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Curious Questions About Heaven
by Randy Alcorn
“. . . because a ghost
does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” Luke
24:39
In a day when speculation about heaven runs rampant, I've found
it both exciting and refreshing to carefully examine what Scripture says.
I once heard a pastor make a startling confession: "Whenever
I think about heaven, it makes me depressed. I'd rather just cease to exist
when I die."
I tried not to show my shock as I asked him, "Why?"
"I can't stand the thought of that endless tedium. To float
around in the clouds with nothing to do but strum a harp — it's all so terribly
boring. Heaven doesn't sound much better than hell."
Where
did this Bible-believing, seminary-educated pastor get such a view of heaven?
Certainly
not from Scripture, where Paul said to depart and be with Christ was "far
better" than staying on earth (Philippians 1:23).
And
yet, though my friend was more honest about it than most, I've found that many
Christians share the same misconceptions about heaven.
More
than 30 years ago, I began studying what Scripture tells us about eternity and
have written about heaven and the importance of an eternal perspective ever
since.
The
Bible tells us much more about heaven than is often assumed.
In a
day when speculation and subjectivism about heaven run rampant, I've found it
both exciting and refreshing to carefully examine what Scripture says.
1. Will we have bodies
and live human lives?
Many
people imagine that we will remain disembodied spirits in the afterlife and
that heaven won't be a tangible, earthly place.
Given
the consistent physical descriptions of the present heaven and those who dwell
there, it seems possible — though this is certainly debatable — that between
our earthly life and our bodily resurrection, God may grant us some physical
form that will allow us to function as human beings while in that unnatural
state "between bodies," awaiting our resurrection.
Just as
the intermediate state is a bridge between life on the old earth and the new
earth, perhaps intermediate bodies, or at least a physical form of some sort,
serve as bridges between our present bodies and our resurrected bodies.
Revelation 21:1 says, "Then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away."
This
eternal heaven, the new earth, is our true home, the place where we will live
forever with our Lord and one another.
In my
book Heaven, I explain biblically why I believe that on the new earth there
will be natural wonders, animals, trees, rivers, cities, houses and
architecture.
We will
laugh, eat and drink, tell stories, make crafts, build, garden, care for
animals, play, enjoy sports and physically demanding activities and tend and
manage and rule the earth.
We will
collaborate, research, invent, read books and write them, create and perform
dramas, compose music and perform it, all to God's glory. Why?
Because
we will still be physical beings created in God's image, which means we are
creative and intelligent.
And, we
will be restored to a new earth without sin and death — to fulfill God's
original plan of stewarding the material universe to His eternal glory.
2. Will we still be
ourselves with our memories of this life?
After Jesus rose from the dead, He said to His disciples,
"‘Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself! Touch Me and see,
because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.' Having
said this, He showed them His hands and feet" (Luke
24:39-40).
The
resurrected Jesus did not become someone else; He remained who He was before
His resurrection. And His old body was the same body made new.
Our
bodies will be the old ones made new, just as the new earth will be the old
earth made new.
You
will be you in heaven. Who else would you be? If Bob, a man on earth, is no
longer Bob when he gets to heaven, then, in fact, Bob did not go to heaven.
If we
weren't ourselves in the afterlife, then we couldn't be held accountable for
what we did in this life. Judgment day would be meaningless.
Scripture
is clear that our own personal history and identity will endure from one earth
to the next.
3. Won't heaven be boring?
Sadly —
even among Christians — it's a prevalent myth that heaven will be boring.
Sometimes
we can't envision anything beyond strumming a harp and polishing streets of
gold.
Satan's
most basic strategy, the same one he employed with Adam and Eve, is to make us
believe that sin brings fulfillment.
However,
in reality, sin robs us of fulfillment. Sin's emptiness inevitably leads to
boredom.
Psalm 16:11 says, "You reveal the path of life to me; in
Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures."
Everything
good, enjoyable, refreshing, fascinating and interesting is derived from God.
God promises that we'll laugh, rejoice and experience endless pleasures in
heaven.
To be
in His presence will be the very opposite of boredom.
4. Will we know our
loved ones and have ongoing relationships with them?
Scripture
gives no indication of a memory wipe causing us not to recognize family and
friends.
Paul
anticipated being with the Thessalonians in heaven (1
Thessalonians 4:13-18), and it never occurred to him he wouldn't know them.
In
fact, if we wouldn't know our loved ones, the encouragement of an afterlife
reunion would be no encouragement at all.
Relationships
among God's people will resume in ways even better than what we've known here.
Once
the curse is lifted and death is forever reversed, we may live out many of the "could
have beens" taken from us on the old earth.
5. Will there be animals —
and is it possible the pets we've loved will be there?
In Isaiah 65:17, 25, the Lord says: "I will create a new
heaven and a new earth ... The wolf and the lamb will feed together ... They
will not do what is evil or destroy on My entire holy mountain."
Scripture
says a great deal about animals, portraying them as earth's second most
important inhabitants.
God
entrusted animals to us, and our relationships with animals are a significant
part of our lives.
Scripture's
descriptions of animals peacefully inhabiting the earth may have application to
a millennial kingdom on the old earth, but their primary reference appears to
be to God's eternal kingdom, where mankind and animals will together enjoy a
redeemed earth.
Many
people also want to know whether their pets might live again.
Romans
8:20-23 sees animals as part of a suffering creation eagerly awaiting
deliverance through humanity's resurrection.
This
seems to require that some animals that lived, suffered and died on the old
earth must be made whole on the new earth.
Wouldn't
some of those likely be our pets?
Wouldn't
it be just like God to take animals entrusted to our care in the old world and
allow us to enjoy with them the wonders of the new world?
Jesus'
death and resurrection made the way for us to be restored to the Father in our
eternal home.
If you
know Jesus, I look forward to meeting you there and worshiping our King
together in that incredible and indestructible world He has planned for us.
Article courtesy of Mature Living magazine.
Learn
More About Randy Alcorn's Book
Heaven:
We all have questions about what heaven will be like, and Randy Alcorn's Heaven
helps answer some of these questions. By sharing from his extensive research on
the topic—all from a biblical perspective, his writing will surprise readers
and stretch their thinking beyond anything they've imagined heaven to be like.
Heaven will
help readers strive for eternity while they're living on earth.
Randy Alcorn is the author of more
than 40 books and the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM). He
served as a pastor for fourteen years, holding degrees in theology and biblical
studies, and has taught on the adjunct faculties of Multnomah University and
Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. Randy resides in Gresham, Oregon, with
his wife, Nanci.https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/five-things-you-should-know-about-heaven-randy-alcorn
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