Between Two Worlds: What Will Heaven Be Like?
Only when we have the eternal perspective and the blessed hope of Heaven will we be able to navigate through life’s inevitable heartbreaks and heartaches successfully. Jesus said to a group of anxiety-ridden and heartbroken disciples, “Let not your hearts be troubled...In My Father’s house are many mansions...I go to prepare a place for you!” (John 14:2). He would say the same to you in your days of difficulty. I know, for that’s what He spoke to me as I experienced several friends and family taken home to Heaven.
Through it all, the hope of Heaven was a healing and soothing medicine for my soul and continues to minister to my spirit and keep my perspective focused on Jesus. In my darkest, deepest grief, He met me there and illuminated various Scriptures about Heaven that I hope will lift your spirits and bring overwhelming comfort to you too.
I've heard people say when you die, you turn into an angel, or a relative who dies before you will become your guardian angel, or that heaven is really boring because you sit on a cloud all day and play a harp, or that heaven is like one long, boring church service-- no thank you!
Another misconception is you first have to go to a place to pay for your sins and have them burned away before you're admitted into heaven. The Bible speaks of heaven over 500 times and no passage speaks more clearly than Revelation 21-22.
Here are five surprising things Revelation tells us about heaven:
Heaven will be unfamiliar
Heaven is incomprehensible. Nothing on this side of eternity can do more than whet our appetite for Heaven. Has your soul ever been stirred by watching the water cascade down a waterfall? Has your heart been overwhelmed by the beauty of the sun setting into the ocean? Have you ever been moved to tears by the sound of a violin playing “How Great Thou Art”? Heaven will be far better!
It’s impossible for us to comprehend the heavenly dimension--a dimension we have not seen, cannot hear and do not understand (1 Cor 2:9). Paul was given a sneak peek and glimpse of Heaven and declared “For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain (Phil 1:21); he was left speechless in his attempt to describe all that he had seen (2 Cor 12:4).
C.S Lewis said, "Our ability to imagine what eternity will be like is like two infants in a womb talking about what they will be doing once they're born and are 25 years old."
We look through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12). We have words and visual descriptions that give us hints, but it's so different and unfamiliar from anything we’ve experienced in this life. The day you see Jesus will so far exceed your best day on earth, the day of your death will be the best day of your life.
Heaven will require destruction
"I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first Earth had passed away." -Revelation 21:1
By chapter 21, life as it once existed on this earth is over. Jesus has come back to receive His church. The tribulation is over. He is also then returned in glory, setting His foot on the Mount of Olives. He has established and run the course of the millennial kingdom on the earth. The Great White Throne judgment is over. Satan and the false prophet and the Antichrist and all unbelievers are in the lake of fire.
Jesus, from His own lips, predicted the world will come to an end, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). How will it end? Peter gives us further revelation: “The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (2 Peter 3:10).
God designed this universe to be temporary because He has something exceedingly better for us. Our focus shouldn't be here on that which is passing away; we are to set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:1).
Heaven is going to be brand new
“Behold I make all things new." -Revelation 21:5
The word "new" in the Greek language is the word kainos, which means new of a different kind, that is qualitatively different than the first. We're not talking about land improvement or renovation. It's not just chronologically new. It'll be qualitatively new, with a new design and landscape. If God did this great of a work creating our earth in six days, can you imagine if God applied all of that creativity for thousands of years?
Revelation 2:17 tells us we’ll have a brand new identity. When we get to Heaven, we’ll address each other with the names that the Lord reserved for us and will reveal to us on that day. Why? Because all the stuff associated with our present name is tarnished and tainted by sin. Jesus has our names written on the breastplate over His heart (Exodus 28), which means if your name is written in the Book of Life, it is on the Lord’s heart, as well as engraved in the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16).
Heaven will have a brand new atmosphere and surroundings. As a desert native who loves any chance to see the ocean, I initially struggled with Revelation 22:1 when John says, "there was no more sea." John, in this vision, tells us heaven will have a different climate altogether. You will be in a glorified, perfect, ageless body in a world that doesn't operate on the same hydrological system that is needed for life here.
Before you get too bummed out about missing your chance to surf, in John's day and age, a sea meant separation. People didn't fly over oceans in his day. They had to go across them, and many times they didn't make it because it was treacherous, mysterious, and filled with storms and dark but that separation will be gone. The Bible also alludes to transparent walls which perhaps means there will be no need for privacy or secrecy as we’ll be fully known, fully seen, and fully loved.
There is no sin or death in heaven
"God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain.” -Revelation 21:4
God will wipe away every tear - every tear of mercy, tears of persecuted innocence, tears of repentance for faults and crimes against His goodness, tears of disappointment, tears of neglect, tears of chronic pain, tears of yearning for what cannot now be ours. God will personally wipe away every tear. He will get to the very root of all of the problems, and they won't exist there. There will be no more death. You'll never go to a memorial again or visit a cemetery.
Why? There are no conditions that bring death-- no disease, no hospitals, and no doctors. There won't be sorrow, pain, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, cancers, temptations, or sin. Mankind has never known a community unmarred by sin. Heaven gives us a sinless and pure community of righteousness, a holy city. Oh, what a glorious day to be in His presence, in all of His holiness, glory, and splendor, and be blameless, sinless, and completely whole and holy before Him!
Not everyone will be there
"Nothing impure will ever enter [heaven], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” -Revelation 21:27
Heaven is a city of only believers. Forgiveness of sin is man’s greatest need and God’s greatest deed. If you’ve been saved for a while, this truth might have become dull as you live in the realm of forgiveness, but the world doesn’t. We must share the good news and occupy heaven with our loved ones!
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” -Romans 10:9
Do you just determine that you're going to rise above the common man, and determine and purpose that you’re going to live this certain way? No! How do you enter heaven? By faith and faith alone. Simply believe in the Son of God and you’ll enter into paradise with Jesus (Luke 23:43).
In my deepest grief, the hope of heaven is the healing salve to my soul, knowing not only will I be reunited with my loved ones, but I’ll be face-to-face with my Savior! God’s desire is to live in close fellowship with us, and our purpose is to be a people unto God. Heaven is going to be God continually blowing your mind with His power, His majesty, His glory, and His love. Paul said in Ephesians 2:7, "in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us". It’s going to take God all of eternity to show you the fullness of who He is and how much He loves you.
I hope you are as encouraged by these descriptions of heaven as I have been. Paul said in Romans 8:18, "I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us." Life is hard, but eternity is coming!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hannah is a twenty-something Tucson native saved by the overwhelming grace of Christ and a disciple of His Word. Hannah loves country music, camping and hiking, binge watching Gilmore Girls and traveling on spontaneous road trips. Her favorite days consist of a great cup of coffee, a good book, and enjoying monsoon thunderstorms. She longs to see young women thrive in their relationship with Jesus, knowing He always has immeasurably more in store for us.