Psalms 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
The phrase “And they lived happily ever after” will be literally fulfilled in the new heavens and the new earth! It may be just a dream in this broken-down, cursed earth, but it will be reality in the eternal home of those who love and obey God.
Today is the last and final part of our series of talks on heaven and eternity. We will not be able to cover everything we need or want to know about our grand future in Christ, but we will be able to have a picture in our minds and hearts as we end this discussion. I trust that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, you are getting more and more excited about your glorious future because of Jesus Christ. I am praying that you are being inspired to love God more and serve God better as you anticipate your soon entrance into his eternal kingdom.
The Lord is preparing a glorious city, the true New Jerusalem, for himself and his people. It is in the heavens right now, but it will come down to earth. God will live forever on a perfect, renewed earth. And you will be there and enjoy life forever with God and the people who loved and obeyed him while on the broken-down, present earth. Being alive and free with God, his people, and the glorious new (renewed) creation means fulfillment of all your hopes, dreams, and desires. You and I will be endlessly thrilled and deeply satisfied by the glorious life we will have in the capital of the new heavens and earth, the New Jerusalem. It is the ultimate upgrade of life in every conceivable way. But though we will live in the ultra-glorious holy city, the New Jerusalem, we will be interacting and enjoying with people from many nations who will visit the capital. We will, doubtless, also travel outside of the capital city and visit nations. Some, very possibly, will be able to visit other planets, galaxies, and universes. We will have all the time in the world to explore and enjoy the super-upgraded, renewed heavens and earth.
But our greatest joy in our glorious future is to be able to see God’s face and to talk to God. We will also be able to talk and have great times with great men and women of God in the Bible and in history. And of course, our family members and friends who also lived for God during their short lives on the old, broken-down earth will be there. We will recognize each other, remember the great times we had together in our lives on the present earth, and build even stronger relationships forever. We will also develop friendships with new people we will meet there.
Redeemed humanity will progress in its culture on the new earth. We will advance in our knowledge, skills, and achievements. We will build, create, innovate, travel, interact, and more. If fallen, sinful humanity was able to advance human civilization to the level we are in today in a few thousand years’ time, imagine what perfected, glorified people can accomplish in millions and trillions of years. With God at the center of our lives and relationships, with a perfect and glorious physical creation that surrounds us, and with the new and unlimited leaps in creativity and civilization, the sky is the limit for your future and mine. Yes, we will live happily ever after! And when we reach great heights of joy that we think in our minds that “it can’t get any better than this”, it will. In God’s presence, there is fulness of joy. At his right hand are pleasures forevermore!
Lathur Badoy