I don’t know where the idea came from , but so often people think heaven is people each sitting on their own cloud playing harps. This view doesn’t make people excited about heaven.
Although the Bible doesn’t give a detailed description of heaven (probably because there are not words to properly describe the wonder of heaven), it does give enough detail that we can know it is a place where we really want to go.
In Revelation 4, the apostle John is called up to heaven to see what will happen in the future. Almost every description John gives has an analogy or simile because he doesn’t have a way to fully describe what he is seeing.
Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. (Revelation 4:2-3) {emphasis mine}
Everything in heaven is so much more marvelous than we can imagine. There are no words to describe it, but if there were, our minds could not comprehend it.
Although we are incapable of visualizing heaven, the Bible does tell us some of the wonders of heaven.
My speculation: When Jesus was resurrected, He returned to earth in His heavenly body. He appeared and disappeared miraculously. He passed through locked doors. How is this possible? Scientists have found evidence suggesting the universe might have more than the 3 physical dimensions and the time dimension. I suspect that heaven and our heavenly bodies will include more than the three physical dimensions. This would explain how Jesus and angels come and go at will.
To help you picture how a 4+ dimensional being would interact with our 3-dimensions, imagine that we were 2-dimensional beings living in a 2-dimensional universe (like a sheet of paper). A 3- dimensional sphere could sit just above the paper, and nobody on the paper would know it exists. If it barely touched the paper, it would look like a dot. If it intersected the paper, it would look like a circle. Once it passed beneath the paper, it would seem to disappear. To the 2-D creatures, it would look like a miracle, but it is just how 2- vs 3-dimensionality works. I speculate that something similar happens between Jesus and the angels and our world that we live in. Describing more dimensions would be nearly impossible for our minds and is part of the reason none of the biblical writers could describe what they saw in heaven.
No More Crying
“…and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
One thing all of us can get excited about is that all the pain and agony of this world will not exist in heaven. There will be no sickness. There will be no sin. There will be no death. There will be nothing to mourn. Everything in heaven will be perfect and inspiring.
People will not die, nor have any infirmities. I know many of us are looking forward to this time (especially as we age). There will be no more lies and no more war. There will be no more weakness. Can you imagine a world with zero hardship? We have so much hardship around us that it is difficult to imagine such a wonderful world.
No More Guilt
All of us have some forms of guilt and regret. We’ve done things we wish we had not done. We’ve missed opportunities, we wish we’d grabbed. We’ve said things we wish we hadn’t and not said things we wish we’d said.
Thanks to Jesus’s death on the cross, our sins are removed and not held against us, but it won’t be until heaven that we will be completely separated from our sin, as if it never happened.
But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Revelation 3:4-5)
Can you imagine no longer feeling guilt and regret? That will be heavenly.
The Best Part of Heaven
When we think of Heaven, we tend to focus on all the bad things that won’t be there. There is so much evil and hardship in this world that we look forward to not having them in the afterlife. Although not having evil and hardship will definitely be a relief, it isn’t what we should most be looking forward to.
The best part of Heaven is being in the presence of God. The best part will be seeing our Savior face-to-face and being able to talk with Him in His presence. Now we have prayer (like a telephone call), but in Heaven we will talk face-to-face (an in-person conversation). Prayer (or talking on the telephone) works acceptably when we can’t be with the person we love, but no long-distance communication can compare with being in the presence of our loved one. Heaven wouldn’t be Heaven if God wasn’t there.
Mankind was created to fellowship with God. Before the fall, Adam and Eve spoke with God every day, but that fellowship was broken when they consciously broke God’s only commandment.
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)
Can you imagine the privilege of strolling through a perfect garden with God and talking in perfect fellowship? Now that would be heavenly!
The tragedy of our lives is that this perfect fellowship was broken, and we are still paying the penalty.
When Moses asked to see God’s glory:
And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Exodus 33:19-20) {emphasis mine}
Even one of the men closest to God, was told that “no man can see Me and live!” Due to our sin nature, we can no longer face God, but for those who have repented and trusted in Jesus, that will change one day soon.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:19-21) {emphasis mine}
We will one day be able to sit down with Jesus and the Father to dine with them. Many of our most intimate settings include sitting down for a meal with our closest friends and/or family. There will be nothing more marvelous than having a meal with our God, Creator, and Savior!
I hope you are also looking forward to joining Jesus in Heaven for eternity, and I hope to see you there at the wedding supper of the Lamb.
Trust Jesus
FYI, I recently bought an editor (ProWritingAid) to help me edit my book (especially my comma errors). I had been relying on friends and family, but it was taking so much time, and it is hard to find every nitpicking error. I don’t fret over minor errors in a free blog post, but feel anyone who spends money on a book deserves a well-polished book. Some suggestions, however, turn personal writing into efficient, vanilla prose. I’m trying to take the useful suggestions and ignore the ones that cause my writing to lose my personal flavor or that harm my intended meaning. Please let me know if you notice a difference and whether that difference is good or bad, so I know whether I should continue using it on my blog posts.
I will never use an aid to compose my posts. They are used for spelling and grammatical errors only.
All verses are NASB unless otherwise noted.
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