The Bible Says!
Lesson 7
God's Beautiful Tomorrow!
Some years back, America spent billions of dollars to place man on the moon. Perhaps some are even now hopeful of starting over again
on some other planet where there aren't so many problems. But reaching out for a new planet will not solve man's problems. The reason is
simple! Man carries his problems inside himself. The seeds of selfishness, corruption, and violence lurk within the heart of each of us.
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How, then, can we find the peace and security on earth that we so feverishly seek? Is there no better tomorrow toward which we can look?
Is there no place where we will never grow old, where we will always live in perfect peace and happiness?
There is such a land. Something better is coming! The Bible teaches that there is such a future and such a place which God has prepared
for those who love Him. This is the hope that has given faith and courage to God's children down through the centuries. Let's see what the
Bible says about God's beautiful tomorrow and the kingdom He is going to set up soon.
1. What did Christ promise He would prepare for His followers? John 14:1-3
2. Who is the architect and builder of the place of which Christ spoke? Hebrews 11:10
3. What is the name of this heavenly city? Revelation 21:2
4. How does the Bible describe the holy city, New Jerusalem? Verses 9-27
(A furlong is one eight of an English mile. Ancient cities were measured by circumference around the outside walls, which would mean that
this city is at least 375 miles square.)
5. What specific tree mentioned as being in the New Jerusalem was also in the Garden of Eden? Revelation 22:2 & Genesis
6. What planet is to be the eternal home of the saved? Matthew 5:5
7. From what location did John say the New Jerusalem would come to this earth? Revelation 21:2, 10
"Think of it! A city 375 miles on a side -- with its gates, its walls, and its foundations -- moving steadily and swiftly through space from
heaven to earth!
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What a landing strip it will need! But the Saviour Himself will prepare it. 'And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, . . .
and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and
half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. . . . And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints
with thee' (Zechariah 14:4, 5). What a city! Covering almost the entire Middle East" (Destination Life, pp. 87, 88).
8. How will the earth be purified to receive this glorious city? 2 Peter 3:10
9. What will God create after the purification of the present earth by fire? Verse 13 & Revelation 21:1
10. How will the new earth differ from our earth today?
a. Revelation 21:1 -- b. Isaiah 35:1 -- c. Isaiah 60:18 -- d. Isaiah 65:25
11. What will be one of our most prized possessions in the new earth? John 10:28
12. What does the Bible say about the solutions to the following problems we face here on this earth now? a. Revelation 21:4 -- b. Revelation 7:16, 17 -- c. Isaiah 35:5, 6
13. How will the saints occupy their time in the new earth? Isaiah 65:21, 22.
The Bible assures us that we will be real people doing real things. "Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The
acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the
loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new
truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body." -- "And as the years of eternity roll, they will bring richer and more glorious revelations of God and of Christ" (The Story of Redemption, p. 432).
14. What statement assures us that we will continue to worship God in the earth made new? Isaiah 66:23
15. Whom will the saved see in the kingdom of heaven? Matthew 8:11
16. How does Paul assure us that we will recognize each other in the earth made new? 1 Corinthians 13:12
17. What assurance has God given us that our identity and name will remain? Isaiah 66:22
18. Whom will the redeemed be like in the new earth? 1 John 3:2
19. How do we know that this earth will become the dwelling place of God and the capital of the universe? Revelation 22:3, 4
20. Why is it so difficult for us to fully understand the wonders that God is preparing for those that love Him? 1 Corinthians 2:9
"Truly the mind of man is overwhelmed by the promises of God concerning the future, and the imagination fails in its attempt to convey the simplest facts about heaven. No eloquence can match the 'exceeding and eternal weight of glory,' no description can portray the heavenly land. In that home that Christ is preparing, we may lay plans for ages or millenniums, and they will not be cut short by sickness or death, by weight of years or crippling accident. What glorious visions will beckon us to further effort as time stretches on forever and forever!
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"There we shall all speak the same language, and no interpreter will be needed. He who once dispersed mankind into a multitude of
languages, will as easily restore the universal language of the heavenly family.
"In the new earth there will be no barriers of race or color, no strife for position or authority, no coveting or jealousy. Among all the redeemed there will be no sign of pride or vain glory, that evil thing which caused Lucifer to leave God's presence. Banished now are all the tendencies of the sinful nature that for so long held men in thrall" (The Golden Chain, p. 100).
21. How can we become heirs of the earth made new? Galatians 3:29
By accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour we become spiritual descendants of Abraham. God promised that Abraham's seed, or
children, would inherit the earth. Abraham recognized that this promise was to be fulfilled in the earth made new, for he dwelt as a stranger
and a sojourner in Palestine, giving evidence that he "looked for a city . . . whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10).
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Of the posterity of Abraham it is written, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were
persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrew 11:13).
We, too, are strangers and sojourners on this earth, but we can be a part of God's beautiful tomorrow if we reach out and accept the gift that
God has promised every person through Jesus, His Son. There's no other way.