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The Present Heaven And The Future Heaven
What’s the Difference Between the Present
Heaven and the Future Heaven?
BY RANDY ALCORN
People
usually think of “Heaven” as the place Christians go when they die.
A
better definition explains that Heaven is God’s central dwelling place,
the location of his throne from which he rules the universe.
Many
don’t realize that the present pre-resurrection Heaven and future
post-resurrection Heaven are located in different places.
The
exact location of the present Heaven is unknown, but we’re told the future
Heaven will be located on the New Earth.
The
present Heaven is a place of transition between believers’ past lives on Earth
and future resurrection lives on the New Earth.
Life in
the present Heaven (which theologians call the “intermediate” Heaven) is “better
by far” than living here on Earth under the curse (Philippians 1:23).
But
it’s not our final destination.
Will We
Live in Heaven Forever?
The
answer depends on our definition of Heaven.
Will we
be with the Lord forever? Absolutely.
Will we
always be with God in the same place Heaven is now? No.
In the present Heaven, God’s people are in Christ’s presence,
free of sin and suffering and enjoying great happiness: “in your presence
there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).
But
they’re still looking forward to their bodily resurrection and permanent
relocation to the New Earth.
So, yes,
after death we’ll always be in Heaven, but not in the same place or the same
condition.
To
illustrate, imagine you lived in a homeless shelter in Miami.
One day
you inherit a beautiful house overlooking Santa Barbara, California, and are
given a wonderful job doing something you’ve always wanted to do.
Many
friends and family will live nearby.
As you
fly toward Santa Barbara, you stop at the Dallas airport for a layover. Other
family members you haven’t seen in years meet you.
They
will board the plane with you to Santa Barbara. Naturally you look forward to
seeing them in Dallas, your first stop.
But if someone asks where you’re going, would you say “Dallas”?
No. You would say Santa Barbara, because that’s your final
destination. Dallas is just a temporary stop. At most you might say “I’m
going to Santa Barbara, with a brief stop in Dallas.”
Similarly,
the present Heaven is a temporary dwelling place, a stop along the way to our
final destination: the New Earth. (Granted, the Dallas analogy isn’t perfect — being
with Jesus and reunited with loved ones will be immeasurably better than a
layover in Dallas!)
In the
Present Heaven Do People Have Physical Forms?
Unlike
angels, who are in essence spirits (John 4:24; Hebrews 1:14), human
beings are by nature both spiritual and physical.
We
don’t occupy our bodies as a hermit crab occupies a shell. We can’t be fully
human without both a spirit and a body.
Given
the consistent physical descriptions of the intermediate heaven and its
inhabitants, it seems possible — though debatable — that between our earthly
lives and bodily resurrection, God may grant us temporary physical forms.
If so, that
would account for the repeated depictions of people now in Heaven occupying
physical space, wearing clothes and crowns, talking, holding palm branches in
their hands, and having body parts (e.g. Luke 16:24, Revelation 7:9).
Certainly,
we do not receive resurrection bodies immediately after death.
If we
have intermediate forms in the intermediate heaven (and we may not), they will
be temps, not our true bodies, which remain dead until the final resurrection.
Will We
Recognize Each Other in the Present Heaven?
When asked if we would recognize friends in Heaven, George
MacDonald responded, “Shall we be greater fools in Paradise than we are
here?”
Scripture
gives no indication of a memory wipe causing us to forget family and friends.
On the
contrary, if we wouldn’t know our loved ones in Heaven, the “comfort” of
an afterlife reunion, taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, would
be no comfort at all.
In
Christ’s transfiguration, his disciples recognized Moses and Elijah, even
though they couldn’t have known what they looked like (Luke 9:29-33).
This
suggests that personality will emanate through whatever forms we take.
If we
can recognize those we’ve never seen, how much more will we recognize our
family and friends?
After
we die, we will give a detailed account of our lives on Earth (2 Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 12:36).
This
will require better memories, not worse.
Those
memories will surely include our families and friends!
Are You
Looking Forward to Your Forever Home?
Though
life in the intermediate Heaven will be wonderful, it’s not the place we’re
made for, our true eternal home.
The
Bible promises that we’ll live with Christ and each other forever on the New
Earth, where God — Father, Son (eternally incarnate), and Holy Spirit—will be
at home with his people:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. . . I saw the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. . . And I heard a
loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he
will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them
and be their God.’” (Revelation 21:1-3)
This
passage clearly indicates that ultimately God’s central dwelling place — Heaven
— is on Earth.
Some,
including N. T. Wright, argue that the New Earth shouldn’t be called Heaven.
But if Heaven, by definition, is God’s special dwelling place,
and “the dwelling of God” will be with humankind on Earth, then Heaven
and the New Earth will essentially be the same place.
Heaven is also where we see God’s throne, and we’re told that “the
throne of God and of the Lamb” will be in the New Jerusalem, on the New
Earth (Revelation 22:1).
Instead
of us going up to God’s place to live forever, God will come down to live with
us in our place, literally bringing Heaven to Earth!
God’s
children are destined for life as resurrected beings on a resurrected Earth.
We
should daily keep in mind our true destination, our ultimate home.
Let’s be like Peter and the early Christians: “according to
his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness
dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).
Randy
Alcorn
(@randyalcorn) is the author
of fifty-some books and the
founder and director of Eternal
Perspective Ministries.
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