Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together, and a child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle. The infant will play beside the cobra pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den. They will not harm or destroy each other on my entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water.” Isaiah 11:6-9 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Will your pets be in heaven with you?”   So, will Fluffy the cat and Sparky the dog be with you in heaven? I hope so. I love animals and I have loved every pet I have ever had. I would love to know that my pets will be with me in eternity.   Isaiah 11:6-9 describes the New Earth, and it is filled with animals. That shouldn’t surprise us because God has always valued and enjoyed animals – He created them! He created them before He created us and when He sent the great flood during the time of Noah, He saved many more animals than humans. In this scene from Isaiah, we see a time when there is no longer any conflict between God’s creatures. Animals that were once dangerous are now tame; snakes that were once poisonous are now harmless; creatures that used to be natural enemies now graze together in peace; and human children are in the picture too.   So, there’s little doubt that animals will be with us in eternity. But will “my” animals be with me? Will I be reunited with Duffy, Lady, Missy, Kiki, Roxy, and Melody the dogs? How about my cats Midnight and Sam? And let’s not forget Henry the duck.   It’s a difficult question. The Bible does tell us that animals have the breath of life in them (Genesis 1:30, 2:7, 6:17, 7:15); and the Hebrew word used to describe that breath of life in them (nephesh) is the same word used to describe the breath of life in us. Also, that word is commonly understood to describe our soul. However, I don’t think animals have souls like ours. They were not created in the image of God as we have been. But yet, they are God’s created creatures too and they do have the breath of life breathed into them by God.   There is strong evidence in the Bible that there will be animals in eternity, but there is nothing that tells us anything about our specific pets. Therefore, all we can do is speculate about it. In his book, “Heaven,” author Randy Alcorn writes, “Animals aren’t nearly as valuable as people, but God is their Maker and has touched many people’s lives through them. It would be simple for him to re-create a pet in heaven if he wants to. He’s the giver of all good gifts, not the taker of them. If it would please us to have a pet restored in the New Earth, that may be sufficient reason (for Him to do it).”   I don’t know if my actual pets from this life will be there in eternity with me or not. I hope so. But I do know there will be animals – lots of them, and in my opinion, that’s a beautiful thing.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “While he was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’ He replied to the one who was speaking to him, ‘Who is my mother and who are my brothers?’ Stretching his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:46-50 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Who will be there with you?”   In the passage we just read from Matthew 12:46-50, Jesus was not being unkind or disrespectful towards His mother, brothers, and sisters. They were his biological family and He loved them. His comments in that passage were designed to teach a larger spiritual truth. Biological relationships are important but spiritual relationships are more important. Your biological ties to parents, siblings, and relatives will end at the death of your mortal bodies. But your spiritual bonds to your brothers and sisters in Christ will last for all eternity.   That being the case, the spiritual bond with your brothers and sisters in Christ is more important than your biological bonds with your flesh-and-blood family because it is your spiritual family that you will spend eternity with. Hopefully your biological family members are also part of your spiritual family and they will therefore be with you in eternity too. If that is not the case, then I encourage you to make their salvation a high priority in your life. Pray for them, witness to them, and serve them in the name of Jesus. You want them to enjoy eternity with you.   At the end of the previous devotional, as we gave some thought to what life on the new earth in our resurrection bodies will be like, I suggested that we also consider who will be there with us. It will be all those who have ever placed their faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. I realize this seems like a no-brainer but we don’t give enough serious thought to this important truth. As we consider the amazing eternity Jesus has prepared for those who are His, we need to realize there are many who will never get to experience that.   In this series I haven’t talked much about hell but make no mistake, hell is as real as heaven. And just as the Bible reveals a lot about the new heaven and the new earth, it also tells us about hell. If someone is not with you in eternal paradise, it will be because they are in eternal hell – and eternal hell will be every bit as bad as the eternal heaven will be good.   There is still more for us to learn about eternity in paradise but before we do, please spend some time thinking and praying about those you know who are not currently headed to heaven. Make an extra effort today to reach out to someone with the Good News that God will forgive their sins through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “But based upon his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Earth will still be earth, only new”   As we continue to consider what life in eternity is going to be like for us in our resurrection bodies, it really is important to understand that the new earth is going to be like the current earth, only perfect.   Author Randy Alcorn did a good job explaining this in his excellent book “Heaven”: “By calling the New Earth “earth,” God emphatically tells us it will be earthly, and thus familiar. Otherwise, why call it Earth? … the word “new” is an adjective describing a noun. The noun is the main thing. A new car is first and foremost a car. A new body is mainly a body. A new Earth is mainly an Earth … The Earth spoken of in Scripture is the Earth we know – with dirt, water, rocks, trees, flowers, animals, people, and a variety of wonders. An Earth without these things would not be Earth.”   Christian poets, authors, and songwriters have often described this earth as just a shadow of the one to come and that in this world we get glimpses of the next. Biblically that is accurate. This world gives us a foretaste of what’s to come. Think about the things that bring you the most pleasure and joy in this world – the beauty of a sunset, the magnificence of the Grand Canyon, colorful flowers, laughing babies, the taste of ice cream. Now magnify those joys and pleasures millions of times and you begin to get a feel for how great eternity on the new earth in a resurrection body is going to be.   I once read a statement written by “The Old Country Preacher” Dr. J. Vernon McGee. He was commenting on what he believed eternity will be like for us in our resurrection bodies. Dr. McGee was fascinated by outer space – the planets, stars, and galaxies. He always wanted to be an astronaut who could explore deep space. So, his fantasy for eternity was to spend the first 10,000 years just enjoying being in the presence of Jesus, and the second 10,000 going from planet to planet, star to star, galaxy to galaxy, exploring the wonders of God’s amazing universe.   I don’t know if Dr. McGee will get to do that or not, but I think he is probably not far off in his imaginings about the possibilities that will be available to us in that day.   Next, we will consider who we will get to do all those amazing things with.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time …” 1 Corinthians 15:6 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “The new earth in your resurrection body”   The primary reason Jesus remained on earth for forty days after His resurrection was to provide physical proof of His resurrection. His followers in those days had the almost impossible task of spreading the new Christian faith and starting churches in communities across the land, and they were to do it in the face of skepticism and opposition. So, they needed to have their faith bolstered by having personal, physical encounters with the resurrected Jesus.   But that’s not the only reason He stayed on earth for that time. As was true of Jesus’ entire earthly life, one of His purposes on earth was to teach us lessons through His personal example. That’s true of His forty extra days on earth too.   In his very helpful book “Heaven,” author Randy Alcorn proposes that, “Jesus walked the earth in his resurrection body for forty days, showing us how we would live as resurrected beings. In effect, he also demonstrated “where” we would live as resurrected beings – on Earth.”   The resurrected Jesus walked the earth. His feet touched the dirt road and the dust got between His toes. He walked on a beach and felt the sand beneath His feet. The resurrected Jesus talked to people, and they talked to Him. He started a campfire, He cooked a meal for His friends, and at one point we even see Him eating. His was a resurrected body that was both physical and spiritual, and in it He experienced physical earthly things. That is probably a picture of what eternity will be like for us in our resurrection bodies.   But this is different from what people normally assume will be true about our existence in eternity. We assume that eternity means a non-earth; that it is some kind of mystical spiritual ghost-like existence. But that’s not the picture the Bible gives us. Instead, the Bible describes a new-earth, not a non-earth. It is a new earth that is like the current earth in many ways and which will therefore be familiar to us. In John 14:1-3 Jesus seems to be telling us that we will feel right at home there.   Spending eternity in our resurrection bodies on a new and redeemed earth is going to be fascinating and exciting. There will be much exploring, learning, and activities to keep us occupied. What kinds of exploring, learning, and activities – and with whom? That’s a good question and we will spend some time considering it in the devotionals yet to come.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is you victory? Where death, is your sting? “ 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Welcome to eternity!”   As a result of our extensive study of the important doctrine of salvation, we now know that salvation consists of three parts. It begins with the moment of decision when you open your heart and place your faith in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. It continues with the “working out” of your salvation, as the Apostle Paul wrote about in Philippians 2:12-13. This is the lifelong transformation known as sanctification. The third pard is the consummation of our salvation and it occurs in two stages. The first is when this mortal body dies and we arrive in heaven with the spiritual stature that will be ours for eternity. The consummation is finalized when all believers receive their resurrection bodies. That’s what we are reading about in 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 above.   In that passage, Paul reveals some intriguing details about what that day will be like. For those Christians who are still alive on earth when Jesus returns, Paul says those folks will not experience the physical death of their mortal bodies. Instead, they will simply rise to meet Christ in the air and they will instantaneously go from being in their mortal bodies into their resurrection bodies.   We also learn in this passage that those who have died and whose mortal bodies turned to dust will now be raised and reunited with their spirit, but in a resurrection body. Somehow, miraculously, the Lord gathers and reclaims all the scattered elements of what had been your mortal body. He then re-forms and raises the body, unites it with your spirit which has been with Him in the intermediate heaven for all this time, and instantly transforms it into a perfected resurrection body that will live for eternity.   When Paul writes that the corrupt mortal body must be clothed with incorruptibility and immortality, he’s simply emphasizing the point that the old mortal body just won’t do for life in an eternal paradise. We need that resurrection body so we can fully enjoy what the Lord has in store for us. This is the consummation of our salvation. Our spirit joined with a perfected resurrection body enjoying eternity in a perfect paradise. Welcome to eternity!   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “It just a question of the sequence”   When it comes to end times theology, it’s important for us to acknowledge that there are differing interpretations of the applicable Scriptures and the actual sequence of events. That is certainly true regarding the two passages we will consider in the devotionals for today and tomorrow. They are 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 (above) and 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 (tomorrow). Both pertain to believers being united with Christ and the dead in Christ rising. The debate revolves around whether these passages describe the same event or two events separated by seven years.   In 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 Paul writes about an event that occurs seven years before the battle of Armageddon and the defeat of Satan. It is the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period which brings humanity to the end of history. At the beginning of this seven-year period will be the event known as “the rapture.” We read here that at that time, the saints in Christ who are still alive will meet the Lord in the air. They will not experience the death of their mortal bodies but will instead be taken out of the world and instantly transported to be with Jesus.   But we also read in this passage that before those who are still alive at that time are taken up, the dead in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air as well. But as we have already learned, when a Christian dies their spirit is released from their mortal body and goes to be with Christ in the intermediate heaven. So spiritually, the dead in Christ are already with Christ. Since that is the case, when this passage describes the dead in Christ rising from the earth to meet Him in the air it must be referring to their mortal bodies being reclaimed by Jesus, brought up to Him, and being reunited with their spirits which were already with Him. If so, then what we are reading about here is the saints in Christ receiving their resurrection bodies at the time of the rapture.   This is what the confusion and debate is about. There are those who believe the resurrection body is given only after the old earth and the old heaven have been replaced with a new earth and a new heaven at the end of time. But 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 seems to suggest otherwise (and so does 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 if we read it as also describing the rapture). However, there are those who believe 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 describes a second event – the coming of Christ at the end of time, and the dead in Christ who are arising then are those who came to faith in Jesus during the time of the seven-year tribulation period after the rapture.   I personally don’t believe those two passages are clear enough for any of us to be dogmatic about it. And honestly, I’m not very worried about it either. Whatever way it plays out will be okay with me. If I die before the rapture, I will go to heaven. If I’m still alive at the time of the rapture, I’m confident that I will be taken then. And at some point, in the Lord’s perfect timing, I will receive my resurrection body. The rest is just a matter of sequencing and I’m not particularly concerned about it – and you don’t need to be either. As long as you have been saved, the rest is just a matter of the sequence.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Will you be like Casper the Friendly Ghost?”   If you’re as old as I am then you probably remember the old children’s cartoon “Casper the Friendly Ghost”. Casper was a ghost, but he was a happy and friendly ghost and he had a good time interacting with people in the physical world.   Some Christians have the false idea that in eternity we will all be like Casper, a spirit/ghost. A nice ghost, but a ghost none-the-less. But that’s wrong. There isn’t much debate among Bible scholars that we will spend eternity in a glorious resurrection body. Virtually everyone agrees that is what the Bible teaches. It’s true that we don’t know a lot about what that body will be like, but the Bible is clear that we will have one, and the Bible does give us some clues about what it will be like.   In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul tells us that Jesus will transform our lowly bodies into something like His glorious body. So, what was the glorious resurrection body of Jesus like? If we look at the concluding chapters of each of the four gospels, we find that we are given descriptions of Jesus in His resurrection body. We read that He was recognizable for the person He had been in life. We also see that He was physical, “Touch me and see; because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have …” The resurrected Jesus also ate food, He conversed with people, and he lit a fire and cooked breakfast for His disciples.   But we also find in those scenes that His body had spiritual qualities not associated with our current physical bodies. For instance, He could appear and disappear in an instant. He could pass through doors and walls. And finally, His entire resurrection body – physical and spiritual, rose and ascended up into heaven. Paul says that our resurrection bodies will be something like that. Exactly like that? I don’t know, but something like that.   There will probably be many surprises in store for you with respect to your resurrection body. There will be characteristics of it that you never would have imagined, and it will be capable of things you never would have guessed. But you will still be you – redeemed and perfect, but still you and enjoying eternity in a redeemed and perfected world.   The great Bible scholar and author Dr. R.A. Torrey wrote, “We will not be disembodied spirits in the world to come, but redeemed bodies, in a redeemed universe.”   No, you will not be like Casper the Friendly Ghost.   God bless, Pastor Jim      (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme or this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “(He) will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:21 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Just a quick leapfrog over the tombstone”   Hardly a day goes by without me hearing about someone suffering from some physical ailment that is causing them pain, discomfort, or disability. Many of the aches and pains people suffer from are minor. Some of them are simply symptoms of aging and they have to be accepted and adjusted to. But others are the result of accidents or disease and they are much more serious. Those require medical attention.   Regardless of the cause and severity of the physical issue, the fact is that to some extent living means suffering and the longer we live, the more we will suffer. Over time our bodies age and slowly decline until one day, they cease to function altogether. That’s just life. Hopefully as individuals we do everything we can to stay as healthy as we can for as long as we can. But still, over time your body will decline, break down, and eventually it will die.   Fortunately, we have something much better to look forward to – the resurrection body.  The day will come in eternity when Jesus will resurrect your old physical body, re-form it into something glorious and perfect which will have both physical and spiritual qualities (similar to His resurrection body). What age will your new, perfect, resurrection body be? We don’t know. Some have speculated that we will all be a lean, muscular, perfectly toned and perfectly healthy twenty-five-year-old for all eternity.   Author Joni Eareckson Tada (who has spent her entire adult life in a wheelchair as a quadriplegic) wrote in her book “Heaven: Your Real Home,” “One day no more bulging middles or balding tops. No varicose veins or crow’s-feet. No more cellulite or support hose. Forget the thunder thighs and highway hips. Just a quick leapfrog over the tombstone and it’s the body you have always dreamed of. Fit and trim, smooth and sleek.”   Biblically, I think it will take more than just a “quick leapfrog over the tombstone.” I’m pretty sure there’s more of a delay than that, but her point is well-taken – the resurrection body is going to be glorious. I can’t wait to get mine!   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “Then I saw a new heaven … and the first heaven had passed away … I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” Revelation 21:2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Will it be two places or one?”   For almost two months we have been reviewing the important doctrine of salvation from start-to-finish. We are considering it from the moment we professed our faith in Jesus until the moment we are finally the people we will be in eternity in the place we will be for eternity. We’ve covered a lot of ground and we are almost there. Today we will consider the relationship between the new heaven and the new earth.   There is debate among Bible scholars regarding the question of whether the new heaven and the new earth are separate places or if they are different terms for the same place. There is some thought that in the new creation heaven and earth are merged by God into a single place.   I personally don’t think the Bible gives us enough information about it to be dogmatic in our answer. We do know that the intermediate heaven (the place deceased Christians are at now), ceases to exist in that day. There will be a new heaven. We also know that there will be a new earth that will in many ways be a better and perfected version of the current earth. And from Revelation 21:2 we learn that as the new earth is being created, God will create a new city of Jerusalem which will occupy a prominent place on the new earth.   Additionally, we know from Revelation 21:3 that God will dwell with His people where they are, “Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.”   Randy Alcorn takes the position that: “God will bring heaven and earth together into the same dimension, and with no wall of separation, nor armed angels to guard heaven’s perfection from sinful mankind. God’s perfect plan is to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head – Christ.”   Whether the new heaven and the new earth are separate places or a single location created from the merging of the two may be open to debate. But what is clear from a careful study of Scripture is that our eternal existence will be very much like our life on earth, in a perfected earth-like place, we will be with God, and we will have perfected resurrection bodies. Tomorrow we will think about what those resurrection bodies will be like.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” Revelation 21:1 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Like earth but better”   As we continue to explore the consummation of the salvation process, we now come to the final fulfillment of consummation. The first part was the time we spend in the intermediate heaven after the death of our physical body. But that is not our final state for the rest of eternity. Instead, we will spend eternity in the new heaven and the new earth and in a new resurrection body.   The first thing we need to understand about our eternal existence is that it will be a real existence in a real place. In the Bible, it is described for us in ways and using terms that we can relate to and understand. God doesn’t promise us a non-earth but a new earth. And He doesn’t promise us the old heaven but a new heaven. We will evidently move freely between both, but most of our time will be spent on the new earth.   Personally, I’m pretty excited about this because I love earth. I love the ocean and the crashing waves; I love the mountains and the snowcapped peaks; I enjoy watching a sunrise and a sunset. I also enjoy beautiful flowers, bubbling creeks, and butterflies. It’s fun to watch a puppy playing with a toy, and it warms my heart to see people smiling and to hear them laugh. There is so much about the earth that I love and enjoy and they are things I would like to continue enjoying for all eternity.   The good news is that we will. The Bible describes the new earth in terms we can relate to from what we know and experience here on the current earth (For an expanded study on this subject I recommend Randy Alcorn’s excellent book, “Heaven”). Even a quick read of Revelation chapters twenty-one and twenty-two is enough to convince us of the similarities between the old earth and the new earth. In those chapters the new earth is described with images of atmosphere, mountains, water, trees, people, houses, buildings, streets, and even entire cities. Other passages in both the Old and New Testaments speak of animals, feasting, and music.   The picture the Bible paints of the new earth is essentially a new Garden of Eden – but a greatly enhanced Garden of Eden. Imagine if sin had never entered the world and if creation, including people and civilization, had continued to advance and grow for thousands of years in absolute perfection. Now you have a glimpse of what the new earth might be like. Randy Alcorn writes,   “Some of the best portrayals I’ve seen of the eternal heaven are in children’s books. Why? Because they depict earthly scenes, with animals and people playing, and joyful activity. The books for adults, on the other hand, often try to be philosophical, profound, ethereal, and otherworldly. But that kind of Heaven is precisely what the Bible doesn’t portray as the place where we will live forever.”   The picture we are given of what our eternal existence will be like is fascinating and inviting. Therefore, we will continue exploring it tomorrow.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571