Articles by Edward Thomas

After God created mankind, it was all good except one thing: that man should be alone. I think this gives us a glimpse to what eternal life will be like.  God created a perfect environment in Eden.  There was no sin.  Adam was created to work and keep the garden. He named all the animals and worked with them.  Adam had choices and free will. He even had access to fellowship with God who walked the garden Himself.  Does this not sound like the eternal state described in Revelation 21-22?  Many have described “heaven on earth” as “Back to Eden”. 

However even in this perfect state and even with fellowship with God, it was not good for Adam to be alone.  Why?  Was fellowship with God not enough?  I believe it was enough, but God wanted more for Adam.  God experienced fellowship through the triune Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).  In fact it was one of the few things that Jesus longed for on this earth to have the fellowship and glory they once had before the world was created (John 17:5). This relationship must have been incredible for Jesus to have requested it!

And so I think God wanted Adam to experience that same kind of intimate relationship that would be just a glimpse, a shadow, of what He experienced within the Godhead.  And so He created woman. And the man and woman were male and female created in the image of God. And it was very good.

And so that is how he created man (whom the angels marvel over) as his special creation that will have a soul and live forever either in eternal life or eternal separation from Himself. And so as God has desired to expand His relationships outside of the Godhead and pursue man, so He has allowed man to explore relationships outside of Himself to pursue a helpmeet and friends.  It is not good for man to be alone and God knew he would benefit from intimate relationships outside of Himself.

And so in the eternal state, I think it will be the same way.  We need relationships as that is how God created us, in His image.  And just like in the garden of Eden, God will be the primary relationship for us and our ultimate fulfillment and longing. He is first and foremost! But God will have engineered in us and blessed us with the desire for other relationships in heaven.  Our friends and family and brothers and sisters in Christ will provide joyful, growing and satisfying relationships.  Perhaps we will discover new soulmates that will offer incredible fulfillment and satisfaction.  Even the best marriages and friendships on earth are just a shadow of what relationships will be like in the eternal state on earth.  For as satisfying as God will be to us in heaven (as it was to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden), it is still not good for man or woman to be alone. And God knew it from His own experience at the beginning when he created us, and therefore blessed us with the capacity and gift to experience a rich variety of relationships, with Him, our family, our friends, new soulmates, Old Testament saints, New Testament saints, and perhaps even the angels and beyond.

1. What a blessed life I have lived and appreciate my wife, daughters, mom, brothers and sister and grandkids.  May they read this and the writings in Dad’s book so that they may know that Jesus is real and that He rose from the dead.  May they be encouraged that they will see me again and their loved ones again.  This is a guarantee by Jesus Himself.  This life on earth is really just a wisp compared to eternity.  It is only the beginning…the very beginning!
2. Encouragement for those reading-Paul said we should be encouraged by prophecy!  Study it and know it.  It is part of a healthy Christian walk with the Lord. Most churches don’t talk too much about the 2^nd coming of Jesus. They say it is too controversial.  They say we have better priorities.  The bible is full of prophecy from Genesis to Revelation. It occurs in every book of the bible.  Should we ignore it?  Never!  It is essential for a healthy walk with the Lord! It is a confirmation of our faith.  It provides great hope and encouragement in our journey on this earth. We have the only God who knows the end from the beginning! He declares it and we celebrate it!
3. Take a closer look at Jesus-He is what we really look forward to.  We will see Him face to face!  We will be with him forever.  There is not a greater blessing!
4. Tough times ahead? Very possible for the church.  We are not exempt from incredible hardship and persecution, but we will not face the wrath of God during the tribulation.  He will rescue us from such a fate!  (Revelation 3:10)
5. A Challenge: Never give up on Jesus Christ (never, ever give up). Though there may be times coming upon this earth when Jesus is explained away or proven to be wrong.  Never believe that!  He lived, died and rose again.  And He is coming back.  Believe it in your heart!  It is true!
6. Since He rose again, He will raise us up to eternal life.  Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.  He who believes in me, though he were dead, he shall never die.” (John 11:25)
7. See you where He is! And what a glorious day that will be.  It will make these present trials and troubles we face on this earth vanish away!  I look forward to spending time in eternity with all of you.  I will track down each of you. We will feast together, explore together, play together, worship together, laugh together and know each other in ways we cannot imagine.  This is not some grandeur fantasy, but a glorious reality. Our best days are coming! I am betting my life on it! And as they would say in horse racing circles, it is a “mortal lock”. And the entire world will see it one day.  There He is coming down in the clouds!  It’s the same Jesus!

Disillusionment-a time may be coming if the Lord tarries that a great disillusion sets in among prophecy lovers that the rapture will never come. Certain events may happen (what seems like a defeat of Israel, intense persecution of the church in America, contact with Aliens that deny the deity of Jesus, distortion of the human race through genetic manipulation or AI, an EMP that sets everything back 100 years, etc).  Don’t’ buy it. Keep the faith. Know the rapture is coming.  It is a scriptural event that will eventually come. The Lord is just so patient that no one should perish.

The quest of self in the eternal state:  much is being said about how heaven will be beyond our imaginations and that we will get to enjoy each other, friends and former family, get to travel to distant places in the universe, get to eat and enjoy life to the fullest.  While much of this may be true, we were created to glorify God and so the focus in the eternal state is not self fulfillment (though that may be part of it), but the focus will be on fellowship with Jesus who is God.  He is our desire and our worship.  And though the eternal state may not be worshipping God 24/7, it will be a vital part of our life in heaven.  It will take an eternity to get to know Him.  And though we will spend countless days with friends and former family members that will be glorious, our greatest desire will be to spend time with our Lord. Heaven is not totally about self, but about the creator of the universe.

Opposition to the gospel and Jesus-the time may be rapidly approaching when those who proclaim themselves Christians will be considered the weakness and downfall of the human race.  It will be proven that Jesus either did not exist or that He certainly did not raise from the dead.  He is just too intolerant.  He is too narrow.  A universal religion will rise up that says there are many ways to the truth and self-fulfillment in this life and the next.  Don’t fall for it.  It will be a lie that most will believe that will seem convincing but perpetrated by satan. 

Periods of doubt-we will all face these doubts especially after losing loved ones and seeing the evil around the world and tragic deaths.  You will wonder if it is all true.  How could God do this or that?  How could He allow the suffering taking place in the world on a massive scale? What kind of God is this?  During these periods of doubt train your mind to go back to the reality of the resurrection.  Did Jesus rise from the dead?  If that is true, then whether we understand the actions or in-actions of God, we know that He is real and it is all true.  That is why salvation is not based on whether we understand how and why God acts, but instead on whether we believe in our hearts that Jesus rose up from the grave.  This is our hope, our only hope.  Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in you heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is the bottom line and the critical question that every human must face.  The evidence for the resurrection is overwhelming, but you must believe it in your heart.  So, whenever you go through periods of doubt, refocus on the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  If He was raised up, then we too will be raised up at the last day. And He was raised up!  As the angel on the tombstone said, “He is not here!  He has risen, just like He said!”

Nature of eternal state-heaven will not be like some magic paradise where everything works immediately without complications, obstacles, trials, and setbacks.  We do know that there will be no more sin, no rebellion, no more pain, and no more tears.   But how boring would heaven be if everything we attempted was met with instant success.  Even God lost a third of the angels.  God was sorry He made man at the flood of Noah.  And most will reject Him as their Lord and never come back to Him.  Yet did God ultimately fail?  No!  He will achieve His purposes and get the final victory despite obstacles and resistance.  Why should we expect anything different in the eternal state (heaven)?  Whatever is in store for us in the eternal state, it will be with challenges, obstacles and learning.  It will not be a push button world.  We will work and have accomplishments and overcome difficult challenges.  That is what will make eternity exciting and fulfilling.  It will never get boring because we will always encounter the unexpected, the setback, the breakthrough,  the disappointment or a curve ball.  Yet it will be without sin.  We will have the free will, not to rebel, but to make our own decisions and to strategize (with counsel from God).  To have free will without the ability to sin is something inconceivable to us, but God will pull it off.  How could Jesus be fully God and fully man?  God can pull off the impossible! That exemplifies the character of God and it is how He creates. So consider eternity a journey that will be met with great challenges and great joy and accomplishments.  Nothing will come easy or instantaneously. Yet God will be with us during the journey and will receive all our praise and all the glory.

Fellowship with family and friends-it is plain in scripture that fellowship will be the reality.  Paul was encouraging the church in Thessalonica when he said the “dead in Christ will rise first” (I Thess 4:13).  He was comforting them by assuring them that they would see their loved ones again who had died.  In 2 Samuel 12:23 David says on the death of his son, “Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me”.   This indicates that David believed he would see his actual son again after he died, but not before.  Jesus said in Matthew 22:30 that “when people die from death there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. They will be like the angels in heaven.”  We can gain a few insights from this passage, first that we will rise from the dead and are still referred to as “people.”  We will have bodies and recognize each other.  And like the angels we will have relationship with others.  And in Matthew 8:11 Jesus says that “people will come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”  This implies fellowship with actual people who lived over 2500 years ago.  Moses and Elijah appeared at the transfiguration and Peter, James and John recognized them.  Moses and Elijah still maintained a clear identity and implies that we will be able to recognize people that we have never met before. We will all keep our individual identities and souls and will not turn into some spirit or generic being. Isaiah 51:11 says, “Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.”  So heaven will be a time of everlasting joy and we will even be able to sing with an actual body!  There will be no sorrow or tears. So when you miss me or another loved one who has died and was a believer, do not let doubt and despair creep in.  We are with the Lord and we will all soon be reunited. This is an amazing hope!  I will be waiting in great anticipation for you.  Believe it!  So carry on and fight the good fight and keep the faith.  We will find each other and enjoy the glories of the Lord forever.  Jesus said in His Father’s house are many rooms. Find me! I will be in one of the rooms! Psalm 23 says that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  What a future we have together in Christ. See you there!