The Theology of Heaven, Part 2
- David Fairchild
- Nov 27, 2005
INTRODUCTION
Before we begin this morning it's important to deal with a modern form of Platonism that pervades most of our current theological underpinnings. Whenever we do theology it is necessary that we ask fundamental questions about certain ideas we presuppose to be true. We all have presuppositions, the key to doing good theology is to recognize our presuppositions and deal with them up front.
Since we are going to be dealing with the importance of the resurrection as it relates to the new heavens and the new Earth, it's necessary that we dig a bit in an attempt to extract poor thinking that has shaped our view of such things as our body, the physical world, the earth, and the spiritual realm.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to give a detailed defense a physical resurrection. The Corinthians were immersed in a Greek philosophy called dualism. This philosophy assumed the spiritual was not compatible with the physical. But Paul explains very clearly to these misled Christians that when Christ came to this earth, in his incarnation and resurrection, he laid claim not only to the spiritual realm but to the physical as well. His redemption wasn't only of spirits but also of bodies and the earth.
Plato was the first Western philosopher to claim that reality is something abstract or ideal. Plato assumed that when you thought of the spiritual world you should never use physical terms, or envision God's presence in the physical world, lest you disrespect or do a disservice to his spiritual nature. Plato considered our body a liability not an asset. He assumed the body was a hindrance that imprisons and opposes the soul.
Yet according to Scripture, our bodies are more than just shells for our spirits to live in. Our bodies are a good and essential aspect of our being, no matter how much we attempt to spiritualize the physical for fear of slipping into hedonism or materialism, God has created us as physical and spiritual beings and considered His creation "very good." Earth was handmade by God for us. Earth is God’s idea and is God’s choice as mankind’s original and ultimate dwelling place.
Since Plato assumed that the material world was not ideal and even evil, the goal in his philosophy was to be rid of this shell and experience true spiritual freedom. Anything earthly or physical, in his view, was considered bondage. Sadly, many Christians in our day have a similar view to the physical and material world. Plato made a substantial philosophical impact that has caused a wake in Christian history. This dualistic view adopted by the
The blending of Platonic thought and Christianity has been labeled Christoplatonism by Randy Alcorn. Because of this influence, we resist the biblical picture of a bodily resurrection of the dead and life on the new Earth; of eating and drinking in heaven; of walking and talking, living in dwelling places, traveling down streets, and going through gates from one place to another, and of ruling, working, playing, and engaging in earthly culture.
In Plato's view the spirits highest destiny is to be forever free from the body. The Bible, however, absolutely contradicts this notion from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation. The Bible teaches us that God is the creator of body and spirit; both were marred by sin, and both were redeemed by Christ.
Of course we need to be delivered from our earthly bodies, which are subject to sin and decay. But the promise isn’t the eventual absence of body; rather, it's the attainment of a new and sinless body and spirit.
The incarnation of Christ wasn't God talking as if he'd become a man-it was God actually becoming a man. The "New Earth" isn't a figure of speech any more than calling Jesus a "man" is a figure of speech. He is a man. Every belief that would make our resurrection body any less physical than Adam and Eve's, must assume that Satan has permanently defeated God's original intention, design and creation.
Christ did not die to give disembodied people a refuge in the spirit realm. He didn't rise to offer us a mere symbol of new spiritual life. On the contrary, he died to restore to us the fullness of our humanity both in spirit and body. He rose to lay claim to our destiny, to enjoy and rule the physical earth as physical beings, to his glory.
I. IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION
a. Why is the resurrection so important?
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
The literal physical resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our redemption for mankind and the earth. Without Christ raising from the dead, everything that is associated with its benefits -- an eternal future for fully restored human beings dwelling on a fully restored earth – is done away with and there is no Christianity.
The major Christian creeds state, "I believe in the resurrection of the body." Yet in conversations with Christians you will find that they tend to spiritualize the resurrection of the dead, which in effect denies it. They won't reject it as a doctrine, but they deny its central meaning: a permanent return to a physical existence in a physical universe.
Of Americans who believe in the resurrection of the dead, two thirds believe they will not have bodies after the resurrection. This is glaringly self-contradictory. A non-physical resurrection is like a sunless sunrise. There is simply no such thing. Resurrection means that we will have bodies. If we didn't have bodies, we wouldn't be resurrected.
Death is an abnormal condition because it tears apart what God created and joined together. God intended from the beginning that our bodies would last as long as our souls. Yet those who believe in Platonism see a disembodied soul as natural and even desirable. The Bible sees this as unnatural and undesirable. We are unified beings. This is why the bodily resurrection of the dead is so vital. And that's why Job rejoiced that in his flesh he would see God (Job 19:26).
The early church waged major doctrinal wars against Gnosticism and any dualistic worldviews that associated God with the spiritual realm of light and Satan with the physical world of darkness. These heresies contradicted the biblical account that says God was pleased with the entire physical realm. Our incorrect thinking about bodily resurrection stems from our failure to understand the environment in which resurrected people will live -- The new Earth.
The most basic truth about our resurrected bodies is this: they are the same bodies God created for us, but they will be raised to greater perfection than we've ever known. We don't know everything about them, of course, but we do know a great deal. When we receive our resurrected bodies, we'll no doubt have some welcome surprises -- maybe even some new features -- but will certainly recognize our new bodies as being ours.
Philippians 3:20-21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
1 Corinthians 15:49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
When Paul speaks of resurrection bodies, he says, "The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raising in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
In our earthly body we are:
sown a perishable body
sown in dishonor
in weakness
a natural body
In our resurrection body we are:
raised an imperishable body
raised in glory
raised in power
raised a spiritual body
When Paul uses the term "spiritual body," he is not talking about a body made of spirit, or an incorporeal body -- there's no such thing. The body means corporeal: flesh and bones. The word spiritual here is an adjective describing body, not negating its meaning. A spiritual body is first and foremost a real body or it would not qualify to be called a body.
b. Why does all creation await our resurrection?
The good news of the gospel is far greater than any of us can imagine. It isn’t just good news for us-it's good news for animals, plants, stars, and planets. It's good news for the sky above in the earth below. The redemption in Jesus Christ means the restoration of an original good creation.
Usually when we think of redemption we think of it far too narrowly. The breadth and depth of Christ's redemptive work will baffle us as long as we think it is limited to humanity. As we studied in Colossians 1:16-20, we noticed that God highlights his plan for the church, but then he goes beyond, emphasizing "all things," "everything," "things on earth," and "things in heaven": for by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
The power of Christ's resurrection is enough not only to remake the past, but also to remake every inch of the universe-mountains, rivers, plants, animals, stars, nebulae, quasars, and galaxies. Christ's redemptive work extends resurrection to the far reaches of the universe. This is a stunning affirmation of God's greatness. It should move our hearts to wonder and praise.
As Martin Luther put it, "our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime." The creation hopes for, even anticipates, resurrection.
Romans 8:19-23 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
Paul says that the whole creation awaits the earthly deliverance that will come with our bodily resurrection. We know what God intended for mankind to dwell on the earth, and therefore we have an object for our longing. We groan for what creation groans for-redemption. God's curse subjected the whole creation to frustration by putting the curse not only on mankind but also on earth. God will transform the human race into a renewed human race and the present earth into the new earth.
Why does the creation await eagerly for our resurrection? For one simple but critically important reason: as mankind goes, so goes all of creation. Just as all creation was spoiled through our rebellion, the deliverance of all creation hinges on our deliverance. The glorification of the universe hinges on the glorification of a redeemed human race. We are inextricably linked because we were created to rule over creation.
c. How far reaching is the resurrection?
Jesus became a man and lived as a man on earth, in order to redeem mankind. His victory had to take place on earth-the dwelling place of mankind-and it has to culminate on earth, where Christ will return to set up his kingdom with his redeemed and resurrected people.
We were created from the earth to live on the earth. Our hope is in that will be delivered from our old bodies into our new bodies, and into the
II. RESTORATION OF EARTH
a. Will the Old Earth be destroyed or renewed?
Will the present earth and the entire universe be utterly destroyed, and the new earth and the new universe be made from scratch? Or will the original universe be renewed and transformed into the new one? At first glance, some Scriptures seem to answer "utterly destroyed."
Psalms 102:25-26 "Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. 26 "Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.
Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
It seems clear that the earth as it is now will not remain forever-but what does that really mean?
i. Burned up or refined?
Scripture says that the fire of God's judgment will destroy "wood, hay or straw," yet it will purify "gold, silver, and costly stones," which will all survived the fire and be carried over into the new universe (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Also, the apostle John says that when believers die, what they have done on earth to Christ's glory "will follow them" into heaven (Revelation 14:13). These are earthly things that will outlast the present earth.
The same earth destined for destruction is also destined for restoration. Many have grasped the first teaching but not the second. Therefore, they misinterpret words such as destroy to mean absolute or final destruction, rather than what Scripture actually teaches: a temporary destruction that is reversed through resurrection and restoration.
John piper argues that God did not create matter to throw it away. We might say, ‘The caterpillar passes away, and the butterfly emerges.’ There is a real passing away, and there is a real continuity, a real connection.
ii. Redemption means restoration of
Acts 3:21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.
Even if we didn't have dozens of other passages such as Isaiah 60 that referrer to the new earth so clearly, Acts 3:21 would be sufficient. It tells us that Christ will remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything as he promised long ago. When Christ returns, God's agenda is not to destroy everything and start over but to restore everything. The perfection of creation which was once lost will be fully regained, and then some.
The cleansing fire which will come will be more thorough than the flood in Noah's time and it will permanently eliminate sin. But just as God's judgment by water didn't make the earth permanently uninhabitable, neither will God's judgment by fire. God's fire of judgment will consume the bad but refine the good, exposing things as they really are.
iii. The meaning of “new”
The new earth will be the same as the old, just as a new Christian is still the same person he was before. Different? Yes, but also the same. Resurrection is about continuity-the same body that was destroyed is reconstructed into the new.
The doctrine of the new creation, extending not only to mankind, but to the world, the natural realm, and even nations and cultures, is a major biblical theme, that he would never know it by judging how little attention it receives among Christians. All events since the fall can be seen as a process leading to the reintroduction of the original creation. New creation is the goal or purpose of God's redemptive-historical plan; new creation is the logical main point of Scripture.
The earth's death will be no more final than our own. The destruction of the old Earth as God’s purifying judgment will immediately be followed by its resurrection to new life
III. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Of all of the points we have been discussing about heaven I believe this is the most important. However, it was necessary to establish a clear picture of our physical, resurrected life on the new earth. Without the foundation laid in this study, the idea of "seeing God" would inevitably be skewed by dualistic Platonic assumptions about the nature of the afterlife. If we don't base our perspective of heaven on a clear understanding of our coming resurrection and the truth about the physical nature of the new earth, our concept of being with God will be more like that of Eastern mysticism than biblical Christianity.
We might imagine a thousand different things that we want, but God is the one we really long for. His presence brings ultimate satisfaction; his absence brings thirst and longing. Our longing for heaven is a longing for God's presence. Being with God is the heart and soul of heaven. Every other heavenly pleasure will derive from and be secondary to his presence. God's greatest gift to us is, and always will be, himself
a. What will it mean to see God?
i. The Beatific Vision
Ancient theologians often spoke of "beatific vision." The term comes from three Latin words that together mean "a happy making sight." The sight they spoke of was God. Revelation 22:4 says about servants on the new earth, "They will see his face." To see God's face is the loftiest of all aspirations-though sadly, for most of us, it's not at the top of our wish list.
To be told we will see God's face is shocking to anyone who understands God's transcendence and inapproachability. In ancient
When Moses sent to God, "Show me your glory," got responded, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you.... But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may seem mean and live."... "When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen" (Exodus 33:18-23).
The New Testament says that God "lives in an approachable light, whom no one has seen or can seen" (1 Timothy 6:16"). To see God's face was utterly unthinkable.
That's why, when were told and Revelation 22:14 that we will see God's face, it should astound us. For this to happen, it would require that we undergo something radical between now and then. The obstacles to seeing God are daunting: "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). It's only because we will be fully righteous in Christ, completely sinless, that we will be able to see God and live. Not only will we see his face and live, but we will likely wonder if we ever lived before we saw his face. To see God will be our greatest joy, a joy by which all others will be measured.
Though we cannot experience its fullness yet, we can gain of foretaste now: "We have confidence to enter the
ii. Seeing God: our primary joy
In heaven, the barriers between redeemed human beings and God will forever be gone. To look into God's eyes will be to see what we've always longed to see: the person who made us for his own good pleasure. Seeing God will be like seeing everything else for the first time. Not only will we see God, he will be the lens through which we see everything else-people, ourselves, and the events of this life.
What is the essence of eternal life? "That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, and you have sent" (John 17:3). Our primary joy in heaven will be knowing and seeing God. Every other joy will be derivative, flowing from the fountain of our relationship with God. As Jonathan Edwards said, "God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased.... The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things... But that which they shall and joy in the Angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield them life and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them."
Augustine called God "the end of our desires." He prayed, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." When we think of the many joys of the resurrection life in the universe, you might immediately come to the conclusion that our eyes should be on the giver, and not the gift; that we must focus on God, not on heaven. This approach sounds spiritual, but it erroneously divorces our experience of God from life, relationships, and the world-all of which God graciously gives us. Some see the material realm and other people as God's competitors rather than His instruments that communicate his love and character. It fails to recognize that because God is the ultimate source of joy, and all secondary joys emanate from him, to love secondary joys on earth can be-and in heaven always will be-to love God, their source.
Platonism frowns upon the pleasures of the physical world, mistaking asceticism for spirituality, Scripture says we are to put our hope not in material things but "in God, who richly provides us with everything for enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17). If he provides everything for enjoyment, we shouldn't feel guilty for enjoying it, should we? But we do need to be careful not to make idols out of God's provision. But once we’re freed from sin and we’re in God's presence, we will never have to worry about putting people or things above God. That would be unthinkable.
God isn't displeased when we enjoy a good meal, marital sex, football game, a cozy fire, or a book. He's not up in heaven frowning at us and saying, "Stop it-you should find joy in me." This would be just foreign to God's nature as our heavenly Father as it would be to mine as an earthly father if I gave my daughters a Christmas gift and started pouting because they enjoyed it. No, I gave the gift to bring joy to them and to me-if they don't take pleasure in it, I'd be disappointed. Their pleasure in my gift to them draws them closer to me. I am delighted that they enjoy the gift. Every day we should see God in his creation: in the food we eat, the air we breathe, the friendships we enjoy, and the pleasures of family, work, and hobbies. Yes, we must sometimes forgo secondary pleasures, and we should never let them eclipse God. But we should thank God for all of life's joys, large and small, and allow them to draw us to him.
iii. Seeing God in everything good
God doesn't want to be replaced or depreciated. He wants to be recognized as the source of all our joys, and he wants us to draw closer to him through partaking of his creation. By taking pleasure in a good meal or a good book is taking pleasure in God. It's not a substitute for God, nor is it a distraction from him. In the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it's what I was made for: "Man's chief and is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."
As Jonathan Edwards says "Heaven will being never-ending, ever-increasing discovery of more and more of God's glory with greater and ever-greater joy in him." God's glory and our joy in him are one, and yet we are not infinite as he is, in our union with him, the all satisfying experience of his glory can never be complete, but must be increasing with intimacy and intensity forever and ever. Yet we do not become God. Therefore, there will always be more, and the end of increased pleasure and God will never come. It will take an infinite number of ages for God to be done glorifying the wealth of his grace to us which is to say he will never be done. (John Piper on Jonathan Edwards). Being with him. Gazing at him. Talking with him. Worshiping him. Embracing him. Eating with him. Walking with him. Laughing with him. Imagine it!
We will never tire of praising him. Augustine writes, "God himself, who is the author of virtue, shall be our reward. There is nothing greater or better than God himself, who has promised us himself.”
b. What will it mean for God to “dwell among us?”
On the new earth, God and mankind will be able to come to each other whenever they wish. We will not have to leave our home to visit God, nor will God leave his home to visit us. God and mankind live together forever in the same home-the new earth.
Leviticus 26:11-12 'Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. 12 'I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
Ezekiel 37:27 "My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.
Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
i. The marriage of God and man, Heaven and Earth
The marriage of the God of heaven with the people of Earth will also bring the marriage of Heaven and Earth. There will not be two universes-one that is the primary home of God and Angels, the other the primary home of humanity. Nothing will separate us from God, and nothing will separate earth and heaven. Once God and mankind are together, there will be no difference between heaven and earth. Earth will become heaven-and it will truly be heaven on earth. The new earth will be God's dwelling place.
ii. The joy of a God-centered Heaven
Consider the statement: "God himself will be with them." Why does it emphatically say God himself? Because God won't merely send us a delegate. He will actually come to live among us on the new earth. God's glory will fill and permeate the entire new heaven, and not just one centralized place. Wherever we go in heaven, we will be in the immediate presence of the full glory of God. Wherever we go, we will enjoy the complete manifestation of God's presence. Throughout all eternity, we will never be separated from direct, unhindered fellowship with God.
God's glory will be the air we breathe, and we will always breathe deeper to gain more of it. And in the universe, we will never be able to travel far enough to leave God's presence. Even if we could, we'd never want to. God himself is heavens greatest prize.
In heaven we will at last be freed from self-righteousness and self deceit. We will no longer question God's goodness; we will see it, savor it, enjoy it, and declare it to her companions. We will wonder how we could have ever doubted his goodness. For then our faith will be sight-we shall see God.
iii. Heaven relocated to earth
Not only will God come to dwell with us on earth, he will also bring with Him the new Jerusalem, an entire city of people, structures, streets, walls, rivers, and trees that is now in the present, intermediate heaven. If you've ever seen a house being relocated, you appreciate what a massive undertaking it is. God will relocate an entire city-Heaven's capital city, the new Jerusalem-from heaven to earth. It's a vast complex containing, perhaps, hundreds of millions of residents. He will bring with it heavens human inhabitants and Angels as well. It appears that God has already fashioned the new Jerusalem: "He has prepared a city for them" (Hebrews 11:16). It doesn't say that God will prepare a city or even that he is preparing, but that he has prepared. This suggests that the New Jerusalem, complete or nearly complete, is already there in the intermediate heaven.
God's new center of government will be the new earth. This will be the ultimate answer to the Lord's prayer, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). God's will shall be done on the new earth as it is now in heaven. The new earth shall be part of heaven, for the veil between worlds, first one apart by the cross and Christ's resurrection, will be permanently removed. There will be no barrier between earth and heaven, or between mankind and God.
iv. Being with God
Going to a heaven without God would be like a bride going on her honeymoon without her groom. A heaven without God would be like a palace without a King. If there is no King, there's no palace. If there's no God, there is no heaven. Wherever God is, there is heaven. His presence makes our paradise. The presence of God is the essence of heaven just as the absence of God is the essence of hell. Heavens greatest joy will be or access to God. In the new Jerusalem, we will be able to come physically, through wide open gates, to God's throne.
v. Being with Jesus
We will worship Jesus as the Almighty and bow to him in reverence, we will never sense his disapproval-because we'll never disappoint him. He'll never be unhappy with us. We'll be able to relax in heaven. The other shoe will never drop. No skeletons will fall out our closets. Christ bore every one of our sins. He paid the ultimate price so that we would be forever free from sin-and the fear of sin. All barriers between us and him will be forever gone. He will be our best friend.
When Jesus prays and we will be with him in heaven, he explains why: John 17:24 "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
When we accomplish something, we want to share it with those closest to us. Likewise, Jesus wants to share with us his glory-his person and his accomplishments. There's no contradiction between Christ acting for his glory and for our good. The two are synonymous. Our greatest pleasure, our greatest satisfaction, is to behold his glory. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
Christ's desire for us to see his glory should melt our hearts. That the creator of the universe has gone to such great lengths, at such sacrifice, to prepare a place for us were we can behold and participate in his glory.
Jesus promised we would eat with him and his kingdom. This is an intimacy with God that is unthinkable to anyone who doesn't grasp the significance of his incarnation. To eat a meal with Jesus will be to eat a meal with God.
c. How will we worship God?
Today, many Christians have come to ignore the beatific vision, supposing that beholding God would be of mere passing interest, becoming monotonous over time. But those who know God know that he is anything but boring. Seeing God will be dynamic, not static.
i. All-encompassing worship
Most people know we will worship God in heaven. But they don't grasp how thrilling it will be. 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 (Revelation 5:13-14). Overwhelmed by his magnificence, we will fall on our faces in unrestrained happiness and say, "Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!" (Revelation 7:9-12).
I find it amazing that people stereotype life in heaven as a never ending church service. Apparently, church attendance has become synonymous with boredom. Even if it were true that church services are boring, there will be no church services in heaven. The church (Christ's people) will be there. But there will be no
Will we always be our faces a Christ's feet, worshiping him? No, because Scripture says will be doing many other things-living in dwelling places, eating and drinking, bringing with Christ, and working for him. Scripture depicts people standing, walking, traveling in and out of the city, and gathering at feasts. When doing these things, we won't be on our faces before Christ. Nevertheless, all that we do will be an act of worship. We will enjoy the full an unbroken fellowship of Christ. At times this will crescendo into greater heights of praise as we assemble with the multitudes who are also worshiping him. Worship involves more than singing and prayer. We can worship God while reading a book, riding a bike, or taking a walk. We’re worshiping God now as we discuss heaven.
We are created to worship God. There is no higher pleasure. At times we'll lose ourselves in praise, doing nothing but worshiping him. At other times we'll worship him when we are doing a multitude of activities.
ii. Worship won’t be boring
Some subjects become less interesting over time. Others become more fascinating. Nothing is more fascinating than God. We'll never lose our fascination for God as we get to know him better. The thrill of knowing him will never subside. The desire to know him better will motivate everything we do. To imagine that worshiping God can be boring is to impose on heaven our bad experiences of so-called worship. We will see God and understand why the Angels and other living creatures delight to worship him. No wonder those in heaven always redirect their eyes to him-they don't want to miss anything.
The holiness of God that overwhelmed Isaiah will be utterly engrossing to our hearts made holy. In heaven, worshiping God will not be restricted to a time posted on a sign, telling us when to start and stop. It will permeate our lives, energize our bodies, and fuel our imaginations.
iii. Christ and His Bride
The return of Christ will signal not only the Father rescuing his children but also the bridegroom rescuing his bride. As the church, we are part of the ultimate story-rescued from a home where we labor, often without appreciation or reward. The eyes in the universe will be on the bridegroom, also on the bride for whom he died.
We are eager for his return, but we don't sit idly by. Part of us wants fewer days between now and his coming, because we’re eager to be with him. But another part wants more days to prepare for his coming through acts of faithful service to God.
IV. QUESTIONS ABOUT HEAVEN
a. What Is the New Jerusalem?
Scripture describes heaven has both a country and a city. The repetition of the word and a detailed description of the architecture, walls, streets, and other features of the city suggest that the term city is not merely a figure of speech but a literal geographical location. After all, where do we expect physically resurrected people to live if not a physical environment?
The city of the center of the future heaven is called the new Jerusalem. The city is portrayed as a walled city; and security is beyond question. It is perched on the peak of the hill that no invading army could ascend. The city's walls are so thick that they can’t be breached by any siege engine, and so high that no human could hope to scale them. Of course, the city won't ever be under attack, but its structure will remind us of God's might and commitment to protect his people.
b. What will the City Be Like?
The city's exact dimensions, if we take a literal, are measured by an angel and reported to be 1200 stadia, the equivalent of 1400 miles, 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." The city of this size in the middle of the
The new Jerusalem will be a place of extravagant beauty and natural wonders. It will be vast, integrated with the best of human culture, under the reign of Christ. Heaven's capital city will be filled with visual magnificence. "It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a Jasper, clear as crystal" (Revelation 21:11). John goes on to describe the opulence: "The wall was made of Jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone." John names 12 stones, eight of which correspond to the stones of the high priest breast-piece in Exodus 28:17.
There is the natural wonder of the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb down the middle of the great street of the city (Revelation 22:1-2). The source of this stream is a throne of God, occupied by the lamb. He's the source of all natural beauty. They derive their beauty from the artist. The city has many other streets, of course, but none like this, for this one leads directly to the Kings throne. The fact that the water is flowing down from it suggest the thrones high elevation. One need only follow the street-or the river-up to its source to arrive at the city’s centerpiece: the Lamb’s throne.
After John describes the river of life, he mentions another striking feature: "On either side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree is for the healing of the nation's" (Revelation 22:2).
The tree of life is mentioned three times in Genesis 2, and again four times in Revelation, three of those in the final chapter. These instances seem to refer to
In
c. Will We Be Ourselves?
Continuity of identity ultimately requires bodily resurrection. Jesus called people in heaven by name, including Lazarus in the intermediate heaven and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the eternal heaven. The name denotes a distinct identity, an individual. The fact that people in heaven can be called by the same name they had on earth demonstrates they remain the same people. Individual identity is an essential aspect of personhood. God is the creator of individual identities and personalities. He makes no two snowflakes the same, much less two people, alike.
What makes you you? It's not only your body but also your memory, personality, traits, gifts, passions, preferences, and interests. In the final resurrection, I believe all these facets will be restored and amplified, untarnished by sin in the curse.
d. What Will Our Bodies be like?
Our resurrection bodies will be free from the curse of sin, redeemed and restored to their original beauty and purpose that goes back to
Think of this, the most beautiful person you ever seen is still under the curse, a shadow of the beauty that once characterized humanity. If we saw Adam and Eve as they were in
I'm not sure how God will decide what our perfect bodies look like, but we shouldn't assume that all look alike. Different heights and weights seem as likely as different skin colors. Racial identities will continue, as this involves a genetic carryover from the old body to the new.
Some people consider this topic unspiritual, but one of the church's greatest theologians, Augustine, didn't. He says in The City of God "The body shall be of that size which it either had attained or should have attained in the flower of its youth, and shall enjoy the beauty that arises from preserving symmetry and proportion and all its members... Overgrown emaciated persons need not fear that they shall be in heaven of such a figure as they would not be even in this world if they could help it."
But more importantly the sinless beauty of the inner person will overflow into the beauty of the outer person. We'll feel neither insecurity nor arrogance. We won't attempt to hide or impress. We won't have to try to look beautiful-we will be beautiful. We'll be most grateful not about our appearance but about our health and strength. We'll know that the Artist fashioned us just as he desired and will never destroy the health and beauty he's graciously given us.
e. Will We Be Capable of Sinning?
Christ promises on a new Earth, "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4). Those who will never die can never sin, because the wages of sin is death. Sin causes mourning, crying, and pain. If those will never occur again, then sin can never occur again.
The Scriptures teach us that anyone who has died has been freed from sin and (Romans 6:7). Christ will not allow us to be vulnerable to the very thing he died to deliver us from. Since our righteousness is rooted in Christ, who is eternally righteous, we can never lose it.
f. Will We Know and Learn?
Only God is omniscient. When we die, we will see things far more clearly, and we'll know much more than we do now, though we will never know everything. One day we'll see God's face and therefore truly know him. In heaven we will be flawless, but not knowing everything isn't a flaw. It's part of being finite. Righteous Angels don't know everything, and they long to know more. They're flawless but finite. We should expect to long for greater knowledge, as Angels do. And we'll spend eternity gaining the greater knowledge we'll seek.
g. Will We Want Relationships with Anyone Except God?
Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. He alone is sufficient to meet all our needs. Yet, God has designed us for relationship not only with himself but also with others of our kind. After God created the world, he stepped back to look at it and pronounced it "very good." However, before his creation was complete, he said that one thing-and only one-was not good. "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make in the helper suitable for him" (Genesis 2:18). God planned for Adam, and all mankind, and the human companionship. In other words, God made people to need and desire others beside himself.
God made us to desire earthly things such as food, water, shelter, warmth, work, play, rest, human friendship, and much more. That won't change in heaven. People have said that we shouldn't long for heaven, only for God. If that were true, God would have condemned rather than commend his people who were "longing for a better country-heavenly one" (Hebrews 11:16). Christ is heaven’s center of gravity, but we don't diminish his importance by enjoying natural wonders, Angels, or people. On the contrary, we'll exalt him and draw closer to him as we enjoy all he created.
h. Will There Be Marriage, Families, and Friendships?
Receiving a glorified body and relocating to the new Earth doesn't erase history, it culminates history. Nothing will negate or minimize the fact we are members of families on the old earth. My daughters will always be my daughters, my son will always be my son, although first and foremost they are and will be God's daughters and son. Our parents will always be our parents.
Heaven won't be without families but will be one big family, in which all family members are friends and all friends are family members. We'll have family relationships with people who were blood family on earth. And we'll also have family relationships with our friends, both old and new. We can't take material things with us when we die, we do take our friendships to heaven, and one day they'll be renewed.
Many of us treasure our families. But many others have endured a lifetime of broken-heartedness stemming from twisted family relationships. In heaven neither we nor our family members will cause us pain. Our relationships will be harmonious-what we've longed for. This of course, is taking into consideration that your family members love Christ now, that can't be forgotten.
As it relates to marriage, one group of religious leaders, the Sadducees, try to trick Jesus with the question about marriage in heaven. They didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead. Attempting to make him look foolish, they told Jesus of a woman who had seven husbands who all died. They asked them, "Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of the more married her?" (Matthew 22:28). Christ replied, "At the resurrection people neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven" (Matthew 22:30). There has been much confusion about this passage. The Bible does not teach there will be no marriage in heaven. In fact, it makes clear that there will be at least one marriage in heaven. What it says is that there will be a marriage between Christ and his bride-and we'll all be part of it.
Paul links human marriage to the higher reality it mirrors: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:31-32).
The one flesh marital union we know on earth is a sign post pointing to a relationship with Christ as our bridegroom. Once we reach the destination, the signpost becomes unnecessary. That one marriage-our marriage to Christ-will be so completely satisfying that even the most wonderful earthly marriage couldn't be as fulfilling.
Earthly marriage is a shadow, a copy, an echo of the true and ultimate marriage. Once that ultimate marriage begins at the lamb's wedding feast, all human marriages that pointed to it will have served their noble purpose and will be assimilated into the one great marriage they foreshadowed. Here on earth we long for a perfect marriage. That's exactly what we will have-a perfect marriage with Christ. My wife, Grace, is my best friend and my closest sister in Christ. Will we become more distant in the
The joys of marriage will be far greater because of the character and love of our bridegroom. Jesus said that the institution of human marriage would have fulfilled its purpose. But he never hinted that deep relationships between married people would end.
God usually doesn't replace original creation, but when he does, he replaces it with something that is far better, never worse. What about children? What about my relationship to my daughters and my son and closest friends? There is every reason to believe we'll pick right up in heaven with relationships from Earth. We will gain many new ones but continue to deepen the old ones. Again it must be said that this is a comfort for those who know and love Christ.
All that has been discussed about the topic of heaven, can only be comforting if we have trusted in Christ for acceptance with God. Heaven is a place made for holy inhabitants, because it is where a holy God dwells. The problem from Genesis 3 on is our sin. We are so much worse than we could ever imagine, and yet if we love Christ we have come to realize that God's grace and love is greater than we could have ever dared hope for. If we are to have any hopes of dwelling with God and resurrected bodies on the resurrected earth with a fully redeemed creation, we must go to the source of resurrection itself, Jesus the firstborn from the dead. Jesus has taken our sin against a holy and perfect God upon himself and died in our place so that we can have an eternity with God in his home. Christ not only died in our place, but he rose from the dead and defeated our enemies of sin, Satan, and death. In doing so he not only took our punishment which we deserved upon himself, he also took his perfect life and put his record in our account so that we are declared righteous before God. Redemption starts with our trust in Christ and continues as God bends all things for his glory as we grow and trust more and more in the person and work of Jesus. I pray this topic causes you to get on your knees for your family, friends, and loved ones, and seek God for their salvation. The promise of the new heavens and the new earth should liberate us and free as from clinging on to curse stained material possessions and fix our eyes on Christ as the joy that not only will come, but that we have today through the good news of his great love for you and I.
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