The most difficult decision for most people is planning for the future. Very few will reach the age of 65 and be financially prepared for retirement. Probably even fewer prepare for life after death. Most of us live for instant gratification. We hope some miracle, such as winning the lottery, or the government will take care of us in our old age.

For many years I have been an investment advisor. The statistics that I constantly read seems to indicate most people just do not care about the future. No matter how much information they are given, it doesn’t change the way they save or invest.

Many do not believe there is a possibility that they could live forever if they made the right decisions and the world ends as we know it. The Bible tells that many will meet Christ in the sky and be raptured. That is referring to those who have been adopted into the family of God through salvation in Christ.

Scripture states they will be given an imperishable body that can live for a 1000 years. Revelation 6:12 – 14 – “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

An earthquake of 9.1 – 3 occurred on December 25, 2004 in the Indian Ocean. More than 240,000 people were killed in 14 nations. Yahoo news reported the Indian Ocean quake caused the earth to wobble on its axis and permanently altered the regional map. A 9.0 quake on December 16, 1811 caused islands to actually sink in the Mississippi River. Some wonder if the great earthquake in Scripture could change the earth back on it axis to where it was before Noah’s flood when humans lived close to a thousand years with their current bodies.

In Revelation 20:4 – 6 – “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”

Some believe that when Christ returns to reign on earth those thousand years, peace on earth will be ushered in by the church. Non-believers who have died since Adam & Eve will not be raised until after the 1000 years at which time they will be judged. It does not appear that saved believers of Christ will have to stand for judgment. The judgment will be for those having died sinners and have denied accepting Christ as their Savior.

God cursed His original creation because of the sins of Adam & Eve, Cain and those living prior to the flood. It is believed during the Millennium, the first three curses will be removed as the ecology and environment will return to pre-flood conditions. We are not sure how this will happen but as the Apostle Peter said, “If God promised it, then He knows how to do it.”

It is believed in those 1000 years, families will be raised and life will be without pain and all of one’s needs will be met. The world as we now know it, will be completely changed and we will not remember the present world. It will be an earth that is indescribable. But that world will end and a new one begins.

Revelation 21:1 – 4 – “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

The old world and all of its evil will be gone forever. A new kind of heaven and a new kind of earth will be created. It must be different to allow a person’s body to last through eternity. Our diets will be different as we eat fruit from the Tree of Life. It was the same kind of tree that Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat. It is believed that many things on earth will be similar to the old earth but the main differences are: There will be no sun, Satan will be defeated, sin will be banished, people will live with God, the curse will be removed, all sins, tears and sorrows will be gone. The main thing is, death will be defeated and believers live with God forever. We are back at the beginning of the cycle when God had a relationship with Adam and Eve. As God provided everything for them, the same will be provided for believers.

For everyone who believes there is a God, knows He has always kept His promises. There is a future life possible and who would not want to live under those conditions? How important is planning for the future? Why is it so difficult for people to believe all of this is possible? If a person is willing to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior they can be adopted into the family of God and their future will be secure.