Posts by Phil Schomber

Section 9: The End Times Week 4: The New Heaven and the New Earth Day 5: The Joy We Will Experience in the New Heaven and the New Earth Rev. 21-22 What will eternal life be like? Whatever else we might say about eternal life in the new heaven and the new earth, it will be place of great joy. How could it not be if the curse has been removed, along with every trace of suffering, sin, and death?…

Section 9: The End Times Week 4: The New Heaven and the New Earth Day 4: Eternity in the New Heaven and the New Earth Rev. 22 We keep using the word eternity. What does it mean though? With respect to God, the term refers to the fact that he exists outside of time and therefore doesn’t have a beginning or an end. When it comes to the new creation, we often think of it in similar terms – time…

Section 9: The End Times Week 4: The New Heaven and the New Earth Day 3: The Joining of Heaven and Earth Rev. 21:1-7 As we had a chance to discuss earlier, God is omnipresent. That is, he is present everywhere at all at once. Nevertheless, it is clear God manifests his presence more powerfully at certain times in certain places. We call the place where God most powerfully manifest his presence heaven.[i] Yesterday we talked about the idea many…

Section 9: The End Times Week 4: The New Heaven and the New Earth Day 1: The Physical Nature of the New Creation Rom. 8:18-25 As we’ve noted before, many believers think of eternal life in spiritual/non-material terms. Eternal life is thought of as an ecstatic vision of God. We get to look upon God forever and we’re entranced by the sight of him. This is often referred to as the beatific vision, “an unbroken, unchanging contemplation of the infinite…

Section 9: The End Times Week 4: The New Heaven and the New Earth Day 2: The Renewal of the Earth 2 Peter 3:3-14 We noted earlier that eternity will share the same fundamental physical/material structure as the current universe. That is not to say there won’t be significant differences though. Sin corrupted the original creation. But God intends to renew/restore it. The most dramatic picture of that process comes from Peter: The Lord is not slow in keeping his…

Section 9: The End Times Week 3: The Final Judgment Day 5: Hell Luke 16:19-31 Hell is a difficult subject. The Bible’s descriptions of it aren’t pleasant: Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to…

Section 9: The End Times Week 3: The Final Judgment Day 4: The Judgment of Satan Rev. 20:1-10 The Bible depicts Satan as a powerful enemy who is at war against God and his people. It would be a mistake, however, to view this as a battle of equals.  God, after all, is omnipotent. Satan is not. As a result, whether he knew it or not, Satan lost the war the moment he rebelled. God allows him to have a…

Section 9: The End Times Week 3: The Final Judgment Day 3: The Judgment of Believers Luke 19:11-26 When we think of the final judgment, the dominant theme for most of us is the judgment of unbelievers. But believers will be judged as well. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned…

Section 9: The End Times Week 3: The Final Judgment Day 2: The Judgment of Unbelievers Matt. 11:20-24 At the final judgment, unbelievers will be judged on the basis of everything they have done. Because they did not accept Christ’s payment of the penalty for their sins, they will have to pay that penalty themselves. In rendering his judgment, Christ will look at more than just external acts. Internal attitudes and motivations will be revealed and judged as well. Nothing…

Section 9: The End Times Week 2: The Resurrection Day 5: The Resurrection of the Unrighteous Rev. 20:1-15 When we think of the resurrection, we typically think in terms of the resurrection of believers. But the Bible teaches that both believers and unbelievers will be raised from the dead after Christ’s return. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place…

Section 9: The End Times Week 3: The Final Judgment Day 1: The Necessity of a Final Judgment Rom. 12:17-21 When Christ returns, he will sit in judgment over the world (Acts 10:42, 2 Tim. 4:1).  As we discussed in the Digging Deeper section, theologians debate exactly when the final judgment will happen in relation to Christ’s return. However, there is no doubt that God will judge the world. The book of Revelation paints the picture this way: “Then I…

Section 9: The End Times Week 2: The Resurrection Day 4: Although We Will Receive New Bodies, We Will Be the Same People Phil 3:17-21 At the resurrection, we receive new bodies. Just how new will they be? Will they be so different from our current bodies that we will in essence become different people? No.  Although there will be important differences, the glorified bodies we receive will share a basic continuity with the ones we have right now. As…