By: Steve Wilmot
What will heaven be like? What will we do there? We know we’ll see Jesus. We’ll enjoy the Marriage Feast. But when everyone’s full and the dishes are picked up, what then?
A quick read of Revelation could easily leave us with the impression we’ll sing praises to God, fall on our faces in reverence before him, and then sing some more… forever… and ever.
And that’s it? Forever and ever? Sounds kind of boring to me. I read All Things New, a book by John Eldredge, and he changed my perception from an eternity of monotony to one of anxious anticipation. He explains heaven is not an endless worship service. Not even close.
Eldredge cites a couple of Bible verses I’d read multiple times, but never really saw what they meant. I’ll bet you haven’t either.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, [or when the world is made new – NLT], when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne…” (Matthew 19.28).
Eldredge points out that the ancient word used here for “renewal” is a combination of two words — again and beginning. Beginning again. Eden again — restored to what it was before Adam and Eve screwed everything up, introduced death into God’s creation, and got kicked out.
God’s plan for the end of time is that heaven will come down to a renewed earth (see Revelation 21.1-3), and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. God will dwell with his people right here on this “world made new.”
Who wouldn’t want to return to that…forever? The second verse is found in Revelation 21.5: He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Everything will be made new. Not destroyed but restored to its original design, beauty and innocence.
Eldredge writes, “The renewal of all things simply means that the earth you love — all your special places and treasured memories — is restored and renewed and given back to you.”
Now that’s something worth looking forward to, isn’t it? Something that makes all the sacrifices and sufferings that are part and parcel of being a Christian worth it. Something that fills us with hope and drives out depression, despair, heartache and fear.
What will we do there? We’ll have long-awaited reunions with those we’ve missed for so many years. We’ll say hello to everyone we’ve said good-bye to, and then spend eternity catching up on what’s happened in our lives since we parted.
We’ll meet sons and daughters who were miscarried or still born or who died minutes after birth or who were aborted. Imagine the tears of heartache healed when moms and dads throw their arms around their children they’ve never met.
We’ll listen to Moses talk about the burning bush, and David about how he killed Goliath, and Peter describe what it was like to walk on water. There will be laughter and singing and dancing. We’ll eat the best-tasting food we’ve ever consumed.
We can travel to our favorite spots where some of our most precious memories were made in this life. Imagine going to those places and seeing them the way God meant them to be before the Fall and the end of Eden.
In all their glory and beauty and majesty. I can hardly wait to see Mackinac Island as it once was intended beauty. Where will you go first?
We’ll explore the universe. Want to swim with a shark or go to Mars? You’ll be able to. We’ll hear history told by those who made it.
Listen as Abraham Lincoln teaches us about the Civil War, and George Washington discloses insights into the Revolutionary War, and Martin Luther King talks about the hardships and victories of the Civil Rights movement.
We’ll see our time on earth from a fresh perspective. Why God didn’t answer our prayer the way we wanted. Why he shut this door and opened another.
Why he made us wait for some things we wanted now. Over and over, we’ll say, “Oh, now I see. Thank you, Father.”
Animal lovers will have the time of their lives. Animals will come when you call. They will not be afraid of us anymore, nor we of them. You can ride a giraffe or soar on the back of an eagle or race a leopard.
Our old bodies that slowed us down physically and mentally will be renewed. No longer will we feel pain. No longer will anyone get cancer. No longer will anyone suffer from dementia.
We’ll have the endless energy of a child — running, jumping, and tumbling without the need to take a minute to catch our breath.
All temptation and bad habits will be a thing of the past. No more addictions, and no more guilt and shame. Our painful memories gone. Our brokenness healed and sin removed.
Oh, dear friend, don’t you want to go there? Doesn’t it make you homesick? Doesn’t it take away the fear of dying and lose the attachments to the things of this present world?
Paul proclaimed, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1.23). Better by far. I think I’m beginning to understand why he said that. The best is yet to come!
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.