Dr.
Gary VanDeWalker
Evangelical
Free Church
Of Mount Shasta
Fall
2009
Week
Two:
What is Eternity like in the New Earth
And Heaven? (Part One)
Week
Three:
What is
Eternity
like in the New Earth and Heaven? (Part Two)
Week
Four:
Tough
Questions about Eternity: Pets,
Babies,
and Hell
Week
Five:
What difference does Eternity make to my today?
Week
Two:
What
is Eternity like in the New Earth and Heaven? Part One2.
Where
and when will our deliverance come?
Hebrews
11:13-14, 16; Isaiah 26:19; Isaiah
11:1-10; Acts 1:6-8; Isaiah 60:21
3.
Will
the old earth be destroyed or renewed?
A.
Some scriptures seem to say utterly
destroyed.
Psalm
102:25-26; Luke 21:33; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation
21:1
B.
Some scriptures say the earth lasts
forever
Ecc.
1:4; Psalm 78:69
C.
Scripture teaches a temporary
destruction that is reversed
Acts
3:21; 2 Peter 3:10,
lays bare the earth
4.
Will
the New Earth be familiar...like home?
A.
It
is like home, a
real earth, physical
beings and objects
B.
"What we need is not to be rescued
from the world, not to cease being human, not to stop caring for the
world, not
stop shaping human culture. What
we need
is the power to do these things according to the will of God. We, as well as the rest of
creation need to
be redeemed." Paul
Marshall
C.
"If
I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is
that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis
5.
What
will it mean to see God?
A.
"I
shall rise from the dead...I shall see the Son of God, the Sun of
Glory, and
shine myself as that sun shines. I
shall
be united to the Ancient of Days, to God Himself, who had no morning,
never
began....No man ever saw God and lived.
And yet, I shall not live till I see God; and when I have
seen him, I
shall never die." John
Donne
B.
Our longing for heaven is a longing for
God, Psalm 63:1; Revelation
22:4;
Hebrews
12:14; Psalm 27:4
C.
John 14:9, Jesus show us God; Matthew
5:8; Revelation 22:4
D.
"The kingdom must not be
understood as merely the salvation of certain individuals or even the
reign of
God in the hearts of his people; it means nothing less than the reign
of God
over his entire created universe....The kingdom is not man's upward
climb to
perfection but God's breaking into human history to establish his reign
and to
advance his purposes." Anthony
Hoekema
E.
2 Corinthians 3:18
F.
"You have made us for yourself, O
Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." Augustine
G.
All joys find their ultimate source in
God.
H.
God is a lavish giver, Romans 8:32; Jeremiah
31:34
I.
We will find God in everything we
explore in heaven.
6.
What
will it mean for God to dwell among us?
A.
In Eden, God visited when He wished,
Gen. 3:8.
Lev.
26:11-12; Ek.
37:27; 2
Corinthians 6:16
B.
There will not be separate universes,
but heaven and earth will be one.
C.
God will not send a delegate, but live
with us.
D.
He will serve, Luke 12:37; Isaiah 25:6
F.
In one sense, we are already in heaven,
Col. 3:1-4; Ephesians 2:6
G.
Heaven is your home already.
7.
How
will we worship God?
A.
We equate church attendance with
boredom.
B.
The Bible never speaks of church
services in heaven.
C.
"Certainly those who live and
reign with Christ forever will find the diversity and complexity of
their
worship of God not less, but richer, in the life to come. Every legitimate activity
of new creaturely
life will be included within the life of worship of God's people."
Cornelius Venema
D.
We will be eating, drinking, reigning,
working, traveling, and gathering for feasts.
All in worship of Christ.
E.
We are created to worship God.
F.
We will find our identity.
Matthew 16:25
G.
We will not know God exhaustively, but
we will know Him accurately.
8.
What
does God's eternal kingdom involve?
A.
"Why do we not know the country
whose citizens we are? Because
we have
wandered so far away that we have forgotten it.
But the Lord Christ, the king of the land, came down to
us, and drove
forgetfulness from our heart. God
took
to Himself our flesh so that He might be our way back." Augustine
B.
John 8:23
His
kingdom is not of this world, because He
is not from this world.
Christ's
kingdom is not from the earth, it
extends to the earth.
C.
Revelation 5:10
D.
Man is not saved from his environment,
but from the curse
9.
Will
we actually rule with Christ?
A.
Adam and Eve failed as rulers.
B.
The Bride of Christ will rule with Him.
C.
Psalm 72:8, 11
D.
"Over and over again the
Scriptures make this plain: the political power which has been so
corrupted and
twisted in the hands and hearts of sinful rulers must be returned to
its rightful
source." Richard Mouw
E.
Daniel 2:35, 44
F.
The Jews were not wrong in looking for
an earthly King
G.
Christ
followers will rule cities, Luke 19:7
H.
Christ followers will judge angels, 1
Corinthians 6:2-3
I.
God will give us authority, Psalm 8:6
J.
Revelation 2:26; 5:9-10
K.
We will inherit the earth, Matthew 5:5.
L.
"The future heaven is centered
more on activity and expansion, serving Christ and reigning with
Him....The
emphasis in the present heaven is on the absence of earth's negatives,
while in
the future heaven it is the presence of earth's positives, magnified
many times
through the power and glory of resurrected bodies on a resurrected
earth, free
at last form sin and shame and all that would hinder both joy and
achievement." Rene
Pache
M.
We have seen much twisted leadership,
not seeing the good in God appointing us as leaders.
N.
There will be no skepticism of
government in heaven.
O.
It is God's not our idea to have us
reign in heaven.
P.
Luke 22:29-30
Q.
Christ is preparing a place and
preparing us for that place.
R.
Service is a reward, not a punishment.
10.
Will
the new earth be an edenic paradise?
A.
"The Grand Canyon, the Alps, the
Amazon rain forests, the Serengeti Plain these are rough sketches of
the New
Earth." Alcorn
B.
God is interested in the details,
Genesis 2:8, 9
C.
Christ is interested in the details,
John 14:2-3
D.
History will not start over, it will
continue.
E.
There is no reason not to think of
progress. Heaven is
not necessarily a
primitive life.
F.
Ezekiel 36:35
G.
Heaven will be a deeper beauty than
earth.
H.
The New Earth is a place of healing,
Revelation 22:2.
11.
What
is the New Jerusalem?
A.
Fifteen times in Rev. 21 and 22, a city
is referred to in heaven.
B.
It is a walled city on the peak of a
hill.
C.
The city is 1,400 miles in width,
length, and breadth, Rev. 21:15-16
D.
The city would be two million squares
miles, 40 times bigger than England, and 15,000 times bigger than
London.
E.
There are twelve gates with twelve
angels, Rev. 21:12-13
F.
People will travel to the city, Rev.
21:24-26.
G.
Our citizenship is in this Kingdom,
Phil. 3:20
H.
God is the designer and builder of this
city, Hebrews 11:8-10
I.
Luke 19:17-19
J.
Streets of gold, looking like clear
glass, Rev. 21:21
K.
The River of Life flows through it,
Rev. 22:1-2
L.
The Tree of Life is present.
Rev.
2:7; Ezk. 47:12
M.
There is time there.
Rev.
10:6 is mistranslated in the King James
Rev.
6:10-11, martyrs told to wait
Eph.
2:7, coming ages
Rev.
7:15, day and night
Rev.
22:2, months
Isaiah
66:22-23, moons and Sabbaths
Genesis 8:22, seasons
Time
isn't the enemy, death is
Time
will bring gain, not loss
Buddhism
teaches time will be extinguished
12.
Will
the New Earth have sun, moon, oceans and weather?
A.
There seems to be no sun or moon.
Rev.
21:23; Rev.
22:5; Isaiah 60:19-21
B.
The above verses never say there will
be no sun or moon, only that the city
does not need their light.
C.
Rev. 21:1, there is no sea, but we know
there is water
D.
Nothing says there will be no
weather. Weather
glorifies God.
E.
Job 37:3-6