21:12-13)
These 12 gates on the sides of this four-square city will be much larger than any ever built in prior realities. Each gate will be beautifully embossed with the name of one of the 12 tribes of Israel and attended by a welcoming angel.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
(KJV The Revelation 21:14)
The foundation of the city will be 12 segments set to frame the 12 gates. They will be named for the 12 Apostles. I presume that the name “Judas” will not be found there. Probably, it will be replaced by “Matthias”, who was selected to replace Judas after the Resurrection of Jesus. (Acts 21:6)
John continued...
The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles.
(NLT The Revelation 21:15-16)
The city will be a cube, sitting on the New Earth. Consider its magnitude. Mount Everest, our highest mountain, is about 29000 feet high. It rises less than 6 miles above sea level. Generally, we think of outer space beginning at about 50 miles above the surface of the Earth. But, this city will reach far into outer space. Will we need spacesuits to visit its highest points? I doubt it. We will be in resurrection bodies, designed for the new environment. In fact, I look forward to visiting far distant objects in the New Heavens without wearing protective attire.
Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick...The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were made of pearls — each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.
(NLT The Revelation 21:17-21)
The array of precious metal and stones will be without precedent. Of especial noteworthiness will be the pearl gates. Only God could have conceived of pearls this big. And, it will be delightful to see the transparent, golden streets.
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. (NIV The Revelation 21:22-23)
The Father and the Son will be, somehow, the Temple of the Holy City. Wherever they go, they will be the Holy of Holies. The Holy Spirit will continue to dwell within each saved soul. They will be temples of the Holy Spirit. The Father and Son will emit great quantities of brilliant light; so much, that they will illuminate everything on the New Earth. This hints at a novel attribute of the final reality. In our present “Here and Now” reality, the brightest light cannot illuminate sites on the other side of the Earth. But, in the last reality, the light of God will circumnavigate the globe. Perhaps, it will reflect off a new layer of atmosphere that encircles the Earth. Or, ponder this: if You study Genesis, You will note that God made day and night before He created the sun and the moon. For sure, God knows how to illuminate the whole Earth simultaneously.
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. (NIV The Revelation 21:24)
Some citizens of this last reality will live outside of Jerusalem. Groups of the saved will form kingdoms, for we read, here, of the kings of the Earth visiting the Holy City.
Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. (NLT The Revelation 21:25-26)
Many things will be different from what we experience in our present reality. No one will place a lock anywhere. There will be no crooks there. The gates will be ornamental and will never be closed for defensive purposes. There will never be an attack from an evil clan.
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.
(NIV The Revelation 21:27)
Only the saved will live in this new city. There will be no coarse language. No porn. No puffed-up elite; just those dear souls whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
(NIV The Revelation 22:1-2)
Perhaps, You have visited a clean, clear mountain stream. If so, You must have felt compelled to taste of it. Well, this “water of life” will be even more alluring. It will flow from the throne of God. The main street of the city will be a divided pathway with the pure river coursing through the median strip. It will be wonderful to walk along this thoroughfare. Here, we will see the “tree of life”. It may be something like a banyan fig tree with multiple trunks supporting a maze of lovely branches bearing leaves and fruit. And, since it will occupy both sides of the river, its foliage will span the river, making the whole median a pleasant place to enjoy the fruit the tree produces. It will be a huge tree, covering a vast area, for millions will come to gather its produce. Apparently, our heavenly bodies will need nourishment. We will drink the living water. We will eat of the 12 fruits, and, perhaps, we will drink a tea made from the leaves of the tree to maintain our well-being.
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. (KJV The Revelation 22:3-4)
The curse that has plagued mankind since the days of Adam will be erased. Gone will be the predatory behaviors of former realities. No creature will eat the meat of another. Gone will be the relentless struggle for shelter and food. Working for the Lord will be exhilarating. Gone will be the language barriers imposed at Babel. Communication will be easy. None of Earth’s residents will seem strange to us. Diseases and disabilities will be gone. Everyone will be healthy. Gone will be the barriers and jealousies imposed by sexuality. All will be close friends. And, each of us will regard the Lord as our closest Friend. The veil that separates us from God, now, will be lifted. We will see His face, and, in some artful way, we will bear His name on our foreheads. This will be a beautiful seal testifying that we belong to Him.
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
(NIV The Revelation 22:5)
What a privilege it will be to live and reign over the New Earth, with the Lord, forever and ever!
Yes, God created these nine realities with His ultimate goal in mind. He developed this plan to bring into Heaven a people who, while enduring the tribulations of the Earth, chose Him to be their Lord. While You have breath, You, too, can decide to place Your faith in Jesus. He wants to Boost You into the “New Heaven and Earth”.
