JEAN'S BIBLE STUDY
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Chapter 11: Eternity “For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will endure before Me,” declares the LORD, “so your descendants and your name will endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD. “As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”—Isaiah 66,22-24 People on each planet and solar system, galaxy and galaxy quadrant reflect the characteristics of the saints who managed them, whose personalities were molded in their former lives, which they now call their critical period. In their former lives every person had a critical period from ages 0-5; this is when our personalities mostly formed; it is also the period when we learned about half of everything we will ever know. In eternity, though, people considered their critical period to be their entire former lives from start to finish; for instance, if they lived eighty years, that was their critical period. Their personalities and some of their memories and experiences carried over to eternity, forever impacting them; but not everything about our former lives will remain, for much will be lost in the believer’s judgment, because of sin. We will forever remember that we were once sinners, but we won't specifically remember any of the sins we committed, which will cause blank spots in our memory. We have become kings, priests and judges to the people whom God put in our care (Rev 5-10,13). We teach them the ways of God, and in so doing shape the people into conformity with our own personalities. In other words, we will have a bearing on trillions of people in eternity, based on the person we had become in our former lives. We will see ourselves reflected in the people under our care, indicating the level of influence we have on them. This is the reason God calls us His children, for just as He creates things, so do we. In our former lives man invented many things, and every culture and civilization has come to their own conclusions about truth and reality, and this determines how they live and what they emphasized, but in the life to come all our creative ability will be focused on shaping people. We will not create them from the dust of the ground; that’s God’s job; instead, we will create our rendition of truth in their minds, and since we live with God in heaven, we all know the truth, though each person’s understanding of Him is different, otherwise Christ would not have given us a white stone with our new name written on it, which represents our unique view Him (Rev 2-16,17). Each person understands God in a different way, and in heaven, everyone’s truth is true, and no one’s truth is less true than another, yet we all emphasize different things and have different perspectives on the same truth, and we teach people about God according to our own view of Him, and in that way create people in our own image, as we bear the image of Christ. One of the main aspects of God is that He is the Creator; and since we are His sons and daughters, we also create things. One of the differences between man and angel is that we are creative and they are not. The Bible doesn’t say that angels have created anything; instead, they are servants of God and man. We need help. It says in Genesis 2-18, “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him,” so He created woman. It says in 1Cor 11-10 that women have the ministry of angels. In eternity, then, our relationship with angels will be like a man with a woman in terms of a helpmate, minus sex of course; they will help us rule God’s kingdom. God has give man authority to rule over His people, while He has give angels authority to rule over the physical universe. Man is the brains of the operation, while angels are the brawn. People on each planet and galaxy will be different; we will see variation throughout the universe. Variation is obviously something very important to God, for variation is all we see in nature in every aspect of life. In contrast, people go to work at a factory, and their objective is to make everything exactly the same. If every car that rolled off the line were different, none of them would work, so they make them all the same so they all work as they were intended. With God, though, variation works for Him, and we can’t help but be a part of that variation. We have only one perspective, and that is the only one we can teach others. When kings and magistrates come together and talk among each other from different planets and galaxies, they notice each other's differences, but they don't think their differences make them less or greater than others. Man in his former life viewed variation in the human race with fear, either thinking that their differences made them inferior, hence viewing them with contempt, or thinking it made them superior, hence viewing them as a threat. They saw their differences as a bad thing, living in a cursed world, but people of the new creation who are devoid of the curse don’t see their differences as a bad thing. Their planetary and galactic environments do much to shape people into various colors, languages, cultures and a myriad other characteristics, so not everybody looks, acts and sounds the same, even as it was in our former life. After the Millennium people still counted the years as they had been doing since the beginning of time, though the Lord never told them to do it. He understood eternity, that time is irrelevant, and eventually His saints will understand that too. They got to 800 billion AD and then finally realized there was no point in counting the years anymore, so they quit. Besides, they weren’t counting old-earth years but new-earth years, which was 214 times longer. Some habits die hard. However, they continued to keep track of the months for the sake of festivals and celebrations that they practiced at certain times of the year, such as Christmas, Easter, Passover/Communion, which were the biggest, but there were many others. They were always celebrating something. Passover was celebrated at the end of every year, and at the end of the ceremony the residents of heaven gathered around the abyss. Everybody had an opportunity to look down the bottomless pit at all the suffering people, who were too proud to confess their sins to Christ and accept His blood sacrifice as full payment for their sins that they may be saved. Each year the Lord reminded the saints that it was for their sakes the people in hell were suffering, for the sake of freedom and for the sake of knowing good and evil. God’s people are special; they know about evil, but they never choose it. This was by far God’s greatest achievement, greater even than His infinite universe. This one attribute made them more like God than all their other traits combined. The suffering involved in creating such a people was incalculable, to both God and man, showing how valuable they are to Him. He used the saints to teach the rest of creation about sin without experiencing it for themselves. Sin is defined as missing the mark, which ironically results in wanting to be like God in ways He did not choose for them. The Father chose for Himself an environment of smoke and fire, for He would not subject anyone to something that He Himself refused to endure. Those who were thrown into the lake of fire faced the penalty of eternal damnation from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (2The 1,5-10). Before He made anything, God endured eternity past in a hellish environment, and He went through it for the sake of those who would inherit eternal life (Rom 9-22,23). However, He never felt the fires of hell; on the contrary, it was paradisal to Him, in that heaven is defined as the presence of God. The Father experiences heaven and enjoys living in the New Jerusalem with His people through His Son. He made us free, and in that freedom He knew some would choose to reject Him. Hell is a place of torment for the wicked because of their sins, for the sting of hell is sin, but since God never sinned, he never felt its sting. Hell exposes the wicked as God’s opposite, though they were originally made in His image. Jesus regularly gave His people weekly updates on His kingdom, which were helpful in the way people managed their own sectors of the universe. Adrian, Jason’s first disciple, reigned over his city that grew into a state that grew into a country; then he became magistrate of his planet, until finally Adrian received his own galaxy. Jason often invited Adrian to the Holy City as his guest, along with some of the top governors of his galaxy, and he entertained them at his house, which was designed similar to the city. The people got together and discussed how things were going on their respective planets, bringing up events and circumstances that occurred in the previous year and how they should solve them. Eventually, Adrian became adjudicator of a galaxy cluster containing fifteen galaxies. There were five hundred galaxies in earth’s galaxy cluster, and in their first colonization they inhabited fifty of them, so they had plenty of room to grow as a family. At a designated time each year Jason invited Adrian and some of His top kings to stay at his house in the New Jerusalem, and every year much of the same people came, though their titles gradually increased as the number of people grew under them. When Jason first met Adrian and assigned Him mayor of his town, there were 20,000 people under his authority, but 50 billion years later Adrian had graduated from mayor to adjudicator of a galactic system with quintillions of people under him. On one of his visits Jason showed Adrian his rock that he found in his former life when he was three years old, “It is one of my only possessions besides this house," Jason explained, "but my greatest possession is Christ.” He told Adrian that the stone represents the first time he heard the voice of God. Adrian took the rock in his hand and looked at it on all sides and handed it back to him, saying, “It must hold great value to you.” It wasn’t exactly pleasant to the eye, especially compared to the stones of crystal clear jasper that composed the New Jerusalem, but Jason confirmed, “Knowing the sound of His voice is how I became a child of God.” Jason was sent to address a large assembly of kings, after Adrian, who had become adjudicator of a galaxy quadrant, invited him to give a speech about some of his experiences. There were millions in attendance, and they were all kings of countries, magistrates of planets and adjudicators of galaxies. Whatever Jason said they would take home to their respective planets and relate to the people what they learned, and so it was very important to be meaningful. The people believed every word he said and lived by them, knowing that the message came from the King of the universe, for Jason came as an ambassador of Jesus Christ. However, when it came time for Jason to give his speech, he was nowhere to be found, so those coordinating the event went looking for him, asking his attendants of his whereabouts. Finally one said, “I saw him a few minutes ago over there, pointing at the side of a building, and so they investigated and found him playing with children, listening to their concerns and telling them about the great city where he lives and how it sparkles.” The event leader said, “Jason we’ve been looking all over for you; the people are waiting!” Jason told the children that he had to go somewhere and invited them to come with him, and so they followed him into the great hall where the people were seated, and Jason seated the children in front row where he could see them, and as he gave his speech he tailored his message to them, so when the adults heard it, they were sure to understand. In his speech he spoke with a stern voice, “If any of you seek to rise above the heart of a child or think you are more or better than children, you will not rule your nations and planets effectively.” He told the people stories about where he lived, that he had died and God brought him back to life, and that before he died he lived in a totally different creation, in a totally different world, one that was filled with evil. God taught him the principles of His kingdom in the midst of sin and debauchery, and He taught him the value of perseverance and endurance. He said to the people in attendance, “God required me to practice the fruits of the spirit among those who didn’t know God, promising that it would cut through the darkness, and some did come to believe in Jesus, but most did not.” In his closing statement Jason said, “It was an adventure, but I prefer this life, where people know how to act, and where rebellion doesn’t exist. Therefore, love one another as you already do and excel still more” (1The 4-10). When he finished, the children clapped, but the adults just looked at him in amazement. The hall was quiet; the people were totally confused about most of what he said, being unable to relate to sin and death, much less understand living in a world where people acted like savages; these concepts were completely foreign to them. The saints frequently caught themselves talking over the heads of their audience. The biggest issue in God’s new creation was idolatry, which was swiftly resolved. When Adrian ran into a problem like this, he would take one or two of his top magistrates with him who had visited the Holy City many times, who had personally seen the one true God and actually talked with Him, who understood that the idol of worship did not honor God, and they were usually able to resolve the problem straightaway. Occasionally though, they would come across a stubborn worshipper; the procedure was to take the offender to the New Jerusalem to meet Jesus Christ in person that he might go home and teach others to put down their idols and worship the one true God, explaining that worshipping false gods is evil. Of course they never knew what “evil” meant, since they were incapable of sin. This is why God created man on the old earth and set the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in front of him, so we would teach the new creation about good and evil without them having to personally experience it. Adrian ruled with a gentle hand and led the people into the knowledge of God, and the people readily received His administration, avoiding the pitfall of idolatry and some of the evils that occurred even to people who were made perfect. They didn’t know evil, but like newborn babies who learn to control their parents by crying, family dynamics can quickly erode if not directed properly. Adrian’s goal was to teach the people about things that Jason taught him, such as the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience…. All these are the ways that people should behave toward one another, and it was easy for them because they didn’t have a sinful nature, and they didn’t live in a world of evil, nor did they have the devil breathing down their necks, but were made perfect and lived in a perfect world. It was easy to be longsuffering when they never suffered; it was easy to be patient when they had all the time in eternity, when they weren’t chasing their own tails with a dollar bill tied to it, and when death was threatening to end their lives. Doing what is right came naturally to them. There was no war between good and evil in all God’s creation. Billions of years later, Jason got in line to talk to Jesus for the second time since he had been in heaven. Eventually, the line got shorter, because many people had most of their questions answered, and they were learning how to communicate with Jesus through prayer, but these things took billions of years to learn in heaven, instead of only decades in their former lives; had they dedicated their lives to their faith in Christ (Mat 6,19-21). Accumulating heavenly treasures in their former lives, compared to seeking them in heaven, was easy as picking stones off the ground. When it was Jason’s turn, the Lord saw that he was anxious, knowing he had a question that was bothering him. “What brings you to me this time, Jason?” “Lord, your kingdom is growing to trillions upon trillions of people, and they have already colonized a hundred and fifty galaxies, and there is an infinite number of galaxies remaining to colonize. Each galaxy contains billions of habitable planets, but I am afraid of what the people might do.” Jesus asked, “Like what?” Jason said, “I keep thinking about Lucifer, who sinned before sin existed; what would keep this present creation from doing the same thing? There are so many people, and they are very intelligent and sophisticated; they could storm the city, and we would be right back where we started, only a million times worse!” Jesus answered, “My Father and I gave Lucifer the entire universe as his possession, so when he tried to take My throne, My Father cursed him and everything that belonged to him, including the earth. However, when we gave the new heavens to the people of the new creation who is now colonizing it, we gave it to them through you, so you have an input as to what they do with it. You can do something about the things that concern you. This creation belongs to you more than it belongs to them. I am not worried about them starting wars or coming to take My throne, because I trust you would do something about it before it came to that. Remember, Lucifer became jealous when he learned that My Father and I were planning to create man who would be greater than him, made in Our own image and likeness, meaning that man would know good and evil. However, We could not make man in Our image until Lucifer sinned. Therefore, when Lucifer sought My throne and created the mystery of lawlessness, he actually helped Us create man in Our image, knowing good and evil. “In contrast, this current creation is not jealous of anything. We have no plans of making anyone greater than them, so they have no incentive to be jealous or rebel.” Jason asked, “What if they don’t need incentive; what if they just rebelled?” Jesus answered, “We made them perfect, and they live in a perfect world, made of a substance that reflects God’s character; it gives instead of takes.” “What do you mean, Lord?” Jesus replied, “Electrons bond to other electrons to form molecules. In the corrupt world of your former life those electrons stole electrons from other atoms to make the compounds that composed your world, but in this world, instead of taking electrons, atoms willingly give them to each other to make the material universe. The atom’s willingness to give translates to all life, including people, making them a giving people by nature, instead of a taking people, which you knew from your former life.” Jason asked, “So are you saying that the people of the new creation are giving because they are made of stuff that is giving?" "All the way down to the most fundamental elements?” Jesus confirmed. Jesus continued, “Now, instead of going to work to put food on the table, all their work is dedicated to assisting other people. In your former life a capitalistic society was the best economic system your people could make, and it was based squarely on greed. Their primary goal was to provide for their own families. In their cursed world the ways of heaven were impossible; but now that you're here, serving self is alien to you, and it is just as alien these of the new creation, being against their nature. The economy of the new creation who are populating the universe, instead of offering services for profit, their economy is based on giving. That is, businesses don’t give to get as a capitalistic system operated; rather, they give for the privilege of giving. For example, successful companies help smaller companies get established. As they do, these weaker companies return the favor by helping others who are weaker than they. As a result, it is not an economy at all but people simply caring for each other." Jesus looked Jason in the eye and said, “You must know by now that when these people act selfishly, it makes them feel weak and sick, because they are acting against their nature. How is a weak and sick army supposed to attack our Holy City?” Jason’s concerns were starting to abate, yet Jesus continued, “People of the new creation don’t care about their own needs; they care only about the needs of others, and when everyone is doing the same, they get their own needs met. Everyone strives to have something to offer (Act 20-35; 2Cor 8-14,15; Eph 4-28; 1Tim 6-18); their labor is not for themselves but for others. For example, the lumber company offers its lumber for free; and when the owner of the lumber company needs a length of pipe, he goes to the plumbing store and picks up what he needs, and instead of paying for it, he just walks out the door with it. Everything is free. Since there is no death, neither is there starvation; eating is not necessary. People meet each other’s physical needs, while God meets their biological needs, supplying their bodily strength as they expend their energy to help others. Their energy never depletes as long as they use their strength to serve others. When they meet someone who is weak and sickly, they know he has been acting selfishly. The cure is always the same: serve others, and their strength and vitality return. The energy they expend doing so results in more strength of heart, body and mind. The more they serve, the more they are able to serve." People go to school to learn ways of better serving others, and in the process they made advancements in science. Those who struggled against the curse were restrained by their own biology and by the negative forces of greed, lust and pride, whose brains resembled a Rube Goldberg machine, but people of the new creation quickly learned things that took people of the curse centuries to grasp. For example, they soon discovered electricity and then discovered nuclear energy in only eight hundred years, and they used these things to serve society, instead of using them to make war machines. They discovered the secrets of creation and made inventions that allowed them to travel the stars. They advanced far beyond people of the curse in a matter of only a few millennia. In the year 70,000 AD they made a spacecraft that could travel the speed of light, making an antigravity machine and installed it in a nuclear powered spaceship. They were able to move from solar system to solar system with ease, but traversing galaxies was trickier because of vast distances between them, not learning how to do this for another million years. Yet, when the need arose to migrate to other planets because of overpopulation, they were technologically prepared. Jason was not satisfied with Jesus’ answers and explanations to questions that he suffered for a very long time, so he asked Jesus another pointed question, “Wasn’t Lucifer made of a perfect substance too; how was he different from the current creation? Didn’t he behave against his nature? That’s what worries me!” Jesus answered, “Hence, the mystery of lawlessness. Remember, this mystery was based on incentive, and this new creation has no incentive to rebel. Case in point, do you remember when Adrian and his neighbor disputed about a galaxy that was situated exactly between them? They didn’t argue who should get it but who should give it? They each tried to give the galaxy to the other.” Jason answered, “Yes, I remember that.” Jesus asked, “Did you learn that the dispute was not about who should take it but who should give it?” I’m sorry, Lord, my former life must be getting in the way of understanding what you mean… please just tell me plainly what you are saying. “I have been ‘just telling you,’ but you don’t seem to get it… the mystery of lawlessness needs incentive to exist… and do you know how My Father eliminated incentive from the new creation?” “No, how” “He eliminated it by the order in which things were made: first you, then them. “Oooooooh” Jason finally said. Jesus continued, “In Lucifer’s case the order was the opposite; He made the angels first, then man. He made something greater after He made them, which tempted Lucifer to rebel against Me.” Jason silently practiced the words in his mouth, then said, “The people living today have no incentive to rebel, because you didn’t create anyone greater after them.” Jesus just looked at Him, Jason added, “Plus, the Lake of Fire acts as a deterrent.” Jesus asked Jason a question, “Have I had to throw anybody into the Lake of Fire since we made the new creation?” Jason answered, “No” “How many years has it been since My Father and I re-created the second Adam and Eve?” Jason answered “Trillions of years ago.” “If I haven’t had to throw anybody into the Lake of Fire by now, I never will.” “No, I guess not.” Jesus said, “Lucifer rebelled immediately, even before We made man; his heart burned with jealousy to learn that we would make someone with more authority than him. Lucifer became jealous and rebelled, so My Father cursed his inheritance, which was the entire universe. He cursed the creation by removing His Spirit from the atoms that composed the universe. This is when atoms began stealing electrons from other atoms instead of willingly giving them to make all the compounds you used every day. Lucifer soon after his rebellion died of old age to become a disembodied spirit, no longer able to interface with the creation.” “Wow, that’s a lot to digest.” This more than answers all my questions. Now that my brain if full, I must go to one of my quiet places and think about what You said.” Jesus said, “I will be with you in Spirit” They embraced with a holy kiss and Jason departed. A few hundred thousand years later there came to be a faction of worshipping idols within the new creation. Those involved had never seen the Lord, though they had been educated about Him, and Adrian tried to talk sense into them, but they continued in their idolatry. Adrian prayed to the Lord, and he sent Jason, who immediately dropped what he was doing and came. When Jason arrived with Mendorf his angel, they embraced with salutations. “There is a rebellion who are influencing others to worship things other than God,” Adrian informed. Jason asked, “Is there a group leader?” “Yes, his name is Terrence; come, I’ll show you where he lives,” so the three of them went to his house, which was about thirty thousand miles away, for they lived on a large planet, and when they arrived at his house Jason knocked on his door. A man answered the door, standing in the doorway, looking quite peeked, and when he was about to speak he noticed that Jason was a “sun king” (for that is what the colonizers called them), and he had an angel with him. Terrance, frail and sickly, his house in ill-repair, fell on his face and worshipped Jason and Mendorf, but Jason immediately grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him to his feet, saying, “Terrence, this is the very reason we have come, and it is the reason you are sick. Adrian tells me that you worship false gods.” Terrance answered, “Are you not a God (Jn 10,34-36), and is he, pointing at Mendorf, not your child?” “No, he is not my child, and there is only one God, and I am not Him, but I have come to take you to see Him.” Jason asked Terrance, “Can you take me to see your so-called god?” “Yes I can.” They followed Terrance to a clearing, and he pointed into the sky at a star that shined brightly but was not their sun, staving darkness from their nights. Terrance said, “That star is god, for it is very bright.” Jason answered, “That isn't God; that's just a star” (Deut 4-19). Terrence said, "Can you prove it?” Jason replied, “Come with me and I will introduce you to my God and your God, and you will see the difference between the true God and your false gods. For this very reason I have come that I might introduce you to Him who created all things, so you may learn to worship Him only.” Terrance said, “I would like to see Him.” Jason said, “Put your things in order, for you will not see your home and family for a long time.” Terrance asked, “Why does it take so long to see your God?” Jason answered, “You must prepare to see Him; it will be a journey.” Jason turned to Adrian and said, “You can't come with me this time; take care of your people and I will return Terrance in a couple years” (428 old earth years). They all held hands, and Jason took Adrian home and then took Terrance with him to see the Holy City. When Jason first saw heaven, shortly after death, he could only teleport himself, but since then he developed gifts and abilities to teleport other people and things. They disappeared in front of Adrian's house, and found themselves on the earth about three thousand miles from the Holy City. The New Earth was so large and the New Jerusalem so high and bright, the curvature of the earth didn’t hide the city; it was still visible from where they stood as a halo at the horizon. Jason turned to Terrence and found him already fallen on his face and worshipping the light. Jason grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him to his feet again, saying gruffly, “You worship things that are not God.” “That’s God, you said.” “No, that’s the city where He lives” “You said your city glows because of Him, so to worship the brightness of the city is to worship Him.” Jason said, “No, worshipping His brilliance is not the same as worshipping Him; He wants us to worship Him.” What part of Him? “We worship His person, being infinite and eternal. We also worship Him because He is good and for having infinite wisdom, and for creating the universe, which no one else can do. He loves us like no one else. We love and worship His perfection, being the judge of all creation. The star you worshipped back home had none of these qualities; it was just a dumb star.” Terrence hung his head, realizing how foolish he had been. His health and vitality began to return to him; then, with a new enthusiasm he said, “let’s go see Him!” Jason laughed, “We’re walking there.” Terrence said, “Okay let’s go, we have plenty of daylight we should be there by nightfall.” Jason laughed again, “Terrence, you don’t know how big my city is; we’re three thousand miles from it, and we’re taking our time.” Along the countryside they talked along a well worn trail that had formed from taking this walk for the same purpose. Passing through small villages and bigger cities they conversed with the people they met, who often took Terrence and Jason aside to show them their intricate gardens and invited them to be guests at their house. Jason explained to the people that He was taking Terrence to the Holy City and introducing Him to Jesus that he might learn not to worship false gods, and the people applauded. Terrance, Mendorf and Jason were all three different beings. Terrance’ appearance was different from those who lived on earth; he was much taller than the average earthling, and he was hairy, and his voice was lower, and he spoke a different language, yet the people readily accepted him. They drew crowds in city squares wherever they went, and Jason would talk to the people about Jesus and His Father, how much He loves them and how much He has done for the citizens of the New Jerusalem. Jason explained that He died for him and then rose from the dead. When he said this, the people became very quiet, and eventually one said, "We have heard this story, but we don't know what it means.” Jason also told them about sin and the suffering it brings, and the people got quieter, asking to tell them about sin again. They would never possibly understand any of these things, but it was good for them to hear about them again and to know that such things once existed in another world long ago. Doing evil was against the people’s nature; they didn’t know how to sin, and even if they did, they wouldn’t actually be sinning, because God never gave them a commandment to break. Still, it was important to hear that refusing to worship God is the definition of sin, and this includes worshipping false gods. The people agreed and it gave Terrence confidence that Jason was leading him in the right direction, and he was beginning to learn that idolatry was wrong. The only person of worship was God Himself. If we don’t happen to be standing in His presence, we should worship Him just the same, knowing He exists and knowing He receives our worship. The people of earth were cordial and lovely, and their conversation mostly stayed on the Lord. In this way they passed through the cities, and Jason used their experiences as a teaching lesson for Terrence. Jason turned to him and said, “God wants you to worship Him only; we are not to worship anything He has made. God is deeply offended to see you worshipping His creation. He has made all things for you to enjoy, not to worship.” Terrence said, “Will I ever meet Him face-to-face?” Jason replied, “You’ll meet Him soon enough, but you must prepare your heart to meet him before we can set foot in the Holy City. That is why we are taking such a lengthy approach.” The Holy City loomed larger in their eyes the closer they got to it; and the bigger it got, the more tempted Terrence was to worship it. An opposite feeling welled inside him the more people they encountered and told them about the one true God who lived in the city, the more excited he was to meet the Lord. Terrence remembered his trifle star back home and contrasted it with the massive city before him that was growing brighter, and he wasn’t tempted to worship it anymore; he was learning the difference between worshipping the creation and worshipping the Creator. As they walked the countryside toward the Holy City, Terrence became quiet and sober and focused on the light before him. His lips began to quiver, and a voice originated deep within him in indecipherable tones, which steadily grew into speech, as a prayer of worship to God who made him. Terrence was praying to the person of the light that was shining brighter with each step, and they still had a long way to go. Terrence got weak in the knees and fell on his face, overtaken by the God who created all things. Jason stood over him, recounting the millions of times this has happened to him, giving Terrence all the time he needed. Eventually he got up, and they continued their journey. They had to look straight up in order to see the top of the city now, though they were still a hundred miles from it. A few days later they came to the wall that surrounded the city, made of translucent stones of every imaginable color that glowed from the brilliance that originated from the city (Rev 21,12-21; Rev 22-15). They walked along the wall, until they reached the western gate and met Jemlik, the angel that stood guard at its entrance. He and Jason embraced and conversed in low voices about who had been coming and going at his gate since he had been gone and updated Jason on current events. Jemlik had been stationed at that gate the day it was installed trillions of years ago, and he had never moved off his post, being one of the mysteries of the angelic race that amazed Jason (Genesis 3-24). Jason walked over the threshold like he owned the place, saying to Terrance, “You’ll have to mind your manners here.” The moment Terrence crossed the threshold, cherubim full of eyes surrounding the throne immediately turned and fixated on Terrence. Jesus seated on His throne next to them with the slightest motion of His hand signaled them to stand down. Their severity softened, though they remained on full alert, focused on Terrence. Jesus said to them in a low voice, “Terrence is with Jason; I brought them here.” The music and dancing and celebration and worship didn’t skip a beat. They still had 750 miles to go before they reached the center of the city, where the throne of God stood (Rev 21-3,24-27). The second tier of the city hovered fifty miles overhead like a chandelier. They sauntered toward the center, Jason greeting everyone as they passed, introducing his guest, while Jason was further updated on current events. Angels, very majestic and noble, flew in midair overhead, as the three of them continued through the city, walking on streets of gold. The city shined in crystal clear jasper; songs of worship grew in their ears as they neared the throng of people and angels, millions of them, gathered around the throne in worship of God; drawing closer, they assimilated into their worship. Their progress trickled to a crawl as the crowd thickened. Jason pointed at the man sitting on the throne, and said to Terrence, “Do you see Him? He’s God.” Seated beside Him was His Father, silhouetted in smoke and fire, thick clouds, lightning and sounds and peels of thunder and a rainbow (Rev 4,3-5). Terrence nodded, having deduced on his own. "The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!'” (Rev 4-8). Years passed like minutes, having become lost in worship and in the crowd, as they crept in mini-steps toward the throne. They were 500 yards from the Creator of the universe; Jesus looked at Jason and his knees melted, and he fell to the ground his strength leaving him completely. Terrence felt lost and out-of place; but just then he suddenly found himself standing next to the King of kings and realized that everyone was watching them. He looked into Jesus’ eyes and felt his soul being scrutinized. A voice followed the light, “Do you understand now that there is no god but one, and that you are to worship Him only?” Terrence answered, “Yes my Lord, and You are Him!” Jesus continued, “Go and tell your brethren that I am God, and there is no other besides Me (Isaiah 45-21); I am to be worshipped and no one else.” Jason stood with Terrence, kissed his Lord’s hand, bowed low and kissed His feet, “My Lord, I missed you while I was away.” Jesus answered, “Were you away? You never left My kingdom.” “But Lord, I was in another galaxy!” Jesus replied, “He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them” (Rev 7-15). Jason then understood that the people who were populating the universe were not separate from the Holy City but were intricately connected to His kingdom; for God did not recognize space as distance. Jason and Terrence eventually made their way through the crowd again and to Jason’s house, and along the way invited others to join them, and they discussed Terrence's recent encounter with God. Terrence said, “You’re all so fortunate to call this place home; I would love to live here. Coming here is the greatest experience of my life. No matter what happens to me, nothing will ever top meeting the Creator of the universe.” Jason said, “I am glad you feel that way. Now that you have beaten your obsession to worship other gods, you are prepared to teach others what you have learned, and there is no better way to do that than in a position of authority. As your planet increases in population I want to make you mayor of a city." Of course we know that he will over time graduate from mayor to governor to president to magistrate to adjudicator of galaxies, but who else is better equipped to take on such responsibilities than someone who has personally seen God and talked with Him? Terrence replied, “You should pick someone better than me who was never caught in the trap of idolatry, for I led many of my friends and relatives astray.” “These are the ways of God,” answered Jason; “You will go home and straighten out the friends you led astray. He chooses unworthy and humble people to do His bidding and carry His word of truth to the people.” Terrence replied, thinking to himself aloud, “I thought I knew God.” Everyone in the room chuckled, and someone said, “We are still learning about Him, and we have been living with Him for trillions of years!” Jason also said, “Terrence, you know Him better than your friends and family, and that is why you have been chosen. You’ve learned the most important lesson of all, that there is no god but one, and He is to be worshipped with all the heart, soul, mind and strength (Deuteronomy 6-5). To know this is to be on course with understanding why you were born. This is what we all are still learning.” “That’s awesome,” Terrence said, and then Jason finished, “Jesus told us that it will be a life-long learning process, and since our life will never end, we will learn about Him forever. The more we learn, the more we want to worship Him. That’s why none of us wants to leave this place for long.” “Terrence” Jason said, getting his full attention, “The Lord wants you to stay here for the annual ceremony. Terrence was happy to hear that he didn’t have to leave right away. “You can pick any room in the house as your temporary quarters.” Terrence looked through all the rooms and decided on one and left it open to remind him which one he picked and then went out to meet people who were coming and going, and many invited him to their houses, and he met other people, and they talked about Jesus in an atmosphere of joy and unrivaled peace. Jason eventually took Terrance home and made him mayor of his city and then returned to the New Jerusalem and stood in the center of the city. Jesus looked at Jason with a nod, and Jason fell on his face and worshipped God. He was there for three hundred years before he was called again to ministry. After three trillion AD, the saints began wondering how large the population of the universe was growing. Using fancy math algorithms they calculated that there were about 650 quintillion people. This generated a discussion among the saints as to why it was important to God that there should be so many people. One asked, “Why couldn’t He just have a finite number of people?” Another one said, “Yeah, we’re traveling on a trajectory of infinity; how can we manage so many people?” They settled on the idea that God is infinite, and so His kingdom should be too. Then Topa offered another explanation that was truly remarkable. He suggested that God enjoys living vicariously through us. There was silence for a moment as they all contemplated the idea. Topa continued, “When you think of the Father, He knows everything about the entire universe; He knows the future like He knows the past. To be omniscient it seems would be boring. There would be no surprises, no exploration, no discovery, no learning, because He already knows and understands everything. For this reason God lives through us as we live though Him. We don’t know the future; we must wait until things happen before we can react to them, and this is exciting to God. He helps us solve our problems, and we often make mistakes, creating bigger problems. He sees how silly we are; He knows our so-called wisdom, and through the Spirit He gives us better ways to solve problems, and in this way we grow into conformity with Himself. God is central to this process, and He enjoys it immensely.” Jason started thinking about Jeanie and was about to connect with her when he felt a stirring in his spirit. He knew God was speaking to him, so he listened, “A spaceship failed between galaxies within your quadrant. Communications were cut off and their beacons are dead. Their home planet knows they are in trouble, but they didn’t know where to find them.” The Father told Jesus, who told the Holy Spirit, who told Jason about the situation and gave him the coordinates for their location. Jason suddenly appeared in their spaceship next to the fretting captain, and Mendorf was with him. He said to Captain Blair, “I hear you are having problems.” Blair answered, “The whole ship just shut down without warning. We were traveling at warp-10 when the antimatter interface malfunctioned, which automatically disengaged the warp drive, and we have been slowing down ever since. It’s a good thing we haven’t hit anything; even a pea-sized pebble would poke a hole through the spaceship from one end to the other.” Death no longer exists, yet the people of the new creation are not without problems, for things worse than death can happen to a person, such as getting marooned in the vastness of space without the advent of dying to end their misery. The old creation was under a curse, meaning God withdrew from it and randomness and chaos rushed in to fill the void. When someone suffered catastrophe, the body would simply die, and that solved the problem; and if the person believed in Jesus, he would suddenly find himself in paradise. Contrastingly, God is actively involved in the new creation, and when the unexpected happens, God is always there to catch His people when they fall. However, this means that in the new creation when catastrophe strikes, death is not an option, though these kind of problems were rare in a creation where God is in full control. The captain said, “We were on course with Caldale, a planet in the Hophein galaxy, between aponyn and satella within the forth Neshtaoh quadrant of Rappahannock, and now we have lost orientation with the planet and have no idea what's wrong with the ship. We were given orders to begin colonizing the galaxy, which at our present location is only a fuzzy dot in the front portal.” Jason said to Captain Blair, “You must have a transgressor on board your ship as the cause of your problems. Ships don’t break down unless there is disobedience among you, for the Lord Himself maintains your machines. The captain said, “I will order the entire crew to the auditorium.” Everybody onboard assembled; and when everyone was settled, Jason asked them, “Which of you is doing something you know is wrong? You have caused the spaceship to fail. If you don’t surrender yourself, you will be adding to your sin, making things worse, so you might as well confess.” A short-statured, woman with dark circles under her eyes, slightly slumped-over and looking sickly, only a couple hundred years old, broke through the crowd and said, “It was me.” Jason asked, “What is your name and what did you do?” She said, “I am Carolyn; I didn’t get the promotion I thought I deserved, and another person stepped over me, one of my friends, and I didn’t think it was fair. I got angry and took her notebook and hid it.” She had the notebook in her hand and returned it to the owner and apologized to her. Jason looked at her and said, “Where I come from, servants are honored more than people in authority. Why do you prefer authority over honor?” She answered, “We were talking, and we thought it would be better if we had authority. We thought that people would look up to us.” Jason said, “don’t you know that people look to you now because of the service you provide?” She answered, “Yes, I know, but I wanted that promotion.” Jason said, “In time you will be promoted, but until then you must remain in the position you were given, for it is an honorable one.” Carolyn agitated quipped, raising her voice to Jason, “Look at you; you have more authority than anybody on this ship; who are you to talk about being a servant!” Jason answered, “Where I come from I am in fact a servant; I am one of the lesser of my people, who live in the great city of my God and your God. I don’t want any more authority than I have now, for with authority comes responsibility. I have bounced through the cosmos and explored solar systems and planets that have yet to be inhabited by man and have enjoyed some of the most beautiful places you could imagine, but I couldn’t do these things if I were tied down with responsibilities. I have both purpose and autonomy in balance. If you had more authority, you couldn’t do half the things you enjoy now, because you would be too busy.” I have found a happy medium between freedom and accountability. I am greatly honored among my people, and especially in the eyes of my God. He honors me as a servant, because I accept my position. Jason continued, “I will never have more authority among my peers than I have now, but among you my authority will continue to grow…” Jason scanned the assembly with his eyes... “because you will continue to grow in number.” Then he looked at Carolyn and said, “For the same reason your authority will also grow.” Carolyn said, “Really, my authority will increase?” Jason looked at her in confirmation and said, “There will be many people born after you millions of years in the future, and through them you will be promoted. Your authority is growing as we speak. The best position to rule is in the position you were given, and this is what you need to learn.” Carolyn said, “No one has ever explained it to me that way. When I talked with my friends, none of this ever came up.” Jason said, “I need to talk with all of you and not just everyone on the ship; I mean everyone on your planet, everyone in your galaxy. I need to speak with all of you, if you don’t understand that my Father’s kingdom operates through service and authority. The two of them are one, and one is not greater than the other.” Jason looked at Carolyn again, “You are not lesser than your captain, and he is not greater than you, for you are a greater servant and He has greater authority, and the two balance each other. Both of you are equal in importance to each other and to God, even to this ship as I think you discovered. When one person fails at her station, the ship can’t run.” Jason asked, “Are we square now? Your friend has her notebook. Do you understand that you can be a servant and still be important?” Carolyn answered, “Yes, I understand that, and I am happy in my position now. I don’t need a promotion.” Jason said, “Oh, you will be promoted soon enough, but for now your contentment is needed as a servant of this spaceship and of your comrades and of those in authority over you.” Jason continued, “May we bow our heads and pray to our heavenly Father, ‘My Lord God, thank you for these people. Thank you for my authority over them and for the wisdom that you have given me to teach them the ways of God (Lk 12,42-44). You have shown them your love and concern for them by sending me in their distress. Lord, you took your hand off their spaceship, and it malfunctioned like everything did in my former life when you did not inhabit your creation. I ask that you replace your hand on them and on their ship, so they may go on their way. Thank you for all you do.’” When Jason finished his prayer, there was a great clunking noise that shook the entire spaceship that spanned fifty miles across, as the warp drive reengaged. Then the whole ship began to vibrate, as the antigravity engine was priming; it was to be launched with a single button on the front console. The main components were communicating with each other as the ship was coming on line. The captain waited for the call from the engine room for the OK to resume their travels. The ship’s beacon resumed its signal, and the captain got a call from his home planet and received the needed coordinates for their destination. The captain entered the coordinates, and the ship made a position adjustment; everyone could feel himself turning in space. The captain got the call from the engine room; he nodded at his first mate, who controlled the ships dashboard, who was pressing buttons like he was typing a term paper. Then a whirring sound roiled throughout the ship as the nuclear charged antigravity machine sped to full power. Everyone felt its influence on their person as every atom was changed to antimatter, though it didn’t affect their spirits. The captain gave another nod, and the first mate wiggled his finger under the safety shield of the button and pressed it, sending their ship into warp-10 speed. Jason turned to the captain, “Once you migrate to your planet and get settled, give me a call. I want to talk to some of your superiors and schedule a meeting. I want to meet some of the leading men and women of your galactic quadrant, and take them home with me to visit my God and show them where I live and the God who made you and whom I serve, and educate them about His ways, that they might teach His knowledge to those in their care, who will disseminate the knowledge of Him throughout your kingdom and ensure things like this don’t happen again.” The captain replied, “I will set it as my top priority, sir.” “Please, call me Jason.” “Yes sir, Jason.” He and Mendorf suddenly disappeared and reappeared in the Holy City within the perimeter of worshippers around the throne and joined in the unending chorus, and there they remained for the next thirty years, until the captain contacted Jason and was called to meeting with the leaders of the galaxy Hophein on the planet Caldale. He brought them to the New Jerusalem; Adrian was one of their numbers, and when their eyes met, they ran to each other and hugged and kissed as true brothers. Adrian was excited and pleased to revisit the Holy City. Kings and rulers stayed at Jason’s house during their visit; they stayed through the year and participated in the annual ceremony of communion, and everyone had a chance to look down the abyss at the rebellious ones still suffering in the Lake of Fire, a reminder of God’s fierce judgment against the wicked. When the rulers returned home, they spread the word far and wide about the greatness of God, His love, His will and His ways, and about His fierce hatred of rebellion. The knowledge of God disseminated in Caldale and throughout the solar systems and galaxies of their quadrant, and the Lord was magnified, and the people excelled in all their work and succeeded in everything they did, for they worshipped God with their lives, and the Father looked upon them with favor, being pleased with Jason. Jason, Jeanie, Fred (their brother), Nancy (Jason's wife from his old life) and a handful of friends often retreated to their personal planets that the Father gave to each of His children as a wedding gift between Christ and the Church at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, planting the coordinates of their planet in their hearts. Jason built a tree fort a little ways from his cabin situated in the woods, next to a rippling stream with a short waterfall, making enough sound to give a hallucinatory effect on the ears when near it. They climbed the tree fort and spent hours postulating the future, sitting on the floor and talking about their friends, the people God put in their charge, some of the situations and problems they resolved, the Holy City, how much they miss the great city when they are away, how much they miss this tree fort when they're away, and anything else that came to mind in unending, flowing conversation. Each of them were managers of trillions of people, and they loved them all dearly, but they loved their intimate family back home even more, especially God, the origin of all things. Jeanie always took her dog, Cocoa, wherever she went. Return to chapters