Eternity

The writer of Hebrews and the apostle Peter, among other writers of scripture, have told us that the Sovereign One who created the heavens and the earth also has the power and the prerogative to destroy them. He will do exactly that, after the millennial reign of Christ. He created the original universe instantaneously, by the word out of His mouth. He will destroy it the same way.

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” Hebrews 1:10-12 

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:10-13

After the 1,000 years of perfect environment on the present earth and after the final judgments of all unbelievers and the execution of Satan’s sentence, God will totally destroy the present universe and make a new one for His kingdom and His people. There will be no sin or sorrow there. John saw this:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, he dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:1-8

God has promised Israel an eternal earth as their own habitation. This they will have. The new Jerusalem, built to specifications that have great significance to an eternal people, will be “foursquare,” as the song says, and will be the abode of God Himself. He is the light of it. He is the temple. He abides with His people, face-to-face. His face is the glory of the new creation. His presence is the joy and comfort of the eternal peoples. Everyone who indwells this new earth and new Jerusalem will be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. All will have conquered sin and death through faith in Jesus Christ. All the unsaved, who chose to die in their sins are not found in the new heavens, new earth or new Jerusalem. They are in the lake of fire forever. All those sinful behaviors mentioned in verse 8 are characteristics of the natural man who rejected Christ’s righteousness in favor of his own. Those sinful attitudes and behaviors describe the “righteousness” of natural man. They cannot be accepted in the eternal home of God and His saints.

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 21:22-27

In God’s eternal earth there is no sea (of evil? of confusion?). There is also never any darkness, for the Lamb of God Himself is the constant light of it.

Revelation 22:1-5--God’s throne is the source of life-supporting fresh water. The tree of life is the source of  foods for everyone’s health and pleasure. Those resurrected humans who live there will provide priestly service to the Lord, face-to-face with Him, and will bear in themselves identification with Him.

He is their light. He is their life. Forever and ever.