Life in the new heaven and new earth will not be less than the life you have now. It will be more!

The word “new” can be used in two ways. The first is to say, “I’m moving to a new house.” You are in a different place, and there is no continuity between your old house and your new house. The second is to renovate your house. It is an old house and everything in it needs to be redone. So, you do a total refurb, and when you are done you say, “Everything is new!” And that is exactly what God says: “I am making all things new” (21:5).

Here is the great promise: When God has removed sin and all its effects from His people, He will then remove all the effects of sin from His creation so that the new earth will become a fit place for God’s children to share a life of unclouded joy.

Think about the joys of life in this fallen world—the joys of music, sports, the arts, science, technology, travel, food, and friendship. None of that will be less. All of it will be more, as you enjoy life in the resurrection body on the new earth. All that God has made is good, and when He redeems it, He will make it better than it was before.

God is going to remake the heavens and the earth. He will merge heaven and earth into a perfect place that will be our home forever. This is the reason why we can speak of heaven when we talk about the new heaven and new earth, because heaven will fill the earth.

How does the promise of a “new” heaven and “new” earth affect the way you think about the world around you?

Satan’s master strategy is to have people think that what lies ahead will be far less than what we have now. He wants you to believe that your life would be less if it were in God’s hands.

If you believe that the life you have now is better than the future life you could have in the presence of God, it will be like trying to hold onto sand as it slips through your fingers.

People sometimes talk about “living your best life now.” But living your best life now is only possible for a person who is going to hell. For the person who is going to hell, this life is as good as it is ever going to be. But if you are headed for life in the new heaven and the new earth, how could you possibly live your best life now? Your best life lies ahead of you.

When a couple plans a wedding reception, they go for a tasting. They taste the meal that will be served on the great day. But the tasting is only a sample. It is preparation for the great event toward which the bride and groom are counting the days. All that you enjoy in this life, and all that you have in Christ in this world, is just a foretaste of the joys that are to come.

Have you been living your life as if the best is now, or as if the best is yet to come?

Will we see our believing loved ones in heaven? Yes. But here’s the bigger question: Will Jesus see His believing loved ones in heaven? Yes!

When Jesus was preparing to go to the cross, He prayed this prayer: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory” (17:24). In other words, Jesus was saying, “I want them with me, and I want them to see my glory!”

Christian believer, the greatest assurance you can have of heaven is that Jesus wants you there! He went to the cross to get you there. He lives at the right hand of the Father to bring you there. And one day, when you arrive in heaven, His prayer will be answered—you will see His glory.

The apostle John says, “We shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). We will see Jesus Christ risen, triumphant, and victorious. That is why we will say with all the redeemed: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:10).

What is your reaction as you consider this prayer that Jesus prayed?

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our sixth and seventh witnesses.

Witness #6 – Paul and the Thessalonians: “What is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?” (1 Thess. 2:19).

Paul says that believers whom he loved and served on earth will be his joy and crown in heaven. So, the special relationship forged between Paul and these believers on earth will continue in heaven. He is saying, “You have been my joy on earth, and you will be a joy to me in heaven.”

Jonathan Edwards takes up this theme: “The special affection that the saints have in this world toward other saints, who are their friends, will in some respect remain in another world.” Christians who knew and loved each other on earth will know and love each other in heaven.

Witness #7 – The reunion of believing loved ones: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven… And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are 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” (4:16-18).

Paul is writing to believers who are grieving over their own friends and family members who have died. Their grief isn’t about death in general, but about the death of their loved ones in particular. He offers them this comfort in their sorrow: We will be “caught up together with them” to meet the Lord (4:17). The whole point is that Christian believers have the comfort of knowing that they will see their loved ones again. Christians never say goodbye!

As you remember those who have died in the Lord, look ahead in hope to being reunited with them in heaven.

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our fourth and fifth witnesses.

Witness #4—Moses and Elijah: “Behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him [Jesus]” (Matt. 17:3).

When Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, they did not have the resurrection body. Even now, Jesus Christ is the only One in the universe who has the resurrection body. Moses and Elijah are in heaven with the rest of the believers, eagerly waiting for the resurrection body, which they will get when Christ comes again in glory.

So, when Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain, they are spirits—souls made visible. We do not know how Peter, James, and John knew they were in the presence of Moses and Elijah. But we do know that they recognised Moses and Elijah, even in advance of the resurrection body.

Witness #5—The gathered souls in heaven: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb. 12:22-23).

The writer to the Hebrews reminds us of the great truth that the church gathered on earth is at one with the church gathered in heaven. He speaks of “the spirits of the righteous made perfect,” that is, the souls of believers in the presence of Jesus.

These souls are gathered in “the assembly of the firstborn.” This is a description of what is happening in heaven right now: The spirits of the righteous made perfect are gathered. Gathered means community, and community means relationship, and relationship means identity and knowledge right now in the presence of Jesus.

Reflect on and rejoice in this glimpse of what is going on in heaven right now.

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our second and third witnesses.

Witness #2—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “Many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11).

Notice the clear identity of these men – Abraham is Abraham in heaven, Isaac is Isaac, and Jacob is Jacob. They retain their distinct identities. We do not become nameless, anonymous spirits in the presence of Jesus. Abraham is enjoying the company of his son and his grandson. Jacob is enjoying the company of his own father and his grandfather.

Also, notice what Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are doing: They are reclining at a table. They are eating and drinking. You have identity, relationship, conversation, and sharing a meal. And many will come from the east and west and join them! In other words, many others will enter into the same joy and the same experience.

Witness #3—Jesus and the disciples: “I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (26:29).

Notice the same clarity here: Jesus will drink the cup in His Father’s kingdom with His disciples. The eleven, who shared the Last Supper with Him on earth, will drink the cup again with Jesus in heaven. These disciples are named and they are known.

Reflect on the unique identities of loved ones and rejoice that they will continue into eternity in the presence of God.

The distinct identity of every person in this vast crowd is maintained. They are from every tribe, nation, and language. The distinct individuality of every one of God’s people is preserved. What makes us different no longer divides.

This speaks directly to the question: Will we know one another in heaven? Yes! You will still be you. We will all be like Christ, but each of us will reflect His likeness through our own individuality.

That means we will know one another in the resurrection. The disciples knew and recognised Jesus in His resurrection body. But even before Jesus returns and we receive our resurrection bodies, we have good reason to believe that the same will be true of us.

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and at least some of them point to believers knowing one another immediately after death.

Witness #1—David and his son: “Now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Sam. 12:23).

King David had a little boy who died in infancy. When the boy died, David said, “I shall go to him.” There’s more here than David saying, “I will go to heaven when I die.” He says, “I will go to the boy! I will see him! I will be reunited with him in heaven.” That is a wonderful assurance for every Christian parent who loses a young child.

Have you ever wondered if we will recognise and know one another in heaven?

God will shelter—literally, spread His tent—over His people. Imagine a massive piece of canvas that will be shaped into a tent. He shakes it out so that it falls over all His people, in a way that none of them are outside. It is the most beautiful picture of inclusion.

Where do you feel completely at home? Where is the place you can say, “This is where I belong”? That feeling is a foretaste of what you will experience in the presence of the Lord. Some people struggle to feel at home in this life. Some don’t feel completely at home in the church or in their own families. Some don’t feel at home in their own bodies.

Whatever your struggles are in this life, if you are in Christ, the day will come when you know that you are completely at home. When God spreads His tent over you, you’ll say, “This is where I belong! I was made for this place!”

To be at home means that you will be yourself. In heaven you will find yourself saying, “I am more myself than I have ever been before.”

In heaven, you will serve the Lord as you always wished you could. You will be at peace with yourself as never before. You will be at peace with all your brothers and sisters in Christ, and you will be at peace with God. You will be at home.

Where do you feel most at home in this life? How might that be a foretaste of being at home in heaven with God?