There is another good news that is seldom elaborated on by evangelists. Most of them talk about salvation and the resurrection of Jesus then assure us of eternal life.
Few listeners dare ask: what will exactly happen when Christ returns? This is the most exciting event that we should look forward to.
In Pastor Shawn Boonstra’s “The Presence” lecture series, he said that as we are taken up during the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), we shall enjoy God’s company for a while in heaven where He will open our eyes. We will understand everything fully so that we can participate in Judgment day, after which we shall live with Him on the New Earth.
Yes, our final destination is EARTH, a renewed earth.That’s the reason He will take everyone with his BODY AND SOUL during the Rapture, not just his soul.
What does the Book of Revelation say about the New Jerusalem, the Beloved City?
As soon as Christ’s feet touch Mount of Olives, it will be flattened. He and the faithful will be a sight to behold, coming down from heaven.
When Jesus’ light shines forth from the city, the wicked will rise from their graves (this is the second resurrection, one for the damned) and they will join Satan in trying to overtake the city. This is the last rebellion against God in history, with the damned assaulting the city of God from the four corners of the earth. All those outside the city, along with their leader Lucifer, will be devoured by fire from heaven. “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
Now picture this: The new Jerusalem, the Holy City, “shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with 12 gates, and with 12 angels at the gates….
The city was laid out like a square,….12,000 stadia (around 1,400 miles) in length, and as wide and high as it is long…and it was 144 cubits thick…The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone…(Revelation 2:11-19) Note that it’s in the past tense because the apostle John was describing his vision.
There will be “a river of the water of life 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 12 crops of fruit every month.
“There will be no tears in this new earth anymore, no sickness, no violence, no curse, no death. Remember Jesus’ promise in the gospels that He has come to prepare a place for us? That in His Father’s house, there are many mansions?
So it’s not what some fear it would be – just playing the harp and hovering in space. We will see God face to face. He will live among us… imagine this…we, His humble servants, most beloved of His creation, that He bought us with His blood.
Not only that. We will live with our loved ones who had gone ahead of us and whose separation from us caused so much anguish – that is, if they had been faithful to God, too. There will be a grand reunion in the new city of God. Further we shall be with friends and the “loves” of our life but it won’t be an exclusive kind of love anymore. In the resurrection of the dead, we will be like angels. Agape love will prevail.
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”- Romans 8:18
Filipino Journeys 