Photo credit of the above wonderful picture to Frank Wilczek of Onbeing.org
THE DOCTRINE OF HEAVEN
One of the oddest memories I have of my early years of ministry was when I was traveling and speaking at schools and churches across the country. I had been speaking at a small Midwestern academy - and I mean a very small high school - and had been chatting with some of the junior and seniors guys over in the side of the cafeteria near the end of the school day.
"Well," said one of the fellows, groaning audibly. "I guess we might as well get ready for football practice." The other guys sighed and shook their heads as they got up slowly.
"Rough practices, eh?" I asked.
One of the taller fellows looked at me. "I hate football," he said with a hiss. "Just hate it."
Another young man nodded his head. "Hate it." The other guys showed their agreement as they shuffled into the hallway, passing one of the teachers. He heard their comments but said nothing.
"Wow," I said to him as we looked through the window and saw of the teens already gathering outside, setting up cones and carrying sacks of footballs onto the back property. "These guys really have a problem with practices. Do they have a rough schedule?"
The teacher looked out and shook his head. "No, not at all."
"So they're a winning team?"
"No," he replied. "They don't have a schedule at all." I frowned in confusion. He turned to me. "We don't have the money for uniforms or travel."
I was still thrown. "You mean they don't play any schools at all? No games? No bleachers or field?"
"No," he said. "They just have football practice. It's required of all the high school boys. The school just thought it would be a good idea for them to blow off some steam."
I was completely taken aback. No wonder the boys despised football. As I watched, they pummeled their way through tackling and blocking drills, knocking each other down and jogging their way back into line for the next round.
They spent their days practicing for nothing. There were no goals. Nothing to work toward.
It reminded me of the Christian generation today - all of us. We study the Word. We preach and pray and sing and memorize. How little, though, do we study the subject of our goal: Heaven? How much do you actually know about Heaven? Have you ever studied the supreme goal of the Believer? What is it that Jesus is preparing for us?
Let's stop practicing with no knowledge of our final goal. Let's study the subject of Heaven.
"Well," said one of the fellows, groaning audibly. "I guess we might as well get ready for football practice." The other guys sighed and shook their heads as they got up slowly.
"Rough practices, eh?" I asked.
One of the taller fellows looked at me. "I hate football," he said with a hiss. "Just hate it."
Another young man nodded his head. "Hate it." The other guys showed their agreement as they shuffled into the hallway, passing one of the teachers. He heard their comments but said nothing.
"Wow," I said to him as we looked through the window and saw of the teens already gathering outside, setting up cones and carrying sacks of footballs onto the back property. "These guys really have a problem with practices. Do they have a rough schedule?"
The teacher looked out and shook his head. "No, not at all."
"So they're a winning team?"
"No," he replied. "They don't have a schedule at all." I frowned in confusion. He turned to me. "We don't have the money for uniforms or travel."
I was still thrown. "You mean they don't play any schools at all? No games? No bleachers or field?"
"No," he said. "They just have football practice. It's required of all the high school boys. The school just thought it would be a good idea for them to blow off some steam."
I was completely taken aback. No wonder the boys despised football. As I watched, they pummeled their way through tackling and blocking drills, knocking each other down and jogging their way back into line for the next round.
They spent their days practicing for nothing. There were no goals. Nothing to work toward.
It reminded me of the Christian generation today - all of us. We study the Word. We preach and pray and sing and memorize. How little, though, do we study the subject of our goal: Heaven? How much do you actually know about Heaven? Have you ever studied the supreme goal of the Believer? What is it that Jesus is preparing for us?
Let's stop practicing with no knowledge of our final goal. Let's study the subject of Heaven.
POINT #1: GOING TO HEAVEN IS GETTING TO KNOW GOD EVEN MORE THAN WE KNOW HIM HERE ON EARTH
John 17:3 tells us that Jesus prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” When I am invited to a home for a long stay, I get to know the guests better. I am in their domain and I get to see the small things - and great things - I would not have known before I stepped into their personal property. How much more of God will we know when we make that step into the beyond-this-world eternal life?
John 17:3 tells us that Jesus prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” When I am invited to a home for a long stay, I get to know the guests better. I am in their domain and I get to see the small things - and great things - I would not have known before I stepped into their personal property. How much more of God will we know when we make that step into the beyond-this-world eternal life?
POINT #2: LET'S STOP TALKING ABOUT NARROW-MINDEDNESS WHEN IT COMES TO CHRISTIANITY. EVERYBODY IS INVITED TO HEAVEN
The Scriptures give clear invitations to those who really want to go to Heaven when they die: “Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).
The Scriptures give clear invitations to those who really want to go to Heaven when they die: “Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).
Noted Biblical scholar and philosopher William Lane Craig gives some excellent answers to students' questions.
QUESTION #1:
I'm Bob, a Christian. Will the "Heavenly Bob" be like the "Earthly Bob?"
ANSWER: I do think we can say with confidence that the “heavenly Bob” will most certainly not be “the same earthly Bob”! Oh, to be sure, you’ll be the same person, but that person will undergo a vast change. For the earthly Bob is riddled with sin, plagued with weakness, faltering and failing in his best efforts to live his life for the glory of God. But the heavenly Bob will be set free from sin, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and fully pleasing to God in all that he desires and does. The fact that evil will be banished from the new heavens and the new Earth requires a transformation in our character that we can scarcely imagine!
Your assumption that we’ll be able, at least, to do things like play cards or inhabit buildings shows that you have correctly grasped that the afterlife is not a disembodied existence, such as Plato envisioned, but an embodied life. Your next life will not be “in heaven” but on the new Earth that God will usher in after the close of human history and the dissolution of this universe. We shall have resurrection bodies that Paul describes as glorious, powerful, immortal, and supernatural (I Corinthians 15.42-44), inhabiting a new universe which has undergone a resurrection of its own (Romans 8.21), free of decay and death.
I'm Bob, a Christian. Will the "Heavenly Bob" be like the "Earthly Bob?"
ANSWER: I do think we can say with confidence that the “heavenly Bob” will most certainly not be “the same earthly Bob”! Oh, to be sure, you’ll be the same person, but that person will undergo a vast change. For the earthly Bob is riddled with sin, plagued with weakness, faltering and failing in his best efforts to live his life for the glory of God. But the heavenly Bob will be set free from sin, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and fully pleasing to God in all that he desires and does. The fact that evil will be banished from the new heavens and the new Earth requires a transformation in our character that we can scarcely imagine!
Your assumption that we’ll be able, at least, to do things like play cards or inhabit buildings shows that you have correctly grasped that the afterlife is not a disembodied existence, such as Plato envisioned, but an embodied life. Your next life will not be “in heaven” but on the new Earth that God will usher in after the close of human history and the dissolution of this universe. We shall have resurrection bodies that Paul describes as glorious, powerful, immortal, and supernatural (I Corinthians 15.42-44), inhabiting a new universe which has undergone a resurrection of its own (Romans 8.21), free of decay and death.
QUESTION #2:
Is Heavenly life an extension of my earthly life?
ANSWER: Jesus Christ in his risen state gives us the best clue to what our lives will be like, for he is “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (I Corinthians 15.20). In him we have a sneak preview of what we shall be like in the afterlife. On this basis, I would say that the afterlife will, indeed, be “an extension of our earthly life.” For Jesus knew his own when he appeared to them, and his wounds were mementos of what he had suffered for them in his earthly life. The resurrection life is not just a prolongation of the earthly life, since it involves a radical transformation such as Paul describes, but it is not as though the earthly life is discarded and forgotten.
Is Heavenly life an extension of my earthly life?
ANSWER: Jesus Christ in his risen state gives us the best clue to what our lives will be like, for he is “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (I Corinthians 15.20). In him we have a sneak preview of what we shall be like in the afterlife. On this basis, I would say that the afterlife will, indeed, be “an extension of our earthly life.” For Jesus knew his own when he appeared to them, and his wounds were mementos of what he had suffered for them in his earthly life. The resurrection life is not just a prolongation of the earthly life, since it involves a radical transformation such as Paul describes, but it is not as though the earthly life is discarded and forgotten.
QUESTION #3:
Will we have interactions with our family members and earthly friends?
ANSWER:
Jesus did. He appeared to his brother James (I Corinthians 15.7) and interacted with his disciples. So I expect that we shall, too. There will not be marriage in the afterlife, but that’s no reason to think that you will not know your earthly wife (or wives!) as your sister in heaven.
Will we have interactions with our family members and earthly friends?
ANSWER:
Jesus did. He appeared to his brother James (I Corinthians 15.7) and interacted with his disciples. So I expect that we shall, too. There will not be marriage in the afterlife, but that’s no reason to think that you will not know your earthly wife (or wives!) as your sister in heaven.
QUESTION #4:
Do you believe we will be walking on ‘street of gold’? If so why will that be such a big deal? Will we be living in luxurious mansions?
ANSWER:
Here greater uncertainty is appropriate. The book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature, which is known for its use of vivid symbolism. The descriptions of the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21.9-27) may be vivid imagery to convey to us its dazzling beauty and worth. On the other hand a former colleague of mine, a prominent New Testament scholar, once remarked to me matter-of-factly that he thinks we shall be rich in heaven. After getting over my initial surprise, it occurred to me that since we shall have an embodied existence, we’ll have to live somewhere, and it would seem singularly inappropriate that the saints in glory should be living in squalor. Why wouldn’t God bestow luxurious mansions upon them? Why not pave the streets with gold? It would at least be beautiful!
Do you believe we will be walking on ‘street of gold’? If so why will that be such a big deal? Will we be living in luxurious mansions?
ANSWER:
Here greater uncertainty is appropriate. The book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature, which is known for its use of vivid symbolism. The descriptions of the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21.9-27) may be vivid imagery to convey to us its dazzling beauty and worth. On the other hand a former colleague of mine, a prominent New Testament scholar, once remarked to me matter-of-factly that he thinks we shall be rich in heaven. After getting over my initial surprise, it occurred to me that since we shall have an embodied existence, we’ll have to live somewhere, and it would seem singularly inappropriate that the saints in glory should be living in squalor. Why wouldn’t God bestow luxurious mansions upon them? Why not pave the streets with gold? It would at least be beautiful!
QUESTION #5:
If we liked playing Gin Rummy on earth will we play Gin in Heaven?
ANSWER:
Who knows? While such a pursuit strikes me as numbingly trivial, who am I to say that, say, a Beethoven will not continue to compose or a Rembrandt to paint? My greatest reservation about such earthly pursuits continuing is that it seems to me that the unadulterated vision of Christ, now no longer seen in a poor mirror, but face to face (I Corinthians 13.12), will be so overwhelming and all-consuming that no one would want to play gin rather than be singing his praises and worshiping him. If that sounds boring to you, then you have not yet grasped the incommensurable good that knowing God is. So I’m inclined to think that people who think that when they go to heaven they’ll spend endless time painting or playing golf may be very surprised at how their desires have changed once they are freed from sin and given an unadulterated vision of God. It’s going to be much better than they ever imagined.
If we liked playing Gin Rummy on earth will we play Gin in Heaven?
ANSWER:
Who knows? While such a pursuit strikes me as numbingly trivial, who am I to say that, say, a Beethoven will not continue to compose or a Rembrandt to paint? My greatest reservation about such earthly pursuits continuing is that it seems to me that the unadulterated vision of Christ, now no longer seen in a poor mirror, but face to face (I Corinthians 13.12), will be so overwhelming and all-consuming that no one would want to play gin rather than be singing his praises and worshiping him. If that sounds boring to you, then you have not yet grasped the incommensurable good that knowing God is. So I’m inclined to think that people who think that when they go to heaven they’ll spend endless time painting or playing golf may be very surprised at how their desires have changed once they are freed from sin and given an unadulterated vision of God. It’s going to be much better than they ever imagined.
Source: https://www.reasonablefaith.org/question-answer/P10/how-will-we-be-different-in-heaven
