"Ahh... it doesn't get any better than this!"
While we experience many wonderful moments in this life--times when it seems like life couldn't get any better--according to the Bible, it does get better. It gets much better!
In the last post, I borrowed from the apostle Paul's teaching that, for the Christian, dying and going to heaven is like going home after a long journey in a foreign land. That's Paul's wonderful description of what theologians dryly call "the intermediate state" - the present heaven.
But what about our final dwelling place, the new heaven/new earth? That's today's focus in this final post on "Heaven".
The New Heaven & New Earth
Here’s one of the first things we’re told about the new heaven and the new earth – our future eternal home,
... "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people... " (Revelation 21:3 NIV)
In the new heaven and new earth, “God’s dwelling is among the people.” It seems that there will be a merging of heaven and earth, meaning that, in our final home, we will literally have Emanuel - "God with us."
What does that mean? According to David, with God there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Psa 16:11). Let's allow that notion to be the "gospel truth" that saturates this discussion as we explore some commonly posed questions about heaven.
Question #1: What will the new new earth/heaven look like?
There are a few verses in the book of Revelation that make people worry because they seem to indicate that in heaven there will be no ocean, no sun, no moon, no day, no night. Some people worry that it’s going to be different, and not a good different.
But, while many fear that we will lose the things we enjoy so much in this life, the Bible infers that life on the new earth will be additive, not subtractive. More, not less. Gain, not loss. Perhaps every joy that we experience in this life--every glimpse of beauty and moment of wonder--is really a foretaste; a whisper of a place where there will be “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore," untainted by the curse.
The apostle John tells us that, in addition to wiping away every tear and eliminating death, mourning, crying and pain, God will be making everything new!" (Revelation 21:4-5). While this statement can be understood a number of ways, it's important to note what God doesn't say. God doesn't say, “I’m making everything different.” And God doesn’t say, “I’m creating everything anew.” In short, we could rephrase God’s statement to say, “I am renewing everything.”
Here’s why I think that’s the appropriate way to understand that verse. Paul tells us in Romans 8 that all of creation has been eagerly waiting for the curse to end when creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God (Romans 8:21 NIV).
Creation is not waiting to be destroyed to make way for something brand new. Creation will be set free. It’s a picture of restoration, perhaps to its original vibrancy and splendor with eye-popping beauty & color that will fill us with wonder, and delight our senses.
Question #2: Will there be oceans?
Although Rev 21:1 states, "there was no longer any sea," It helps to remember that when we read the book of Revelation: (1) it is written in very symbolic language – everything cannot be taken literally and (2), it was written to people of the first century.
In his book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn reminds us that, to ancient peoples, the sea was a treacherous, frightful place--a watery grave where ships and people were lost and storms brewed. Additionally, in the Bible, the sea is often a metaphor for a place of spiritual chaos and turmoil and evil. So perhaps, symbolically, "there was no longer any sea" is just a poetic way of saying that there will be nothing to fear on the new earth.
Question #3: What about the sun?
Another verse that troubles many people is Revelation 21:2: The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
First, note that this is a reference to the city--the New Jerusalem--not to the entire new earth. Second, the verse doesn’t say that there is no sun or moon, only that the city--which seems to have it's own, self-contained environment--doesn’t need them because God provides its light. Hence, there will be no night/darkness in the Holy City. Note also that, although the city is walled, the gates are never closed (Rev 21:25), another indication that there is nothing to fear.
Question #4: What about mountains, valleys, rivers, etc.?
With regard to topography and geographical features, we read that John saw the new earth from "a mountain, great and high"(Rev 21:10), and there is a river with the "water of life, bright as crystal" running through the city. It seems our eternal home will be a real, temporal, earth-like dwelling place. We were made for this environment, so I propose that the topography of the new earth will not be unfamiliar to us.
Question #5: Will there be animals in heaven?
First, let's acknowledge that man is unique. We are made in the image of God. Jesus did not die on the cross for animals--at least not in the way he died for us. Yet, God said he is renewing all things. And remember that all of creation has been waiting for our redemption so it, too, can be set free from the curse.
I believe that animals are not only necessary for our "fullness of joy," but could be necessary for the ecological/teleological balance of the new earth.
Question #6: Will we see our pets in heaven?
To answer this question, I'll defer to Joni Eareckson Tada from her book, Heaven: Your Real Home... from a Higher Perspective:
“If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn’t surprise me. It would be just like Him. It would be totally in keeping with His generous character… Exorbitant. Excessive. Extravagant in grace after grace. Of all the dazzling discoveries and ecstatic pleasures heaven will hold for us, the potential of seeing Scrappy would be pure whimsy—utterly, joyfully, surprisingly superfluous."
And finally,
Question #7 - Who will inherit this wonderful place called heaven?
The Bible gives us a simple two-part answer:
a) Heaven is for those who love God
But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- (1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV)
b) Heaven is for those who are victorious
Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. (Revelation 21:7 NIV)
Heaven is for those who stand firm in the faith, persevere through the trials, overcome the difficulties of this life, and fight the good fight, loving/obeying God to the end.
Final Thought
Of course, much of what I have proposed about heaven in these past posts is necessarily speculative. Yet, I believe “heaven is going to be a place that will refract and reflect in as many ways as possible the goodness and joy of our great God, who delights in lavishing love on His children.” - Joni Erickson Tada
Credit: I want to give credit to several sources for some of the thinking posited herein: Pastor John Piper, desiringGod.org, - Randy Alcorn, author, Heaven, - Joni Eareckson Tada, author, Heaven: Your Real Home... from a Higher Perspective, - Pastor Mike Winger, BibleThinker.org/podcast.
Next Post: Once Saved Always Saved?
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