The Real Light Forever

I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.

Revelation 21:22-23

HAVE YOU EVER heard a report in the news that our sun will start to run out of fuel in a hundred million years? Or that the solar system will collapse in a billion years?

Every now and then, we get those kinds of reports. Sometimes it’s funny the way people will breathlessly report that news with a tinge of horror in their voices. Like they’ll be around when it happens!

But more serious is the truth the Bible gives us: yes, one day heaven will disappear, earth will be burned up, and everything will be made new. But the next time, God won’t give us a sun to illuminate our planet. Instead, God himself, who is called “light” in 1 John 1:5, will be our light. We will literally be standing in God’s light, and he will be our temple. We can’t imagine what that will involve, but it’s a great truth. Why?

Because the details in today’s verses mean that God—who is eternal and everlasting and can never die—will be our sustainer, source of power, and energy provider forever. We needn’t worry about the universe powering down or about ever having a problem where we might disappear forever. No, God plans to keep us around for all eternity. He wants us to be so close to him that we’ll be one with him.