What Will Heaven Be Like?

The Bible tells us to set our mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2. To do that, the more we know about heaven, the better. Faith will unlock these things in your heart. Faith takes as fact truths that are not yet apparent to your physical senses.

I'm going to do the best I can with this topic. I haven't been to heaven...yet. But I've studied what the Bible says about heaven. Where it's not specific, I'll fill in between the lines, while staying true to Biblical concepts. I may take examples from this physical world to help illustrate things in the unseen world. Jesus did that.

So, what will heaven be like? I'm going to start by looking at what heaven WON'T be like.

Revelation 21:27 says "there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life."

There will be nothing in heaven that the Lord Jesus dislikes, nothing that is out of harmony with His disposition or very essence. The moment you were born again, the Holy Spirit gave you a new, holy, and pure spirit and joined you spiritually to Jesus. 1 Corinthians 6:17.

While you remain on earth, what you once were by nature in your mind, will, and emotions--that is, your soul--is being rewritten by persistent grace. As your life here closes, you will go to be with Jesus. John 14:3.

In heaven, there will be

1. No death, no tears, no pain, no sickness or disease, no broken or crippled bodies. There will be no physical, intellectual or emotional impairment.

2. No loneliness or despair. No painful or traumatic memories, no broken hearts. No unpleasant or uncomfortable relationships.

3. No sense of guilt, condemnation or unforgiveness. Jesus paid it all. Hebrews 7:27.

4. No marriage...marriage on this earth between believers is a good thing. There just won't be people getting married in heaven. Matthew 22:30.

5. No growing old. "Prime of life" adulthood will be the standard.

6. No one will be there on their own merits. Ephesians 2:8-9.

The Pharisees were all about establishing their own righteousness. In Matthew 5:20, Jesus said that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees.

Jesus also told the story of 2 men in the temple, but only the one who prayed "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner" went away justified before God. The one who trusted in his own righteousness didn't. Luke 18:10-14.

7. No one will be more valuable or less valuable than others because Jesus paid the exact same price for everyone.

8. There will be no danger. A lion will lay down with the lamb. An infant will play next to a cobra's den. A young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. Isaiah 11.

9. There will be no different races. Everyone there will simply be a citizen of heaven. Galatians 3:28.

10. There will be no night, no sun, no moon, no darkness or shadow in the heavenly Jerusalem. God's glory will be the light and Jesus will be His lamp. Revelation 21:23-25 and 22:5.

11. There will be nothing impure, unholy, unrighteous or anything with even a hint of being "off".

12. There will be no anger, no arrogance, no haughty eyes or proud heart. Proverbs 21:4. No one will have an attitude of superiority or contempt.

That's not an exhaustive list, but you get the point. 

 

Now, let’s flip the discussion and talk about what heaven WILL be like.

Those who went to heaven as infants or children will grow into "prime of life" adulthood but no further. Everyone, even those who were old on earth, will forever be youthful in heaven's version of "prime of life" adulthood.

Many that are first here will be last there and many that are last here will be first there, Matthew 19:30. I don't know all about how God will make that work. But no one will feel unappreciated, disrespected, ignored, or “less than”. There will be no sense of missing out or being unappreciated. Everyone's value will be the same because Jesus Himself paid the exact same price for everyone.

People will have various roles, assignments, and responsibilities, just as angels have various roles, assignments, and responsibilities.

Jesus, in person, will be with us. Hebrews 13:5. You will walk with Him and talk with Him.

We will experience time, but it will be far beyond how we experience it now. There will be travel and distance, but also not like here.

Everything will at some level be alive, nothing will be inanimate. Jesus talked about the rocks crying out. Balaam's donkey spoke. I think that implies that animals will still be animals but somehow much more than they are here.

Good emotions that are experienced one at a time here will be rolled into a single fabulous emotion. You will feel complete calm and absolute perfect peace at the same time as full excitement and exuberant joy. All of those emotions will combine into a single wonderful emotion.

We will judge angels, but when, which ones, how and for what isn't explained. 1 Corinthians 6:3.

There will be lots of joyous singing, celebration, and happy dancing, but not as here. Even the Lord will dance and leap with joy. Zephaniah 3:17, Tree of Life version, says "He will delight over you with joy. He will quiet you with His love. He will dance for joy over you with singing." There will be the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, full of feasting and joyous celebration!

You will participate in His joy. Matthew 25:23 in the NIV says "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

There will be open access to God's throne room, Ephesians 2:18. There will be open access to Heaven's Tree of Life with leaves that are for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1-3. There will be incredible off-the-chart natural beauty with rivers and flowing waters and a sea as pure as crystal.

There will be Angels (Hebrews 12:22), Archangels, Seraphim, Cherubim and other Holy beings, such as the 24 elders around the throne and the four living creatures (Revelation 4:4, 5:11 and 7:11). There will be creatures resembling wheels with eyes. (Ezekiel 1 & 10). Will there be more? We'll see when we get there, but I think the answer is yes.

He will give you a new name, a loving name, a name that says what you mean to Him. The depth and significance of your new name will be known only to you and Him. (Revelation 2:17). When He speaks your name, it will tell the full story of what you mean to Him, of His love for you and how He has redeemed you.

It will be clear that, in shaping you, He didn't let anything go waste, not even that which was meant by evil in this world to destroy you. See Joseph's story in Genesis 50:20. Also read Romans 8:28.

You will know and recognize your loved ones. There will be no strangers. You will know even as you are known. I can only guess at the fullness of what that means, but that is how Paul says it in 1 Corinthians 13:12.

Everyone will be conformed to the image of Jesus, having a glorified body like His with a spirit and soul to match. Romans 8:29.

The Lord will be loving you up close and personal. You will feel His love. It will far exceed anything you know here. There will be times when you're face to face with Jesus, swept up in His loving gaze, enraptured by His voice. You will forever be heart to heart and soul to soul with Him.

This present physical world is real, I'm not saying it isn't, but this world will pass. It's temporary. The reality of this natural world doesn't come close to the reality of that spiritual world. The spiritual realm's reality far surpasses this world’s.

In God's timing, the present heaven and earth will be rolled up like a scroll and replaced with a new heaven and a new earth. That process won't be scary, it will be very very good. Revelation 6:14 and chapter 21.

Isaiah 66:22 says "The new heaven and the new earth which I will make will be forever before me, says the Lord."

It may sound like I'm describing some impossible fantasy world, a dream. But it's this temporary, passing world that is more like a dream, a passing mist. Any memories of this life will be encased in a sense of His goodness, mercy, and forgiveness...His grace, purity and justice.

Speaking to God's intention, Ephesians 2:7 in The Voice translation says "for all eternity we will stand as a living testimony to the incredible riches of His grace and kindness that He freely gives to us by uniting us with Jesus the Anointed."

You will be overwhelmingly amazed at how He took your life, a life deeply contaminated and broken, and made it so new, so pure, so forgiven and so beautiful. It will be just as if you were never contaminated and broken.

The colors will be brighter and far more vivid, the sounds all beautiful. Even the fragrances will be full of peace and calm. All will be delightful and comforting, touched with a sense of wonderful expectancy.

Not only will our Creator God, the great I AM, be loving freely on you, He will enable YOU to love like you've never loved before.

You will be loving on Him with an amazing sense of rapture. It won't stop there. You'll be loving His heavenly family the same way. You will give love and receive love with a depth and intensity far beyond any possible earthly experience.

You will rest in His love and be energized by it. His love will be alive in you, through you, and around you.

That kind of love will be the currency, the breath, and the very heartbeat of heaven.