I think that God intended for this universe to be temporary
from the beginning, given the way it was created (to wind down from the very
beginning) it’s most likely God had intended this universe to be a temporary to
begin with. Probably to give human beings a chance to choose to love Him or to
reject Him (which this option won’t be present in the next universe because
everyone living in the next universe will have already made their choice to
love and serve their Creator). You see, God wants us to love Him as He loves
us, but without free will, love becomes impossible. Jesus said that the first
and foremost commandment was to “Love the Lord your God…” A
personal relationship, characterized by the possibility of love, is only
possible if created beings are given free will. If God had created the universe
with no possibility of evil or sin, then the created beings would have had no
free will, and, as such, would essentially be programmed computers. Such beings
would be incapable of love, since love involves making a choice – which
requires the ability to choose not to love. For example, I can program my
computer to say “I love you” when it starts up. Does this mean that
the computer really loves me? Of course not! Likewise, God could have programmed
humans to say that they loved Him, without the possibility of rejecting Him or
performing evil deeds. However, these programmed beings would exhibit about as
much true love as my computer – not a very satisfying relationship. Therefore,
God created the universe for the express purpose of allowing free will
spiritual beings the opportunity to have fellowship with Him (and likewise,
reject Him). The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good and Evil was one such
opportunity for His humans to reject or serve Him. The opportunity to reject or
serve God will not available in the next universe. Why? Because everyone in the
next universe will have already made their choice in THIS universe. Those who
chose God will be worshiping Him in the new universe, those who rejected Him
will be in Hell.
In both the Old and New Testaments, the analogy of a husband and wife is used to describe God’s relationship with His people. Israel is considered Yahweh’s bride, and Yahweh, in the book of Hosea, constantly characterizes idolatry as spiritual adultery. Yahweh’s bride is cheating on him with false gods. In the New Testament, The church of Christian believers, the collective body of regenerate people, are considered Christ’s bride. So, we can think of this imperfect universe as the wedding proposal. In this universe, God is giving human beings the opportunity to say “I do” or “I don’t”. According to both science and The Bible, this universe will not last forever. So the free willed agents God created must “speak now or forever hold their peace”.Whatever decision we make now will be the one we’ll be stuck with for eternity.
intend to last forever. The next universe God creates won’t have entropy in it, it won’t have oceans either according to the book of Revelation.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” – Revelation 21:1
“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” – 2 Peter 3:13
“Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever; they will wear out like old
clothing. You will change them like a garment and discard them.” – Psalm 102:25-26
For more information on why the universe is the way it is, check out Hugh Ross’ book “Why The Universe Is The Way It Is”. Hugh Ross is an astrophysicist who is also a Christian Apologist. He’s the president of Reasons To Believe.
