Heaven

by Randy Alcorn

  Though it's true that Christ is with us and within us while we're on Earth, it also works in the other direction—we're united with Christ, so much so that we are seated with him in Heaven: "God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6).

  Notice that the following description, written to believers alive on Earth, is in the present perfect (not future) tense, which expresses a completed action: "You 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" (Hebrews 12:22-23).

  In a metaphysical sense, we've already entered Heaven's community. By see­ing ourselves as part of the heavenly society, we can learn to rejoice now in what Heaven's residents rejoice in. They rejoice in God, his glory, his grace, and his beauty. They rejoice in repentant sinners, the saints' faithfulness and Christlikeness, and the beauty of God's creation. They rejoice in the ultimate triumph of God's Kingdom and the coming judgment of sin.

  Heaven, then, isn't only our future home. It's our home already, waiting over the next hill. If we really grasp this truth, it will have a profound effect on our holiness. A man who sees himself seated with Christ in Heaven, in the very presence of a God to whom the angels cry out, "Holy, holy, holy," won't spend his evenings viewing Internet pornography.

  No wonder the devil is so intent on keeping us from grasping our standing in Christ—for if we see ourselves in Heaven with Christ, we'll be drawn to wor­ship and serve him here and now, creating ripples in Heaven's waters that will extend outward for all eternity.

  CHAPTER 19

  HOW WILL WE WORSHIP

  GOD?

  What is the essence of heaven ?... [It is the] beatific vision, love, and enjoyment of the triune God. For the three divine persons have an infinitely perfect vision and love and enjoyment of the divine essence and of one another. And in this infinite knowing, loving and enjoying lies the very life of the triune God, the very essence of their endless and infinite happiness. If the blessed are to be endlessly and supremely happy, then, they must share in the very life of the triune God, in the divine life that makes Them endlessly and infinitely happy.

  E.J. Fortman

  Have you ever—in prayer or corporate worship or during a walk on the beach—for a few moments experienced the very presence of God? It's a tantalizing encounter, yet for most of us it tends to disappear quickly in the dis­tractions of life. What will it be like to behold God's face and never be dis­tracted by lesser things? What will it be like when every lesser thing unfailingly points us back to God?

  Today, many Christians have come to depreciate or ignore the beatific vi­sion, supposing that beholding God would be of mere passing interest, becom­ing monotonous over time. But those who know God know that he is anything but boring. Seeing God will be dynamic, not static. It will mean exploring new beauties, unfolding new mysteries—forever. We'll explore God's being, an ex­perience delightful beyond comprehension. The sense of wide-eyed wonder we see among Heaven's inhabitants in Revelation 4-5 suggests an ever-deepening appreciation of God's greatness. That isn't all there is to Heaven, but if it were, it would be more than enough.

  In Heaven, we'll be at home with the God we love and who loves us whole­heartedly. Lovers don't bore each other. People who love God could never be bored in his presence. Remember, the members of the triune Godhead exist in eternal relationship with each other. To see God is to participate in the infinite delight of their communion.

  ALL-ENCOMPASSING WORSHIP

  Most people know that we'll worship God in Heaven. But they don't grasp how thrilling that will be. Multitudes of God's people—of every nation, tribe, peo­ple, and language—will gather to sing praise to God for his greatness, wisdom, power, grace, and mighty work of redemption (Revelation 5:13-14). Over­whelmed by his magnificence, we will fall on our faces in unrestrained happi­ness and say, "Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" (Revelation 7:9-12).

  People of the world are always striving to celebrate—they just lack ultimate reasons to celebrate (and therefore find lesser reasons). As Christians, we have those reasons—our relationship with Jesus and the promise of Heaven. "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" (Revelation 21:3). Does this excite you? If it doesn't, you're not thinking correctly.

  I find it ironic that many people stereotype life in Heaven as an interminable church service. Apparently, church attendance has become synonymous with boredom. Yet meeting God—when it truly happens—will be far more exhila­rating than a great meal, a poker game, hunting, gardening, mountain climbing, or watching the Super Bowl. Even if it were true (it isn't) that church services must be dull, there will be no church services in Heaven. The church (Christ's peo­ple) will be there. But there will be no temple, and as far as we know, no services (Revelation 21:22).

  Will we always be engaged in worship? Yes and no. If we have a narrow view of worship, the answer is no. But if we have a broad view of worship, the answer is yes. As Cornelius Venema explains, worship in Heaven will be all-encompassing: "No legitimate activity of life—whether in marriage, family, business, play, friendship, education, politics, etc.—escapes the claims of Christ's kingship. . . . Certainly those who live and reign with Christ forever will find the diversity and complexity of their worship of God not less, but richer, in the life to come. Every legitimate activity of new creaturely life will be included within the life of worship of God's people."156

  Will we always be on our faces at Christ's feet, worshiping him? No, be­cause Scripture says we'll be doing many other things—living in dwelling places, eating and drinking, reigning with Christ, and working for him. Scrip­ture depicts people standing, walking, traveling in and out of the city, and gathering at feasts. When doing these things, we won't be on our faces before Christ. Nevertheless, all that we do will be an act of worship. We'll enjoy full and unbroken fellowship with Christ. At times this will crescendo into greater heights of praise as we assemble with the multitudes who are also wor­shiping him.

  Worship involves more than singing and prayer. I often worship God while reading a book, riding a bike, or taking a walk. I'm worshiping him now as I write. Yet too often I'm distracted and fail to acknowledge God along the way. In Heaven, God will always be first in my thinking.

  Even now, we're told, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). That God expects us to do many other things, such as work, rest, and be with our families, shows that we must be able to be joyful, pray, and give thanks while doing other things.

  Have you ever spent a day or several hours when you sensed the presence of God as you hiked, worked, gardened, drove, read, or did the dishes? Those are foretastes of Heaven—not because we are doing nothing but worshiping, but because we are worshiping God as we do everything else.

  In Heaven, where everyone worships Jesus, no one says, "Now we're going to sing two hymns, followed by announcements and prayer." The singing isn't ritual but spontaneous praise (Revelation 5:11-14). If someone rescued you and your family from terrible harm, especially at great cost to himself, no one would need to tell you, "Better say thank you." On your own, you would shower him with praise. Even more will you sing your Savior's praises and tell of his lifesaving deeds.

  In 2003 when Saddam Hussein's statues were being torn down in Baghdad, a television commentator said something so striking that I wrote it down. He said, "These people are used to coming out in the streets and praising Saddam. If they didn't, they were punished. He had a policy of compulsory adulation."

  God seeks worshipers (John 4:23). But he has no policy of compulsory adu­lation. His children's respo
nse to him is voluntary. Once we see God as he really is, no one will need to beg, threaten, or shame us into praising him. We will overflow in gratitude and praise. We are created to worship God. There's no higher pleasure. At times we'll lose ourselves in praise, doing nothing but wor­shiping him. At other times we'll worship him when we build a cabinet, paint a picture, cook a meal, talk with an old friend, take a walk, or throw a ball.

  WHY WORSHIP CAN'T BE BORING

  Some subjects become less interesting over time. Others become more fascinat­ing. Nothing is more fascinating than God. The deeper we probe into his being, the more we want to know. One song puts it this way: "As eternity unfolds, the thrill of knowing Him will grow."157

  We'll never lose our fascination for God as we get to know him better. The thrill of knowing him will never subside. The desire to know him better will motivate everything we do. To imagine that worshiping God could be boring is to impose on Heaven our bad experiences of so-called worship. Satan is deter­mined to make church boring, and when it is, we assume Heaven will be also. But church can be exciting, and worship exhilarating. That's what it will be in Heaven. We will see God and understand why the angels and other living creatures delight to worship him.

  Hearts on earth may say in the course of a joyful experience, "I don't want this ever to end." But invariably it does. The hearts of those in heaven say, "I want this to go on forever." And it will.There is no better news than this.

  J. I. PACKER

  Have you known people who couldn't be boring i f they tried? Some people are just fascinating. It seems I could listen to them for ever, cut not really. Eventually, 1 d feel as if I'd gotten enough. But we can never get enough of God. There's no end to what he knows, no end to what he can do, no end to who he is. He is mesmerizing to the depths of his being, and those depths will never be exhausted. No wonder those in Heaven always redirect their eyes to him—they don't want to miss anything.

  At times throughout the day, as I work in my office, I find myself on my knees thanking God for his goodness. When I eat a meal with my wife, talk with a friend, or take our dog for a walk, I worship God for his goodness. The world is full of praise-prompters—the New Earth will overflow with them. I've found great joy in moments where I've been lost in worship—many of them during church services—but they're too fleeting. If you've ever had a taste of true worship, you crave more of it, never less.

  "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:19-20). The music we make isn't congregational singing. It's in our hearts and in our daily lives. Has someone ever done something for you that makes you so grateful that you just can't stop saying thank you? This is how we should feel about God.

  The holiness of God that overwhelmed Isaiah will be utterly engrossing to hearts made holy. J. C. Ryle writes, "Without holiness on earth, we shall never be prepared to enjoy heaven. Heaven is a holy place, the Lord of heaven is a holy being, the angels are holy creatures. Holiness is written on everything in heaven.... How shall we ever be at home and happy in heaven if we die unholy?"158

  In Heaven, worshiping God won't be restricted to a time posted on a sign, telling us when to start and stop. It will permeate our lives, energize our bodies, and fuel our imaginations.

  CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE

  Jonathan Edwards said of people in Heaven, "As they increase in the knowledge of God and of the works of God, the more they will see of his excellency; and the more they see of his excellency... the more will they love him; and the more they love God, the more delight and happiness . . . will they have in him."159

  Jesus called his disciples friends (John 15:15). He likewise regards us with deep affection. Good friendship is characterized by growth. Friendship with the God of Heaven has the most room for growth because of his inexhaustible greatness. Yet our relationship with Christ goes even beyond friendship.

  "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!"(Revelation 19:9). It's amazing enough that we'll be invited to the King's wed­ding. What's beyond amazing is that we'll be his bride. (Think about that for a few million years!) There is an intimacy between husband and wife that in­cludes close friendship yet also transcends it.

  The return of Christ will signal not only the Father rescuing his children but also the Bridegroom rescuing his bride. As the church, we're part of the ultimate Cinderella story—rescued from a home where we labor, often with­out appreciation or reward. One day we'll be taken into the arms of the Prince and whisked away to live in his palace. When "the wedding of the Lamb has come" (Revelation 19:7), the New Jerusalem, consisting not only of buildings but of God's people, will come down out of Heaven, "prepared as a bride beau­tifully dressed for her husband" (Revelation 21:2); "And his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear" (Revelation 19:7-8). The eyes of the universe will be on the Bridegroom, but also on the bride for whom he died.

  I have vivid memories of my wife's and daughters' pure beauty in their wed­ding dresses. The church, Christ's bride, should likewise be characterized by purity, as a fitting gift to our Bridegroom, the crown prince who has been ut­terly faithful to us.

  If I were to ask you, "What does the fine linen the bride is wearing stand for?" you might be inclined to say, "The righteousness of Christ that covers us." Significantly, however, the text says something different: "Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints" (Revelation 19:8). It's only because of the Bridegroom's work that the chosen princess, the church, can enter the presence of her Lord. Yet her wedding dress is woven through her many acts of faithful­ness while away from her Bridegroom on the fallen Earth. The picture is com­pelling. Each prayer, each gift, each hour of fasting, each kindness to the needy, all of these are the threads that have been woven together into this wedding dress. Her works have been empowered by the Spirit, and she has spent her life on Earth sewing her wedding dress for the day when she will be joined to her beloved Bridegroom.

  This gives us a wonderful reason to stay alive, even though we are apart from our beloved. Why? Because we aren't yet finished sewing our wedding dress. The wedding approaches, yet there's more for us to do to present our­selves pure before our Lord. We're eager for his return, but we don't sit idly by. Part of us wants fewer days between now and the wedding, because we're so eager to be with our beloved in our new home. But another part wants more days to better prepare for the wedding, to sew our dress through acts of faith­ful service to God.

  The imagery is beautiful but potentially disturbing. A pure bride doesn't want to appear scantily clad at the altar before her beloved Bridegroom and a multitude of guests. But if she has been diligent to prepare, her dress will be substantial and complete.

  ABSORBING, BUT NOT ABSORBED

  We must distinguish the biblical promise of seeing God from the beliefs of Buddhism, Hinduism, or New Age mysticism, in which individuality is obliter­ated or assimilated into Nirvana. Though God will be absorbing, we will not be absorbed by him. Though we may feel lost in God's immensity, we will not lose our identity when we see him. Instead, we will find it. "Whoever loses his life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25).

  "The people of God will not be absorbed into or partake in an immediate way ofthe being of God," writes Cornelius Venema. "God's people will see him without any of the sinful limitations of the present. No sin-induced stupor, no failure of hearing, no blindness of vision will obscure the beauty of God from their knowledge."160

  We will not know God exhaustively, but we will know him accurately. We will no longer twist and distort the truth about God.

  Some have portrayed the beatific vision as a pursuit in which every person seeks God individually. It is characteristic of our Western cultural independence that we think of Heaven in highly individualized ways. But God also views us corporately, as Christ's bride, as part of a great et
ernal community in which we'll love our Lord together and undertake cooperative pursuits for his glory. We will always be individuals, but Heaven will not be a place of individualism.

  We aren't individual brides of Christ; we are collectively the bride of Christ. Christ is not a polygamist. He will be married to one bride, not millions. We be­long to each other and need each other. We should guard not only our own pu­rity, but each other's. We are our brother's keeper.

  The fact that countless professing Christians are not part of a local church testifies to our over-individualized spirituality. Scripture teaches that we need each other and should not withdraw from each other's fellowship, instruction, or accountability. It's unbiblical to imagine that we can successfully seek God on our own (Hebrews 10:25). Because we will be part of a community of saints that constitutes the bride of Christ for eternity, and because we will worship and serve him together, to prepare properly for Heaven we must be part of a church now.

  NO RIVALRY BETWEEN CHRIST AND HEAVEN

  A man said to a few of usat a gathering, "I find myself longing for Heaven." Af­ter he left, someone said to me, "Shouldn't he be longing for God, not Heaven?" This may sound spiritual, but is it? Scripture speaks positively of "longing for a better country" (Hebrews 11:16). I don't know the man's heart, but his state­ment was biblically warranted. The right kind of longing for Heaven is a long­ing for God, and longing for God is longing for Heaven. If we understand what Heaven is (God's dwelling place) and who God is, we will see no conflict be­tween the two. A woman who longs to be reunited with her husband could well say, "I just want to go home."

  I'm often asked the following question in various ways: "Why talk about Heaven when we can just talk about Jesus?" The answer is that the two go to­gether. We were made for a person (Christ) and a place (Heaven). There is no rivalry between Christ and Heaven.

  Any bride in love with her husband wants to be with him more than any­thing. But if he goes away to build a beautiful place for her, won't she get excited about it? Won't she think and talk about that place? Of course. Moreover, he wants her to! If he tells her, "I'm going to prepare a place for you," he's implying, "I want you to look forward to it." Her love and longing for the place he's pre­paring—where she will live with him—is inseparable from her love and longing for her husband.