Christians have inherited an unbiblical view of eternity.

It comes from a mixture of Greek philosophy, medieval theology, and lots of folk tradition. In sum, people wrongly think that in eternity we’ll be angels sitting on clouds and playing harps.

That’s not the Biblical view.

At least, Free Grace people don’t think so.

God created us as physical beings in a physical universe with as many as 300 million habitable planets in our galaxy and two trillion galaxies in the universe. That means God created this universe with lots of room to grow.

Why would He do that?

There’s no guarantee that the new heavens and the new earth will be as expansive as our current universe is, but isn’t it possible that God intended humanity to spread to all of creation?

That will not be a new idea for fans of sci-fi. From Star Wars to Star Trek, there is an expectation that human civilization will eventually spread across the stars. Couldn’t that longing reflect God’s original plan for man?

Free Grace people have speculated as much and have been called crazy for it. If you believe that is a nutty idea, check out this interview where Billy Graham describes eternity to Johnny Carson. Start at the 15-minute mark (thanks to Lucas Kitchen for sending this in).