Revelation 21:1 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.
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
Eschatology covers the whole scope of the Bible’s teaching on the last or ultimate things, from Christ’s return to the millennium to the final judgment and more. One key component of eschatology concerns what happens to people when they die, also known as personal eschatology. In our last study, we looked at the reality of hell as the verdict on judgment day for those who do not know Christ. We should be clear, however, that those who die outside Christ before judgment day go to hell at that point. Christ renders a preliminary judgment that is then confirmed at His return, for we know that we face judgment at death (Heb. 9:27).
What about those who die in faith? At their deaths, they go straight to heaven to be with the Lord. We can find this taught in many places. For example, John 14:1–3 features our Lord’s promise that after His departure in the ascension, He would be preparing a place for His people. This is the promise of heaven, the place where our souls will dwell with Jesus in all joy and happiness as we wait for His plan for human history to be finished and His return in final judgment.
In heaven, we will experience what theologians have called the beatific vision, or the direct vision of God Himself. While sin remains present, there is a limit to how near we can get to the Lord. God told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Ex. 33:20). No matter the depth of intimacy that we enjoy with our Creator now, we eventually fall short of seeing Him as He is because sin has not yet been fully removed from us. When Christians die, however, they are immediately made pure in all holiness and that barrier to seeing God is removed. Consequently, as 1 John 3:2 tells us, we will see our Lord as He is. In heaven, we will see God face-to-face. We can hardly imagine how wonderful that will be, but we know that God is so beautiful that all our deepest longings will be satisfied just by a glimpse of His face.
The beatific vision begins for us at our deaths, but we will not forever dwell as disembodied spirits. When Christ returns to deliver His final judgment, He will bring a new heaven and earth (Rev. 21:1–22:5). All creation will then be renewed, and we will enjoy perfect joy and happiness for all eternity. Our souls will be reunited with our perfected physical bodies, and there will be no sorrow, pain, or ravages of sin that mark the present order.
(Our Everlasting Rest)
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
God has not handed over His creation to sin forever, but He is going to renew and transform all things, even our bodies. Best of all, we will see God face-to-face. Nothing will keep us from the full enjoyment of the Lord forever. We should be longing for that most of all, for we were made to delight in our Creator and we will never find full satisfaction until the day when all limits to the full enjoyment of that delight are removed.
How wonderful it would be !!