Intro
Heaven is generally thought of as the place where God dwells and where Christians go when they die. And while this is true, it’s so much more. Jesus describes Heaven as a paradise to the thief on the cross. In Revelation, John describes a sea of glass. He also mentions that Heaven has its own temple and ark of the covenant. And this only scratches the surface. Let’s discover the majesty of God’s dwelling place together.
Which Heaven?
This might surprise some of you, but the Bible talks about multiple heavens. Crazy right? Because of that, I’m going to briefly cover all three heavens and then get on with the main event.
The First Heaven
The first heaven (not called that specifically in the Bible, but a good label for clarity) is what we call the sky, or atmosphere. James 5:17-18 contains a great example of the Bible calling the atmosphere “heaven”.
Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. James 5:17-18 (NIV)
The Second Heaven
As we move up the list, we also move “up” in a more literal sense. What we call outer space – or the cosmos – is also referred to as “heaven” by the Bible.
And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars – all the heavenly array – do not be enticed into bowing down and worshipping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. Deuteronomy 4:19 (NIV)
The second heaven consists of all the stars, galaxies, planets, and everything else that exists in the cosmos. There is far more majesty here than in the first. And that pattern continues when we move on to the third – and final – heaven.
The Third Heaven
When we get here, we have now entered God’s dwelling place. God sits enthroned above the universe from the third heaven. This is the only one of the three that is explicitly referred to by the name “the third heaven”. Found in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells the story of “a man” that he knew that had been caught up to the third heaven. Many scholars believe this man was Paul himself, but because of all the things he couldn’t talk about, avoided questions by not naming himself.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. (NIV)
After laying all this groundwork, I’m now going to turn my attention to describing what the Bible has to say about this third heaven and what it means for Christians.
The Descriptions
The Bible records various things about heaven including physical descriptions, what life will be like, who will all be there, etc. I’m going to cover some of these and try to show you through these passages the incredible home we have to look forward to.
What Does Heaven Look Like?
Humans are visual people. That’s why pictures are so popular. And if you lived before the invention of the camera, it would be paintings – though you had to be fairly wealthy to get one of those. So, it’s no surprise that one of the first questions people have about Heaven is “What does it look like?” And while the Bible doesn’t give details about every aspect, there is some pretty powerful imagery to give us a glimpse of the majesty and beauty of our future home.
Heaven’s Throne Room
The throne room of God Almighty is a sight to behold according to John in Revelation 4. Look at the descriptions he gives it. “A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne…From the throne came flashes of lighting, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing…Also in front of the throne was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.” Wow! I’m trying to picture this concept of a rainbow shining like an emerald, and I admit, I have questions. But what I can picture is amazing. And I know that it falls short of the truth.
The New Jerusalem
Revelation also gives a description of the New Jerusalem, the city that comes down from Heaven to be the home of the saints for all of eternity. Now you could argue that this is the future home and not the current home. I say, so what? Whether the New Jerusalem will be current Heaven brought to Earth or something God creates (or has created and is currently waiting) as separate, is entirely irrelevant because they have the same designer and are going to have similar majesty and beauty. This gives me confidence that many of the features of this city reflect what Heaven is like today.
And those descriptions include walls made of jasper, streets made of gold, foundations made of various precious stones, and the gates made of pearls (Revelation 21). Talk about incredible! Talk about majestic! I can’t wait to live there for all of eternity. The majesty of it is only topped by the majesty of God Himself – who will be living there among us.
What Will We Do In Heaven?
For some reason, an idea got started and circulated that living in Heaven will be boring because all we will do is sit on clouds, play harps, and maybe fly around and talk to other people. There is so much more than that! Ever hear of the marriage supper of the Lamb? That’s right, there’s food in Heaven! As my pastor likes to say, “If you’re looking for me, I’ll be over by the chocolate fountain.” So, we’ll be chatting with friends and family over food. Coming from the Midwest, this will be both fun and normal.
Incredible People
And speaking of talking to others, what’s so boring about that? Being able to hang out with people who have died before you and talking to them. Talking to people in your family tree whom you’ve never met or hardly knew. Or how about talking to Biblical characters? Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, etc. Or other people throughout history. The Bible indicates that we will see them and be able to interact with them. Talk about all the stories we don’t have written in the Bible. And if you’re worried about seeing someone you had a rough relationship with here on Earth, don’t worry, all things are made new – even relationships.
Worship In Heaven
But more importantly, we will worship God. Again, in Revelation, John describes numerous scenes of worship around the throne. Look at Chapters 4, 5, 7, 13, 15, and 19 to see incredible scenes of worship to God and to the Lamb. There will be no end to the worship of God. Does that mean that all we will do is fall on our face and sing to Him? No, how can you eat and sing at the same time? What it does show is that there will always be someone singing in worship. And further, it also shows that worship is more than just singing. It’s a lifestyle. And once we get to Heaven, we will be perfect so everything we say and do will be a form of worship to the one who created us.
Learning New Things
The Bible hints that all throughout eternity we will continue to learn and discover new things. New things about God and new things about all that He has created. That’s a lot of discovery and I’m excited about it.
Who Will Be In Heaven?
And now, perhaps the most controversial question: Who will be in Heaven? What are the criteria to spend eternity in this incredible place? The reason this is controversial is because no one wants to spend eternity in the alternative to Heaven. Consequently, various religions put up very lax requirements to get to their version of Heaven. Even within Christianity, there are some differences on who goes to Heaven and how you are saved. This post is not about the criteria for salvation – though I’ll get to that at some point since I’ve been covering a lot of the basics since I started blogging – so I won’t go into the details about that.
Those Included
That said, here’s some verses that tell us exactly who gets to go to Heaven.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 (NIV)
A good summary of these verses is that only those who are children of God, or born again, will be in Heaven. Again, I’m not going to define all that it means to be born again, or saved, or even “what about the Old Testament saints” question. I’ll address those at a later time.
Those Excluded
Equally important to know is who won’t make it into Heaven. People you see here will not enjoy God’s presence for eternity and will instead suffer for that same period.
Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Revelation 22:15 (NIV)
Anyone who loves and practices these things (and this isn’t a comprehensive list) will not be enjoying the marriage supper of the Lamb. Of note, it says those who love and practice these things. If you are someone who struggles with it and are praying through it and fighting to be free, be rest assured that this verse does not apply to you. It applies only to those who do it, love it, and have no intent or desire to change.
And I bring to you a warning as well. A warning found in Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Beware that you do not fool yourself into believing you are good just because you “do good works for God”. It may be good. But is it what God asked you to do? Are you in His will? Do you truly know Jesus? Or are you trying to earn your way into Heaven?
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21 (NIV)
Wrapping Up
While we’ll never fully comprehend heaven here on earth, the Bible gives us a glimpse that gives me assurance that no matter how bad it gets here, this world is not our ultimate home. Take confidence in that, my brothers and sisters. Let that knowledge fill you with hope today.