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My Hope of Heaven
Until I began reading the Bible at the age of 21, I had no idea of what heaven was truly like. My childish view of heaven had been mostly formed by popular culture; from cartoons, television shows and movies like “Heaven Can Wait.” In my mind heaven was a really boring place where disembodied spirits wandered aimlessly through a mysterious London-like fog. The picture I had built-up in my limited imagination was just slightly better than the first level of Dante’s portrayal of hell; far from the beautiful paradise that I now believe it to be.
When I began reading the Bible’s descriptions of this place called heaven, I was shocked by how different it was from my naive view. I am now convinced that it’s vital to have an accurate view of heaven in order to maintain a genuine (joy and peace-giving) hope for this life and the next.
I know this will sound strange, but it’s true; while I’m not in any hurry to die, since forming a proper Biblical view of heaven in my mind, I’m really looking forward to the day I see heaven! Maybe you’ll better understand what I’m looking forward to after reading the following description of the real heaven.
- We will not be disembodied spirits. We will have bodies like Jesus had after He was resurrected (1 John 3:2). Bodies that defy the laws of physics, as we now understand them. A body that can walk through walls (John 20:19), but also has flesh (Luke 24:39). A body that is able to eat (Luke 24:42-43) and drink (Luke 22:30); we’ll even drink wine in heaven (Matthew 26:29).
- Heaven is a place of perfect peace, but not the R.I.P. kind of peace (I always associated that with lying undisturbed in a coffin, which is not only morbid, but also really boring). I’m talking about inner and outer peace forever; no more crime or war (Isaiah 2:4). A place where now ferocious animals like lions, wolves and bears will graze on grass next to sheep and cows (Isaiah 11:7-8). There will be no more death, mourning, crying or any kind of physical or emotional pain (Revelation 21:4).
- The location of the permanent heaven was the biggest surprise to me; heaven and earth will one day become one and the same (Isaiah 65:17 & 66:22, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1).
- The government of the permanent heaven will be a perfect monarchy because Jesus is perfect (just and merciful) and He’ll be the King (John 18:36).
- There will be many cities in the permanent heaven and Jesus will appoint good rulers over these cities (John 19:17-19 & Isaiah 32:1). No more campaign ads!
- There will be many, many building and homes, some of which will make the Taj Mahal look like a starter home (John 14:2).
- There are even gold-paved streets (Revelation 21:21).
- There will be no sun or moon in the sky (Revelation 21:23) because there’s no need of them. God created them to mark time and separate night from day (Genesis 1:14), but there is no night in heaven (Revelation 21:25) and by definition eternity is timeless.
- There will be no more oceans and seas (undrinkable water) (Revelation 21:1).
- There will be no more wilderness (uninhabitable places), no deserts, wastelands or ice-covered areas (Isaiah 32:15, 35:1-7, 41:18-19).
- There will be no more deep valleys or high mountains (Isaiah 40:4, Psalm 46:2, Luke 3:5).
I don’t know how many beings will live on this new earth, but the usable portion of this current earth accommodates 7 billion people (right now); the new earth could easily accommodate 3 or 4 times that number.
Those with a true understanding of what the real heaven is like, and KNOW that they’ll be living there forever, are people of hope; they’re also good and productive citizens in this life as they’ll be in the next. I like the way C.S Lewis said this in his book Mere Christianity:
“Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”
“Hope does not disappoint”
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint… ” (Romans 5:1-5 NASB)
Regardless of the outcome, I don’t believe that Christ-centered hope can ever be categorized as “false hope.” Even in our darkest trials; when we’re hoping (in Christ) for a miracle to bring us through the trial and the miracle doesn’t happen the way we envisioned, we can remain “in hope” if we are truly hoping (unconditionally) in Christ and not merely hoping for a miracle. Regardless of the trials we face, only hope in Christ is “the full assurance of hope until the end” (Hebrews 6:11 NASB)
The Apostle Paul (the man who wrote the opening passage) experienced many difficult trials, but was a living example that hope in Christ never disappoints. He wrote; (I have) “…been put in jail…whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jews gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled many weary miles. I have faced danger from flooded rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the stormy seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be Christians but are not. I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food. Often I have shivered with cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27 NLT)
Like many of us, Paul’s trials didn’t always turn out the way he envisioned and prayed that they would. A great example of this is Paul’s so-called “thorn in the flesh.” The Bible never says what Paul’s “thorn” was, but I believe this omission was intentional so we could read Paul’s words and be able to apply them to whatever “thorns in the flesh” we might be dealing with, whether they are physical, emotional, relational, financial or spiritual etc.
Paul wrote;” Concerning this (thorn in the flesh) I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NASB)
God telling Paul, “My grace is sufficient,” isn’t His nice way of saying “No,” but it is His way of saying “Not yet.” The Bible doesn’t tell us whether or not God ever removed Paul’s “thorn” at some later point in Paul’s life and I think this omission was also intentional so we would keep hoping for God to grant our miracle.
I believe that God wants us to get to the point where our joy, peace and hope are not dependent on our circumstances. Learning to love God unconditionally, as He loves us, is the greatest of all miracles.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33 NASB)
His grace is sufficient!
The Foundation of Hope
An anonymous man commented on my last post and asked the following questions;
- “What have you built your hope on?”
- “How is (your hope) founded? Is it the Bible, is it friends and family, and or have you had spiritual encounters…?”
- “How has Christ helped you?”
- “How do you renew these eroding or decaying virtues that so remarkably define one who takes up their cross as you have?”
In my previous post I mentioned that my hope was “Christ-centered” and I also inserted some Bible passages on hope so readers would be right if they concluded I was referring to Christian hope. But with all the spiritual confusion these days I respect this man for wanting to be sure. I wish more people would challenge those giving spiritual advice.
When I read his question; “What have you built your hope on?” I thought of the old hymn titled “The Solid Rock.” I’ll use the first line and the chorus of this nearly 200 year old hymn for my answer to this question; “My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness…On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand…”
I am not a theologian, but as I understand it, a Christian by definition is someone who has concluded that real hope for today and for eternity can only be found in Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus was speaking the truth when He claimed, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:66)
It’s because I believe this that I feel Jesus is worthy of my hope.
Regarding the questions; “How is (your hope) founded? Is it the Bible, is it friends and family, and or have you had spiritual encounters…?”
I’m not sure what he’s referring to by “spiritual encounters;” I haven’t seen angels or visited heaven or anything like that, but we’ve experienced many miracles that have reinforced our hope and our faith. God has also used family, friends and even strangers to meet our needs and strengthen our hope.
But, even though I feel like I have the best wife, kids, family and friends, I don’t believe genuine hope can be founded on even the best of people or any created thing. God is the foundation of my hope and therefore the Bible is also my foundation because God and His word are one in the same;
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1&1:14)
So my answer to the question, “How has Christ helped you?” is this; God’s word is the foundation of my hope, but He’s used many caring people to build on that foundation.
Finding the answers to this man’s last question (“How do you renew these eroding or decaying virtues that so remarkably define one who takes up their cross as you have?”) is the reason I felt I should start this blog. As I mentioned above, I’ve found that reading and choosing to believe the bible (instead of feelings and the opinions of others, including and especially me) and surrounding myself with hope-minded people are very important. But there are many other important things that I believe build or erode hope and these will be focus of future posts.
“…we who have taken refuge (In Christ) would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast…” (Hebrews 6:18-19)
Unshakable Hope 