Time Ends & Eternity Begins

"There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind." C. S. Lewis

So, what exactly happens after the 1,000 Reign of Christ on earth? We are given less and less information about this subject as we get closer and closer to the end of Scripture. But we can piece together a fairly clear understanding of what does happen when we leave the Age of the Millennial Reign of Christ and cross into the next following Age. To better understand this transition, we need to take a closer look at the end of the Book of Revelation written by the Apostle John.

The final few chapters of Revelation tell us in great detail about the end of this Age with the battles that make up the War of Armageddon. These wars are launched by the world leader or Antichrist initially against various countries in the Middle East who refuse to sign a coalition treaty with him. The most famous of these wars concerns Gog and Magog. The term Gog is the title of a leader. The term Magog is a name for a coalition of countries, probably Russia and the Warsaw Pact that unite against the armies of the Antichrist. The world leader leaves his base of operations located on the Mount of Olives in Israel and moves his army 1,000 miles directly north to invade and conquer this coalition. The title of the leader of this resistance movement would be Gog who controls or directs the collation or Magog. Over a period of several years, the world leader defeats this coalition and then tries to return south to Israel. But to his surprise, he is met by an Israeli defense force that is determined to stop him from reentering the nation. This will be the final battle that ends the War of Armageddon.

The war is given this name as the armies of the world will organize on the large plain at the foot of Mount Megiddo. This mount is not strictly speaking a natural geological creation but instead an artificial hill consisting of hundreds of ancient manmade civilizations piled one on top of the other. These cities were all called Megiddo. The plain of Megiddo is located at the northern end of the Jezreel valley adjacent to the mount. The plain is a part of a larger land mass known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The name Jehoshaphat means God has judged. This valley runs from Megiddo south to Jerusalem. The world leader’s international forces consist of armies primarily from the European Union and the United Nations but also from Arab countries and now Russia and the armies of the Warsaw Pact. The leader will assemble and organize his military forces on the enormous plain of Megiddo. The war will seemingly be about Israel’s continuous refusal to negotiate in good faith concerning the swap of land and the city of Jerusalem to the Palestinian State. This is thought to be key in securing peace in the Middle East. But it is actually the need for Satan to eradicate the Jewish nation in order to stop the Second Coming of Christ. The people and armies of the world do not believe in a Second Coming but Satan is absolutely sure of a Second Coming.

See Related:

What Happens At End Of Millennial Reign?

The final chapters of the Book of Revelation tell us in detail how the earthly kingdoms of mankind come to an end. During the final battle of Armageddon, Jesus comes down from heaven followed by an army of angels and an entourage of saints fresh from the Marriage Supper of

Bible Mysteries RevealedLarkin Brown

Scripture is clear that Christ returns to earth in order to save a small remanent of righteous Jews to repopulate Israel and serve in the Third Temple at Jerusalem. Satan believes that if he can quickly eradicate the Jewish race, then there would be no need for Christ to return to earth. Therefore, he must achieve this goal if he is to have any chance of stopping his subsequence eternal destruction. In the final 72 hours of this battle, the Jews of Israel, realizing their eminent and utter annihilation, declare three days of fasting, prayer and repentance. This was always the reason for the High Holy observance of Yom Kipper. It was always a shadow or symbol of the end time tribulation period. The Jews repent of their sins and cry out with a united voice for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to send a Messiah to save them from certain death. It is then that Jesus stands, leaves the throne of Heaven, and descend down to the earth followed by an army of angles and saints to destroy the physical and satanic spiritual entities involved in this final battle (Hosea 5:15, Hosea 6:1-3; Revelation 19:11-16).

The saints that follow Christ are the righteous believers raptured before the tribulation period from the earth into Heaven (Zechariah 14:2-5). There they received their Bema Seat rewards of governance or duties and attended the Marriage Ceremony and Supper of the Lamb (Romans 14:10; Psalm 62:12; Matthew 16:27; Revelation 19:7,11). The term bema seat comes from Paul’s epistle of II Corinthians where the Greek word bema is translated to the word judgement (II Corinthians 5:10). Most first century urban centers had public places created for trials, athletic competitions and entertainment. The structure included a raised platform where a judge sat to decide the outcome and rewards of a civil trial or competition event.

As Christ descends to the earth, He speaks a Word and anticlimactically, the unrighteous of the armies simple drop dead. Their bodies will become food for carrion birds in what is referred to as the Great Supper of God (Revelation 19:17-19). Not to be confused by the joyous heavenly Wedding Supper of the Lamb or Christ (Revelation 19:9). Christ defeats the physical armies of the Antichrist and at the same time, the unseen spiritual armies of Satan. The fallen angelic demon spirits along with the human spirits of the unrighteous dead are immediately remanded down into the earth to a place known in Hebrew as Sheol, in Greek as Hades and in English as Hell (Luke 16:19-31). The demonic spirits are imprisoned in the deepest depths of Sheol called the Pit or Tartarus (Luke 8:30-31; II Peter 2:4). The human spirits and angelic demonic spirits are also imprisoned but in two separate areas of Sheol (Luke 16:19-31).

As Jesus approaches the Mount of Olives, He has the antichrist and his false prophet summarily thrown into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20). The Lake is a separate place from Sheol that currently exist but is not located on the earth. We are not told where it is located but it cannot be on the earth as the earth will soon be the eternal home of the Triune Godhead. Thus, the Lake with its unrepentant wicked inhabitances would never be allowed to be in proximity with the Holy Godhead. It may be located in space as a place all its own. Or, perhaps it is located inside a star and the heat spoken of is created by a nuclear fusion reaction. But wherever it is located, it will be removed from God and man in such a way that it can never be found. It exists but its existence will be both sealed and erased from all memory.

Jesus then has what appears to be a rather common angel take hold of the once powerful Satan and cast him effortlessly into a bottomless pit. This is a separate place from Sheol perhaps at the very center of the earth where every direction is always up thus the term bottomless (Revelation 20:1-3). Or, this place may be a black hole which physically exist at the center of every universe yet is theorized to have a swirling vortex whose lowest level is so stretched out that light cannot escape and the time space continuum cease to exist. This would truly be an endless, bottomless and nightmarish black pit. Wherever and however it exists, Satan will be bound there for the next 1,000 years.

Jesus will then set foot on the Mount of Olives where He is met by a small surviving remnant of Jews who recognize Him not only as their Messiah sent by God, but also as Jesus who they have rejected for the past 2,000 years (Acts 1:12-19; Zechariah 12:10, Zechariah 13:6, Zechariah 14:3-5). Jesus then enters Jerusalem through the Golden Gate also known as the Eastern Gate, Gate of Mercy or the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:2). This gate was bricked up by an Ottoman sultan in 1540 A.D. in an effort to keep the returning Christ from entering Jerusalem. Ezekiel saw God or Jesus leave the Temple through this gate (Ezekiel 11:23; Matthew 24:1). He saw the gate closed up by the sultan (Ezekiel 44:1-2). And He later saw a prince, or Jesus enter through it (Ezekiel 46:12). Jesus will enter the Third Temple and sitting on the throne of David, reign as the supreme ruler of the earth for the next 1,000 years.

At the end of the reign of Christ, Satan is released from the pit and allowed to roam the earth one last time gathering a coalition of the willing to form an army against Christ (Revelation 20:8). You may ask why lose Satan and how will it be possible for him to raise an army against Christ? All the people born during the 1,000 reign will have never had their virtue tested. Some perhaps most will resist the temptation to try and defeat Christ so that they can rule themselves. But scripture states that many will join his rebellion and follow him to their destruction. As this army begins to encircle Jerusalem, a great fire suddenly descends from heaven and consumes or vaporizes them (Revelation 20:7-9).

As the Apostle John watches the fire descend from heaven destroying the army of rebels, he looks further up into the sky and saw, “… a Great White Throne and He or Christ who was seated on it. The Earth and the Heaven fled away from His presence and there was no place for them” (Revelation 20:11). The earth and its atmosphere are not destroyed but are only in the process of being purified and regenerated as the Great White Throne Judgement takes place somewhere away from the earth. This judgement will involve all the unrighteous who have ever lived from Cain to the last recent army rebel who fought against the earthly rule of Christ. The human spirits of Sheol will now be given resurrected bodies and raptured off the earth to appear at their individual trials (Revelation 20:13). This event is known as the Second Resurrection or the second death or the judgment of the dead (Revelation 20:5-6, 11-15). This trial will also include the fallen angels who followed Satan in is rebellion against God and who have been imprisoned in Sheol since that time. These trials will be conducted by Christ as judge and will be witnessed by the angels. So, it has been assumed that the location is somewhere in Heaven. But because Heaven is a holy place, it would seem more reasonable that this place of judgement of the wicked will take place at a location especially created for it. And once the trials have been conducted, the place of confinement for these creations will be sealed and forgotten (Revelation 20:11, Revelation 14:1-20). After the unrighteous humans are judged, their names are removed from the Book of Life (Psalm 69:27-28; Revelation 3:5, Revelation 17:8, Revelation 20:15).

Every person at their birth has their name written in God’s Book of Life. Those that are condemned will have their names blotted out from the Book. Therefore, it will now be as if they never existed. Any name removed from the Book is also immediately removed from the memory of anyone who knew them. God in His mercy will do this so that the memory of a lost loved one or acquaintance will not diminish the full joy and peace that God has in store for His beloved children. It would not be appropriate to allow the bad remembrances of an unrighteous person to diminish the rewards of a righteous and eternal child of God.

Meanwhile back on earth, the fire power of the Holy Spirit is purifying the entire world and its atmosphere to prepare it for the imminent arrival of the Triune Godhead. The old Heaven and earth are said to be “passed away” in that they have now been regenerated (Matthew 19:28; Revelation 21:1-2).

It is the Apostle Peter who now tells us more about this purification event that John witnessed. Peter states that the current earth with its atmosphere has been kept in its fallen condition by the Word of God or Christ (II Peter 3: 7-10). But at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ, He will command that the world be regenerated through a purification process in order to remove the stain of sin and all pollution. The earth’s atmosphere currently consists of two types of pollutants. In the physical realm it is the buildup of thousands of years of burning carbon-based fuels and more recently the release of manmade chemicals into the atmosphere. But there is also an unseen demonic component that has been allowed by God to temporarily have its kingdom in the heavens. Both these pollutants will also be neutralized by the same cleansing power of the Holy Spirit. The destruction and expulsion of these two pollutants will occur so completely and instantaneously that the atmosphere will literally react in a way so as to make a noise similar to that of a great explosion (II Peter 3:10).

This cause and effect is in some ways similar to lightning and thunder. It is currently thought that negative charges are created in the clouds due to water droplets striking each other. A charge builds up until it become so great that it coalesces and is drawn or attracted down to the positive charge of the ground. We call this event a lightning strike. The heat produced by lightening is greater than that of the surface of the sun. In fact, it is so intense that it literally vaporizes the air around the electrical discharge. Once the lightning strike grounds itself into the earth, the temporary vacuum created by the vaporized air is filled by the surrounding air rushing in to fill the void. The air collides with itself and thus the sound of thunder is created. The pollutants along with human and demonic angelic spirits are removed from the earth so quickly by the Holy Spirit that the atmosphere reacts in much the same way as with lightening in refilling this void. The noise may also be in part a result of the demonic spirits attempting to resist being forced to their trial of eternal doom (Luke 8:31, 10:18). The noise is short lived and instantly the air of the earth is now both pristine clean, holy and appropriate for the eternal residence of God.

The surface of the earth will also be purified by this same fire of the Holy Spirit. Whether this fire is literal and the earth is brought to a semi molten state, or the fire simply removes all pollutants, germs, manmade modified life forms and decay without physical heat is not detailed in scripture. But the outcome will be an earth that is now as it once was in the pre-Adamic state and wholly acceptable to the rigorous purification standards of God.

In the creation story of Genesis, God called every day “good” except the second day or Monday. This was the day He created the earth’s atmosphere (Genesis 1:7-8). He did not call it good because He knew that the kingdom of Satan would one day rule from this location (Ephesians 2:2). But now the atmosphere has been cleansed both physically and spiritually and all is now very good in the eyes of God.

And finally, the actual physical location of Sheol will be literally pulled up out of the earth and thrown into the Lake of Fire. The cavity left will be sterilized and it will be as if Sheol and its occupants never existed on or in the earth (Revelation 20:10, 14). According to God’s promise, the old earth will never be destroyed, but instead regenerated into a new earth and new heaven or atmosphere where the righteous saints of God will have a permanent home for eternity (Ecclesiastes 1:4; Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22; II Peter 3:7).

During the cleansing of the earth, animal and plant life will be brought back from its current weakened state free from diseases and genetic deformities. All GMO and unnatural life forms both plant and animal will have been destroyed. There will be no more viruses, microbial issues or plant life forms that are not beautiful and useful for mankind and animals to enjoy and or consume. The life forms of earth will either pass through the purification event unharmed or be raptured from the earth while the process takes place. Either way, life returns to the earth in its original state of perfection. We know through fossil remains that 98% of all life forms that once existed on earth have gone extinct. It might be at this time that God brings back any number of His more beautiful and unusual creations from the distant past for His children to admire.

At the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God put a curse on mankind and the earth. Man’s spirit is currently regenerated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Man’s body will be regenerated by the resurrection and or rapture. And last but not least, the earth will be regenerated by the purification effects of the Holy Spirit.

In short, the world will be dramatically different from the way it is now. It will exist as God always meant for it to exist. In fact, it may be in the state it was originally before the creation story of Genesis. This pre-Adamic state is referred to as the Gap Theory now accepted by a growing number of Bible scholars. In the Genesis account we read of an earth that had apparently fallen under a curse from God. This curse had caused the earth to become without form, void of life and in perpetual darkness. The apostle Peter rightly divided the natural history of the earth into three regeneration times lines. The first time span was before the earth was cursed by God which caused it to become formless, void and dark. Peter calls this time period, “The earth standing out of the water and in the water” (II Peter 3:5). This was the destruction aftermath of the pre Adamic world flood before Genesis 1:3. That world was destroyed by the first flood, “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (II Peter 3:6). Then there was the second regeneration and time span of the earth by way of a second 365-day flood that involved Noah. It was this earth that quickly came back to a pre flood state and continues to be the world we know which Peter calls, “But the Heavens and the Earth which are now…” (II Peter 3:7). And there will be a third and final regeneration of the earth by the fire power of the Holy Spirit in order to once again purify it at the end of the Reign of Christ also known as the Kingdom Age (II Peter 3: 5-7, 13). An initial period following the Kingdom Age is called the Perfect Age and is only one of an eternal number of other Ages Upon Ages that will follow.

We read in scripture that once God created the earth and life on earth, none of these 3 regenerations destroyed the earth or life on earth. God does not re-create something. He creates something and then brings it back from sin, despair and destruction to its original state of perfection. In fact, the first Law of Conservation of Mass and Thermodynamics states that, matter cannot be created or destroyed only changed from one form to another. After the two regenerations by floods and the third regeneration by fire, God will again bring back life on earth. In fact, after the first flood, God commands Adam and Eve to, “…Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the Earth” (Genesis 1:28). And after the second flood, God also told Noah to, “… Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth” (Genesis 9:1). After the third and final regeneration by fire, God will no doubt tell mankind to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

It must be noted that while the earth currently has a population approaching 8 billion people, the pre tribulation rapture removes approximately 2.5 billion Christians and 2.5 Billion children from the world leaving a population of 3 billion people. Then scripture tells us that WWIII will kill one third or 1 billion people leaving a population of 2 billion people (Revelation 9:15-18). These people will endure a series of plagues and wars as outlined in the Book of Revelation which will further reduce the earth’s population by another 1 billion. These people will also experience the “wrath of Satan”, the wars of the antichrist and the War of Armageddon (Revelation 12:9-12). And last but not least, when Christ returns, He will destroy all the remaining unrighteous of the earth with a word (Matthew 24:37-44; Revelation 19:11-21). Scholars estimate that the total remaining population of the earth at that time will be 750 million to 1 billion people. This is why God will once again command that those people who became believers and survived the tribulation period are to go and replenish the earth.

The scriptural terms “pass away” and “perished” as applied to the earth do not express the idea of inhalation, but only to pass from one condition to another. Both Jesus and Paul use the word regeneration to explain this transition of the earth to include the land, life forms and atmosphere (Titus 3:5; Matthew 19:28). At the end of the Millennial Reign, all the mortal people of the earth will undergo a regeneration of body, mind and spirit. They will now be like Adam and Eve before the fall. They are totally free form sin and thus capable of literally being in the very presence of the Godhead. They are now called the Children of God and worthy of receiving the wonderous gifts and plans He has prepared for them. The earth is currently in an arrested state of captivity because of sin. The regeneration process is the total destruction of sin with all its side effects. It is at that moment that mankind will forever be freed from the bondage of sin and have a full and unfettered relationship with God (Romans 8:19-23).

The reason we know for certain that the earth is not destroyed by the wars of Armageddon or the regeneration by the fire of the Holy Spirit is because John tells us that as he was watching the fire engulf the earth, he looked up and saw a new heaven or atmosphere, and a new Jerusalem descending down out of heaven to the earth (Revelation 21:1-7). The New Jerusalem is actually one enormous building designed by Christ as an eternal home for all God’s Children (John 14:3). It may very well be that as the New Jerusalem slowly descends to the earth, all the saints now known as the “wife” of the Lamb, both mortal those who survived the tribulation and immortal those who were resurrected, are all raptured off the earth and given a tour of their new homes each designed especially for them (Revelation 19:7). This would allow the Holy Spirit to perform the purification process without involving God’s chosen people. This mini rapture would be like that of Philip who was raptured from one location on the earth to another. This particular rapture may have occurred for two reasons. First, God literally wanted Philip in another location to continue spreading the Gospel. But prophetically, God wanted His followers to understand that not all raptures involve going from earth to Heaven (Acts 8:39).

The New Jerusalem is said to be approximately 1,500 miles by 1,500 miles by 1,500 miles (Revelation 21:16). While space technically begins at an altitude of 50 miles, outer space begins at 6,000 miles. But needless to say, the enormous structure will provide a spectacular view of the earth but not the view seen from outer space. To see the entire sunlit surface of the earth you would need to be at least one million miles above its surface. This physical structure is so large that it would take up one half of the North American continent. In order to be structurally sound, it will most probably be in the shape of a pyramid. This shape is a structural wonder in that it can be built to be significantly taller than a modern skyscraper yet also provide room to house people. The taller the structure, the more room inside the structure for more people to live.

Located somewhere in the New Jerusalem complex, will be a Throne Room to serve as the dwelling place for the Triune Godhead who now live on the earth among mankind (Exodus 25:8; Revelation 21:3). The seventh and final Jewish feast known as the Feast of Tabernacles in which God comes to live with man was only ever meant to be a shadow or symbolic of a prophecy that has now come to fruition. And with the arrival of the Godhead, the Millennial Reign of Christ has now concluded.

It is at this time that Christ will surrender to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit a fully redeemed mankind and a redeemed earth. Thus, both are now free from sin and the curse God pronounced on them in the Garden (Genesis 3:17). It is at this moment that every creation on Earth and in Heaven will bow and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Word of God and Lord over all creation (Philippians 2:9-11). The earth and all creation have now been regenerated and are back to the perfection they once knew in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8-9, 25). This act of Christ surrendering creation to the Godhead is referred to as the, “All in All” (I Corinthians 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:3-12; John 17:5).

This is now the beginning of the Age of Perfection in which the New Heaven and the New Earth are back in a state of perfection as God originally intended. It was in this state of being that a sinless Adam and Eve were free to walk and converse with God or a pre-incarnation of Christ every evening (Genesis 3:8). But because of the polluting effects of sin, there had to be a purification of the stain from sin in order for God to once again personally commune with mankind. We are now beyond the 6th and final day of creation symbolic of the 6,000-year rule by man. We are beyond the 7th day of rest or completion and the symbolic final thousand year Reign of Christ which completes a total of 7,000 years from Adam till this time. It is now the beginning of the 8th day which is the number of perfection and a new creation. Eight is the number of eternity and when the number 8 is laid on its side, it becomes the sign of eternity.

In Genesis, the 1st day of creation was on a Sunday. Jesus was crucified on Friday or day 6 when man, whose number is also 6 was created. His body rested in the tomb on the 7th day just as God rested on the 7th day. Jesus arose on the 3rd day or Sunday the 1st day of creation. And resurrection Sunday April 3rd, 33 A.D. was the day of the 3rd Jewish Feast called the Feast of First Fruits. Jesus was the actual first fruit of the resurrection and also a new regenerated being (I Corinthians 15:20). Now Jesus’ resurrected body was immortal, could pass through solid walls and move at the speed of thought. Yet at the same time could be touched and was capable of eating food (Luke 24: 36-43).

We have now arrived at the fulfillment of times or when, “the times past Ages, have reached their fulfillment” meaning there is now no longer need to consider or count time which has, since the fall of man, been man’s great enemy. Time has only served as a demarcation culminating in death. We are now on the threshold of stepping out of time and into eternity which will consist of an eternal series of Ages upon Ages and the unfolding of God’s eternal plan for His Children (Ephesians 1:8-10). Mankind and the earth are now in a perfected state through Christ (Mathew 5:48, 19:28). The prophet Isaiah tells us that God promises this New Heaven and this New Earth, including the nation of Israel, shall remain (Genesis 13:15; Isaiah 66:22). The Book of Deuteronomy tells us that the Jewish nation will remain for, “a thousand generations” (Deuteronomy 7:9). These phrases are to be interpreted as eternal. Thus, the earth will never cease to exist nor will the Children of God ever cease to exist.

At this moment, there are now only two types of people on earth. The first group are the mortals who are born, marry, have children and live extremely long lives as did the patriarchs in the Book of Genesis. They now have the fruit of the Tree of Life available to them, therefore they could live as mortals in perpetuity (Revelation 22:1-3). The second group are those mortals who having been raptured, were translated to immortality in order to survive the trip through the earth’s atmosphere and into Heaven. It was there they were rewarded various degrees of governance and duties in the service of Christ for their faith and attended the Marriage of the Church to Christ only to return to earth with Christ at His Second Coming.

Jesus stated that these resurrected immortal people will not marry just like the immortal angels in heaven (Matthew 22:30). His statement seems to be saying that while God originally created man and woman to populate the earth, He also created a marriage covenant for them to insure they stay together both to raise a family and to take care of each other in old age. But now that they are immortal, there will be no need for them to raise a family nor worry about assistance with health. They will also no longer need the support of a spouse as God will provide for all their needs. (Philippians 4:19; Romans 8:32; Ephesians 3:20). That is not to say that people will not continue to recognize, love and care for one another, but only that the covenant of marriage concerning immortals, is now no longer necessary in order to live a full productive existence.

Scripture does not tell us if God originally intended Adam and his sin free descendants to live as mortals eternality with the help of the Tree of Life. Or, after perhaps thousands of years, be rewarded with immortality. But the problem with people living thousands of years both then and at this point is the limited capacity of earth to support an ever expanding population growth.

As for the immortal angels, it is clear that while they do not marry in heaven nor have children, they are apparently capable of producing off spring (Genesis 6:1-4). There must have been a strict understanding that the angels were to only have verbal contact with humans as approved by God. However, scripture tells us that certain angels left their first domain to mate with human females creating Nephilim or giants. This was an unnatural hybrid race that spread so quickly that it almost destroyed the human genome. This in turn could have ultimately prevented the birth of Jesus and the salvation of mankind. These offending angels were taken to the deepest, darkest part of Sheol and put in chains where they await the day of their judgement (Jude 1:6; II Peter 2:4).

The second group of people living on the earth are the mortals. They have lived side by side with the immortals for the past 1,000 year reign of Christ. But, with the end of the Kingdom Age, do the mortal people remain mortal or does God also reward them with immortality as he did those that were raptured? This question has three possible answers.

First, it could be that when earth mortals reached a certain age, they would be rewarded with immortality and no longer procreate (Genesis 5). This would at least slow down the overpopulation problem which would become an issue since there is now no more death (I Corinthians 15:54). Or, perhaps all mortals will be made immortal at the end of the Millennial Reign so that there is no more reproduction of the human race and all live eternally on earth. But either of these solutions concerning an overpopulation problem would seem to go against God’s consistent commands for mankind to continually reproduce. To explore the third answer to this issue, we must widen our scope beyond the limitations of the earth and look to the stars.

According to the latest estimates concerning the size of space and number of planetary bodies, there are between 100 and 400 billion stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. While astronomers have confirmed the existence of 4,108 planets in our galaxy, they estimate that the total number may exceed 700 quintillion.

In case you are wondering, a quintillion is a number followed by 24 zeros!

You may want to sit down for this next bit of news. It is currently estimated that there are as many as 2 to 3 trillion galaxies in space and they are expanding from each other at an ever increasing rate. And, science has absolutely no idea what the galaxies are expanding into and how this is physically possible!

With this in mind, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to assume that one of God’s many unfolding eternal plans for mankind is to eventually allow them to explore the vast expanses of space. God would send His beloved Children to not only visit and be amazed at the tremendous and endless wonders of His creativity, but to also begin to colonize those planets He deems as suitable. In this way God would establish a twofold plan. First, to indefinitely increase His Holy and loving family. And second, to allow His ever-burgeoning population of Children, to experience endless adventures, exciting challenges and the opportunity to bring the love of God to the furthest flung worlds of space.

Scripture tells us that when God decided to make man, He said, “Let Us {plural} make man in Our {plural} image, after Our {again plural} likeness” (Genesis 1:26). It has been suggested that the use of Us or We when a ruler refers to themselves is nothing more than what is commonly known as the Royal We. But concerning scripture, this cannot be true as there are to date no ancient documents that show this term ever being used. In fact, the first known use of this term was by King Henry II in 1169. Instead, God refers to Himself in the plural because He exist as three separate yet equal and sublimely united eternal beings. He is at once God the Father, God the Word and God the Holy Spirit. One way to try and grasp this idea is to consider God the Father as the spiritual entity that conceptualized creation. Then God the Word spoke the command for creation and God the Holy Spirit was the power source that actualized the command and brought creation into existence (John 1:1-3).

God commanded that man created in His image have dominion or rule over all the life forms of the earth and to multiply and “replenish” the earth (Genesis 2:27-30). God was saying, let Us as the Triune Godhead, make a creature that in many intellectual and spiritual ways would be similar to Us. A being that We could communicate to and reason with. A being that could contemplate its own existence and celebrate its relationship to Us as its creator. A being that could be a part of and participate in Our continuously unfolding plan of creation. These unknown plans of God are referred to as “mysteries in the mind of God” and eleven of these mysteries have been revealed in the New Testament (Daniel 2:28-30; Matthew 13:11; Romans 11:33, Romans 16:25; I Corinthians 2:7).

Man is the only creation of God that has ever looked up at the night sky in wonder and considered not only the size and purpose of the universe, but how to actually travel there. God has given man the power of ingenuity which has allowed him to develop spacecrafts that have landed on the moon. He has given us the ability to construct and send space probes to every planet in our solar system. God created us and He knows firsthand how fascinated we are with the universe that surrounds us. It is therefore highly improbable that the God who created the vastness of space and has allowed us to map our immediate solar system, would deny us access to the trillions of galaxies that surround us. The heavens exist for His pleasure just as we exist for His pleasure. Those things that please and delight God please and delight man. Man was created as a physical being specifically designed to live in and explore his physical realm. God did not create man to live eternally in a spiritual form as do the angels in Heaven. We have a spirit that makes us in the image of God. But we also have a physical body controlled by a physical mind with the help of the Holy spirit. Therefore, we are truly no earthly good in heaven. While we are currently physical and mortal, we will one day be regenerated or translated from the mortal to the immortal yet still be physical (Matthew 19:28; I Corinthians 15:52-54). Because we are destined to live eternally in the physical realm surely this includes the space that surrounds us. In the words of Christ, “The one who overcomes will inherit all things …” (Revelation 21:7).

At the end of the regeneration or purification of the earth by the Holy Spirit, mankind has now become righteous in the eyes of God. Mortal people will possibly live for thousands of years producing billions of offspring to repopulate the earth. Every person will receive personal satisfaction and enjoyment in their lives by involving themselves in a myriad of meaningful and exciting tasks just as Adam was told by God to “tend the Garden” (Genesis 2:15). With the continuous growth of the earth’s population and evolving space travel within our solar system, it is incredulous to think that man would be denied the opportunity to explore space both in and outside of our solar system. And because the earth will also be the residing place of billions of immortal people, there would be no physical barriers that they could not transcend. They would continue to serve as God’s ambassadors while assisting and governing God’s mortal children in colonizing habitable planets.

Scripture doses not mention any other intelligent life being created by God. But of course, the Bible is focused on the creation of Adam and his lineage leading to the birth of Christ. So, while the Bible does no mention other life forms, it may be that they are simply outside of the focus of Scripture which is almost singularly focused on the salvation of mankind. However, God may have created other beings before Adam and He may have created beings on distant planets. After all, our God is a God of creation and as such, He can create whatever He desires when and where He desires. If there are other intelligent beings in one of the trillions of galaxites, they are only a concern of ours if it is a part of God’s will. We have our hands full with the many pressing issues here on earth as well as our own special relationship with God through Christ. But one would reason there are probably no other intelligent life forms in space and here is why.

If God were to create other intelligent beings, He would no doubt also give them freedom of choice as He did with the angels and mankind. With this freedom to choose to follow the will of God, there is a probability that some would choose to rebel against God. And if so, God would then need to send them a redeemer. It is very doubtful that the Word of God would be sent yet again to die for their sins. Jesus’s death was a onetime only event for mankind and for all time. However, even though space is probably void of intelligent life, the remedy for that situation may be only one of the many ever unfolding plans that God has in store for us. For now, we are to be patient, love and respect our Creator, love our fellow man, trust in salvation through Christ and be prepared to assist God in whatever His future plans entail.

The Apostle John states that just as Jesus was the first fruit of the resurrection and translation, we are the first fruit(s) of His creations (James 1:18; I Corinthians 15:20). Isaiah tells us that, “of the increase of His government or rule, there shall be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). Paul tells us that we are Children of God and as such, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17). Jesus told John, “He who overcomes will inherit all things; and I will be his God and he shall be my son” (Revelation 21:7). Paul wrote, “… you crowned them the saints with glory and honor and put everything under their feet” (Hebrews 2:5-8; Psalm 8:4-6). Therefore, if it is in God’s will, we may have the privilege to take on the responsibility of bringing the peace and love of God to the farthest reaches of space. We will be God’s space ambassadors. Jesus’ final words to His followers were, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth {and everything in between} has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, … I am with you always, even to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:17-21; Acts 1:8). This commission may include space which is after all, the ultimate final frontier.

With the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ, we now enter in the Age of Perfection. This is only one Age in what is referred to as an Age of Ages or Eternity of Ages, “… world without end.” (Ephesians 3:21). Since the creation and fall of Adam, the earth has been in the Age of the Rule of Man. This Age ended with the advent of the Age of the Millennial Reign of Christ. Now the eternal state of mankind will consist of an eternal number of Ages upon Ages. Paul refers to these coming Ages when he wrote, “God has raised us up with Christ seated with Him… in order that in the coming age’s He might show the incomparable riches of His grace to us … through Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)

John also tells us of these never ending coming ages when he refers to the punishment of the satanic trilogy. This counterfeit trilogy literally consists of Satan as the father 6, the Antichrist or beast as the son 6, and the false prophet as the Unholy Spirit 6. But figuratively these 3 represent the originator of sin, the purveyor of sin and the false doctrine of sin. John tells us that these three will be tormented eternally or “Aions of the Aions” or Ages of the Ages (Revelation 20:10). And at the same time, the Children of God will reign for these same periods of time (Revelation 22:5).

We now read of the Great Abdication which is the threshold to the beginning of this series of never ending Ages (I Corinthians 15:25-28). Jesus’ final words on the cross were, “It is finished.” In the Greek this phrase could be translated, “It is finished in its perfection” (John 19:28). He then said, “Father into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46) Jesus’ final words at the Great Abdication may be much the same. He will once again say to God the Father, My work as God the Word or Christ concerning the redemption of mankind’s mind, body and spirit is finished in its perfection. The earth has now been regenerated by God the Holy Spirit and the curse has been rescinded by God the Father due to My self sacrifice on the cross. Therefore, into Your hands I now commend all that We have accomplished together. Jesus the Christ now surrenders the perfected Kingdom of Man and earth to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He may also at this time surrender His immortal human body. This would allow Him, as the Word of God, to reunite with the Triune Godhead in the spiritual state He originally existed in from eternity past. Thus, it will be said that God or more accurately the Triune Godhead is once again “All in All” (I Corinthians 15:28).

It is at this moment that mankind’s fixation about time will end and eternity will begin. Because the earth and its inhabitants will always exist in the physical realm, the time space continuum will still be in place as time is not physical and cannot be separated from the three dimensions of physical space. Therefore, time will still exist, but it now has no relevance for a population of humans that whether mortal or immortal live eternally. A mortal is a person that has a beginning and an end or death. An immortal is a person who has a beginning but lives eternally through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Triune Godhead is eternal in that they have no beginning and have no end. The new earth will still experience night and day and the phases of the moon. Planets will continue to orbit the sun and the stars will remain fixed in the universe. Man is the only creature on earth that that has a fixation about time. All other life forms are completely unaware of this concept. They simply respond to the earth’s gradual changes in the duration of sunlight and temperature fluctuations. Therefore, because time is no longer relevant to man, he will be more aware of and in tune with God, his fellow man and nature, in much the same way he once was in the Garden of Eden. Thus, we have come full circle from Genesis to Revelation and back again to Genesis.

Perhaps there will continue to be seasonal changes, or the earth may become one continuous mild temperate zone with regular intervals rain. The first chapter of Genesis describes a world without seasonal changes in that Adam and Eve did not need protective clothing. The Bible explains that at that time there was also no rainfall. Instead, all life received water from springs, rivers, lakes and a highly elevated underground water table that was easily accessed by plant roots. The earth was also humid so that at night a vapor or fog formed and would condense on plant leaves dripping moisture onto the ground (Genesis 2:5-6). During the flood, God caused the first rain to fall and may have created the seasons at this time by tilting the earth’s axis to its current 23.5 degree position. After the flood, God tells Noah to expect regular times of rain and seasonal changes from now on (Genesis 8:22). And it may be that during the Millennial Reign of Christ or in the following Ages, God resets the earth back to its original upright position so that there is once again only one constant mild worldwide temperature year-round.

Because eternity appears to be divided into Ages, we can assume that an Age will begin and we, as the Children of God, will enjoy and be astonished at His love for us during this time period. Then, as that Age draws to its conclusion, it will be immediately followed by a new Age that will have its own and even more astounding revelations and rewards from a loving Father to His Children. And so these cycles of God’s ever unfolding plans of love and rewards will continue for eternity without end. Creation and mankind have become Holy through the redemptive power of Christ. And as such, have become as eternal as is the Triune Godhead. In the words of Paul, “… No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (I Corinthians 2:9; Isaiah 64:4, 65:17; James 1:12; Psalm 31:19; Matthew 25:34). Amen!