Heaven:
What It, And We, Will Be Like
Heaven is about people. You. Me. And countless other redeemed people living forever in a community of oneness with the living God. It’s about relationships.
We miss that point when we ask questions about heaven; Will I be able to keep my cell phone? Do all dogs really go to heaven? Room service? What makes heaven heaven is people.
Years ago, John Ortberg profoundly influenced my thinking about heaven. Many of the ideas in this article reflect his thoughts. He said, “The best part of heaven is the sort of persons we will become.”
That’s the deal. Who we will be with and the kind of people we will become—that’s heaven. To enter it is to enter endless life. By comparison, our brief stay on earth seems only a trifle, but is of enormous consequence. Life will have only begun when heaven begins. What is of significance is the development of our character and the kind of person we become.
In heaven we will not sit around looking at each other, or at God, waiting for something to happen. Our purpose is to join the Father as His heirs and co-regents in His never-ending creative work. I’m baffled so many Christians seem uncomfortable or unwilling to talk about it. As I try to engage friends and other believers, the responses range from virtual silence to polite dismissiveness.
While there seems to be bewilderment in what heaven will be like, there is unprecedented interest in end-times speculation. A recent book series sold millions of copies and was then made into films which follow a scenario featuring Christ’s secret return to earth to rapture His church from the so-called “great tribulation.” Still another return of Christ follows, this one public, a second ‘second coming,’ to consummate history. Many apparently do not realize or care that the series was written as fiction. These end-time thrillers first create, then cash in on, a sense of crisis and urgency, followed by further popularizing them with vital products like coffee mugs, t-shirts, and screensavers.
So why does talking about heaven interest us so little?
- Maybe it’s a topic too close to death, one very unsettling to many. If we just ignore it, maybe it will go away.
- Our obsession is with the present moment and keeping our overcrowded, constantly connected lives from flying apart.
- Heaven to many may seem like an incredibly boring place. What will be do? How will we occupy our time? Will there be endless singing around a campfire accompanied by ukulele?
- Much of what we claim to know about heaven is simply bogus, trivialized by tasteless jokes and inane television commercials. It is more than fluffy white clouds, fluttering wings, and a fog bank into which people disappear.
Despite all this, the return of Christ and the reality of heaven are still the blessed hope of the Christian. And to treat either with disinterest suggests a serious shortsightedness into precious Biblical truth about our glorious future.
It wasn’t that long ago I would have responded to questions about heaven with a stifled yawn, but then I got a good dose of Biblical truth and learned about the incredible future that is the birthright of every Christ follower. After many years of deliberate avoidance and self-inflicted poverty, I studied the Biblical book, The Revelation. Setting aside the nonsense of sign, date, and event-setting, all being supported with obscure Bible verses, I sought the message God had for my heart from this book that has been so maligned.
I am not a trained Biblical scholar, rather an ordinary Christian with a teachable heart. From my personal study of Revelation Chapters 21-22, here is my understanding of what heaven, and we, will be like.
Intimate, Unbroken Relationship with the Living God
From everywhere they come, the redeemed of the earth. God’s priceless treasures—men, women, boys, and girls—each so different, and yet brought together as His family through the substitutionary death of His Son for our sins. John saw these people, this family as he wrote Revelation:
“. . .I beheld. . .a great multitude, which no man cam number, of all nations, and
kindred, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palm in their hands. . .” Rev. 7:9 NIV
God’s people have come home, having been scattered across the centuries, to heaven our real home. He is with the people who bear His name, never to be separated again:
“. . .Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. . .God himself
will be with them and be their God.” Rev. 21:3 NIV
This grand picture of being together, in perfect fellowship with each other and with God forever, summons up emotions too deep to express. Nor can the scope of such an experience be imagined. Our minds and emotions suffer hopeless overload when we think of the indescribable sweetness of what it means to be in heaven, to be home. A joyful, song-filled homecoming like this has never happened before. For many Christ followers it has been such an exceedingly long wait, an exhausting journey filled with suffering and sorrow.
For the very first time we can see God. John said, “We shall see him as he is.” I John 3:2 NIV It will take all eternity to explore this One who can hold our universe in His palm, who can create more than one trillion galaxies. Such is our God. How can we begin to understand his limitless goodness and greatness?
The Restoration of Community
“. . .They will be his people. . .” Rev. 21:3 NIV
The church, founded by Christ, is to be a community of God’s people on earth to demonstrate to a skeptical world the great value of knowing Him. It is to be a living example of what true community can someday be.
True community means oneness. It is pure and perfect fellowship, without hindrance and tarnish. Community originated in the oneness of the Godhead—the Father, Son, and Spirit—and extended to Adam and Eve who, before their sin and rebellion, were in perfect harmony with God. The fall of man into sin and alienation from Him wrecked everything.
Authentic community will be reestablished for all eternity at the return of Christ. The countless dead in Christ shall be called forth to resurrection life and joined by present believers, all of whom will be transformed and transferred into eternity as one body, a fully formed community of fully devoted followers: A New Community.
This New Community, this gathered church, is God’s centerpiece of all history, a unique people called out to be the showcase of His grace. The church is God’s most precious possession and fulfills his dream of a community of oneness. It is composed of all the redeemed people of the earth outfitted in resurrection bodies, rewarded for their faithfulness, and forever enjoying the presence of the living God.
Elimination of all Evil
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away.” Rev, 21:4 NIV
Satan will have spent his allotted time trashing the universe and wrecking the lives of mankind. This is the day all the carnage will be hauled off and dumped, never to be seen again.
Every heartache that mankind ever felt found its way into human experience through sin. Life in the Garden of Eden was perfect for Adam and Eve until sin entered the story of which all mankind is still a part. But now, sin has been erased from the universe, and all the problems associated with it vanish.
All the things that make us cry—gone forever. All the things that make our hearts heavy, that burden our spirits and cause us unbearable sorrow—gone forever. Suffering, sickness, disease, disability, evil, injustice, even death itself—all gone.
On this first day of eternity God wipes away many things: our tears, our most painful wound, our worst dread, our most difficult relationship, our most devastating loss, our deepest disappointment, all the hurts that would never go away, and the things that make us afraid. On this day God makes everything right, once and for all, so that all that remains is peace, comfort, and inexpressible joy.
Perfect Personal Holiness and Godliness
The celestial city John described in Revelation Chapter 21—the New Jerusalem, the “bride” —is the church. It is believers, followers of Christ, from all the ages. God knows every square inch of this city which symbolizes his people (21:9-27 NIV). He knows everything about them, and to Him they are an absolute moral treasure.
Men crave darkness because it conceals their wicked deeds (John 3:19, NIV). But in heaven there will be no more darkness, and no more night for people to fear:
“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 light. Rev. 21:23 NIV
There will be no more night. . ..” Rev. 22:5 NIV
Think of it! There is coming a time when what we have yearned for all our Christian lives will be reality—we will be completely free from personal sin, including the desire to sin. Our sinful, fallen nature, against which we have struggled all our lives, will be eliminated. The human heart was included when God said,” I am making everything new!” Believers will undergo radical spiritual transformation:
“. . .in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye . . .we will be changed.” I Cor. 15;52 NIV
In moral character and personal holiness, we will be, not similar to, but like Christ:
“. . .now we are children of God . . .we know that when he appears, we shall
be like him . . .” I John 3:2 NIV
What is heaven if it is not when you and I will be like Christ in every sense?
You and I will be able to “walk in the light as he himself is in the light.” I John 1:7 NIV
No more moral lapses. No more dragging ourselves back to confess the same sin we’ve committed countless times before. No more guilt. We will know what it feels like to be morally flawless, and free from the terrible grip of fleshly cravings. Completely pure, and able to love God effortlessly. You and I will have a new heart, a renewed mind, and transformed body. We will think only good and noble thoughts, speak only gracious words, and do only worthy deeds.
Complete Personal Fulfillment
Is anyone thirsty?
“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new! To
him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the
water of life’.” Rev. 21:5, 6 NIV
Is anyone afraid? Not feeling safe? In heaven there will be no elaborate security systems, no need to lock your doors because there is no night, and no wicked person to trouble you:
“On no day will its gates be shut, for there will be no night there. . .nothing
impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful”
Rev. 21:25-27 NIV
Is anyone feeling unloved, unknown, forgotten, marginalized?
“. . .the city (was made) of pure gold, as pure as glass. . .” Rev. 21:18 NIV
The city, the people of God, is of incalculable value to God. John uses the imagery of gold, precious stones, and pearls to ascribe value to every believer. One need never feel lonely, forgotten, or worthless again.
People futilely chase after many things while seeking fulfillment: wealth, fame, pleasure, intimacy, influence, and acquisition—always in pursuit of ‘just a little bit more.’ But enough is never enough. Fulfillment eludes us. In a rich country like America, men and women can spend their entire lives driven by appetites, destructive overwork, overeating, overcompensating, and over connectedness.
When we finally discover God is all we have, we learn He is all we need.
Ceaseless, Useful Service
When we die, we don’t cease to be who we are. Our personality isn’t scrapped, our rich experience isn’t scuttled, and our Holy Spirit implanted gifts and skills we’ve spent a lifetime honing aren’t scrapped. It all goes with us—the progress we have made as disciples, the excellence of character—all transferred to heaven because it is valuable to God and essential for our unimaginable service in the life to come.
“. . .the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants
will serve him.” Rev. 22:3 NIV
Heaven will be teeming with vital life and brimming with creative activity. God has never ceased creating; He never will.
Consider how busy our little planet gets when it leaps to life in springtime with the coming of the sun’s warmth and gentle rains. Nature explodes into frenzied activity. Seeds sprout. Flowers bloom. Birds sing and build nests. Animals seek mates. Just try holding all this back when the unstoppable forces of spring break free from winter’s grip! It is called ‘life,’ and it drives the springtime.
Eternal life, not the seasonal trappings to which we are accustomed, will be the driving force behind heaven’s activity. Try holding that back! Eternal life will have been turned loose in a perfect environment with people whose lives are perfect and are in perfect harmony with God’s will. God will ask a simple question, “What would you like to do”? The result will be mind-numbing and will set into motion things to be done and services to be rendered that make busyness on our little planet look like children at play. Dallas Willard says,
“. . .the intention of God is that we should each become the kind of person whom
He can set free in his universe, empowered to do what we want to do. Just as we
desire and intend this, so far as possible, for our children and others we love, so
God desires and intends it for his children. But character, the inner directedness of
the self, must develop to the point where that is possible.”
We cannot wrap our finite minds around the incalculable creative work God has for us to do in his workshop which we call our universe.
Endless Personal Development
In heaven there will forever be room to learn and grow unless we assume we will be all-knowing and fully developed. I don’t. Consider Jesus who was perfect in every respect. Sinless. Flawless. Yet we are told he developed personally:
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.” Luke 2:52 NIV
The moment we see the face of God, experience Him, hear His voice, and feel His touch, it will be a teachable moment unlike any other. We will have endless eternity to grow and develop as God further enables and equips us to serve Him at levels we have never imagined.
Paul suggests there will be a profound change in the new eternal order in what we know, how we know it, and how we learn it. (I Cor. 13:9-12 NIV) The way we presently speak, think, and reason is like that of a preschooler compared to the way we will react when we are face-to-face with God without all our present limitations.
We are told the virtues of faith, hope, and love will remain after everything else has ceased, that these will be transferred from the old order to the new. Hope has its eye to the future, always anticipating that it will bring favorable change. Hope looks for that which is not yet realized.
We have not begun to comprehend Jesus’ parable of the talents when He spoke of His coming kingdom:
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things,
I will put you in charge of many things.” Matthew 25:23 NIV
Ortberg has taught us to ask bolder, more expansive questions worthy of the glories of heaven: Will there be things to do in heaven that require the utmost strength of character and willpower? Will there be adventure beyond our wildest dreams? Will there be opportunities that require our best thought, our best problem-solving skills, and ability to lead? Will there be mind-numbing challenges to engage and give our best effort to? Absolutely.
Heaven is where our real service begins. This life will remind us of our childhood tricycle with training wheels. All our experiences will have only been a prelude as we pass the rim of our world and engage the boundless stretches of eternity. This world as we know it will have only been a training ground for heaven when we will be unleashed in ceaseless creative, productive activity. We ought to hone our gifts, sharpen our skills, and acquire all the useful abilities we can while we yet live. We ought to vigorously press ahead in becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Our life on earth is an incredibly important dress rehearsal for the life to come.
My feeble efforts to share these thoughts about heaven seem such a trifle. Heaven is so expansive; no one can conclude with any finality what it will be like. We can only pause, as C. S. Lewis does in the conclusion of Narnia, and allow the story’s characters, and ourselves, to be caught up in the wonder of it all:
“But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world
and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page; now at
last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read;
which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.”
Don M. Hull © September 2021