Predstavljajte si, da ste član Nasine ekipe, ki se pripravlja na petletno odpravo na Mars. Po dolgotrajnem, napornem usposabljanju končno napoči datum izstrelitve. Ko se raketa odlepi od tal, vas kolega astronavt vpraša: »Kaj veš o Marsu?«
Pomislite, kako bi bilo, če bi skomignili z rameni in odgovorili: »Nič. O tem se pa nismo pogovarjali. Bomo že videli, ko bomo pristali.« To je nepredstavljivo, drži? Preprosto ni mogoče, da usposabljanje ne bi vključevalo obširnega proučevanja končnega cilja in priprav nanj. Pa vendar se v teoloških šolah in cerkvah po svetu zelo malo poučuje naš končni cilj: nova nebesa in nova zemlja. Izvemo, kako lahko v nebesa pridemo in da je ta cilj boljši kot pekel – le malo pa se učimo o nebesih samih.
Ali se sedanja nebesa in večna nebesa razlikujejo med seboj?
Apostol Pavel je menil, da moramo nujno vedeti, kaj bo z nami, ko bomo umrli: »Nočemo pa, bratje, da ne bi vi ničesar vedeli o tem, kako je s tistimi, ki so zaspali[.]« (1 Tesaloničanom 4,13)
Ljudje si običajno predstavljajo, da so nebesa kraj, kamor gredo kristjani po smrti. A ob taki predstavi ne moremo razumeti pomembnih svetopisemskih razlik. Boljša opredelitev nebes bi bila ta: nebesa so osrednje bivališče Boga, kraj, kjer je njegov prestol in od koder vlada vesolju.
Natančnejše mesto sedanjih nebes ni znano, a v Svetem pismu beremo, da bodo nebesa na novi zemlji, kamor bo Bog prišel živet s svojim ljudstvom (Razodetje 21,3). Sedanja nebesa so kraj prehoda med preteklim življenjem verujočih na zemlji in prihodnjim vstajenjskim življenjem na novi zemlji.
Življenje v nebesih, kamor bomo šli, je »dosti boljše« od življenja tu na zemlji, pod prekletstvom, daleč proč od neposredne navzočnosti Boga (Filipljanom 1,23). A čeprav bo tam čudovito, sedanja nebesa niso kraj, za katerega smo bili ustvarjeni, kraj, glede katerega nam Bog obljublja, da ga bo za nas preoblikoval, da bi tam večno živeli. Božjim otrokom je namenjeno, da bodo kot vstala bitja živeli na vstali zemlji.
V Razodetju 21,1 beremo: »Nato sem videl novo nebo in novo zemljo. Kajti prvo nebo in prva zemlja sta izginila in morja ni bilo več.« Vse postane smiselno, če opustimo prepričanje, da se nebesa ne morejo spremeniti. Bog sam se sicer ne spreminja – on je neminljiv. Pač pa Bog jasno pravi, da se bodo spremenila nebesa. Nazadnje bodo prestavljena na novo zemljo.
Kako bosta videti nova zemlja in življenje na njej?
V Efežanom 1,10 beremo, da Bog namerava »osrediniti v Kristusu kot glavi vse, kar je v nebesih in kar je na zemlji«. Kakor bosta Bog in človek za vedno združena v Jezusu, tako bodo nebesa in zemlja za vedno združeni v novem fizičnem vesolju, kjer bomo živeli kot vstali ljudje.
Bog bo z nami živel na novi zemlji. Tako bo vse, kar je na zemlji in v nebesih, združeno. »In zaslišal sem močen glas, ki je prišel od prestola in rekel: ›Glej, prebivališče Boga med ljudmi! In prebival bo z njimi, oni bodo njegova ljudstva in Bog sam bo z njimi, njihov Bog.‹« (Razodetje 21,3) Živeli, vladali in služili bomo z Gospodom Jezusom, virom vsega veselja in sreče.
V vstalih telesih, na vstali zemlji, med vstalimi prijatelji, v vstali kulturi, z vstalim Jezusom – to bo šele vrhunsko! Vsakdo bo tista oseba, ki si jo je zamislil Bog – in nihče ne bo več niti trpel niti umrl.
Človeštvo je bilo ustvarjeno za to, da bi živelo na zemlji v Božjo slavo. Prav to je torej omogočil Kristus z učlovečenjem, smrtjo in vstajenjem – obnovljeno človeštvo na obnovljeni zemlji.
Običajno napačno prepričanje glede nebes je, da bodo nebesa za nas nekaj novega, neznanega. A to je daleč od resnice. Ob novici, da bomo imeli v nebesih nova telesa in bomo živeli na novi zemlji, bi morali besedo novo razumeti tako: obnovljena, izpopolnjena različica naših znanih nam teles, naše znane nam zemlje, naših znanih nam odnosov.
Kako hrepenenje po večnem domu vpliva na nas zdaj?
Peter najprej pravi: »Mi pa po njegovi obljubi pričakujemo nova nebesa in novo zemljo, v katerih biva pravičnost.« Takoj zatem pa doda: »Ljubi, ker to pričakujete, se potrudite, da vas najde v miru brez madeža in brez graje.« (2 Peter 3,13–14)
Če se zavedamo, da bomo živeli na veke kot vstali ljudje na novi zemlji, lažje spoznamo, da bodo naše današnje odločitve, tudi glede osebne svetosti in glede ravnanja z drugimi ljudmi, neizbrisno zaznamovale večnost. Bog gleda. Bog pomni. Jezus je rekel, da nas bo v nebesih nagradil za zvestobo njemu, pa čeprav le za kozarec vode, ki smo ga ponudili žejnemu (gl. Marko 9,41).
Življenje na zemlji je pomembno – in sicer ne zato, ker bi bilo edino življenje, ki ga imamo, temveč zato, ker ravno to ni. Pač pa je začetek življenja, ki se bo brez konca nadaljevalo na obnovljeni zemlji. Če se zavedamo tega, kar Bog pravi o naši prihodnosti, si lažje razlagamo svojo preteklost in služimo Bogu v sedanjosti.
Naj počnemo karkoli – mentoriramo mlade, treniramo športnike, kosimo trato sosedove vdove, zagovarjamo pravice nerojenih otrok, si prizadevamo za rasno enakost, evangeliziramo na kratkih misijonskih potovanjih, darujemo znaten delež svojega imetja za misijone ali evangelizacijo v mestnem središču – če to počnemo v Kristusovi moči, prinašamo slutnjo nove zemlje na to sedanjo ranjeno zemljo.
Ne pozabimo, da smo državljani dveh dežel, ki pa se bosta nekoč združili v eno, nova nebesa in novo zemljo, deželo, ki bo nedeljiva in podložna večni vladavini Kristusa. Na tisti zemlji se bomo zadovoljno in hvaležno ozirali nazaj, k spremembam, ki smo jih po Božji milosti zmogli povzročati na tej zemlji.
Naš današnji pogled je zaznamovan z dejstvom, da na Božje otroke čaka vstajenje. To pomeni, da nam nikoli ni treba žalovati za preteklostjo, češ da je vse najboljše že za nami. Najboljše namreč šele pride! Ni treba, da bi si pisali seznam stvari, ki jih moramo nujno opraviti še pred smrtjo, saj bodo dogodivščine, ki nas čakajo v novih nebesih in na novi zemlji, presegle najčudovitejše vrhunce našega zemeljskega življenja. Ravno ko bomo pomislili Vse najlepše, najboljše je že za mano, bo tisto najlepše in najboljše šele prišlo!
Our Best Life Yet to Come: The New Earth, Our Eternal Home
Imagine you’re part of a NASA team preparing for a five-year mission to Mars. After a period of extensive training, the launch date finally arrives. As the rocket lifts off, one of your fellow astronauts asks, “What do you know about Mars?”
Envision shrugging your shoulders and saying, “Nothing. We never talked about it. I guess we’ll find out when we get there.” It’s unthinkable, isn’t it? It’s inconceivable that your training wouldn’t have included extensive study of and preparation for your ultimate destination. Yet in seminaries, Bible schools, and churches around the world, there's very little teaching about our ultimate destination: the New Heavens and New Earth. We’re told how to get to Heaven, and that it’s a better destination than Hell, but we’re taught remarkably little about Heaven itself.
Are the Present Heaven and the Eternal Heaven Different?
The apostle Paul considered it vital for us to know what happens when we die: “Dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died” (1 Thessalonians 4:13, NLT).
People usually think of “Heaven” as the place Christians go when they die. But this keeps us from understanding important biblical distinctions. A better definition explains that Heaven is God’s central dwelling place, the location of his throne from where he rules the universe.
The exact location of the present Heaven is unknown, but we’re told the future Heaven will be located on the New Earth, where God will come down to live with his people (Revelation 21:3). The present Heaven is a place of transition between believers’ past lives on Earth and future resurrection lives on the New Earth.
Life in the Heaven we go to when we die is “far better” than living here on Earth under the Curse, away from the direct presence of God (Philippians 1:23). But although it will be a wonderful place, the present Heaven is not the place we’re made for, the place God promises to refashion for us to live in forever. God’s children are destined for life as resurrected beings on a resurrected Earth.
Revelation 21:1 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared.” Once we abandon our assumption that Heaven cannot change, it all makes sense. God doesn’t change; he’s immutable. But God clearly says that Heaven will change. It will eventually be relocated to the New Earth.
What Will the New Earth and Life There Be Like?
Ephesians 1:10 says that God’s plan is “to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Just as God and man will be forever united in Jesus, so Heaven and Earth will forever be united in the new physical universe, where we’ll live as resurrected people.
God will live with us on the New Earth. That will bring all things in Heaven and on Earth together. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God’” (Revelation 21:3). We’ll live and rule and serve with our Lord Jesus, the source of all joy and happiness.
To be in resurrected bodies on a resurrected Earth in resurrected friendships, enjoying a resurrected culture with the resurrected Jesus—now that will be the ultimate party! Everybody will be who God made them to be—and none of us will ever suffer or die again.
Mankind was designed to live on the Earth to God’s glory. That’s exactly what Christ’s incarnation, death and resurrection secured—a renewed humanity upon a renewed Earth.
A common misunderstanding about the eternal Heaven is that it will be unfamiliar. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. When we hear that in Heaven we’ll have new bodies and live on a New Earth, this is how we should understand the word new—a restored and perfected version of our familiar bodies and our familiar Earth and our familiar relationships.
How Does Longing for Our Eternal Home Affect Us Now?
After saying “we are looking forward to a New Heaven and a New Earth, the home of righteousness,” Peter immediately adds, “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (2 Pet. 3:13-14).
Knowing we’ll live forever as resurrected people on a New Earth helps us realize that the choices we make today, including choices of personal holiness—and how we act toward others—will make an indelible mark on eternity. God is watching. He’s keeping track. Jesus said that in Heaven He’ll reward us for acts of faithfulness to Him, right down to every cup of cold water we’ve given to the needy in His name (see Mark 9:41).
Life on Earth matters, not because it’s the only life we have, but precisely because it isn’t—it’s the beginning of a life that will continue without end on a renewed Earth. What God says about our future enables us to interpret our past and serve Him in our present.
Whether it’s coaching a team, mentoring young people, mowing a widow’s lawn, standing up for unborn children, working for racial reconciliation, going on short-term missions trips, or giving a large portion of your income to missions or inner-city work—If you’re doing it through Christ’s power you’re bringing a foretaste of the coming New Earth to this current, hurting Earth.
We shouldn’t forget the compelling reality that we’re citizens of two realms, which will one day be consolidated into one—a New Heaven and a New Earth, indivisible and under the eternal rule of Christ. On that Earth, we’ll look back with satisfaction and gratitude at the difference, by God’s grace, we were able to make on this Earth.
Our perspective today is informed by the reality that resurrection awaits God’s children. This means we’ll never pass our peaks. The best is yet to come! No need for bucket lists, because the adventures awaiting us in the New Heavens and on the New Earth will far exceed the greatest thrills of this life. Right when we think “it can’t get any better than this”…it will.
For more answers to questions about eternity, see Randy’s book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Heaven as well as his comprehensive book Heaven and devotional 50 Days of Heaven.
Photo: Unsplash
