SPECIAL GIFT

 

 

 

Millions of dollars are spent each year in an attempt to stay healthy and live as long as possible. We join health clubs and purchase all kinds of exercise equipment. Vitamins and other health supplements sell like hot cakes. Medical insurance is a must. These things are helpful but they can only prolong life when what we really want is to live forever. God, too, wants each of us to live forever, and He has already made provision for that.  It’s called God’s Gift of Eternal Life. When does it start? Where will it be? What will we do for eternity? The Bible answers these questions so let’s see what it says.

 

God created this earth for a reason…

 

Isaiah 45:18

For this is what the Lord says – He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – He says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other.

 

God made this earth to be inhabited by us. Adam and Eve, the first two people to live on Earth were given a big responsibility.

 

Genesis 1:28

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

 

Adam and Eve were to care for all living things that God had made, but their first and most important job was to have children and keep having them at least until the earth was full. Now, we’ve been doing that for about six thousand years and we may have overdone it, at least according to some scientists who believe we will soon exhaust our natural resources if the population keeps growing at its present rate. Things here on earth are becoming critical, but when will it end? The Bible makes one thing very clear about that question.

 

Matthew 24:36

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

 

Only our Father in heaven knows when the end will come. Anyone who sets a date for that event should not be listened to. The disciples asked Jesus this same question and He answered them this way.

 

Matthew 24:6 -12 

And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

 

As bad as this all sounds it doesn’t signify the end. Jesus goes on though, to tell us of something that does.

 

Matthew 24:14

And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

 

The Gospel must go to the whole world before the end comes. Only God knows when that will be, but there are indications that it’s getting close. With the advancement of travel and communication, we have seen in the last hundred years how it now is possible to reach virtually the whole world. It isn’t our job to worry about when the end will come. It is our job to help spread the good news or Gospel message. That message is that Jesus died for you and is coming to take you to a better place. He’s going to bring us to our Heavenly Home. When He comes to take us home it will be His Second Coming. We celebrate His “First Coming” every Christmas. This second coming will put an end to sin and will be the beginning of our eternal Life. What will this Second Coming be like? Some say it will take place in secret but Jesus says,

 

Matthew 24:27

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

 

Lightning is very bright and is accompanied by loud peels of thunder. If I were coming in secret I wouldn’t choose this way. John says,

 

Revelation 1:7

Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, amen.

 

These clouds He comes in are clouds of angels, thousands and thousands of those majestic beings. No one will be able to miss it. Paul says,

 

1 Thesselonians 4:16

For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

 

Look at what it says in the Book of Acts.

 

Acts 1:9-11 

After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven."

 

Jesus will return in an open and spectacular way which will be observed and heard by everyone. God tells us everything we need to know. He does nothing in secret but lays it all out so that we will know His exact plan and cannot then be lead to believe lies. Satan wants everything to be kept secret or misunderstood so that He can lead us down the wrong path. This is why we need to study the Bible for ourselves and not just take someone else’s word for it.

 

Now let’s look at the chain of events that take place right after Jesus appears this second time.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words.

 

Paul says to encourage one another by talking about this miraculous event. Picture it:  Jesus, surrounded by a brilliant cloud of angels and seated on a beautiful throne of gold, at first seen from a distance but then becoming clearer as He approaches the earth. There are singing and shouting and trumpets blowing. Then Jesus calls out for His faithful followers who have died to come alive, and along with His followers who are still alive, He gathers them all up with Him in the air. I want to be in that number. All of these saints who believed in Jesus will live with Him forever.

 

Where does the Bible say that will be? The answer to that comes in two parts. Here’s the first.

 

Revelation 20:4-6

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the Word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

 

For a thousand years Christ’s faithful will be with Him in Heaven. There they will judge and reign with Christ. The judging going on at this time has nothing to do with us deciding the fate of any human beings. God has already made those decisions or else we wouldn’t be there in heaven to begin with. What we will judge has to do with the fairness of God’s executive judgments. We will see that He did everything that could possibly be done to ensure that everyone accepted His gift of salvation, short of forcing them too. God leaves no stone unturned when it comes to our Salvation.

 

Now let’s get to the second part of the answer. What happens after the thousand years is the really exciting part.

 

Revelation 21:1 -5 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new." Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

 

God made a perfect Earth for Adam and Eve to populate with their off spring. Sin ruined that perfect world for a while, but God will make it new again. This earth will not only be the home of the saved but also the center of God’s universe. There will be no more death, pain, sorrow, sickness or anything negative ever again. In fact, even the memory of these things will be gone.

 

Isaiah 65:17

Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

                                                                                                                                   

 

We won’t be living on clouds and playing harps. We will be living and enjoying life the way God intended us to. Look at what Isaiah says.

 

Isaiah 65:21  

They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.  No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat.  For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of My people; My chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.

 

We’ll get to build our own houses just the way we like them. We will get to plant our own gardens and grow just what we like, and there won’t be any weeds. It will be work but God says it will be enjoyable. We’ll get to invite all kinds of interesting people over for dinner and that includes Jesus Himself.

 

God made this earth to be inhabited by the people He loves and that love Him back. That’s just what will happen. The Bible says we can’t imagine just how great it’s going to be, but the things we already know about eternal life are wonderful enough, and it’s going to be a hundred times better than anything we could possibly imagine.

 

I know you have some more questions, and we will address some of them in the next study:  Grave Subject.

 

Such as:

1. Where are the dead before Jesus returns?
2. Are they in heaven or Hell?
3. What happens to Satan and those who don’t accept Jesus as their Savior?
4. Will I have to live forever in this old body?
5. Will I even have a body?