Seventh-day Adventists believe that the redeemed will be transported to heaven—the “Father’s house”—at the Second Advent ( John 14:1–3 ; 1 Thess. 4:13–18 ; cf . Heb. 11:16 ), where they will live for a thousand years. At the close of the thousand years the redeemed will return to this earth, which will be renovated after the destruction of sin and sinners ( see Hell ; Millennium ) and become the eternal abode of the redeemed.
SDA s believe that, in a large part, conditions in the new earth will be as they would have been on earth had sin never entered. They therefore look forward to living on this planet with resurrected glorified bodies resembling the ones that Adam and Eve possessed before they sinned, and to carrying on pursuits such as humanity would have engaged in had sin not entered. They apply to this future restoration the passage “And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion” ( Micah 4:8 ). They also apply literally the passage “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. . . . And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them” ( Isa. 65:17–21 ). To them the future life is not some spirit existence in an ethereal heaven.
Furthermore, because SDA s do not believe in a conscious existence between death and the resurrection, they do not believe that the redeemed go to heaven at death. They maintain that the “spirit” that goes back to God at death ( Eccl. 12:7 ) is not conscious, but represents the personal identity, which is preserved until the resurrection so that in the resurrection every individual will have his or her own character ( see SDACom 5:1093). They believe also that resurrected bodies will bear resemblances to the former bodies, so that friend will recognize friend.
The capital of that new earth will be the New Jerusalem, which, after the millennium, descends from heaven and is established upon this earth ( Rev. 21:1 , 2 , 10 ; Heb. 11:10 , 14–16 ). This city is described in detail in Rev. 21 and 22 . The presence of the city signifies the presence of God, for after John saw the Holy City descending he “heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” ( Rev. 21:3 ).
Among conditions that will not exist, John mentions the following: “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” ( v. 4 ).
As a warning against spiritualizing the scriptural statements regarding the future life, Ellen G. White has remarked: “A fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many to spiritualize away the very truths which lead us to look upon it as our home” ( GC 674, 675).
Far from being a state of idleness, the future life will be one of creative activity. “Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth powers of mind and soul and body” ( ibid. 677).
Despite what has been recorded in the Scriptures of the glories of that future abode, Seventh-day Adventists believe that not all has been revealed. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” ( 1 Cor. 2:9 ).
They anticipate that the glories of that world will far exceed their fondest expectations, and they find in a contemplation of future glories a strong motivation for Christian dedication.