Rewards for Christians in heaven...

[TheNewMan]

I don't believe that the earth will be remade. Once this earth is over, it will be burned up.

[Botz]

I don't believe that the earth will be remade. Once this earth is over, it will be burned up.

THat's fine, but this is supported by from where?

To what portion of the Universe do you think the Heavenly Jerusalem will come?

What is all the bible-speke concerning a New Heaven and a New Earth?

[TheNewMan]

I don't believe that the earth will be remade. Once this earth is over, it will be burned up.

THat's fine, but this is supported by from where?

To what portion of the Universe do you think the Heavenly Jerusalem will come?

What is all the bible-speke concerning a New Heaven and a New Earth?

That's what I'd like to know. I want to see the passages that talk about a new Heaven and a new Earth. I know they exist, but I'd like you to present them.

[OneLight]

If I may ...

Revelation 21 (New King James Version)

Revelation 21

All Things Made New

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. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

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. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things,[d] and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The Glory of the New Jerusalem

But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

[glf]

Gen15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying , Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

2Cor1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

1Cor3:10-15 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid , which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

So we see that the Lord himself is our exceedingly great reward. Other points of reward will be the closeness to the Lord we achieved while in this life and the works accomplished through the Spirit and one other...

On a Bright day in New Jerusalem as the Lord shines upon us, one will come up to you on the banks of the river of life and say, "I was spending some time with Jesus the other day and he told me that he used you to bring me to himself. It was your work that nurtured a seed another planted and I turned to the Lord. Thank you! I am here, HERE because of you! Thank you! Praise the Lord for you both now and forever and ever in Jesus' name!"

[UncleAbee]

I don't believe that the earth will be remade. Once this earth is over, it will be burned up.

THat's fine, but this is supported by from where?

To what portion of the Universe do you think the Heavenly Jerusalem will come?

What is all the bible-speke concerning a New Heaven and a New Earth?

That's what I'd like to know. I want to see the passages that talk about a new Heaven and a new Earth. I know they exist, but I'd like you to present them.

2 Peter 3:10 -

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

1 Thess 4:13-18 makes it clear what will happen in the last days. Christ will come and take all those who are found faithful with Him to Heaven. 2 Peter 3:10 goes on and says that the Earth will be burned up. There will be no 2nd Earth. New Jerusalem is the city in Heaven where God exists.

[EricH]

A natural question regarding God’s looking at the believer’s life is, “If the sins of believers are forgiven, in what sense are they brought to light in the judgment?”

Here are my thoughts. The key passage I would like you to keep in mind is:

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift-- not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation-- created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10 HCSB

At the final judgment, every person’s life will be looked at in its entirety.

There are passages that address judgment for believers and unbelievers that seem to indicate that every action, thought, and word will be brought to light for every person who has ever lived, when they stand before God. This is only right if we consider who God is. He is completely just. In order for His decision regarding every person to be demonstrated as just, everything would need to be seen.

How sins will be dealt with at the judgment

The unbeliever is under condemnation.

Anyone who believes in Him is not judged, but anyone who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.

John 3:18 HCSB

That means when their lives are viewed and sins come to light, they will be held against the unbeliever. As these sins are brought to light, God will take into account what the unbeliever knows, and then determine punishment based on the entire life.

The believer is not under condemnation. That is because Jesus paid the penalty for sin, and the believer has accepted this gift through faith. Thus when the sins of a believer are brought to light at the judgment, they are not held against them. They are simply thrown away or as Paul said “burned as with fire”.

If anyone's work is burned up, it will be lost, but he will be saved; yet it will be like an escape through fire.

1 Corinthians 3:15 HCSB

So the believer, who spends most of their lives engaged in wrong or worthless behavior, will see it thrown away before their eyes. But they will be saved and brought into eternity. They will not experience condemnation at the judgment, but see these things for what they really are, empty. They will also come to realize the depth of the sacrifice Jesus made.

How will good works be dealt with at the judgment?

Believers and unbelievers will stand before God with good works they accomplished while on the earth as well. Unbeliever’s good works will be brought to light. But because they stand under condemnation they will be thrown away. That is because salvation is not accomplished by those works as Ephesians 2:8-9 says. Because the unbeliever is separated from God, God views all of their lives through the lenses of condemnation. As the prophet said

All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

Isaiah 64:6 HCSB

For the unbeliever, their good works will be lost

For the believer, their good works will be considered as a basis for reward. That is because according to Ephesians 2:10, we were created to do those things, and our salvation now makes them possible in the sense that they will have eternal significance.

How will this be felt by people at the judgment?

The bible does not give us all the answers here, but I think there are clues. Unbelievers will stand and see their lives and recognize that even the good things they did are now being lost forever. Jesus paints a picture of their reaction:

On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?' Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!'

Matthew 7:22-23 HCSB

There will be a sense of loss, anger and shock as people realize that their lives really amounted to nothing, and that they are being condemned.

Believers on the other hand will see both their sins and their works. When they see their sins for what they really were and recognize what Jesus actually did, this will lead to a sense of worship and awe. As their sins are burned up and thrown away, they will go to their knees proclaiming “Worthy is the lamb who was slain”. As they receive their rewards (crowns according to Paul), this worship will lead them to cast these crowns at the feet of Jesus their redeemer.

Summary

In summary, every person (believer and unbeliever) will have their entire lives brought to light at the final judgment. Unbeliever’s sins will be counted against them. They will experience guilt and condemnation. Their good works will be thrown away. Believer’s sins will be thrown away, and their good works will be credited to them. They will experience no condemnation, but will sense the loss of a wasted life in terms of sin. They will also experience the true reality of Jesus’ sacrifice, which will lead to worship. It will be possible for an unbeliever to have done quite a bit of good with no eternal consequence. It will be possible for a believer to spend most of their lives on empty tasks, so that they will be saved, but their lives will amount to no eternal significance in terms of reward.

These are my thoughts on this so far.