Heaven

by Randy Alcorn

  As the magi, kings of foreign nations, once came to the old Jerusalem seek­ing to worship the Messiah King, on the New Earth countless magi will journey to the New Jerusalem. Hearts filled with worship, they will humbly offer King Jesus the tribute of their cultural treasures. He will be pleased to receive them. The King will delight to entrust the rule of the nations to those who served him faithfully when Earth lived under sin's shadow, before its triumphant and eter­nal deliverance.

  CHAPTER 21

  WILL WE ACTUALLY RULE WITH CHRIST?

  In the messianic kingdom, the martyrs will reclaim the world as the possession which was denied to them by their persecutors. In the creation in which they endured servitude, they will eventually reign.

  Irenaeus

  God created Adam and Eve to be king and queen over the earth. Their job was to rule the earth, to the glory of God.

  They failed.

  Jesus Christ is the second Adam, and the church is his bride, the second Eve. Christ is king, the church is his queen. Christ will exercise dominion over all nations of the earth: "He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. . . . All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him" (Psalm 72:8,11). As the new head of the human race, Christ—with his beloved people as his bride and co-rulers—will at last accomplish what was entrusted to Adam and Eve. God's saints will fulfill on the New Earth the role God first as­signed to Adam and Eve on the old Earth. "They will reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 22:5).

  Richard Mouw writes, "Over and over again the Scriptures make this plain: the political power which has been so corrupted and twisted in the hands and hearts of sinful rulers must be returned to its rightful source."166

  The Kingdom that God will bring to Earth will crush the last of Earth's kingdoms. Daniel prophesied, "The rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. . . . In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever" (Daniel 2:35, 44).

  Human kingdoms will rise and fall until Christ sets up a kingdom that for­ever replaces them, where mankind rules in righteousness. "He was given au­thority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed" (Daniel 7:14).

  Because Christ will be the King of kings, this will be the Kingdom of kingdoms—the greatest kingdom in human history. Yes, human history, for our history will not end at Christ's return or upon our relocation to the New Earth. It will continue forever, to the glory of God.

  "Rejoice greatly.... See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salva­tion, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. . . . He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth" (Zechariah 9:9-10). Matthew 21:5 makes it clear that Zechariah's prophecy concerns the Messiah. Just as the first part of the prophecy was literally fulfilled when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, we should expect that the second part will be literally fulfilled when Jesus brings peace to the nations and rules them all. Jesus will return to Earth as "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Revelation 19:11-16). We're promised that "the Lord will be king over the whole earth" (Zechariah 14:9).

  Bible-believing Jews in the first century were not foolish to think that the Messiah would be King of the earth. They were wrong about the Messiah's identity when they rejected Christ, and they were wrong to overlook his need to come as a suffering servant to redeem the world; but they were right to believe that the Messiah would forever rule the earth. He will!

  Prior to Christ's return, his Kingdom will be intermingled with the world's cultures (Matthew 13:24-30). But his followers will be growing in character and proving their readiness to rule. Through adversity and opportunity as well as in their artistic and cultural accomplishments, they will be groomed for their leadership roles in Christ's eternal Kingdom. Their society-transforming cre­ative skills will be put on prominent display in the new universe, where they will "shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43).

  WHY ARE WE SURPRISED THAT WE'LL RULE THE EARTH?

  Because I teach on thesubject of redeemed humanity ruling the earth, I've had many opportunities to observe people's responses. Often they're surprised to learn that we will reign in eternity over lands, cities, and nations. Many are skeptical—it's a foreign concept that seems fanciful. Nothing demonstrates how far we've distanced ourselves from our biblical calling like our lack of knowledge about our destiny to rule the earth. Why are we so surprised, when it is spoken of throughout the Old Testament and repeatedly reaffirmed in the New Testament?

  Because crowns are the primary symbol of ruling, every mention of crowns as rewards is a reference to our ruling with Christ. In his parables, Jesus speaks of our ruling over cities (Luke 19:17). Paul addresses the subject of Christians ruling as if it were Theology 101: "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? . . . Do you not know that we will judge angels?" (1 Corinthians 6:2-3). The form of the verb in this question implies that we won't simply judge them a single time but will continually rule them.

  If Paul speaks of this future reality as if it were something every child should know, why is it so foreign to Christians today? Elsewhere he says, "If we endure, we will also reign with him" (2 Timothy 2:12). God's decree that his servants will "reign for ever and ever" on the New Earth (Revelation 22:5) is a direct ful­fillment of the commission he gave to Adam and Eve: "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (Genesis 1:28). This mandate is confirmed by David: "You put us in charge of everything you made, giving us authority over all things" (Psalm 8:6, NLT).

  When we consider that mankind's reign on the earth is introduced in the first chapters of the Bible, mentioned throughout the Old Testament, discussed by Jesus in the Gospels, by Paul in the Epistles, and repeated by John in the Bi­ble's final chapters, it is remarkable that we would fail to see it. Remembering again that a "crown" speaks of ruling authority, consider the following examples from one small portion of Scripture, Revelation 2-5:

  Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. (2:10)

  To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations. (2:26)

  I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. (3:11)

  To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. (3:21)

  The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne. . . .

  They lay their crowns before the throne. (4:10)

  [You] have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth. (5:9-10, NKJV)

  Who does God say will reign? People of every tribe and language and people and nation. Where will they reign? On Earth, not in some intangible heavenly realm. Where on Earth? Likely with people of their own tribe, language, and nation—cultural distinctives that we're told still exist on the New Earth (Reve­lation 21:24,26; 22:2).

  Wayne Grudem states that "when the author of Hebrews says that we do 'not yet' see everything in subjection to man (Hebrews 2:8), he implies that all things will eventually be subject to us, under the kingship of the man Christ Jesus. . . . This will fulfill God's original plan to have everything in the world subject to the human beings that he had made. In this sense, then, we will 'in­herit the earth' (Matthew 5:5) and reign over it as God originally intended."167

  OUR INHERITANCE: OWNING AND RULING THE LAND

  When an
earthly father dies, he bequeaths his estate to his offspring. His chil­dren are heirs. To what? To their father's property. If he owned land, they be­come landowners. If he was a king, they are heirs to his entire kingdom. When an earthly king dies, his firstborn takes his place. Sometimes the new king is surrounded by siblings who are his co-heirs and therefore co-rulers. As heirs, the king's children rule on their father's behalf, even if he still lives. They share in his glory. They go to battle to defend his kingdom, which is also their king­dom. In battle, they share in his sufferings.

  It's the same in our relationship with God. "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffer­ings in order that we may also share in his glory" (Romans 8:16-17).

  Of course, the King of the universe, God, never dies. But he has delegated sovereignty to his firstborn son, Jesus. Christ, in turn, gladly shares his domin­ion with the redeemed—his siblings—who are co-heirs of the Father's throne. They will rule with Christ over the Kingdom.

  The right to exercise power comes from ownership. A king owns his king­dom, which consists of land. The extent of his rule is the extent of what he owns. Because God owns the entire universe, the Kingdom that falls into the lap of his heirs, his children, encompasses the entire universe. (That it all came under the Curse for Adam's sin demonstrates its tie to humanity.)

  Christ, the firstborn, is the primary ruler, but we are called "co-heirs with Christ." God entrusts us to rule one prime piece of territory—Earth, which he created specifically for us.

  God has not arbitrarily assigned us to rule the earth. It's our land, our king dom, granted to us by our Father. It's a kingdom once lost by us to a usurping pseudo-king, Satan, but which was won back for us by the mighty valor of Christ, who shed his blood to purchase our freedom—and with it our inheri­tance, the earth.

  This is the drama of redemption. If we fail to understand our status as God's children and heirs and rulers of the earth, we will fail to comprehend God's re­demptive work. But if we do understand our role in God's plan, we'll realize that he would not deliver us from Earth to live forever in a disembodied realm. In fact, the inheritance that God grants us is the very same Earth over which epic battles have been fought since Satan's first attack in Eden. Our inheritance is not only physical but also eternal: "The days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure forever" (Psalm 37:18).

  Currently, on this earth under the Curse, we serve Christ and "share in his sufferings." Why? Because the earth is under siege. It's being claimed by a false king, Satan, and his false princes, the fallen angels. It's being claimed by human kings, rebels who set themselves up against God and violate his standards by de­claring their independence from him. Those who are co-heirs with Christ en­gage in spiritual warfare to reclaim the hearts of mankind for God's glory. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the au­thorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). After the final battle is won by Christ, we will rule the earth with him as co-heirs of his Kingdom.

  SHOULD WE WANT TO RULE?

  The government of the New Earth won't be a democracy. It won't be majority rule, and it won't be driven by opinion polls. Instead, every citizen of Heaven will have an appointed role, one that fulfills him or her and contributes to the whole. No one will "fall through the cracks" in God's Kingdom. No one will feel worthless or insignificant.

  When I write and speak on this subject, people often respond, "But I don't want to rule. That's not my idea of Heaven."

  Well, it's God's idea of Heaven.

  We are part of God's family. Ruling the universe is the family business. To want no part of it is to want no part of our Father. It may sound spiritual to say we don't care to rule, but because God's the one who wants us to rule, the spiri­tual response is to be interested in his plans and purposes.

  Whom will we rule? Other people. Angels. If God wishes, he may create new beings for us to rule. Who will rule over us? Other people.

  There will be a social hierarchy of government, but there's no indication of a relational hierarchy. In other words, the apostle Paul will be in a position of greater leadership than most of us, but that doesn't mean he'll be inaccessible. There will be no pride, envy, boasting, or anything sin-related. Our differences will be a manifestation of God's creativity. As we're different in race, nationality, gender, personality gifting, and passions, so we'll be different in positions of service.

  All of us will have some re­sponsibility in which we serve God. Scripture teaches that our service for him now on Earth will be evaluated to help determine how we'll serve him on the New Earth. The humble servant will be put in charge of much, whereas the one who lords it over others in the present world will have power taken away: "For everyone who ex­alts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:11). If we serve faithfully on the present Earth, God will give us permanent management positions on the New Earth. "Who­ever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much" (Luke 16:10). The Owner has his eye on us—if we prove faithful, he'll be pleased to entrust more to us.

  The future heaven is centered more on activity and expansion, serving Christ and reigning with H i m . . . . The emphasis in the present heaven is on the absence of earth's negatives, while in the future heaven it is the presence of earth's positives, magnified many times through the power and glory of resurrected bodies on a resurrected earth, free at last from sin and shame and all that would hinder both joy and achievement.

  RENE PACHE

  We've been conditioned to associate governing with self-promoting arro­gance, corruption, inequality, and inefficiency. But these are perversions, not in­herent properties of leadership. Ruling involves responsibility—perhaps that's why some people don't look forward to it. Some people live in anticipation of retirement, when responsibilities will be removed. Why would they want to take on an eternal task of governing? But what they think they want now and what they'll really want as resurrected beings—with strong bodies and minds in a society untouched by sin—may be quite different.

  Imagine responsibility, service, and leadership that's pure joy. The responsi­bility that God will entrust to us as a reward can only be good for us, and we'll find delight in it. To rule on the New Earth will be to enable, equip, and guide, offering wisdom and encouragement to those under our authority. We've so of­ten seen leadership twisted that we've lost a biblical view of what ruling, or ex ercising dominion, really means. God, ruler of the universe, is living proof that ruling can and should be good.

  Some people have a deep fear of public speaking, and they imagine that rul­ing means they'll be miserable, having to be "up front" and speak to groups. But the fear, anxiety, dread, and turmoil we associate with certain activities on the present Earth will be gone on the New Earth. If God wants us to do something, we'll be wired and equipped to do it. Our service will not only bring him glory but also bring us joy.

  This applies to countless other questions about Heaven, such as, Will we have to sing even if we don't like to? The question assumes facts not in evi­dence—that whatever we dislike now we'll dislike then. But doesn't experience tell us otherwise? Aren't there foods we love now that we hated as children? Aren't there books we love now that would ve bored us when we were younger? Had we been able to decide as children everything we would do or not do as adults, wouldn't we have robbed ourselves of countless joys? We mustn't as­sume that everything we don't like doing now we still won't like doing in Heaven.

  Of course, not all positions of responsibility over others involve people. Adam and Eve governed animals before there were any other people. Some of us may be granted the privilege of caring for animals. (My wife would love that, especially being responsible for dogs!) Perhaps some will care for forest
s. Ruling will likely involve the management of all of God's creation, not just people.

  Perhaps God will offer us choices of where we might want to serve him. On the New Earth, we'll do what we want, but we'll want what God wants, and that will bring us our greatest joy.

  Some of the most qualified people to lead in Heaven will be those who don't want to lead now. Some who are natural leaders here but have not been faithful will not be leaders in Heaven. Remember, it's not the proud and confident who will inherit the earth and rule it; it's the meek (Matthew 5:5). And even the meek will be stripped of their wrong motives and the temptation to exploit oth­ers. We'll have no more skepticism and disillusionment about government. Why? Because we'll be governed by Christlike rulers, and all of us will be under the grand and gracious government of Christ himself.

  WHOSE IDEA IS OUR RULERSHIP?

  Many people have told me they're uncomfortable with the idea that mankind will rule the earth, govern cities, and reign forever. It sounds presumptuous and self-important. I would agree—if it was our idea to reign over the universe, it would indeed be presumptuous. But it was not our idea, it was God's. And it's not a minor or peripheral doctrine; it's at the very heart of Scripture.

  A reader of one of my previous books sent a letter expressing amazement at something I said. "You take the stewardship parables literally," he wrote. "You actually think some believers will rule over cities in Heaven!"

  Yes, I do, though I never would have come up with this understanding on my own. But because dozens of passages affirm that we will rule the earth, I am compelled to believe them. The man who wrote the letter has read the same Scriptures, but he doesn't connect them with the teachings about our bodily res­urrection, the New Earth, and reigning with Christ. If he did, he'd see that a largely (though not exclusively) literal understanding of the stewardship para­bles—which refer to our reigning over cities—fits perfectly with the teaching of countless other passages. The fact that it doesn't conform to his own view of Heaven suggests his view is in need of revision. (As I have studied the subject of Heaven, I've often had to revise my own viewpoint to bring it in line with what the Bible teaches.)