. We know that the New Earth has at least one mountain, and we can assume it has hundreds or thousands of them. . Will the far edges of our galaxy be within reach? Why does the moon not revolve around the sun? As the source is greater than the tributary, God, the Light, is infinitely greater than those little light-bearers we know as stars. Considering the nearness of the end times, it is unlikely that man will progress far enough to visit other galaxies before the Lord’s return. The doctrine of resurrection is an emphatic statement that we will forever occupy space. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, perhaps we’ll see how we affected others, and how living our lives differently might have influenced them. This being so, it is clear that the life of the new humanity in their resurrection bodies of glory can be described only in symbolic terms.” But what’s the biblical evidence for this claim? What does the Bible mean by the term new heavens? Adam and Eve’s sin did not merely create a personal catastrophe or a local, Edenic catastrophe; it was a catastrophe of cosmic—not just global—proportions. If it was created, Paul includes it in “the whole creation.”. (Romans 8:19-23). Imagine what we might find on the new Mars or the new Saturn and Jupiter and their magnificent moons. We don’t know. Since we’ll draw from the reservoir of God’s being, which never runs dry, we’ll never run out of passion and joy. It meant “More Beyond.” This was a horizon-expanding message to people who’d always believed the world they knew was all there was. 1.But we really want ………(visit) other planets and find out if life exists on them. . Will there be new inventions? Sir Isaac Newton said of God, “He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is, his duration reaches from eternity to eternity; his presence from infinity to infinity.” God is the one “who inhabits eternity” (Isaiah 57:15, NKJV). God will transform the fallen human race into a renewed human race and the present Earth into the New Earth. Each moment, the celestial geography dramatically increases. As old stars burn out, new stars are being born. How many times has God heard our cries when we imagined he didn’t? If you’ve been impacted by our resources, we invite you to make a year-end gift before December 31. Not if we understand both Scripture and science. We know what God intended for mankind and the earth, and therefore we have an object for our longing. That we can be a thousand places at once, doing ten thousand different things? When Genesis 1:1 speaks of God’s creating “the heavens and the earth,” the words are synonymous with what we mean by universe. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross.”. I’d think it would be the talk of heaven!”, The Carpenter smiled at her. Therefore, there’s no reason to assume we won’t enjoy high-tech modes of travel on the New Earth. One reason might be to show us his providence, grace, and goodness in our lives and the lives of others. How many times have we prayed that God would make us Christlike, then begged him to take from us the very things he sent to make us Christlike? Remember, God will make the new heavens, which will correspond to the old and which will therefore include renewed versions of the planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies God created in the first heavens. . Jupiter and Saturn can be seen in the dawn sky. In February 2017, NASA announced they discovered seven Earth-like planets 39 light-years away in a solar system called Trappist-1. Would this not fill his heart with gratitude to God for his sovereign grace? © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. It would be simple for God to open the door to the past. The biblical texts speak of time and space in the New Earth similarly to how they speak of them here and now. Of course, we’ll have the technological knowledge and skills to control our environment, so if we can make ourselves more comfortable, we will. The fact that they are part of the first universe and that God called them “very good,” at least in their original forms, means they will be part of the resurrected universe. In my novel Edge of Eternity, Nick Seagrave beholds the Woodsman (Jesus) and the end of the world—then realizes it’s really a beginning: I saw a dying cosmos hold out its weak right arm, longing for a transfusion, a cure for its cancerous chasm. On the present Earth, God shows himself through natural wonders and weather (Job 9:5-7; 38:34-35). You won’t have fins, and you won’t swim. How could that be? As your father once built you that tree house, I fashioned this place just for you.”, Nancy beamed. with nothing to block our view. does not mean merely the salvation of certain individuals nor even the salvation of a chosen group of people. The stars of the heavens declare God’s glory (Psalm 19:1), yet how vast and distant they are. Perhaps you will be. The depiction of the precious metals and stones and vast architecture is lavish beyond imagination, as are the descriptions of trees on both sides of the great river, bearing new fruit each month. How Can Anticipating New Opportunities Change Us? Life, as we understand it in mortality, is apparently impossible on any of these nearby planets except for a slim chance of very simple organisms on Mars. Will the New Earth Have Other Natural Wonders? “He gave us our own worlds too,” she said. As we’ve seen, we will find harps, trumpets, and other man-made objects in the @present Heaven. In addition to the spiral and elliptical shaped galaxies, there’s a bewildering variety of other galaxy shapes and colors. But I do believe in the new heavens and the New Earth. After Columbus discovered the New World, Spain struck coins with the Latin slogan Plus Ultra. What does it mean that creation waits for God’s children to be revealed? It seems possible that even the second law of thermodynamics (at least as it is popularly understood) may have been the product of mankind’s fall. But then I saw his scars . Is there anything in Scripture—anything we know about God—that would preclude him from expanding his creation and delegating authority to his children to rule over it? Apparitions can last a few weeks (in the case of Mercury) to almost two years (in the case of Mars). Does the Earth really count? If Christ expands his rule by creating new worlds, whom will he send to govern them on his behalf? Since we will rule with Christ over a vast New Earth and possibly over far away places in the New Heavens, it would seem likely that we might be able to be instantly transported great distances. Will I see how missing the exit on the freeway last night saved me from a crash? Look at God’s track record in creating natural wonders in this universe. We will call this part “Other Kevin”, in honor of Dave Willis. Surely you agree that God is capable of sending resurrected people back in time or of pulling back the curtain of time and allowing us to see the past. As to whether there is life on other planets, we simply do not know. By reducing resurrected life to symbols, don’t we undermine the meaning of humanity, Earth, and resurrection? I was overwhelmed by greatness on a cosmic scale and felt terribly small and alone. After searching in vain for small cracks in the sky, I went inside and wrote these paragraphs. Venus. In exactly the same way, the stars will be destroyed, yet they will last forever. (May God give us the grace to see this now while we can still revise and edit our lives.). In the same way that the New Earth will be refashioned and still be a true Earth, with continuity to the old, the new cosmic heavens will likewise be the old renewed. Do you hear longing in the cries of whales? 4. We will glorify him by ruling over the physical universe with creativity and camaraderie, showing respect and benevolence for all we rule. Sound familiar? I’ve also mentioned my belief that we will explore the far reaches of the new universe. We may be able to study history from a front-row seat. The “new heaven” in Revelation 21:1 apparently refers to exactly the same atmospheric and celestial heavens as “heavens” does in Genesis 1:1. The Woodsman squeezed his hand and the world around me darkened. Is this notion more unthinkable than it once was to imagine sailing a ship across an ocean or flying a plane across the world or landing a spacecraft on the moon? If it has taken humanity 2000+ years to reach space, how long will it take for us to reach another solar system? It should move our hearts to wonder and praise. Will we see a new Saturn, new Jupiter, new Ganymede, new Pleiades, and a new Milky Way? Revelation 21:1-2 says, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. If the new creation is indeed a resurrected version of the old, then there will be a new Venus, after all. The base of Olympus Mons is 370 miles across and would cover the entire state of Nebraska. In the Old Testament an angel comes to the prophet Daniel and tells him what happened as the result of his prayers: “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you” (Daniel 9:23). There’s no evidence that we could be several places at once. So it is the heavens and the earth that eagerly await our resurrection. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. When we travel in the new universe, will we find new beings on other worlds? He is glorified by what he creates and rules. Since God will resurrect the old Earth and the old Jerusalem, transforming both into the new, shouldn’t we understand “new heavens” as an expression of his intention to resurrect galaxies, nebulae, stars, planets, and moons in a form as close to their original form as the earth will be to its original form and we will be to ours? Because human beings and the earth are inseparably linked. The program's primary goals, as described in the 2014 NASA Science Plan, are to discover planets around other stars, to characterize their properties and to identify planets that could harbor life. Answer by Bob Singer, NASA Mission Manager, on Quora: With current technology at a maximum speed of about 17,600 mph (about 28,300 kph), it would have taken a Space Shuttle about 165,000 years to reach Alpha Centauri. But let’s not forget that God called the original earth “very good”—the true earth, as he designed it to be (Genesis 1:31). If the heavens declare God’s glory now, and if we will spend eternity proclaiming God’s glory, don’t you think exploring the new heavens, and exercising dominion over them, will likely be part of God’s plan? Outside new Jerusalem in airplanes universe there will be destroyed, yet we will be,... The question is not limited by time, and you won ’ t ( Hebrews 12:28 ) joy... 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