Heaven

by Randy Alcorn

  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.251

  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?"252

  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."253

  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.)

  The New Earth's citizens will build, plant, and eat, as human beings on Earth always have. Like Adam and Eve in Eden, we'll inherit a place that God has prepared for us. But we'll be free to build on it and develop it as we see fit, to God's glory.

  WILL WE OPEN OUR HOMES TO GUESTS?

  I believe Scripture teaches that on the New Earth we'll open our homes to guests. I base this on Christ's words in Luke 16.

  After speaking of the shrewd servant's desire to use earthly resources so that "people will welcome me into their houses" (v. 4), Jesus told his followers to "use worldly wealth to gain friends" (v. 9). Jesus instructed them to use their earthly resources to gain friends by making a difference in their lives on Earth. The rea­son? "So that when it [life on Earth] is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings" (v. 9).

  Our "friends" in Heaven appear to be those whose lives we've touched on Earth and who now have their own "eternal dwellings." Luke 16:9 seems to say these "eternal dwellings" of our friends are places where we'll stay and enjoy companionship—second homes to us as we move about the Kingdom.

  Because many people mistakenly believe that Heaven won't be earthlike, it never occurs to them to take this passage literally. They think "eternal dwell­ings" is a general reference to Heaven. But surely Christ isn't saying we'll enter Heaven because we used our money wisely. In the parable, the eternal dwellings are Heaven's equivalent to the private homes that the shrewd servant could stay in on Earth.

  Do I believe Jesus is suggesting we'll actually share lodging, meals, and fel­lowship with friends in God's Kingdom? Yes. I'm aware that some readers will think this far-fetched. But that's only because when we think of Heaven, we don't think of resurrected people living on a resurrected Earth, living in dwell­ing places, and eating and fellowshiping together. But isn't that exactly what Scripture teaches us?

  In his song "Thank You," Ray Boltz pictures us in Heaven, meeting people who explain how our giving touched their lives. They say, "Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am so glad you gave." This is more than a nice sentiment. It's something that will actually happen. Every time we give to missions and to feed the hungry, we should think about people we'll meet in Heaven, people whose homes on the New Earth we'll likely one day visit.

  Mincaye, the Auca Indian who speared Nate Saint, is now a follower of Jesus. When Mincaye was asked what he's going to do when he meets Nate Saint in Heaven, he replied, "I'm going to run and throw my arms around Nate Saint and thank him for bringing Jesus Christ to me and my people." He added that Nate Saint would welcome him home.254

  How many wonderful meetings and reunions should we all anticipate? "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2). Perhaps we'll be welcomed into the homes not only of people but also of angels, who will reciprocate the hospi­tality we showed them on the old Earth.

  Will Jesus be one of the guests you welcome into your dwelling place? When he lived on Earth, Jesus often visited the home of his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Just before Jesus went to the cross, he told 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" (Matthew 26:29). He spoke these words as he ate a meal with them in a private home. When he dines and drinks with his disciples on the New Earth, what better places to do that than in homes?

  Jesus says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). Although he speaks figuratively here, his interest in our lives will surely extend to visiting us in our homes.

  Incredible as it seems, Jesus desires our company. He's preparing us a place in Heaven. He'll welcome us into his home. And we should expect to welcome him into ours.

  SECTION TEN

  WHAT WILL OUR RELATIONSHIPS BE LIKE?

  CHAPTER 34

  WILL WE DESIRE

  RELATIONSHIPS WITH

  ANYONE EXCEPT GOD?

  Throughout the ages, Christians have anticipated eternal reunion with their loved ones. In 710, the Venerable Bede, a church historian, wrote these words about Heaven:

  A great multitude of dear ones is there expecting us; a vast and mighty crowd of parents, brothers, and children, secure now of their own safety, anxious yet for our salvation, long that we may come to their right and embrace them, to that joy which will be common to us and to them, to that pleasure expected by our fellow servants as well as ourselves, to that full and perpetual felicity. . . . If it be a pleasure to go to them, let us eagerly and covetously hasten on our way, that we may soon be with them, and soon be with Christ.255

  WILL WE WANT ANYONE BESIDES

  CHRIST?

  Christ is "the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last" (Revelation 22:13). He alone is sufficient to meet all our needs.

  Yet, God has designed us for relationship not only with himself but also with others of our kind. After God created the world, he stepped back to look at his work and pronounced it "very good." However, before his creation was com­plete, he said that one thing—and only one—was not good. "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him" (Genesis 2:18). God planned for Adam, and all mankind, to need human companionship. In other words, God made people to need and desire others besides himself.

  To some people, this sounds like heresy. After all, Asaph prays, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you" (Psalm 73:25). This verse is sometimes used to prove that we should
desire nothing but God, that it is wrong to desire "earthly things," including human relationships. But God made us to desire earthly things such as food, water, shelter, warmth, work, play, rest, human friendship, and much more. That won't change in Heaven.

  People have told me we shouldn't long for Heaven, only for God. If that were true, God would condemn rather than commend his people who "were longing for a better country—a heavenly one" (Hebrews 11:16). King David saw no contradiction between seeking God the person and seeking Heaven the place. The two were inseparable: "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple" (Psalm 27:4, ESV). Notice that David says he seeks "one thing"—to be in God's magnificent place and to be with God's magnificent person.

  As I said in chapter 17, we must understand that God is the source of all joy—all other joys are secondary and derivative. They come from him, find their meaning in him, and cannot be divorced from him. Likewise, while Christ is our primary treasure, he encourages us to store up other treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).

  Christ is Heaven's center of gravity, but we don't diminish his importance by enjoying natural wonders, angels, or people. On the contrary, we'll exalt him and draw closer to him as we enjoy all he created.

  WILL WE NEED ONLY GOD IN HEAVEN?

  Like the desert monks who withdrew into the desert to live apart from human companionship, some people still insist, "I need only God." But as spiritual as it sounds, this perspective is another form of Christoplatonism. Consider again the implications of the fact that God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). Think of it—God was with Adam in the Garden, yet God said that wasn't good enough. God designed us to need each other. What we gain from each other is more of God because we're created in his image and are a con­duit for his self-revelation.