The Ultimate Blessings of the
Eschaton

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Question
What blessings will God's people receive after final judgment?
Answer
So, when we're thinking about what blessings the righteous will receive after final judgment, they are, of course, many. The first one is gift of a resurrected body and a new heavens and new earth. This is pretty important because plenty of Christians even imagine that the ultimate goal of all things is for your invisible soul to die and go to heaven with God. Now, that may, in fact, and I believe does happen after you die, but the fullness of God's blessing is resurrected, re-embodied life at a sort of "2.0 level," a much more intense level, in a purified and beautified earth. But it's not simply a matter of having a better physical situation. I think the theologians down the centuries have recognized the greatest blessing is the glory of God poured out, filling the earth as the waters cover the sea, as the prophets say, that this glorious expression of God, this union with him is really the ultimate blessing of the eschaton.

Answer by Dr. Sean McDonough

Dr. McDonough teaches New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.