Heaven

by Mark Chatfield
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 31, 1987

Several years ago, I saw a show on TV; it may have been Twilight Zone or something similar. A man died, and the show was about his afterlife. The program caused a good deal of thought about what heaven might really be like. It seems the man had what we often wish we could have. Everything he did turned out right; he obviously was in heaven. He would go bowling and get a strike every time. He played pool, and the right balls would go into the pocket every time. He enjoyed everything immensely for several days, but then he became frustrated. He could do nothing wrong! He eventually was led to lament and beg for something to cause him difficulty. He was going mad at his seeming success and finally cried out, "Let me out of here, I don't want to be here, send me to the other place." At this time, a voice came to him, and in a sinister tone, he was told, "You are in the other place!"

No doubt the show was overdone, but what a difficult thing for men to try to comprehend. What is heaven like? We become almost trite in our thinking by considering the gold and jewels and conjuring up ideas of wealth. What good will wealth (in terms of physical gold and jewels) be in a spiritual world? There is no way for man to see anything but a shadow of what heaven is really like because we cannot think in true spiritual terms. The closest we can come is to consider the most precious and pleasant things we know and try to relate them to the spiritual realm of God, known by the term "heaven." But God has not left us with a void regarding the characteristics of heaven and what we have to look forward to. We will explore some of the things we are told about it and will try to keep fresh in our minds that we are not considering a physical place as we know physical things but a spiritual place, a realm of another dimension where time is not measurable and spiritual beings, although having a form, are neither man nor woman or otherwise grouped as we know classes of men.

More than 600 references to the word "heaven" or "heavenly" are in the Bible. Although the Old Testament is much longer than the New, half of the references are in the New Testament. This reflects greater nearness to heaven and the infinitely greater hope in Christ. But we must further define our study. The word that is translated from Greek into the English term we know as "heaven" is "ouranos," which, literally, may mean the sky but is akin to another form of the same Greek word, "ornumi," which means to lift or to heave. It is not without reason that men have, throughout time, thought of heaven as being "up." After all, Christ ascended "far above all the heavens" (sky), and the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. But we must resist the thought that the heaven where God is enthroned with Christ sitting at His right hand is a physical place located on some extra-galactic chart beyond the stars we see in the sky. The view of ascending and descending spirits is given to us to assure that we grasp the fact that heaven is not of this world, surely "we do not seek an earthly kingdom," the eternal abode we seek is a spiritual place, transcending the physical; Isaiah 57:15 tells us that God is the "One that inhabiteth eternity" and II Corinthians 5:1 says, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." It is through us, in us, and above us—and not just "us" but all we know and relate to in this life. Our only connection, our only door, is through the grace of God, who permits us through the Word (the Bible), the Word (Christ), and the Spirit to know of its existence and marvelous, wonderous characteristics. This heaven, the dwelling place of the righteous, is the subject of our interest.

God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, etc.—He is all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing. He is infinite. As you look up into the starry sky some clear night, what better way can you think of to describe God's infinity than to reflect on the vastness of the galaxies and the smallness of this tiny jewel of the creations we call earth? Just as we consider the atmosphere to be "up," the Bible describes heaven as above us. We know some atmosphere is below our heads, but so much of it is above it that it is profoundly sensible to think of it as "up." It is the same way with heaven. Earth is but a pinhead in the ocean of our solar system, and the solar system is the same as our galaxies, and our galaxies are the same as the physical universe we know about—and we don't know about it at all! But heaven is beyond all that we see, it is not to be seen with eyes of men but is a spiritual phenomenon with the texture of a thought and the dimensions of a dream and the characteristics of all that is restful and joyous and good.

The Bible tells us heaven is "up," so we will understand it is not of this world. It says heaven is of substantial size, so we might have confidence that there is room for all. We are told of streets of gold, a river with water of life, walls of jasper, and gates of pearls so we may recognize the infinite value of our inheritance. We are told of a mysterious transparency, so we might understand that this is truly a special dwelling place that we can't fully know until we come into our inheritance.

Heaven is God's dwelling place, His "holy habitation," according to Deuteronomy 26:15. Unlike the mansion in an exclusive neighborhood, which is often closed, heaven is open for all His people who wish to communicate with Him. Revelation 21:25 says, "And the gates of it shall not be shut," and I Kings 8:30 says, "Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place; and when thou hearest, forgive." "The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men " (Psalms 33:13).

Heaven is not a place of total quiet and subdued light but is alive with the sounds and brightness of the Love that dwells there. Revelation 14:2 says, "And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne." We can be sure that the joy in heaven over the sinner who repents (Luke 15:7) is not just a muted expression but is more characterized by the way we are told the Lord will descend when the end comes, that is, with a shout and with the sound of a trumpet Heaven is, no doubt, quite filled with sound, joyous sound. It is also filled with light. "There is no night there," according to Revelation 21:25. Furthermore, we are told that in that city, there is "no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God" is all the light that is needed (Revelation 21:23).

The beauty of heaven and the pleasures experienced there are related to us in such extraordinary terms it causes us to realize even more fully that we are gaining only a glimpse of insight into the true glory that awaits us. "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it: and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads, and there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 22:1-5).

We who inherit heaven will not be lonely for "Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven" (Hebrews 12:22-23). And "Lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Revelation 7:9-17).

The most significant thing about the opportunity to go to heaven is not to have spiritual streets of gold to walk upon spiritually, nor is it to have no troubles or tears. The most significant thing is that you and I, with all our imperfections, have the very real promise to be one with God. God Himself will wipe away all tears. God Himself will dwell with us and within us. Surely, there is no more worthwhile endeavor in this life than to seek the promise of heaven in the life to come.