The Wonderful World Beyond Today...
The Universe and Beyond
The plans, promises and prophecies of the Bible all lead to one thing—a potential almost beyond human comprehension! What does God have in store for you?
by Mike Bennett
The Bible describes incredible physical blessings to be enjoyed on this earth after Jesus Christ returns to save humanity from itself. Weapons of war will be recycled for productive purposes, and deserts will blossom. Even dangerous predators and poisonous snakes will be tamed (Isaiah 11:6-9)! This period of peace and prosperity on earth is prophesied to last 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4).
But as amazing and utopian as this time will be, God has something even greater in store for those He is training and transforming. By choosing to follow God's ways and learning to think like He does, human beings are preparing for a potential beyond our wildest dreams!
However, God has always given humans a choice. It's the only way to truly develop His character—to consciously choose to go His way even when the alternative looks appealing. Because this is how He works in this present evil age, it is logical to assume that He will work similarly with humans living under the benevolent rule of His Kingdom.
In this beautiful world, why would anyone choose to reject God's way of give and follow the selfish way of get instead? It seems incomprehensible.
The return of the enemy
Perhaps this dilemma helps explain the enigma of Satan's release at the end of the first 1,000 years of the Kingdom's reign on earth (often called the Millennium, from the Latin for "thousand years"). At the beginning of the Millennium Satan is locked up "so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while" (Revelation 20:3).
Satan "will go out to deceive the nations" and apparently will be very successful (Revelation 20:8). (For insight into why God will allow Satan to do this, request our booklet Is There Really a Devil? ) This final rebellion will be firmly put down, and Satan will again be put away—this time forever.
Then comes a time of resurrection and judgment that helps fulfill God's purpose for the masses of humanity who have lived throughout history.
The Great White Throne Judgment: Everyone gets a full opportunity
One of the most challenging things many Christians struggle to understand is how the God who loves everyone enough to give His only Son, and who wants all people to be saved (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4), could eternally condemn little babies and adults who had never heard His name. Has God lost the majority of human beings who have ever lived? No, He hasn't! The commonly accepted belief is inaccurate!
Consider what Christ said about the day of judgment, a time when everyone from the queen of Sheba to the people of Sodom to the people of the first century would be brought back to life together (Matthew 11:21-24; 12:42). He told people of His time that "it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you" (Matthew 11:24). Clearly, none of these people were converted at the time of their death, and yet Jesus plainly says that they will be brought to life again.
What could He mean by it being "more tolerable" for the depraved men of Sodom? They had never heard of Christ, but He was sure they would be more willing to repent and obey Him in the judgment day than those who had seen His miracles in the first century.
A prophecy of the day of judgment recorded by Ezekiel helps explain. After raising people from their graves to physical life, God tells them, "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and… you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it" (Ezekiel 37:14).
They won't be raised just to be condemned and thrown in the lake of fire. Rather, God will offer them His Spirit in the Judgment Day, which means that our loving God will give them a chance to repent and to become converted. This isn't a second chance at salvation, but rather an opportunity that they never had before.
With this in mind, consider John's description of this time. "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it… And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books" (Revelation 20:11-12).
The "books" that "were opened" are the books of the Bible, opened to their full understanding for the first time. The resurrected humans from all periods of history will understand for the first time the standards by which God judges, and they will have the opportunity for the first time to repent and accept the sacrifice of Christ, the only name "by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
As we saw in Ezekiel, God's Spirit—and thus a chance for salvation—will be offered during this time. So, like the judgment that is now on God's Church (1 Peter 4:17), the final judgment must provide a period of time, during which people learn God's truth and then put it into practice long enough for them to develop His character. Thereby, they will have a real chance to be saved.
Our just and merciful God would provide no less.
Those who have fully understood the choice, but inexplicably reject God and choose the way of death, will have their lives quickly end in the lake of fire, which will "burn them up" (Revelation 20:15; Malachi 4:1).
For more about the resurrections and the fate of the dead, go to www.wnponline.org and download or request our free booklets You
Can Understand Bible Prophecy,
Incredible potential
After the Judgment Day, all humans who have ever lived will have had the full opportunity to accept eternal life and the incredible potential God offers. What is that potential? Beyond the Millennium and the Judgment Day lies a fantastic future that we can now see only dimly.
As Paul explained, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Man's highest aspirations are only a shadow compared to God's great goal for us. John put it this way: "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!... Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:1-2).
As incredible as it may seem, we are to be like Him!
The universe and beyond!
King David pondered man's position in the universe now, and the awesome potential God has in store:
"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?" (Psalm 8:3-4).
The book of Hebrews picks up the quote, and expounds on it. "'For a little while you made him lower than the angels, and you crowned him with glory and honor. You gave him authority over all things.' Now when it says 'all things,' it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all of this happen" (Hebrews 2:7-8, New Living Translation).
So far, we have seen Jesus Christ die to make it possible for all of us to be resurrected as He was to inherit "all things"—not just this physical universe but the spiritual realm as well!
Why did God do all this? Not to create more angels, for Paul shows we will judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3) and that they serve us (Hebrews 1:14). No, God intends to literally bring "many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10)! Christ is not ashamed to call us brothers (verse 11)! We will actually be our Father's "sons and daughters" (2 Corinthians 6:18)! God is expanding His family and wants to welcome us into His realm to share "all things" with us!
Our minds boggle at concepts like eternity and infinity, much less the limitless power and great glory God wants to share! The biblical descriptions of the spiritual realm are couched in physical language or we could not comprehend it at all. Read for yourself John's lyrical visions of the New Jerusalem, the new heavens and the new earth in Revelation 21 and 22. We are meant to bask in the beauty of this fantastic future and long for its fulfillment.
At the end of the book Jesus Christ tells us, "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work… Surely I am coming quickly" (Revelation 22:12,20).
After exploring this incredible vision of the world beyond today, we can reply with John, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (verse 20). WNP |
