“Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all – except in so far as “Heaven” means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained : our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the read want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognize it.” – C.S. Lewis
Heaven is real. It exists today. Little is discussed about our eternal destination, but the truths expressed in God’s holy word offer glorious glimpses of the potential future for those who trust God. Maybe you feel as if you have passed your peak, physically or emotionally, and that your best opportunities are behind you. Perhaps you are burdened, discouraged, depressed or even traumatized. Perhaps your dreams – your marriage, career or ambitions – have crumbled. Perhaps you have become cynical or have lost hope. But there can be the anticipation of our life beyond this life. Randy Alcorn’s 480 page book Heaven provides clues. Much of this material is borrowed from Alcorn’s book. An understanding of the true teaching about Heaven (not the popular caricatures of Heaven) can change our daily reality.
The author of many of the New Testament books, Paul, says that to depart and be with Christ is far better than staying on earth. (Phil 1:23) J.C. Ryle, a nineteenth-century British theologian, said, “I pity the man who never thinks about heaven.” Or, we might pity the man who never thinks about heaven correctly. The trouble is not that the Bible does not tell us about heaven, but that we don’t know what the Bible communicates about heaven.
The Present Heaven and Future Heaven
What we usually think of when we hear of the word Heaven is what theologians call the immediate Heaven. For Christians, it is where we go when we die. It is the place we live until our bodily resurrection. Our Christian loved ones who have died are now in this present, intermediate Heaven. While this is not the same the concept of purgatory which is not taught in the Bible, it is the immediate Heaven. It is not where we will live forever. The New Earth (Revelation 21: 1) is the future location where God will come to live among men. The current earth is under the curse. It is not our eternal home. One day, our current earth will be delivered from the curse. The New Earth will be ours to live in forever. (Romans 8: 19-23)
Will Heaven (the New Earth) Be An Actual Place?
Jesus told his disciples, “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3) We do not long for a non-body, non-earth and non-culture, but for a new body and a new earth without sin or death. Christ did not talk about the “destruction” of all things, but the “renewal” instead.
Heaven is a literal place.
What Will Heaven Be Like?
As we look to the Bible for a vision of Heaven, we began to put the clues together. Here are some truths we know from God’s Word:
- Heaven is a city. (Hebrews 11:10, 13:14)
- Heaven is described at a country. (Hebrews 11:16) We know what Earth is like, and so we know much of what the New Earth will be like. If we can’t imagine our present Earth without rivers, mountains, trees and flowers, then why would we try imagine the New Earth without these features?
- The New Earth will be God’s dwelling place. While we will love our eternal home, we will love being with Jesus and his family which will be our family forever.
What Will We Look Like in Heaven?
Jesus had a physically resurrected body that allowed him to walk, talk and eat. (John 21: 1-14; Luke 24: 36-43) Our bodies will be like his. (I Corinthians 15: 20, 48-49; Philippians 3: 21; I John 3:2) Christ’ resurrected body is the model for our resurrected bodies on the resurrected Earth. After our resurrection we will not be ghosts; we will be physical human beings.
What Will We Do for All Eternity?
At death, the human spirit leaves the body (Ecclesiastes 12:7) We will either go to Heaven or Hell (Luke 16: 22-31) as demonstrated in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Christ told the thief beside Him on the cross that he would be with him in paradise “today.” In this new reality, we will find our greatest pleasure in God and His creation. With our renewed minds and bodies we will be whole people, full of energy and vision, eager to undertake new projects. We will work in Heaven without any of the painful toil that came with the curse, which will be forever lifted (Revelation 22: 3). He will delegate specific leadership to us regarding the earth. (Luke 19: 17-19). Our best workdays on Earth – when everything turns out better than we planned, when everything’s done on time, when everyone on the team pulls together and enjoys each other – are just a foretaste of the joy our work will bring us in Heaven. In Heaven, we will rest (Revelation 14:13). We will experience true rest.
What Will Our Relationship with God Be Like?
The thought of seeing God is shocking and almost blasphemous to anyone who understands the Old Testament teaching on the transcendence and inapproachability of God (Exodus 33: 18-23). However, we will see God’s face. This indicates that we will be radically changed into fully righteous, resurrected bodies. We will see His breathtaking beauty in everything and everyone around us.
Will There Be Animals on the New Earth?
Animals were part of God’s perfect original design for Earth and mankind. “God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw it was good.” (Genesis 1:25) Because animals were a significant part of life on the original Earth, Scripture makes it clear that God will remake the Earth just as He will remake mankind, it stands to reason that animals will be part of the New Earth. All of creation, including animals, plants and nature itself, fell on sin. So, all of God’s creation will benefit from Christ’s redemptive work. The rescue of mankind and animals in the ark is a picture of the resurrection. God is a god of restoration.
Randy Alcorn’s Heaven includes two full chapters on this fascinating subject of animals in Heaven. Check it out.
What Won’t Be in Heaven?
- No Death
- No Suffering
- No Funeral Homes
- No Abortion Clinics
- No Psychiatric Wards
- No Rape
- No Missing Children
- No Drug Rehabilitaion
- No Bigotry
- No Muggings
- No Killings
- No Worry
- No Depression
- No Economic Downturns
- No Wars
- No Unemployment
- No Anguish over Failure
- No Miscommunication
- No Miscarriages
- No Divorce
- No Estrangement
- No Broken Relationships
- No Betrayals
- No Religiousity
- No Locks
- No Death
- No Murder
- No Pain
- No Boredom
- No Arthritis
- No Handicaps
- No Cancer
- No Taxes
- No Bills
- No Computer Crashes
- No Weeds
- No Bombs
- No War
- No Suffering
- No Anger
- No Gossip
- No Lust
- No Jealousy
- No Hate
- No Drunkenness
- No Car Accidents
- No Weather Disasters
- No Hunger
- No Disappointment
Nothing that eclipses JOY will be in Heaven.
When we enter Heaven, we will presumably begin with the knowledge we had at the time of our death. After all, we will give an accounting of our lives, which will require knowledge. God will reveal things to us. Jesus invited his disciples to learn from Him (Matthew 11:29). Imagine all that we will learn if we are set upon an eternal course of learning. Our remembering will likely be much more than we wish.
Is Heaven our default?
No one goes there automatically. In the Bible, Jesus talks more about Hell than anyone else. (Matthew 10: 28; 13: 40-42; Mark 9: 43-44). Hell is a real place. Hell is a place of raging fires, the worm that does not die, eternal isolation with suffering and weeping (Matthew 8: 12).
Is it possible to know that we are going to Heaven. How is our eternal destination after death determined? The apostle John said, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5: 13). So we can know for sure that we will go to Heaven when we die.
Because we are human and we all sin, we fall short of God’s glory. Sin ended Eden’s paradise. All of us are sinners. I am a sinner. You are a sinner. Sin separates us from God. Sin has terrible consequences. God gives each human free will to choose Him or to reject Him. Because of God’s great love for you and for me, He sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus came to Earth to identify with us in our humanity and our weakness, but he did so without being tainted by our sin (Hebrew 2: 17-18). On the cross He took the Hell we deserve so that we could be right before God. Salvation is only found the God’s Son Jesus Christ. Jesus bridges the gap between God and you and me. To eliminate this chasm, you and I only need to accept God’s gift of salvation through Christ. God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us accordingly. God invites you and me to confess our sins, believe in Christ’s substitution and accept Him as Lord. Forgiveness is not automatic. It is conditioned on confession. If I confess my sin, He is faithful to forgive my sin (I John 1: 9). You have time to make things right with God and choose Heaven over Hell.
Being a Christ Follower is the greatest choice one can make for their everyday and for eternity.
My destination is already determined. I am a Christ Follower.
I hope to see you in Heaven one day!
Join a conversation on Heaven @ Embrace Your Everyday podcast.
More inspiration:
What is a Christ Follower?
Books on Amazon:
Hum of the Home: Routines and Rhythms of Homemaking
Nurturing My Nest: Intentional Home Building and Custom Built Education
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