Scripture has much to say about God’s eternal kingdom on the New Earth. His original plan for us, to rule the earth to the glory of God, was never abandoned. In fact, what was laid out in Genesis 1-2, the first two chapters of Scripture, is precisely what is finally realized in Revelation 21-22, the last two chapters. Christ’s redemptive work wasn’t to snatch away people’s souls to live forever in an angelic realm, but to redeem our whole persons, including our bodies, and the fallen world in which we live. God promises not only new bodies, but a New Earth! (See 2 Peter 3:13.)
In my years of writing about Heaven, I’ve found there are dozens of questions I'm repeatedly asked. But here are the top five:
- Will we still be ourselves, with our memories of this life?
- Will we know our loved ones and have ongoing relationships with them?
- What will we do, and won't Heaven be boring?
- Will we have bodies and eat and drink and travel and explore and play—in other words, will we live truly human lives?
- Will there be animals—and is it possible that the pets we've loved will be there?
Speaking of questions about Heaven, I enjoyed answering several during my conversation with Josh Lewis and Michael Rowntree, on their podcast The Remnant Radio.
You can watch the full video here:
If you’d like to jump to different questions we covered, here is what we discussed:
7:53 What is the difference between the Present Heaven and the New Earth?
15:06 Where do people go when they die?
19:10 What about Hades and its relationship to Hell?
25:15 Will we have a personal identity in the resurrection? Will we be ourselves on the New Earth?
33:18 What about gender and marriage on the New Earth?
40:49 What about roles, leadership, and government on the New Earth? 46:28: Will there be animals on the New Earth?
52:51 Will animals talk on the New Earth? What about meat eating?
1:05:35 If there are realities Scripture reveals about the age to come, should we try to apply them to life on the earth right now?
