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Christoplatonism is the scourge of Christianity, Plato taught that the spirit is
good and the body is bad. The church bought into that idea and one of the most
tragic results of this buy-in has been a wrong view of heaven. Heaven becomes
a foreign place where disembodied spirits float around in contemplative
reflection of God. The Scriptures teach no such thing, but because of the
pervasiveness of Christoplatonism much of the Scripture's teaching on heaven
ends up being interpreted “figuratively.” Randy Alcorn takes nearly 500 pages to
emphatically say “No” to a “spirits only” heaven.
The truth is our eternal home is a seriously upgraded physical “new” earth – we
as redeemed people will populate it. We will do all the normal physical things
that humans do, things like eating and drinking, and sleeping. On the new
earth there will be cultures, nations, music, sports, technology, adventure,
good and the body is bad. The church bought into that idea and one of the most
tragic results of this buy-in has been a wrong view of heaven. Heaven becomes
a foreign place where disembodied spirits float around in contemplative
reflection of God. The Scriptures teach no such thing, but because of the
pervasiveness of Christoplatonism much of the Scripture's teaching on heaven
ends up being interpreted “figuratively.” Randy Alcorn takes nearly 500 pages to
emphatically say “No” to a “spirits only” heaven.
The truth is our eternal home is a seriously upgraded physical “new” earth – we
as redeemed people will populate it. We will do all the normal physical things
that humans do, things like eating and drinking, and sleeping. On the new
earth there will be cultures, nations, music, sports, technology, adventure,
travel, and whatever else one can imagine. Perhaps the greatest evidence for the “physical” aspect of
our eternal home is the importance that Scripture places on a physical resurrection. These are actual
bodies coming back together in a perfect way. Just like Jesus was resurrected so too will we. Jesus still
has, and always will have, a physical body. You could say that God is definitely “pro-body.” The body is
not just the shell of the real you – it is the real you. To be a human is to have a body and a spirit. God
created both “good.” The curse of sin is what has ruined everything, but once that curse is lifted in the
New Heaven and the New Earth, all human physical/spiritual functions will be perfected. Eternity for us
will not be without time or space, it will have both. When we want to get together with friends there will
still be a “where” and a “when” that will need to be answered. Life will go on for us, as it does now, the
only huge difference is that we will be perfect. If a fish could think, and you were to tell it that one day
when it died it would go to the great ocean in the sky, only there would be no water in this ocean, and
nothing for which it was originally made, this fish would not be very excited to go. The same is true with
humans, God made us for this earth, it’s where we belong, it’s who we are, and God will one day
redeem it all for us. We shall love God and others perfectly and we shall live abundantly. All of the
righteous joys that we experience on this earth are but glimpses and signposts of what is to come.
Earth and life now are just shadows of the real earth and the real life which is to come. Eden was
perfect, God is bringing us back to a real Eden, only it will be better, because we will know and
understand redemption.
Taking the earth out of heaven, kills our hope for it, because we can only hope for what we desire and
we can only desire what we can imagine. – and to remove the earthly from heaven, is to make it truly
unimaginable.
So what? What is the value of viewing our eternal home in this way?
I can endure – God knows what he is doing. Through my suffering he is expanding my capacity for
eternal joy. I am being shaped and molded now, God is custom fitting me for my true country. All is not
lost when tragedy strikes, in fact nothing is lost, all will be ultimately a gain for me, so I endure for the joy
that is set before me.
What I do here matters – only what is eternal lasts, what is eternal is the cup of cold water I give in
Christ’s name, or the care I give for the orphan. The late nights of rocking the baby to sleep, or the
sacrifice I make for the stranger in need. Those physical/spiritual acts of love carry over – we will
remember those events, meet those people, and be rewarded for what we have done.
I need to do my best – Everything carries over to our real life in the New Earth. I pick up where I left off,
only now I will have serious “resurrection” upgrades. I will continue to work, and grow, and learn – but if I
am lazy now, if I waste time now, I will be behind the curve in the New Earth. It’s not harps and clouds, it’
s real life. Our placement, our starting point, our rewards are directly connected to what we do with our
life that exists now in the shadowlands of our fallen earth.
Look for glimpses of God – God originally made all things good, sin has rusted and ruined a lot. But still
the pure goodness of God shows through on occasion. Those pure pleasures that we experience than
lose, those “awe” moments when we are amazed by something really cool, that “thrill of victory” feeling.
That satisfied sigh, after a job well done. That emotional welling up that happens when you sing praise
to God in the congregation. That tingle in the heart towards someone you love. That mouth watering
bight into your favorite food. All of these are but tastes, and glimpses of what is to come. I need to truly
enjoy all these pleasures God has given on earth, and then multiply them as many times as I can in my
mind, and then maybe just maybe I will be getting close to imagining what heaven will be like.
Long for home – This earth in it’s current form is not my home, but one day in it’s perfected form it will
be. I am not departing to a world of disembodied spirit’s to a realm that cannot be imagined. I’m coming
back, with Jesus. I will again walk the beach, I will again climb that mountain, I will again snuggle up on
a couch with the one I love, and I will do it all in perfection, because the perfect one has redeemed all
things. This is my true country, and I need to wish for it regularly.
We are currently in the “before life” real life comes later with the new heaven and the new earth.. -- There
is no afterlife.
our eternal home is the importance that Scripture places on a physical resurrection. These are actual
bodies coming back together in a perfect way. Just like Jesus was resurrected so too will we. Jesus still
has, and always will have, a physical body. You could say that God is definitely “pro-body.” The body is
not just the shell of the real you – it is the real you. To be a human is to have a body and a spirit. God
created both “good.” The curse of sin is what has ruined everything, but once that curse is lifted in the
New Heaven and the New Earth, all human physical/spiritual functions will be perfected. Eternity for us
will not be without time or space, it will have both. When we want to get together with friends there will
still be a “where” and a “when” that will need to be answered. Life will go on for us, as it does now, the
only huge difference is that we will be perfect. If a fish could think, and you were to tell it that one day
when it died it would go to the great ocean in the sky, only there would be no water in this ocean, and
nothing for which it was originally made, this fish would not be very excited to go. The same is true with
humans, God made us for this earth, it’s where we belong, it’s who we are, and God will one day
redeem it all for us. We shall love God and others perfectly and we shall live abundantly. All of the
righteous joys that we experience on this earth are but glimpses and signposts of what is to come.
Earth and life now are just shadows of the real earth and the real life which is to come. Eden was
perfect, God is bringing us back to a real Eden, only it will be better, because we will know and
understand redemption.
Taking the earth out of heaven, kills our hope for it, because we can only hope for what we desire and
we can only desire what we can imagine. – and to remove the earthly from heaven, is to make it truly
unimaginable.
So what? What is the value of viewing our eternal home in this way?
I can endure – God knows what he is doing. Through my suffering he is expanding my capacity for
eternal joy. I am being shaped and molded now, God is custom fitting me for my true country. All is not
lost when tragedy strikes, in fact nothing is lost, all will be ultimately a gain for me, so I endure for the joy
that is set before me.
What I do here matters – only what is eternal lasts, what is eternal is the cup of cold water I give in
Christ’s name, or the care I give for the orphan. The late nights of rocking the baby to sleep, or the
sacrifice I make for the stranger in need. Those physical/spiritual acts of love carry over – we will
remember those events, meet those people, and be rewarded for what we have done.
I need to do my best – Everything carries over to our real life in the New Earth. I pick up where I left off,
only now I will have serious “resurrection” upgrades. I will continue to work, and grow, and learn – but if I
am lazy now, if I waste time now, I will be behind the curve in the New Earth. It’s not harps and clouds, it’
s real life. Our placement, our starting point, our rewards are directly connected to what we do with our
life that exists now in the shadowlands of our fallen earth.
Look for glimpses of God – God originally made all things good, sin has rusted and ruined a lot. But still
the pure goodness of God shows through on occasion. Those pure pleasures that we experience than
lose, those “awe” moments when we are amazed by something really cool, that “thrill of victory” feeling.
That satisfied sigh, after a job well done. That emotional welling up that happens when you sing praise
to God in the congregation. That tingle in the heart towards someone you love. That mouth watering
bight into your favorite food. All of these are but tastes, and glimpses of what is to come. I need to truly
enjoy all these pleasures God has given on earth, and then multiply them as many times as I can in my
mind, and then maybe just maybe I will be getting close to imagining what heaven will be like.
Long for home – This earth in it’s current form is not my home, but one day in it’s perfected form it will
be. I am not departing to a world of disembodied spirit’s to a realm that cannot be imagined. I’m coming
back, with Jesus. I will again walk the beach, I will again climb that mountain, I will again snuggle up on
a couch with the one I love, and I will do it all in perfection, because the perfect one has redeemed all
things. This is my true country, and I need to wish for it regularly.
We are currently in the “before life” real life comes later with the new heaven and the new earth.. -- There
is no afterlife.
| Jan. 9, 2009 |
