Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
When We Have Been There Ten Thousand Years . . .

When We Have Been There Ten Thousand Years . . .

Last updated on: February 15, 2015 at 5:00 pm by John Mark N. Reynolds

When We Have Been There Ten Thousand Years . . . 2015-02-15T17:00:59-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Here is bad news: God exists.

Why is this bad news? Someone is watching and it seems more than a little scary that He sees us when we are sleeping, he knows when we are awake. We are never alone and this, at least initially, horrified me.

Here is better news: God is good, all knowing, and all powerful.

If God existed, then He might be wicked, delighting in our torment. That possibility is one reason the ancients invented atheism: fear of God.

Thank God, God is good.

If a good God exists, then He might make mistakes out of ignorance. What would be worse than a well meaning being trying to help? This is the God of Obama-Care, well intentioned, but clumsy. Reason shows God is all wise so His solutions which must deal with polar bears, politicians, and people are well intentioned and as good as they can be.

Here is the better news: the all wise and good God is all powerful.

Plato understood that God might be loving, good, and all knowing, but unable to do what he wished. The perversity of the cosmos might be able to defeat God’s best intentions, but fortunately God is all powerful. He can do what needs to be done. If it is doable, God can do it, which leads to the hope that if He can does not, then it must be better so.

Blessed comfort!

The best news is that the all wise, good, and powerful God loves us and became one of us. Smarmy politicians and preachers bite their lower lips and “feel our pain,” God came and lived our pain. He did not sit apart loving us, He made a way to know exactly what it felt like to be us.

There is no other being like this Sovereign God.

He loves us so much that God will bring us to Himself and cause us to live with Him for eternity in bliss. We need only be healed so that our beings can stand the joy of Paradise. And yet in Paradise, we will not be angels, we will be us. We know so little of Heaven, but this is what we do know.

When we have been there ten thousand years, we will not know everything.

In Indiana Jones IV when the Russian asked to “know it all,” any reader of a fairy tale knew she was dead. Men and women cannot know it all. We are too small for this much knowledge. In Paradise, we will still be humans and not God. We will be gods, super-beings compared to men today, but not God. Hear me: God is one and the only one.

This is jolly because it means the pleasures of learning will continue through eternity. Mistakes and pains we will have there, just not the mistakes and pains of sin. Mourning will be no more, but learning will be forever. This is part of the glory of humanity!

When we have been there ten thousand years, we will still be us.

We will be who we were meant to be with the genetic, psychological, and social harms removed. We will be the best us, but that is not the end. If a baby could be born perfect, as Jesus was, then that Baby still must “grow in grace and knowledge and in favor with God and men.” We will have all of eternity to grow more and more like ourselves.

I cannot wait to see my Papaws and my Nana and Granny, because they will be themselves better.

When we have been there then thousand years, we will not be all powerful.

There is no reason to think we will be able to fly or leap over tall buildings in a single bound. We will not be supermen, but human beings. The challenges will still be there, but without being cut off from the regenerating power of the Spirit. We will have the knowledge we need to avoid fatalities, but not all power or all knowledge.

Maybe I will be able to climb Mount Everest (if it exist in the new Earth), but there is no reason to think it will be easy. It will not be fatal to fail. Since I am not the Everest climbing type in this life, I doubt I am in the life to come. I don’t think my lack of desire to mountain climb is a wage of sin (though one cannot be quite sure). If I had to guess, I will get eternity to wrestle with dialectic problems that would make the challenges of Republic look childish.

I will be in the place where all truth is knowable, but I will not know all the truth!

This much is positively true.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the Sun, we will have no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.

I cannot wait.

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

February 14, 2015

Good for Scott Walker, Maybe Not Good for You, Maybe

Next Post

February 16, 2015 Don't Be NICE: Advise the Presidential Candidates on President's Day

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In Revelation, how many elders sit on thrones around God's throne?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Seven Twelve Twenty-four Seventy

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »