What Do We Mean by “Heaven”? - GraceLife Church of Pineville

Introduction

So much of what was said in my past several sermons regarding the doctrine of Hell—either by me or by the many writers quoted—was said with a hesitation because it is a difficult doctrine. We now turn to a more pleasant subject in our subseries on eternal judgment: the subject of Heaven.

And although I would prefer to speak on Heaven (as opposed to Hell), there is a sense in which the hesitation is even greater: For all the speculation regarding eternal Hell, I am not as troubled by having not explained it adequately.

If my task were to talk about a garbage dump, and I didn’t describe it as sufficiently rank or disgusting, I haven’t really done an injustice to the subject. However, if the task is to describe that which is sublime, I’m aware of all the ways in which the portrayal might be inadequate. If Heaven is the dwelling place of God, errors in expression will convey to you the worst sort of shortcoming. For life with God is the ultimate. It is everything that you seek now, whether you’re aware of it or not. How does one describe that which is ultimate?

Life with God is the ultimate. It is everything that you seek now, whether you’re aware of it or not.

Framing the Approach

Let’s frame our approach by first reviewing what we’ve discussed about eternal judgment so far.

In our introduction to the series, we talked about the general aspects and principles of judgment. The overarching principle is that the disciple of Jesus is free to live apart from the fear of eternal judgment. As a believer in Christ for eternal life, you have been freed to live in the hope of salvation; you are free to eagerly await His return. For freedom Christ set us free!¹ That is what living is for those of us who follow Christ. So a challenge for you throughout this series is to ask: Are you living in the hope of salvation?

The overarching principle is that the disciple of Jesus is free to live apart from the fear of eternal judgment … freed to live in the hope of salvation.

We next talked about the nature of the judge and then a framework for eternal judgment. These were big-picture ideas, such as entertaining what life would be like if there were no judgment at all. Alternatively, given the fact that there is a judgment, we discussed the big possibilities or categories of answers—that judgment results in something good (eternal bliss) versus something bad for us (eternal condemnation).

What flowed next in my thinking were several sermons (part 1, part 2, and part 3) on eternal condemnation, or Hell, describing it in a general sense without getting too detailed about specific judgments. We’re then following that with sermons on eternal bliss (beginning with the current sermon).

But we did interject one sermon in between (“Christ, Kingdom, and Coming Judgment”) in which we discussed approaches to the texts dealing with end time events. I did that because I think the principles we talked about were important, but also because I think we needed to pause for a potential distraction. Anytime you talk about end time events, you tend to get caught up in important details. But if that’s all you’re thinking about (“What does he believe about the Millennium?” or “What does he think about the rapture?” and “What about this kind of judgment or that kind of judgment?”), it can cause distraction from what we do agree on—the big-picture ideas.

I do think those end-time details are important, but I’d rather fill them in after we’ve done some work on the front and back ends. So, with general principles laid down, we jump to the end: Hell (which we’ve already discussed) and Heaven (our current subject). We will go back and talk about individual judgments and timelines, but when we do, we’ll have more of the end in mind, which I think you’ll find helpful—especially if our discussion on Heaven and Hell in any way shifts your thinking.

The Term “Heaven”

Consider the term “heaven.” We probably have more in our mind about heaven due to cultural convictions than we do due to biblical references. I’m speaking not just of modern culture at large, but also church culture.

If you grew up in church, you probably heard heaven discussed, and your ideas about it were probably shaped from that time. If you didn’t grow up in church, your ideas would have been shaped by the larger culture. We in the church tend to think in terms of going to heaven when we die. And that’s a lovely and good and true thought; it is conceptually true, but it is not a phrase you’ll see in Scripture. At least, there’s no wording like that in the Bible.

“Going to heaven when we die” … is conceptually true, but it is not a phrase you’ll see in Scripture.

In fact, by my account the only references of someone “going to heaven” are to men who are not dead: Elijah, Paul, and John—and, of course, Jesus (who was alive upon His ascension).

“Heaven” as a term is introduced from the very beginning of Scripture: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The word is in the plural there, and you may be thinking, “But that’s really more about creating the inhabitable and observable universe—the heavens are the sky, that place where planets are.” And you are correct. Like many of the terms we see in Scripture, we have to wrestle with the context when the word is the same.

Recall, “Sheol” can refer to a physical grave, the place of the dead (i.e., where all mortals go), and the bad place of the dead, a.k.a. Hell. The word can mean any of those things, depending on the context. So it is with “heaven.”

Heaven is a term that we use to reference the atmosphere. And it is a term we use to reference the dwelling place of God. In the Bible, when you see the translation “heaven” singular, it is usually still in the plural form in the original language (“heavens”). That’s the case, in fact, with a lot of words in Hebrew. In addition to “heavens,” we see “water,” “God,” and “life” often constructed in the plural (e.g., waters).

Meaning #1: Atmosphere

The first meaning of the term “heaven” as used in the Bible refers to the idea of sky and space. You may hear that referred to as the “first and second heaven.” This makes sense: The first heaven (sky) we can see; the second heaven (space) we can’t see except at nighttime, when the sky turns dark and the clouds are out of the way—only then do we get a sense that there’s something even farther out there. Modern technology has taught us a lot about that second heaven.

We see this first meaning of “heaven” referenced not only in the first verse in the Bible but also in the eighth verse: “God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8).

Meaning #2: The Dwelling Place of God

The second meaning of “heaven” refers to the dwelling place of God, and this is our focus. We see Jesus speaking about this Heaven in John 6. This isn’t exactly a time when He’s increasing the numbers in His ministry—people don’t like what He has to say about Heaven. (So if you don’t like what I have to say about Heaven, at least I’m in good company!) Jesus says this:

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.” (John 6:31, emphasis mine)

This is a good verse for practicing your skills in biblical interpretation. It begs the question: Is Jesus talking about heaven the sky, or Heaven the place of God? Well, maybe both! From whom came the manna? From God. Where is God? Heaven. From where did the manna come? It fell from the sky (heaven).

This verse is an instance in which either usage of the term could be true. Even though John is actually recording a quote from elsewhere in Scripture,² he is fond of this sort of double usage in his literature. We begin at least to ask the question, “Which meaning is it? Or is it both?”

When we get down a few verses, though, we see Jesus saying, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 6:38). In this passage, and in the course of a lot of what John says, the message is, I, Christ, am from above. This (earth) is not the place I came from. I am from out of this world. I am from Heaven.

Let’s combine this idea in John 6 with how John begins his Gospel. John 1:1, like Genesis 1:1, is another “In the beginning” passage—and it’s an “In the beginning” passage about heaven and earth.

In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He [Jesus] was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1–2)

So we see that Jesus comes from Heaven, and before He got here, He was with God. Heaven is the dwelling place of God.

We also learn from the New Testament that Heaven is the place to which Jesus returned at His ascension, after resurrection (Acts 1:2).

And there are more, familiar verses that tell us that God is in Heaven. For example, “Our Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9), the first words of the Lord’s Prayer. Interesting that that idea is the foremost thought in prayer: the dwelling place of God.

Who Is in Heaven?

Now let’s take from the things we’ve learned in our larger study on the Oracles of God:³

For the believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (If you were to die today, you’d leave the body and you’d be with the Lord. Those whom you know and love who have left the body, if they believe in Jesus before they died, are now with the Lord.)
The Lord is in heaven. So when Christians who die leave the body and go to be with the Lord, they go to Heaven to be with God.

So, as we’ve explored “heaven” as a term, we’ve also answered this question: Who is in heaven? The answer: God and those who trust in God.

To complete the picture, let’s look at Matthew 18:10.⁴ In this passage, Jesus is addressing the disciples after they’ve been arguing over rank in the Kingdom: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”

So again, who are the inhabitants of Heaven? God, those who trust Him, and angels. (It doesn’t take a Bible scholar to have answered that question correctly based on this verse in Matthew. In fact, this answer may not be too dissimilar to the answer you’d get on the street—ask anyone who is in Heaven, and they’d probably say something like “God, some good people, and some angels.”)

Who are the inhabitants of Heaven? God, those who trust Him, and angels.

When and Where Is Heaven?

Here, we need to take a timeout to make sure we’re all on the same page. There are some interesting aspects of Heaven that we could talk about—and I think we will, at some point. We’ll go into questions about the nature of Heaven: What will we do there? How are things going to work there? We’ll even tackle some riskier questions: Will I be bored in heaven? What if I don’t like it there? What if the people I like are in the other place?

The questions we need to answer first, though, are these: When and where is heaven?

If we don’t settle these two questions, then we’re going to be using the term “Heaven,” but we’ll be talking about different things.

The big idea regarding when and where is this: The concept of a soul leaving this earth upon death and going to heaven is a temporary arrangement. It is not the eternal arrangement we’re all headed for.

The concept of a soul leaving this earth upon death and going to heaven is a temporary arrangement. It is not the eternal arrangement we’re all headed for.

We got some hints of this as we talked about resurrection from the dead, because we know that the currently deceased exist in the presence of Jesus, but they are disembodied. Jesus has experienced resurrection from the dead, but the believers in Christ who are currently dead have not. Their bodies (unlike Jesus’s body) are still in the grave, and they await the resurrection from the dead. As a result, we should anticipate some shift in the final program when it comes to eternal judgment.

What exactly does that look like? The Bible explains it in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 21: “He Will Dwell with Us”

In the second-to-last book of the Bible, John is writing about his experience. In Revelation 21, he writes, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away …” (v. 1a, b).

What happened? Did it get old and die—and then passed away? Here’s an explanation from another apostle (Peter):

But by His [God’s] word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:7–13)

A new heaven and new earth in which righteousness dwells. What happened to the old (first) set? What happened to the current universe? There was a judgment of fire upon it.

Let’s return to Revelation 21, where we see that the universe as we know it will be subjected to this fire. After John speaks of the first heaven and earth passing away, we get this odd reference: “… and there is no longer any sea” (v. 1c). This is a pretty good tease toward how we think about Heaven and whether we’ll like it. You may be thinking, “Wait, I love the sea; I like the ocean!” (If you’re like me and like to fish, you’re thinking, “I thought I’d get to fish in Heaven!” Don’t worry, Jesus was partial to fishermen.)

I think what’s indicated in this verse—or at least part of what it indicates—relates to what was said in Revelation 20:13a,b: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them …” I think the “sea” in Revelation 21:1c is like the “sea” in Revelation 20:13—it refers to the place of the dead. It’s a way of saying there’s no place for dead things in this new world. There is only place for life.

Some commentators will take this in a very literal sense. One well-known pastor I’ve seen talk about how this new world won’t be a water-based world. But I’m not sure we can take it that far. I think it’s a reference to the idea that there is no death.

Let’s continue reading in Revelation 21:

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle [dwelling place] of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and 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; the first things have passed away.”

And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” (Revelation 21:2–5)

The when and where of eternity, when it comes to eternal judgment is not the idea that we will abandon this earth to go to Heaven when we die. In some ways, it is the very opposite. I believe the Scriptures teach that there will be a renewal of creation. And so, instead of leaving earth to go to Heaven, Scripture says the end of the story is this: Heaven will come to earth.

I believe the Scriptures teach that there will be a renewal of creation. And so, instead of leaving earth to go to Heaven … Heaven will come to earth.

The language is not “and we will dwell with God.” It is that He will dwell with us—“He will dwell among us” (Revelation 21:3). Both of those things are obviously true, but in this understanding of Heaven coming to earth, there is a richer, more complete understanding of God’s activity in history.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the end, God will create a new heavens and earth.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the end, God will create a new heavens and earth.

This summing up of all things is expressed in Revelation 21:6: “Then He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.’”

Alpha to Omega (A to Z), first to last, end and beginning—and by implication, everything in between. And the best way to understand what happens in between, whether you’re watching a movie or reading a book, is to understand the beginning and the end.

In 2022, I preached a sermon series on life’s “Important Questions.” We talked about the bookends of origin and destiny (beginning and end), and how they tell us much about what happens in between (meaning and purpose). So this story of the ultimate uniting of heaven and earth in the end gives us, I think, greater understanding of what Jesus was trying to tell us in His first coming. “Emmanuel, God with Us” wasn’t just a catchy title for those 30 years He spent on earth. Christ was showing us the Father and the Father’s desire to be with us, to live with us.

If you take this understanding of Revelation 21, that the end goal is not escaping earth but rather Heaven joining earth, let’s next look at what John (the same writer) had to say about Jesus’s first coming.

Heaven and Earth United

John 1:9 says, “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” This Light was not out there to be seen, not in Heaven to be gazed at, but a Light from the beginning that has come into the world. This is not about us traveling to the Light, but the Light traveling to us.

John continues to expound upon this theme:

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:10–18)

In those last two verses (vv. 17–18), a contrast is drawn between Christ and Moses. Moses descended from the mountain (from God, in a sense) to the earth with revelation of our separation from God. (Moses came down with the Law.) Jesus descended to the earth with revelation of God’s desire to be united with us. The emphasis is on that which unites us (through Christ) rather than what divides.

Look again at Revelation 21. As we look at this doctrine of Heaven, the goal is not to say “Everything you know about heaven is untrue” or “Here’s what the Bible really says.” That’s an annoying approach. My goal is simply to paint a picture of clarity. It’s not untrue that we will go to Heaven. But it’s more true that Heaven will come to us. We’re seeking a better way of seeing. It’s like when you go to the eye doctor, and he gives you those goggles and asks, “Which is better—#1 or #2?” Of course, you can see through both, but one is a little clearer than the other.

It’s not untrue that we will go to Heaven. But it’s more true that Heaven will come to us.

So the question is, What’s a better way of seeing this passage (Revelation 21)?

Heaven and earth are passing away. There’s a new heavens and new earth. The old earth is being destroyed. The universe is destroyed with fire. It’s not a starting over exactly. It’s new—but it’s new in the sense of renewal. It’s redemption. It’s a new creation in the sense that it is a recreation. I don’t think it’s just a scrapping of the old universe (“Oh, well, that didn’t work. Burn it down and start over!”).

It’s not a starting over exactly. … It’s redemption. It’s a new creation in the sense that it is a recreation.

Let’s look at Revelation 21:1–7 again, and then we’ll compare this passage with what Paul says in Romans.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,and 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; the first things have passed away.”

And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”

That’s the end—Heaven comes down to earth. Earth and Heaven are united. There’s a sense in which that existence is Heaven at that point, because that’s where God is. And we finally, and in the most real sense, will be children of God, having fully come into our adoption.

We got a glimpse of this analogy recently when some paperwork arrived declaring our adopted son and daughter citizens of the United States. They were already adopted, but they are adopted in a fuller sense now—in an approvable sense, in a way that declares to the world, “No, see, it has always been this way.” And we, too, will get to that moment in the next life, when we say, “No, see, it has always been this way—we’ve always been His son or daughter.”

Romans 8 helps clarify what we mean by the destruction of Heaven and earth:

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. (v. 19)

Fallen creation longs to see the day of revealing. I don’t think creation can see it if destruction means disappearance. What’s being said is that, in the same way we are resurrected and made new with continuity to our old bodies, there is a resurrection of sorts of creation. The old is destroyed, but in the same sense, our old mode of existence is destroyed—in order to emerge redeemed.

Paul continues:

The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (Romans 8:20–25)

Conclusion

And so we see once again that, for the Christian, eternal judgment is about the hope of salvation. That ultimate hope is that one day Heaven will be united to earth.

We see this idea everywhere in Scripture. For example, after the introduction to the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father who is in Heaven …” [Matthew 6:9a]) come these words:

“Your kingdom come [down]” (Matthew 6:10a)
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10b,c)

That ultimate hope of Heaven dwelling on earth is the gospel. And the extent to which you can shift your thinking away from escaping earth and more toward earth being redeemed, I think you will gain a clearer picture of this gospel hope, and discover that this gospel hope is the good news the Scripture often addresses. It’s the good news that God has been telling us.

Shift your thinking away from escaping earth and more toward earth being redeemed.

It should be no surprise that the dwelling place of God (Heaven) will be with humanity on the earth and that His indwelling presence will be the salvation of the universe. It should be no surprise because we already see it in our lives. For now, He has chosen not to indwell the earth, but He has given us a down payment of the promise. He has chosen to indwell us. Paul spoke of it—the current condition is this:

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. (Romans 7:18)

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Roman 8:11)

And so that same eternal life that comes to dwell in people in the end, will come to dwell on the earth. It will be the place where righteousness dwells, in the people of God made righteous and in the presence of their righteous God who comes to live with them.

For now, He has chosen not to indwell the earth, but … us.

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