Cloud surfing? Harp strumming? Singing in an everlasting worship service? Melting into nothing in the celestial light of God? Is this how we will be enjoying eternity?
Some guesses about our eternal activities are nebulous, and others cross the border into the ridiculous. None of these pictures inspires me to anticipate eternity with joy. George Orwell observed, “The Christian Heaven, as usually portrayed, would attract nobody. Almost all Christian writers dealing with Heaven either say frankly that it is indescribable or conjure up a vague picture of gold, precious stones, and the endless singing of hymns.”1 If you are not excited about the prospect of eternity with God, maybe you’ve got the wrong picture in your mind. What will God’s people be doing in eternity?
Enjoying Food
We are going to eat in eternity. At the very least, we will eat from the tree of life. God promises believers: “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). The tree of life grows in the New Jerusalem in the new earth where believers will live forever (Revelation 21:2).
In His glorified body, Jesus ate and drank (Luke 24:42–43). Since our glorified bodies are like His, we too will be able to eat and drink in eternity. Furthermore, just before the Second Coming of Christ, we will sit and eat with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb as He foretold at the Last Supper (Revelation 19:6–9; Luke 22:15–18). We will not enter a tasteless eternity. Fruit and feasts await us in the new earth.
Enjoying Homes and Land
According to Matthew 19:28–30, Jesus promises that those who give up houses and lands in this life will inherit them in eternity. If you like having a garden or growing your own food, you can do it in the new earth.2 With the curse removed, think of how easy and fruitful your efforts will be!
Enjoying Relationships
Also, in Matthew 19:28–30, Jesus promises close family relationships in eternity. We will see our saved relatives again (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14). Those without saved relatives or who in this life lacked healthy family relationships will experience them in eternity. Biblical accounts indicate that we will recognize those we knew from this life just as Jesus’ friends recognized Him after His resurrection. The new earth will include perfect community and society as God originally intended.
Enjoying International Differences
Surprisingly, in the new earth, God will not abolish ethnic and national differences (Revelation 21:24, 26; 22:3). Yes, in Jesus Christ, we are all equal regardless of ethnicity, gender, or social status (Galatians 3:28). However, both the prophets of old as well as the book of Revelation speak of the nations in eternity. Revelation 21:24 describes “the nations of those who are saved” and “the kings of the earth” existing in the new earth and offering gifts to Jesus Christ in the New Jerusalem. Scholars, like Michael Vlach, argue that the “glory and the honor of the nations” that these international rulers bring to the New Jerusalem refer to the cultural contributions of distinct people groups.3 These differences enrich the society of the new earth rather than create the conflict and competition that we see in the fallen world today.
So, can we look forward to a glorified Chinese buffet without MSG? Mexican bean burritos without discomfort? Japanese sushi without fear of cross-contamination? Maybe we won’t be eating meat since there is no death, but whatever replaces it will be so much better than an impossible burger. Furthermore, the creativity of the different cultures will continue, not disappear. We do not lose what is truly good in the new earth. Instead, we experience it at its best, as God meant it to be.
Enjoying Jesus’ Light
Revelation 21–22 describes the new earth in very concrete terms with cities, gates, and a street of gold. Genuine physical light from Jesus replaces the need for a sun and moon, and His people walk in this light (Revelation 21:23; 22:5). Yet, a spiritual aspect of light also applies (1 John 1:5). The new earth contains no impurity or blemish of any kind (Revelation 21:8, 27). All relationships, speech, and actions are genuinely pure as God’s people walk with Him in His light (Revelation 21:24).
Enjoying Rule Over God’s Creation
God made humans to have dominion over His creation (Genesis 1:26). Sin only delayed God’s design. In the new earth, humankind will rule under the King of Kings (Revelation 22:5). God has work for us to do as we serve Him by ruling over His creation.
In Eden, this rule did not just involve people but also agriculture and animals. We know that the new earth includes plants like the tree of life. Could the new earth also involve animals? It would seem likely. Maybe we would even live in harmony alongside extinct species like dinosaurs, saber-tooth tigers, and dodo birds.
Enjoying Life in God’s Presence
Beyond all the blessings mentioned thus far, God’s people will enjoy the presence of God forever (Revelation 21:3). God Himself will live among us. Psalm 16:11 emphasizes this joy: “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We will walk with God in an Eden-like, “very good” environment as God intended (Genesis 1:31).
Enjoying Eternity
Are you longing for eternity now? The Bible’s revelation of the new earth provides enough concrete details to excite our imaginations.4 What God describes far exceeds pictures of floating cherubs, feathery wings, or encompassing light.
Eternal life is truly life—overflowing with new experiences, inner fulfillment, and guiltless enjoyment. We do not lose anything good that we have now: we gain so much more. We will not look back wishing for what we once had. No, in eternity, we will launch forward into a new existence beyond anything we have experienced before.
C. S. Lewis illustrated this truth well in the final paragraph of his Chronicles of Narnia: “And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”5
- George Orwell, All Art is Propaganda: Critical Essays (Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2008), 205. Quoted material from the essay, “Can Socialists Be Happy?” ↩︎
- Yes, this implies that there will be time in the new earth as does the reference to the tree of life producing every month in Revelation 22:2. ↩︎
- Michael Vlach, The New Creation Model: A Paradigm for Discovering God’s Restoration Purposes from Creation to New Creation (Cary, NC: Theological Studies Press, 2023), 27. A very thought-provoking book that was released earlier this year. It is well worth reading! ↩︎
- The final chapter of my missions devotional, Daring Devotion: A 31-Day Journey with those who Lived God’s Promises, highlights the hope and anticipation for the new heaven and new earth. ↩︎
- C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle (New York: HarperTrophy, 1956), 228. ↩︎
Photo Credit: Christophe Van der waals on unsplash
