To rule on the New Earth will be to enable, equip, and guide, offering wisdom and encouragement to those under our authority. 

Question from a Reader: Do you believe that Jesus taught immortal earthly life for the saved, universal salvation, or something else? What passages can you cite as proof of Heaven as the eternal destination for the saved, and Hell as an eternal existence for the ungodly?

A few years ago I was a guest on Desiring God’s Ask Pastor John podcast. In this episode, host Tony Reinke and I discuss the question, “What age will I appear in Heaven?” The following is a lightly edited transcript, and you can also listen to the audio of our conversation.

In what form will we be when we see God? Will we be ghostly spirits, floating about? No, we will be resurrected human beings, standing and kneeling, walking and talking, praying and worshiping and laughing, eating and drinking in our new bodies. As Job cried out, “After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”

Could you explain the difference between Heaven for the saints versus Heaven for the martyred saints? There seems to be a distinction, yet we claim all believers will be given a white robe and their tears will be wiped away. 

I was recently listening to Chris Tomlin’s version of “Is He Worthy?”, and that prompted me to share some thoughts related to two favorite passages of mine, Revelation 5 and Daniel 7. 

In this video clip, Randy Alcorn and Greg Laurie talk about having an eternal perspective and how our belief in the life to come should affect us in the day-to-day. 

In this video clip, Randy Alcorn and Greg Laurie talk about what we can expect when we get to Heaven, what we might wear and what we might eat.

God’s people are aliens and strangers, looking for a country of their own. This world, as it is now, under the curse, isn’t our home. But one day not only we but the earth itself will be remade. That earth, the New Earth, will not only be a place made for us but the place we were made for.