The New Eternal Earth

Chapter 16 (Chapter 22:1-5)

In chapter 22, John describes the river of life he sees proceeding from beneath the throne of God and of the Lamb. He tells us it will be clear as crystal. He then describes the tree of life which will be on both sides of the river of life. This tree will bear a different kind of fruit each month and the fruit will be for the healing of the nations. This section tells us something else that I have never heard preached. I suppose one can interpret these thoughts spiritually also, but it isn’t necessary. When verse 2 tells us the fruit will be, “for the healing of the nations,” it implies there will be something that will need healing. Of course, one can conclude there will be illnesses like the flu or cancer, but I suspect that is not what this verse means.

In all of history, one thing has been prevalent about nations. Their leaders have never been content to live peacefully within their own borders. It is clear when the new heavens and new earth begin, they are entirely devoid of anything that resembles sin. It is not clear, nor is it stated anywhere in scripture that there will be no border disputes in heaven. It seems, even in eternity, man will have to have disputes settled. That is what God fearing kings do. They settle disputes. In America, we called the idea of creating new political borders “western expansion” in the mid to late 1800s. We also called it “manifest destiny.” We had lots of fancy names and benevolent reasons for such expansion, but in the final analysis, it simply meant we wanted more land. After every modern war, those nations who won the war made most of the loser’s submit to colonial status. This behavior is so deeply ingrained in the nature of man that I suspect even in heaven there will be the need for this fruit that will somehow provide the wisdom needed by leaders that will enable them to make all the right decisions their leadership requires. I realize such a thought is way beyond mainstream thinking; and I will say no more by way of trying to justify it. I don’t understand it well enough to attempt an explanation.

We know that in heaven there will no longer be any curse. It is clear the saints will reign forever and ever. Of course, the obvious question is, “Over what will they reign?” It is nothing new, but it is, in my estimation, a revolutionary thought to take the teachings of Revelation 22 and apply them to the new heavens and earth. In doing so, I will have draw several conclusions about this new heavens and earth: 1. there will be children born in heaven; 2. there will be political boundaries which will mark each nation’s territorial limits in heaven; 3. the development of nations means there will be issues between those nation which will have to be resolved; 4. everyone borne will have to have the same child rearing and training that Adam and Eve’s children needed 5. the river of life will instantly heal any problem of any kind anyone on the planet experiences; 6. there are twelve trees on both sides of the river of life that are specifically there for the purpose of healing the nations.

It seems there are obvious implications about the eternal abode of believers as revealed in this chapter that many have, for whatever reason, chosen to ignore. It seems some prefer to believe heaven is a complete mystery. For some reason, unknown to me, it seems great multitudes think we will be flying around the universe, sitting on clouds, playing harps for eternity. I suggest part of the reason for this idea of heaven comes from what has been recently labeled by contemporary conservative Christians, “The Feminization of the Gospel.”

Two views of men have been perpetrated by society for my entire lifetime (nearly 64 years). Most recently they have been portrayed as gutless, spineless, idiots, cowards, stupid, inept duds, submitting themselves to the whims of their more aggressive counterparts, women. Or, they have been portrayed as Casanovas, looking for the first opportunity that presents itself to get a strange woman into bed. Neither of these depictions of man come from the bible; but because of social and political pressures, most preachers have subjected their teaching to this politically correct biblically incorrect view of men, i.e., in subjection to the whims of their own spouses. This portrayal of man’s role in society has resulted in a gospel that depicts us in heaven sitting on clouds playing harps for eternity. If there are any real men reading this, please allow me to lay that thought to rest. God has made us to be warriors. He has created us with the innate drive to protect our families and our country from any outside forces that wish to do them harm.

On the one hand, I’m not exactly sure how this fits into the eternal scheme of things; on the other hand, I can draw some educated conclusions from the text as revealed in Revelation 22. First of all, let me assure you, there will not be anyone sitting on clouds playing harps for all of eternity. That idea is categorically absurd. When God created the original heavens and earth, he created man; and from man he made woman. He placed them both in the Garden of Eden and commanded them to till the soil. He originally created man to work. It is absurd to think heaven will be anything less. He originally created man to live forever tilling the soil, bringing forth fruit from the same. Before the curse, work was pleasurable. I know it is a hard concept for some to grasp, but work, as originally intended, is a glorious thing to engage.

Allow me to clarify. I spend six to ten hours each day writing. It sometimes drives my wife crazy (figuratively speaking of course). After ten hours of typing, I feel more energized than when I started. Of course, that is only an example, intended to help all of us understand how work will, in actuality, be pleasant on the new planet. I have a real job too. I go to it daily so I can come home each evening and write. In eternity, I suspect one will only work at that which he finds pleasant. Stated differently, whatever it will be that God has for him to do will be pleasurable for him because he will be perfectly suited to do it. He will not look forward to retirement because, when one is doing what he loves to do, there is no need for retirement. There will be no desire to be like one’s neighbor because there will be no greed or lust in eternity. Youngsters will need guidance, families will need direction, cities will need competent decision makers, and nations will need rulers to provide perfect, flawless, leadership. It’s a difficult concept for us to grasp, but Revelation 22 indicates it is possible for us to need guidance without us being sinners.

So, my beloved, contrary to what most believe, there is a great deal of information in scripture about heaven. Most of it is not explicit, but anyone with the ability to interpret implicit evidence can draw several reasonable conclusions from the vast amount of that evidence. It is sufficient for us to know heaven will not be anything like what most today believe it will be like. One thing is sure; no one will be floating through space playing harps.