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What is Heaven?

April 9, 2021 /

Written by Jimmie Burroughs

“I believe the worst regret in life is to miss the ultimate goal – our eternal home – Heaven. If we blow it on this single issue, nothing else matters.” – Robert Rogers.

Many American’s are still holding onto the American dream. By definition “the American Dream is a set of ideals, which includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children.” Today, some believe that it is only a dream. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, but there is one reality that is not a dream, and that is Heaven. Just as the quote above declares, if a person misses Heaven, nothing else matters even if they far surpass the American dream. We are talking about eternity, and eternity is too long to be wrong. You can’t afford to be wrong about Heaven, and If you’re wrong…you’re going to be wrong for a very long, long time. According to  Philippians 3:20, God offers to anyone who is willing to place their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sins and citizenship in Heaven for all eternity. According to the Bible, at precisely the moment we die, those whose hope is in Christ, go directly into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is made clear by the promise Jesus made to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise,” (Luke 23:43). Based on the promises of Jesus, you can know that when you die you are going to Heaven.

All we need to take with us when we die is ourselves because the American Dream, or anything else on earth, does not come close in comparison to Heaven. A legend related by Dr. David Leininger, in a sermon he preached entitled “Heaven”, makes this point humorously: “I love the old story of the rich man who, on his death bed, negotiated with God to allow him to bring his earthly treasures with him when he came to heaven. God’s reaction was that this was a most unusual request, but since this man had been exceptionally faithful, permission was granted to bring along just one suitcase. The time arrived, the man presented himself at the pearly gates, suitcase in hand- BOTH hands, actually, since he had stuffed it with as many bars of gold bullion as would fit. St. Peter said, “Sorry, you know the rules-you can’t take it with you.” But the man protested, “God said I could … one suitcase.” St. Peter checked, found out that this one would be an exception, prepared to let the man enter, then said, ‘OK, but I will have to examine the contents before you pass.’ He took the suitcase, opened it, saw the gold bars and asked quizzically, ‘You brought PAVEMENT?’”  According to the Bible, the streets in Heaven are paved with pure gold. We on earth don’t have a reference point to even imagine what Heaven is really like, but there are answers from the Bible to some of our questions:

Is Heaven a Real Place?

First of all, Heaven is a real place, a real city in fact, designed and built by God (Hebrews 11:10). According to recent polls, nearly 80% of Americans believe Heaven is a real place and most want to go there, and if asked if they are going to Heaven, they reply, “I hope so,” or “I think so,” or “perhaps.” What does the Bible say about the reality of Heaven? According to Jesus, there is a place called Heaven. He said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,” John 14:1-3. Three times in these three verses, Jesus says Heaven is a place: “In my Father’s house,” then He refers to “many mansions”, and “where I am, there ye may be also.” Heaven is just as real as the city where you now live, but it cannot be compared to it because it is far beyond our imagination in its beauty and serenity.

We live in a skeptical age, but there is something innately that tells us there is more than the 78 years or so we spend on earth with all the struggles, heartache and suffering, and Jesus confirms it. Jesus never lied; He lived a life free of sin, and we can trust His words to be absolutely true. Yes, Heaven is a real place, a real city like no other city. It is large enough to accommodate everyone throughout all the ages who have trusted in Jesus for salvation.

The measurements are given in Revelation chapter 21: It is 1,500 miles long by 1,500 miles wide, and the height is the same. So, the city of heaven is a cube, possibly several stories high. If sat down in the middle of the United States, it would occupy the majority of the land mass. All the cities of America would only occupy a small segment of it.

What is Heaven Like?

The only things we can know with all certainty about Heaven are revealed in the Bible, which is not based on speculation or hearsay. The Bible describes Heaven in Revelation 21:10:  “And he carried me [John] away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

There will be no sadness and sorrow in Heaven; for the Bible says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away,” Revelation 21:4.

Where is heaven?

On 12th April, 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a 27-year-old Soviet Cosmonaut and Airforce test pilot, became the first man ever to go into space. The official atheist Soviet propaganda machine, at the time, announced that Gagarin had said, “I went up to space, but I didn’t encounter God.” It was learned later, that was a lie. Anton Pervushin, a Russian journalist, who was a close friend of Gagarin said, “he was a true Christian, a firm believer who never gave up his faith.” I remember when the Soviets made that announcement and thought how stupid it was. They had barely entered the vastness of space and declared there was no God!

Some believe Heaven is somewhere beyond the universe, but that does not seem probable. Heaven is near; perhaps, it exists in another dimension just a step away. The answer is, no one knows. We do know where Heaven will be in the future: Heaven in the Bible is called the New Jerusalem and is seen by the Apostle John as descending upon the present-day site of Old Jerusalem in Israel. At that time there will be a new heaven and a new earth, heaven meaning the atmosphere around earth. Not only will believers have access to New Jerusalem but also a new beautiful earth where the ravages of sin will have disappeared. I can imagine, in my mind, walking down a beautiful lane to the lake to go fishing on a perfect day, and of course that is only in my imagination.

Hebrews 12:22-24 tells us something about what we have to look forward to: “But you have come to Mount Zion, [the location of New Jerusalem] to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Today, if we die before His second coming, Jesus is in Heaven waiting to welcome us home, (Acts 1:11). If we do die before His second coming, we will come with the Lord as He sets up His kingdom on earth for one thousand years, Revelation 19:11-21.

The sad thing is, not everyone will make it to Heaven, only those who place their hope in Jesus. Those who will not make it are those, for whatever the reason, who have failed to trust Jesus as their savior. You are either saved and on your way to Heaven or you are lost and headed for that place described in the Bible as the place of torment. In addition, the Bible describes hell as a place of absolute hopelessness, loneliness and despair. It is a place of “darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13). Jesus’ purpose was not to frighten us about hell; instead, He wanted us to know God has provided a way of escape for those who trust in Christ! This is an awesome thought: You will either spend eternity in Heaven or eternity in hell. You can make your choice today to know you are going to Heaven when you die. But be reminded, that window of time is closing and there is no second chance after death.

We can be sure of this one truth. No one will go to Heaven except by the grace of God and through the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ. If a man says “No” to Jesus, he has no hope of Heaven. Sometimes people rely on their goodness or some other false teaching given by cults and false religions, but Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Life, and no one cometh to the Father but by me.” Only one way to Heaven and that is Jesus. One of the old hymns we used to sing makes that point clear:

“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.”

What Will We be Like When We Get to Heaven?

First of all, we will have a body, but it will be different from the one we have now. There isn’t much in Scripture concerning the nature of the body when we get to Heaven. According to what we do know, it will be a physical body. First Corinthians 15:52 says, “the dead will be raised incorruptible.” Jesus had a physical body after the resurrection, but was not limited to time and space. He was apparently instantly transported from one place to another. We know this because after the resurrection, He appeared in His physical body in the upper room. When Thomas reached out physically and touched Jesus, it was a solid body, John 20:27.  Jesus asked the disciples if they had something to eat and they gave him food. He also ate fish with the disciples on another occasion after the resurrection on the sea shore, John 21.

John, in Revelation 22:2, writes of his vision of the eternal state where he saw “in the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.” During Christ’s Kingdom on earth, if mortals do not hunger, then  there should be no concern about hunger in Heaven (see also Revelation 7:14-16).The Bible says that Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection indicating we will be like Him when we are resurrected, (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23).

Job wrote, in the book of job, “And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God,” (Job 19:26). We know that our bodies in Heaven will be made of some kind of glorified flesh. We know that form will be perfect, sinless and flawless.

Some may wonder if we will know each other in Heaven. According to the Bible, we won’t know less but much more and more clearly: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known,” 1 Corinthians 13:12.

All the imperfections of this earthly life will be removed in Heaven. In Heaven, we will be like one big family, where we will know every person, and they all will be our friends and loved ones. In his book on heaven, W.A. Criswell said, “Individual personality survives into eternity.” We will be the same person we are now with some exceptions; all the imperfections and limitations as the result of sin are forever removed. Some wonder how old will we be in Heaven. The Bible does not say, but if we are not restricted to time and space, there will be no aging physically and it would be reasonable to assume, we will be mature adults as Jesus was after the resurrection, perhaps around 33 years old; however, there is no Biblical proof of that, but whatever we are, we will be perfect in every way.

What will There be to do in heaven?

First of all, there will be pure worship with the heavenly choir, where there are no distractions from worry, anxiety or any of the other of those things experienced in life on earth. There will be things to be done. God is running this entire universe. He may want to assign some things to the saints in heaven and it won’t be tiring labor like on earth. There will be time for fellowship with family and friends in Heaven as well as with the great men of the Bible, including Jesus Himself. We will also have all eternity to learn all the things we did not know on earth, with God as our teacher. Also, there will be time for rest and involvement in entertainment, and no one will ever be bored again. Heaven is going to be a fun place, where there is peace and joy every day.

How can I be sure I am going to heaven When I Die?

Of all the questions above, this by far is the most important! Let us reflect once again on Robert Roger’s quote in the heading: “I believe the worst regret in life is to miss the ultimate goal – our eternal home – Heaven. If we blow it on this single issue, nothing else matters.” It simply does not matter what you accomplish in life if you miss Heaven. Everything else pales in comparison, but you have to make the choice. It is far too important to put off until another time. Let’s face it; life is too uncertain, and there may not be another time. That is why the Bibles says, “Today is the day of salvation.”  Are you ready to secure your reservation in Heaven right now? God made it so simple that a wayfaring stranger or even a child can understand. It is as simple as ABC:

First, “Acknowledge” that you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness. Second, “Believe” in Jesus that He died, was buried and rose again to pay the penalty for your sins. Third, “Confess” Jesus as your Savior from your heart. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” Romans 10:10,13. 

The following is a sample prayer you may pray, or one similar to it, asking Jesus to forgive your sins and to come into your life as Lord and savior: “Lord Jesus. I trust in you with all my heart to forgive me of my sins, which I repent of and turn from, and I invite you into my life to be my Lord and savior. I want to follow you for the rest of my life, Amen.” Keep in mind that it is not the prayer that saves; it is through your faith that you receive the gift of eternal life offered by the Lord’s Grace and love for us. The prayer only confesses your faith and trust in God. Salvation is all of God: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” John 3:16. If you would like further help, please CLICK HERE.

What is the Next Step After Receiving Jesus?

  • Find a Bible-believing church and make your decision known to the pastor.
  • Join the church and ask to be baptized. This is God’s command for new believers.
  • Attend church regularly and become part of a Bible Study group; find a place to serve. There are many opportunities of services, some that anyone can fill.
  • Read your Bible daily beginning with the book of John.
  • Pray each day. God wants His children to stay in contact with Him. He answers our prayers according to His wisdom of what best suits us at the time.
  • Share the testimony of what God has done in your life with others that they also might find the hope you have.
  • Form new relationships with other Christians. Your old friends won’t relate to you as well after you receive Jesus, but you can be an example to them and perhaps share the hope you have found in Jesus. 
  • Depend on God’s presence in your life to help you in all the events of life.

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