Heaven (38 page)
Authors: Randy Alcorn
SAM STORMS
I heard someone say, "Therewon>t be teaching Heaven.There won't be any need." But that assumes we will be omniscient and that
we won>t learn, which contradicts both Scripture and the way Godmade us. I've benefited greatly from the stimulation of college
and seminary courses I>ve attended and taught. Discussions amongthoughtful students and teachers can be exhilarating. I see
God in the insights other people share with me. Learning is exciting. Education on this fallen Earth may sometimes be bland
and can even undermine truth, but in Heaven all education will be a platform to display God's fascinating truth, drawing
us closer to him.
Consider how exciting intellectual development will be. Father Boudreau wrote, "The life of Heaven is one of intellectual
pleasure.... There the intellect of man receives a supernatural light. . . . It is purified, strengthened, enlarged, and enabled
to see God as He is in His very essence. It is enabled to contemplate, face to face, Him who is the first essential Truth.
It gazes undazzled upon the first infinite beauty wisdom, and goodness, from whom flow all limited wisdom, beauty, and goodness
found in creatures. Who can fathom the exquisite pleasures of the human intellect when it thus sees all truth as it is in
itself"
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If seeing truth "as it is in itself" is that exciting for those of us who've had some education here on Earth, imagine what
it will be like for those who never had the benefits of literacy and education.
Think of what it will be like to discuss science with Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, and Thomas Edison or to discuss mathematics
with Pascal. Imagine long talks with Malcolm Muggeridge or Francis Schaeffer. Think of reading and discussing the writings
of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, G. K. Chesterton, or Dorothy Sayers with the authors themselves. How would you like to talk
about the power of fiction at a roundtable with John Milton, Daniel Defoe, Victor Hugo, Fyodor Dostoyevsky Leo Tolstoy, and
Flannery O'Connor?
How about discussing God's attributes with Stephen Charnock, A. W. Pink, A. W. Tozer, and J. I. Packer? Or talking theology
with Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, and Luther? Then, when differences arise, why not invite Jesus in to clear things up?
Imagine discussing the sermons of George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, and Charles Spurgeon with the preachers
themselves. Or sitting down to hear insights on family and prayer from Susanna Wesley. Or talking about faith with George
Mueller or Bill Bright, then listening to their stories. You could cover the Civil War era with Abraham Lincoln and Harriet
Beecher Stowe. Or the history of missions with William Carey, Amy Carmichael, Lottie Moon, or Hudson and Maria Taylor. You
could discuss ministry ideas with Brother Andrew, George Verwer, Luis Palau, Billy Graham, Joni Eareckson Tada, Chuck Colson,
or Elisabeth Elliot.
We'll contemplate God's person and works, talking long over dinner and tea, on walks and in living rooms, by rivers and fires.
Intellectual curiosity isn't part of the Curse—it is God's blessing on his image-bearers. He made us with fertile, curious
minds so that we might seek truth and find him, our greatest source of pleasure. In Heaven our intellectual curiosity will
surely surface—and be satisfied—only to surface and be satisfied again and again.
In 1546, Philip Melanchthon gave a memorial address about his departed friend Martin Luther. In it Melanchthon envisioned
Luther in Heaven, fellowshiping with predecessors in the faith: "We remember the great delight with which he recounted the
course, the counsels, the perils and escapes of the prophets, and the learning with which he discoursed on all the ages of
the Church, thereby showing that he was inflamed by no ordinary passion for these wonderful men. Now he embraces them and
rejoices to hear them speak and to speak to them in turn. Now they hail him gladly as a companion, and thank God with him
for having gathered and preserved the Church."
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WILL WE FIND BOOKS IN HEAVEN?
We know that sixty-six books, those that comprise the Bible, will be in Heaven—"Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm
in the heavens" (Psalmll9:89). Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35).
Presumably, we will read, study, contemplate, and discuss God's Word.
There are also other books in Heaven: "I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.
Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the
books" (Revelation 20:12).
What are these books? They appear to contain documentation of everything ever done by anyone on earth. To say the least,
they must be extensive.
While some people take these books figuratively, to represent God's omniscience, we should not assume these aren't real books.
It would have been easy to tell us "the all-knowing God judged everyone."
The other book is the Book of Life, in which the names of God's people are written. John mentions it throughout the book of
Revelation (Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27). It's mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures as well (Exodus 32:32-33;
Daniel 12:1). It's also referred to in later literature, such as the book of Jubilees and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The apostle
Paul refers to it in Philippians 4:3.
Other passages describe a scroll in Heaven. Jesus opens a great scroll (Revelation 5:1, 5), and an angel holds a little scroll
(Revelation 10:2). The psalm writer David said, "Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll—are they not in your record?"
(Psalm 56:8). He asked that his tears be kept in Heaven's permanent record.
Malachi 3:16-18 is a remarkable passage that tells us God documents the faithful deeds of his children on Earth: "Then those
who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence
concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. 'They will be mine,' says the Lord Almighty, 'in the day when I
make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will
again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.'"
God is proud of his people for fearing him and honoring his name, and he promises that all will see the differences between
those who serve him and those who don't. Those distinctions are preserved in this scroll in Heaven.
The king often had scribes record the deeds of his subjects so that he could remember and properly reward his subjects' good
deeds (Esther 6:1-11). While God needs no reminder, he makes a permanent record so that the entire universe will one day
know his justification for rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked.
There's no hint that God will destroy any or all of the books and scrolls presently in Heaven. It's likely that these records
of the faithful works of God's people on Earth will be periodically read throughout the ages.
The books contain detailed historical records of all of our lives on this earth. Each of us is part of these records. Obscure
events, words heard by only a handful of people will be known. Your acts of faithfulness and kindness that no one else knows
are well-known by God. He is documenting them in his books. He will reward you for them in Heaven.
How many times have we done small acts of kindness on Earth without realizing the effects? How many times have we shared
Christ with people we thought didn't take it to heart but who years later came to Jesus partly because of the seeds we planted?
How many times have we spoken up for unborn children and seen no result, but as a result someone chose not to have an abortion
and saved a child's life? How many dishes have been washed and diapers changed and crying children sung to in the middle of
the night, when we couldn't see the impact of the love we showed? And how many times have we seen no response, but God was
still pleased by our efforts?
God is watching. He is keeping track. In Heaven he'll reward us for our acts of faithfulness to him, right down to every cup
of cold water we've given to the needy in his name (Mark 9:41). And he's making a permanent record in Heaven's books.
WILL THERE BE OTHER BOOKS BESIDES GOD'S?
I believe that on the New Earth, we'll also read books, new and old, written by people. Because we'll have strong intellects,
great curiosity, and unlimited time, it's likely that books will have a
greater
role in our lives in Heaven than they do now. The libraries of the New Earth, I imagine, will be fantastic.
We'll have no lack of resources to study and understand. I once helped a young friend search for her biological mother, going
through old court records, looking for just the right clue. We finally found it. I had the privilege of introducing them
to each other. It was a taste of Heaven—where not all reunions will happen all at once, I imagine, but as eternity unfolds.
Will we search for information and do research on the New Earth? Why not?
Unlike the histories we read on Earth, Heaven's books will be objective and accurate. No exaggeration or overstatement, no
spinning to make certain people look better and others worse. We will be able to handle the failings of our ancestors, just
as they'll have the right perspective on ours.
Every biblical genealogy is a testimony to God's interest in history, heritage, and the unfolding of events on Earth. Will
God lose interest in Earth? Will we? No. The New Earth's history includes that of the old Earth. But a new history will be
built and recorded, a new civilization, wondrous beyond imagination. And we who know the King will all be part of it.
Books are part of culture. I expect many new books, great books, will be written on the New Earth. But I also believe that
some books will endure from the old Earth. Any book that contains falsehood and dishonors God will have no place in Heaven.
But what about great books, nonfiction and fiction? Will we find A. W. Tozer's
The Knowledge of the Holy,
J. I. Packer's
Knowing God,
John Piper's
Desiring
GW,John Bunyan's
Pilgrim's Progress,
and Charles Sheldon's
In His Steps
on the New Earth? I'll be amazed if we don't find them there, just as I'll be amazed if no one sings John Newton's "Amazing
Grace" in Heaven.
Perhaps those of us who are writers will go back to some of our published works and rewrite them in light of the perspective
we'll gain. Maybe we'll look at our other books and realize they're no longer important—and some of them never were. The New
Earth, I think, will confirm many things I've written in this book. It will completely dismantle others. "Whatwas I thinking?"
I'll ask myself. (If I knew which parts those were right now, I'd cut them out!) And I'll marvel at how much better the New
Earth is than I ever imagined.
WILL WHAT WAS WRITTEN ON EARTH SURVIVE?
On the New Earth, will you see once more the letter of encouragement you wrote to your teenage son? Or the letter you wrote
sharing Christ with your father? Or the life-changing words you jotted on a student's paper? Many such things written in
this life may prove more important than books.
Some old books may be republished in the New Jerusalem. Or if God desires, he could preserve the original or printed copies
from this earth. I wonder if John Wycliffe himself will hold again his Bible manuscripts. Will Harriet Beecher Stowe see again
her pages of
Uncle Tom's Cabin}
Will Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings endure the fire? Will we read again aversion of C. S. Lewis's
Mere Christianity
or The Chronicles of Narnia?
Will God preserve some books from our present lives? Will they be kept on the New Earth in museums and libraries? Will the
God who resurrects people and animals and stars and rivers and trees also resurrect certain personal possessions, including
books, which are first burned, then restored? C. S. Lewis portrayed it this way:
My friend said, "I don't see why there shouldn't be books in Heaven. But you will find that your library in Heaven contains
only some of the books you had on earth." "Which?" I asked. "The ones you gave away or lent." "I hope the lent ones won't
still have all the borrowers' dirty thumb marks," said I. "Oh yes they will," said he. "But just as the wounds of the martyrs
will have turned into beauties, so you will find that the thumb-marks have turned into beautiful illuminated capitals or exquisite
marginal woodcuts."
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WHAT WILL OUR DAILY LIVES BE LIKE?
P
uritan pastor Richard Baxter's 1649 book
The Saints'Everlasting Rest
'was the most influential book on Heaven ever written. Baxter marveled that we don't set everything else aside to consider
Heaven and make sure we're going there. But somehow Heaven hasn't captured our imaginations or shaped our lives.
What will life in Heaven really be like? What does Scripture say we'll actually do in our eternal home?
WILL WE REST?
When God created the world, he rested on the seventh day (Genesis
2:2).
That's the basis for the biblical Sabbath, when all people and animals rested (Exodus 20:9-11). God set aside days and weeks
of rest, and he even rested the earth itself every seventh year (Leviticus 25:4-5). This is the rest we can anticipate on
the New Earth—times of joyful praise and relaxed fellowship.
Our lives in Heaven will include rest (Hebrews 4:1-11). "'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."Yes,' says
the Spirit, 'they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them'" (Revelation 14:13).
Eden is a picture of rest—work that's meaningful and enjoyable, abundant food, a beautiful environment, unhindered friendship
with God and other people and animals. Even with Eden's restful perfection, one day was set aside for special rest and worship.
Work will be refreshing on the New Earth, yet regular rest will be built into our lives.
Part of our inability to appreciate Heaven as a place of rest relates to our failure to enter into a weekly day of rest now.
By rarely turning attention from our responsibilities, we fail to anticipate our coming deliverance from the Curse to a full
rest.
"Make every effort to enter that rest" (Hebrews 4:11). It's ironic that it takes such effort to set aside time for rest, but
it does. For me, and for many of us, it's difficult to guard our schedules, but it's worth it. The day of rest points us to
Heaven and to Jesus, who said, "Come to me, all you who are weary. . ., and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
What feels better than putting your head on the pillow after a hard day's work? (How about what it will feel like after a
hard
life's
work?) It's good to sit back and have a glass of iced tea, feel the sun on your face, or tilt back in your recliner and close
your eyes. It's good to have nothing to do but read a good book or take your dog for a walk or listen to your favorite music
and tell God how grateful you are for his kindness. Rest is good. So good that God built it into his creation and his law.
Some people thrive on social interaction; others are exhausted by it. Some love solitude; others don't. On the New Earth,
we'll likely all welcome the lively company of others but also crave times of restful solitude. We'll enjoy both.
We catch glimpses of being able to enjoy both work and rest at once. I used to feel this when body, mind, and the beauty around
me sometimes "kicked in" on a ten-mile run. I've experienced the same thing bicycling, when I've felt I could ride forever
and the pedaling I was doing was part of a great rest. I can be working intently at something I love yet find the work restful
and refreshing.
God rested on the seventh day, before sin entered the world. He prescribed rest for sinless Adam and Eve, and he prescribed
it for those under the curse of sin. Regular rest will be part of the life to come in the new universe. (Wouldn't it be wise
to learn how to rest now?)
WILL WE SLEEP?
If our lives on the New Earth will be restful, will we need to sleep? Some people argue that we won't sleep because we'll
have perfect bodies. But the same argument would apply to eating—yet we know we'll eat. Adam and Eve were created perfect,
but did they sleep? Presumably. If so,
sleep cannot be an imperfection.
It's a matter of God's design for the rhythm of life.
Sleep is one of life's great pleasures. It's part of God's perfect plan for humans in bodies living on the earth. Troubled
sleep and sleeplessness are products of sin and the Curse, but sleep itself is God's gift. I believe we will likely need
it
and
enjoy it.
Some people say, "But there won't be fatigue." Why not? Couldn't resources be depleted and renewed in a perfect but finite
world, just as they were in Eden? We'll rest and be refreshed in Heaven. What's more restful and refreshing than a good sleep?
If we will eat, walk, serve, work, laugh, and play, why would we not sleep?
WILL WE WORK?
The idea of working in Heaven is foreign to many people. Yet Scripture clearly teaches it. When God created Adam, he "took
the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (Genesis 2:15). Work was part of the original Eden.
It was part of a perfect human life on Earth.
Work wasn't part of the Curse. The Curse, rather, made work menial, tedious, and frustrating: "Cursed is the ground because
of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and
you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food" (Genesis 3:17-19).
However, on the New Earth work will be redeemed and transformed into what God intended: "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" (Revelation 22:3).
Serve
is a verb. Servants are people who are active and occupied, carrying out tasks.
God himself is a worker. He didn't create the world and then retire. Jesus said, "My Father is always at his work to this
very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5:17). Jesus found great satisfaction in his work. '"My food,'Jesus said, 'is to do
the will of him who sent me and to finish his work'" (John 4:34). We'll also have work to do, satisfying and enriching work
that we can't wait to get back to, work that'll never be drudgery. God is the primary worker, and as his image-bearers, we're
made to work. We create, accomplish, set goals, and fulfill them—to God's glory.
In
The Happiness of Heaven,
Father Boudreau argued against Aquinas's belief that Heaven is a place of motionless absorption with an intellectual contemplation
of God:
We are active by nature. Action, therefore, both of mind and body, is a law of our being, which cannot be changed without
radically changing, or rather destroying, our whole nature. Instead of destroying it, it follows that in Heaven we shall be
far more active than we can possibly be here below. . . . The soul of Jesus Christ enjoyed the Beatific Vision, even while
here on earth in mortal flesh. Was He, on that account, prevented from doing anything except contemplating the divine essence?
He certainly was not. He labored and preached; He also drank and slept; He visited His friends and did a thousand other things.
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Consider Christ's activities: working in a carpenter shop, walking the countryside, fishing, sailing, meeting people, talking,
teaching, eating—doing his life's work. Even after his resurrection he moved from place to place, connecting with his disciples
and continuing his work. (A preview of life after our resurrection.)
Consider the following verses, which convey a mini-theology of work:
Having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23)
See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord. (Colossians 4:17)
He will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. (2 Timothy
2:21)
Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless. (Titus 1:7)
Obey [your leaders] so that their work will be a joy. (Hebrews 13:17)
You call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially. (1 Peter 1:17)
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. (Revelation
2:2)
Since work began before sin and the Curse, and since God, who is without sin, is a worker, we should assume human beings will
work on the New Earth. We should assume we'll be able to resume the work started by Adam and Eve, exercising godly dominion
over the earth, ruling it for God's glory.
But we don't need to just assume this. Scripture directly tells us. When the faithful servant enters Heaven, he is offered
not retirement but this: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you
ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matthew 25:23, NKJV).
What kind of work will we do in Heaven? Maybe you'll build a cabinet with Joseph of Nazareth. Or with Jesus. Maybe you'll
tend sheep with David, discuss medicine with Luke, sew with Dorcas, make clothes with Lydia, design a new tent with Paul or
Priscilla, write a song with Isaac Watts, ride horses with John Wesley, or sing with Keith Green. Maybe you'll write a theology
of the Trinity, bouncing your thoughts off Paul, John, Polycarp, Cyprian, Augustine, Calvin, Wesley . . . and even Jesus.
Our work will be joyful and fulfilling, giving glory to God. What could be better? Generally, unemployed people aren't happy.
Work is a blessing, and not just because of its financial rewards. Even in a world under the Curse, most of us have known
satisfaction in our work. Spurgeon asked his congregation, "Do you know, dear friends, the deliciousness of work?"
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Jesus said to his Father, "I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do" (John 17:4, NLT). HOW
will we glorify God for eternity? By doing everything he tells us to do. What did God first tell mankind to do? Fill the
earth and exercise dominion over it. What will we do for eternity to glorify God? We'll exercise dominion over the earth,
demonstrating God's creativity and ingenuity as his image-bearers, producing Christ-exalting culture.
WILL WE HAVE OUR OWN HOMES?
Perhaps you're familiar with Christ's promise in John 14: "In my Father's house are many mansions.... I go to prepare a place
for you" (v. 2, Kjv). The Vulgate, the Latin Bible, used the word
mansiones
in that verse, and the King James Version followed by using
mansions.
Unfortunately, that rendering is misleading if it makes us envision having massive lodgings on separate estates. The intended
meaning seems to be that we'll have separate dwelling places on a single estate or even separate rooms within the same house.
New Testament scholar D. A. Carson says, "Since heaven is here pictured as the Father's house, it is more natural to think
of'dwelling-places'within a house as rooms or suites.... The simplest explanation is best: my Father's house refers to heaven,
and in heaven are many rooms, many dwelling-places. The point is not the lavishness of each apartment, but the fact that such
ample provision has been made that there is more than enough space for every one of Jesus' disciples to join him in his Father's
home."
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The New International Version rendering of John 14:2 is this: "In my Father's house are many rooms. . . . I am going there
to prepare a place for you."
Place
is singular, but
rooms
is plural. This suggests Jesus has in mind for each of us an individual dwelling that's a smaller part of the larger place.
This place will be home to us in the most unique sense.
The term
room
is cozy and intimate. The terms
house
or
estate
suggest spaciousness. That's Heaven: a place both spacious and intimate. Some of us enjoy coziness, being in a private space.
Others enjoy a large, wide-open space. Most of us enjoy both—and the New Earth wil1 offer both.
Christian, meditate much on heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way. This vale of tears is
but the pathway to the better country: this world of woe is but the stepping-stone to a world of bliss. And, after death,
what cometh? What wonderworld will open upon our astonished sight?
CHARLES SPURGEON
Heaven isn't likely to have lots of identical residences. God loves diversity, and he tailor-makes his children
and
his provisions for them. When we see the particular place he's prepared for us in particular—we'll rejoice to see our ideal
home.
When you're traveling late at night and you don't know where you're going to stay, nothing's more discouraging than finding
a No Vacancy sign. There's no such sign in Heaven. If we've made our reservations by accepting God's gift in Christ, then
Heaven is wide open to us. Jesus knew what it was like to have no vacancy in the inn and to sleep in a barn. On the New Earth,
he'll have plenty of room for all of us.
I live in Oregon. When I've flown home from overseas and landed in New York, I feel I've come "home," meaning I'm in my home
country. Then when I land in Oregon, I'm more home. When I come to my hometown, everything looks familiar. Finally, when I
arrive at my house, I'm really home. But even there I have a special room or two. Scripture's various terms—
New Earth, country, city, place,
and
rooms
—involve such shades of meaning to the word
home.
Nanci and I love our home. When we're gone long enough, we miss it. It's not just the place we miss, of course—it's family,
friends, neighbors, church. Yet the place offers the comfort of the routine, the feel of the bed, the books on the shelf.
It's not fancy, but it's home. When our daughters were young, our family spent two months overseas visiting missionaries in
six different countries. It was a wonderful adventure, but three days before the trip ended, our hearts turned a corner, and
home was all we could think of.
Our love for home, our yearning for it, is a glimmer of our longing for our true home.
A passage in Isaiah starts "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth" and ends with "They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain" (Isaiah 65:17-25). In between is a verse that appears to refer to life on the New Earth: "They will
build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit" (Isaiah 65:21). This involves not only houses
but land. (Some argue that because the previous verse appears to speak of death, this must refer only to the Millennium.)