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The Amazing Future that Awaits Us!

I am convinced that the words in our vocabulary cannot begin to express the grandeur and scope of the world and the universe God has planned for those who love Him. As we reflect on things to come, we should not be surprised so little is revealed in the Bible; our minds and experiences have not equipped us to understand the wonders of what will be.

The remainder of this article will provide a brief summary of what the Bible reveals about the future.

7 – The Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ

This will be the third time mankind has been given a fresh start; the first time it began with Adam and Eve and ended in failure, the second time it began with Noah and his family and ended in failure, the third time will this pattern be repeated?

The earth will have been restored and the environment will be perfect but in spite of perfect environment many will reject Christ as Savior.

At the end of the Tribulation the only mortal humans left to repopulate the earth will be those who have received Christ as Savior; they will be saved but still have the sin nature they received from Adam. Their children and their children’s children will be born, some to receive Christ as Savior and others to reject Christ.

8 – The second battle of Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennium.

During this period Christ will reign and Satan will be bound but then at the end of the 1,000 years Satan will be released from his confinement and will go out and deceive those who have rejected Christ as Savior; despite perfect environment many will reject Christ. Under Satan’s leadership, those who follow Satan will attack. This is briefly described in Revelation 20:7-10,

“⁷ When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹ They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

9 – The destruction of the present heavens and earth and the Great White Throne Judgment.

In Revelation 20:11-15 we read,

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

In verse 11 we read “the heavens and earth fled from his presence,” I believe this is a reference to the destruction mentioned by Peter in 2 Peter 3:10 where it is written, “¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” All in which unbelieving man had placed his trust will be gone, their reality will consist of the Great White Throne and empty blackness to be followed by eternal torment in the Lake of Fire.

10 – The creation of the new heaven and earth and the beginning of eternity.

The Bible does not provide a great deal of information about eternity and the new heavens and earth. If I were to guess I would explain that omission by comparing it with efforts to describe a major world city to a young boy who only knew of mud huts and jungle trails; there would be no standard for reference or even words in the boy’s vocabulary to try and help him understand what it was like. I’m convinced that the differences between what we know and what will be are infinitely greater than that; we will simply have to wait and see what God has planned for His children.

The Bible’s revelations of the new heavens and earth are largely contained in Revelation, chapters 21 and 22. Chapter 21 begins with these words:

21 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. ² I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘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.”

⁵ 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.”

Chapter 22 ends with these words,

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

^“4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4