Information Related to "What Heaven on Earth Will Be Like"
| Audio/Video |
Alex Ugalek/Getty Images Plus
Many specific Bible prophecies tell us what the world will be like after Jesus Christ establishes the Kingdom of God on earth. Some almost sound like common ideas about heaven. In fact, some people apply some of these prophecies to heaven when in fact they're talking about how the earth and everything on it will be transformed!
Let's consider what Bible prophecy tells us about this coming wonderful world tomorrow. It paints an astoundingly beautiful picture of a world very different from our world of today!
Christ Jesus will reign as the divine, uncontested King over all the earth, it then being announced: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever" (Revelation 11:15, English Standard Version).
To bring peace to the world, Jesus Christ must assume control of all nations and peoples on earth: "Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:14).
Christ, the Prince of Peace, will be the ultimate Peacemaker, enabling and enforcing an enduring worldwide peace: "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called ... Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end ..." (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Under His rule, nations' priorities will shift from an age-old pattern of aggression to peace: "He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Micah 4:3).
Jesus Christ will return to the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem, and will then reign over all the earth (Zechariah 14:4, Zechariah 14:9, Zechariah 14:17), with Jerusalem as the capital of His world-ruling government (Jeremiah 3:17). "Thus says the Lord: 'I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the Lord of hosts, the Holy Mountain' " (Zechariah 8:3).
As King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16), Jesus Christ will teach all nations the laws of God as spelled out in Scripture: "Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord ... He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Micah 4:2).
He will rule over all peoples with perfect justice: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears [that is, just by how things look or what people tell Him]; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth ..." (Isaiah 11:2-4).
Assisting Jesus Christ in ruling over the earth will be His followers from this age who have truly surrendered and dedicated their lives to God: "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Revelation 3:21).
Satan the devil, the unseen "god of this age" who "deceives the whole world" (2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9), will be forcibly removed from mankind so he can no longer influence people and lead them into his path of deceit and death: "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:1-3).
With Satan, the source of all lies and deceit, removed, all of humanity will learn about the true God and come to know Him and His way of life: "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9).
Once Satan is out of the picture and people can at last learn about the true God and His way of life, God will offer His Spirit to all human beings, allowing them to become spiritually converted, starting with His people Israel as a model for what He will do for all mankind: "Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God" (Ezekiel 11:19-20; see also Acts 2:17).
Receiving God's Spirit doesn't do away with God's law as so many believe, but is actually the means of having God's law internalized in people's hearts and minds and coming to truly know Him: "This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more" (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Hebrews 8:10-12).
Two hallmarks of Christ's reign on the earth will be a great increase in wealth and the ending of crime and corruption. "Instead of bronze I will bring gold, instead of iron I will bring silver, instead of wood, bronze, and instead of stones, iron. I will also make your officers peace, and your magistrates righteousness. Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders" (Isaiah 60:17-18).
People will no longer fear that criminals or oppressive governments will harm them or steal their property. "But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid" (Micah 4:4).
"My people will build houses and live in them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit; they will not build for others to live in or plant for others to eat. They will be as long-lived as a tree, and my chosen ones will enjoy the fruit of their labour. They will not toil to no purpose or raise children for misfortune, because they and their issue [descendants] after them are a race blessed by the Lord" (Isaiah 65:21-23, Revised English Bible).
Peace will even extend to animals' nature: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den" (Isaiah 11:6-8).
Divine healing will be available to cure all sicknesses, diseases and injuries: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing ..." (Isaiah 35:5-6).
In contrast to so much of today's world, agricultural lands will become incredibly productive: "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it'" (Amos 9:13).
Desert areas that are currently wastelands will become fertile and lush with springs and rivers of fresh water: "Waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes" (Isaiah 35:6-7).
Not only will these areas flow with water; they will also have a wide variety of vegetation: "I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, the myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine and the box tree together, that they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it" (Isaiah 41:18-20).
After Jesus Christ ends the massive destruction and warfare that precedes His return, worldwide reconstruction projects will rebuild destroyed areas and make them habitable again: "So they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited'" (Ezekiel 36:35).
These and other verses spell out a vision of the future that will soon become reality. If you believe in God and that the Bible is His Word, then believe that these promises will be fulfilled! Jesus Christ will return to bring this promised paradise to earth and to transform this world into an Eden-like existence!
These promises -- of Jesus Christ reigning on earth to establish peace and justice, of Satan the devil and his evil influence being removed, of a spiritual transformation of humanity through obeying God's laws and receiving His Holy Spirit -- will produce a world of peace, prosperity and purpose.
It will be a world beyond our wildest dreams -- and you can be part of it!
©1995-2022 United Church of God, an International AssociationRelated Information:
Table of Contents that includes "What Heaven on Earth Will Be Like"
Other Articles by Scott Ashley
Origin of article "What Heaven on Earth Will Be Like"
Keywords: kingdom of God heaven on earth millennium
Kingdom of God - description of: