There is no need to worry about culture shock in Heaven! The cultures and nations of the Old Earth will all have their place within God’s eternal Kingdom on the New Earth. This understanding fits perfectly with Daniel’s vision of the Messiah’s return to Earth: “He was given authority, honor, and royal power over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him” (Daniel 7:14).
I interpret “every race and nation and language” literally. God has chosen people in even predominantly pagan nations and reached them by sending men and women or angels, dreams, and visions. What people groups will be worshiping Christ on the New Earth? Aztecs, Mayans, Incas, Celts, Goths, Huns, Lombards, Saxons, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Canaanites, Hittites, Phoenicians, Sumerians, Assyrians, Persians, Mongols, and countless other civilizations, both ancient and modern. Indeed, most of the nations Daniel prophesied about—including Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Rome—faded away long ago. Nations and cultures that no longer exist today will be raised, to God’s glory, in a purified form that includes whatever pleased God and excludes whatever didn’t.
Do you have a special interest in Europe of the Middle Ages? Then perhaps you’ll enjoy developing relationships with those who lived in that era. Perhaps on the New Earth you’ll live in a beautified version of their culture. (We shouldn’t assume that all ancient people would embrace every modern convenience, even when given the choice.)
It’s likely, too, that the New Earth’s people groups will remain politically as well as culturally distinct, with their own governments and leaders. People of every nation and ethnic group will reign on the earth (Revelation 5:9-10). Some of their saints will rule over cities; others will rule over nations. Many people assume that if God rules the universe, there’s no room for other rulers. But this can’t be true, because “all rulers will worship and obey him” (Daniel 9:27). But in contrast to the Old Earth’s corrupt leaders, they will be righteous rulers, subordinate to Christ.
Does this sound speculative? We find it in Scripture’s own words. So close your eyes and imagine Earth’s civilizations, both ancient and modern. Not just what they were and are, but what they yet will be.
