It's Not What You Think

Yesterday, we looked at how heaven will actually be on the new earth in the future, and this might raise some questions in your mind. Growing up, I always thought of heaven as an etherial place that is more spiritual than physical. I've heard others talk about heaven as a place where "we'll all just fly around with the angels and just sing to God for eternity." I can't emphasize enough that this is not what heaven will be like, and the Bible testifies to this. 

I recently read a book by Randy Alcorn called Heaven, which is like an encyclopedia of references in Scripture to what heaven will be like. While there are many things that we do not know about heaven, there is much that the Lord has revealed to His people. Randy Alcorn does an excellent job answering questions that many have about heaven, such as "Will I recognize those that I love?" It's a helpful book for those that have a lot of questions, and it actually inspired this series. 

One thing that Alcorn does an excellent job explaining from the Scriptures is that the image that most people have of heaven is that on the intermediate heaven - it's the place where those that die will go to be with the Lord BEFORE the earth is made new. When most people think of heaven, they are actually thinking of the intermediate heaven. 

This is why heaven is not what you think. Heaven will not just be a spiritual place outside of earth. One day the new earth will literally be heaven, and the earth will be as it was always intended to be: perfect. 

Can you imagine a perfect earth? A place where work and relationships are no longer tainted by sin? A place where God dwells with man, and we will see him face to face? It will be greater than we could ever imagine. 

As I write this series, I hope that you're starting to get a fuller picture of what heaven will be like, and that it makes your heart long for it more and more. I am convinced that a right perspective of heaven and eternity with the Lord helps us to live a life focused more on the Lord than on what this current world has to offer. 

Again, heaven is not what you think. And if you want to learn more, I would recommend reading Heaven by Randy Alcorn and even It's Not What You Think: Why Christianity Is About So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die by Jefferson Bethke. They both offer helpful perspectives on heaven from the Scriptures.