Question:
In the April (1997) issue of your magazine, there are two references to “glorified worlds,” a heretofore unread and unseen area of extension. Do you have any reference material on this subject? What are the biblical references?
Answer:
We are convinced that the Bible amply supports the existence of “glorified worlds,” i.e., planets which began like our earth is at present and were later perfected (glorified) and filled with glorified beings.
One statement of this belief, though unrecognized, is found in the Lord’s prayer: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” If it is the plan of God that His will shall in the future be done “in earth” as it is now being done “in heaven,” is this not suggesting that the heavenly bodies began like the earth, and progressed to their present state?
As for the inhabitants of these worlds, we are told by Jesus in that worthy mortals will be made “equal to the angels,. .nor can they die anymore” (Luke 20:36). According to Paul, we look forward to having our physical nature changed to the likeness of Christ, to a glorified state that is no longer mortal and corruptible (Phil. 3:20-21). The apostle also described it as putting off the corruptible nature and putting on the incorruptible (1 Cor. 15:51-53). This tells us that glorified beings are no longer subject to sickness and death.
We learn from several other passages that glorified beings radiate light. Said Jesus Himself, “The righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43). We read of the Eternal City that it had no need of the sun nor of the moon “to shine on it: for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light” (Rev. 21:23). The prophet Isaiah foretold the same wonder, that the future Kingdom would need no sunlight for illumination (Isa. 60:19). Daniel said that “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). These passages indicate that glorified beings radiate physical light, so much so that they “shine brightly like the stars.”
How does all of the above come about? It is all according to God’s “eternal purpose” (Eph. 3:11). The earth is only one part of an unfolding Divine plan of creation, which includes thousands and millions of other worlds, as well as the earth. The Bible is concerned exclusively with the portion of the plan that relates to the earth and its inhabitants, hence we are not told details of the rest of the plan. But Paul prayed to the God who was the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, “from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:15) this earth is only one small part of an enormous whole.
We have the further confirmation in the fact that angels are able to come and go to earth, as has been recorded in the past. Angels came to visit many people during Bible times, and we are told that theirs is a continuing ministry, although at the present time they are not seen. “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them” (Ps. 34:7). Is it not reasonable to think that the glorified worlds above are the homes of these bright, shining beings, whose nature has been changed from the mortal to the eternal, immortal state? We too will be able to visit other worlds if and when we are changed to an immortal state and when our own earth is glorified.
Another point may be made from simple logic: We acknowledge God as the Creator of all matter and all life, and what purpose could He have in bringing into existence the myriads of stars that are visible in billions of galaxies throughout space that scientists are now able to see with their high-powered telescopes? Shall we be so conceited as to think that God placed living beings on only one tiny planet in one remote corner of one galaxy in His vast creation?
There is another point of evidence found in Psalm 103:17-18: “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him” This tells us that God has had living beings upon whom to bestow His mercy “from everlasting”–certainly a statement reaching far beyond the boundaries of our small earth.
We look eagerly forward to the day when God shall transform our earth into a part of heaven, removing all that is harmful or wicked and filling it with His glory, His people, until it is the perfect, finished product which He planned it should be. Such is the intent and purpose of His creation, for we read of God, “who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited” (Isa. 45:18).