Bonus Lesson: Revisiting Heaven

Recommend Resources:

Heaven and Hell, Tim Mackie, podcast series

What Most Churches Won't Tell You about Heaven, Brandon Robbins, YouTube video

The End of the Pilgrimage: Your Judgment Seat Verdict and How it Determines Your Place in His Kingdom, James S. Hollandsworth, book

The New Heaven and New Earth as Depicted in Revelation 21-22, The Bible Project, article

The New Testament Doesn’t Say What Most People Think It Does About Heaven, NT Wright, article

The Kingdom of Heaven in the Here and Now and Future, Marg Mowczko, article

Key Points:

• Much like with our discussion on hell from last week, the Bible says very little about heaven in the terms we normally think of it. The word “heaven” initially just referred to the skies above. Like Genesis 1:1— “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” That means that God created the two realms of land and sky. “Heaven” isn’t really a term used of where we go when we die, at least not in the Bible. It did eventually come to refer to the place where God lives. And since the mindset is usually that we’ll be with God when we die, people started saying that we go to heaven when we die. It’s not inaccurate terminology, per se; we just have to be aware of the baggage that comes with the term in our own minds versus what the original audience would have been thinking.

• To get a full picture of the good side of the afterlife (normally called heaven), we have to consider the other terms the Bible uses, recognizing though that they may not present the picture exactly as we’ve imagined it. (Cf Matthew 22:28 where Jesus and the Sadducees reference the afterlife as “the resurrection.)

• Neither Hebrew nor Greek really has a word for “eternity.” In Hebrew, the mindset was of two ages—the age we’re in now and the age that is to come when God sets everything right. The next life was referred to as “the age” or “the age to come.” This language carries over into the New Testament when the writers use the term “age” or “ages of the ages” to describe the ongoing rule of God that sets all things right. A literal translation of something like John 3:16 would read “that whoever believes in Him wouldn’t be destroyed but have life of the ages.”

• St. Peter isn’t on gate duty for all eternity. I tend to think a misreading of Matthew 16:18–19 gave many the impression that Peter is a heavenly bouncer, but Jesus’ words to him were symbolic of spiritual power that affected events on earth. Jesus was not saying that Peter would have guard duty, determining who gets into heaven. In fact, Revelation 21:21 speaks of the new Jerusalem’s having 12 gates, not just 1, and they do not need to be closed or guarded.

• We do not become angels. This idea is taught nowhere in Scripture, but my guess is that it comes from a misunderstanding of Matthew 22:30. But that verse says that they are “like” angels, not that they become angels. Angels are their own category of supernatural being.

• There’s still swimming in heaven. Some have suggested that there are no bodies of water in heaven, likely based on Revelation 21:1. But a closer inspection notes that the verse says there is no more sea. As you continue to scan into Revelation 21:23 and 22:5, you also read about there being no need for sun, moon, or stars, and that there is no night. While some would take this as a literal statement, others question how we could live on a planet without a sun since the sun provides heat as well as light. We have to remember that the Bible was not trying to give us a scientific answer. John is drawing on the imagery of Genesis 1. The enemies of created order were the chaotic sea and the engulfing darkness. God held those at bay during Creation. Now, in the New Creation, there is no chaos at all.

• We’ll all be foodies in heaven. Jesus’ words in Mark 14:25 mean that there will be food in the next life. Consider as well Revelation 19:9 which invites us to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Though we often think of eternity as one long praise service, it’s significant that God ends our story, not with a worship service, but with a worldwide party.

• Yes, animals will be there. In Isaiah 11, the prophet conveys a vision of the next life, and he describes wolves, lambs, lions, cattle, and much more. While this isn’t a guarantee that your specific pets will be in heaven, it does strongly suggest that animals will be a part of the afterlife. After all, if the end of our story is a renewed Eden, it only makes sense to have animals there as well.

• If it’s a bestselling book, it’s probably not accurate. In the Bible, people do receive visions and see glimpses of the next life, but their response is almost always to freak out, fearing that they are dead or about to die. Personally, I do believe Near Death Experiences are real and legitimate, but I also tend to think that they are not a reflection of reality. I believe people who have them really have experienced something, just that it is not necessarily a representation of what actually is to come.

• We get to keep our crowns. Throughout the New Testament, the imagery of an Olympic crown (today we use medals) is used to motivate Christians with the belief that their good deeds in this life will carry over into reward in the next. Revelation 4:10 is the only instance in the Bible that says anyone will cast a crown at the feet of God, and that is only for the 24 elders that sit around His throne. We get to keep the rewards that we are given.

• You don’t have a mansion just over that hilltop. An unfortunate English word choice in John 14:2 has led many American Christians to believe we will each get small palaces on individual hilltops in eternity. But the concept of anyone other than a high-ranking government official having a mansion would have been completely foreign to ancient Jews. A concept they were familiar with was the ancient marriage custom of a bridegroom-to-be building an addition onto his parents’ house for him and his future bride. In that culture, the kids got the in-law suite. You’d build onto your parents’ house, creating a multi-generational commune. That’s the imagery Jesus was drawing on when He said that the Father’s house has many rooms. In God’s house, there’s room for all of us.

• You don’t have to sing of His love forever. While it is true that Revelation 4:8 depicts a never-ending chorus of “Holy, holy, holy,” it is only 4 fantastic beasts who are tasked with this singing. Humans are not required to spend eternity in a never-ending worship service of praising God. If you want to take time and go praise God, I’m sure He’ll welcome it, but it is not an eternal requirement.

• The streets are not all paved with gold. Check Revelation 21:21 again. It references a singular street of gold, and that word means marketplace. In other words, the city square is made of pure gold. Ultimately, the imagery is that it’s not worth making this life about financial gain since gold is as good as pavement in the next life.

• You’ll (probably) still be married in heaven. In Matthew 22:23–32, a group of religious leaders tried to trip Jesus up with a question about 1 bride for 7 brothers. While many use this passage to say that there is no marriage in heaven and we are all just brothers and sisters in Christ, note that Jesus never said there was no marriage in heaven. He said there would be no new marriage in heaven. Everything in Scripture points to our earthly relationships carrying over into the next life. If you had a bad or abusive marriage, don’t worry, I’m confident God would never require you to spend eternity with someone who could cause more hurt. That being said, it does leave open the initial question of the Sadducees—what about people who have had more than one marriage. In typical Jesus fashion, Jesus doesn’t answer the question directly, leaving us open to speculation.

• We will retain our personalities and recognize each other in eternity. When Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus in Luke 9:30, everyone knew who they were. No one had to explain that this used to be Moses and Elijah. They retained their identities. In fact, Paul suggests in 1 Corinthians 13:12 that we will be the truest versions of ourselves in eternity because there we will know and be known by each other to the fullest possible extent.

• We will retain our cultural identities, not develop a new heavenly homogenous one. Note that in Revelation 7:9, the multitude is described as coming from all nations and people groups. That means that whatever cultural heritage you have in this life will carry over into the next. It’s a part of who you are, and since heaven is about you being the fullest version of yourself, it only makes sense that what makes you unique will still be a part of your identity.

“Pointing to Revelation 7:9, [Tony] Evans says, ‘God is not colorblind, but he doesn’t want us to be blinded by color. He doesn’t want our hue to define our relationship.’ He continues, ‘We’re supposed to be different, but [John] says Christ is supposed to be all in all.’ When someone decides to live by the rules of God’s kingdom, says Evans, then ‘you become part of one new man.’

As an analogy, he points to an orchestra warming up, with discord and noise—until the conductor comes out and takes control. ‘What was noise is now a song,’ says Evans, even though a wide variety of instruments are still being played. Though the world may want to keep creating discord, he says, ‘in the kingdom of God, we’re playing his song, and you can use your own racial instrument as long as you’re playing his song.’”

• We will have renewed bodies. This is not a completely new, unrecognizable body. Jesus’ scars carried over into His resurrection body. Moses and Elijah were still recognizable as Moses and Elijah. That likely means that scars, tattoos, hair color, eye color, height, etc. will carry over. Our bodies won’t have all the same problems they do today due to entropy, but they will still be recognizable as our bodies.

• Heaven is also a present reality. Heaven isn’t just about a life to come. It’s about a life that exists right now, the power of future life that we can draw on to make the moments in this life better. (Cf Luke 17:20–21, Matthew 12:28, Mark 12:34, Colossians 1:13)

• How you live this life will affect your quality of life in the next. There is variation in rewards and judgement in the next life. The next life isn’t us all equally sitting on clouds with harps and halos. The Biblical imagery is of God’s handing out varying degrees of reward and responsibility to people who make the most of this life. Many of Jesus’ parables are about this concept. (Cf Matthew 25:14–30, 1 Corinthians 3:12–16, also Matthew 11:21–24)

• In the sweet by and by we will meet at the corner of First and Amistad. Revelation 21 and Isaiah 65:17-25 remind us that cities and human civilization continue into eternity. You’ll likely be able to visit your favorite lunch spot or go shoe shopping or see a movie or attend a concert or cheer on your favorite sports team in eternity. The only difference is that everyone will believe in Yahweh. In eternity, God redeems cities to be hubs of human artistic expression and beauty. What you enjoy in this life, you will be able to enjoy in the next.

• The next life is about a renewed Eden. There was work in the Garden. The curse didn’t bring about work. The curse just made work harder and more unfulfilling. We will work in eternity, but we will all love our jobs and find fulfillment in them. I believe you will be able to pick your career and even try out different ones as you contribute to the eternal human utopia society that is heaven.

• Our goal is not to go to heaven when we die. The Bible is not about leaving the physical to go to a better spiritual place. It’s about reuniting the physical and spiritual realms that were separated at the Fall. Our story doesn’t end with leaving earth to go to heaven. It’s about heaven coming down to earth. Consider again Revelation 21:1-2 and Isaiah 65:17-25.

• “Our culture is so fixated on dying and going to heaven when the whole Scripture is about heaven coming to earth.” -N. T. Wright

• “Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about.” -N. T. Wright

• “Heaven is important, but it’s not the end of the world.” -N. T. Wright

• “Michael Wittmer writes in his book Becoming Worldly Saints that God’s plan for the world’s future is not destruction, but restoration:

‘God did not say, ‘I am making new everything!’ but rather ‘I am making everything new!’ He does not promise to make new things to furnish the new earth, but to renew the things that are already here.’”

• “Darrell Cosden in his book The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work begins to address our last question: ‘Will any of the things we have today carry over to the new earth?’

‘Our sanctified imaginations can only suggest what we think God’s promise to make all things new might mean… There will be, no doubt, some specific products of our work that through judgment will be transformed and incorporated into the ‘new physics’ of the new creation. I am quite hoping that Handel’s Messiah will be regularly in concert in the New Jerusalem.’”