Knowing that Jesus wants us to pray for heaven to be done on earth, it's useful to know what heaven is like. That will help us to know what to pray for and give us a vision.

Entering Revelation can be like entering a minefield though, so let me just remove that obstacle.

A quick word about Revelation and Millennial views

Regardless of your view of the Millennium (Dispensational Premillennialism, Historical Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, Amillennialism or other), without being an expert in the positions, it appears those that view significant Revelation events to occur in the future should be able to agree with everything said so far.

Those that view the Millennium as occurring now (Amillennialism) are already familiar with the 'now but not yet' phenomena and can also accept it. (I'm quite partial to Amillennialism.)

The only view that might react against this political theology is a postmillennialist hope in a gradual rise in Christianity globally, which is rather triumphalist. However, if one can leave the results to God, even postmillennialists can accept it. I for one am open to reconstructionist views (a version of postmillennialism), in the sense that I believe in the need to transform the culture to witness to Christ. This will create a place which aligns with how God made us, and is the most loving thing I can do for my neighbour. What God does with that—whether growing into a place of Christian dominance or not—is not something I particularly care about. Worry not about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). We're simply called to witness to God, but that witness must involve a reconstructed (holy, righteous, pure) environment.

NT Wright once again thinks outside the box and puts forward, as with J. Richard Middleton, G. K. Beale, and Randy Alcorn, another view which is that God intends to renew creation and bring the new heaven to the new, restored earth. This view also lends itself to taking care of more than just souls, and fostering a new culture that witnesses to Jesus' life, and a new victory that witnesses to Jesus' resurrection—without claiming that our efforts will or must result in that renewal (it simply participates and witnesses to what Jesus will bring). This seems to be a recovery of John Wesley's “holistic salvation”.For a quick overview, see Randy L. Maddox's 'Reclaiming John Wesley's Holistic Salvation' at https://www.ministrymatters.com/preach/entry/359/reclaiming-john-wesleys-holistic-salvation, 3/1/2011.

All this is to say that most people's views of the Millennium fits with this political theology. But there's a lot more that is interesting and helpful about Revelation, because the New Heavens and Earth give us tangible things to witness about.

What we should expect to see glimpses of, based on the New Earth and New Heaven

As much as we can see and read lots about Jesus in the Gospels and the early church, there is also a significant amount that we can look forwards to seeing here and later through biblical passages about the future heavenly kingdom itself.

We are told quite a bit about the new heaven and earth. There will be:

• restored relationship with God and His family (Rev 21:3)

• restored relationships with others and strong community (Rev 7:9)

• an abundance of people in one family under the Father (John 14:2)

• no more pain, disease, crying, deformities and sickness (Rev 7:17; 21:4; 22:2; Isaiah 65:19)

• no more demonic or wicked people (Rev 20:10, 15)

• a new body, glorious, non-sexual (Philippians 3:20-21)

• no more death (Rev 20:14)

• removal of and power over sin (Rev 21:24, 27)

• full of joy and delight (Isaiah 65:18; Hebrews 12:22; Rev 5:8-14)

• harmony with animals and no more predators (Isaiah 65:25)

• abundant fruitfulness of food; no more famine or thirst (Rev 22:22; 7:16)

• peace between rival groups (Rev 21:27)

• righteousness amongst all (Hebrews 12:23; Rev 21:2; 2 Peter 3:13)

• fruitful work that doesn't come to nothing, which doesn't perish or rust (Isaiah 65:23; Matthew 6:19-21)

• transformation of everything (Rev 21:5)

• constant light (Rev 21:25, 22:5)

• all cultural practices glorifying God (Rev 21:24)

• removal of the curse, thorns, difficulty getting fruitfulness (Rev 22:3)

• continual reign of the righteous (Rev 22:5; Hebrews 12:28)

We are told these things, not just as something that will happen later that we might hope for when we are facing death, but also as something that we can pray for now (within the limits of the 'now but not yet', as per Part 4). That's why we see so much of it happen in part through the early church, as recorded in Acts—and today if you have eyes to see and ears to hear.

We should strive for that perfection, just as we would strive to root out sin in our lives, and seek healing of disease, and seek peace between people. We just don’t put our hope in those things occurring now. We look to Christ, see his perfection, seek his will, and implement it, trusting God for the outcome. It’s what Jesus reoriented the disciples around in his model prayer: “…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). But this is kept in tension with the understanding that while we sow, it is God's job to cause the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). Thus our hope is directed towards pleasing God, not the results.

Let these things be things that you ask God about and look for, to have opportunities to witness to, reflect, represent, and show.

A partial 'new heaven and earth' in King David's Israel

It's very similar to the promises the Israelites were given and finally glimpsed in the peak of King David's reign.

The Israelites were promised a host of things:

• A new land (Genesis 15:7)

• A land of plenty, of milk and honey (Exodus 3:8)

• A large nation of many people (Genesis 12:2; 15:5)

• All nations being blessed through them (Genesis 12:3)

While this was only ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, for a brief period during King David's reign, they saw the fulfillment of these promises. They were in the land of Canaan, which was an abundant land (Numbers 14:7-8; Proverbs 24:13, 27:27; Song of Solomon 5:1), and had 1.3 million fighting men (2 Samuel 24:9), which means the whole population was more like 5 million.

This time period was a witness to God in a myriad of ways—his faithfulness in keeping his promises despite the ongoing sins of His people; his love towards a people who did not deserve this abundance; his protection; his love for others, in providing a (partial) light for Gentiles; and much more.

The principle here in the Old Testament is very similar to what we have been learning: God wants people to give him glory, to honour him as he ought to be, and to be satisfied in him—and if God can show people at least some of what he's promised, he achieves that.

God wants to glorify himself

It's similar to the reasoning Moses used when God told him he would destroy the murderous and contemptuous Israelites (Numbers 14:10-11). Moses cried out that the reputation of God himself was at stake if he could not bring the people to the land he had promised. The Egyptians would hear about it and then tell everyone else, and God would be mocked (Numbers 14:13-16). So Moses continues and asks that God instead display his strength, love and forgiveness—which God grants (Numbers 14:17-20).

This helps to underscore that when God promises something, and asks us to pray for heaven to come to earth, that he will do it. He wants to be known, and known for who he truly is. In all facets of his glory.

Summary

Summarising how a vision of the New Heavens and New Earth helps us today:

We seek God’s perfect kingdom to come to earth, while trusting God for the outcome, rejoicing that others see God through us in victory and loss.

And this is neither triumphalist as if God’s Kingdom were supposed to be forming in perfection now, nor defeatist as if God’s Kingdom lacked the power to affect the world or God did not care about our present sufferings. Instead this is how we be an effective witness “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) and shine our light “so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

We exhibit the firstfruits of the Kingdom to come, shining God’s light as witnesses to His glory.

Next

We've covered a lot of ground! It's time to pull all the loose threads together and consolidate what we've covered.