Have you ever wondered what Heaven is like? Most Christians look forward to meeting Christ face-to-face in Heaven some day. I suspect, based on my understanding of the character of Christ and the redemptive purpose of God’s judgments in the coming ages, that life after death will not even closely resemble what most of us expect.
The popular picture of life after death, for many Christians, is some sort of idyllic existence in heavenly realms of indescribable beauty, free from any form of hardship and sorrow. Many picture Heaven as place of blessed and intimate face-to-face fellowship with Christ. The goal and expectation of every committed Christian is to one day be made like Christ and become perfectly formed into His image.
While this is all very Scriptural, I believe there may be some confusion as to the timing of this event. According to the Scriptures, before all of us achieve this sinless perfection in Heaven, there will be intervening eons, or ages, during which much work must be done. During these intervening ages, Christians and non-Christians alike will face various forms of judgment, correction, and opportunities for growth and repentance.
If you think that the moment after you die you will no longer experience sorrow, think again. If you expect to fellowship with Christ in the next life and become like Him, then wouldn’t you expect to experience some of the same feelings He is now experiencing and be doing some of the same things He is now doing? Exactly what is it that Christ is now doing and feeling? Does He not feel sorrow for the lost condition of mankind and the suffering they are experiencing on a daily basis? Is not the essence of His character that of agape, self-sacrificing, love? Do you think that Christ is just sitting up there in Heaven enjoying the idyllic life without a single care about the lost condition of humanity, without lifting a finger to help them? Do you think He stopped intervening into human history after He ascended into Heaven 2,000 years ago?
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who will not stop looking for his lost sheep until he finds and redeems the very last one. His purpose is to draw all men to Himself, and He is not going to do it alone. He uses us, His Chosen representatives to participate with him in this endeavor. Do you really think that, after we die and finally meet Him face-to-face, we will stop serving Him? If our goal is to become more and more like Him in this life and the next, don’t you think we should be engaged in the same types of activities in which He is engaged and be feeling the same sorrow for the lost condition of mankind that He feels?
When Christ comes to set up His kingdom on Earth, He won’t be coming alone. We, “His Saints," will be tagging along with Him. We will be ruling with Him and serving Him in various capacities during the kingdom ages. Whether you understand the descriptions of these intervening ages in the book of Revelation to be true in the literal or figurative sense, the lesson is the same. Much work needs to be done between now and God’s final day of redemption. Will it be all work and no play? Hardly! I am sure that the kind of joy and excitement we will experience while serving Christ in the coming ages will far surpass anything we are currently experiencing in this present age.
God’s plan for the ages, does not even end with the book of Revelation. The thousand-year millennial reign of Christ and the era of the new heavens and new earth, as described in Revelation, are not descriptions of God’s final restoration of His creation. Even during the period of the new heavens and new earth, in Revelation, not all will be permitted to enter the gates into the New Jerusalem city. Outside the gates will be those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murders, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood (see Revelation 22:14).
We have the Apostle, Paul, to thank for providing us with a description of what happens at the conclusion of the ages. You will find it in I Corinthians 15:22-28. Please take time to read this passage carefully and prayerfully, keeping in mind everything you have already learned on this website.
1 Corinthians 15:22-28: “For as in Adam ALL die, so in Christ ALL will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he ‘has put everything under his feet.’ Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be ALL in ALL.”
Here Paul gives the order in which people will be made alive, first Christ, then those who belong to Christ at His coming, then everyone else after the last of God’s enemies have been put into subjection under his feet. The very last enemy to be destroyed is DEATH itself, not dead people. There will be no more death, physical or spiritual. God will be all in all.
