Heaven

by Randy Alcorn

  I'm convinced that Hugo was right in saying that every Christian's life's work, though not always his or her vocation, will continue on the New Earth. After all, our calling to glorify God will never end. It applies as much here and now as it will then and there, and it will likely be fulfilled in many old ways as well as new ones.

  In The Biblical Doctrine of Heaven, Wilbur Smith suggests, "In heaven we will be permitted to finish many of those worthy tasks which we had dreamed to do while on earth but which neither time nor strength nor ability allowed us to achieve."306 This is an encouraging thought. It saves us from frantically thinking that we have to do it all now, or from giving up in despair because of the limits of time, money, and strength, and the duties that keep us from certain things we'd love to do.

  James Campbell took comfort in this same idea: .

  This throws some measure of relieving light upon the painful mystery of a life brought to a sudden close in the fullness of its power. In the pres­ence of such a tragedy we instinctively ask, Why this waste? Is all the training, discipline, and culture of this choice spirit to be lost? It cannot be; for in God's universe nothing is ever lost. No preparation is ever in vain. There is need up there for clear heads, warm hearts, and skilled hands. . . . If some kinds of work are over, others will begin; if some duties are laid down, others will be taken up. And any regret for labour missed down here, will be swallowed up in the joyful anticipation of the higher service that awaits every prepared and willing worker in the upper kingdom of the Father. . . . He will allow no heaven-born hope to be put to shame, but will bring to realization life's brightest visions.307 .

  What will it be like to perform a task, to build and create, knowing that what we're doing will last? What will it be like to be always gaining skill, so that our best work will always be ahead of us? Because our minds and bodies will never fade and because we will never lack resources or opportunity, our work won't de­generate. Buildings won't last for only fifty years, and books won't be in print for only twenty years. They'll last forever.

  WILL THERE BE CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS?

  Anthony Hoekema says, "In the beginning man was given the so-called cultural mandate—the command to rule over the earth and to develop a God-glorifying culture. Because of man's fall into sin, that cultural mandate has never been car­ried out in the way God intended. Only on the new earth will it be perfectly and sinlessly fulfilled. Only then shall we be able to rule the earth properly."308

  Would there have been human culture without the Fall? Of course. Culture is the natural, God-intended product of his gifting, equipping, and calling for mankind to rule over creation. Scripture describes developments in farming, metallurgy, and the crafting of musical instruments (Genesis 4:20-22) shortly after the Fall. If God had no interest in those cultural improvements, he wouldn't make note of them. God created his image-bearers to glorify him in creative accomplishments, and he's pleased by them.

  Only two people in human history, Adam and Eve, even began to taste what it was like to fulfill God's command to subdue the earth, and they didn't get far. Was God shortsighted, not anticipating the Fall? Did he give up on Adam and Eve after they sinned? No. He had a plan that would fulfill his original design in greater ways. Resurrected culture will reach ever-expanding heights that no so­ciety has yet seen.

  In The Promise of the Future, theologian Cornelius Venema writes, "Every le­gitimate and excellent fruit of human culture will be carried into and contribute to the splendour of life in the new creation. Rather than the new creation being a radically new beginning, in which the excellent and noble fruits of humankind's fulfillment of the cultural mandate are wholly discarded—the new creation will benefit from, and be immensely enriched by, its receiving of these fruits."309

  Bruce Milne shares a similar perspective: "The one who is Lord of the whole of life was never going to bring us at the end into an eternal existence of mental constriction, or of emotional and creative impoverishment. Creativity will surely be valued, for such an anticipation must be in keeping with the nature of him who set the morning stars a-singing when he created them at the beginning, and whose joyful, uninhibited cry echoes across the battlements of the new creation. 'See, I am making everything new!'... What creative possibilities await us in the unfolding of the eternal ages no present imagination can begin to unravel."310

  We should stretch our vision of what's in store for us. God's redemptive work is far greater than we imagine because God himself is far greater than we imagine.

  LIFEBOAT OR ARK THEOLOGY?

  Paul Marshall speaks of the prevalent but misguided notion that we've perma­nently wrecked the world. He says that many assume, "What's important now is simply that we rescue people from the wreckage."311 He calls this lifeboat the­ology: "It is as if the creation were the Titanic, and now that we've hit the iceberg of sin, there's nothing left for us to do but get ourselves into lifeboats. The ship is sinking rapidly, God has given up on it and is concerned only with the sur­vival of his people. Any effort we make to salvage God's creation amounts to re­arranging the deck chairs. Instead, some say, our sole task is to get into the lifeboats, to keep them afloat, to pluck drowning victims out of the water, and to sail on until we get to heaven where all will be well."312

  Marshall says that this is the assumption and perspective that drives many evangelical Christians. He proposes an alternative to lifeboat theology, which he calls ark theology: "Noah's ark saved not only people, but it preserved God's other creatures as well. The ark looked not to flee but to return to the land and begin again. Once the flood subsided, everyone and everything was intended to return again to restore the earth."313 God's preservation of man and animals and the earth itself demonstrates he hasn't given up on his creation. In fact, he com­manded Noah after the Fall to do exactly what he commanded Adam and Eve before the Fall: Fill the earth and rule it. Noah went out to plant a vineyard (Genesis 9:20), and mankind was back to work again on the earth.

  Our gifts and special interests—the way we're wired—aren't accidents. Godmade us this way. He intricately designed each of us to uniquely express his glory. Speaking of God's sovereign distribution of a variety of spiritual gifts, the apostle Paul says, "To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:7). We'll be a great community on the New Earth. The gifts, skills, passions, and tasks God grants each of us will not only be for his glory and our good but also for the good of our larger family. God will rejoice as we thrive together, interdependently, in the New Earth's continuously creative culture.

  HOW WILL WE EXPRESS OUR CREATIVITY?

  In this world, even under the Curse, human imagination and skill have produced some remarkable works. The statues of Easter Island. Stonehenge. Shakespeare's plays. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The Golden Gate Bridge. Baseball. Heart transplants. Prenatal surgery. Microwave ovens. DVDs. The space shuttle. Choc­olate ice cream. Pecan pie. Sports cars. It's a list that never ends.

  With the resources God will lavishly give us on the New Earth, what will we be able to accomplish together? When we think about this, we should be like children anticipating Christmas—sneaking out of bed to see what's under the Christmas tree.

  Without creativity, music would be a dull succession of sounds. Without creativity, books would be colorless and superficial. They wouldn't engage our minds and hearts. Paintings would be lifeless or nonexistent. Our homes would be barracks, our buildings boxes. God's preparing a place for us, and he'll equip us to develop it to his glory.

  I agree with Anthony Hoekema when he says, "The possibilities that now rise before us boggle the mind. Will there be 'better Beethovens' on the new earth? . ..better Rembrandts, better Raphaels? Shall we read better poetry, better drama, and better prose? Will scientists continue to advance in technological achieve­ment, will geologists continue to dig out the treasures of the earth, and will archi­tects continue to build imposing and attractive structures? Will there be exciting new adventures in s
pace travel? . . . Our culture will glorify God in ways that surpass our most fantastic dreams." 314

  The best is yet to be.

  JOHN WESLEY

  I imagine that people will express creativity in designing clothes. The precious stones of the New Jerusalem suggest jewelry may have a place on the New Earth. Some people wear jewelry now for status, but on the New Earth, God-made jewels worn by people made in the image of God will reflect the Creator's beauty. Isaiah 65:21 suggests that we'll build houses and live in them on the New Earth. If so, we'll no doubt decorate them beautifully.

  Buildings on the scale of the New Jerusalem reflect extensive cultural ad­vancement. Human builders will learn from God's design, just as Leonardo da Vinci learned by studying the form and flight of birds while working on his fly­ing machine. What will clear-thinking human beings—unhindered by sin and the barriers that separate us—be able to design and build? What would Galileo, da Vinci, Edison, or Einstein achieve if they could live even a thousand years unhindered by the Curse? What will we achieve when we have resurrected bod­ies with resurrected minds, working together forever?

  Some researchers suggest that we now use only 10 percent of our brain­power. Adam and Eve could likely use 100 percent of theirs—and their brain­power was probably far greater than ours. (Contrary to evolutionary assumptions, according to Scripture, mankind's greatest capacity was in the past.) On the New Earth, God's gifts to us will never be lost to age, death, petti­ness, insecurity, or laziness. Undistracted and undiminished by sin and the de­mands of survival, mankind will create and innovate at unprecedented levels, to God's eternal glory.

  WILL WE SHAPE CULTURE INTO NEW FORMS?

  In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam to name all the animals. And "whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name" (Genesis 2:19). Remark­ably, from that point forward, God called animals by the names that Adam chose. This demonstrates the lofty and meaningful role that God grants us in molding and governing culture.

  Adam wasn't just preserving creation; he was shaping it. Paul Marshall writes, "We have a creative task in the world. We must shape things in ways for which there is sometimes no clear direction. This is why imagination is not just a feature of the arts; it is a feature of human life itself. Without imagination, without experimentation, without openness to new questions and new possibil­ities, there can be no science and no technology. We are not challenging God when we do this, at least not when we do it in humility and faith. We are not stealing fire from the gods. We are taking up our responsibility before God to shape what he has placed in our hands."315

  Angels could have maintained the world as God created it. But it takes God's image-bearers to develop, expand, and enrich the earth. That is culture. It includes art, science, and technology. The question of whether these creative disciplines will continue in eternity is settled if we believe the Bible when it says that both mankind and the earth will continue in physical form. If so, then cul­ture must continue.

  If this sounds like an overemphasis on the New Earth rather than a proper emphasis on God, consider Christ's words: "I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name" (Revelation 3:12). Jesus says he will put on us his name and also the name of the New Jerusalem—a place with people, buildings, and culture. God chooses to mark us not only with his person but also with his place.

  God is a creator, and he created us to be creators. Hence, what we create is an extension of God's creation. He accepts, embraces, and delights in our cre­ation—even as he did the names that Adam gave the animals. He delights in us just as we delight in our own children's creativity. In Exploring Heaven, Arthur Roberts reflects on how life will be after the curse of sin has been removed:

  The city of man has had intimations of a coming splendor. Civilization has brought health and safety. It has brought freedom from toil and provided creative enjoyment to millions of persons. How much more, freed from the curse of sin, will civilization flourish! Heaven will provide for urban as well as pastoral living. . . . Already the city of man is probing the galaxies. Already it has catalogued the human genome. . . . With the curse of sin gone, apocalypses past, surely human beings in heaven will become active stewards of the Lord in completing or extending the universe of things and ideas. The whole creation groans, said Paul, awaiting human redemption. Civilization is not old; it has barely begun!316

  CHAPTER 42

  WILL THERE BE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND SPORTS?

  Music, dancing, storytelling, art, entertainment, drama, and books have played major roles in human culture. Will they remain a part of our lives on the New Earth? I'm convinced the answer is yes.

  WILL WE SING AND MAKE MUSIC?

  Have you ever sat in stunned silence after listening to music beautifully per­formed? If you're like me, you don't want to leave the presence of greatness. On the New Earth we never will. Our great God will be above all, beneath all, and at the center of all. We'll see his wonders not only in his natural creation but also in every human achievement.

  "I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live" (Psalm 104:33). On Earth, creative, artistic, and skilled people sing and play instruments to glorify God. The apostle John speaks of trumpets and harps in the present Heaven (Revelation 8:7-13; 15:2). If we'll have musical instru­ments in our pre-resurrected state, how much more should we expect to find them on the New Earth?

  The Bible is full of examples of people praising God with singing and musical instruments. In the Temple—a representation of God's presence—288 people sang and played a variety of instruments (1 Chronicles 25:1-8). The psalmist instructed the people to praise God with trumpets, harps, lyres, tambourines, strings, flutes, and cymbals (Psalm 150). Hezekiah said, "We will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord" (Isaiah 38:20). Jesus sang with his disciples (Mark 14:26), and the apostle Paul instructed Christians to sing to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19). James says, "Those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord" (James 5:13, NLT).

  The 144,000 "who had been redeemed from the earth" sing a "new song" before God's throne (Revelation 14:2-3). People in Paradise sing a "song of Moses," a song written on the cursed Earth—likely the song of Exodus 15, re­joicing in the redemption of Passover (Revelation 15:2-3). This suggests we'll sing both old and new songs, songs written on Earth and songs written in Heaven. The songs emphasize God's greatness, justice, truth, holiness, and uniqueness (Revelation 5:9-10).

  Scripture songs will endure, but other music from Earth may also be pre­served. Consider Handel's Messiah, Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," the black spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and Isaac Watts's "Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed?" What about the thousands of great hymns and praise songs from hundreds of cultures? Imagine a remote tribe singing praises in a beautiful language you've never heard.

  Although some lyrics will require theological corrections, others will be suitable as is, ready to be sung in God's presence. Just as new songs will express old and new insights about God, the old songs will express earthly insights that in the context of Heaven will have a greater depth of meaning.

  Will secular songs survive? Not if they dishonor Christ. But what about songs that cried for perspective and deliverance? We might recall and even sing such songs to remind us of when we longed for God and when he answered. Maybe other old songs, less deep but not sin-corrupted, will be sung just for fun. Which of your favorite songs will survive the fire? If there's a specific rea­son why some won't, why listen to them now?

  Music is transcendent—a bridge between this world and another. That's why people devote so much of themselves to it and gain such pleasure in it. We love the rich and varied rhythms and harmonies. In Heaven God will unleash our creativity, not confine it. As a musical novice, I might compose something worthy of Bach. An
d what kind of music do you suppose Bach will compose?

  WILL WE DANCE?

  Throughout the ages, people have danced to God's glory on Earth (Ecclesiastes 3:4; Jeremiah 31:12-14). After the parting of the Red Sea, Miriam and the women of Israel danced and played tambourines, singing praises to God (Ex­odus 15:20-21). King David leapt and danced and celebrated before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:16). The psalmist says, "You turned my wailing into dancing" (Psalm 30:11). When the Prodigal Son returned, the house was filled with music and dancing (Luke 15:25). How much more should we expect to dance on the New Earth?

  God places music and dancing alongside the simple earthlyjoys of planting and enjoying fruit: "I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit" (Jeremiah 31:4-5).

  It's God, not Satan, who made us to dance. If you believe that Satan invented dancing or that dancing is inherently sinful, you give Satan too much credit and God too little. God placed within us an instinctive physical response to music. As music is a means of worship, so is dancing. True, some dancing dishonors God, just as some eating, drinking, prayer, and religious activities dishonor God. Un­fortunately, much dancing has become associated with immorality and immod­esty. But, of course, that kind of dancing won't exist on the New Earth.

  WILL WE TELL STORIES?

  God regularly reminds his people of his past acts of faithfulness: "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery" (Exodus 20:2). History, when viewed accurately, teaches us about God and about our­selves. It's the record of our failure to rule the earth righteously, the record of God's sovereign and gracious redemption of us and our planet.

  The angels will be able to recount the creation of the original universe (Job 38:1-7). But we'll have an even greater story to tell—the creation of the new universe (Revelation 21:1-4).