2 Peter 3:13 But in keeping with his [God’s] promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

“You only live once, so make the most of it”. That’s an advice we hear from people every now and then. It’s a wrong advice based on a wrong idea. The Lord says that we do not live only once. There is an “afterlife”. We will continue to be around after we die. In fact, the next life is the real life in every way. Today, we want to continue our short series of studies on heaven and eternity (after a happy interruption of some weeks). Eternity is a subject area that is of great importance and consequence. Satan, the enemy of our souls, has spread so much disinformation on heaven and hell. As a result, many people have been fooled into believing that hell is not as bad it is really is, and that heaven is not as great as the Lord says it is. We are now on part 2 of our exploration into the Holy Scriptures (the Bible) so that we will see what God says about our grand future in Christ. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to open our minds and hearts to the glorious destination of all of God’s true children. With God’s enabling, we will see further glimpses of the great God that we will spend eternity with and the great place we will enjoy forever with him. If you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, the new heavens and the new earth will be your eternal home. You will be richly comforted there. You will be super-generously compensated and rewarded there. Your God-given desires will find their greatest fulfillment and unending satisfaction with God and God’s people in the new heavens and new earth. Your home for endless days will be a real place. You will live in houses, walk or drive on streets, eat real food, enjoy great music, and spend time with family and friends who love & obey God. You will do fulfilling and satisfying work, travel, be filled with love from God and people. You will create, learn, build, play sports, dance, and laugh (yes there will be jokes and much fun in heaven). But they will all be on a much higher, better level. And there will nothing that is negative, harmful, depressing, and the like. There will be no poverty, no sickness, no pain, no crying, no sorrow or tears. The Lord will make all things new (Revelation 21:1-5). But you need to prepare yourself so that you can live in the new heavens and the new earth forever. You cannot live a lifestyle of disobedience and compromise in this age and expect that you will be welcomed into heaven. No. The Bible clearly says that only those who do God’s will can make it to heaven (Hebrews 12:14; 1 John 2:17) If you are discouraged in your Christian life, you will be inspired and empowered to stand strong and faithful until the end because an unbelievably glorious future awaits you. The days of comfort, compensation, reward, and ultimate fulfillment are almost here (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)! Heaven will come down to earth. And you will live in it and enjoy it with God and God’s people forever (Revelation 21:2-4!   Lathur Badoy