Heaven

by Randy Alcorn

  God may form the ground of the New Earth directly from the old. He may form the waters of the new from the old. Romans 8 implies he will form the plants and animals of the New Earth from the old Earth, just as he will form our resurrected bodies out of genetic material from our old ones.

  This time, however, new mankind will preexist the New Earth. But as he did for Adam and Eve, God will prepare it for us before we step foot on it. Perhaps on the sixth day of the new creation, instead of being formed from the dust to begin civilization, new men and women—who have beheld the new creation—will be brought down in the great city to settle on the New Earth, to continue and expand civilization to the glory of God.

  Perhaps we'll watch God at work for another creative week, beholding his unfolding wonders one by one. Of course, since the forming of the New Earth is a resurrection of the old Earth, not a creation from nothing, its creation may be instantaneous. Either way, it will be spectacular, and we will watch and ooh and aah and applaud.

  Just as God presented Eve to Adam in Eden, so he will bring Christ's bride to the second Adam, Christ, on the New Earth.

  We will behold the wondrous creation of the New Earth—and then we will descend to live in that place, reigning forever with our beloved King Jesus.

  CHAPTER 37

  HOW WILL WE RELATE TO EACH OTHER?

  Will relationships with people be less important to us in Heaven than they are now? If the reason we valued a relationship stemmed from sin and the Curse, of course, we'd want no part of it in that evil way. But on the New Earth all relationships will be rooted in righteousness. More than ever, we'll value human relationships that draw us toward God.

  Joy comes from shared experiences, as every reading group, fan club, or so­cial organization testifies. I remember a weekend I spent at a conference center high on a hill, in a thick forest. The view from the mountain was breathtaking. So what did I do? After ten minutes of enjoying it and thanking God for it, I called my wife. Then my daughters. Then my friend Steve. I just wanted to share the joy with those I loved.

  God designed us to need other people. We are made in his image, and he himself is a plurality—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness'" (Genesis 1:26). Father, Son, and Spirit take pleasure in each other's companionship. Jesus spoke to his Father while "full of joy through the Holy Spirit" (Luke 10:21). Similarly, God has created us to take pleasure in his companionship, and in each other's.

  Any vision of the afterlife that doesn't involve a society of human beings in meaningful relationship denies God's decree that it isn't good for human beings to be without others of their kind. It also denies innumerable Scripture passages that clearly reveal human society on the New Earth (e.g., Revelation 21:24-26; 22:2).

  HOW WILL WE TREAT EACH OTHER?

  We'll experience all the best of human relationships, with none of the worst. The burdens and tragedies of life will be lifted from us. We'll be free of what dis­pleases God and damages relationships. No abortion clinics or psychiatric wards. No missing children. No rape or abuse. No drug rehabilitation centers. No bigotry, muggings, or killings. No worry, depression, or economic downturns. No wars. No unemployment. No anguish over failure and miscommunication. No pretense or wearing masks. No cliques. No hidden agendas, backroom deals, betrayals, secret ambitions, plots, or schemes.

  Imagine mealtimes full of stories, laughter, and joy without fear of insensitivity, inappropriate behavior, anger, gossip, lust, jealousy, hurt feelings, or any­thing that eclipses joy. That will be Heaven.

  Jonathan Edwards anticipated Heaven's joyful relationships:

  No inhabitants of that blessed world will ever be grieved with the thought that they are slighted by those that they love, or that their love is not fully and fondly returned. . . . There shall be no such thing as flattery or insincerity in heaven, but there perfect sincerity shall reign through all in all. Everyone will be just what he seems to be, and will really have all the love that he seems to have. It will not be as in this world, where comparatively few things are what they seem to be, and where professions are often made lightly and without meaning. But there, every expression of love shall come from the bottom of the heart, and all that is professed shall be really and truly felt.276

  WILL ALL PEOPLE BE EQUAL?

  All people are equal in worth, but they differ in gifting and performance. God is the creator of diversity and diversity means "inequality" of gifting (1 Corinthi­ans 12:14-20). Because God promises to reward people differently according to their differing levels of faithfulness in this life, we should not expect equality of possessions and positions in Heaven.

  If everyone were equal in Heaven in all respects, it would mean we'd have no role models, no heroes, no one to look up to, no thrill of hearing wise words from someone we deeply admire. I'm not equal to Hudson Taylor, Susanna Wesley, George Mueller, or C. S. Lewis. I want to follow their examples, but I don't need to be their equals.

  There's no reason to believe we'll all be equally tall or strong or that we'll have the same gifts, talents, or intellectual capacities. If we all had the same gifts, they wouldn't be special. If you can do some things better than I can, and I than you, then we'll have something to offer each other.

  We live in a culture that worships equality, but we err when we reduce equality to sameness. It's illogical to assume everyone in Heaven will be able to com pose a concerto with equal skill or be able to throw a ball as far as everyone else. In a perfect world, Adam was bigger and stronger than Eve, and Eve had beauty, sensitivities, and abilities Adam didn't. In other words, diversity— not conformity—characterizes a perfect world.

  We can sit for hours listening to the

  interesting conversation of a learned

  man. . . . If these pleasures are so exquisite

  here below, where, after all, the wisest know

  so little, what shall we say of those same

  pleasures in heaven?

  J. BOUDREAU

  Scripture is clear that we'll have different rewards and positions in Heaven, according to our faithful service in this life. Since everyone will be happy, what could be the nature of these differences? Jonathan Edwards said, "The saints are like so many vessels of different sizes cast into a sea of happiness where every vessel is full: this is ternal life, for a man ever to have his capacity filled. But after all 'tis left to God's sovereign pleasure, 'tis his prerogative to de­termine the largeness of the vessel."277

  A pint jar and a quart jar can both be full, but the larger jar contains more. Likewise, in Heaven all of us will be full of joy, but some may have a larger ca­pacity for joy, having been stretched through their dependence on God in this life. John Bunyan said it well: "He who is most in the bosom of God, and who so acts for him here, he is the man who will be best able to enjoy most of God in the kingdom of heaven."

  WILL WE HAVE PRIVACY?

  Some people understand Heaven as a place of complete communal living, where we'll always be with others and there will be no privacy.

  Scripture speaks of having our own individual dwelling places, which indi­cates privacy (Luke 16:9). In the context of the New Earth, God says, "To his servants he will give another name" (Isaiah 65:15). Similarly, Jesus says, "I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it" (Revelation 2:17). A name known only to the recipient and God is private, indicating God will relate to us as individuals, not just as one large group.

  C. S. Lewis asked, "What can be more a man's own than this new name which even in eternity remains a secret between God and him? And what shall we take this secrecy to mean? Surely, that each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the divine beauty better than any other creature can. Why else were individuals created but that God, loving all infi­nitely, should love each differently?"278

  Our different personalities, rewards, positions, and names in Heaven speak not only of our individuali
ty but also of how God finds unique reasons to love us. I love my wife and daughters, and I love different things about each.

  We're like unique instruments, played by an orchestra to produce one beau­tiful sound, rich in its variety. We all have our unique part in glorifying God. We bring something singular and vital to the concert of praise.

  WILL THERE BE PRIVATE OWNERSHIP?

  The fourteenth-century Theologica Germanica says, "In Heaven there is no ownership. If any there took upon him to call anything his own, he would straightway be thrust out into hell and become an evil spirit."279

  Similarly, several Christian authors state, without biblical references, that people won't own anything in heaven. But what about the different dwelling places believers will have in Heaven (Luke 16:4, 9)? What about the treasures Christ commanded us to store up for ourselves in Heaven (Matthew 6:20)? What about the different crowns and rewards God will hand out according to our works (2 Corinthians 5:10)?

  Will your crown be as much mine as yours? Of course not. What about the white stone God promises to give to overcomers, with the individual's new name written on it, a name no one else will know (Revelation 2:17)? Will you and I have equal possession of those stones or names? No. What God gives you will be yours, not mine. The one he gives me will be mine, not yours. Is this ownership wrong or selfish? No. Ownership is never wrong when God dis­tributes to us possessions he wants us to own.

  God will give us an inheritance in Heaven (Colossians 3:24). Doesn't the word inheritance mean something tangible, belonging to us? This inheritance is given by the Father to the individual child in recognition of proven character and faithfulness.

  God promised Daniel, "You will rise to receive your allotted inheritance" (Dan­iel 12:13). Those who serve Christ on Earth have waiting for them an allotted in­heritance in Heaven. What's allotted to Daniel will be his, not mine or yours.

  Speaking of the New Earth, Christ says, "He who overcomes will inherit all this" (Revelation 21:7). Those faithful in serving Christ will not simply live in the new universe; they will own it, ruling it to the glory of the ultimate owner, God.

  Heaven isn't a socialist Utopia in which private ownership is evil. Material­ism, greed, envy, and selfishness are sins; ownership is not. An ancient scholar wrote, "God . . . is the only Haver."280 This sounds spiritual, but God is also a giver. If he gives to us, then we too become "havers."

  God owns not only all of Heaven but also everything on Earth (Deuteron­omy 10:14). So what's "ours" is ultimately God's. But that's as true here and now as in Heaven. That God owns whatever's "mine" and "yours" doesn't mean there's no distinction between them. The early Christians generously shared their possessions (Acts 4:32-35). But this never negated private ownership. Peter told Ananias that his property belonged to him before he sold it, and the money belonged to him after he sold it (Acts 5:4). In Heaven we'll no doubt de­light in sharing our treasures with others, but they will still be our treasures, generously given to us by God.

  Jesus says that those who have properly stewarded God's assets on Earth will be granted ownership of assets in Heaven. "If you have not been trust­worthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" (Luke 16:12). He also commanded us, "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:20). He suggested that by parting with treasures now, we invest them in Heaven, where they'll be waiting for us when we arrive.

  WILL WE REGAIN LOST RELATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES?

  Do you have family and friends you wish you could spend more time with? In Heaven you'll have unlimited time. I'm eager to spend time again with my childhood friend Jerry, who died years ago. I anticipate meeting him in Heaven and picking up right where we left off281

  A young woman visiting a missionary in Eastern Europe asked her, "Isn't it hard being so far away from your [grown] children and missing important events in their lives?"

  "Sure," the missionary replied. "But in Heaven we'll have all the time to­gether we want. Right now there's kingdom work that needs to be done." This woman knows where her true home is—and that life there will be real life and that relationships among God's people will resume in ways even better than what we've known here.

  We may not be able to regain opportunities that we passed up due to un­faithfulness, but I believe we'll regain whatever we passed up in order to faith­fully serve God. Jesus said, "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you. . . . Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven" (Luke 6:21-23).

  Perhaps in some way on the New Earth, the wives and children of the five missionaries killed by the Auca Indians will receive "comp time" with their loved ones. Consider the millions of Christians who've suffered and died in prison be­cause of their faith, who were snatched away from their families, deprived of op­portunities they craved with children and parents and spouses. Wouldn't it be just like Jesus to reward them on the New Earth with opportunities to do the very things they missed—and far better things as well? That would fit well with the words of Jim Elliot, one of the five murdered mis­sionaries: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gam what he cannot lose.282

  I have held many things in

  my hands, and I have lost

  them all. But whatever I

  have placed in God's

  hands, that I still possess.

  MARTIN LUTHER

  Heaven offers more than comfort; it offers compensation. In the same way that the hungry will fill up in Heaven and those who weep will laugh, will those who suffer tragedy experience a compensating victory? Maybe on the New Earth my friend Greg will experience a greater but not dissimilar form of the joy he'd have had on this earth if he had not died as a teenager, impaled on a fence post. Maybe all my mom missed because she died before our daughters became adults will be hers in Heaven. She was a faith­ful servant of God and loved her granddaughters, who were very young when she died. I think God allowed my mom to watch them get married and become mothers, but one day she'll do more than watch them. I think it's likely that when they're together on the New Earth, she'll enjoy all the time she missed with them—and they with her. Maybe those who lost infants to miscarriage and dis­ease and accidents will be given make-up time with them in the new world.

  If a father dies before his daughter's wedding and if he and she are Chris­tians, then he'll be there for his daughter's ultimate wedding—to Christ. They will experience a far greater joy on the New Earth than the joy they could have experienced on the old Earth if he had lived longer. If he died before she be­came an accomplished pianist, he may hear her now from Heaven, but he'll hear her play far better on the New Earth—and she'll see him watching her, delight on his face. If he never lived to see his believing son play basketball, he'll not only see him play on Earth but also play with him on the New Earth. And his children will enjoy the pleasure of seeing the look of utter approval on their fa­ther's face . . . and their Father's face.

  In the movie Babettes Feast, through the misfortunes of war Babette was forced to leave Paris, where she'd been an exquisite gourmet cook. She ended up as a maid for two women who led a small group of austere believers who frowned on such worldly things as good cooking. Babette comes into a large sum of money and spends it all on a single dinner party given for the elderly sis ters she's come to love. It's a picture of God's extravagant grace. Babette realizes she'll never again be able to afford to give such a gift or prepare such a meal. Touched by Babette's generosity, Phillipa—herself a gifted singer who had little opportunity to develop her gift—consoles her: "Babette, this is not the end; I'm certain it's not. In Paradise you will be the great artist that God meant you to be! . . . Oh, how you will delight the angels!"283

  For those who know God, this sentiment is biblical. He's a God who redeems lost opportunities—especially those lost through our faithful service. I believe that once
the Curse is lifted and death is forever reversed, we may live out many of the "could have beens" taken from us on this old Earth.

  I think it's probable that two friends who always dreamed of going to a special place, but never managed to, will be able to go to that very place on the New Earth. And the man who couldn't get out of his wheelchair to go biking with his son will never lack that opportunity again.

  WHAT WILL OUR REUNIONS BE LIKE?

  In The Last Battle, Lewis depicts wonderful reunions in Asian's country, which includes the New Narnia. Character after character from the earlier stories re­appears, many of them last seen centuries or millennia earlier: Reepicheep, Puddleglum, Rilian, Caspian, Trumpkin, Bree, Mr. Tumnis, and countless oth­ers. They're together again, many meeting for the first time. Lucy and the other children are thrilled to see them all. The reunions and introductions go on and on, and the reader doesn't want them to stop. When everyone parted by death is re­stored to life—in familiar resurrected bodies on a familiar resurrected world and in the very presence of their beloved Asian—it's contagiously thrilling.

  For us, the ultimate reunion will be followed by endless adventures to­gether. We'll likely have many temporary partings followed by absolutely cer­tain reunions. But never again will there be the separation of death, with its suffering and sorrow. Never again will we wonder if we'll see those we love. Bishop Ryle assured his flock, "Those whom you laid in the grave with many tears are in good keeping: you will yet see them again with joy. Believe it, think it, rest on it. It is all true."284

  CHAPTER 38

  WHAT WILL NEW EARTH SOCIETY BE LIKE?

  Art, music, literature, crafts, technology, clothing, jewelry, education, food preparation—all are part of society or culture, which is the creative ac­complishment of God's image-bearers. Human creations are an extension of God's own creative works because he created us to reflect him by being creators.