Snapshots of Heaven

Developing a true picture

Writer: (Approaching desk) Err ... excuse me.
Angel: (Brisk and pleasant) Yes, sir?
Writer: Is this ... heaven?
Angel: Front-desk, yes, sir. Did you want to come in?

[Adrian Plass, "Waste of Days", Cabbages for the King]

Something strange happens in our collective consciousness whenever we think about heaven. We start imagining a place high above the earth that's totally white with large fluffy clouds and streets paved with gold, where the choir sings all day to the angels strumming their harps. The Catholics (or the Anglicans, depending on who you're paying out) have their own high-walled section which everyone else creeps around on tip-toe (they think they're the only ones here, you see). Saint Peter stands at the pearly gates, roll-book in hand, ready to turn away anyone who cannot stomach his dry sense of humour. Everyone wears white robes and haloes.

Curiously, then, the Bible never talks about us "going to heaven"—at least not that sort of heaven. A quick flip through my concordance reveals that the word "heaven" or its plural form, "heavens", is used primarily in the Old and New Testament to mean one of four things:

  1. The sky—from which rain falls (through "windows"—see Genesis 8:2). The sky is defined in opposition to the earth, and the sky and earth taken together represent the whole of creation;
  2. The expanse above the earth containing the planets, sun, moon and stars (Isaiah 34:4);
  3. The place where God dwells and sits on his throne ("Heaven is my throne,/and the earth is my footstool ..." Isaiah 66:1);
  4. The reign of God or the "kingdom of heaven" which is also used interchangeably with the "kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:23-24—many have argued that Matthew followed the custom of other devout Jews and used "heaven" as a circumlocution for "God" out of respect for the third commandment).

The Bible does, however, say one man did go up into heaven—but only one man: Jesus the Christ, who asserts this from his own mouth: "No one has ascended into heaven except him who descended from heaven, the Son of Man." (John 3:13). Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19). We are told that he is there as our high priest who intercedes on our behalf (Hebrews 8:1, 9:24) and one day he will return the same way as he left (Acts 1:10).

But what about us? If we won't one day go to up heaven, where will we go? Revelation 21:1-3 reveals that the exact opposite will happen: heaven will come down to earth:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."

The Bible speaks about the abolition of the old world. The universe that we currently inhabit will be totally destroyed and God will make an entirely new creation. Everything that is now familiar to us—the sun, the moon, Mount Fuji and the Harbour Bridge—will be gone.

It is interesting that this new creation is defined mostly through negatives—what there will not be. For example, in Revelation 21 we learn

  • There will be no sea (verse 1)—and therefore no recognisable landforms of countries and nations;
  • There will be no death (verse 4)—and therefore no more dying;
  • There will be no pain, crying or mourning (verse 4)—and therefore no more suffering;
  • There will be nothing unclean (verse 27)—and therefore no more sin;
  • There will be no night (verse 25)—and therefore no more darkness;
  • There will be no temple (verse 22)—but God and the Lamb shall be our temple.

It is also interesting to note that most of these things which will not be in the new creation are things to do with separation. For example, it is the sea that separates us from other people; it is death that separates us from our ancestors; and it is our sin that separates us from God. There will no longer be any separation in the new creation but rather we will be united in Christ.

What will there be, then? We are only given glimpses of heaven and I don't think anyone can see what it will be really be like. But here are a few clues and thoughts:

  • Everything will be made new (Revelation 21:5)—the heavens and the earth and, surely, all things in them. I don't know if there will still be trees, mountains and rivers but I know that we will be given incorruptible bodies instead of corruptible ones. I also don't know whether there will be animals but I like to think there will be because we are only the firstfruits of his creation (James 1:18) and we are looking forward to a time like Isaiah 65:25 when the wolf will graze with the lamb and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
  • We will enter God's Sabbath rest. We will have rest and refreshment from all our labours and enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  • We will celebrate our spiritual "marriage" with Christ at a great wedding supper (Revelation 19:6-9) (so I guess this means that we will still retain our enjoyment of food). Jesus said that there will be no marriage between human beings in heaven (Matthew 22:30) but rather unity with God.
  • We will live in God's holy city. Revelation 21 contains detailed descriptions of what that city will be like (streets of gold, gates of pearl, etc.) but I'm not really sure if these are meant to be taken literally or metaphorically. The only reason why I don't think the city thing is also metaphorical is because Jesus talked about the many "rooms" ("mansions" in the New King James translation) that existed in his Father's house (John 14:2). The important thing is that there will be a place for us there.
  • We will live with God.

This last point is incredibly important because, although the Bible never talks about us "going to heaven", it does talk about us "inheriting" or "receiving" eternal life. When we think about eternal life, most of us think about living forever—being immortal and ageless and ... well, bored. But when Jesus talked about eternal life, he doesn't talk about any of that stuff. Instead, he says, "[T]his is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3).

Often we think that we cannot possibly get to know God because he is so great and we are so little. And yet God has made it possible for us to get to know him through his son Jesus. Jesus paved the way for us to approach God, yes, but in Jesus was all the fullness of God (Colossians 1:19). Because he is one of us, we can better relate to him than to a deity whom we cannot see or hear.

But in heaven we shall really know God. We will be able to meet with God face to face, like Moses did on Mount Sinai, and talk to him as one might talk to a friend (Exodus 33:11). We will be able to hang out with God and do stuff with him (what does God like to do for fun?). We will be able to pick his brain and ask him all those niggly questions we've always been wanting to ask. We will be able to learn true wisdom and knowledge from the one who created the universe and sent his son to redeem our fallen race. But most of all we will be able to thank him, praise him, sing to him and give him glory continuously for all he has done for us.

The Bible never talks about us going to heaven but it does talk about us inheriting eternal life. The amazing thing is that we have it right now—we have eternal life now. We have it if we know Christ and God the Father. And knowing we have it puts all our suffering into perspective. We know that we will only suffer for a short while. If we suffer for God's sake, we know it is worth it for what he has in store. A new heaven and a new earth and eternity with God is so much to look forward to.

Karen

Karen's idea of heaven would probably involve watching really girly movies with popcorn and eating Chinese peanuts while reading fantasy novels about young girls who grow up to do cool things. Isn't it good to know that God has better ideas.

The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained ... Genesis 8:2 (ESV)

All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. Isaiah 34:4 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? Isaiah 66:1 (ESV)

And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:23-24 (ESV)

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19 (ESV)

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven ... Hebrews 8:1 (ESV)

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:24 (ESV)

And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." Acts 1:10-11 (ESV)

For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. Matthew 22:30 (ESV)

And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Revelation 21:5 (ESV)

Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation. James 1:18 (ESV)

The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain ..." Isaiah 65:25 (ESV)

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

"Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure"-

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." Revelation 19:6-9 (ESV)

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? John 14:2 (ESV)

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell ... Colossians 1:19 (ESV)

Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. Exodus 33:11 (ESV)

Comments

Hi Karen,

I heard a talk by Don Carson a couple of years ago when he talked about the passage quoted (Rev 21) in reference to the “There will be no more sea”.  He said that sea was (as I dimly recall) an idea of chaos and not a literal “sea” idea.  But don’t quote me!  Just an idea.

George on 03 July, 2002 5:33 PM

Thanks for the insights into what we can know from the Bible about heaven (as opposed to the traditional popular ideas).

As regards to going up to heaven, what do you make of 1 Thess 4:13-18, regarding the coming of the Lord. Jesus will descend, but believers who have died will rise and together will those who are alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the clouds and to be there forever (hmm, eternity living in clouds - might get a bit wet[smiley])

Brendan on 09 August, 2002 12:03 AM

I guess it depends on how you read 1 Thessalonians 4:17: “And thus we shall always be with the Lord”: We “meet the Lord in the air” but I don’t think we stay up in the air since we know later in Revelation that God makes a new heaven and a new earth. Just my 2 cents.

Karen on 12 August, 2002 1:33 PM

Hey Karen,

I think I just read this for the first time (one year after the issue date!). Its good smile

There are going to be so many Christians in heaven. I wonder about the logistics of all us hanging out with God all at the same time. I mean, we’re all going to want to get “up close and personal” if you know what I mean! Oh well, God is God and I guess we’ll find out when we get there.

It feels strange to be thinking about heaven, while I’m on earth. I can imagine it, but at the same time I can’t really. I always think that once we get to heaven, it will seem as if our time on earth was so short and everything we went through was so worth it. Maybe it will be like that feeling I got at Loretta’s weekend away - as if we’d been there for ages (really relaxed and settled) when we’d only been there for a day in reality.

I’m in the middle of preparing for systematic theology studies at church. Your article would have been an example of systematic theology right??

Elsie on 02 September, 2003 11:19 PM

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