And Then the End Will Come: The Promise of Matthew 24:14Sýnishorn

Day 7: No Eye Has Seen

In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John describes a vision he was given about the last days and the eternity to follow. In chapter 21, he describes the glimpse he was given of what eternity will be like for God’s people: 

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Rev. 21:3–5)

John goes on to tell us that the New Jerusalem, our eternal home, will not have a temple because “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev. 21:22). The city will not need the sun or the moon to shine on it for light, because “the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (v. 23). Its gates will never “be shut,” signaling that it will exist forever in perfect peace and safety (v. 25). There will be a “river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city,” and along the river will be “the tree of life” (vv. 1, 2). The New Jerusalem will be a place of abundant, overflowing life!

All of that is amazing, but it doesn’t begin to capture how incredible our eternal existence will be. In fact, I don’t believe that it is possible to describe it. In 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT), Paul teases us by saying,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

    and no mind has imagined

what God has prepared

    for those who love him.”

Any attempt to describe eternity must fall short because if it can be written down, it can be imagined. Even the words John uses to describe the things he saw are undoubtedly an inadequate description of the amazing things he actually witnessed. 

You can probably imagine quite a lot, but God has promised that what he has in store for us exceeds by far even the expanse of our imaginations. It is going to be unimaginably awesome.

For more on the promise of Matthew 24:14 and other biblical clues that we're living in the season of Jesus' return, check out the book And Then The End Will Come by Douglas Cobb.