Tag: Revelation 14:13

Does Anything from This World Carry Over into Eternity?

The current world, seen as “The Great Tribulation,” is marred by sin and the curse, affecting everyone and everything. However, aspects like people, nature, deeds, and certain glories will carry into the New Earth post-judgment. Relationships and the beauty of God’s creation will transform, offering a vastly improved existence.

The conditions of this world, relative to Heaven or the New Earth, are pretty grim. Everything is tainted by either sin or the curse. That includes more than humanity. It includes the whole of this universe. The citizens of Heaven refer to this life as “The Great Tribulation” (Revelation 7:14). That is hardly a complement.

It is also true that God will tear it all down and start over.

7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

2 Peter 3:7 (ESV)

So, does anything from this life and this universe carry over into the next? There are beautiful things here. There are really valuable aspects of now. As you search through the Bible about this you can come up with these important carry-overs: people, nature, certain deeds, and the “glory of the kings of the Earth.”

Let’s start with people. People are clearly one of the more contaminated things in this universe. We have proven ourselves to be capable of some horrible stuff. But people are also the main thing that Jesus came to save. I say this because Jesus was born a human and not something else. Once we put aside our current bodies which house our sinful nature, we will purely reflect the image of God again. People are something very valuable, although it currently may be well hidden.

We certainly value the idea of bringing our loved ones to eternal life with us. This should also be true of family or acquaintances that have not been very good to us. If they can be connected to Jesus through faith and baptism and remain in that connection, they will be a glorious asset in eternal life for they will be changed.

This is true of total strangers as well and even enemies. We can expect to have many new and valuable relationships among people. Will we be grouped as we are now? I am not sure. Our relationships will be different. I suspect that we will have contact with those we ministered to here on Earth. So, the more you reach here, the bigger your circle will be there. This is not to exclude other new relationships formed in Heaven or the New Earth.

Then there is nature:

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
    and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:6-9 (ESV)

Nature has also been corrupted by sin. The current form must go away, but it will be reintroduced in a renewed form. This seems to include familiar species. Will it include familiar animals, like your pets? I don’t know, but maybe. This is in reference to the New Earth. It is a post-Judgment Day occurrence.

Then deeds. Our actions, words, thoughts condemn us. We are saved by the actions of Jesus. But as redeemed people we have the opportunity to build on the foundation of grace good deeds that are done by the power of God in humility and love. These deeds and their impact can follow us past the grave in the form of some type of reward.

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

Revelation 14:13 (ESV)

Finally, the least clear thing, the glory of the kings of the Earth. Speaking about the New Jerusalem, the Bible says:

24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

Revelation 21:24-26 (ESV)

What is this? Is it great art or architecture? God finds beauty in some man-made things, and it seems to be preserved. What constitutes “glory” or “honor” is not clear. It certainly won’t include art that reflects either our false notions of God or the perversion of our sinful nature. There are other things that are worth remembering and keeping and God will keep them.

There will be many new, beautiful, breath-taking creations of the God, the ultimate Creator. the experience of Heaven and the New Earth will be different and massively better. But some of the familiar and what God values of the current universe will be a part of our new life in eternity. One would hope to be a contributor to this list.

Does God Reward Us in the Afterlife?

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”

Luke 17:10

These words of Jesus strike at the reason why this topic should feel awkward. As sinners, we don’t deserve a place in Heaven or the New Earth period. Nothing that we can do can compensate for our sins. The very fact that we are saved by grace should eliminate any thought of additional reward. Except it doesn’t. Jesus talks about it frequently, so does Paul.

Another passage that seems to eliminate any thought of individual reward and paint an egalitarian picture of eternal life is the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in Matthew 20. In this story, workers are added to the workforce every three hours. At the end of the day, the workers who came in last are paid the same as those who worked all day. This is often interpreted to mean that our experience as redeemed people in the afterlife will be essentially equal.

There are two problems with this interpretation. First, the context around the parable shows that Jesus is speaking to the status of the Jews. They will be counted equal with people from other nations that come later. Also, salvation is never counted as a wage or prize that you earn. It is a gift that is beyond our earning.

When Jesus or Paul talks about reward, what could this mean? First, without grace reward is impossible. Our deeds can follow us only because our sin isn’t following us thanks to Jesus.

Then I heard a voice from Heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Revelation 14:13

The reward is God’s choice nothing is owed to us. Therefore, the attitude noted above in Luke is part of a rewardable deed. So is love.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have the faith to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

When these are in place, some manner of reward is possible.

If any man builds on this foundation (grace in Christ) using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one passing through the flames.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15

This passage indicates that the saved may be rewarded or not. But what is the nature of the reward? Honor is a part of it. The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) or the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19) give the accommodation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Honor is also spoke of in 1 Peter 1:7.

The two parables also speak of expanded stewardship in some form. Faithful stewardship results in being put in charge of more. Whatever the “more” proves to be.

We can also expect that our reward is somehow connected to relationships. Paul speaks of the Thessalonians as his reward:

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

Honor, expanded stewardship and people, these are the most detailed description we currently have of our possible reward.

Reward is usually spoken of in the context of Judgment Day. Judgment Day for the redeemed is not to determine whether we are saved or not. That was determined long before that event. It is a judgment of our deeds. The reward is something primarily realized in the New Heaven and New Earth. I say primarily because an “inheritance” kept in Heaven is mentioned in 1 Peter 1:

In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in Heaven for you

1 Peter 1:3-4

This could just be the whole environment of Heaven both during the Intermediate period and post-Judgment Day or it could have in view some degree of reward. We will have to wait and see.

A lack of equality in honor, stewardship and relationship leads to jealousy and resentment here on Earth. That is all a product of our sinful natures. This will no longer be an issue during any time in Heaven or the New Earth because sinful nature is gone. It will only be an additional blessing that God chooses to give.