Heaven (33 page)

When we live on the New Earth, could we go hiking in a snowstorm without fear of trauma or death? Could we jump off a cliff
into a river three hundred feet below? Could we stand in an open field in flashing lightning and roaring thunder and experience
the exhilaration of God's powerful hand? Must the New Earth be tamed, stripped of high peaks, deserts, water­falls, and thunderstorms
because these sometimes caused pain and death in this world? Nature, including variations in climate, will be a source of
joy and pleasure, not destruction. If we stand amazed now at the wonders of God's great creation, we'll be even more amazed
at the greater wonders of that greater creation.

I love the seasons, each of them. The crisp fall air, the brilliant yellows, or­anges, and reds, the long good-bye to summer.
The snow blankets of winter, the freshness and erupting beauty of spring, the inviting warmth of summer. Who are all those
from? "God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season" (Jere­miah 5:24).

Will there still be seasons on the New Earth? Why wouldn't there be? Some people argue that because fall and winter are about
dying, we won't experience them in Heaven because there will be no death there. I'm not convinced that seasons and their distinctive
beauties are the result of the Fall. God is depicted as the seasons' Creator, and we're not told they didn't predate the Fall
(Genesis 8:22). The "no more death" of Revelation 21 applies to living creatures, people and animals, but not necessarily
to all vegetation. Even if it does, God can cer­tainly create a cycle of seasonable beauty apart from death.

WILL WE MISS THINGS FROM THE OLD EARTH?

Have you ever bought an economy ticket for a flight but because of overbooking or some other reason been upgraded to first
class? Did you regret the upgrade? Did you spend your time wondering,
What am I missing out on by not being in the back of the plane?

The liabilities of economy class are removed in first class, but the assets aren't. You go from little legroom to lots of
legroom, from an adequate chair to a comfortable one, maybe even one with a footrest. Rather than just a sandwich, you get
a meal, on real plates. The flight attendants keep filling your cup, give you a great dessert, and offer a hot hand towel.
In other words, it's not just that the bad things about economy seats are minimized; it's that all the good things are made
better.

The upgrade from the old Earth to the New Earth will be vastly superior to that from economy to first class. (It may feel
more like an upgrade to first class from the baggage hold.) Gone will be sin, the Curse, death, and suffering. In every way
we will recognize that the New Earth is better—in no sense could it ever be worse.

If we would miss something from our old lives and the old Earth, it would be available to us on the New Earth. Why? Because
we will experience all God intends for us. He fashions us to want precisely what he will give us, so what he gives us will
be exactly what we want.

SECTION NINE

WHAT WITT OUR LIVES BE LIKE?

CHAPTER 28

WILL WE BE OURSELVES?

I
n Dickens's
A Christmas Carol,
Ebenezer Scrooge was terrified when he saw a phantom.

"Who are you?" Scrooge asked.

"Ask me who I was," the ghost replied.

"Who were you then?" said Scrooge. . . .

"In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley"
²⁰⁵

Disembodied spirits aren't who they once were. Continuity of identity ulti­mately requires bodily resurrection.

In the movie
2010,
David Bowman appears in ghostly form. When asked who he is, he replies, "I
was
David Bowman."

Unless we grasp the resurrection, we won't believe that we'll continue to be ourselves in the afterlife. We are physical beings.
If the eternal Heaven is a dis­embodied state, then our humanity will either be diminished or transcended, and we will never
again be ourselves after we die.

Contrast Jacob Marley and David Bowman with Job and Jesus. Job said, "In my flesh I will see God;... I, and not another" (Job
19:26-27). The risen Christ said, "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself] Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh
and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24:39).

Jesus called people in Heaven by name, including Lazarus in the present Heaven (Luke 16:25) and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
in the eternal Heaven (Matthew 8:11). A name denotes a distinct identity, an individual. The fact that people in Heaven can
be called by the same name they had on Earth demon­strates they remain the same people. In Heaven I'll be Randy Alcorn—without
the bad parts—forever. If you know Jesus, you'll be you—without the bad parts—forever.

WILL WE BE UNIQUE?

Just as our genetic code and fingerprints are unique now, we should expect the same of our new bodies. Individual identity
is an essential aspect of personhood. God is the creator of individual identities and personalities. He makes no two snowflakes,
much less two people, alike. Not even "identical twins" are identical. Individuality preceded sin and the Curse. Individuality
was God's plan from the beginning.

Heaven's inhabitants don't simply rejoice over nameless multitudes coming to God. They rejoice over each and every person
(Luke 15:4-7,10). That's a powerful affirmation of Heaven's view of each person as a separate individual whose life is observed
and cared for one at a time.

When Moses and Elijah appeared out of Heaven to stand with Christ at his transfiguration, the disciples with Christ recognized
Moses and Elijah as the distinct individuals they were, the same men they were on Earth, infused with holiness.

When we're told we'll sit at a banquet and eat with Abraham and Isaac and others, we will be sitting, eating beside, talking
with, and laughing with not a general assembly, but particular individuals (Matthew 8:11).

In his book
The Problem of Pain,
C. S. Lewis expressed his awe at the diver­sity with which God created us: "If He had no use for all these differences, I
do not see why He should have created more souls than o n e . . . . Your soul has a cu­rious shape because it is a hollow
made to fit a particular swelling in the infinite contours of the divine substance, or a key to unlock one of the doors in
the house with many mansions. For it is not humanity in the abstract that is to be saved, but you—you, the individual reader,
John Stubbs or Janet Smith.... Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for
it—made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand."
²⁰⁶

What makes youjow? It's not only your body but also your memory, personality traits, gifts, passions, preferences, and interests.
In the final resurrection, I believe all of these facets will be restored and amplified, untarnished by sin and the Curse.

Do you remember a time when you really felt good about yourself? Not in pride or arrogance, but when you sensed you honored
God, helped the needy, were faithful, humble, and servant-hearted, like Jesus? Do you remember when you encouraged someone?
when you experienced who you were meant to be?when you were running or swimming or working and felt you were strong enough
to go on forever (even though later you could hardly get out of bed)? That was a little taste of who you'll be in Heaven.

As C. S. Lewis expressed it in his space trilogy, we have become "bent" (sin­ful) versions of what God intended. Your deceitfulness,
laziness, lust, deafness, disability, and disease are not the real you. They are temporary perversions that will be eliminated.
They're the cancer that the Great Physician will surgically remove. His redemptive work is such that never again will they
return.

When you're on the New Earth, for the first time you'll be the person God created you to be.

WILL WE BECOME ANGELS?

I'm often asked if people, particularly children, become angels when they die. The answer is no. Death is a relocation of
the same person from one place to an­other. The place changes, but the person remains the same. The same person who becomes
absent from his or her body becomes present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). The person who departs is the one who goes
to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23).

Angels are angels. Humans are humans. Angels are beings with their own his­tories and memories, with distinct identities,
reflected in the fact that they have personal names, such as Michael and Gabriel. Under God's direction, they serve us on
Earth (Hebrews 1:14). Michael the archangel serves under God, and the other angels, in various positions, serve under Michael
(Daniel 10:13; Revelation 12:7). In Heaven human beings will govern angels (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).

The fact that angels have served us on Earth will make meeting them in Heaven particularly fascinating. They may have been
with us from childhood, protecting us, standing by us, doing whatever they could on our behalf (Mat­thew 18:10). They may
have witnessed virtually every moment of our lives. Be­sides God himself, no one could know us better.

What will it be like not only to have them show us around the intermediate Heaven but also to walk and talk with them on the
New Earth? What stories will they tell us, including what really happened that day at the lake thirty-five years ago when
we almost drowned? They've guarded us, gone to fierce battle for us, served as God's agents in answer to prayers. How great
it will be to get to know these brilliant ancient creatures who've lived with God from their cre­ation. We'll consult them
as well as advise them, realizing they too can learn from us, God's image-bearers. Will an angel who guarded us be placed
under our management?

If we really believed angels were with us daily, here and now, wouldn't it mo­tivate us to make wiser choices? Wouldn't we
feel an accountability to holy be­ings who serve us as God's representatives?

Despite what some popular books say, there's no biblical basis for trying to make contact with angels now. We're to ask God,
not angels, for wisdom (James 1:5). As Scripture says and as I portray in my novels
Dominion, LordFoulgrin's Letters,
and
The Ishbane Conspiracy,
Satan's servants can "masquerade as servants of righteousness" and bring us messages that appear to be from God but aren't
(2 Corinthians 11:15).

Nevertheless, because Scripture teaches that one or more of God's angels may be in the room with me now, every once in a while
I say "Thank you" out loud. And sometimes I add, "I look forward to meeting you." I can't wait to hear their stories.

We won't be angels, but we'll be
with
angels—and that'll be far better.

WILL WE HAVE EMOTIONS?

In Scripture, God is said to enjoy, love, laugh, take delight, and rejoice, as well as be angry, happy, jealous, and glad.
Rather than viewing these actions and descriptors as mere anthropomorphisms, we should consider that our emotions are
derived from
God's. While we should always avoid creating God in our im­age, the fact remains we are created in his. Therefore, our emotions
are a reflec­tion of and sometimes (because of our sin) a
distortion of
God's emotions. To be like God means to have and express emotions. Hence, we should expect that in Heaven emotions will exist
for God's glory and our good.

In Heaven we'll exercise not only intellect but also emotions (Revelation 6:10; 7:10). Even angels respond emotionally (Revelation
7:11-12; 18:1-24). Emotions are part of our God-created humanity, not sinful baggage to be de­stroyed. We should anticipate
pure and accurately informed emotions guided by reality. Our present emotions are skewed by sin, but they'll be delivered
from it.

Will we cry in Heaven? The Bible says, "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" (Revelation 21:4, NASB, emphasis added). These are the tears of suffering over sin and death,
the tears of oppressed people, the cries of the poor, the widow, the orphaned, the unborn, and the persecuted. God will wipe
away the tears of racial injustice. Such crying shall be no more.

The verse primarily addresses not tears per se but the tears coming from in­justice and sorrow. Hence, we might shed tears
of joy in Heaven. Can you imag­ine joy flooding your eyes as you meet Christ, for example, and as you're reunited with loved
ones? I can.

We know that people in Heaven have lots of feelings—all good ones. We're told of banquets, feasts, and singing. People will
laugh there (Luke 6:21). Feasting, singing, and rejoicing involve feelings. Feelings aren't part of the Curse; they're part
of how God made human beings from the beginning. Our present emotions are bent by sin, but they will forever be straightened
again when God removes the Curse.

Many people have a hard time with their feelings. In Heaven we'll be free to feel intensely, never afraid of our feelings.

One writer says of our life in Heaven, "We will live on a perpetual and exhil­arating high akin to the feeling we have now
when we shout 'Yes!' at a great vic­tory"
²⁰⁷
I'm not so sure. Living constantly at a fever pitch of exhilaration would eclipse special moments of joy. Certainly in Heaven
we won't experience sad­ness, but that doesn't require each moment's joy to be exactly equal to the rest. Will our emotions
be more intense sometimes than others? I believe they will. We experience an ebb and flow to our lives. That rhythm is part
of being human and finite—and we'll always be both.

WILL WE HAVE DESIRES?

We'll have many desires in Heaven, but they won't be
unholy
desires. Every­thing we want will be good. Our desires will please God. All will be right with the world, nothing forbidden.
When a father cooks steaks on the barbecue grill, he wants his family to listen to them sizzle and eagerly desire to eat them.
God created our desires and every object we desire. He loves it when our mouths wa­ter for what he's prepared for us. When
we enjoy it, we'll be enjoying him.

One of the greatest things about Heaven is that we'll no longer have to bat­tle our desires. They'll always be pure, attending
to their proper objects. We'll enjoy food without gluttony and eating disorders. We'll express admiration and affection without
lust, fornication, or betrayal. Those simply won't exist.

I tried to express that in my novel
Safely Home.
When one of the characters reaches Heaven, he has a conversation with the King: "I feel like I'm drinking from the Source
of the Stream. Does this mean I'll feel no more longing?" The King—the Source—replies, "You will have the sweet longing of
desire that can be fulfilled and shall be, again and again and again. [Heaven] is not the absence of longing but its fulfillment.
Heaven is not the absence of itches; it is the satis­fying scratch for every itch."
²⁰⁸

Not long after we finish one meal, we start looking forward to the next. When a fun ride is over, we want to go on it again.
Anticipation, desire, is a big part of joy. Since we'll be resurrected people in a resurrected universe, why would that change?

Christianity is unique in its perspective of our desires, teaching that they will be sanctified and fulfilled on the New Earth.
Conversely, the Buddhist con­cept of deliverance teaches that one day people's desires will be eliminated. That's radically
different. Christianity teaches that Jesus takes our sins away while redeeming our desires. Desire is an essential part of
humanity, a part that God built into people before sin cast its dark shadow on earth. I'm looking forward to having my desires
redeemed. (Even now, as redeemed children of Godwe get tastes or that, don t we?)

When Christ calls me Home I shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school.

ADONIRAM JUDSON

Won't it be wonderful to be free from uncertainty about our desires? We often wonder,
Is it good or bad for me to want this thing or that award or his approval or her appreciation?
Sometimes I don't know which desires are right and which arent. 1 long to be released from the uncertainty and the doubt.
I long to be capable of always wanting what's good and right.

In C. S. Lewis's
The Last Battle,
his characters arrive in New Narnia. Lucy says, "I've a feeling we've got to the country where everything is allowed."
²⁰⁹
Augustine expressed a similar thought: "Love God and do as you please."
²¹⁰
We will love God wholeheartedly—and therefore will want to do only what pleases him.

God placed just one restriction on Adam and Eve in Eden, and when they disregarded it, the universe unraveled. On the New
Earth, that test will no lon­ger be before us. God's law, the expression of his attributes, will be written on our hearts
(Hebrews 8:10). No rules will be needed, for our hearts will be given over to God. David said, "Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). Why? Because when we delight in God and abide in him,
whatever we want will be exactly what he wants for us.