What
does the Bible say about Heaven?By
Jack Kettler
In this study, we
will seek to understand what the Bible says
about heaven.
As in previous studies,
we will look at definitions, scriptures,
commentary evidence and confessional
support for the glorifying of God in how we
live.
“Shew me thy ways, O
LORD; teach me thy paths.” (Psalm 25:4)
Definition:
Heaven
“Primarily, the
essential and immediate dwelling place of
God and the eternal home of His
people also the place where God most fully
makes known his presence to bless.”
*
Definition:
Heaven is the dwelling place of God
and for those who go there a place of
everlasting bliss.
Scripture implies three heavens, since
"the third heaven" is
revealed to exist (2Corinthians 12:2). It is
logical that a third heaven cannot
exist without a first and second. Scripture
does not describe specifically the
first and second heaven. The first, however,
apparently refers to the
atmospheric heavens of the fowl (Hosea 2:18)
and clouds (Daniel 7:13). The
second heaven may be the area of the stars
and planets (Genesis 1:14-18). It is
the abode of all supernatural angelic
beings. The third heaven is the abode of
the triune God. Its location is unrevealed.
(See Matthew 23:34-37; Luke 10:20;
and Revelation 22:2; Rev 22:20-21). **
From
the Scriptures about Heaven:
“The LORD looketh from heaven; he
beholdeth all the sons of men.” (Psalms
33:13)
“I saw in the night visions, and,
behold, one like the Son of man came
with the clouds of heaven, and came to the
Ancient of days, and they brought
him near before him.” (Daniel 7:13)
“After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9)
“And then shall appear the sign of the
Son of man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30)
“And when he had spoken these things,
while they beheld, he was taken up;
and a cloud received him out of their sight.
And while they looked stedfastly
toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men
stood by them in white apparel; Which
also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye
gazing up into heaven? this same
Jesus, which is taken up from you into
heaven, shall so come in like manner as
ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts
1:9-11)
Ellicott's Commentary for
English
Readers
on Acts 1:11:
“(11) Shall so come in like manner as
ye have seen him go into heaven.—So
our Lord, following the great prophecy of
Daniel 7:13, had spoken of Himself as
“coming in the clouds of heaven” (see Note
on Matthew 26:64), in visible
‘majesty and glory. Here, again, men have
asked questions which they cannot
answer; not only, when shall the end be, but
where shall the Judge thus appear?
What place shall be the chosen scene of His
Second Advent? So far as we dare to
localise what is left undefined, the words
of the angels suggest the same
scene, as well as the same manner. Those who
do not shrink from taking the
words of prophecy in their most literal
sense, have seen in Zechariah 14:4, an
intimation that the Valley of Jehosophat (=
Jehovah judges)—the “valley of
decision”—shall witness the great Assize,
and that the feet of the Judge shall
stand upon the Mount of Olives, from which
He had ascended into heaven. This
was the current mediæval view, and seems, if
we are to localise at all, to be
more probable than any other.” (1)
Speaking
metaphorically of the city called heaven:
“For he [Abraham] looked for a city
which hath foundations, whose builder
and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10)
“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and
unto the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels.” (Hebrews
12:22)
“And I John saw the holy city, New
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband.” (Revelation 21:2)
The Celestial City
1.The
goal of Christian's journey in Bunyan's
Pilgrim's Progress; the
heavenly Jerusalem.
2.New
Jerusalem.
Heaven
from Vine’s
Expository Dictionary:
Strong's Number: g3772 Greek: ouranos
Heaven, Heavenly (-ies):
Probably akin to ornumi,
“to
lift, to heave,” is used in the NT
(a) Of “the aerial heavens,” e.g.,
Matthew 6:26; 8:20; Act 10:12; 11:6
(RV, “heaven,” in each place, AV, “air”);
James 5:18;
(b) “the sidereal,” e.g., Mat 24:29,
35; Mar 13:25, 31; Hebrews 11:12,
RV, “heaven,” AV, “sky;” Revelation 6:14;
20:11; they, (a) and (b), were
created by the Son of God, Hebrews 1:10, as
also by God the Father, Revelation
10:6;
(c) “The eternal dwelling place of
God,” Matthew 5:16; 12:50; Revelation
3:12; 11:13; 16:11; 20:9. From thence the
Son of God descended to become
incarnate, John 3:13, 31; 6:38, 42. In His
ascension Christ “passed through the
heavens,” Hebrews 4:14, RV; He “ascended far
above all the heavens,” Ephesians
4:10, and was “made higher than the
heavens,” Hebrews 7:26; He “sat down on the
right hand of the throne of the Majesty in
the heavens," Hebrews 8:1; He
is "on the right hand of God,” having gone
into heaven, 1Peter 3:22. Since
His ascension it is the scene of His present
life and activity, e.g., Romans
8:34; Hebrews 9:24. From the thence the Holy
Spirit descended at Pentecost, 1Peter
1:12. It is the abode of the angels, e.g.,
Matthew 18:10; 22:30; cp. Revelation
3:5. Thither Paul was “caught up,” whether
in the body or out of the body, he
knew not, 2Corinthians 12:2. It is to be the
eternal dwelling place of the
saints in resurrection glory, 2 Corinthians
5:1. From thence Christ will
descend to the air to receive His saints at
the Rapture, 1Th 4:16; Philippians
3:20, 21, and will subsequently come with
His saints and with His holy angels
at His second advent, Mat 24:30;
2Thessalonians 1:7. In the present life
“heavens,”
is the region of the spiritual citizenship
of believers, Philippians 3:20. The present
“heavens” with the earth, are to pass away,
2Peter 3:10, “being on fire,” 2Pe
3:12 (see ver. 7); Revelation 20:11, and new
“heavens” and earth are to be
created, 2Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1, with
Isaiah 65:17, e.g.
In Luke 15:18, 21, “heaven” is used,
by metonymy, for God.
See AIR.
Notes:
(1) For the phrase in Luke 11:13, see
Note on B, No. 2.
(2) In Luke 11:2, the AV, “as in
heaven,” translates a phrase found in
some mss.
“Heavenly,” what pertains to, or is
in, heaven (epi, in the sense of
“pertaining to,” not here, “above”), has
meanings corresponding to some of the
meanings of ouranos, A, No. 1. It is used
(a) Of God the Father, Matthew 18:35;
(b) of the place where Christ “sitteth
at the right hand of God” (i.e.,
in a position of Divine authority),
Ephesians 1:20; and of the present position
of believers in relationship to Christ,
Ephesians 2:6; where they possess “every
spiritual blessing,” Ephesians 1:3;
(c) Of Christ as “the Second Man,” and
all those who are related to Him
spiritually,
1Corinthians 15:48;
(d) Of those whose sphere of activity
or existence is above, or in
contrast to that of earth, of
“principalities and powers,” Ephesians 3:10;
of “spiritual
hosts of wickedness,” Ephesians 6:12, RV,
“in heavenly places,” for AV, “in
high places;”
(e) Of the Holy Spirit, Hebrews 6:4;
(f) of “heavenly things,” as the
subjects of the teaching of Christ, John
3:12, and as consisting of the spiritual and
“heavenly" sanctuary and
"true tabernacle” and all that appertains
thereto in relation to Christ
and His sacrifice as antitypical of the
earthly tabernacle and sacrifices under
the Law, Hebrews 8:5; 9:23;
(g) Of the “calling” of believers,
Hebrews 3:1;
(h) Of heaven as the abode of the
saints, “a better country” than that of
earth, Hebrews 11:16, and of the spiritual
Jerusalem, Hebrews 12:22;
(i) Of the kingdom of Christ in its
future manifestation, 2Timothy 4:18;
(j) Of all beings and things, animate
and inanimate, that are “above the
earth,” Philippians 2:10;
(k) Of the resurrection and glorified
bodies of believers, 1 Corinthians.
15:49;
(l) Of the "heavenly orbs,"
1Corinthians 15:40 (“celestial,”
twice, and so rendered here only).
Note: In connection with (a), the word
“heavenly,” used of God the Father
in Luke 11:13, represents the phrase ex
ouranou, “from heaven.”
2Strong's Number: g3321 Greek: mesouranema
Heaven, Heavenly (-ies):
Denotes “mid-heaven,” or the midst of
the heavens (mesos, “middle,” and No. 1),
Revelation 8:13; 14:6; 19:17.
Formed from A, No. 1, and denoting
“from heaven,” is used of
(a) The aerial heaven, Act 14:17;
(b) Heaven, as the uncreated sphere of
God's abode, 26:13. (2)
Heaven,
Heavens, Heavenlies from the Evangelical
Dictionary
of Biblical Theology:
“Heaven” is the created reality beyond
earth. “The heavens and the earth”
(Gen 1:1) circumscribe the entire creation,
or what we call the universe. God
does not need heaven in which to exist. He
is self-existent and infinite. Place
is an accommodation of God to his finite
creatures. God transcends not only
earth, but heaven as well.
“Heaven” designates two interrelated
and broad concepts the physical
reality beyond the earth and the spiritual
reality in which God dwells.
Frequently, the word “heaven” appears in the
plural. The nearly exclusive word
for heaven in the Old Testament, samayim
[Iy;m'v],
is an intensive plural more
literally translated “heights” or “high
places.” Jehovah is, therefore, “God
most High” (Gen 14:18-20; Psalm 18:13). Of
the 284 occurrences of its New
Testament counterpart, ouranos
[oujranov]
(lit. “that which is raised up”),
about one-third are plural.
The Physical Heavens. The ancient
distinguished between two domains of
the physical heaven perceivable by the
senses. The immediate heaven is the
surrounding atmosphere in which the “birds
of heaven” fly (1Kings 21:24). The
phenomena of weather occur in the
atmospheric heaven, including rain (Deut.
11:11; Acts 14:17), snow (Isa 55:10), dew
(Dan 4:23), frost (Job 38:29), wind
(Psalm 135:7), clouds (Psalm 147:8, thunder
(1Sam 2:10), and hail (Job 38:22).
Beyond the atmospheric heaven is the
celestial heaven, also called the “expanse”
or “firmament” (Gen 1:8). It includes the
heavenly lights stars having “fixed
patterns” (Jer. 33:25; Nahum 3:16), and the
sun and moon (Gen 1:14-16). The
fixed character of the celestial heaven has
evoked figures of speech to
describe it. For example, it has windows (2
Kings 7:2), a foundation (2 Sam
22:8), a gate (Gen 28:17), ends (Deut. 3:43,
a remote part (Neh. 1:9), and is
like a curtain (Isa 40:22).
God employs the atmospheric and
celestial heavens in his self-revelation
to human beings. First, the heavens witness
that a glorious God exists. “The
heavens declare the glory of God; the skies
proclaim the work of his hands”
(Psalm 19:1; Rom 1:19-20). Moreover, the
pattern of seasons, yielding
life-sustaining food, witness to God before
believers.
Second, heaven contains signs
establishing God's promises. The rainbow
signifies that God will never destroy the
world by a flood again (Gen 9:12-16.
The innumerable stars are an object lesson
of the abundant way God will fulfill
his covenant with Abraham (Gen 22:17; Exodus
32:13; Deut. 1:10; 1 Chron. 27:23;
Neh. 9:23).
Third, God displays miraculous signs
in the heavens. Fire comes down from
heaven, both to judge (Gen 19:24; 1Kings
18:38-39) and to indicate acceptance
of a sacrifice (1Chron. 21:26). God provided
the Israelites with “bread from
heaven” during their wilderness trek (Exodus
16:4). God stopped the sun's
movement (Jos 10:12-13) and used a star to
pinpoint the Messiah's coming (Luke
2:9). He also spoke audibly from heaven on
occasion (Gen 21:17; Genesis 22:11
Genesis 22:15; Acts 11:9). Believers look
for the return of Christ in the
clouds of heaven (Mark 14:62; Acts 1:11; 1
Thess. 4:16-17).
Fourth, the vastness and
inaccessibility of heaven are visual
reminders
of God's transcendence, God's other
worldliness, however, is a spiritual, not a
spacial, fact. When Solomon prayed at the
dedication of the temple, he
acknowledged, “the heavens, even the highest
heaven, cannot contain you” (1
Kings 8:27).
The Dwelling Place of God. Heaven most
commonly refers to the dwelling-place
of God. Heaven is where the glory of God is
expressed in pristine clarity. The
term “glory,” therefore, has popularly been
used as a synonym for heaven (Rom
8:18). Actually, God's glory is above the
heavens (Psalm 113:4; 148:13) because
it is the sum total of his attributes that
are expressed wherever he is present
(Exodus 13:21-22; Psalm 108:5; 2Col 3:7-18).
In heaven there is a continual
acknowledgment of God's glory (Psalm 29:9).
Various figurative expressions
identify God's heavenly abode such as “the
highest heaven” (1Kings 8:27), “the
heavens” (Amos 9:6), and “his lofty palace
in the heavens” (Amos 9:6). Paul
speaks of being taken up into “the third
heaven” (2Cor. 12:2). Although he does
not identify the first two, possible
references to the atmospheric and
celestial heavens are suggestive.
The Heavenly Perspective. God invites
human beings to adopt his heavenly
perspective. All blessings, whether natural
or supernatural, are from God
(James 1:17; see John 3:27), who is Creator
and Sustainer of the universe (Rom
11:36). Israel rightly regarded rain as a
heavenly gift from God (Deut. 28:12).
Likewise, drought was a sign of God's
displeasure (Deut. 28:23-24).
The extent to which earthly blessings
evidence heavenly approval needs to
be conditioned. Job, for example, suffered
many things unrelated to his faith
and obedience. In Job's suffering, however,
God was orchestrating his sovereign
and just purposes from heaven (Job 41:11).
Jesus taught that the span of life
on earth is severely limited when
considering heavenly blessing. When the
godly
suffer at the hands of the unrighteous, for
example, rejoicing is commanded
knowing that a great reward in heaven awaits
(Matt 5:12). Nevertheless, “Our
Father who is in heaven” gives daily bread
(Matt 6:11) and “good gifts to those
who ask him” (Matt 7:11).
What of those who do not adopt a
heavenly perspective? Ecclesiastes, with
its theme the meaninglessness of life lived
“under heaven” (i.e., from a purely
earthly perspective), asks readers to
consider that “God is in heaven and you
are on the earth” (5:2). Jesus solemnly
warned, “Not everyone who says to me,
Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of
heaven” (Matt 7:21). (The phrase “kingdom
of heaven,” found only in Matthew's Gospel,
is a circumlocution for the “kingdom
of God” [see 19:23-24, where they are used
interchangeably], owing to the Jews'
reticence to utter the holy name of God.)
Also, Paul warns that partiality is
forbidden even in the case of a
master-to-slave relationship, because “both
their Master and yours is in heaven, and
there is no favoritism with him” (Eph.
6:9).
Those claiming a heavenly inheritance
are required to bring the earthly
and the heavenly into alignment. Jesus
linked entrance into the kingdom of
heaven to repentance (Matt 4:17), humility
(5:3; 18:1-4), witness (Matthew 5:10
Matthew 5:16; 10:32; 16:19), obedience
(5:19), righteousness (5:20), compassion
(Matthew 18:10 Matthew 18:14; 23:13) and
stewardship (19:23). Proactively,
believers store up treasures (6:20) by being
prudent managers of the little and
perishable on earth in order to insure the
abundant and enduring in heaven
(Luke 16:1-13). Either the earthly or
heavenly value system will prevail. So,
those who pray, “Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10) are
obliged to live from a heavenly vantage
point.
Christ and Heaven. The greatest
witness on earth to heavenly glory is
Jesus Christ (John 1:14 John 1:18). As the
temple was the dwelling-place of God
in the midst of Israel, so in a greater way
the Incarnate is the dwelling-place
of God. The Son uniquely preexisted with the
Father in glory (17:5), “come down
from heaven” (6:38), was “the bread from
heaven” (6:32; see John 6:41 John 6:50
John 6:51 John 6:58) entered into heaven
(1Peter 3:22), and ascended far above
all the heavens (Eph. 4:10). Christ's
essential oneness with the Father is
established in that the Old Testament notion
that Jehovah “fills heaven and
earth” (Jer. 23:24) is ascribed to Christ
(Eph. 1:23; 4:10; Colossians 1:16
Colossians 1:20).
The writer to the Hebrews details the
person and work of Christ from a
heavenly perspective. Although Creator of
heavens and earth (1:10), the Son is
now seated at the right hand of God's throne
in heaven (1:4), mediating for
believers (4:14-16). Christ is to be
worshiped because God exalted him “above
the heavens” (7:26; see Php 2:9-11). His
redemptive work is completely
efficacious because, unlike the priests of
the old economy who ministered in a
copy of the heavenly temple, Christ alone
was qualified to enter the presence
of God in heaven (9:23-24). Believers now
“have confidence to enter the Most
Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” (10:19).
The second coming is the terminus
ad
quem of Christ's intercessory work in
heaven (Acts 3:21). Believers
await anxiously for Christ's coming “from
heaven” (1 Thess. 1:10; 4:16) at
which time unbelievers will be judged (2Th.
1:7-8). John, looking forward to “that
day,” said it was “heaven standing open”
(Rev 19:11). The figure of an opening
heaven is employed at the revelation given
to Ezekiel (1:1), the phenomena
surrounding the Lord's baptism (Mark 1:10),
Stephen's vision of Christ (Acts
7:56), and John's vision of the apocalypse
(Rev 4:1). But it is on account of
Christ (John 1:51) and his work (Rev 11:19;
15:5) that the opening of heaven is
complete. It is fitting that all manner of
celestial phenomena will accompany
the opening of heaven. It was a frightful
thing for Israel to have the heavens
shut and the blessing of God's physical
provision withheld (Deut. 11:17; 2Chron.
7:13; Luke 4:25). How much more terrible is
it to be shut out of the kingdom of
heaven where there is living water (Matt
23:13; 25:10)?
The Spirit and Heaven. The giving of
the Holy Spirit is directly tied to
Jesus' entrance into heaven (Acts 2:33). The
Spirit was sent from heaven
(1Peter 1:12). He is the heavenly gift (Acts
2:38), a foretaste of the
blessings of heaven (John 7:37-39). He is
also a guarantee of believers' future
inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14). The writer of
Hebrews indicates a relationship
between “the heavenly gift,” the Holy
Spirit, and the powers of the age to come
(6:3-4). When Peter linked the Spirit's
coming with Joel 2:28-32 (Acts 2:17-21),
he was saying that the eschatological hope
of heaven was near. The “last days”
had begun.
Believers and Heaven. Believers have a
present and future heavenly
status. Presently believers are citizens of
heaven (Php 3:20-21) with a
heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1); their names are
written in heaven (Luke 10:20).
They groan to be clothed with a resurrection
body, “a building from God, an
eternal house in heaven, not built by human
hands” (2Cor. 5:1). It will be a
body like Christ's. The restoration of the
image of God in human beings from
earthly to heavenly will be complete (1Cor.
15:45-49). The eternal inheritance
of future blessings promised by God is
secure because it is “kept in heaven”
(1Peter 1:4), and because believers are
joint-heirs with Christ who has already
been glorified (Rom 8:17).
The heavenly future all believers
anticipate is the fulfillment of God's
purpose in creating the universe. It will
include worship of the type revealed
in the Book of Revelation (7:10; 11:16-18;
15:2-4). Worship will involve
rehearsing God's glorious Acts (19:1-2). In
addition to ascription of worth,
worship will involve service unspecified
works done in obedience to God and for
God (22:6). Believers are to offer this kind
of service to God now (Rom 12:1).
In contrast to present suffering, God
promises believers that they will reign
with Christ in heavenly glory (2 Tim 2:12;
see Matt 19:28; Revelation 20:4
Revelation 20:6). In heaven believers will
have fellowship with God and with
each other in a perfect environment (Heb.
12:22-23).
In the Heavenlies. Paul stresses the
believer's solidarity with Christ.
Since a believer is “in Christ” and since
Christ is in heaven, the believer is “in
the heavenlies” (en tois
epouraniois).
Accordingly, God has blessed the believer
“in the heavenly realms with every
spiritual blessing in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).
This precise phrase occurs only five
times in the New Testament, and only in
Ephesians (1:3; 1:20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12).
The believer's heavenly blessings depend on
Christ's heavenly session (Eph.
1:20) and the spiritual union each believer
shares “with Christ” (Eph. 2:6).
God does not merely apply the ministry of
Christ to believers. He sees
believers with Christ wherever he is and he
is now in heaven. Believers are
commanded to adopt an earthly lifestyle of
dying to sin and living to
righteousness (Rom 6:4), and to set their
minds on the heavenly reality that
will soon be revealed in Christ (Col 4:1-4).
In other words, believers should
live consistently with who, and where, they
really are.
Paul indicates, however, that “the
heavenlies” are also the realm of
spiritual powers. Paul likely is referring
to Satan and his demonic host,
calling them “rulers,” “authorities,” and
“spiritual forces” (Eph. 3:10; 6:12).
Although their final defeat is sure (Eph.
1:19-23), believers are called upon
to practice an eschatological lifestyle,
equipped with heavenly weaponry
wielded by those who are “strong in the
Lord” (Eph. 6:10). The battles of life
are won on earth with heavenly weapons, not
earthly ones.
The Consummation. At the final
consummation, God will make “new heavens
and a new earth” (Isa 65:17; 66:22; Rev
22:1). It is “new” (kainos
[kainov]) in kind, not merely
in time. One may wonder why a new
heaven is necessary. One possibility is that
the heavens (the plural is
employed in Hag 2:6; Heb. 12:6; see also
Heb. 1:10; 2Peter 3:7 2Peter 3:10
2Peter 3:12) have been affected by sin
inasmuch as they are the place of the
activity of evil angels and forces (Matt
24:29; Eph. 6:12). The “new heavens
and earth” follow the judgment of Satan (Rev
20:7-10) and the Great White
Throne judgment (20:11-15), both of which
take place in heaven and will never
be repeated. Also, the “new Jerusalem” that
John saw “coming down out of heaven
from God” (Revelation 21:2 Revelation 21:10)
is a new characteristic of heaven,
perfectly suited to extend God's glory
(21:11).
The sharp distinction between heaven
and earth will be removed when God makes
all things new. The essential feature of the
New Jerusalem is the intimate
presence of God among his people (21:3;
22:4). Interestingly, there will be no
temple, “for the Lord God Almighty and the
Lamb are its temple” (21:22). Its
magnificence is only hinted at in figurative
terms (21:11-22:5). Everything
that is not consistent now with this picture
of heaven will be done away with
(21:4).
The Angels, Satan, and Heaven. “The
host of heaven” can refer to the
stars (Neh. 9:6; Isa 24:21; 34:4; Matt
24:29), but more frequently in Scripture
it denotes angels (1Kings 22:19; Luke 2:13).
God warns against worshiping the
celestial host (2Kings 23:5; Jer. 19:13;
Acts 7:42) as well as the angelic host
(Col 2:18). When referring to the angels the
term carries a military
connotation (Joshua 5:14-15; Dan 4:35). God
at times employs angels from heaven
to do his bidding. They will be particularly
active at Christ's return (Matt
24:31; 2Thess. 1:7-8; Rev 8:2-10:11). Who
can say to what extent angels are
active today on earth? The truth might be
found in Jacob's vision of a ladder
extending from earth to heaven on which the
angels of God ascended and
descended (Gen 28:12). Nevertheless, the
dwelling-place of angels is heaven
(Mark 12:25; 13:32; Luke 2:15), where they
worship God (Matt 8:10). The
heavenly host rejoice when human beings
repent (Luke 15:10; 15:7).
Satan is a fallen angel who apparently
had access to the presence of God
in heavenly places (Job 1:6-7). If
Revelation 12:7-12 looks back to the
ministry of Christ, the “casting out” of
Satan and his evil angels from heaven
occurred when Christ entered heavenly glory
(see Luke 10:17-20). Now Satan's
sphere is more limited. He is “the prince of
the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2)
in the process of moving downward in
successive stages until he is thrown into
the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). Bradford A.
Mullen (3)
HEAVEN
by Archibald Alexander
Heaven is a reality, not seen by eyes
of flesh, but made known by
revelation, and received by faith.
Heaven is a rest from toil, trouble,
temptation, and sin. Such a rest is
very desirable, if it were only a sweet
sleep; but heaven is more.
It is a state of delightful activity.
Every faculty and every affection
will find appropriate exercise; and probably
latent powers, not needed here,
will there be waked into activity—powers
suited to the new condition in which
the soul exists.
Heaven is full of light; all darkness
and doubt are absent. Knowledge
will there be clear, and will possess a
transforming efficacy; still, knowledge
in heaven will be progressive; the pleasure
will partly consist in ever
learning something unknown before.
Heaven is a region of perfect love;
all the heart and mind and strength
will be exerted in love. And if the power of
loving should, in the progress of
the immortal soul, be increased a
thousand-fold, all this increased ability
will be kept constantly in full stretch by
the loveliness and glory of the
objects of affection.
Christ is the center of attraction in
heaven. From him radiate the rays
of divine glory which enliven, attract, and
beautify all the innumerable army
of worshipers.
Love in heaven is pure, perfect, and
reciprocal. He who loves, cannot be
satisfied without a return of affection. And
the more exalted and excellent the
character of the person beloved, the sweeter
the sense of his favor. Heavenly
joy consists in loving with all the heart,
and in being beloved.
As heaven is a society, the members
are happy not only in loving their
King, but in mutual love. There will exist
no envy, nor jealousy, nor apathy.
Every soul will be transparent to every
other, and all will see that nothing
but pure love exists in every heart.
Heaven is a place of peace—sweet peace
and uninterrupted harmony; all
disturbing elements will be left behind. In
the symbolical heavens of the
Revelation, we read of wars; but in the
heaven where saints and angels dwell
and worship, war can have no place. The
atmosphere of heaven is exempt from all
evil; it is purity itself; all sin and
impurity are denied admission into that
holy place.
Heaven is a place of song: high
affections are expressed in celestial
music. O how elevating, how delightful the
melodies!
Heaven is an unchanging state. All
change is advancement in knowledge, in
dignity, in happiness! (4)
From
the Westminster Larger Catechism:
Question 86: What is the communion in
glory with Christ, which the
members of the invisible church enjoy
immediately after death?
Answer: The communion in glory with
Christ, which the members of the
invisible church enjoy immediately after
death, is, in that their souls are
then made perfect in holiness, and received
into the highest heavens, where
they behold the face of God in light and
glory, waiting for the full redemption
of their bodies, which even in death
continue united to Christ, and rest in
their graves as in their beds, till at the
last day they be again united to
their souls.
Question 90: What shall be done to the
righteous at the day of judgment?
Answer: At the day of judgment, the
righteous, being caught up to Christ
in the clouds, shall be set on his right
hand, and there openly acknowledged and
acquitted, shall join with him in the
judging of reprobate angels and men, and
shall be received into heaven, where they
shall be fully and forever freed from
all sin and misery; filled with
inconceivable joys, made perfectly holy and
happy both in body and soul, in the company
of innumerable saints and holy
angels, but especially in the immediate
vision and fruition of God the Father,
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy
Spirit, to all eternity. And this is
the perfect and full communion, which the
members of the invisible church shall
enjoy with Christ in glory, at the
resurrection and day of judgment.
Notes:
1.Charles
John Ellicott, Bible
Commentary for
English Readers, Acts, Vol.II,
(London, England, Cassell and Company), p.
3.
2.W.
E. Vine, An
Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words, (Iowa Falls, Iowa,
Riverside Book and Bible House), pp.
538-540.
3.Walter
A. Elwell, Editor, Evangelical
Dictionary
of Biblical Theology, (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Baker Book House), pp.
332-335.
4.Alexander,
Archibald – Heavenno
date or source
info, 4 paragraphs https://www.gracegems.org/26/heaven.htm
Mr. Kettler has
previously published articles in the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea attend
the Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church. Mr.
Kettler is the author of the book defending
the Reformed Faith against attacks,
titled: The Religion That Started in
a Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com