Eternity
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
from everlasting to everlasting:
and let all the people say, Amen.
Praise ye the LORD.
There is not a lot about eternity in the Bible because the main focus of the Bible is about the 7,000 year second life of the earth intended to be ruled by Christ through man. What happened before and what will happen after the 7,000 years is generally spoken of, but not detailed to the extent of the 7,000 year plan (Restoration through the Millennium). I am sure it would be a bit much to grasp with a brain that fits inside a cantaloupe skin, but let’s try.
It's Not About Time
First of all, in man’s mind, eternity must go both ways, backwards and forward. How could the element of time exist and not proceed infinitely in both directions? But since it really can’t go backwards to a forever that does not end, eternity must be something high and lofty in God’s mind that is beyond us, something that encompasses the dimension of time.
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is Holy; ……
So, God inhabits a dimension called eternity which is beyond our limited concept of four dimensions, plus we are not holy yet. Add to this the prophecy features of the Bible plus the things shown to John in the spirit in Revelation and Paul in II Corinthians 12 and we at least know there is a fifth dimension. There are probably many dimensions (how about 7?) which we know nothing about.
Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
This means that one of God’s names,
I AM,
is literally true.
Exodus 3:14
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM:
and he said,
Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you.
No matter when God spoke or speaks, one of his names is I AM. OK, I am wandering off the reservation here, so we are down to another matter of faith, without which it is impossible to please God.
I
believe what I just wrote, but I am thankful that understanding eternity is not
a doctrinal issue. Just to know that
eternity forward is where I will dwell with Jesus Christ gives me plenty of
motivation to seek His will. I try to
win battles against my flesh, strive lawfully to please Him, and prepare for
the big test results to gain rewards from the Lord himself.
It's About The Kingdom
So, what does the Bible teach us about eternity forward after the millennium, the great white throne judgment, and the new heavens and earth? It teaches some really big concepts without a lot of details, but here goes.
The kingdom of heaven begins on earth and proceeds into the heavens, which have always been meant for habitation by powers ordained of God (angels, Lucifer, Adam, Israel, Christ and his bride).
The body of Christ will rule the heavens from the home base of the new Jerusalem where “the throne of God and of the Lamb” is/are (?) located (Revelation 22:3). Christian kings and lords will rule over the dominions of heaven as the angels do now (Psalm 103:19-22).
The fallen angels are with Satan (Lucifer) in the eternal lake of fire at the end of the millennium and the faithful angels agree with God’s plan and relinquish their dominions when told to.
We will understand the just and righteous laws of God and govern accordingly. It will be just as Jesus would rule without us.
Christ will always rule the earth through Israel. Earthlings will have to come to Israel for spiritual and physical blessings as has always been intended by God since Abraham's time.
The earth will be full of natural-bodied, sinless humans reproducing like rabbits because it doesn’t hurt any longer and all the children behave themselves. People probably reach a relative age of 33 (Christ’s age when he died and maybe Adam’s relative age when he was created) and then stop aging (just speculation). But they may reproduce forever.
There is no telling how large the new earth will be as it will have to eventually accommodate quite the population. It may even expand as time goes on or there may be multiple earths, the total of which would still be called “earth”.
new Jerusalem
Many smarter than me teach that the new Jerusalem will be above the earth because the throne of David, as eternal king of Israel, will be on earth in Jerusalem. The bride of Christ will then rule the heavens from the new Jerusalem which is possibly above the new earth and David will rule the earth from his throne in Jerusalem, Israel.
It seems to me at this point of my learning that the new Jerusalem could be on the new earth just because its name is Jerusalem and new is an adjective description of it.
Either way, that’s where I am headed - to the street of gold, a mansion, and those gates of pearl where the throne of God and of the Lamb is/are (?) - Revelation 21 & 22. I think maybe one throne with the body, soul, and spirit of God manifest in Jesus Christ sitting on that throne in the day of God.
I Corinthians 15:28
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
Colossians 2:9
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Infinity
The body of Christ will not reproduce; it is a fixed number of people at rapture time. It cannot increase because we will be as the angels in heaven which neither marry nor are given in marriage.
Matthew 22:30
For in the resurrection they neither marry,
nor are given in marriage,
but are as the angels of God in heaven.
No reproduction is going to take place outside of marriages. We will be married to Christ and be his helpmeet, as Eve was for Adam.
Genesis 2:18
And the Lord God said,
It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him.
We will be his co-ruling queen, as Eve was for Adam.
Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them,
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:
We will be as angels (more about that later), and probably 33 relative years old as well.
Now, relax and think about this for awhile:
As the body and bride of Christ remain constant in number, Israelites and Gentiles with natural bodies who depend on the tree of life will be reproducing. This provides an ever-expanding population as promised in
Isaiah 9:7
of the increase of his government and peace
there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, ……
So the new heavens are going to be needed for future habitations. The general population continually increases and the body/bride of Christ remains constant. As time goes on, you will become rarer and rarer, and more and more powerful. You will be recognized by your crowns, gold, silver, precious stones, and clean, white linen.
There will be more and more people and universal habitations to govern, but the same number of rulers. You may start out as 1 out of 10, but you are going to become 1 out of a thousand, then 1 out of a million, then 1 out of a billion, then 1 out of a trillion, and eventually you will rule your own universe(s) and it continues on forever like this.
Quite a bit better than the kings and lords on earth today, wouldn’t you say? Quite the rewards for a little bit of sacrifice on earth, I would say!
Your Preparation For The Kingdom
OK, back to earth. Do you see why the word of the kingdom pointing you to approval at the judgment seat of Christ is so important?
For the pleasure of God who wants you to rule and reign with Jesus Christ forever and forever, do something for Christ every chance you get. Substitute a good work for every potential bad or useless work that you can, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1).
What Christ did for you was unreasonable. He only seeks reasonable service in return which He desires to reward with eternal gifts. Again, as the rightly divided word of truth says:
II Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;
that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
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