“You’ll see streams of water again.”
Of course. He could read Jack’s thoughts.
“The New Jerusalem will be beyond your wildest expectation. He’s made all things new, back to the way it was originally planned. The stain has been removed. The curse lifted. The pollution gone. Paradise.”
Jack ran his eyes over his body. What was the purpose of the spray?
“Your body composition has changed and will change further.”
Once again, the visitor was reading his thoughts.
“You are fearfully and wonderfully made, and I’m sure you’re now sensing what a powerful and mighty God we serve. You have entered eternity, something many have spoken about but none fully comprehend. You’re there now. Immortality.”
“Immortal.” That alone was hard to comprehend.
“Can I remind you of God’s word: ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him’.”
Those words penetrated Jack’s heart. He’d changed. Immortal? His thought patterns were different. He understood things clearly. Didn’t have to search for hidden meanings. Nothing negative entered his mind. He knew all things were good. There was a complete trust in the events taking place, and a sense of destiny, a sense of belonging.
40 - Immortality
Immortal. Things changing at the cellular level, things way beyond Jack’s understanding. Twitches here and there but no muscles bursting through his shirt. The inner smile enhanced his feeling of wellbeing. More twitches. He was being turned into a real superhero. The world didn’t consider God a superhero, but it seemed He was the only genuine one. He twitched again.
“An orderly adjustment,” his angel said. “Rejuvenation and realigning your body to a heavenly spiritual body—in human form but forever at, say, the age of thirty in old earth terms. Everyone the same age. The elderly will be younger, while the young will progress to that age.”
So he was getting younger. Rejuvenation, reversing the aging process. The strange twitches in his muscles were now barely noticeable.
“We’re traveling a vast distant at an immense speed. Your body is adjusting. We’ll be there soon.”
“I sort of have an idea of where we’re going, but are you able to tell me more?” Jack didn’t mind if he was told or not. This trust thing took away all his doubts.
“Adventus, as you like to call it, is collecting believers from around the world at a speed you wouldn’t be able to comprehend—supernaturally. We’re orbiting the Earth like the moon, but much faster. Once all believers have been caught up—a term used in His word—they’ll be in the presence of the Lord forever.”
“So are we going to be living on a moon, a new planet?”
The angel laughed. “Adventus is a sphere that contains the New Jerusalem. It’s surrounded by a covering to protect the city and to allow travel through vast distances in space. Once collection is complete, Adventus will reach the destination where the Lord said He would return: the Mount of Olives.”
A thought tried to enter his mind. A brief glimpse told him it was a negative one. But it was like the thought hit a brick wall and fell to the ground.
“You’re all at different levels of knowledge.” Again, the angel knew Jack’s thoughts. “The Mount of Olives is where Jesus ascended, and it’s where He will return. Adventus will centrally position itself over the mount and the Lords plans after that, I’m not sure.”
“How big is this city?”
“Massive. It needs to be, to accommodate millions of believers. But there’ll be plenty of room. That’s the way God planned it.”
“I can imagine such planning would be a simple task for the creator of the universe.” On saying that, a feeling of awe and gratitude came over him. It also dawned on him that a city required an infrastructure. People needed to eat, drink, live. He was thinking in old earth terms and looked forward to discovering how such things would be managed in the new earth. Behind it all was the hidden joy that he would see his parents soon.
“Yes, it’s all both simple and amazing. You’ll see.”
Ahead, he saw what he assumed was the end of the tunnel, the end of the staircase, and the outline of a gate. He heard sounds, sweet sounds, like he’d never heard before. And he didn’t feel a drop of anxiety.
A life form resided inside Jack. He sensed its presence flooding his own being. Peace. He’d been rescued. God spoke to his heart. Welcome.
In an instant he was beside Erica and Johnny. How beautiful they both looked. Erica’s parents stood beside them. Joy flooded into his heart as his parents came from behind Erica and Johnny. The hugs were another piece of heaven—totally consuming him. Through watery eyes, he saw Cath in the distance, surrounded by her family. Sheila stood close by, next to a man who looked like an older version of Wiley. His father, maybe? So God brought those with recent interactions close by? Oh, it was so easy to slip into detective mode and so easy to slip out of it.
Jack stared at his parents. How long had it been? Years, but it didn’t matter. Inexpressible joy filled his heart. He still had his arm resting on his dad’s shoulder when Johnny came over and looked up at his grandad.
“You look like my dad, maybe better-looking and a bit wiser.”
Jack gave him a slight clip over the head.
Erica wiped tears from her eyes. “These are tears of joy—a release for a surplus of joy, maybe what tears were always planned for.”
They stood in a massive open area, almost like a stadium. Layers and layers of people that seemed to go on forever. An assembly of thousands and thousands of people. He could see great mountains in the distance. That surprised him—this was nothing like the wispy view he’d had of the dwelling place of God.
Johnny had wandered off with Erica’s dad to take in the view.
Cath’s dad came over to him, sensing Jack’s wonder at it all. “It’s a massive cube, Jack. Based on God’s word, I would say that it’s over 2,200 kilometres cubed—that means it goes a long way in all directions, including up and well out of our atmosphere. I think we need to think as little as possible in earthly terms.”
“I may need to think in earthly terms to get a grip on how large it all is.”
“The footprint would cover half the continental United States. It would completely cover Western Australia.”
“Ok, that’s large.”
“And, in relation to its height, commercial aircraft can’t fly much higher 40,000 feet—that’s around twelve kilometres. The International Space Station flies at an average altitude of 400 kilometres above Earth, and the moon is 384,400 kilometres away.”
“What about satellites?”
