What will heaven be like?
In order to keep your eyes fixed on the “prize” at the end of our struggles, it would be helpful to get a good strong sense of what that prize is. The prize we all hope for is, of course, heaven.
To catch a glimpse of what heaven will be like, let’s start in Isaiah Chapter 49:
“Say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.
“They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.”
Isaiah 49:9-10 NIV
No hunger or thirst. No beating down heat from the sun. Yet we will still be able to eat in some way? Interesting!
Let’s continue:
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips.
”Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
“This is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.”
Isaiah 49:22-23, 25 NIV
Here we have the image of God’s children being carried off to heaven and comforted. And catch that promise: “Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” Thank you God for your promises!
Isaiah Chapter 60 goes into a lot of detail about what Heaven will be like:
“Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.
“Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.
“Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?
“Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.
“Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations— their kings led in triumphal procession.
“The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place for my feet.
“The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
“Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
“The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
“Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
“Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”
Isaiah 60:4-6, 8-11, 13-14, 17-22 NIV
This very long passage paints a really luxurious picture of heaven. Only the finest raw materials will do.
Peace will be your governor — what a comfort that will be, compared with politics these days! No more violence or fighting or destruction.
The sun and moon are no more, and now our light comes from the Glory of God. How gentle and lovely that light will be compared with the harsh sun we have labored under!
“The least of you will become a thousand”
– this implies that we will be able to reproduce and have families in this heavenly city. I am not sure about that, but it seems to me that it implies that. What do you think? Leave me a comment if you have a different interpretation!
Most of all, focus on the joy that will swell within you. The sense of peace and safety. No more violence or suffering. Sounds lovely.
Dare I hope that we might be able to fly? Don’t you think this passage implies that we will fly? I wonder if the flying is only during the Rapture, or if we retain that ability. How fun would that be?
Let’s continue with Isaiah 65:
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
“The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.
“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
“or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
“They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.
“They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them.
“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.”
Isaiah 65:17-25 NIV
This passage from Isaiah also implies that we will have children in heaven, or at least in the Millenium Kingdom.
That is fascinating to me! I wonder what that will be like without Eve’s curse. We also learn that we will work in heaven, but that we will fully enjoy the work of our hands in heaven, unlike on earth.
Here we see a picture of all animals being at peace with one another, and with humans. In the Garden of Eden, animals could talk to people… I wonder if that will be true in heaven as well! How amazing would that be? I want to pat a black bear cub!! What would you do? Leave me a comment!
Next we look at Isaiah chapter 66:
“For this is what the Lord says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.
“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you;
“and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes.”
Isaiah 66:12-14 NIV
Here we see the maternal side of God, which people rarely talk about. God promises to gather us close and comfort us like a mother comforts her child. What a lovely image! God will put an end to all of our aches and pains, to all of our traumas, to all of our crying. I cannot wait.
Let’s backtrack now to Isaiah chapter 11:
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
“The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.”
Isaiah 11:6-10 NIV
Again we see this image of a world where animals are friends, and no longer afraid of people. That sounds incredibly fun to me. We also know that there will be little children.
Now, for the ultimate vision of heaven, let’s turn to the book of Revelation:
“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
“It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates.
“On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
“The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length [1,400 miles], and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick.
“The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold,
“as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
“The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
“On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Revelation 21:10-27 NIV
What did Jesus say about heaven while he was on the earth?
“He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.””
Matthew 13:31-33 NIV
This paints a picture of a heavenly kingdom that comes down to earth and expands to fill the earth.
The other interpretation is this: when we are raptured and brought to live in Jesus’s millenium kingdom, the small number of elect who make the cut will then reproduce and multiply and increase the number of God’s people.
Which interpretation sounds right to you? Write a comment below!
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46 NIV
This passage tells us that heaven is so incredibly wonderful, that if you could see it now, you would sell EVERYTHING YOU HAVE to get it.
Are you beginning to understand what kind of wonderfulness is in store for those who stick with Jesus?
“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 13:47-50 NIV
Now this passage paints a picture of judgment. Only *some* will be found worthy of this gift of heaven. Others will be cast into the fire and destroyed. =(
Now get ready for a restoration of the Garden of Eden:
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.
“On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
“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. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”
Revelation 22:1-5 NIV
Okay, this city sounds absolutely glorious to me.
All of that splendor is rolled out for us — the people of God. How incredible it will be to see this golden city! Also, this “city” will be 1,400 miles square? That is HUGE! Wow. I cannot wait to see it.