Q&A About Heaven - 26 Nov 2017

Frequently Asked Questions About Heaven

I believe that many Christians are pulled in two different directions when we talk about Heaven. In one way they look forward to it. However, in another way they dread it. Surveys show that many evangelical, Bible–believing Christians actually dread the idea of going to Heaven. They say that they might even prefer annihilation to spending an endless eternity sitting on a cloud playing a harp. However, the only way a person could come to such a ridiculous conclusion would be if he/she has bought into the baloney from the world that Heaven will be boring and monotonous—just one long church service with endless preaching and choir concerts. The good news is that nothing could be further from the truth.

            Heaven will be exciting, beautiful, fun, satisfying, restful, stimulating, challenging, and delightful. In 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 Paul says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him, ¹⁰ but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit” [in the Word]. In John 14:2-3 Jesus told His disciples that He was going back to the presence of the Father to prepare a place for us. He said, “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me, that you also may be where I am.” You can be sure that He wasn’t talking about just throwing something together. He doesn’t make junk! That place He’s been preparing for us will be better than anything you’ve ever dreamed.

In this article I want to try and broaden your horizons about this place called Heaven. The Bible speaks of three different heavens. The word is used of three separate domains. First, it refers to the atmosphere around our earth—the sky, and clouds, where the birds fly. This is often referred to as the “terrestrial heaven.” Secondly, heaven sometimes refers to what we call outer space, the realm of the planets and stars, as far out as we can probe. We refer to this as the “telestial heaven.” Thirdly, the word Heaven is used to refer to the dwelling place of God Himself, wherever that might be. This is sometimes called, the “celestial heaven.” It is this last definition that interests us for the moment. You may have noticed that when I use the word with this last meaning I always capitalize it, following an old custom of theologians and Bible teachers. That’s because Heaven is not merely a state of mind or state of being. It is not a concept or a dream. It is a place, just as surely as Boston is a place, or New York City. When I capitalize the word Heaven it reminds me that it is as real as the ground I am standing on right now.

            What is God’s dwelling place like? The Bible itself gives us some clues. The psalmist in Psalm 84 says, “How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord.” God, the Creator of all that is breathtakingly beautiful is not going to live in a dump, you can be sure of that. He is surrounded by beauty and majesty. It is going to knock your socks off when you see it!

I am not going to reteach last Sunday’s sermon, but I need to at least recap some of the events that will lead up to God ushering in the Eternal State. Paul describes in detail what it will be like when Christ comes back to claim His Bride, the Church. That is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. When Christ comes in the clouds to call us home to be with Him, millions of people from all over the world will disappear from this earth in a moment of time. In the last study I tried to outline the events that will follow that event, which we often call the Rapture, or the catching away of the Church. We spoke of the Tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist. We talked about the Return of Christ in power and glory at the end of that 7 years of Tribulation, and the great battle that the Bible calls Armageddon, when Christ will defeat the armies of the Antichrist that will come against Israel to try to destroy her. We looked at what the Bible teaches about the Millennium, the 1,000 years that will follow, when Christ Himself will rule and reign “with a rod of iron” from Jerusalem on the throne of David, as foretold in the Old Testament scriptures.

But eventually we get to the good part, after Christ puts an end to sin and death and the grave. Satan and his minions will be judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire. The day will come when the earth will be cleansed, time will be swallowed up in eternity, and God’s children will be home at last, nevermore to be separated from Him or from one another. 

But I need to stop for a moment and clarify something.  If you died today, where would you go? That’s not a trick question, by the way. If you are a Christian and have received Christ as your Saviour and Lord, then you will go immediately to be with Him. The Bible says, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,” wherever that might be. It would happen in a heartbeat and you would simply awaken in His presence.

On the other hand, if you are not a child of God then upon death you will instantly find yourself in a place the Bible calls Hades (or Sheol, or Gehenna). It is the place where unbelievers are held until the final Great White Throne Judgment described in Revelation 20:11-15. It is sort of like Hell’s waiting room.

My point is that neither of these places is the ultimate dwelling place of either saints or sinners. The day will come as described in Revelation 20:13 when Hades will be emptied out and, after hearing judgment pronounced upon them, those who have rejected Christ will be thrown into Hell, also referred to as the Lake of Fire.

Believers, on the other hand, are also not yet at their final destination.  Upon death they go to be with the Lord, but the Bible makes it clear that the present Heaven is not the final Heaven. God is going to make “a new heaven [starry heaven] and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1) and He will make His abode with men, according to the last chapters of the Book of Revelation. It says that “the New Jerusalem will come down out of Heaven from God.”

God has deliberately left us in the dark about some of the details. Oddly enough, the Bible reveals more about Hell than Heaven. I believe that is because He is so intent on no one going there. The Bible says, “He desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance.” We do know, however, that God is going to do an amazing “do-over” of this planet. Revelation also talks about a heavenly city called the New Jerusalem that apparently will come down and hover over the earth in approximately the place where the old Jerusalem used to be. The New Jerusalem is described in detail in Revelation chapters 21-22. It will be enormous—approximately 1,500 miles cubed (= 1,500 miles X 1,500 X 1,500; cf. Revelation 21:16). The Lord Himself will inhabit it and the people of God, and the angels will go in and out freely (see Revelation 21:24-27, “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

It is massive in size, and breathtaking in beauty! Yet there will be a perfect harmony between this marvelous city and the recreated earth over which it will hover. From the description in God’s Word I have concluded that we will have free and unfettered access to both places. Perhaps we will live in one and play in the other. I don’t know, but it will be incredible!

But don’t just take my word for it. Look it up for yourself in Revelation 21. But just a word of warning—do not think that you are going to understand all this completely. We can read the descriptions in the Word, but we have nothing in our experience to which we can compare these things. In fact, the Bible tells us that we don’t have the ability to take it all in right now. A moment ago I mentioned 1 Corinthians 2:9 where the apostle Paul, quoting Isaiah, writes, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him, ¹⁰ but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.” That tells me that the best things I have ever tasted, the sweetest sounds I have ever heard, the most beautiful things my eyes have witnessed, and the most fantastic things my mind has conceived—all of these fall far short of the reality of what awaits me in Heaven. It is better than anything we can imagine!

Frankly, I probably do not know a lot more about Heaven than you do. The answers I give here are speculative at best, though I hope, in keeping with the Word of God. I want to deal with some of the most commonly asked questions, but keep in mind that my answers are subject to review and revision. But I hope they begin to make you homesick for that place He is preparing for us.

 

Question #1: Will there be animals in Heaven?

I believe there will be, for at least four reasons. First, God made a lot of animals, so He must like them too. Secondly, they give us tremendous pleasure and I cannot imagine a Heaven without them. Thirdly, Revelation speaks of at least four horses in Heaven (Rev. 6), and according to 19:11 Jesus Himself will ride the white one. And fourthly, Eden was full of animals before the Fall, and I believe the New Earth will have them too. But I do not believe that we will eat them.

Question #2: Will we eat and drink in Heaven?

I believe that we will. What would a Marriage Supper be without real food? And think about this—in the Garden, before Adam and Eve sinned, they ate all they wanted, and enjoyed it. The glorified bodies that we will receive when we go home to Heaven will be like Adam’s body before the Fall. I believe that they will be capable of the same things we can do now, only better. We are an earthly people, specially created for a terrestrial existence. I believe that we will eat for pleasure and for fellowship, not out of necessity. But there will be no gluttony and no heartburn J. 

Question #3: Where will we actually live? in the New Jerusalem or upon the new earth?

God went to a lot of trouble to make this physical earth a fit habitation for us. In Revelation 21:1-4 the apostle John writes, “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. ² I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” 

The new heaven and new earth mentioned here refer to the starry heavens, and our own planet with its atmosphere. Through man’s doing they are so messed up that God will have to do an “extreme makeover” on them to get them back to the way they are supposed to be, the way they were in the beginning before sin entered the picture. If you think the world we have now is a beautiful place, just wait until you see what God is going to do next!

Many people have a misconception of what Heaven is truly like. Revelation chapters 21-22 give us a detailed picture of the New Heaven and the New Earth. After the end times, the current heavens and Earth will be done away with and replaced by the new. The eternal dwelling place of believers will be the New Earth and/or the New Jerusalem. This is the “Heaven” on which we will spend eternity. It is the New Earth on which the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city, will reside.

Heaven, made up of the recreated earth and the incredible New Jerusalem will be a physical place in which we will dwell with glorified physical bodies (see 1 Corinthians 15:35-58). The concept that Heaven is “in the clouds” is unbiblical. The concept that we will be “spirits floating around in Heaven” is unbiblical. The Heaven that believers will experience will be a new and perfect planet on which we will dwell. The New Earth will be free from sin, evil, sickness, suffering, and death. I believe it will be very similar to our current Earth, but without the curse of sin.

Question #4: How will we spend our time in Heaven?

Do not make the mistake of thinking that we will spend eternity sitting around playing golden harps. Do not fall for that old malarkey! For one thing, that harp business does not come from the Bible. For another, we will have plenty to keep us busy. Apparently, God is going to provide us with a new earth, similar to Eden. Before the Fall Adam and Eve had work to do, things to accomplish. I believe that we too will have jobs to do. But it will not be drudgery. Work will bring us joy and a sense of real accomplishment. I believe we will learn new things. In no place does the Bible lead us to conclude that we will have immediate knowledge that we did not have before we went to be with Christ. I believe that we will take classes, be instructed by the angels, go to demonstrations and seminars where the Lord Himself will show us how He made the mountains and the seas. We will learn, we will grow, we will be amazed again and again, finding never-ending reasons to praise God and marvel at His greatness.

Heaven will not be boring. It will not be one endless, monotonous church service. It will be life in Technicolor, sound in THX! We will have bodies that do not get sick, do not die, do not sustain injury, do not have our present limitations. We will have minds that are not clouded by sin and pride and stupidity. We will be free to learn, to grow. We will not be plagued by the character faults that so limit our ability to relate well to one another. There will be no sin, and therefore no jealousy, no mistrust, no envy, and no anger. We will not be plagued by sexual perversions that cause us to see people as objects rather than as amazing creatures made in the image of God.

We will make new friendships. We will laugh a lot. We will not grow tired and weak and sickly. We will be able to develop the talents and abilities that God has given us, and will do it all for His glory. Those who wrote good songs on earth will write better songs, and will sing and play them to the praise of God alone. Those who painted well will do it better, and their pictures will not be about human angst and pain, but about beauty, and majesty, and truth. I personally want to learn to fly. I am planning to sign up for a class. And I bet there will be one, with no long waiting list!

Question #5: Can people in Heaven look down and see those of us who are still on the earth?

Hebrews 12:1 starts out, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses...” Some understand the “cloud of witnesses” as being people looking down on us from Heaven, watching everything we do. I do not believe that is the correct interpretation. Hebrews chapter 11 records many people whom God commended for their faith. It is these people who are the “cloud of witnesses.” However, they are “witnesses” not in the sense that they are watching us, but rather in that they have set an example for us and we should be watching them...they are witnesses for Christ, and God, and truth. Hebrews 12:1 continues, “...so let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

The Bible does not specifically say whether people can look down on us who are still on the earth. I would guess that they cannot. Why? One, they would sometimes witness us sinning, which would be distressing for them. Two, they would sometimes see things that would cause them grief, such as murders, car accidents, and natural disasters. Three, I believe that people in Heaven are so occupied with worshipping God that they truly do not care what is happening here on earth. The very fact that they are free from sin, in Heaven, and in God’s presence is enough for them to be happy.

Question #6: Are there different levels of Heaven?

The closest thing Scripture says to there being different levels of Heaven is found in 2 Corinthians 12:2, where Paul writes, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know--God knows.” Some interpret this as indicating that there are three different levels of Heaven. They claim that these supposed levels of Heaven are divided into a level for “super-committed Christians” or Christians who have obtained a high level of spirituality, a level for “ordinary” Christians, and a level for Christians who did not serve God faithfully—A students, C students, and D students, so to speak.

However, Paul is not saying that there are three Heavens, or even three levels of Heaven. Paul was saying that God took him to the “celestial” Heaven, the realm in which God dwells. The concept of different levels of Heaven is foreign to Scripture. There are different levels of reward in Heaven (1 Corinthians 9:4-27; 2 Timothy 2:5), but only one “level” of Heaven.

Question #7: Will there be marriage in Heaven?

The Bible tells us in Matthew 22:30, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in Heaven.” This was Jesus’ answer in response to a question concerning a woman who had been married multiple times in her life—who would she be married to in Heaven? Evidently, there will be no such thing as marriage in Heaven. This does not mean that a husband and wife will no longer know and love each other in Heaven. This also does not mean that a husband and wife could not still have a close relationship in Heaven. What it does seem to indicate, though, is that a husband and wife will no longer be married in Heaven. There is likely no purpose for marriage in Heaven since there is no procreation or loneliness.

Question #8: What will we look like in Heaven?

We are not told exactly what we will look like in the next life, as to what age we will appear to be, nor if we will look thin or fat. But while many believe that we will bear some resemblance to what we look like now (based on the analogy that each seed bears its own type of plant, i.e., a corn seed produces a corn plant, for example; see 1 Corinthians 15:37-38), we do know that in whatever ways our appearance or health has been altered as a result of sin (whether because of overeating or not eating right, hereditary malformations, injuries, aging, etc.), these traits will not be carried over into our appearance or health in the next life. More importantly, the sin nature, inherited from Adam (Romans 5:12) will no longer be with us, for we will be made after the holiness of Christ (1 John 3:2). Because we have this sure hope in Christ in the next life, we are encouraged to purify ourselves now, even as He is pure (1 John 3:3).

Question #9: What age will everyone be in Heaven?

The Bible does not specifically answer this question. Will babies and children who die still be babies or children in Heaven? What about elderly people who die, do they remain elderly in Heaven? First, everyone will be given a resurrected body (1 Corinthians 15:35-49). Of that I am sure. My guess is that infants and children will be resurrected as an infant or child but will be allowed to grow up in Heaven until they reach the "ideal age," whatever that is. However, they also may be "fast-forwarded" to the "ideal age", just as those who die at an old age will be "re-wound" to the ideal age. I do not think there will be any people with elderly bodies in Heaven. But what is the ideal age? Again, I do not know, because this concept is not specifically Biblical. I would guess around 30. Some guess 33 since that is approximately the age Jesus was when He died. 1 John 3:2 declares, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Question #10: Will we have physical bodies in Heaven?

I believe that we will. The key text for this is 1 Corinthians 15:35-50. Verse 49 tells me that we will have a body like Jesus’ resurrected body. And Jesus, after His resurrection, invited His disciples to touch Him and to watch Him eat, demonstrating that He was not merely a spirit (Luke 24:37-43). Rather, I believe that a natural body is that which is fitted for this present life in our present physical universe, whereas the spiritual body we will possess will be that which will best suit us for the eternal existence we were destined for in Christ in our eternal abode. Jesus’ resurrected body could enter locked rooms at will (John 20:19). Thomas, in John 20:27 physically touched the body of Christ following His resurrection. Our earthly body limits us in ways (and/or dimensions) that our spiritual body will not.

We can expect that all believers’ resurrections will be like that of Christ’s. What a wonderful truth! The Bible is not specific, but it seems that we will be able to eat, for example. John, in Revelation 22:2, writes of his vision of the eternal state where he saw “in the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.” This seems to be a reversal of the Genesis 3 punishment where Adam and Eve, and hence all of mankind, were banned from eating from this tree. As for hunger and thirst, it appears that there will not be any.  Isaiah 49:10 says that there will be no hunger or thirst in the Millennial Kingdom. This is speaking of mortal men during that period, not of translated saints, but by extension it can be said that if mortals on earth during Christ’s Kingdom do not hunger, then surely there will be no hunger in Heaven (see also Revelation 7:14-16).

Finally, Job, in Job 19:25, states that he knows for sure that even after he dies, and his skin is long gone, that “…in my FLESH I shall SEE God.”

1 Corinthians 15:43 also describes the transformation from “sown in dishonor” to “raised in glory.” Philippians 3:21 says that Jesus “...will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body...”  I believe that our decaying bodies are described with the word “dishonor” because of they bear the mark of the results of sin. We can all likely picture in our minds the lungs of one who has ruined his health through smoking, or a brain that is no longer able to form complete thoughts because of drug abuse. In the same way, the decaying physical body is the direct result of man’s sinfulness. Had there been no sin, there would be no decay and death (1 Corinthians 15:56). But God, through Christ’s transforming power, will raise up His children in Christ with new glorious bodies, no longer bearing any effects of sin, being completely free from the ravages of sin and possessing the glory of Christ instead.

Question #11: Will we remember our earthly lives when we are in Heaven?

Isaiah 65:17 quotes God as saying, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Some interpret Isaiah 65:17 as saying that we will have no memory of our earthly lives in Heaven. However, one verse earlier, in Isaiah 65:16 the Bible says, “…For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.” It is likely only our “past troubles” that will be forgotten – not all our memories. Our memories will be cleansed, redeemed, healed, and restored – not erased. There is no reason why we could not possess many memories from our earthly lives. The memories that will be cleansed are the ones that involve sin, pain, and sadness. Revelation 21:4 declares, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Question #12: Do we become angels after we die?

Simply, NO. As I read the Bible, angels are beings created by God (cf. Colossians 1:15-17). In this passage Christ is the agent of creation (Colossians 1:12-17). Angels are entirely different from humans. They are God’s special agents to carry out His plan and to minister to followers of Christ (Hebrews 1:13-14).

Humans are created in the image of God to serve and enjoy Him forever. Adam and Eve represented the human race. They, however, yielded to Satan’s temptation, sinned, and thusly needed God’s redemption. Eventually, Christ came – “God with us” – “the God-man” – to do for us what we could not do for ourselves, namely provide us forgiveness and eternal life through His death and bodily resurrection. Those who accept Christ as Saviour, receive Christ’s new life, resurrection life, along with Christ indwelling them spiritually.

Eventually, the physical body of the believer in Christ will die. What happens then? The spirit or personality of the believer goes to be with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8). The believer does not become an angel. It is interesting that both Elijah and Moses were recognizable on the Mount of Transfiguration. Perhaps believers take on a temporary “body” while in the presence of the Lord after death while awaiting the return of Christ.

Question #13: Will there be such a thing as gender in Heaven?

Matthew 22:30 possibly speaks of people after the resurrection not participating in marriage--they become “like the angels.” However, this does not mean people are genderless. The masculine, not neuter, pronoun is used many times to describe angels (and HE was like...HIS appearance was like, etc.). So, there is no real indication that the angels are genderless beings. Nor is there sufficient evidence to conclude that all angels are masculine.  There may be female angels.  We simply don’t know. There is nothing in the Bible that indicates people will lose or change sex in eternity. Remember that gender is not bad—in fact, it is a good thing. God created Eve because Adam needed someone to complement him. Marriage (impossible without different genders), the model relationship between a man and a woman, is a picture of Christ and the Church. The Church is the Bride and Christ is the Groom (Ephesians 5:25-32).

Although it is not explicitly taught in the Bible, it seems most likely that people retain their gender after death. Our genders are a part of who we are. Gender is more than physical--it is part of our very nature and part of the way we relate to God. Therefore, it seems that gender will be perfected and glorified in eternity. I think it is also worthy to mention that Jesus retained his gender after His death and resurrection.

Question #14: Will we be able to see and know our friends and family members in Heaven?

Many people state that the first thing they want to do when they arrive in Heaven is see all their friends and loved ones who had passed on before them. I do not think this will be the case. Yes, I do believe we will be able to see, know, and spend time with our friends and family members in Heaven. In eternity, there will be plenty of time for that. However, I do not think that it will be our first, nor primary focus in Heaven. I believe we will be far more occupied with worshipping the Lord and enjoying the wonders of Heaven than with visiting in the neighborhood, though that will be wonderful too.

What does the Bible say about whether we will be able to see and know our loved ones in Heaven? The Bible declares that when we arrive in Heaven, we will “be like Him [Jesus]; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). Just as our earthly bodies were of the first man, Adam, so will our resurrection bodies be just like Christ’s (1 Corinthians 15:47). “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:49,53). Many people saw and recognized Jesus after His resurrection. So, if Jesus was recognizable in His resurrection body, I see no reason to believe that ours will be any different.