We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.1 corinthians 15:51-52The transformation of the body you have now into the body you will have will be instantaneous. What do we know about this new resurrection body? There will be continuity, but also changes.Your body will be imperishable: “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable” (15:42).Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11), but the body he came back in was the same body, not a resurrection body, which meant that at some point he would have to go through the whole miserable business of dying again. But Jesus rose in the power of an endless life (Heb. 7:16), and He’s never going to go through death again, and neither will you in the resurrection. Your resurrection body, like His, will be a body that will never die.Your body will be glorious: “It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory” (1 Cor. 15:43).Think about the face of Moses, when he came down the mountain after he had been in the presence of God. His face was shining (Ex. 34:35). Why? Because he had been in the presence of the Lord of glory. Now think about the transiguration of Jesus (see Mark 9:2-8). He went up the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and their faith was strengthened with a preview of the future glory of Jesus. There will be a brightness, a radiance, and a glory, not only around you, but in you in the resurrection body.Meditate on the glory of the resurrected Jesus and how you will share in His resurrection.

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior. the Lord Jesus Christ. who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.Philippians 3:20-21The human body is lowly. The human body, at its strongest, is still fragile. Even if you are really fit, and you get hit by a truck, you will be in trouble. C. S. Lewis said, “When you are learning to ride they give you unimpressive horses. Only when you are ready for it are you allowed an animal that will gallop and jump.” Wait until you see your upgraded physical body!Your body will be transformed. The resurrection of the body is a truth that cannot be grasped apart from the work and the power of Christ. The credibility of this great truth is that Christ demonstrated His power to raise His people by rising Himself! Every Christian says, “Yes, the Saviour has given me a new heart.” But He will also give you a new body. It will be the completion of His redeeming work in your life.Your resurrection body will be like Christ’s glorious body. This means it will be a physical body. You will not be a disembodied ghost or spirit in the new creation. The reason you won't spend eternity floating on the clouds is that bodies don't float. Jesus said, “A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). The resurrection body has "flesh and bones" because it is a physical body.What are you most looking forward to about your resurrection body?

We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the irstfruits of the Spirit. groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons. the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.Romans 8:22-24All religions have some belief in life after death. But the resurrection of the body is unique to Christianity. Only Christians have a risen Saviour.At the heart of our faith is the great truth that the tomb was empty, that the corpse of Jesus was raised to life, and that all who belong to Him will share in His resurrection.The resurrection of the body is the crown jewel of the Christian faith. It is a truth to be treasured and put on display for all to see. We should be proud of this and commend it to the world. It is a promise to excite our interest, a hope to anticipate with joy.The resurrection is the purpose for which you were created by God and redeemed in Christ. It is a tragedy that many Christians do not have a firm grasp on this wonderful truth.The redemption of the body is the hope in which you were saved. The great purpose of God is not to save a part of you (your soul), but the whole of you (your body/ soul unity). Christ made you—body and soul, and He will redeem you—body and soul. He will do it in this order: soul now, body later. All that God has made is good, and all that God has made He will redeem.On a scale of 1 (weak) to 10 (strong). how firm is your grasp of the resurrection of the body?

The Word became lesh and dwelt among us.John 1:14God became a man in Christ Jesus. The body of Jesus was like ours. He grew in strength—from a baby, to a child, to a man—and He knew what it was like to be hungry, thirsty, and weary.The first heresy, the first false teaching that the early church had to contend with, was not the denial that Jesus was God, but the denial that He was man. In that culture, people got to thinking, How could God, who is pure spirit, possibly get mixed up with something as base as the human body? There was a nervousness about the Son of God taking on human fesh, but that is precisely what the Bible teaches. That's why you find in 2 John 7: "Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the fesh."If the Bible said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word remained spirit,” we would have to limit God’s interest in our lives to the things of the spirit like prayer, meditation, and Bible study. It would mean that God was concerned with your heart but not with your home, with your spirit but not with your schedule, with your character but not with your activity.But the Bible doesn’t say, “the Word remained spirit,” it says, "the Word became fesh"! God entered the world of noisy kids and pushy parents, the world of overcrowded schedules and unscrupulous traders, the world of relentless pressures and unending demands. When Jesus went to the cross, He died, not only to save your soul, but also to redeem your life—every part of it!What are some areas of your life that you wonder if God is interested in? Why?

The LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. and the man became a living creature.Genesis 2:7God made the body of Adam from the dust of the ground, and then He breathed the breath of life into this body.So, Adam was the union of a body and a soul. This is the reason that the Bible sometimes speaks about death as an “enemy,” because death is the undoing of our nature. It is the tearing apart of what God has joined together.If a mobile phone is not connected to a network, it cannot fulfil the function for which it was made. The same can be said for the network. The fact that there is a cellular network is of no value to you if you do not have a phone. It is the joining of the two together that makes this wonderful gift of telecommunication possible.Our bodies, as we experience them now, are very different from the bodies that Adam and Eve experienced as they were created by God in the garden. Their original bodies did not age, and they were not subject to disease, pain, or death. All of that came with the entrance of sin into the world. Sin has affected every area of our lives.Think about the effects of sin, personally, on your body and soul. Can you imagine what it would mean for God to redeem them?

"It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega. the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."Revelation 21:6Here are two things to reconsider in the light of heaven: First, if you are holding back from full commitment to Jesus: However hard it is for you to come to Christ in repentance, however hard it is for you to look to Him in faith, however costly it may be for you to confess Jesus as Lord of your life, you cannot ultimately lose. No one in the presence of Jesus regrets following Him, not even those for whom it cost their lives! What are you holding onto now that is so good it would be worth missing out on all that the people of God will share with Christ in the new heaven and new earth?Second, if God is calling you to walk on a difficult path: John Newton tells the story: “Imagine a man on his way to New York. He is in a carriage drawn by a horse, and he is on his way to receive a million-dollar inheritance. A mile outside New York, the wheel on his carriage breaks, so he has to walk the last mile to get his million-dollar inheritance. And all the way to New York he grumbles because his carriage is broken. What would you think of such a man?” In Christ, you are on the last mile of your journey to inherit the new heaven and new earth, and you will find strength for the journey as you anticipate the joy that lies ahead.Do you need strength for your journey? Anticipate the joy that lies ahead for you, Christian.

I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.Revelation 21:2There will be no marriage in heaven (Matt. 22:30), but we will still be male and female, because that is how God created us and it was good. The gift of marriage was given to point to something greater that God has in store for all who love Him.Marriage, at its best, is a pointer to the joy that we will find in Jesus Christ and that Christ will find in His people in the new heaven and new earth. Even if you have an unhappy marriage, you have some sense of what marriage should be.Christ is the bridegroom, and He brings His people into union with Himself. This shared life will be with God Himself, and the joy will go on increasing. The joys you experience in life remain in your memory so that you continue to derive happiness from them.Jonathan Edwards says that it will be the same in eternity. Think about what that will be like when you have been in heaven for a million, million ages…. “Your knowledge will increase to eternity; and if your knowledge, your holiness; for as you increase in the knowledge of God, you will see more of his excellency (beauty), and the more you see of his excellency, the more you will love him, and the more you love God, the more delight and happiness you will have in him.”All your experiences of joy in this life point to the ever-increasing joy that will be yours in Christ for all eternity. This is an “Amen!” moment.

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with ire and sulfur. which is the second death."Revelation 21:8Precisely when God is telling us about the new heaven and new earth, He also tells us that He will separate all that is evil from His people and from His creation—the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars. All these are descriptions of character. This does not mean that all who have been guilty of these sins will be excluded from heaven. But there are men and women who do not turn to God in repentance. They do not look to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and cleansing. They do not see a need for a Saviour, and so they die in their sins.Bishop Ryle says, “Most men hope to go to heaven when they die; but few, it may be feared, take the trouble to consider whether they would enjoy heaven if they got there.” Here is the tragedy of sin: The sinner could not be happy in heaven and cannot be happy in hell. Sin is a complete dead end. It leaves you with no place to go. Sinners will want to be out of hell, but they will not want to be in heaven.The new heaven and the new earth will be the home of righteousness: “Nothing unclean will ever enter it” (21:27). If it is the home of righteousness, and nothing unclean will ever enter, how could we be there? Only through the cleansing that comes from Jesus Christ.Do you see your need for a Saviour?

"Neither shall there be mourning. nor crying. nor pain anymore. for the former things have passed away."Revelation 21:4You will not spend eternity grieving over your past sins and missed opportunities. We will never forget that we were sinners because we will always be finding joy in the Lamb who was slain, the Son of God who redeemed us by the shedding of His blood. We will know ourselves to be redeemed sinners—not in a way that will bring pain or regret, but in a way that will cause us to magnify and glorify Christ for all that He is and for all that He has done.You will not spend eternity carrying baggage from difficult relationships with other believers. Even at our best, Christians are so far from what we will be that it is sometimes hard for us to imagine broken relationships completely restored and deep wounds completely healed. But God is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine.In heaven, every Christian will be made perfect in repentance and perfect in humility. There will be, in all of us, complete ownership of all that is ours and complete repentance from the heart. At the same time, in heaven, every Christian will be perfect in forgiveness—there will be no grudges. There will be a giving and a receiving of forgiveness among God’s people that will position all of us for a life of harmony in the new heaven on earth.What are some past sins, regrets, or painful baggage you would like to be free from?

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."Revelation 21:4Notice what will be gone, subtracted, taken away in heaven. All these things—death, mourning, and pain—are passing away. You will not find or experience them in the new heaven and new earth. Let’s consider them one at a time.Death: Nobody in the new heaven and new earth will ever die. No one will grow old. No one will become sick or ill. There will be no need for hospitals or for emergency services. You will never attend a funeral there.Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25), and “Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (11:26). Because there is no more dying, there will be no more mourning, no more saying goodbye.Mourning: Nothing in your future life will bring you sorrow, fear, sadness, or disappointment. When you share this life of joy, nothing will ever happen that would cause you to cry. What about tears from the past? There are tears on earth that even those who love us most cannot wipe away. But God will wipe every tear from our eyes.Pain: There will be no more aching bones. The resurrection body is made of fesh and bones (Luke 24:39). but the fesh will not wrinkle and the bones will not ache. Instead of diminishing, your resurrected body will be rejuvenated with new strength and new capabilities.Soak in these promises until they restore your hope.

"Behold, I am making all things new."Revelation 21:5Life in the new heaven and new earth will not be less than the life you have now. It will be more!The word "new" can be used in two ways. The first is to say, “I’m moving to a new house.” You are in a different place, and there is no continuity between your old house and your new house. The second is to renovate your house. It is an old house and everything in it needs to be redone. So, you do a total rehab, and when you are done you say, “Everything is new!” And that is exactly what God says: “I am making all things new” (21:5).Here is the great promise: When God has removed sin and all its effects from His people, He will then remove all the effects of sin from His creation so that the new earth will become a fit place for God's children to share a life of unclouded joy.Think about the joys of life in this fallen world—the joys of music, sports, the arts, science, technology, travel, food, and friendship. None of that will be less. All of it will be more, as you enjoy life in the resurrection body on the new earth. All that God has made is good, and when He redeems it, He will make it better than it was before.God is going to remake the heavens and the earth. He will merge heaven and earth into a perfect place that will be our home forever. This is the reason why we can speak of heaven when we talk about the new heaven and new earth, because heaven will fill the earth.How does the promise of a “new” heaven and “new” earth affect the way you think about the world around you?

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.Revelation 21:1Satan’s master strategy is to have people think that what lies ahead will be far less than what we have now. He wants you to believe that your life would be less if it were in God’s hands.If you believe the life you have now is better than the future life you will have in the presence of God, you will be like a person who tries to hold onto sand as it slips through his fingers.People sometimes talk about “living your best life now.” But living your best life now is only possible for a person who is going to hell. For the person who is going to hell, this life is as good as it is ever going to be. But if you are headed for life in the new heaven and the new earth, how could you possibly live your best life now? Your best life lies ahead of you.When a couple plans a wedding reception, they go for a tasting. They taste the meal that will be served on the great day. But the tasting is only a sample. It is preparation for the great event toward which the bride and groom are counting the days. All that you enjoy in this life, and all that you have in Christ in this world, is just a foretaste of the joys that are to come.Have you been living your life as if the best is now, or as if the best is yet to come?

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory."John 17:24Will we see our believing loved ones in heaven? Yes. But here’s the bigger question: Will Jesus see His believing loved ones in heaven? Yes!When Jesus was preparing to go to the cross, He prayed this prayer: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory” (17:24). In other words, Jesus was saying, “I want them with me, and I want them to see my glory!”Christian believer, the greatest assurance you can have of heaven is that Jesus wants you there! He went to the cross to get you there. He lives at the right hand of the Father to bring you there. And one day, when you arrive in heaven, His prayer will be answered—you will see His glory.The apostle John says, “We shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). We will see Jesus Christ risen, triumphant, and victorious. That is why we will say with all the redeemed: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:10).What is your reaction to Jesus’ prayer?

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our sixth and seventh witnesses.Witness #6—Paul and the Thessalonians: Paul says that believers whom he loved and served on earth will be his joy and crown in heaven. So, the special relationship forged between Paul and these believers on earth will continue in heaven. He is saying, “You have been my joy on earth, and you will be a joy to me in heaven.”Jonathan Edwards takes up this theme: “The special affection that the saints have in this world toward other saints, who are their friends, will in some respect remain in another world.” Christians who knew and loved each other on earth will know and love each other in heaven.Witness #7—The reunion of believing loved ones: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven… And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (4:16-18).As you remember those who have died in the Lord, look ahead in hope to being reunited with them in heaven.

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven. and here are our fourth and fifth witnesses.Witness #4—Moses and Elijah: “Behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him [Jesus]” (Matt. 17:3). When Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, they did not have the resurrection body. Even now, Jesus Christ is the only One in the universe who has the resurrection body. Moses and Elijah are in heaven with the rest of the believers, eagerly waiting for the resurrection body, which they will get when Christ comes again in glory. So, when Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain, they are spirits—souls made visible. We don’t know how Peter, James, and John knew they were in the presence of Moses and Elijah. But we do know that they recognized Moses and Elijah, even in advance of the resurrection body.Witness #5—The gathered souls in heaven: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb. 12:22-23). Hebrews reminds us that the church gathered on earth is at one with the church gathered in heaven. He speaks of “the spirits of the righteous made perfect,” that is, the souls of believers in the presence of Jesus. These souls are gathered in “the assembly of the firstborn." This is a description of what is happening in heaven right now: The spirits of the righteous made perfect are gathered. Gathered means community, and community means relationship, and relationship means identity and knowledge right now in the presence of Jesus.Refect and rejoice in this glimpse of what is going on in heaven right now.

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our second and third witnesses.Witness #2—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “Many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11).Notice the clear identity of these men—Abraham is Abraham in heaven, Isaac is Isaac, and Jacob is Jacob. They retain their distinct identities. We do not become nameless, anonymous spirits in the presence of Jesus. Abraham is enjoying the company of his son and his grandson. Jacob is enjoying the company of his own father and his grandfather.Also, notice what Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are doing: They are reclining at a table. They are eating and drinking. You have identity, relationship, conversation, and sharing a meal. And many will come from the east and west and join them! In other words, many, many others will enter into the same joy and the same experience.Witness #3—Jesus and the disciples: “I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (26:29).Notice the same clarity here: Jesus will drink the cup in His Father’s kingdom with the disciples. The eleven, who shared the Last Supper with Him on earth, will drink the cup again with Jesus in heaven. These disciples are named and they are known.Refect on the unique identities of loved ones and rejoice that these will continue into eternity in the presence of God.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.Revelation 7:9The distinct identity of every person in this vast crowd is maintained. They are from every tribe, nation, and language. The distinct individuality of every one of God’s people is preserved. What makes us different no longer divides.This speaks directly to the question: Will we know one another in heaven? Yes! You will still be you. We will all be like Christ. but each of us will refect His likeness through our own individuality.That means we will know one another in the resurrection. The disciples knew and recognized Jesus in His resurrection body. But even before Jesus returns and we receive our resurrection bodies, we have good reason to believe that the same will be true of us.Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and at least some of them point to believers knowing one another immediately after death.Witness #1—David and his son: “Now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Sam. 12:23).King David had a little boy who died in infancy. When the boy died, David said, “I shall go to him.” There’s more here than David saying, “I will go to heaven when I die.” He says, “I will go to the boy! I will see him! I will be reunited with him in heaven.” That is a wonderful assurance for every Christian parent who loses a young child.Have you ever wondered if we will recognize and know one another in heaven?

"They are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence."Revelation 7:15God will shelter—literally, spread His tent—over His people. Imagine a massive piece of canvas that will be shaped into a tent. He shakes it out so that it falls over all His people, in a way that none of them are outside. It is the most beautiful picture of inclusion.Where do you feel completely at home? Where is the place you can say, “This is where I belong”? That feeling is a foretaste of what you will experience in the presence of the Lord. Some people struggle to feel at home in this life. Some don’t feel completely at home in the church or in their own families. Some don’t feel at home in their own bodies.Whatever your struggles are in this life, if you are in Christ, the day will come when you know that you are completely at home. When God spreads His tent over you, you’ll say, “This is where I belong! I was made for this place!”To be at home means that you will be yourself. In heaven you will find yourself saying, “I am more myself than I have ever been before.”In heaven, you will serve the Lord as you always wished you could. You will be at peace with yourself as never before. You will be at peace with all your brothers and sisters in Christ, and you will be at peace with God. You will be at home.Where do you feel most at home in this life? How might that be a foretaste of being at home in heaven with God?

Behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"Revelation 7:9-10John sees a vast crowd—in the immediate presence of Jesus Christ—standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They are dressed in white robes that speak of complete purity. They have palm branches in their hands—a symbol of victory. These people are celebrating total victory, which they ascribe to God Himself.What they are experiencing there in heaven is very different from what we are experiencing here on earth. We live this life in a fallen world where God is dishonoured, righteousness is spurned, and evil casts a shadow of pain and destruction. We are up against the pull of the flesh. The direction of that pull may change, but the struggle it brings never goes away. And we have an enemy—the devil—who, though he can never finally succeed against us, will never give up.So, we continue to live a life of repentance and faith. Repentance, because we never get beyond the awareness of our own sins and failures. Faith, because we walk by faith and not by sight. We do this with the help of the Holy Spirit.The Christian life is a struggle, but it will not always be so. John sees believers in the presence of Jesus. They are celebrating victory. Their long struggle is over. Their battle has been won.How might this glimpse of eternity encourage you to persevere in faith today?

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord. Holy and true. How long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"Revelation 6:9-10There is a good-better-best pattern to the Christian life. To be in Christ is good. No matter how bad things get in this world, if you are in Christ, you are blessed with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3). But to be with Christ is better by far than anything you’ve ever known, can know, or will know in this world. And for every Christian, even those who are in heaven now, the best is yet to come.In Revelation 6, the souls of believers in the presence of Jesus are experiencing the better. Yet these believers are crying out to God, “How long?” (Rev. 6:10). How long until the evils of this present world and the sufferings of God’s people are brought to an end? How long until King Jesus returns in glory, and we get to come with Him? They are told that they must wait (6:11).Herman Bavinck, the great Dutch theologian, has a fascinating comment on the experience of believers in the presence of Jesus: “They have a past which they remember, a present in which they live, and a future which they are approaching.”Jesus Christ will come again in glory. On that day, our loved ones who have gone ahead will be with Him, and we will be forever with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17).As you think about loved ones who have died in Christ, remember that the coming of Jesus is getting nearer.