Heaven

The Old Testament uses no single word for universe or cosmos. When Genesis 1:1 speaks of God’s creating “the heavens and the earth,” the words are synonymous with what we mean by universe. Heavens refers to the realms above the earth: atmosphere, sun, moon, and stars, and all that’s in outer space. 

Heaven is not going to be about us. It’s first and foremost about God. And everything else we say and think about Heaven should be seen in relationship to Jesus Christ, who every created thing will exalt for all eternity.

Someone asked a great follow up question on Facebook, in response to my blog Will We Have Regrets at the Judgment Seat of Christ?: “Will we ask forgiveness of others in Heaven if we weren’t able to make it right here on Earth?”

When Kirk Cousins, starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, interviewed me, one of the great questions he asked was, “Will we have regret in Heaven when we finally see with an eternal perspective?” I really appreciated Kirk’s question because of his Bible-based recognition of a truth many Christians don’t often contemplate, that “each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” (Romans 14:12).

The answer is possibly yes—at least sometimes. In Revelation 6:10 we see martyrs in Heaven praying to God, asking Him to take specific action on earth. These are saints who have died and are now in God’s presence.

Last month I had a conversation over Zoom with Steve Silver of Men’s Golf Fellowship. Steve’s wife Sandy went to be with Jesus last December, just three months before Nanci died. We can both understand each other’s pain of loss, but also the intense anticipation for and comfort of Heaven now that our wives reside there.

At a celebration for his new book, The Promise of the New Earth, Randy shares some thoughts about grief and the eternal Heaven (the New Earth), and answers some questions related to the book.

We long for a return to Paradise—a perfect world, without the corruption of sin, where God walks with us and talks with us in the cool of the day. Because we’re human beings, we desire something tangible and physical, something that will not fade away. And that is exactly what God promises us.