What Does the Bible Say About Heaven? Both Christians and non-Christians alike like to believe that there is a place better than Earth: some kind of heaven without pain and suffering. The name we usually give to that place is “heaven.”
Both Christians and non-Christians alike like to believe that there is a place better than Earth: some kind of heaven without pain and suffering. The name we usually give to that place is “heaven,” a place where “good people” go. Rock songs talk about heaven in different ways (Heaven by Bryan Adams, Heaven is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle), referring to a state of complete happiness, usually in the embrace of someone they love.
This is a kind of transient happiness that depends on conditions involving idols, including specific people in our lives. Does a real heaven exist, and if so, what is heaven like? How is the heaven of the Bible superior to anything the secular world can imagine? Where is heaven, and how can we get there? Has God said anything about heaven in the Bible?
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What is Heaven Like in the Bible? Real or Imaginary?
A keyword search for “heaven” in the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible yields nearly 700 results. The Hebrew word “shamayim” means “heavens” or “sky.” The Greek word “ouranos” means “heaven,” referring to the sky or spiritual heavens, the unseen realms. Ezra mentions the “God of heaven” (5:11), and Daniel also speaks of the “God of heaven” (2:37). John the Baptist declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” (Matthew 3:2). Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, Matthew wrote that “the heavens were opened to him” (3:16).
Heavenly realms are not always considered places of joy and peace. Paul encourages believers to prepare for battle against “the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The context helps the reader understand whether the Bible is referring to the sky or a spiritual realm, and also the nature of that spiritual realm. Even the slight difference between “heavenly realms” versus simply “heaven” is an indicator of what the Bible is talking about.
Christ brings heaven with him, so positive and spiritual references to heaven often involve light. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Jesus also declared, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46).
Where is Spiritual Heaven?
God is not confined by man-made boundaries; therefore, it makes sense that the kingdom of heaven “is not confined by the usual limitations of time and space.
” John MacArthur explains that although we cannot see it, “the Bible clearly teaches that heaven is a real place that can be seen and touched and inhabited by beings with physical bodies.” Do we go there after death? Other biblical signs suggest that heaven comes here.
Revelation 21 describes John’s view of “a new heaven and a new earth […] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” However, according to John MacArthur, “the new heaven and the new earth are seen merged into a great eternal kingdom that encompasses both realms.” Is the new earth, restored to Edenic perfection, the new heaven? Or is there an intermediate place? If so, then those who die in Christ are in heaven, but not the final heaven where body and soul are united.
There is a sense in which Christians are said to “sleep” when they die before the resurrection. Since they are not yet physically resurrected, are they now in heaven? If so, in what state do they currently reside? Paul wrote, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). This suggests that the dead in Christ sleep for a time before the resurrection. However, Christ also told the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Christ was physically somewhere, and the thief was with him.
John Piper claims that believers enjoy “a conscious, intimate, and joyous experience of being in Christ’s presence between death and resurrection” now, after death. In other words, there is a period when a Christian enjoys spiritual communion with Christ before the resurrection occurs. Piper points to Philippians 1:21-23, where Paul says he would rather depart this life to be with Christ Jesus, even if this means living between his earthly state and his resurrection state. There must be something yet in heaven, but not the final place of resurrection life.
Will Our Bodies be Resurrected in Heaven?
The resurrection is a physical resurrection. Matt Perman affirms, “Yes, our bodies will not be raised spiritual or immaterial but physical and material. Our souls will reunite with our transformed physical bodies, bringing them back from death to life.” Perman connects the resurrection of believers with the resurrection of Jesus, which was indeed a physical phenomenon. Christians will not merely be spirits in the presence of Christ but will also serve and worship him in their new bodies.
When Jesus returned from the grave, he ate with the disciples, and they could touch him. “Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). The body of Christ, being in Christ, made like Christ, will be like him in every respect, including this one. The mortal and perishable body that each person carries today will no longer be subject to death, disease, injury, or abuse. It will not be under temptation or pain.
What Does the Bible Say? What is Heaven Like?
Mike Leake explained that the etymological roots of “paradise” suggest a comparison to the Garden of Eden. What is “most remarkable [there] is not the trees or rivers or delicious fruits but the presence of Almighty God.” He indicates that heaven and heaven are one place because each word describes where God is. When Christ began his ministry, he declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). Wherever he is, the kingdom is, and the kingdom is heaven. But the resurrection has not yet occurred.
Johan D. Tangder summarized Randy Alcorn’s description of heaven, a reality we can only imagine or describe. Questions about whom you will be married to, whether you will live with your children as a family, and where your friends are will be irrelevant. Instead, the body, the church, is married to the bridegroom, Christ. There will be animals, rocks, plants, and food.
But “the institution of marriage has fulfilled its purpose. The only marriage will be between Christ and his bride – and we will be part of it.” The new Jerusalem will be vast but will not feel like a sprawling, intimidating urban mess. All its inhabitants will explore “a place of extreme beauty and natural wonders.” It will be an expanded Eden, merged with the best of human culture, under the reign of Christ.” Although Christians will serve God in heaven (Revelation 22:3), Tangder explains that “regular rest will be part of the future life in the new world.”
The city, when measured by angels, will be vast. Its foundational walls will be adorned with “every kind of precious stone imaginable”: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl (Revelation 21:11; 19-21, MSG). In John’s vision, “the city shimmered like a precious gem, pulsing light” (John MacArthur).
Is Heaven Real?
In conclusion, heaven is definitely real. Believers cannot see it or enter it in their mortal state, but Jesus has assured them that it exists. And heaven is more beautiful than anything any individual can imagine. Even John’s Revelation is limited by human thinking capacity to comprehend the reality of God’s kingdom. “For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:27). This includes the complete restoration between God and all his creation.
