You Are Eternal. Where Shall You Spend Eternity?

There is no annihilation of human beings taught in the Bible. The lake of fire is eternal, and so are the new earth and new heavens. These two places are the final dwelling places of all human beings whom God has ever created and who have existed. Every human being has the breath of God in him. That is what enlivens his body, which is dust. When God created the first man, Adam, he breathed into him, and Adam became a living soul (being).

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

What makes us alive is the breath of God in us, and that breath is eternal. No one exists or lives without God, not even the wicked, and not even Satan and his angels, because God created them all and gave them life. There is no life without Jesus. He created all things. It is therefore impossible and foolish for someone to think they can exist independent of God. He made us for his purpose. Mankind was made in God’s image to reflect the nature of God and his Son, Jesus Christ.

“You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.” Psalm 104:29

Souls are eternal.

The breath of God cannot be annihilated or die. Souls are eternal. There is no living thing that God has made that shall cease to exist because God’s breath is in man. But they will live forever in some form because physical death shall also be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:14). The lake of fire is called the second death. It is eternal separation from God in a state of immortality in the resurrected body.

God prepared the lake of fire for Satan and his angels according to Matthew 25:41. Angels already have eternal bodies and cannot die. Human beings will all experience the resurrection of their bodies in the end and receive immortal bodies. This will happen during the resurrection of the righteous when Jesus returns and the resurrection of the wicked after his millennial reign.

“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:2

“Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:21

The resurrection of the dead

Jesus is the resurrection and life (John 11:25). All the dead shall resurrect by his power (John 5:28-29). The righteous shall have glorious bodies, but the wicked shall have immortal bodies for eternal damnation in the lake of fire. The Bible doesn’t get into details about what kind of bodies these will be.

“42So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-45

“26For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself 27and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” John 5:26-29

Eternal bodies after the resurrection

The soul is eternal, but the body shall be immortal at the resurrection, as was originally meant to be when God created Adam. God’s original plan shall never fail. He shall have a remnant who fulfill his original intent when he has rooted out all evil from the earth and banished them from his presence forever. The righteous shall receive glorified bodies like that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Everyone, at last, will receive immortal bodies, which will live forever with God or be separated from God. Human beings who have rejected God as their father and have chosen all their lives to follow his enemy, Satan, by their rebellious thoughts, hearts, wills, and lives, will share the devil’s fate by spending eternity separated from God in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15, Romans 1:21, Genesis 6:5, Ephesians 4:17-18, Colossians 3:6).

“The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where[b] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10

“The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:13-15

God shall be glorified in the eternal destiny of the righteous and just.

No one gets to escape God’s justice by ceasing to exist. What God has made shall endure forever. He made man and angels to live forever. Even in the eternal destruction of the wicked, God shall be glorified because his righteous judgments shall be fulfilled, and the Lord Jesus’s enemies shall be made his footstool. There will be eternal justice for those who rejected His Son’s sacrifice on the cross.

“The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” Psalm 110:1

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

“These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10

God shall make all things new.

The earth and heavens will pass away in their present form and be transformed when God creates the new heavens and new earth. God will literally make all things new. The earth will be renewed, and God’s holy fire will burn up all that is not of him. He will make creation perfect again once sin, death, the devil, and all sinners are taken away to the lake of fire. Peter says that we are looking to new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband … Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 21:1-3, 5-6

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Are you born again? Do you have eternal life?

Have you given your life to Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? He loves us so much that he, our creator, left heaven and came to earth, dying for us on the cross, taking our sins upon him so that we may be forgiven and receive his righteousness. He conquered death by rising from the dead and made a way for us who were dead in sin to be reconciled back to the Father (God). What’s more, he has prepared a wonderful home for us in heaven, where those who love him and obey him will spend eternity with him. Learn more here about how to be born again and have eternal life after this brief life on earth.

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