HEAVEN IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK
…looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
2 Peter 3:12-13 (NLT)
What comes to mind when you imagine heaven? When I was a child, cartoons like Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny pictured heaven as a place of white clouds where people floated around playing harps. Everything looked sterile and quiet. Honestly, that sounded boring to me. Even today, many Christians imagine heaven as an endless church service where we simply sing worship songs forever. That picture reminds me of a line from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The religious Miss Watson told Huck that heaven was a place where people go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever. He concluded he didn’t think much of it.
Maybe popular culture is not the best place to get our theology.
The Bible actually gives a much richer picture. First, God tells us there are two heavens. Scripture speaks of the present heaven, where believers go when they die, and the future new heaven and new earth that God will create when Christ returns. In Revelation 21, the picture John gives us is not one of Christians going up to a far-off mystical heaven to live with God forever, but of Christ coming to earth a second time, creating a new physical heaven and earth. The new earth will be the new heaven where Christ dwells with us here on a physical planet forever.
We do not leave this earth to live forever in some disembodied state on clouds floating around, but Christ returns to dwell with all redeemed humanity and the angels here on the new physical earth. God restores and heals all that sin has damaged, both in us and in creation.
Imagine a world where God’s presence fills every corner of life, where beauty, joy, meaningful work, and perfect fellowship flourish without sin, suffering, or death.
APPLICATION: When you picture the future God has promised, let it fill your heart with gratitude. Your salvation means more than escaping judgment; it means one day living forever in Christ’s restored world, enjoying His presence fully.
PRAYER: Lord, enlarge my vision of the future You have prepared for Your people. Help me live with hope today and with excitement to share this good news with others. Amen.
"… Our Father in heaven…" Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
• What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
"… may your name be kept holy." Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
• What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
"May your Kingdom come soon." Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
• Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
"Give us today the food we need," Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
• Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I'm around today?
"and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us" Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
• Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
"And don't let us yield to temptation…" Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
• Is there anywhere I'm vulnerable to temptation?