In religious circles today one hears some interesting things said about the destiny of the wicked after they die. On one hand, it is argued that Christ died for all men in order that all might have eternal life, for God is love and too good to torture and destroy any of His creatures. On the other hand, there is the extreme view that our Creator will send impenitent sinners to a hell of fire to burn for eternity--sizzling and suffering in endless torment and agony.

Is either of those two extreme views correct? Suppose, for example, that the judge of your county should sentence a man convicted of murder to be tortured continuously day and night with scalding water and red-hot irons so as to keep him constantly suffering the most excruciating pain. What would the news media have to say about that? What would be the reaction of the people in general to punishment of that sort? Does it make sense to say that our Creator, who is a God of justice and love, could be a monster of cruelty worse than that?

Suppose that the judge should choose the opposite course, saying that he believes in loving everybody, and that it is wrong to punish criminals and make them suffer for the crimes they have committed. What would the public reaction be to that, if he should allow murderers, robbers, rapists, etc., to go free without any restraint or punishment?

In our search for the truth, we should turn to the Holy Scriptures to see for certain what God Himself has said about what He will do with people who persist in sinful living. The Lord has said in His Written Word that He Himself will be our Judge, and that He will "give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12. No man can persist in wrongdoing with impunity. "The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked." Nahum 1:3. Yes, the Lord God is "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." Exodus 34:6,7.

We are plainly told in Revelation 20:8,9 that at the close of the 1,000 years--the millennium--Satan will be loosed out of his prison, and will go out "to deceive the nations ... to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."

Note particularly that the wicked will be devoured by fire here on this earth. It was the fate of wicked Sodom and Gomorrah to be thus destroyed, for it is written that "the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven." Genesis 19:24. They were so completely destroyed that they were wiped out of existence. Hence the New Testament prophet tells us that "Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7. Note particularly that those wicked cities are "set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." It is not the suffering that is said to be eternal, but the fire which God employed to destroy them is eternal in its effect.

Some suppose that the words "unquenchable fire" mean that there is an eternally burning hell in which the wicked will writhe in torment and anguish ages without end. Such is not the intention of John in saying: "He [Christ] will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17. By the word "unquenchable" he means fire that no man can extinguish or put out. Chaff is very easily consumed by fire, and John very plainly says that Christ will "burn up"--utterly consume--those (the, chaff) it figuratively represents.

By the prophet Jeremiah the Lord warned the sinners in Jerusalem what the result would be if they should not turn from their transgression of the Sabbath: "Then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Jeremiah 17:27. This prophecy was fulfilled when the Babylonians took the city, "burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire." 2 Chronicles 36:19. But those buildings are not burning yet. However, the unquenchable fire kindled in them did accomplish its work of destruction, as foretold, for no man was able to put it out. But it did go out of itself when its destructive work was done.

Furthermore, we must reject an interpretation that makes the Lord contradict Himself. Because He plainly declares that "all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch" (Malachi 4:1,3), we must conclude that by the expression "unquenchable fire" the Lord means that the wicked will be utterly destroyed, and that no one will be able to stay the fire until that work is accomplished.

The world has not forgotten the sensational atomic bomb that wrought such terrible havoc in August of 1945. That was a puny bit of fireplay in comparison with the fiery spectacle of the destruction of the wicked at the close of the millennium, foretold in Revelation 20.

We have been told: "The heavens which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.... But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Peter 3:7,10. This refers to the atmospheric heavens that envelop the earth. "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch." Isaiah 34:8,9.

Yes, the whole earth will then be enveloped "with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones." Isaiah 30:30.

We have been told: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4,20. Yes, "the wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23. Hence we read that at the close of the millennium, as viewed by the prophet John in vision, "Death and hell [hades, "grave"] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Revelation 20:14. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power." Verse 6.

We read that "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Hebrews 9:27. This is the first death, which comes upon all men as the result of the transgression of Adam and Eve. See Genesis 2:17. But God has given to all opportunity to repent and be saved. We are assured that "as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Corinthians 16:22. "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:28,29.

The resurrection of damnation (condemnation) will take place at the close of the millennium, as it is foretold in Revelation 20. The death that the wicked will die in the lake of fire at that time is called "the second death." See verses 46 and 14.

By persisting in impenitence and sinful living, the wicked forfeit their right to membership in the human race. By rejecting the pardon and hope of everlasting life offered by God to men, as set forth in Holy Writ, the wicked seal their doom.

While it is very evident that the ungodly will suffer a fearful fate, with punishment and torment corresponding to their guilt, it is also certain that there will be an end of sin and sinners. An eternally burning hell filled with screaming, cursing, unceasingly tormented wretches would be a perpetuation, and not an end, to sin and suffering. Instead of bringing the human tragedy to an end, it would be a fearful perpetuation and augmenting of it without end and to no purpose.

We have already noted the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah that came as the result of their persistence in wickedness. Peter tells us that God, "turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." 2 Peter 2:6. And Jude, as we have noted, says that God has destroyed those cities by fire, and that they are "set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Verse 7. Though those cities were destroyed with "eternal fire," yet they were turned "into ashes," according to the Bible. This explains Christ's reference to sinners going into "everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41) in the judgment day. The fire that came down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah was eternal in its effect, for those cities were eternally annihilated, and will never be rebuilt.

When the Lord shall finish the work of punishing the ungodly according to their deeds, He will completely rid the universe of them, so that sin and sinners will be no more. Their destruction is compared to the consumption of grease by fire. "The wicked shall perish and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." Psalm 37:20.

When David described the end of the wicked he said that they would become wholly extinct. "Evildoers shall be cut off. ... For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.... The transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off." Psalms 37:9, 10, 38.

Idol worshipers have been warned that they would be as dead trees and dry weeds in the fires of the last days. "The destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.... For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them." Isaiah 1:28,30, 31.

Indeed, "they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before it." Isaiah 47:14.

"Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Malachi 4:1.

The destruction of sinners will be complete annihilation: "Ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts." Verse 3.

Even the devil will be destroyed, for Christ came to the world "that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Hebrews 2:14. He came "that He might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8.

An eternally burning hell filled with immortal men and devils, ceaselessly cursing God and suffering indescribable agony, would be a horrible and endless perpetuation of the existence of Satan, sin, and sinners. It would be contrary to God's statement to rebellious Lucifer: "I will destroy thee, 0 covering cherub,.. .Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. ...Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." Ezekiel 28:16-19.

Sinners will be destroyed completely, both soul and body. God says: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4, 20. That is why Christ warns us to "fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28.

When a person chooses to persist in the violation of the rights of God and man, there is only one thing that his Maker can do with him, and that is to punish him for the evil he has already done and to put him out of existence to keep him from doing more.

"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

Clearly then, there is only one alternative to this provision for the impenitent sinner, and that is the forfeiture of the right to exist. By rejecting the offer of everlasting life, the sinner chooses everlasting death.

It is impossible for either man or angel to exist apart from God, "for in Him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:28. With Him "is the fountain of life" (Psalm 36:9), and by rejecting Him as the Source of life, the unrepentant sinner dooms himself to perish--to die "the second death." There will be no second chance after that. From the second death there will be no resurrection. Impenitent sinners will suffer eternal annihilation.

Jesus made it very clear that the way of the righteous leads "unto life," while the way of the wicked leads to "destruction." Matthew 7:13,14. Paul states emphatically that "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord." 2 Thessalonians1:7-9. Thus the "everlasting punishment" meted out to the ungodly will be "everlasting destruction."

In Matthew 25:41 it is said that in the day of judgment the impenitent will hear this verdict: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." This means a fire that will constantly burn until it shall consume everything upon which it feeds, and none shall be able to hinder its destructive work until it is finished. Sodom and Gomorrah, wicked Canaanite cities which were destroyed nearly nineteen hundred years before Christ was born, "are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7. Peter says that God turned "the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes" by "making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." 2 Peter 2:6. The annihilation of those cities is an example of the eternal destruction by fire that awaits all those who persist in rejecting God's claims upon them and by continuing in sin. They, too, will be turned into ashes and obliterated as unfit for membership in the human race.

The term "destruction" is a very fitting one in Christ's description of the end of the road that awaits those who willfully continue in sin. He has said: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:13, 14.

Indeed, "destruction" is the only alternative to "life" --everlasting life. We beseech you, dear reader, to give serious and prayerful thought to those alternatives. To reject the road to ultimate destruction and choose the one that leads to an endless life, is the only sensible thing to do. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

Concerning impenitent sinners, the Lord says: "They shall be destroyed for ever." Psalm 92:7. This brings us to the question: How long is for ever? Does it always mean for or throughout eternity?

In vision the prophet John was shown the destruction of the wicked at the end of the millennium that will span the period between the resurrection of the righteous and that of the wicked. See Revelation 20:4-6. He was shown what would happen to the wicked at the end of that 1000-year period. He says that "the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, ... and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Verse 10. What does the Lord mean by that statement?

The safest rule to follow in a case of this kind is to seek the meaning of terms as they are used in the Holy Scriptures themselves, instead of depending solely on encyclopedias and commentaries that give human definitions in use today. Furthermore, do not take a single instance as a basis for important conclusions, but gather a number of them from various places in the Written Word.

Now let us take the expression "for ever" and consider it in the light of its use in the Holy Scriptures. For example, when Moses gave Israel the law concerning the relation of a master to his manservant, it was stipulated that the servant could not be held in servitude more than six years without his consent. If, at the end of the six-year period, the servant should desire to continue in the service of his master, it would be necessary for them to fulfill the following requirement: "Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever." Exodus 21:16.

How long does "for ever" mean here? It evidently means as long as both parties should remain alive. Else, how could a living servant serve a dead master? Or how could a dead servant serve a living master? That law, given to the Hebrew commonwealth more than fourteen centuries before the birth of Christ, is not in vogue today. Surely the masters and servants who entered into such agreements so long ago are not now fulfilling them.

Here is another example. When Naaman, the Syrian leper, had been healed he desired to give Elisha a costly gift as a token of his appreciation for the prophet's kindness. Elisha refused to accept pay for what God had done for the leper. But Gehazi, his covetous servant, slipped away from the house after the healed man had gone; overtaking him on the way, he obtained the gift by telling Naaman a lie. Returning to Elisha after hiding the present, Gehazi lied again by telling the prophet that he had gone nowhere. Thereupon Elisha reproved his wicked servant and added: "The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow." 2 Kings 5:27. This occurred nearly 900 years before Christ was born. Is Gehazi a leper today? The only reasonable meaning that "forever" can have here is that Gehazi would be a leper until death should overtake him.

In delivering his charge to Israel and to Solomon, David declared: "Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever." 1 Chronicles 28:4. David's death is recorded, and it is stated that "the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years." 1 Kings 2:10,11; 1 Chronicles 29:27, 28. And centuries later Peter declared concerning David: "He is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day .... For David is not ascended into the heavens." Acts 2:29,34. And Paul remarks that David "fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption." Acts 13:36. How long, then, did God mean that David should reign when He said that this king would rule over Israel "for ever"? He simply meant that David should be king over his people as long as he should live. And it was so, for he reigned over them forty years, that is, until he died.

When Aaron was consecrated as high priest, his duty thereafter was to minister unto the Lord, and "to bless in His name for ever." 1 Chronicles 23:13. Aaron died on Mt. Hor before the children of Israel entered the Land of Canaan. Numbers 20:28,29. He had lived 123 years. Numbers 33:38, 39. In this instance the expression "forever" meant as long as Aaron should live.

In ancient times the buyer of a house within a walled city in Israel was not permitted by law to have a clear title to the property until one year had elapsed after the sale was made. During the year the seller could present the purchase price to the buyer and demand the return of the house. But if the seller should fail to do this ere the twelvemonth period should expire, the buyer would have a clear title to the house. The law said: "Then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations." Leviticus 25:29, 30.

How long was the title good? Obviously, as long as the buyer should keep the property. There was no law forbidding him to sell it to another party. And could he still be the owner of the house if it should be burned up or destroyed? Would it still be his after he should die? That law was issued about 1,400 years before Christ was born. Are such houses in ancient walled cities still standing? The meaning of "for ever" in this case is that the buyer would have a good title to the house for himself and his heirs against the world as long as they should desire to keep the property.

A remarkable use of the term "for ever" is found in this statement: "Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Jonah 1:17. Jesus confirmed the accuracy of that statement. Matthew 12:40. But when Jonah described the experience that he had inside the fish, he said, "I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast Thou brought up my life from corruption, 0 Lord my God."

Jonah 2:1, 2, 6. How long was `for ever" in this case? Here "for ever" means as long as he was inside the fish, which was three days and three nights. The expression "for ever" simply means that as long as he was there inside the fish, such was his miserable condition.

Having carefully considered these passages, we conclude that the term "for ever" as used in the Holy Scriptures denotes continuity (without a break) of action, being, or state of being. It may mean either a long period or a short one, either definite or indefinite. The length of time involved depends on the nature of the person or thing to which the expression is applied. When we read of God that "His mercy endureth for ever" (Psalm 106:1; 107:1), it means that as long as God shall exist, His mercy shall continue to exist. Because He is eternal in His nature, His attributes are eternal, too.

But when the words "for ever" are applied to things of this world, the expression can mean only as long as they endure. Because in the resurrection day the righteous will be given eternal life and an immortal nature, many things spoken concerning their future existence as lasting "for ever" means for eternity, for the expression "for ever" means as long as a thing shall exist. Hence many Bible scholars have given the original Hebrew and Greek words translated as "for ever" their more precise and correct meaning, which is "age lasting."

Our English word "always" has a similar meaning. It may mean eternity, or it may mean a short period of time. When a person says, "I have always lived in New York City," he does not mean that he has lived there all the eternity of the past, but that during all his past life he has lived there, which may be only 20 years, depending on his age at the time. When a man promises his bride that he will always love and cherish her, he means that he will do so as long as they both are alive. But when we say that "God has always existed," we mean that He has lived during all the eternity of the past. The psalmist says concerning Him: "From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God." Psalm 90:2.

Revelation 20:10 does not say that the wicked "shall be tormented for eternity, for ever and ever." If the word "eternity" had been used in that text there could be no question about the length of time denoted. But the passage really says: "And shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Thus it is a matter of days and nights and not eternity. The suffering of some sinners in the lake of fire undoubtedly will be over a period of many days and nights, for every wicked person will be rewarded "according to his works." Matthew 16:27; Romans 2:6; Revelation 22:12; 20:12,13.

Jesus has said concerning sinners in the day of judgment that "these shall go away into everlasting punishment." Matthew 25:46. Does this mean eternal torment? Note that this passage does not speak of everlasting punishing; it speaks of "everlasting punishment." That means that the effect of the fire upon the sinner will be eternal. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:4, 20), which means that the sinner will suffer everlasting death, for there will be no recovery whatever from it. No resurrection from the second death is promised to anybody.

An archipelago of 365 islands ranging from tiny islets supporting five or six coconut palms to large islands, lies off the Atlantic coast of Panama. Hundreds of San Blas Indians make their home there. When we lived in Panama years ago, those squat, bronze folk were very picturesque in their dress, manners, and home life. Their daily food consisted of tropical fruits and vegetables--especially bananas, coconuts, and yams--with plenty of fish. A system of traps owned and maintained by the tribe in common kept the people well supplied with fish. When a family desired fish for a meal, one of its members would go to a trap and freely take enough for the need.

Although the religious beliefs of the San Blas Indians were simple, they incorporated traditions that are centuries old. Particularly interesting was their conception of the better world to come. They thought of it as being just what their own little archipelago would be under ideal conditions --verdant isles set like emerald gems in a sea of ocean blue, populated with good and honest people, free from evil and disease, and supplied with an abundance of food, especially fish.

North American Indians had a somewhat similar conception of the world to come--the Happy Hunting Grounds.

In nearly all the religious beliefs of mankind, whether ancient or modern, is found a hope for a better world to come in which the ideal conditions desired in this present world will become a reality. These varied beliefs undoubtedly have their basis in, and are variations of, the ancient promise of God that this earth will be restored to her Edenic state and become the eternal home of the faithful.

The primeval plan of God when He set this little planet Earth spinning in space will be carried out. That coming better world for which we long will be what this one would have been if all men had been good and honest. The day is not far distant when the King of Kings shall say to His own:

"Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34. This planet was originally created to be the abode of a happy, holy people; and it will be such when sin and sinners shall be no more.

When the apostle Peter wrote that "the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up," he added: "nevertheless we, according to His [God's] promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13. The apostle was speaking of something already promised by the Lord. Back about 1900 years before Christ was born, God promised to Abraham "that he should be the heir of the world." Romans 4:13. And all who believe in Christ and obey Him as Abraham did, will share this inheritance with that godly patriarch. "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:29.

Nearly 1,000 years before Peter wrote, David taught the people of God that "Evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth." Psalm 37:9. "The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Verse 11. "For such as be blessed of Him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of Him shall be cut off." Verse 22. "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever." Verse 29.

And wise King Solomon, the son of David, wrote by inspiration of God that "the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth." Proverbs 11:31. He declared also that "the earth abideth for ever." Ecclesiastes 1:4. For in the beginning our Creator "laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever." Psalm 104:5.

Jesus Himself, in His famous Sermon on the Mount, told the people: "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5. Why, then, does Peter say that we look for "new heavens and a new earth"? 2 Peter 3:13. Does this mean that the redeemed shall live on another planet? No, it means that this world, defiled and marred by sin, will be purified and made new again and fit for a holy, happy people to inhabit.

The apostle John, in a vision, was shown by God the world to come. He says: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.... And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." Revelation 21:1,5. After being cleansed by fire, this planet will be made new and beautiful like it was in the beginning. There will be no more vast oceans such as we have had since the Flood in the days of Noah.

The world to come will be so beautiful and wonderful that the present world, with its sin and sorrow, will fade from the memories of the redeemed as the ages of eternity pass by. Through His prophet Isaiah more than 25 centuries ago the Lord said to His people: "I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying." Isaiah 65:17-19. Here the Lord is not speaking of old Jerusalem which is in Palestine, but He refers to that "Jerusalem which is above," to "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22.

Shortly before He ascended to heaven after His resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples: "In My Father's house are many mansions: ...I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2. And elsewhere the Lord says of His people that "He hath prepared for them a city." Hebrews 11:16. A city is a large aggregation of mansions--homes where people live. Abraham, the righteous patriarch of ancient times, lived and told the people: "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5. Why, then, does Peter say that we look for "new heavens and a new earth"? 2 Peter 3:13. Does this mean that the redeemed shall live on another planet? No, it means that this world, defiled and marred by sin, will be purified and made new again and fit for a holy, happy people to inhabit.

The apostle John, in a vision, was shown by God the world to come. He says: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.... And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." Revelation 21:1,5. After being cleansed by fire, this planet will be made new and beautiful like it was in the beginning. There will be no more vast oceans such as we have had since the Flood in the days of Noah.

The world to come will be so beautiful and wonderful that the present world, with its sin and sorrow, will fade from the memories of the redeemed as the ages of eternity pass by. Through His prophet Isaiah more than 25 centuries ago the Lord said to His people: "I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying." Isaiah 65:17-19. Here the Lord is not speaking of old Jerusalem which is in Palestine, but He refers to that "Jerusalem which is above," to "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22.

Shortly before He ascended to heaven after His resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples: "In My Father's house are many mansions: ...I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2. And elsewhere the Lord says of His people that "He hath prepared for them a city." Hebrews 11:16. A city is a large aggregation of mansions--homes where people live. Abraham, the righteous patriarch of ancient times, lived and dwelt in Palestine, "as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles [tents] with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Hebrews 11:9,10.

When he was shown the new earth in a vision, the apostle saw that city also. He says: "I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Revelation 21:2. At the end of the 1,000 years of Satan's imprisonment on the desolate earth, the Holy City will descend from heaven. Revelation 20:9. At that time Christ and His angels, accompanied by the redeemed, will come to the earth to execute judgment upon the wicked. As He descends to the earth, Christ will call the wicked dead from their graves to receive their reward. Revelation 20:5. "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, 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 ye [the wicked] shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee." Zechariah 14:4,5. And in that place cleansed and purified by Christ, the New Jerusalem shall rest when it comes down from above.

The apostle John says also: "I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." Revelation 21:3. The Holy City will be the capital of Christ's kingdom upon earth. His throne will be there, and He will be King over all. When He was born as the Son of man in Bethlehem nearly 2,000 years ago, the Son of God was bound to the human race by ties that shall never be broken. Hence He is called Immanuel, which means "God With Us." Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21-23. His human body was raised from the grave, and bears the scars of the wounds that Christ suffered in giving His life as a ransom for repentant sinners. John 20:24-28; Luke 24:39,40. For all eternity He will live in that body of human flesh--now glorified (Philippians 3:21)--as proof of His everlasting love for us.

In the vision, John saw "that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Revelation 21:10-14. John says that "the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth," with three gates on each side. Verse 16. The measurement of the perimeter of the city is given as "12,000 furlongs"-- approximately 1600 miles. Thus a street running from east to west, or from north to south, is about 400 miles long.

The adornment of the New Jerusalem surpasses that of any city on earth today. "The building of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass." That is, it reflects light like a mirror. "And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass .... And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Revelation 21:18-21, 23 22:5.

What a beautiful sight the Holy City will be when it descends from heaven to the earth! The glorious light of God, reflected by the mirror-like gold of the street and by the multicolored stones adorning the walls, will shine forth in glorious contrast to the white gates of solid pearl.

In the midst of the city will be the Paradise of Eden, the home from which Adam and Eve were driven after they sinned. John saw "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Revelation 22:1-3.

No longer will the cherubim with flaming sword bar the way to the tree of life and its life-giving fruit. Genesis 3:22-24. Those obedient to God's law are welcome to eat of it. "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14.

As the apostle viewed the beautiful new earth, he saw that "there shall be no more curse." Verse 3. As a result of the curse that rested upon the earth after man sinned, the plants and animals have degenerated much. Thorns and thistles have grown up, and the beasts have become wild and sometimes savage. Vast areas are now jungles and deserts. These conditions will be changed in order that the earth may become a beautiful dwelling place for the redeemed people of God. "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree." Isaiah 55:13. "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon." Isaiah 35:1,2. The mountains of Lebanon have been famous for their tall, stately cedars; and Mount Carmel and the Valley of Sharon are noted for their many kinds of lovely flowers. The new earth will be beautified with all the loveliness that the world had in the beginning.

"The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord." Isaiah 65:25. See also chapter 11:6-9. In the beginning both man and animals were vegetarians, and they will return to that manner of living in the future. Genesis 1:29,30. They will not hurt nor destroy one another in the new earth.

For His redeemed people God has great plans in the world to come. "His servants shall serve Him." Revelation 22:3. Man was not created to spend his days in idleness. Genesis 2:15. Work under the right conditions is a pleasure, and there will always be new subjects for study and meditation, and new enterprises for the exercise of mind and muscle. "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." Isaiah 65:21,22.

In all the wide world there will not exist a hospital, a cemetery, a jail, or any other thing that is the result of sin. Nothing will mar the happiness of the redeemed. "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4. "And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." Isaiah 33:24.

There will be no temples or churches representing different sects of religion. The apostle says: "I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." Revelation 21:22. In the New Jerusalem the redeemed will worship their Creator face to face, with no vail to hide Him from them. "They shall see His face." Revelation 22:4.

At stated times the redeemed will assemble to worship God. In the beginning the Lord blessed and sanctified the seventh day of the week for that purpose, even before man sinned and became separated from his Creator. This ancient plan has never been abolished, but will continue throughout the endless ages of eternity. "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Isaiah 66:22,23. Then will "all flesh" worship God on the seventh day of the week--on God's holy Sabbath-as He has commanded us in His law. Exodus 20:8-11. So by keeping the seventh day Sabbath now in this world we are but doing what we shall do throughout eternity in the earth made new.

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9. See also Isaiah 64:4. It is impossible to describe fully in human language the endless future which God has prepared for us. We must be in the new earth in order to see and hear it all.

And best of all, you are invited to be there. God has said: "Let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." Revelation 22:17. It is all free. Christ has paid the price for you, and all you need to do is, by His grace, to turn from disobedience and live in harmony with His will.

Jesus is coming soon. It will not be long until this present world of sin, sorrow, suffering, and death will end, and the new world of God's planning will be ushered in. In that glad day "the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isaiah 35:10.

Will you be there?

Jesus, by His death on the cross for us, has made it possible for you to be saved. Turn to Him with your whole heart, confess and forsake your sins, accept Him as your Saviour, and respond to His gracious invitation: "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34.

"Someone will enter the pearly gate

By and by, by and by,

Taste of the glories that there await,

Shall you? shall I? Shall you? shall I?

Someone will travel the streets of gold,

Beautiful visions will there behold,

Feast on the pleasures so long foretold:

Shall you? shall I? Shall you? shall I?"

--Christ in Song, page 5.