The End of the World: Why do end-of-time beliefs endure?

The Economist ^ | December 16, 2004 | Staff

[itsahoot]

2Pet. 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pet. 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pet. 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pet. 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pet. 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pet. 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pet. 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pet. 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pet. 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pet. 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pet. 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pet. 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pet. 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pet. 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pet. 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Because the end hasn't come yet?

Good answer. Everything is finite. Therefore expecting an end of some sort is neither unreasonable nor is it illogical.

A bit egotistical maybe to think that it will happen in our life time but humans are egotistical by nature and see most things as they relate to us.

I fail to see any reason for puzzlement.

[VOYAGER]

I believe all mankind is fighting the great battle of Good vs. Evil, I don't believe in the "rapture", I wasn't "born again", I did it right the first time.

That's what pidgeon holes are for.

[infidel29]

...hmmm I thought they were for pigeons....Can you explain what a cob web is next? I mean spiders make spider webs, do cobs make cob webs?

[Recovering_Democrat]

Read "The Parousia" by J. Stuart Russell. Makes a lot of sense. Available at Amazon.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

[Middle English coppeweb : coppe, spider (short for attercoppe, from Old English ttercoppe : tor, poison + copp, head) + web, web; see web.]

[quietolong]

>>>> Why do end-of-time beliefs endure? <<<<

It’s because people don’t know there Bible. They Just listen to the sound bites.

There is No End Of The World coming up. If we follow down the wrong path (which it seem like) There will be some very bad hard times coming up but no end times. As in the
end of the world.
It always amazes me that all these people can go to Mass. And chant “ Now And Forever” And “ Forever And Ever Amen” and then go out and say “ The end of the world is near”
Read carefully the kingdom on earth will go on forever & ever.

[Esther Ruth]

His Kingdom is not of this world, it is not what we have at present. This world is passing away and it will end. The Bible is very clear on this. This world as it is now is sinful, fallen and unholy and it's only redemption and salvation is through Jesus Christ. Only those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will enter into His Kingdom, because no one can come to the Father but through Jesus Christ. All this WILL pass.

Revelation Chapter 22

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.


Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.


Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:


Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads.


Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.


Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings [are] faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.


Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.


Rev 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard [them]. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.


Rev 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See [thou do it] not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.


Rev 22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.


Rev 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.


Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.


Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.


Rev 22:14 Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.


Rev 22:15 For without [are] dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.


Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.


Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.


Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:


Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book.


Rev 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.


Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen.

[Skooz]

From what I've read, every existing generation believes THEY are in end times.

And, sooner or later, one of them will be right.

[Esther Ruth]

Pasadena Star-News

NASA discovers dozens of galaxies
Ultraviolet detectors used to find new stars
By Kimm Groshong
Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 21, 2004 - LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- A long- sought-after Holy Grail for astronomers is a complete understanding of how galaxies such as the Milky Way formed.

But since scientists believe most of the formative steps took place more than 10 billion years ago, directly observing that process by looking at galaxies more than 10 billion light years away is pushing the scope of modern technologies.

At least that was the case until recently when NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, also known as GALEX, discovered what appears to be three dozen "newborn galaxies' much closer to Earth than any of those older galaxies.

The newborns are only about 100 million to one billion years old, scientists said during a teleconference from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Tuesday.

"These galaxies give us a great opportunity to study the processes that give birth to galaxies in an up-close-and-personal way,' said Tim Heckman, the leader of the study from Johns Hopkins University. "It's almost like looking out the window and seeing a dinosaur walking by.'

The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission, launched in April 2003, is designed to complete the first survey of the sky in ultraviolet light in order to study how the universe came to contain the stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies that currently exist.

Since young galaxies produce new stars at a rate about 100 times faster than normal, GALEX can locate them by looking in wide areas of space for exceptionally bright areas in the ultraviolet.

Caltech leads the GALEX mission and is responsible for its science operations and data analysis. JPL manages the mission for NASA.

"These newborn galaxies are near us but they are very rare,' said Chris Martin, a Caltech physics professor and the principal investigator for Galex. "In a single image, we might see many thousands of galaxies ... and one of these is one of these new galaxies,' he said.

Numerous problems hinder astronomers' observations of older galaxies. "We can't obtain detailed information because these newborn galaxies in the early universe are faint and small and also because observations at certain wavelengths are just not possible at such great distances,' said Alice Shapley, an astronomer from UC Berkeley.

But she said the newborns may actually represent the same type of building blocks that formed the Milky Way. "The GALEX sample is so close by that we can obtain exquisitely detailed information from it about the processes that are involved in star and galaxy formation,' she said.

Shapley added that the project of gathering such additional detailed information about the galaxies' compositions and structures would be an ideal job for the Hubble Space Telescope.

Heckman noted that the group's data is "quite incomplete' since the discovery is so new. "We would very much like to get get more information about these galaxies,' he said. Another possibility is a combination of GALEX's observations with those from the Spitzer Space Telescope, which tracks heat rather than ultraviolet light.


Kimm Groshong can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4451, or by e-mail at kimm.groshong@sgvn.com .

[TomSmedley]

In the '70's, we were told 'nuclear war' at school and 'rapture' at church. No wonder I was depressed! One day, my mom said that even her grandmother had been waiting for the end of the world. What a relief!

When God brought down soviet communism, despite the doomsayers' confident assertions of its invincibility, the fortune tellers immediately started scurring around looking for other antichrist candidates to cower before.

What will they do when Islam suffers a global collapse of credibility?

Winners and lovers shape the future;
Whiners and losers try to predict it.

[Esther Ruth]

"Winners and lovers shape the future;
Whiners and losers try to predict it."

GOD is the writer of history, past, present and future. Not Man. God and God only shapes and controls the Future. Christians are to pray each day "That Your Will be done Lord, Not mine." Mans ways and plans are not God's ways and plans. He is Lord and God.

Christians who speak of future things as are spoken in God's Word are NOT predicting the future. They are only reiterating what God has already told man the future holds for them.

[infidel29]

I didn't really expect an answer to that, but thank you, I assumed it was a derivitive of some sort of spider web but was never sure:)

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Well, you got me curious so I checked it out. Once I know the answer it seemed impolite not to share.

[A CA Guy]

You are right, and that is also how they all felt as well.

[quietolong]

From nothing comes everything. Just think. were all star dust from type II Supernovas.
From one of the biggest bangs comes us! If that don’t describe Genesis I don’t know what could.

There was that thread the other day. About that atheist after looking at the Universe. Said there must be a guiding intelligence.

[quietolong]

And were does it say in all that. That it’s the end of the world?
Not only is it in the more that once in the Bible! But at every Catholic Mass it’s chanted
“ World With Out End Amen”
The Bible is VERY clear that the world will go on! Here on Earth and in Heaven.
Better read your Bible once more :)

[Esther Ruth]

1. The World Wide Apostasy and Falling Away.

II Tim. 3:1-8, 1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

II Tim. 4:1-4, 1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

I Tim. 4:1, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to deducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Matt. 24:3-8, 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

2. The Rapture of the Saints and the First Resurrection.

I Thess. 4:13-18, 13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (There is no mention of the lost being resurrected in this passage or in I Cor. 15).

I cor. 15:51-54, 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Rev. 4:1, After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. (The churches are not mentioned from Revelation chapter 4 to 19. It is incredible to think that they are on earth and not mentioned).

3. The Judgment Seat of Christ for the Rewarding of Christians.

This event will take place in the heavenlies, while the Tribulation will be taking place on earth.

II Cor. 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Rom. 14:10, But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

1 Cor. 3:9-15, 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

4. The Rise and Reign of the Antichrist.

Rev. 6:1-2, 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Rev. 13:8, 16-17, 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

II Thess. 2:3-9, 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, (When the saints of God are raptured out, the restraining power of the Holy Spirit will be removed. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit will be removed from the earth).

Dan. 7:8, I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Dan. 7:25, And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Dan. 11:36-38, 36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

5. The Seven Year Tribulation Period.

This will be the period of time in which the Antichrist shall rule. This period of time is covered in Revelation chapters 6-19.

Dan. 9:26-27, 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Dan. 12:1, And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Matt. 24:21, For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Rev. 7:14, And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Rev. 12:6, 14, 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. 14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

6. Return of Christ With His Saints & the Battle of Armageddon.

Rev. 19:11-21 (Be sure and read this passage).

Zech. 14:4, And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

7. The Devil Cast Into the Bottomless Pit.

Rev. 20:1-3, 1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

8. The Judgment of the Nations.

Matt. 25:31-46 (Read this Scripture). Those who are saved during the seven year tribulation, and who survive physically to the end of the tribulation, will be the fleshly people who will be allowed to go over into the millennial kingdom.

9. The 1000 Year Reign of Christ.

Rev. 20:4-7, 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Dan. 7:22, Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

Matt. 19:28, And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luke 1:32-33, 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Zech. 14:9, And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Isa. 11:5-9, 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9 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.

Isa. 65:25, The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

When this happens, it will be a fulfillement of the model prayer which Jesus taught His disciples. Matt. 6:10, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

10. What Happens After the 1000 Year Reign of Christ.

a. Satan will be released for a little season, and then will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. (Rev. 20:7-10)

b. The great white throne judgment will take place. (Rev. 20:11-15)

c. The new heaven and the new earth, and the eternal kingdom of God. (Rev. 21, 22).

[Esther Ruth]

Heaven is the final abode of the saints. While the term may be used to describe the dwelling place of the righteous during the intermediate state, the term more properly denotes the eternal state of the righteous after the resurrection. the millennium And the judgment.

A Real Place

Heaven is a real place. In the Scriptures it is called a place (John 14:2), a country (Hebrews 11:14-16), a city (Hebrews 11:10, 16; 12:22; 13:14; Rev. 21:10-27), and a house or mansion (John 14:23). Some of these expressions are no doubt figurative, but they stand for something. The Bible knows nothing of a nonmaterial, spaceless, ethereal kind of abode in eternity. Heaven is more than a condition of the soul, more than a state of mind, more than mere thoughts and ideas. It is a dwelling place consisting of material reality.

In addition to the biblical descriptions of heaven, there are two other biblical truths of the Christian faith which demand that heaven be a real place. The first is the bodily resurrection and ascension of Christ, and the other is the bodily resurrection of the believers. The nature of heaven must correspond to these two facts. It is inconsistent, on the one hand, to believe in the bodily resurrection of flesh and bones with the capacity to eat and drink (cf. Luke 24:39-43; Acts 10:41), and, on the other hand, to think of heaven as only symbolic and allegorical.

A Glorious Life

What kind of life will we have in heaven? Many things could be said at this point, but we can only mention a few selected statements.

First, it will be a life of individual perfection. We will have new, perfect bodies (I Corinthians 15:42-58); our minds will be renewed (I Corinthians 13:12); we will have moral perfection, for sin will be completely abolished from our nature and practice (I John 3:2; Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 21:27). Imperfection is such a part of our experience now that it is almost impossible for us to conceive what this life will be like.

Second, it will be a life of harmonious social relations. People from all walks of life and from all races and nations will be in heaven (Revelation 7:9), and yet there will be no quarrels, disagreements, crimes, nor wars to mar the fellowship. In heaven there will be no fear nor mistrust of one another (Revelation 21:24-27).

Third, it will be a life free from all natural evils. The body will no longer be subject to sickness, decay, hunger, pain, weariness, nor death (I Corinthians 15:53; Revelation 7:16; 21:4). The ravages of nature will no longer be a threat for there will be a new heaven and a new earth with these taken away (Romans 8:18-22; Revelation 21:1).

Finally, we know that heaven will be a life of unbroken fellowship with God. Our relations with God are so often hindered here. Sin often hides his face from us, and our limited understanding causes us to look through a glass darkly. But then we shall see Him face to face and behold Him in all His beauty (cf. Isaiah 33:7; Matthew 5:8; Revelation 22:4; I John 3:2). This will undoubtedly be the chiefest of joys in heaven, the bliss of all bliss. Oh, happy day!

An Eternal State

It is sometimes said here, "All good things have to end sometime." This is not true of heaven. Heaven is the eternal state of the righteous. There will be no end to it. There will be no danger of ever falling from that blessed state, nor having it taken away from us. It is a world without end. Amen!

[quietolong]

Never said Heaven not a real place.