Living Forever on Earth

[asteroid]

In the evening prayer for today in the Book of Hours psalter the canticle is from Rev 4-5

We read “You have made us a kingdom and priests to our God, and we shall reign on earth.”

I think about this verse about we, the bought people for God ruling the world, and verses in Rev about the new earth where God will make his home among human beings.

How do I reconcile these verses with Catholic teaching about heaven? Were I a Jehovah’s Witness there would be no problem with these verses. How should I think about them as a Catholic?

 

[marty1818]

asteroid:

We read “You have made us a kingdom and priests to our God, and we shall reign on earth.”

I’m not seeing where it is saying anything about living forever on earth. Can you please explain how you came to this belief. Thanks.

matthew

 

[asteroid]

I don’t come to that belief - but plenty of other people do. The JWs even have a book “You can live forever in paradise on earth”. Which I have not read.

I decided to read the verses in a Bible rather than in a prayer book. That changes things. The prayer book presents these verses basically as a prayer that could be from our lips. The antiphon is “Lord, you made us a kingdom and priests to serve our God”. Words drawn from the verses in question - and words that in themselves apply to us as Christians.

However, the words in the Bible are spoken by the 24 elders, not by all Christians. Except for the last part of the words in the prayer book which are spoken by “many angels who surrounded the throne and the living creatures and the elders”. The prayer book of course makes no mention of who the speakers are or even that the speaker changes part way through the written text.

The antiphon is true of all Christians. But that does not mean that every word spoken by elders and angels in heaven is true of all Christians does it? People (including me) on this site always ask for things to be put in context. If only the Daily Office would consistently heed this advice.

Anyway, I’ve just looked at various commentaries on the passage. I don’t know if it’s now more or less confusing! I suppose that in heaven, rather than the new earth, I will understand the last book of the Bible. But by then probably won’t care too much about it. Now to find time to hunt out Augustine’s City of God on the bookshelf and gain illumination about the new earth. I’d read it on the monitor but that would cause a headache.

 

[Grace_and_Glory]

It is true that we shall reign on earth because as Christians, we have some share in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly role of Christ (CCC 783).
“Finally, the People of God shares in the royal office of Christ…For the Christian, ‘to reign is to serve him,’ particularly when serving ‘the poor and the suffering, in whom the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder’” (CCC 786, quote from *LG *8; cf. 36).