What Norm Looked Forward to Most About Heaven
What did Norm most eagerly look forward to in heaven? You can see it in some of these poignant quotes out of Norm’s Systematic Theology (Volume Four) about Heaven!
THE FINAL STATE OF THE SAVED (HEAVEN)
The biblical words for “heaven” (Heb: shamayim; Gk: ouranos) are used in several different ways. There are three heavens: The first is the sky above us (earth’s atmosphere—Matt. 6:26), the second is the stars (the realm of space—24:29), and the third is the very abode of God, called “the third heaven” or “paradise” (2 Cor. 12:2, 4). It is in this third sense that “heaven” is used in this chapter, namely, as God’s dwelling place, the final destiny of the righteous.
THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR THE DOCTRINE OF HEAVEN
The Bible is filled with references to heaven. Though many questions are left open, making heaven the subject of a wide range of speculation, there are also many truths we do know about it.
Heaven in the Present: A Place of Bliss for Departed Spirits
Heaven now is a real place of departed spirits, the place of bliss in God’s presence where believers go when they die. Enoch entered heaven when “God took him” to be with Himself (Gen. 5:24). Elijah also “went up to heaven in a whirlwind” (2 Kings 2:11). Jesus went there at death after saying, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”1 A repentant thief did also after Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Paul referred to it as being “absent from the body” and “present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8 NKJV).
Heaven is God’s home; Jesus spoke of “Our Father in heaven” (Matt. 6:9; cf. 5:16) and said it was an actual place, reminding His disciples:
In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:2–3)
Jesus said He came from heaven and would return there: “No one has ever gone into heaven [bodily] except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man” (3:13);2 “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all” (v. 31); “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he wll live forever” (6:51).
Jesus told Mary Magdalene, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’ ” (20:17). This He did at His ascension, when the angels said He would return the same way He’d just departed.3
Angels also are said to be “in heaven” (Matt. 18:10), to come “from heaven” (28:2), to dwell “in heaven” (Mark 13:32), and return to heaven (Luke 2:15). In heaven is God’s “throne” (Matt. 5:34), where Christ sits at His “right hand” (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 1:3), where angels surround Him in praise and adoration (Rev. 4–5), and where the seraphim sing the tersanctus: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty” (Isa. 6:3).
That God dwells in heaven does not mean He is localized and not omnipresent.4 Solomon prayed: “The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you” (1 Kings 8:27). God is everywhere, as the psalmist revealed: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (139:7–9). The reality of heaven as God’s dwelling simply means that there is a place (like the old covenant tabernacle and temple) where God is manifested in a special way, a center or “throne” from which He rules the universe. Whether heaven is within the physical universe or in another physical dimension, it is an actual place where the righteous will “see his face” (Rev. 22:4).
Heaven in the Future: The New Heaven and the New Earth
According to Revelation, after the resurrection, after all believing human spirits have been reunited with their bodies, heaven will descend to earth5 in the form of the New Jerusalem:
Then I [John] saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (21:1–3)
Heaven has foundations, gates, and dimensions:
One of the seven angels … came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.… The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man’s measurement, which the angel was using. (vv. 9–12, 14–17)
The Constituents of Heaven
The innumerable occupants of heaven, in addition to the triune God, include angels and the great multitude of the redeemed from all ages.
The Triune God
At the heart of heaven is the throne of God, which John described:
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. (4:1–3)
Not only is God the Father in heaven, but so is God the Son: “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals” (5:5). Paul spoke of “Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—[and] is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Rom. 8:34). John added, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1). In heaven Jesus lives forever, with a permanent priesthood: “He is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:25).
The blessed Holy Spirit of God is likewise in heaven. John described Him symbolically as “the seven spirits before his [God’s] throne” (Rev. 1:4). This is the “sevenfold Spirit” of Isaiah 11:2: “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”6
When we get to heaven, we will see Christ in His physical glorified resurrection body with our physical eyes, and we will see the essence of God with our spiritual eyes. This is called the Beatific Vision.7
Good Angels
Further,
Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. (Rev. 4:4–6)
Redeemed Humans
In addition to God and a great multitude of angels, there are incalculable redeemed human beings:
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. (7:9)
The writer of Hebrews added,
You [believers] have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect. (12:22–23)
Indeed, John “heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them” (Rev. 5:13) singing in heaven to the Lamb.
The Duration of Heaven
Heaven will endure as long as God does, and God is eternal; heaven is where we will experience eternal life in its fullness.8 Further, heaven is the fulfillment of God’s promised everlasting life to believers, “the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2). Jesus said, “The righteous [will go] to eternal life” (Matt. 25:46), and John declared, “I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’ ” (Rev. 5:13).
The Nature of Heaven
The following is some of what is known about heaven from Scripture’s extensive witness.
Heaven Is a Place Far Better Than Earth
Paul wrote, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Phil. 1:23); “we … would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).
Heaven Is a Place of No Sorrow
John foretold, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:4).
Paul added,
[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (2 Cor. 1:4–5)
Heaven Is a Place of No Curse
In Genesis, God said that by Adam’s sin the world was cursed:
Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat of it”: Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. (3:17–19)
But in the paradise to come, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him” (Rev. 22:3).
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom. 8:18–21)
Heaven Is a Place of No Darkness
People of this sinful world love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). By contrast, John said of heaven, “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.… On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there” (Rev. 21:23, 25).
Heaven Is a Place of No Sickness
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more … mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (v. 4). “On each side of the river [of the water of life] stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (22:2).
Heaven Is a Place of No Death
“There will be no more death” (Rev. 21:4).
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:53–54).
Heaven Is a Place of Perfect Bodies
Paul declared that by “the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, [God] will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21)—immortal, imperishable, and glorious:
We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Cor. 15:51–53)
These perfect bodies will never degenerate, decay, or die:
Those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:35–36)
Heaven Is a Place of Completed Salvation
As we have seen,9 salvation comes in three stages: justification (salvation from the past penalty of sin), sanctification (salvation from the present power of sin), and glorification (salvation from the future presence of sin). This last stage, glorification, is heaven.
John described it this way:
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!… Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1–2)
Paul said, “Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:30), for “when Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4).
Heaven Is a Place of Many Mansions
Listen to these words of Jesus:
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:1–3)
Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace;
In the mansions bright and blessed
He’ll prepare for us a place.10There will be heavenly homes, magnificent mansions, and palatial palaces—all prepared for those who follow the Lord.
Heaven Is a Place of Perpetual Worship
Eternity is described as a heavenly temple (Rev. 21:3) where the angels worship (Isa. 6:3), where “the living … creatures … do not rest day or night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” and where the elders “fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever” (Rev. 4:8, 10 NKJV; cf. 5:13–14).
Heaven Is a Place of Everlasting Service
John’s vision declares: “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him” (Rev. 22:3). Believers will not be idle in heaven; like the angels, we will be engaged in ceaseless activity for God.
Heaven Is a Place of Abundant Life
Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 KJV). Paul told Timothy that “godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:8 KJV). Indeed, John says that in the paradise to come there is a tree of life and a river of life:
He shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:1–2 KJV)
Heaven Is a Place of Overflowing Joy
Here on earth we are given a foretaste of what is to come because we serve “God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Tim. 6:17; cf. Ps. 16:11). Jesus said that the angels already rejoice in heaven because of what God is doing for us: “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).
Heaven Is a Place of Grand Reunion
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thess. 4:13–18)
Christians never say a final good-bye; rather, it’s “So long—I’ll see you there.”
Heaven Is the Place of the Great Heavenly Wedding
People love weddings, as well we should—every earthly wedding is a picture, a temporal reflection, of the great heavenly wedding to come. Paul said of marriage, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:32 NKJV). There will be no earthly marriage in heaven (cf. Matt. 22:30), but there will be something far better—the heavenly marriage of the Lamb.
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Rev. 21:2–3)
Heaven Is a Celestial City
“None of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone” (Rom. 14:7). We shall all be together as residents in a heavenly city, in “Mount Zion … the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.” We will be with “thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, [in] the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven” (Heb. 12:22–23).
Love divine, so great and wondrous,
Deep and mighty, pure, sublime!
Coming from the heart of Jesus,
Just the same through tests of time.
He the pearly gates will open,
So that I may enter in;
For He purchased my redemption
And forgave me all my sin.11Heaven Is a Place of Incredible Beauty
In regard to what we have here, Paul said, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). How much greater will heaven be? The Old Testament speaks of “the beauty of holiness” (1 Chron. 16:29 NKJV), of which heaven is the apex. John described heaven as the jewel-studded, golden-paved city of God (Rev. 21:18–21). This veritable cornucopia of aesthetic delight is literally beyond description.
Heaven Is a Place of Moral Perfection
The present world is laden with layers of evil; even the apostle Paul considered himself the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). In heaven, though, every believer will be made absolutely perfect, for “when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears” (1 Cor. 13:10; cf. 1 John 3:2).
“Nothing impure will ever enter it [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” (Rev. 21:27). Therefore, we are to “make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Heaven is a place of ultimate and complete sanctification.
Heaven Is a Place of Eternal Rest
Ever since the Fall, life has been filled with toil (Gen. 3:17–19)—even the spiritual life is a struggle (Eph. 6:11–12). Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). On earth, we are the church militant; in heaven, we will be the church at rest. Hebrews says, “There remains … a Sabbath-rest for the people of God” (4:9), and the Spirit said to John, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.… They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them” (Rev. 14:13).
Heaven Is a Place of Eternal Reward
We are not saved by works, but we are saved for good works:12
By grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:8–10)
If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. (1 Cor. 3:12–14)
Jesus promised, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Rev. 22:12). Those who have followed will hear Him say, “Well done, my good servant!” (Luke 19:17).
Heaven Is a Place of Perfect Knowledge
[Now] we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Cor. 13:9–12)
Heaven Is a Place of Indescribable Glory
Paul said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Trying to describe his vision of heaven’s glory, he wrote:
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. And I know that this man … was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. (2 Cor. 12:2–4)
In a passage that narrates the Transfiguration,
[Jesus] took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.… While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matt. 17:1–2, 4–5).
Ezekiel described a dazzling display of the divine: “The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it” (Ezek. 1:13).
When Moses experienced only a passing glimpse of God’s glory, the Israelites had to cover his head because of the blinding brightness of its glow (Ex. 34:29–35); to them “the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain” (24:17).
Heaven Is the Place of the Beatific Vision
The Beatific Vision is the blessed vision that Moses sought, God forbade, Jesus promised, and John described—seeing God face-to-face.
Mortal Man Cannot See God
“No one has seen God at any time,” wrote John in his gospel (1:18 NKJV). When Moses pleaded, “Show me your glory,”
The Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.…
Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen” (Ex. 33:18–23).
Immortal Man Will See God
However, immortal human beings will see God face-to-face; John declared that in heaven “they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (Rev. 22:4). Again, Paul explained, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12). The psalmist added, “In righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness” (17:15). As John said, “When he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
The term Beatific Vision, this face-to-face experience with God, comes from the word for beatitude, meaning “blessed” or “happy.” This vision is the ultimate fulfillment of all divine aspirations—it will be a direct, complete, and final revelation of God in which the believer will see the divine essence. Of the many who have declared this vision of God, Thomas Aquinas spoke repeatedly of the glory of this ultimate experience;13 Benedict XII (r. 1334–1342) said that the divine essence would be seen by direct intuition (face-to-face); and the Council of Vienne (1311–1312) insisted that since it transcended a human’s natural capacity, the Beatific Vision is only possible by a supernatural act of God (see Cross, ODCC, 146).
There are several important characteristics and consequences of the Beatific Vision that we can derive from Scripture and reason.
The Beatific Vision Brings Direct Knowledge of God
Paul said our present knowledge of God is indirect (1 Cor. 13:12); now, God is not known directly but through His creation, “for since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Rom. 1:20). However, in heaven we will see and know fully (1 John 3:2); what is now dim for us will become bright; what we now know indirectly we will know directly.
All we know now about the infinite God is known through finite images, which is why our knowledge is analogous.14 In the Beatific Vision’s unmediated knowledge, the divine essence will inform our finite minds; we will have a full and direct knowledge of God Himself.
The Beatific Vision Brings Perfect Knowledge of God
This ultimate knowledge of God will be perfect (1 Cor. 13:9–10); our partial knowledge will turn into whole knowledge; our incomplete understanding will be transformed into complete understanding. Whatever we can know about God, we will know, and we will know it perfectly.
This does not mean we will know God infinitely. Because we will always be finite, so will our knowledge be finite. Only God has an infinite knowledge of the infinite;15 even in heaven our knowledge will be finite. We will perfectly apprehend God, but will never completely comprehend Him. God will always be ineffable.16
The Beatific Vision Brings Perfect Love of God
Jesus said, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matt. 22:37–38). This kind of love is never fully attained in this life, but it will be in the next:
We are told that our final destiny consists in beholding God immediately, face to face, and as He really is … even as He knows Himself; that it [the Beatific Vision] consists also in loving Him even as He loves Himself. (Garrigou-LaGrange, P, 379)
“God is love” (1 John 4:16), and to know Him is to know His very essence. To know perfect love is to be able to love perfectly, and “we love Him because He first loved us” (v. 19 NKJV).
The Beatific Vision Makes Sin Impossible
Knowledge of God is knowledge of an infinite good;17 once one directly sees infinite good, it will no longer be possible for him to do evil,18 for to be directly informed in one’s mind by absolute good is to become completely conformed to it. Hence, the Beatific Vision makes sin impossible. Just as seeing absolute beauty will spoil one forever from longing for anything ugly, likewise, beholding the absolutely holy will overpower any attraction to or desire for the unholy.
The Beatific Vision Fulfills Our Freedom
Though heaven makes sin impossible, it does not destroy but instead fulfills our freedom. Heaven completes our freedom to completely love God, just as (analogously) marriage here on earth frees us to love the one to whom we belong. True freedom is not the freedom to do evil, but the freedom to do good. The essence of free will is self-determination, and if one’s self chooses to do only the good, then the fulfillment of it in a place where only good can be done is not the destruction of freedom, but the completion of it.19
God is both free and unable to sin; it will be likewise for us when we become most godlike, for the perfection of our freedom is the freedom from sinning, not the freedom of sinning. The best freedom is the freedom to do the best; beholding and loving the absolute best (which makes sin impossible) is the best thing we can ever do.20
The Beatific Vision Is Given Only to Believers
It is important to note that the Beatific Vision is not forced on anyone against his will: Only those who seek God will see God (Heb. 11:6). It is those who choose to fall in love that are overwhelmed by it; no one can be forced to love another. Love, like God’s saving grace, is irresistible, but only on the willing,21 for irresistible force on the unwilling is not grace but assault. Once again, as C.S. Lewis aptly stated:
The Irresistible and the Indisputable are the two weapons which the very nature of His [God’s] scheme forbids Him to use.… Merely to override a human will … would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only woo. (SL, 46)
The Beatific Vision Brings a Permanent State of Perfection
Just as God is changeless perfection,22 even so the perfection of beatified saints will be changeless. Salvation from the presence of sin (glorification) will save us from the damage and distortion that sin wreaks in our lives. Our present growth in perfection (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18) is due to our not yet having reached the ultimate state of perfection. One no longer needs to be changed into what he has ultimately achieved; heaven (and the Beatific Vision it brings) will make permanent (by glorification) what is only in process in this life (through sanctification).23 The more we become like God, the more unchangeably we become like His moral attributes.24
The Beatific Vision Brings a Dynamic State of Perfection
Being in an immutable state of perfection (in heaven) is not to be confused with being in a static state. God is immutable but not immobile;25 likewise, in heaven we will be immutably (though finitely) perfect without being immobile (static). God is the Unmoved Mover,26 but He is not an Unmoving Mover. In fact, as Pure Actuality,27 He is the most active being in the universe (He is Pure Actuality, having no potentiality). God is active in sustaining everything in existence,28 in His sovereignty (governance) over the entire world,29 through His providence in the world,30 and by His miraculous intervention in human affairs.31 God also interacts with the prayers of all the saints and saves all sinners who repent.32 Note, though, that while God is interactive, He is not reactive but proactive; as Isaiah said, before we call, God answers (Isa. 65:24).
Likewise, when we reach the most godlike state of absolute perfection possible (via the Beatific Vision), we do not become less active but more active. We will not be God’s frozen chosen—we will be His mobile millions, actively worshiping and serving Him (cf. Rev. 4–5). Nevertheless, our action will not be that of striving but of enjoying, not of seeking but of treasuring what was found. Our minds will be active, not in searching for truth but in rejoicing over the infinite truth discovered (1 Cor. 13:12). Our intellectual and spiritual action in heaven will not be that of desiring God but of delighting in Him.
The hymnist said it eloquently:
Face to face with Christ, my Savior,
Face to face—what will it be
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ who died for me?
Face to face—O blissful moment!
Face to face—to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ who loves me so.
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky.
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by.33One day, while meditating on this topic, these words came to me:
In That Great Day …
The mountains shall be lowered
And the crooked things made straight
When we see the Lord of glory
And pass through the open gate.
The Lord Himself will tell us:
“I have saved you by my grace.”
And all we once-lost sinners
Will see His wondrous face.
The angels up in glory
Will shout with ecstasy
For ne’er in all the ages
Ere this sight did see.
We’ll have the glory of Jesus;
Our bodies will be the same;
In that great Day
When the Lord of Hosts shall reign.ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT HEAVEN
As with other ultimate truths, when it comes to heaven there are more questions than answers. Many queries are not addressed in Scripture and must await the final reality itself; in the meantime, we must be content that “the secret things belong to the Lord our God” (Deut. 29:29). Even so, there is nothing to hinder theological speculation, provided it contradicts neither Scripture nor sound reasoning.
Will Those Who Die in Infancy Remain Babies in Heaven?
Probably not. Heaven is a place of maturity and perfection, and babies stunted in their growth, short of maturity, would not reflect a state of perfection.34 It seems to better befit God’s nature and plan for those who were not granted earthly maturity to attain it in heaven.
Will Everyone Be Equally Blessed in Heaven?
The evidence seems to support a negative answer. Everyone in heaven will be fully blessed, but not everyone will be equally blessed. Every believer’s cup will be full and running over, but not everyone’s cup will be the same size. We determine in time what our capacity for appreciating God will be in eternity.35 Different persons can listen to the same musical performance and have varying degrees of appreciation because they have developed different capacities for enjoying it; similarly, different people can be in the same heaven and yet have different degrees of enjoyment due to developing different abilities for enjoying God here on earth.
By our temporal obedience we determine our reward in eternity (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10), as Paul clearly explains:
No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Cor. 3:11–15).36
How Can Heaven Be a Place of Glory to God and Yet of Reward for Us?
The Bible seems to present contradictory motifs: (1) the worship of God, and (2) rewards for us. How can we be working for rewards and yet doing all things for God’s glory (1 Cor. 10:31)?
The answer lies in the nature of the reward: If the reward is the capacity to love and serve God more, then these two elements are not contradictory. This seems to be the case in Jesus’ parable of the stewards (Matt. 25:14–30); those who invested their talents were given more, and their master said, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
Indeed, the elders mentioned in Revelation do not strut their crowns on the corner of Glory Street and Hallelujah Avenue:
They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (4:10–11).
There is nothing selfish about working for a crown if it is for the privilege of casting it at the feet of Jesus.
Will Believers Have Physical Bodies in Heaven?
Yes.37 Jesus’ resurrection body was the same physical body in which He died, crucifixion scars and all (cf. Luke 24:39–40; John 20:27). The empty tomb, the scars, the physical touching of His body (cf. Matt. 28:9), calling it “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39), and His statement that it was the same body that died (John 2:19–21) all demonstrate that His resurrection body was physical. Our resurrection bodies will be like His (Phil. 3:21), and, like Him, we will leave behind an empty grave (John 5:28–29).
Will We Eat in Heaven?
Yes,38 but for enjoyment, not for sustenance—for pleasure rather than necessity.39 The physical resurrection body is supernaturally rather than naturally sourced (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4; 15:44); God will have incomparably rich enjoyment for us in heaven even as He has given us great pleasure here on earth.40 Jesus said to His disciples, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29).
Will We Recognize Loved Ones in Heaven?
Yes. Moses and Elijah were recognized when they appeared from heaven on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:3); Peter even acknowledged them by name (v. 4). There seems to be a personal identity by which we will recognize each other in heaven, as is at least implied in Paul’s comfort of the bereaved among the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 4:13–18) and in Jesus’ response to the Sadducees’ question about the resurrection (Matt. 22:28–30).
Can We Be Married in Heaven?
No, there will be no marriage ceremony or marriage relationship in heaven. This ends at the time of physical death:
By law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. (Rom. 7:2–3)
How Many People Will Be in Heaven?
Everyone whom God can bring there without violating the free will that He gave them.41 God desires all to be saved (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4), but we cannot know how many will be. Augustine speculated that it would be the same percentage as the angels who fell (one-third; see Rev. 12:9), but the Bible nowhere says this.
Many believe that only a small fraction of all the people who ever lived will be in heaven, based on passages like Matthew 7:13–14:
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
However, B. B. Warfield (1851–1921) argued that this is taking such verses out of context (“ATFTBS” in BTS); he maintained that they refer to the immediate and local response to Jesus’ message, not to the ultimate and universal statistics of heaven. Indeed, granting that all who die in infancy go to heaven,42 that life begins at conception,43 and that the mortality rate before the age of accountability44 down through the millennia has been roughly half of those conceived, it would seem to follow that there will be more people saved than lost. This is to say nothing of much of the world’s population since the time of Adam being still alive at this time;45 a great revival before Christ’s return could sweep even more souls into God’s kingdom.
Finally, by analogy with the angels, two-thirds of which did not rebel against God (Rev. 12:4), one could reason that perhaps two-thirds of all humans will be saved. This also is merely speculative, but we do know that “the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9; cf. 1 Tim. 2:4). Once again: There will be as many people in heaven as God can get there without violating the free choice that He freely gave His creatures.46
Is Heaven a Place or a State of Mind?
Liberal theologians have long insisted that heaven is a state of mind, not a place; thus, those in the right state of mind are in heaven now—here on earth.
However, while it’s true that unless one enters the right state of mind and heart—a state of belief in God47—he will not go to heaven, it is untrue that everyone in this state of mind is already there. Heaven is much more than a state of mind: It is a real place. Jesus used the word place three times in regard to heaven in John 14:2–4;48 He also taught us to pray to “our Father in heaven,” and that His will would be accomplished “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9–10). Heaven is a different place than earth (cf. Rev. 21:9–27).49
Where Is Heaven Located?
Presently, before the final resurrection, heaven is the abode of righteous human souls and angelic spirits in God’s presence (2 Cor. 5:8; Heb. 12:23), where Christ sits on the right hand of God’s throne (1:3). This may be somewhere in a far corner of the space-time world, shrouded from human view behind a cloud of God’s glory, or in an entirely different physical dimension.
In favor of heaven being in the space-time world, some have cited Job’s reference to God coming from the north (Job 37:22; cf. 26:7). Plus, Jesus ascended bodily into the sky and off into space (Acts 1:10–11), and He will return to the same place (the Mount of Olives), in the same physical body, from which He left (Zech. 14:4).
In favor of heaven being in another dimension, others have noted that Jesus seemed to step in and out of this space-time dimension when in His resurrection body (Luke 24:31; John 20:26). Further, contemporary science presents a multidimensional universe that allows for many dimensions beyond the customary three.
Eventually, after the Second Coming,50 heaven (the Holy City) will descend to be part of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1–2). Peter exhorted believers:
Look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:12–13)
This will be the eventual fulfillment of the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray (Matt. 6:10): In that day there literally will be heaven on earth. For He asks us to pray: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Will We Continue to Learn and Morally Improve in Heaven?
Christian theologians have held both views.
Those who hold to eternal human process cite texts like Ephesians 3:10–11:
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Also, 1 Peter 1:12 states:
It was revealed to them [the prophets] that they were not serving themselves but you [later believers], when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
From such passages it is inferred that even heaven is a great university wherein we continue to learn about (and grow in) God.
On the other hand, those who deny heavenly spiritual progress point to several factors.
First, heaven is a place of perfection, not progress (cf. 1 Cor. 13:2). Heaven represents rest and attainment, not striving (cf. John 9:4; Rev. 14:13).
Second, heaven is a place of receiving, not working for, rewards (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11ff.; Rev. 22:12).
Third, the sense of urgency and finality about this life (cf. Heb. 9:27) supports the conclusion that heaven completes and finalizes what is done here and now. As Jesus said to Peter, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19; cf. 18:18).
Fourth, and finally, the very nature of the Beatific Vision as the ultimate and final state of perfection and sinlessness suggests that once we have it, we will no longer be learning;51 instead, we will be engaged in the eternal experience of resting in, delighting in, and reveling in the incredible and unsurpassable knowledge provided by God’s infinite nature.
The one thing heaven will not be is a place of boredom, which results from falling short of perfection rather than from attaining it. The following chart illustrates the difference:
Moral Perfection on Earth Moral Perfection in Heaven
Changing Unchanging
Growing Matured
Striving for Resting in
Seeking Enjoying
Desiring of Delighting in
Our goal Our reward
Our aim Our attainment
Paul wrote,
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.… I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:12–14)
Will We Be Able to Explore the Universe in Heaven?
Yes, but in an infinitely higher way than space travelers could. The nature of the Beatific Vision grants this: We will know everything our finite capacity will allow us to know directly through the infinite mind of God. As He knows the entire universe in and through Himself,52 so will we know the universe by virtue of knowing everything directly in and through His Mind (essence). Hence, with effortless ease, we will be able to explore the entire universe, insofar as it is finitely possible. Such exploration will not be that of ceaseless discovering, but of endless delighting in what we have already discovered in God.
Will We Experience Time in Heaven?
Here again, there are two views held by orthodox Christians.
The first position says yes, we will experience time in heaven, a conclusion based on passages that speak about eternity being described as, for instance, “day and night” forever (e.g., Rev. 4:8; 7:15), though these could be figures of speech for an endless eternity.
The second view emphasizes that heaven is the abode of the eternal (nontemporal) God.53 We, the beatified, will have reached a state of changeless perfection in which the timeless God directly informs our minds. Because time is a measurement of change according to a before and an after, we cannot be temporal in heaven; if we were temporal, then we would still be changing; however, we will be perfect, and what is perfect does not need to change.54 If perfection changed, it would have to be either change for the better (we cannot be better than being absolutely perfect) or change for the worse (we cannot get worse in heaven). Since humans in heaven cannot be in time, nor, as finite,55 can we be absolutely changeless like God, the medieval theologians gave another name to this state: aeviternity. Our state of aeviternity will be one like that of the angels, who are not in time by nature but can be related to it by activity.56
THE THEOLOGICAL BASIS FOR THE DOCTRINE OF HEAVEN
Like every other major biblical doctrine, heaven is rooted in the very nature and will of God. Particularly, heaven is based in God’s omnibenevolence, omniscience, omnisapience, and omnipotence. As the place of ultimate good, heaven was desired by God’s omnibenevolence, was conceived by His omniscience, was planned in accordance with His omnisapience, and will be achieved by His omnipotence.
Heaven Follows From God’s Omnibenevolence
God, by nature, is all-loving.57 He does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9) but desires “all men … to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4 NET). “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16 TLB), who is the sufficient sacrifice for the sins of “the whole world” (1 John 2:2).58 The love of Christ is manifest in that “one died for all” (2 Cor. 5:14); that is, “He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9 NLT). If God loves everyone and wants everyone to be saved, then there must be an eternal place for them. This is why Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). In the Bible, this place is called “heaven” (Matt. 6:9).
Heaven Follows From God’s Omniscience
Of course, it would be useless for God to prepare a heaven unless He knew in advance that someone was going to be there. Only an omniscient being with infallible foreknowledge of human freedom59 could know with certainty that any free creatures would accept His offer of salvation.60 Paul confirms,
Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Rom. 8:29–30)
Peter wrote to those “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood” (1 Peter 1:2). In accordance with God’s foreknowledge of those who would receive Him (cf. John 1:12) and thus be saved, He provided an eternal heaven for their happiness.
Heaven Flows From God’s Omnisapience
God is not only all-knowing, He is also all-wise;61 He not only knows who will be saved, but He also knows how to get them there. This requires omnisapience: Wisdom chooses the best way to obtain the best end.62 Since humans were created free, the infinitely wise God ordained the best means to keep them on the track to heaven. Needless to say, this was no small task, since He willed not to violate our choice and yet also assure our ultimate destiny.63
Heaven Flows From God’s Omnipotence
A plan that transforms sinners and makes them saints cannot be accomplished by natural powers—only the efficacious grace of God can do this.64 As such, it is God’s omnipotence that can guarantee the end from the beginning: “What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do” (Isa. 46:11). It is with this assurance that we can know heaven will have occupants, the exact ones whom God has foreordained will be there.65 Because of God’s omnipotence, Peter was compelled to speak of those “who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). The surety of heaven is a confident expectation, not only because God is all-loving and wants to achieve it, but also because He is all-powerful and can do it.66
Geisler, N. L. (2005). Systematic theology, volume four: church, last things (pp. 294–318). Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.