Many of these concepts are fleshed out imaginatively in my novels Deadline (Multnomah, 1994), Dominion (Multnomah, 1996), Edge of Eternity (WaterBrook, 1998), Lord Foulgrin's Letters (Multnomah, 2000), The Ishbane Conspiracy (Multnomah, 2001), and Safely Home (Tyndale House, 2001). Some are developed in a different form in my nonfiction book In Light of Eternity: Perspectives on Heaven (WaterBrook, 1999). All are addressed in my book Heaven: Resurrected Living on a Resurrected Earth (Tyndale, 2004).
Questions and Answers Related to Near-Death Experiences
Why don't you say much about what our lives will be like in the Intermediate Heaven in your book Heaven?
The reason I don't address activities about the intermediate state is because there are not a lot of details given to it. We do know there will be conversations, musical instruments, gatherings, worship, etc. If someone understands the greatness of God they realize He's the source of all knowledge and all adventure. Therefore to be immediately in His presence, and see Him for who he is, is the very opposite of boring. This is just as true in the intermediate state as on the New Earth. Even though those in the intermediate state are awaiting resurrection they are still in the presence of God.
To read more about the Intermediate Heaven, visit Immediate Heaven vs. Eternal Heaven
If the kingdom of Heaven is the New Heaven on Earth what are these people in Revelation 22 doing outside the gates of the New Jerusalem? Are we to believe that there will be some people in Heaven but not able to enter the city because of practices they participated in after their salvation?
In Revelation 22, those who are outside the city mean those who are outside the city in Hell. It doesn't mean they are sitting peering into the gates of the city, and somehow real close to it. It doesn't say immediately outside. It just means they have no access to it.
However, at the end of Rev. 21 it speaks of how the gates will not be shut because people will enter. The kings of the nations of the earth will access it. There will be saved people on the New Earth who are outside the city gates and will be entering the city gates and that is why they are opened. It is saved people who have come into the gates of the New Jerusalem and will depart from and go through the gates to the New Earth.
So Revelation 22 and Revelation 21 are speaking of the gates in two different ways. They are not contradictory. Revelation 22 has a more symbolic meaning. It's speaking of the saved, those who are in the New Jerusalem (and/or have access to the New Jerusalem) where the throne of Christ is.
How probable is it that right now in the intermediary Heaven is the new city of Jerusalem?
I believe the New Jerusalem is right now in the present (intermediary) Heaven because of my understanding of Revelation 10. In fact, in one of my novels I have the New Jerusalem in the distance in the intermediary heaven, based on this verse.
What Are the New Jerusalem's Dimensions?
The city's exact dimensions are measured by an angel and reported to be 12,000 stadia, the equivalent of 1,400 miles or 2,200 kilometers, in length, width, and height (Revelation 21:15-16). Even though these proportions may have symbolic importance, this doesn't mean they can't be literal. In fact, Scripture emphasizes that the dimensions are given in "man's measurement" (Revelation 21:17). If the city really has these dimensions (and there's no reason it couldn't), what more could we expect God to say to convince us? (I deal with whether the dimensions are literal in appendix B, "Literal and Figurative Interpretation.")
A metropolis of this size in the middle of the United States would stretch from Canada to Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains to the California border. The New Jerusalem is all the square footage anyone could ask for.
Even more astounding is the city's 1,400-mile height. Some people suggest this is the reach of the city's tallest towers and spires, rising above buildings of lesser height. If so, they argue that it's more like a pyramid than a cube.
We don't need to worry that Heaven will be crowded. The ground level of the city will be nearly two million square miles. This is forty times bigger than England and fifteen thousand times bigger than London. It's ten times as big as France or Germany and far larger than India. But remember, that's just the ground level.
Given the dimensions of a 1,400-mile cube, if the city consisted of different levels (we don't know this), and if each story were a generous twelve feet high, the city could have over 600,000 stories. If they were on different levels, billions of people could occupy the New Jerusalem, with many square miles per person.
If these numbers are figurative, not literal (and that is certainly possible), surely they are still meant to convey that the home of God's people will be extremely large and roomy.
The cube shape of the New Jerusalem reminds us of the cube shape of the Most Holy Place in the Temple (1 Kings 6:20), the three dimensions perhaps suggestive of the three persons of the Trinity. God will live in the city, and it is his presence that will be its greatest feature.
Are we really supposed to think about heaven?
When Jesus said to us, "I am going there [to heaven] to prepare a place for you...I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:2-3), he spoke as a groom to his bride-to-be. These are words of love and romance. How would any bride who loves her husband-to-be respond to them? She'd be thrilled. Not a single day would go by, not a single hour, in which the bride wouldn't anticipate joining her beloved in that place he prepared for her to live with him forever.
Like a bride's dreams of sharing a home with her groom, our love for heaven should be overflowing and contagious, just like our love for God. Our passion for God and our passion for heaven should be inseparable. The more I learn about God, the more excited I get about heaven. The more I learn about heaven, the more excited I get about God.
What about the expression "he's so heavenly-minded he's of no earthly good"? Impossible—those whose minds are truly on heaven are of the utmost earthly and heavenly good. Scripture commands us "set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God; set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:1-2). If my mind isn't on heaven, I have nothing to offer on earth.
Is heaven a real place, a tangible reality?
Heaven is an actual place, in an actual location, designed by God with people in mind.
Beings have traveled to and from heaven, including Christ (John 1:32; 6:33; Acts 1:2), angels (Matt. 28:2; Rev. 10:1), and humans (2 Cor. 12:2; Rev. 11:12).
Jesus, speaking as the bridegroom to his beloved bride, said to us, "I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am you may be also." Heaven is that place.
The New Earth, where the heavenly city will be brought down to and relocated, will be a vastly improved form of the present earth and will have much in common with it—light, water, trees and fruit (Rev. 21:1-2), people and animals (Rev. 6:2-8; 19:11). The New Heavens and Earth is actually the eternal state, whereas the heaven we go to when we die is the intermediate state. So it is the New Heavens and Earth where we will live forever as resurrected children of God. It's important to remember this, since people often think as if the heaven we go when we die is exactly where we'll live forever. It isn't. The return of Christ and the resurrection of believers is followed by the resurrection of the heavens and earth. That's where we will live forever, as physical-spiritual beings in a physical-spiritual universe.
As a new car is a better version of an old car—but with the same essential components that make a car a car (four wheels, engine, transmission, steering wheel, etc.)—the New Earth will be a far better version of the old earth, with the same essential components. Heaven will exist in the realm of the New Earth and will therefore be very earthly in its properties. Since it is not only the dwelling place of God, but is fashioned by God to be populated by people, the present heaven is also people-friendly, designed with their God-given desires in mind. (No child can get excited about a heaven that isn't physical.)
The New Earth
What we usually think of when we hear "Heaven" is the intermediate state. That's where we go when we die. It's the place we'll live until the resurrection. But it's not the place we'll live forever. That place, where God will come down to dwell with his people, is called The New Earth (Revelation 21:1-3).
Our minds rarely go to the eternal state, where we'll spend eternity...where we'll live forever after the culminating event of human history that's linked to Christ's return—our resurrection. We'll reign over a resurrected universe, centered on a resurrected earth, with its capital city the resurrected Jerusalem. Carefully read Revelation 21-22 and many other passages, and you'll discover life on a new earth described in familiar ways. We will eat, drink, work, play, worship, discover, invent, travel, etc. The references to "nations" on the new earth suggests civilizations will be resurrected, including human cultures with distinctive ethnic traits (Revelation 21:24, 26). There will be resurrected nature and human culture. Together these elements combine to distinguish the eternal state, where God will come down and live with his people. So the word "Heaven" can be properly used of both the intermediate state, where we go when we die, and the future state, where we'll live as resurrected people. That's why I use it to refer to both in this handout.
Books on Heaven often fail to distinguish between the intermediate and eternal states, largely because the same word "Heaven" is used of both. The same word can be used of God's different dwelling places, but we need to keep clear in our minds the major differences between them. In my book on heaven, when referring to the present Heaven, where believers go when we die, I often use the term "intermediate Heaven" or "third Heaven," which Paul used of the place he'd been taken (2 Corinthians 12:2). I refer to the New Earth as just that, or I call it the eternal or "ultimate" Heaven.
The New Earth as a physical place isn't an invention of short-sighted human imagination. Rather, it's the invention of a transcendent God, who chose not only to make physical man to live on a physical earth, but chose to become a man on that same earth, that he might redeem man and earth, to enjoy forever the company of men in a world made for them—a world called The New Earth (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22). It is that world that we are to be looking forward to (2 Peter 3:14).
Earth's not our home...or is it?
The Bible teaches that our eternal home will be a place we've already been—earth.
It will be a New Earth, a transformed earth. But just as I will be able to remember my friend Steve, who will be a resurrected Steve, so I will be able to remember my home world earth, which will be a resurrected earth. So, as Steve will be a person I already know, earth will be a place I already know. Then—and only then—does it make sense to think of Heaven as my true home, realizing that Heaven will ultimately be on the New Earth. Human beings were made from earth, have always lived on earth, are geared to find pleasure in the things of earth. If we think of Heaven only as the realm where angels live, there's a real problem. We were not made from the angelic realm, nor for it. We haven't lived in that realm. It's unfamiliar and undesirable to us. It doesn't resonate as "home." There's one place that qualifies as the only home we've ever known—earth. It's the home God made for us. We have never known a life or world without sin, suffering and death. We yearn for such a life and such a world. When we see a waterfall, a bed of flowers, animals in the wild, the joy in our pet's eyes when he sees us...we sense this world is—or at least should be—our home. God tells us that world all nature longs for will be ours to live in, not just for a thousand years but forever (Romans 8:19-23).
When we see the devastation of a flood, a bed of flowers destroyed by insects and shriveled in the heat or trampled underfoot, the look of confused agony in a suffering animal's eyes...we sense this world is not our home. When we see children suffering and dying, AIDS and other diseases wreaking havoc, murderers and terrorists, families broken and lives in ruin...we know this world isn't our home.
What's made "new" is the place that was old and twisted. We'll be going back to the home we always knew, the home buried beneath the scars and sickness of sin and curse, but which we sometimes caught heart-stirring glimpses of. So which is it? It's both. This world under the curse is not my home. The world as it was, and as it yet will be, is my home.
Some say "we can't imagine what the New Earth would be like." I disagree. When God speaks of us having "new bodies" do we shrug our shoulders and say, "I can't imagine what a new body would be"? Of course we can imagine it. We know what a body is—we've had one all our lives! Look in the mirror—you can see what a body is, and you can remember when it looked better. You can imagine a new body.
Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us, and he would take us there to live with him forever (John 14:2-3) Doesn't that mean heaven is in a different place than earth? Yes and no. It is different than the earth under the curse—but Revelation 21 tells us it's the New Earth, delivered from the curse. That's where the New Jerusalem will be taken down from Heaven to reside. Only then will we be truly home—in a sense, for the first time, but in another sense, home again. Our home will seem new and fresh and we'll feel like we're there for the first time, yet it will be familiar because our home will be a much-improved version of the world we grew up on.
The New Earth will be Heaven, for Heaven is God's dwelling place, and God will dwell with us on the New Earth. Heaven will include earth, and be centered on earth.
Will Heaven really change locations?
The current Heaven is in the angelic realm, distinctly separate from earth (though likely having more earthly qualities than we often assume).
But the future Heaven will be in the human realm, on earth. The dwelling place of God will be the dwelling place of man. That dwelling place will not be where believers go now when we die. It will be in a resurrected universe. Heaven, God's dwelling place, will be relocated to the new earth (Rev. 21:1-3).
The New Jerusalem which was in Heaven then comes down out of Heaven from God. Where does it go to? The New Earth. Then "the dwelling of God"—which means Heaven—will be with men in their realm: earth.
"Heaven" can refer to the place we go at death, the intermediate state where we live until the resurrection. But the ultimate "Heaven" is the one spoken of in Revelation 21-22. It's the new cosmos where we'll live forever, after our resurrections. Since Heaven is God's dwelling place, when God chooses to relocate on the New Earth, he will bring Heaven with him, expanding it to include the new universe.
Several books on heaven state that the New Jerusalem remains "suspended over the earth." But the text doesn't say this. John watches it "coming down" from Heaven. There's no reason to believe it stops before reaching the New Earth. The assumption that it remains suspended over the earth arises from a misguided instinct that Heaven and earth must be kept separate. But Scripture demonstrates that in fact they will be joined. God's eternal purpose is "to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:10).
Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology says, "Heaven is the place where God most fully makes known his presence to bless." He then asks an important question: "Can that place change? Yes. It has to a certain extent and it will dramatically. Because heaven's location will be shifted to the new universe, centered in the new Jerusalem, located on the new earth."
Shouldn't we long for a disembodied unearthly existence?
We do not long for non-body, non-earth and non-culture, but for new body, New Earth, and new culture—without sin and death. This is all part of longing for the resurrection, which is at the heart and soul of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15).
We will know then that what we always longed for was not to live away from earth, but to live on earth as God created it, as he meant it to be—an earth without sin, suffering and death, an earth with the full beauty we now only catch glimpses and foretastes of.
By calling the New Earth earth, God emphatically tells us it will be earthly. Otherwise, why call it earth? The Bible speaks of the new Heavens and the New Earth—not a non-Heavens and non-earth. "New" doesn't mean different in essence, but a better version of the old.
If we think of Heaven as a place where disembodied spirits float around—which is never depicted in the Bible—we can't get excited about it. It's not a non-earth we long for—it's a New Earth.
You know what earth is like, and therefore you know much or most of what the New Earth will be like. If you can't imagine this earth without rivers, mountains, trees and flower, then why try to imagine the New Earth without them? You wouldn't expect a non-earth to have those things, but God promises us a New Earth. If the word "earth" means anything, then the New Earth has what makes earth earth—including atmosphere, mountains, waters, trees, people, houses...even cities, buildings and streets. (These are specifically mentioned in Revelation 21-22).
What will the ultimate Heaven be like?
Heaven is both a country (Luke 19:12; Heb. 11:14-16) and a city (Heb. 11:16; 12:22; 13:14; Rev. 21:12). A country is typically a large territory of various geographies, with citizens of diverse cultures and vocations, sometimes even languages, under one government that provides a common identity. A city is a place of many residences in near proximity. A city's inhabitants are subject to the common government. Cities usually have varied and bustling activity, community events, education, arts, and visitors.
Heaven is and will be a place of great beauty, both natural created beauty and architecture, including streets of gold and buildings of pearls and emeralds and precious stones (Rev. 21:19-21). Heaven will have the advantages we associate with earthly cities, without the disadvantages (e.g. crime, pollution, corruption).
Heaven's gates will always be open. People will travel in and out, some bringing treasures into the city (Rev. 21:24-25; 22:14). Travel outside the city shows that the city is not the whole of heaven, but merely its center. The great city is the capital of an endless empire, called a heavenly country (Heb. 11:16). There is a universe outside the city's gates, to which its citizens have free access. Cities are characterized by visitors coming in and occupants going out for various reasons.
What will our relationship with God be like in Heaven?
Ancient theologians spoke of the "Beatific Vision," which meant "a happy-making sight." The sight they spoke of was God Himself. Revelation 22:4 says of God's servants in the new heavens and new earth, "they shall see his face." This would be a shocking statement to anyone who understood the Old Testament emphasis on the transcendence and inapproachability of God. When he asked to see God's glory, God said to Moses, "no one may see me and live." The most God could do was to show Moses his "back," because "my face must not be seen" (Exodus 33:18-23).
The God who lives in unapproachable light became approachable in the person of Jesus (John 1:14). The God who is transcendent became immanent. People could look at Jesus and see God. But Revelation 22:4 appears to speak of actually seeing the face of God the Father.
To see God's face, we must be fully righteous in Christ, untainted by sin, in the glory of our resurrected beings. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8).
David said, "One thing I have asked from the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple" (Psalm 27:4). The new heavens and earth will provide the eternal answer to David's prayer. There will be no temple there, because we will always have direct access to God.
The barriers between man and God will be gone forever. To look into God's eyes will be to see what we've always longed to see...the person we were made for. And we will see him in the place we were made for. Seeing Him will be seeing everything else for the first time. And we will discover that to see God will be our greatest joy, and life itself. Every other joy of heaven will be a derivative joy, flowing from our central relationship with God.
To see God will be to know him, and then to see ourselves, and all other people and events, through God's eyes. We will spend eternity worshipping, exploring and serving our great God, seeing his breathtaking beauty in everything and everyone around us.
Augustine said in The City of God, "It may very well be, and it is thoroughly credible, that we shall in the future world see the material forms of the new heavens and the new earth in such a way that we shall most distinctly recognize God everywhere present and governing all things, material as well as spiritual."
Will we ever tire of praising God? Augustine said, "We shall not be wearied by the praise of God, nor by his love. If your love should fall, so would your praise; but if love will be everlasting, because the beauty of God will be unclying, inexhaustible, fear not that you will lack power ever to praise him, whom you will have power ever to love."
What will we do in heaven?
Rest from our labors on earth (Rev. 14:13). We will experience relaxation and leisure, freedom from the frustrations of tedious and burdensome labor.
Eat and drink and celebrate at the table with Christ and the redeemed saints from earth, communicating and fellowshipping and storytelling and rejoicing with them (Matt. 8:11; Luke 22:29, 30; Rev. 19:9). Communication, dialogue, corporate worship, and other relationship-building interactions all take place in heaven (Rev. 1-22). Saints and angels and God himself will interact together, building and deepening their relationships. "On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines" (Isaiah 25:6). How good will that meal be?
Worship God (Rev. 5:13-14; 7:9-12). Multitudes of God's people, of every nation, tribe, people, and language, will gather to sing praise to God for his greatness, wisdom, power, grace, and mighty work of redemption.
Will heaven be an eternal naptime or vacation? Or will we have activities and responsibilities?
The idea of endlessly floating on clouds doing nothing but strumming a harp is nowhere in Scripture.
In heaven we will serve God (Rev. 7:15). Service is not passive, but active. It involves fulfilling responsibilities, carrying out duties, expending effort, and having energy and creativity to do work well. (This will be work with lasting accomplishment, unhindered by decay and fatigue, and enhanced by unlimited resources.) Heaven's labor will be refreshing, productive and unthwarted, without futility and frustration. It will be like the work Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15), before sin brought the curse on the ground, with its thorns (Gen. 3:17-19). Our work will be more purposeful in light of Christ's redemptive work and the glory it will have brought.
In heaven we will exercise leadership and authority, making important decisions. We will reign with Christ in heaven (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 3:21; 22:5). This implies specific delegated responsibilities for those under our leadership (Luke 19:17-19). We judge or rule over the world and we judge and rule over angels (1 Cor. 6:2-3).
Who will be in heaven?
While there may be others we don't know of who God has created or will create in the future, we know the following will be in heaven: God himself (Deut. 26:15; Matt. 6:9); all God's people—covered by Christ's blood—from earth who have died (Rev. 4-5; Luke 16:22, 25; Heb. 12:23); righteous angels (Luke 2:15; Matt. 28:2; Heb. 12:22).
Will there be animals in heaven?
Elijah was taken up to heaven in a chariot pulled by horses (2 Kings 2:11). There are horses in heaven (Revelation 6:2-8). In fact, there are enough horses for the vast armies of heaven to ride (Revelation 19:11). There are also invisible horses in angelic armies currently dispatched to earth (2 Kings 6:17). It appears the spiritual realm has physical shapes and properties, though normally we can't see it.
Other animals aren't mentioned in the Revelation passages, presumably because they don't play a role in Christ's second coming (an army bringing deliverance rides horses, not Dalmatians or hedgehogs). But isn't it likely that since there are innumerable horses in heaven there are all kinds of other animals too? Why wouldn't there be? Why would we expect horses to be the only animals? If there were no other animals, there wouldn't be horses.
In Isaiah 65:17 God refers to creating a New Heaven and a New Earth. In subsequent verses the text seems to move back and forth from the millennial kingdom to the New Earth. God says he will have animals—wolf, lamb and lion among them—in the millennium, the New Earth or both (Isaiah 65:25). Since the passage begins and ends by taking about the new earth, I believe the proper understanding is that animals will be there as well as in the millennium. Since a central aspect of man's dominion in Genesis 1-2 involved naming and governing over animals, and his dominion over the earth will be restored in eternity, it seems clear that animals will be there for him to govern.
Some also argue for animals being in heaven based on Ecclesiastes 3:19-21, which says "Man's fate is like that of the animals...all go to the same place." However, in the larger context of Ecclesiastes Solomon is talking about the outward appearance of death. Men and animals both die and their bodies go to the grave. We can't see anything different on the outside. But Scripture tells us elsewhere that man has an eternal soul. It tells us he goes one of two places at death (Hebrews 9:27-28). Animals are not said to have eternal souls or to relocate when they die. The presumption is that at death they cease to exist.
However, this doesn't mean people's beloved animals won't be in heaven. I once read Billy Graham's response to a little girl's question, "Will my dog who died this week be in heaven?" Graham replied, "If it would make you any happier, then yes, he will be." Animals aren't nearly as valuable as people, but God made them for people and has touched many people's lives through them. It would be simple for Him to recreate a pet, with its specific "personality" in heaven. If doing so would bring his children greater pleasure than the company of new animals he'll create, I don't doubt he would.
Romans 8:18-22 says that the whole creation was subject to suffering and futility because of human sin. The creation groans in longing for the liberation that will come to humans, and thereby to all creation itself. Creation is under man's dominion and will share the rewards of his redemption just as it shared the punishment for his sin. Animals are a central part of that creation, next to man himself the most significant part. After all, besides his wife, Adam was called upon to give names only to one other part of the creation—the animals (Genesis 2:19-20). He worked the garden, but he wasn't invited to name the vegetation. Clearly, the animals had certain qualities that set them above other creation. They were to be special to man, and his naming them makes his connection with them personal.
If the New Earth is all the best of the old earth and more, then we should expect it to contain animals. If animals weren't part of the New Earth, this would seem an obvious oversight. Eden was ruined through sin and will be restored through Christ's reign of righteousness. All that was part of Eden, and then made wrong through the sin of the first Adam, we would expect to be part of the New Earth, made right through the virtue of the Second Adam.
Would God take away from us in heaven what he gave, for delight and companionship and help, to Adam and Eve in Eden? Would he revoke his earlier decision to put animals with man, and under man's care? If he remakes the New Earth with new men (who look very much like the old men, only perfect, without violence), wouldn't we expect him also to make new animals (who will presumably look like the old animals, only perfect, without violence)?
Do we go to heaven (or hell) immediately or do we sleep until the resurrection?
At death, the human spirit leaves the body (Ec. 12:7) and goes either to heaven or hell (Luke 16:22ff). As demonstrated by the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:22ff.)—and affirmed by Christ when he tells the thief he will be with him in paradise "today" (Luke 23:43)—there is immediate conscious existence after death, both in heaven and hell (2 Cor. 5:8; Rev. 6:9-11; Phil. 1:23).
There is no "soul sleep" or period of unawareness preceding heaven. Some Old Testament passages do not reflect the fullness of New Testament revelation concerning immediate consciousness upon death. "Fallen asleep" in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and similar passages is a euphemism for death, describing the outward appearance as seen from this side, not the other. The spirit's departure from the body ends our existence on earth. This "sleep" refers to the outward inanimate appearance of the body that is buried in the earth. The physical part of us "sleeps" until the resurrection, while the spiritual part of us relocates to a conscious existence in heaven (Dan. 12:2-3; 2 Cor. 5:8; Rev. 6:9-11). Every reference in Revelation to human beings talking and worshipping in heaven prior to the resurrection (Rev. 20) refutes the notion of soul sleep.
Will we (or loved ones) become angels when we go to heaven?
No. Angels and human beings are entirely different creatures (Heb. 2:14). Jesus said after our resurrections we will be like angels in that we will not be married (Matt. 22:30). But this was a specific limited comparison. It wasn't an indication we'll become angels, or a statement that we will in general be angel-like. Angels will always be angels and people will always be people. Humans are eternally human. Death involves relocation to a different place and transformation into better humans (Rom. 8:23), not into nonhumans.
In heaven, will we be disembodied spirits floating in the clouds, or will we have bodies?
Eventually all believers will have resurrection bodies (Job 19:25-27; Is. 26:19; Dan. 12:2-3; 1 Cor. 15:12-58; Phil. 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6). Jesus had a physical resurrection body which allowed him to walk, talk, and eat (John 21:1-14). We're told his body is the prototype, and our bodies will be like his (1 Cor. 15:20, 48-49; Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2). After his resurrection, Jesus invited the disciples to touch him and said, "A ghost [disembodied spirit] does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24:37-39).
Jesus wasn't immediately recognized a few times (John 20:15; Luke 24:15-16), suggesting some change in appearance. After being with him awhile, his disciples suddenly recognized him (John 20:16; Luke 24:31). This suggests that despite any outer appearance change, the inner identity of the person may shine through, especially to eyes enlightened by heaven.
We will have real "spiritual" bodies with physical substance (1 Cor. 15:42-44). We will be capable of talking, walking, touching, and being touched (Luke 24; John 20-21). Christ's resurrection body had an ability to appear suddenly, apparently coming through a locked door to the apostles (John 20:19), and "disappearing" from the sight of the two at Emmaus (Luke 24:31). If our resurrection bodies have the same properties as his, this suggests an ability to transcend the present laws of physics and/or to move and travel in some way we are now incapable of.
Christ ate food in his resurrection body, and he and we will eat and drink in heaven (Luke 14:15; 22:18). Yet there will be no hunger or thirst in heaven (Rev. 7:16). It would seem the resurrection body does not need what is now essential—food, drink, oxygen, covering, etc.—but that it is nonetheless fully capable of enjoying some or all of these things (and no doubt many more).
After death but prior to the resurrection, what will we be like?
Between our entrance to heaven and our resurrection, we may have temporary pre-resurrection bodies. This is strongly suggested by the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19ff.), as well as passages showing pre-resurrected people doing physical things, such as wearing robes (Rev. 6:11). Unlike God and the angels, who are in essence spirits though capable of inhabiting bodies (John 4:24; Heb. 1:14), man is by nature both spiritual and physical (Gen. 2:7). Hence, between our earthly life and our resurrection, a temporary body would allow us to remain fully human while awaiting the resurrection. (If true, this in no way minimizes the ultimate necessity or critical importance of the resurrection stressed in 1 Corinthians 15.)
What will our arrival in heaven be like?
At their deaths, believers may be carried by angels to heaven, as Lazarus was (Luke 16:22). These angels could include one or more who have served and protected us while we were on earth (Heb. 1:14). Some angels are specifically assigned to children and likely accompany them to heaven (Matt. 18:10).
We will meet our Lord face to face (Ps. 17:15; 1 John 3:2; Rev. 22:4). Those who have served him faithfully will hear him say, "Well done" (Mt. 25:21; Luke 19:17). Eventually he will wipe away the tears from all of our eyes (Rev. 21:4).
Some believers will receive a "rich welcome" when they enter heaven (2 Pet. 1:11). It seems likely those who on earth have impacted or been impacted by the arriving believer (perhaps including family members), and who have gone to heaven before him, may participate in the welcoming celebration.
In what sense will believers be judged in heaven?
All believers will be judged in heaven. All righteous acts—many of which will have been disregarded and some punished on earth—will be finally rewarded. All believers will stand before the "Bema seat," the judgment seat of Christ. The result of this judgment will be the gain or loss of eternal rewards (1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:9,10; Rom. 14:10-12). These are sometimes depicted as crowns (James 1:12; Rev. 2:10; 1 Cor. 9:24-25; 1 Pet. 5:1-4; 2 Tim. 4:6-8; 1 Thess. 2:19). These represent positions of leadership and service for Christ in his kingdom (Matthew 25:21; Luke 19:17; Rev. 20:6).
The Bible treats this judgment of believers with great sobriety. It's not a meaningless formality, but a monumental event in which things of eternal consequence are instituted. It has a profoundly positive aspect of reward for earthly service, as well as the sobering aspect of loss of reward for unfaithful service. Jesus says to Christians, "I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds" (Rev. 2:23). He said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward" (Mark 9:41).
There's a "proper time" for the harvest, a time that normally follows our life on earth—"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). The Christian's works done for God's glory will have eternal significance—of those who die in Christ, God says "their deeds will follow them" (Rev. 14:13). Our rewards in heaven will link us eternally to our service for Christ on earth. There is a change in location, but a continuity between our lives here and there.
Heaven marks the beginning of eternal adventure, but the end of earth's window of opportunity. One moment after we die, we will know exactly how we should have lived. But there will be no more second chances. As there will be no opportunity for the unbeliever to go back to earth and live his life again and this time to put faith in Christ, so there will be no opportunity for the believer to go back and relive his life, this time for Christ. "Only one life twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last."
Will we know everything in heaven?
In heaven, we'll see clearly (1 Cor. 13:12), but won't know everything. If we knew everything, we'd be God. To see clearly, with far greater understanding, is one thing, to see omnisciently is another. God alone is Creator, we are mere creatures. Only God is omniscient; we are and always will be finite. The popular notion "we'll know everything in heaven" is therefore clearly wrong. When we go to heaven we become glorified humans, we don't become God. The angels in heaven don't know everything (Mark 13:32). Neither will we.
Will we continue to change, grow, and learn once we get to heaven?
In keeping with our finite natures, we'll experience process in heaven. We will continually learn more of God—Ephesians 2:6-7 says God puts us in the heavenly realms "in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace." This means God will be revealing himself to us throughout eternity. As angels, also finite, strive to grow in their understanding—1 Peter 1:12 speaks of things into which angels long to look—so presumably will we. As we learn more of God, we will learn more of other people, angels, and the wonders of God's creation. The sense of wonder among heaven's inhabitants shows heaven not to be stagnant, but fresh and stimulating, suggesting an ever-deepening appreciation of God's greatness (Rev. 4-5). In heaven we'll always be learning and discovering.
Will time no longer exist in heaven?
Whether or not heaven operates outside the scope of earth's time sequence, clearly the inhabitants of heaven track with events happening in time (Rev. 2-3). It is a hymn, not the Bible, which says "and time shall be no more." Revelation 8:1 speaks of "silence in heaven for about half an hour." Even the presence of music in heaven implies some sort of time duration, since meter, tempo and rests, which are intrinsic to music, are all time-related. (What is a half note or a quarter note without time?)
2 Peter 3:8 says, "With the Lord [it does not say "with believers in heaven"] a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." This is rooted in the fact of God's infinity—He exists outside of time and space, but there is no indication his creatures do.
Whether there is time in heaven or not, heaven clearly enters into the sequences on earth, right down to inhabitants rejoicing over conversions on earth (Luke 15:7) and martyrs looking for and anticipating judgments on earth (Rev. 6:9-11). The book of Revelation shows a continuous interaction of heaven with sequential events happening on earth. (This contradicts the notion that those in heaven are disconnected from or disinterested in what happens on earth.)
Once in heaven, will people know and recognize those they knew on earth?
In heaven, both in the intermediate state and on the New Earth, we will know each other, including those we knew on earth. Here's some evidence:
1. Heaven will not reduce our mental capacities, but sharpen them (1 Cor. 13:12). We will not be dumber in heaven, but smarter. Scripture gives no indication of a "memory wipe" that will cause us not to recognize our loved ones and others we've known. If we wouldn't know our loved ones, the consolation of afterlife reunion in 1 Thes. 4:14-18 would be nonexistent.
2. After his resurrection, Jesus was not recognized at first on a few occasions (John 20:15; Luke 24:15-16), suggesting some change in appearance. After being with him awhile, his disciples suddenly recognized him (John 20:16; Luke 24:31). This suggests that despite any outer appearance change, the inner identity of the person may shine through, especially to eyes enlightened by heaven.
3. In Matt.17:1-4, at the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah were recognized by the disciples, even though they weren't told who they were, and they couldn't have previously known what they looked like. This may suggest we could recognize instantly people we know of but have not previously met, perhaps as a result of individual personality emanating through their physical appearance.
4. Even apart from the direct indications of Scripture cited above and below, it would logically follow that we would know our loved ones in heaven. We will know some we didn't know on earth—but surely we will still know all those we did! We don't lose knowledge in heaven—we gain it! The nature of love itself is abiding in a way that transcends death (1 Cor. 13:13). While we will no doubt lose interest in and choose not to recall many things that attracted us on earth, the shared experience of loving relationships forges a camaraderie parallel to that of soldiers who have served together in the trenches, and who never forget what they experienced together in that foreign land called earth.
In heaven, will we have our own places to live?
Based on the Scriptural evidence I see, I believe the answer is "yes."
Jesus described heaven as having many rooms or dwellings (John 14:2-3). Like earthly cities or countries, heaven includes individual dwelling places: the plural "rooms", not just the singular "place." Heaven contains a permanent inheritance, an unperishable estate specifically reserved for us (1 Pet. 1:4).
When we are in heaven, we will welcome others into our dwelling places. Jesus speaks of the shrewd servant's desire to use earthly resources so that "people will welcome me into their houses." Then Jesus tells his followers to use "worldly wealth" (earthly resources) to "gain friends" (by making a difference in their lives on earth), "so that when it is gone [when life on earth is over] you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings" (Luke 16:9). Our "friends" in heaven appear to be those who we've touched in a significant way on earth. They will apparently have their own "eternal dwellings." Luke 16:9 suggests these eternal dwelling places of friends could be places to fellowship and stay in as we move about the heavenly kingdom.
And because we will have unlimited time and opportunity, there's no reason to believe we won't eventually meet everyone in Heaven, including those we knew of and read about but didn't personally know, such as Billy Graham or C. S. Lewis.
Will there be privacy in heaven?
The existence of our own individual dwelling places implies privacy. We are also told Christ will give new names to the righteous, known only between him and them (Rev. 2:17). This is a secret, a private knowledge shared only between the individual and God. While there will be no sin to confess, presumably we will still want to have a private audience with God. There is every reason to believe we will still have the ability to go directly to our Lord, to talk to him not just in corporate worship but in private prayer.
Will there be private ownership in heaven?
One Christian author categorically states "people won't own anything in heaven." He believes this will assure our equality.
But what about the different "dwelling places" believers will have in heaven (Luke 16:4,9)? What about the treasures Christ commanded us to store up "for ourselves" in heaven (Matt. 6:20)? What about the different crowns and rewards God will hand out according to our works (2 Cor. 5:10)? What about the fact that we have an "inheritance" that will be given us in heaven (Col. 3:24)? Doesn't the word "inheritance" mean something tangible that will belong to us?
Will one believer's crown be as much mine as it is his? Of course not. What about the white stone God promises to give to overcomers, with our new name written on it, a name no one else will know (Revelation 2:17)? Will you and I have equal possession of those stones or names? No. The one God gives you will be yours, not mine. The one he gives me—if I'm an overcomer—will be mine, not yours. Is this ownership wrong or selfish? Of course not. Ownership is never wrong when it's God distributing to us possessions he wants us to own!
Heaven is not a socialist utopia in which private ownership is evil. Materialism, greed, envy, and selfishness are sins—ownership is not.
Our different personalities, rewards, positions, and names in heaven not only speak of our individuality, but of how God, who loves us all, finds unique reasons to love us. I love my wife and daughters, but I love different things about each.
Of course, God is the ultimate owner of all things. He owns not only all of heaven, but everything on earth (Deut. 10:14; 1 Chron. 29:11-12), including the land (Lev. 25:23), the animals (Ps. 50:10-12), and all wealth in the possession of people (Hag. 2:8). He owns not only all things but all people (Ps. 24:1). He owns our very bodies (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
So what is "ours" is ultimately God's, including whatever he gives to us. But that is every bit as true here on earth as it is in heaven. And the fact that God owns whatever is "mine" does not mean there is no distinction between what I own and what others own. The early Christians generously regarded their possessions as not just for them, but for others, and shared them generously (Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4:32-35). But this did not negate private ownership. Peter told Ananias that his property belonged to him before he sold it, and the money belonged to him after he sold it (Acts 5:4). His sin was in claiming to give to God and others what he secretly kept. While in heaven we will no doubt delight in sharing our treasures with others, they will still be our treasures, generously given to us by God.
Do people now in heaven remember what happened on earth?
The answer is yes, at least to some extent:
1. The martyrs in heaven appear to know what is still happening on earth (Rev. 6:9-11).
2. When Babylon is brought down, an angel points to events happening on earth and says, "Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you" (Rev. 18:20). Since he specifically addresses them, the clear implication is that the saints in heaven are watching and listening to what is happening on earth.
3. There is "the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting Hallelujah" and praising God for specific events of judgment that have just taken place on earth (Rev. 19:1-5). Again, the saints in heaven are clearly observing what is happening on earth.
4. When heaven's saints return with Christ to set up his millennial kingdom (Rev. 19:11-14), it seems strange to think they would have been ignorant of the culmination of human history taking place on earth. The picture of saints in heaven blissfully unaware of what is transpiring on earth, where God and his angels (and they themselves) are about to return for the ultimate battle in the history of the universe, after which Christ will be crowned king, contradicts clear indications in the context. But even apart from such indications, this notion of heavenly ignorance seems ludicrous.
5. When brought back to earth from heaven (in a surprise move done by God when the witch of Endor and Saul wrongly called upon Samuel's spirit to visit them), Samuel was aware of what Saul had been doing and what he'd failed to do on earth (1 Sam. 28:18). Unless he was specially "briefed" on this, it follows he must have been already aware of it.
6. When called from heaven to the transfiguration on earth, Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus about his death which would soon happen in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). They seemed fully aware of the context they stepped into, of what was currently transpiring on earth. (And clearly, they would go back to heaven remembering what they'd discussed with their Creator and Savior.)
7. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "run the race marked out for us," creating the mental picture of the Greek competitions which were watched intently by throngs of engrossed fans, sitting high up in the ancient stadiums. The "great cloud of witnesses" he speaks of are clearly the saints who've gone before us, whose accomplishments (some of them recorded in the previous chapter) on the playing field are now past. The imagery seems to suggest those saints, the spiritual "athletes" of old, are now watching us and cheering us on from the stands of heaven. (The witnesses are said to "surround" us, not merely to have preceded us.)
8. The unfolding drama of redemption, awaiting Christ's return, is currently happening on earth. Earth is center court, center stage, awaiting the consummation of Christ's return and the setting up of his kingdom. Logically, this seems a compelling reason to think those in heaven might see what is happening on earth. If in heaven we will be concerned with what God is concerned with, and his focus is on the spiritual battle on earth, why would we not witness his works there?
9. Christ, in heaven, watches closely what transpires on earth, especially in the lives of God's people (Rev. 2-3). If the Sovereign God's attentions are on earth, why wouldn't those of his heavenly subjects be? When a great war is transpiring, is anyone in the home country uninformed and unaware of it? When a great drama is taking place, do those who know the writer, producer, and cast—and have great interest in the outcome—refrain from watching?
10. Angels saw Christ on earth (1 Tim. 3:16). There are clear indications angels know what is happening on earth (Luke 1:26; 1 Cor. 11:10). If angels, why not saints? Don't the people of God in heaven have as much vested interest in the spiritual events happening on earth as angels do? Wouldn't the body and bride of Christ in heaven be expected to be intensely interested about the rest of the body and bride of Christ now living on earth?
11. Abraham and Lazarus saw the rich man's agonies in hell (Luke 16:23-26). If it is possible, at least in some cases, to see hell from heaven, why would people be unable to see earth from heaven?
12. Christ said, "There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who do not need to" (Luke 15:7). Similarly, "there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). Who is doing this rejoicing in heaven, in the presence of angels? Doesn't it logically include the saints in heaven, who would most appreciate the joy and wonder of human conversion? (If they rejoice over conversions happening on earth, then obviously they must be aware of what is happening on earth.)
Do people now in heaven pray for those on earth?
Based on scriptural evidence, I believe the answer is "yes."
1. Christ, the God-man, is in heaven interceding for people on earth (Rom. 8:34). In at least one case, then, a person who has died and gone to heaven is now praying for those on earth. The martyrs in heaven in Revelation 6:10 pray to God, asking him to take specific action on earth. They are praying for God's justice on the earth, which may have intercessory implications for their brethren now suffering on earth. The sense of connection and loyalty to and concern for the body of Christ¾ of which saints in heaven are part of with the saints on earth¾would likely be enhanced by being in heaven, not eliminated by it (Eph. 3:15). In any case, we know these are saints who have died, who are now in God's presence, and are actively praying concerning what is happening on earth.
2. Prayer is simply talking to God. Angels can talk to God, and therefore angels pray. We will communicate with God in heaven, and therefore we will pray in heaven, presumably more than we do now, not less. Our prayers will be effective given our righteous state (James 5:16).
3. The burden of proof lies on those who would argue saints in heaven cannot or do not pray for those on earth. On what biblical basis would we conclude this?
4. Rev. 5:8 speaks of the "prayers of the saints" in a context that may include saints in heaven, not just on earth. In any case, if saints are allowed to see some of what transpires on earth, and clearly they are, then it would seem strange for them not to intercede for them. (While we are not told angels pray for people, neither are we told they do not.)
5. It's a question of assumptions. If we assume heaven is a place of ignorance of or disinterest in earth, then we will naturally assume those in heaven couldn't or wouldn't pray for people here. In contrast, if we believe it is a place of interest in and observation of God's program and people on earth, and where the saints and angels talk to God, then we would naturally assume they do pray to God for those on earth. This is my assumption.
6. Given the substantial evidence of Scripture to the contrary, the burden of proof is on those who argue people in heaven are unconcerned with and unaware of what is happening on earth. Does Scripture really teach this? Where? Or is the belief that those in heaven are unaware of what happens on earth merely an assumption, one that over decades or centuries has been elevated by some into a doctrine, one not based on Scripture? I believe it is no more than a deduction based on a faulty premise, namely that for heaven to be happy, people in heaven can't know what's happening on earth. That argument is therefore worth taking a closer look at.
"But we're promised there won't be crying or pain in heaven. How could we be aware of bad things on earth? Surely it couldn't be heaven for us if we knew these things."
I believe this argument is invalid for the following reasons:
1. It's heaven for God and he knows exactly what's happening on earth.
2. It's heaven for the angels and they know what's happening on earth.
3. Angels in heaven see the torment of hell, but it does not minimize heaven (Rev. 14:10).
4. Abraham and Lazarus saw the rich man's agonies in hell, but it did not cause heaven to cease to be heaven (Luke 16:23-26). If one can see people in hell without ruining heaven, surely nothing he could see on earth could ruin it. This passage shows a chasm those in heaven and hell can't cross, but they can still see what is happening in the other place (Luke 16:23-26). If this is true of heaven and hell, is the same true of heaven and earth? (And hell and earth?) Is there a chasm separating them and preventing direct intervention, yet an ability to see what's happening in the other world? (Note: Luke 16 is in the intermediate state, before the end of the world and the resurrection. It does not therefore prove those in the New Heavens and Earth will be able to see into the eternal lake of fire. It seems likely they will not. However, it suggests those currently in heaven may be able to see into hell—at very least they are fully aware of its existence.)
5. The promise of no more tears or crying is after the end of the world, after the Great White Throne judgment, after "the old order of things has passed away" and there's no more suffering on earth (Rev. 21:1-4). This passage is not a valid argument for tearlessness in the present heaven, but only in the New Heaven and Earth. This doesn't mean those presently in heaven must be unaware of what's happening on earth. Certainly those in heaven are not frail beings whose joy can be maintained only by sheer ignorance of what is going on in the universe. In fact, even if our knowledge did produce some sadness in heaven (we don't know for sure it would), the old order hasn't yet passed away. Heaven is not in its final state. We should not begin by defining heaven as "no sorrow, no concern, no knowledge of suffering" and then dismiss any scriptural indications that undermine that assumption.
Christ grieved for people on earth (Matt. 23:37-39; John 11:33-36). Does he no longer do so because he's in heaven? Or does he still hurt for his people when they suffer? Acts 9:4-5 gives a clear answer. Jesus asked, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" When Saul asked who he was, he replied, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Doesn't being persecuted with them suggest he's currently hurting for his people?
If Jesus can hurt for them, couldn't those in heaven do so also? It's one thing to no longer cry because there's nothing left to cry about. It's something else to no longer cry when there's ongoing suffering on earth. Going into the presence of Christ surely does not make us less compassionate, but more. Hence, it is possible that even with the predominant joy presently in heaven, in light of the fact there is still so much evil and pain in the universe, there could be periodic expressions of sadness in heaven until the evil and pain are permanently gone in Revelation 21.
6. Since God is continuously at work on earth, observing saints would have a great deal to praise him for, including people's spiritual transformations (Luke 15:7,10). If there is rejoicing in heaven about what happens on earth, aren't the redeemed allowed to participate in the rejoicing? How could they participate unless aware of the cause for celebration?
Conclusion: Happiness in heaven is based not on ignorance, but on perspective. We will be with Christ, see accurately, and live in a sinless environment. Heavenly happiness cannot be based on a fundamental ignorance of what is happening on earth or even in hell.
You say in your book that people in Heaven can witness events happening on earth. But what about Isaiah 65:17, which says in heaven "the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind"?
First, Isaiah 65:17 must be weighed against the dozens of other passages of Scripture previously cited in this article and the earlier one. If they clearly teach some things from earth will be remembered in the eternal state, then properly understood this verse does not contradict them.
Furthermore, whatever this verse means, it specifically comes after the New Heavens and New Earth, not before. Hence, it has no bearing at all on the question of whether saints presently in heaven can witness events happening on earth.
Isaiah 65:17 is linked to the previous verse: "For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My eyes." This does not suggest literal lack of memory, as if the omniscient God couldn't recall the past. God knows everything. Rather, it is like God saying, "I will remember their sins no more" (Jer. 31:34). It means he will choose not to call to mind or to hold against us our past sins.
In eternity, past sins will not plague us or God, nor interfere with God's acceptance of us. Likewise, both God and we will be capable of choosing not to recall our past troubles and sorrows and sins in a way that would diminish the wonders of heaven. However, it seems likely that recalling the reality of such troubles and sorrows and sins would set a sharp contrast to the glories of heaven, as darkness does to light, as hell does to heaven. This contrast would be lost if the sense of what sorrow is was entirely forgotten. (If we ever forget we were desperate sinners, how could we appreciate the depth and meaning of Christ's glorious work for us?) It is even possible that an awareness of the perfect justice of hell will enhance the depth of gratitude to God of those in heaven.
Even in the New Heavens and Earth there are memorials to the twelve tribes and the apostles (Rev. 21:12-14). Christ's nail-scarred hands and feet in his eternal resurrection body (John 20:24-29) prove his suffering and redemption—and the fact it was necessitated by our sins—will not be forgotten! Hence, these passages clearly preclude the "we'll remember nothing on earth" understanding of Isaiah 65:17.
Every believer's crowns and rewards will continuously remind us of acts of faithfulness to God done in that window of opportunity on earth.
While God will wipe away the tears and sorrow attached to this world, the drama of God's work in human history will not be erased from our minds. Heaven's happiness will not be dependent on our ignorance of what really happened on earth. Rather, it will be greatly enhanced by our informed appreciation of God's glorious grace and justice in what really happened on earth.
Why don't we think more about heaven?
"If there be so certain and glorious a rest for the saints, why is there no more industrious seeking after it? One would think, if a man did but once hear of such unspeakable glory to be obtained, and believed what he heard to be true, he should be transported with the vehemency of his desire after it, and should almost forget to eat and drink, and should care for nothing else, and speak of and inquire after nothing else, but how to get this treasure. And yet people who hear of it daily, and profess to believe it as a fundamental article of their faith, do as little mind it, or labour for it, as if they had never heard of any such thing, or did not believe one word they hear." Richard Baxter, 1649
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." The Apostle Paul, Colossians 3:1
"Let temporal things serve your use, but the eternal be the object of your desire." Thomas a Kempis
"It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one." C. S. Lewis
"It has been cited as a flaw in Christianity that it is more concerned with the world to come than with the world that now is, and some have been fluttering about trying to defend the faith of Christ against this accusation. Both the attack and the defense are wasted. No one who knows what the New Testament is about will worry over the charge that Christianity is other-worldly. Of course it is, and that is precisely where its power lies.
"Let no one apologize for the powerful emphasis Christianity lays upon the doctrine of the world to come. Right there lies its immense superiority to everything else within the whole sphere of human thought or experience. When Christ arose from death and ascended into heaven He established forever three important facts, namely, that this world has been condemned to ultimate dissolution, that the human spirit persists beyond the grave and that there is indeed a world to come.
"The church is constantly being tempted to accept this world as her home, and sometimes she has listened to those who would woo her away and use her for their own ends. But if she is wise she will consider that she stands in the valley between the mountain peaks of eternity past and eternity to come. The past is gone forever and the present is passing as swift as the shadow on the sun dial of Ahaz. Even if the earth should continue a million years not one of us could stay to enjoy it. We do well to think of the long tomorrow." A. W. Tozer
Is heaven really worth getting excited about?
In The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis paints a beautiful picture of heaven in the final book, The Last Battle. The book begins with a near collision of a railroad train, where the children are thrust into Narnia. But when their adventure is over, the children are afraid they will be sent back to earth again.
Having experienced the joys and wonders of Narnia, and the presence of Aslan—the Lion who is in fact Christ—the thought of returning to earth was unbearable. Then, in the final section, called "Farewell to the Shadow Lands," Aslan, the great Lion, gives the children some wonderful news:
"There was a real railway accident," said Aslan softly. "Your father and mother and all of you are, as you used to call it in the Shadowlands, dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning."
And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia have only been the cover and the title page. Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the great Story which no one on earth has read; which goes on for ever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.
C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle (New York: Macmillan, 1956), 183-184