The Eternal State

From: Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass By: Algernon James Pollock

• 1 min. read • grade level: 12

Then will succeed the eternal state. This is recorded in Revelation 21:1-8¹And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. ²And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. ⁴And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. ⁵And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. ⁶And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. ⁷He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. ⁸But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:1‑8). It will consist of two parts—the new heaven and new earth wherein righteousness will dwell (see verses 1-4), and the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone in which the unbeliever will have his part (see verse 8).

Revelation 20:11-15¹¹And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11‑15) gives us the last great session of judgment—the great white throne. Seeing the earth and the heaven will have fled away, there can be no more time, for these are marked by the two motions of the earth round the sun—its diurnal rotation on its axis giving the succession of night and day, and its orbit round the sun giving the seasonal successions and marking off year from year.

This gives the awfully solemn thought that the great white throne will be set up after time has ceased, and its judgment will be effected in eternity and for eternity.

The new heaven and earth will be the blissful side of the eternal state, where God shall dwell in complacency with His people—all the activities of time forever ended. “And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL” (1 Cor. 15:28²⁸And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28)).

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