Want to know what’s coming next? Then consider what came first. God’s designs for you and me were unveiled in Scripture’s opening pages. Eschatology, the study of end things, begins with protology, the study of first things.

The story of Eden is not just the story about the first person but a picture of God’s plan for each person. What God did for Adam he did for you. He formed you. He breathed life into you. And he destined you to serve him in a perfect place. Can you hear him? “I see something great in you. Would you accept my destiny for your life?”

A covenant is a contract, a treaty, an agreement, or alliance between two parties. It formally binds the two parties in a relationship with consequences for breaking or keeping the covenant. The covenant can be mutual or one-sided.

What happens in the latter days will make more sense once you know what God promised in the early days. We can stand on the foundation stones of God’s compelling covenants.

One of the earliest references to the time line appears in Daniel 9 during an intriguing conversation between God’s prophet and the angel Gabriel. That vision is often called “the backbone of Bible prophecy.”

Gabriel, the same angel who announced the arrival of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ approximately five hundred years later, spoke to Daniel in Babylon. He declared three prophecies: the Jews will be blessed, the Messiah is on the way, and tough times are coming.

“Ask the followers if Jesus rose from the dead.” The resounding answer is “Yes.” His tomb floor has the prints of pierced feet. Those feet were nailed to a cross on Friday and lifeless in the grave on Saturday. But on Sunday the hope of Easter called them to stand, step, and walk out of the grave. His resurrection authenticates his promised return.

John Wesley called Paradise “only the porch of Heaven.”It is the first stage of eternal rest; hors d’oeuvres of our heavenly feast. Paradise is not the final version of heaven, nor the ultimate expression of home. It is simply the gathering place of the saved until Christ comes for his children.

Christians, upon the signal of Christ, will be transported into the presence of Christ. This rescue could happen at any moment. It will mark the conclusion of the church age. Jesus will appear in the sky, and all who share his nature—who house his Spirit, who have within them the presence of Christ—will be caught up by his magnetic presence to meet him in the air.

REWARDED BY CHRIST

The Bible speaks of a reward ceremony that will take place in Paradise immediately after the rapture of the church. This event is called the judgment seat of Christ.

Salvation is based on Jesus’ work for us. Our recognition is based on our work for him. Our deeds do not contribute to our salvation. Not one iota. That’s a gift. Our deeds do, however, inform our reward. Of course, whatever crowns we receive, we will gladly return and place at our Master’s feet.

WEDDED TO THE CHURCH

Plans are underway for a heavenly wedding. The groom is Christ. The bride is the church. By that point we will have been raptured from earth and rewarded by Christ. All the wood, hay, and stubble will have burned away. Only our righteous acts will remain. The next event will be our wedding.

Christ in the cradle? Wonderful. Christ the kindhearted? Delightful. But Christ the coming King? On a stallion? Roaring out of heaven? Crowned with the crowns of his enemies? On a mission to destroy those who destroy his children? The world is less familiar with this view of Jesus. Yet this is the Jesus the world will soon see. The first coming was all about salvation. The second is all about coronation. In his first coming, Jesus Christ came to seek and save. In his second, he will come to rule and reign.

The Book of Life will be consulted in an event called the Great White Throne judgment. This occasion sits on the time line at the end of the millennium. All the unrighteous humans who ever lived, from the beginning of time until the end of the millennium, will stand before the Great White Throne. This is their date with deity. Hell is reserved not for those people who seek God yet struggle but for those who defy God and succeed in their rebellion. For those who say about Jesus: “We don’t want this man to be our king” (Luke 19:14 GNT).

The final state of the believer is heaven. God has a place for you, space for you, and grace for you. You will see God. You! You will see the One who has never not been, the One who has never given in, the One before whom all creation bows. You will see Him. In your glorified body that will never fail, in a glorified city that will never decay, you will see the God of all glory. Lift your eyes and set your heart on your heavenly home. It’s the one that will last.