Often in my life I have heard a Christian declare, "I would want to be a Christian even if Christianity were not true." In other words, the temporal benefits of Christianity are so great that they make it worthwhile even if there is no such thing as eternal life in heaven. But Paul says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (1 Cor. 15:19). How do we account for the difference in perspective? Paul lived under severe persecution. A Christian in modern America does not. He need not endure continual ugly opposition to his faith or continual danger of torture and martyrdom.

 

  But does Paul mean that there are no earthly benefits in being a Christian? Certainly not.

  Yet notice that all these benefits (and many more we could list) depend on Christianity being true. Without the power of God there can be no love and no victory over sin beyond what is available outside of Christianity, and without the Holy Spirit there can be no supernatural assistance and happiness. Thus, Paul says that if Christ be not raised, our faith is vain (1 Cor.. 15:17).

But great as the temporal benefits of Christianity may be, they pale next to the eternal benefits.

Eternal Benefits in Being a Christian

A Glorified Body

 

  The Bible teaches that when Christ returns to gather the church, all dead believers will, at His spoken command, rise from the grave (John 5:25-29). Then all believers who are alive will be caught up into the air together with the raised dead and the whole church will meet Christ (1 Thess. 4:16-17). At the moment of resurrection or rapture, each believer will receive a new body (1 Cor. 15:52-3). The promise of a new body capable of life in heaven naturally stirs in our minds a number of questions—questions that the Bible is willing to answer.

Whom will we resemble?

1. We will resemble angels (Matt. 22:30). The angels are glorified beings (in other words, beings invested with brilliant radiance). Hence, the Bible compares them to stars (Rev. 1:20; compare Rev. 9:1 and 10:1). Moreover, the angels are powerful beings. A single angel smote the Assyrian army (2 Kings 19:35).
2. We will resemble Christ Himself (Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2). In His glorified state, He is magnificent beyond description (Rev. 1:13-6).

What kind of body will we have?

  When Paul deals with this question, he conceives of the questioner as someone who cannot imagine what a resurrected body will be like and who, as a result, has decided that bodily resurrection is impossible. Paul calls that person a fool (1 Cor. 15:35-6) and relieves his ignorance by describing the body we will acquire before we go to meet Christ. It will have the following characteristics (1 Cor. 15:42-4):

1. It will be incorruptible—that is, immortal. After we have obtained it, we will never die.
2. It will be glorified, meaning that it will exude a radiance of light (Matt. 13:43; Dan. 12:3).
3. It will be powerful. We will be able to do things we cannot now imagine. Some of the remarkable abilities exhibited by Jesus in His risen body give us an inkling of what lies in store for us.
   1. He could disappear (Luke 24:31). As He was eating with the disciples He had met on the road to Emmaus, He suddenly vanished.
   2. He could appear out of nothing (Luke 24:36-37). As the disciples sat in the Upper Room, He suddenly became visible in their midst.
   3. He could pass into a closed room (John 20:19). The Upper Room was shut tight when He entered and appeared to the people inside. It has been conjectured that barriers in three dimensions could not hinder Him because He existed in four dimensions.
   4. He could rise in the air (Acts 1:9). At the Ascension, He went up into a cloud as the discples watched, gravity having no limiting effect on Him. At the rapture or resurrection of our bodies, we will also be able to fly, as it were. It will probably be in our own power that we will rise to meet Christ in the air (1 Thess. 4:15-17). For this reason, when Scripture speaks of the saints gathering to Christ at His descent, it compares them to eagles (Luke 17:37).
   5. He could traverse distances in a brief time (compare John 20:11-17 with Matt. 28:8-10). He went directly from Mary in the garden to the women who were running away from the garden.
   6. He could even change His appearance (Mark 16:12). Angels also have this ability. Several texts report them having the form of a man (Dan. 9:21; Mark 16:5), but we should not suppose that these beings, created before man, look human when they take their places in the court of heaven. After all, the design of our bodies represents an ingenious adaptation to the special conditions of life on the earth. But not only can angels make themselves look like men, they can assume an appearance so strongly human that people on occasion have mistaken them for men (Heb. 13:2). When in human form, they can perform acts possible only for a material being, such as eating (compare Gen. 18:1-8 with 19:10) and touching (Gen. 19:16).
4. It will be spiritual. We will inhabit not only the currently visible realm of the universe, but also the currently invisible realm of spiritual beings; namely, angels and demons. We will have spiritual bodies, but we will not be spirits. All the dead, both righteous (Heb. 12:22-23) and unrighteous, are spirits while they await resurrection.. But they are not disembodied ghosts. The rich man in hell had eyes, and he felt the whole gamut of bodily sensations. He could hear, see, thirst, feel the pain of fire, and probably also smell the fire’s smoke (Matt. 16:24-27). When Samuel and other righteous spirits rose from Hades to confront Saul, Samuel had a visible presence in bodily form clothed with a mantle, and he had a voice (1 Sam. 28:8-14). He was even recognizeable as an old man.. The witch who was looking on was terrified at the sight, unlike anything she had ever seen before, despite her claim to be a medium for communication with the dead. She called the ascending spirits “gods.” Evidently they were majestic and shining. Yet Jesus said that a spirit lacks flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). In other words, it is not composed of matter. Although it looks like a body and has sensations parallel to bodily experience, it is not made of actual atoms and molecules. Of what then is it made? It must consist solely of light. We can only speculate on how a being of light can seemingly retain bodily characteristics, yet, now that modern physics has identified light as the fundamental reality, we cannot dismiss the possibility that fuller knowledge would resolve the paradox. But when we are raised from the dead, we will not then be spirits. We will have real material bodies, although they will also be spiritual, in the sense that they will have the capacity to enter the dimension where angels and other invisible beings dwell. How will God give us material existence? Just as He created Adam out of dust, so He will recreate us from our scattered remains.

Will we be able to recognize each other?

  In the four respects just listed our bodies will resemble Christ's. Yet it does not follow that we will look alike. According to Paul, we will all have a different glory (1 Cor. 15:41-2)—a distinctive and individual appearance—and for this reason we will be able to recognize each other instantly.

Will there be marriage in heaven?

  No, there will be neither the continuation of old marriages nor the formation of new marriages (Matt. 22:30). Presumably, then, there will also be no sexual love.

Why did God create human beings as male and female? So that they might be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:27-8). The chief purpose of marriage is procreation (Mal. 2:15). But in heaven there will be no bearing of children. Since marriage and sexual love will serve no purpose, God will abolish both, although we may retain our sexual identities. In His resurrected body, Jesus still looked like a man—a male human being. So it may be that men will still be men, at least in spirit and personality, and women will still be women. Yet on such a question, we can only speculate.

Although God will do away with marriage, we will feel no disappointment, for three reasons:

1. We will no longer have an instinctive desire for sexual love, so we will have no sense of being deprived.
2. Although there will be no marriage, there will be special friendships. An important basis for friendship will be the indebtedness we feel toward those who nurtured us spiritually during our life on earth (Luke 16:9). Yet there will be every other conceivable basis for friendship as well, including common interests and shared reponsibilities. Another will be continuation of family relationships. The love we have for people on earth will not diminish but grow. Love is good, and nothing truly good can perish. So I am confident that my very special friend on earth—my wife—will also be my very special friend in heaven. I have often imagined that her mansion will be next door to mine.
3. Who created marriage? If God can create something so precious and satisfying as marriage to enrich our lives in a sinful world, what else might He give us in heaven that we will enjoy even more (1 Cor. 2:9; Psa. 16::11)?

Escape from Evil

Every manner of evil experience will cease forever.

1. Every cause of physical discomfort will be removed (Rev. 7:16). We will never again suffer from hunger, thirst, blinding light, or heat.
2. Every cause of mental anguish will be removed (Rev. 21:4). There will be no more "death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain."
3. We will escape from every chronic disability. As Isaiah promised, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing” (Isa. 35:5-6).
4. The world we will inhabit in eternity will no longer be under the judgment of God (Rev. 22:3). The penalties imposed on nature and society in consequence of the Fall will be lifted (Gen. 3:15-9).
   1. There will be no more difficulty in childbirth because there will be no more childbirth.
   2. There will be no more male dominance. In this world, God has put every woman under a man's authority. But in eternity, every woman will serve God only.
   3. There will be no more back-breaking difficulty and physical exhaustion in a man's labor and no more struggle to obtain the necessities of life. We will have challenging work to do, but it will also be fulfilling, and it will never reduce us to fatigue or boredom.
5. Best of all, there will be no more sin. It is hard to look long ages into the future and imagine what kind of beings we will become. Might we grow so powerful and proud that we will reintroduce sin into the universe? No, we can be sure that we will never sin in eternity. Why? Because if we sinned, we would receive the wages of sin, which is death, yet God’s Word promises that if we believe on Jesus, we have eternal life (John 3:15-16). If we have it now, we cannot lose it later, because if we could, we would not have it now. We will never sin because we will be free of all the influences that provoke sin. There will be no world, flesh, or devil to undermine our purity of life. The devil will be confined to the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). Our sinful flesh will be transformed into a spiritual body that is pure like the body of Christ (1 John 3:2-3). A world hostile to Christ will no longer press upon us because our only companions will be the Lord and His saints (1 Thess. 4:16-17).

A Wonderful Home

 

  Where exactly will the children of God spend eternity? Many Christians imagine that heaven will be our eternal home, and they erroneously conceive of heaven as an ethereal place unsuited to any way of life that we could now anticipate with pleasure—a place where we will have nothing to do except sit on clouds and strum harps. It is true that when we die, our spirits go to heaven (Heb. 12:22-3; 2 Cor. 5:6-8). It is true also that the eternal dwelling places which Jesus has prepared for us are currently in heaven (John 14:1-3). But these dwelling places, within the heavenly city called the New Jerusalem, will not always remain where they are now (Rev. 21:1-3). After God destroys the present cosmos and fashions a new heaven and a new earth, the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven and take its place as the earth's capital city. The realm of our eternal home will therefore not be heaven, but the earth in a newly created form, free from all the corruption and death we see in the present world (Rev. 21:1-3).

 

  Nature as we know it is, as the poet Tennyson said, "red in tooth and claw." It is a place where most creatures live brief, miserable lives in constant fear of being seized and eaten by larger creatures. Consequently, the Bible describes the present natural world as groaning and travailing in pain, awaiting deliverance from the curse (Rom. 8:22). But in the new world that God will create after the Millennium, there will be no pain, no suffering, no death anywhere in nature (1 Cor. 15:26-8). Every creature, down to the smallest bunny (and it is hard to imagine that God will exclude the most amiable forms of life from the new earth), will live happily ever after. During the Millennium, when the curse will be only partially lifted, Christ will enforce total peace on His holy mountain, Mt. Zion, as a witness to the conditions that will prevail in the new earth He intends to create (Isa. 11:1-9).

The place where we will dwell forever will be, as we said, the New Jerusalem. Jerusalem means "possession of peace.." This city made by God will be vast beyond our comprehension (Rev. 21-22:7). Each of its three dimensions will be 12,000 furlongs. A furlong is 660 ft., but the Greek word is "stadion," the term for 1/8 of a Roman mile, equal to about 607 ft. So, in length, width, and height, the new Jerusalem will measure about 1380 miles, roughly the distance from St. Louis to Portland, Maine, or Salt Lake City, Utah. It will be so tall that it will reach virtually into outer space and be visible throughout almost a whole hemisphere..

 

  Some have imagined that the city will be cubical in shape. In our immortal bodies, gravity will not fetter us, so that vertical motion will be as easy as horizontal motion. If the shape of New Jerusalem is indeed cubical, it will, even if its levels are widely separated, contain enormous ground area. It has been estimated that if only 25% of the city is reserved for residences, and if the number of residents is 20 billion (a greatly exaggerated number, I suspect), each person will own a block of space which is 1/3 of a mile long, wide, and high.

The difficulty in this conception is that the Bible says that the city will have a wall only 144 cubits (about 215 ft.) high (Rev. 21:17). Therefore, others have imagined that the city will be shaped like a pyramid, or Babylonian ziggurat. It is likely that John's readers would have assumed a shape of this kind.

 

  From a distance the city will be so magnificent as to defy description. Unlike the ancient and medieval cities of man, which were surrounded by rough walls of gray stone, the New Jerusalem will shine with all the colors of the rainbow. The wall will be jasper, the meaning of which is unknown. Perhaps it refers to diamond. The identity of many of the foundation stones is also a mystery, but we recognize a few, like sapphire (which is blue), emerald (green), amethyst (purple), beryl (yellow), etc. The gates will be pearl (translucent white), and the pavement and buildings of the city will be pure, untarnished gold (muted orange).. There will be dazzling reflections wherever you look.

 

  The city will have no need of artificial illumination. All the necessary light will come from God Himself.

We need not imagine that we will live only in the New Jerusalem. We will all have private lodgings there, serving as our place in town, as it were. But the whole universe will exist for our pleasure and benefit. We will sometimes occupy ourselves by roaming through and exploring distant worlds. Perhaps God will give each of us places to develop for our own use.

The Finest Luxuries

Food

  The Millennium will begin with the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, surely a literal feast (Rev. 19:9). After the universe is restored to perfection, no doubt the whole earth will be a garden surpassing the original Garden of Eden. We will find every manner of luscious fruit and succulent vegetable and wholesome grain. Moreover, we will have access to the Tree of Life, not an ordinary tree of normal size but a huge plant with offshoots extending over many square miles (Rev. 22:2). It is called the Tree of Life because the leaves will be for "healing," better translated "health." They will contain some ingredient essential to maintaining our bodies forever. If we understood the chemistry of our present bodies well enough, we would see that something is missing to prevent aging. How we will draw this missing ingredient from the leaves, we can only surmise. Perhaps we will boil them to make a tea. Another virtue of the Tree of Life is that it will bear edible fruit of a different kind every month.

The same tree existed also in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:9). God permitted man to eat from it, although He forbade him to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After the Fall, God removed man from the Garden lest he eat from the Tree of Life and live forever (Gen. 3:22-4).

Clothing

  Perhaps we will have a varied wardrobe, as we do here, but at least on state occasions and at high ceremonies we will wear white robes of linen (Rev. 3:4, 5. 18; 6:11; 7:9, 13-4; 19:8, 14).

Fulfilling Occupations

Great authority

  The Bible says that in eternity we will reign with Christ (Dan. 7:27; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10; 20:6, all referring to the Millennium; Rev. 22:5, referring to the eternal state). Several parables of Christ teach that the amount of authority we will be given depends on how faithfully we discharge our responsibilities and how diligently we use our talents here on earth (Luke 19:12-27; Matt. 25:14-30). Over whom or over what will we reign?

1. Over nature. In the beginning, God gave man dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:28), and this dominion has never been revoked (Psa. 8:3-9). No doubt God will give it to man again when He creates the new earth, which will be a restored Paradise, populated with an immense variety of subhuman creatures. In our governance of the animals, we will expect them to serve us by assisting us in our duties and giving us their companionship, and they will gladly comply, because serving man will be their natural desire. We find an inkling of man's future relationship with the animals in the account of Christ's descent to the earth at His second coming (Rev. 19:11-14). He and the army of saints in His train will ride on horses—not earthly horses, but horses with immortal, spiritual bodies as possessed by all heavenly creatures.
2. Over the angels. It appears that in eternity we will have authority over the angels, at least in respect to judging their conduct during the millennia when sin and Satan ruled the earth (1 Cor. 6:2-3).
3. Over new worlds. It is in the nature of God to create wonderful things. It is at least possible (and here we enter the realm of speculation, or perhaps we should say "sanctified imagination") that in the remote future He will put us in charge of new worlds and new races of men who, by virtue of our oversight, will be shielded from any reemergence of chronic sin.

Humble service

  While we are reigning with Christ, we will also be serving Him (Rev.. 22:3). We will be servant-kings (Dan. 7:14, 27). He will then, as He does now, direct our paths, giving us work and responsibility enough to fill our lives with meaningful activity, and we will, without hesitation or complaint, do everything He asks. In serving Him, we will also serve each other. We will spend much of our time in the effort to bring others joy and happiness.

The more we devote ourselves to others, the greater our standing in the Kingdom will be (Matt. 20:25-8). Recognizing that this life is preparation for the next, we should be active in service now. Do not wait for a call; volunteer. Choose a ministry and get busy. Let God close the door if the ministry is not right for you.

A second determinant of greatness in the Kingdom is whether in this life we have observed and taught every commandment of Christ (Matt. 5:19). Do not live close to the line; seek perfection. If you go to what you think is the line between good and evil, you will find that you have already crossed it.

 

  Still another determinant of our standing in eternity is how many souls we have won to Christ or helped to grow in Christ (Dan. 12:3). Do not keep silent; share the truth with others. If you hide your light under a bushel, you will suffocate spiritually.

Fellowship with God

 

  Most Christians understand that one of the great privileges of heaven will be to gather with the saints and sing praises to God. The many texts that foresee our future worship before the throne reveal many interesting details of the eternal state.

1. We will not remember the evil days in our past (Isa. 65:11-17).
2. Heavenly music will employ instruments (Rev. 15:2-4).
3. We will shout as well as sing (Rev. 7:9-10).
4. We will wave palm branches—a prophecy confirming that indeed our new home will be adorned with plants (Rev. 7:9-10).
5. We will raise our voices in unison speech (Rev. 19:1-7).
6. We will see smoke, a perpetual reminder of what happens to rebels against God (Rev. 14:11; compare with Isa. 66:23-4). Here is one reason we will never think of starting a new rebellion.

  Our greatest joy in eternity will be personal fellowship with Christ (Rev. 22:4; 1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 13:12). We will see Him "face to face," a figure of speech expressing the thought that He will meet and talk with us individually, just as He did with His first disciples. What a privilege! To see Him will perhaps at first give us trepidation, and no doubt we will never lose a sense of wonder and reverence in His presence. But perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). The purpose in these times together will be fellowship. He will want to share our joys and pleasures, and we will want to show Him our love. At every opportunity we will praise and thank Him for all He has done for us.

The Highest Good

Of all the arguments for the truth of Christianity, one of the best employing pure reason points out that Christianity is the only world view which offers a convincing and satisfying conception of the highest good. The highest good is to live forever in fellowship with a loving Almighty God and in enjoyment of all the rich possibilities of life resident in a glorified body and set in a world devoid of corruption and death. If we were to survey how other world views conceive of the highest good, we would see that none offers a hope comparable to that of a Christian. The best future that any imagines seems pale and petty and disappointing in comparison with eternal life in the Kingdom of Christ. None defines a highest good that excites our desire to attain it.

 

  In brief, Christianity is the only world view that offers us what we really want. It does not follow that Christianity is wishful thinking. Why not? Because the good that it offers is beyond any thought that the natural human mind could generate. Yet when men discover what God intends to give them, they desire it, feeling that it is exactly right. They must be told about it before their desire awakens, however, so it is not wishful thinking.

 

  For example, no other world view posits an eternal state so grand and powerful and thrilling as a saint’s glorification. Not even science fiction writers in their childish fancies about extraterrestrials have come close to the Biblical picture of what a saint will be after he has been loosed from all the trammels of earthly existence. Yet who, knowing the options, would choose to be anything less?

 

  The Christian conception of good appeals to us because the good that it describes is what we were created to want. Its fitness to our nature and natural desires and yet its transcendence beyond our imagination are proof that it derives from our Creator. In other words, Christianity suits us because Christianity is true.