HOW THE GREEKS STOLE HEAVEN
It might surprise a lot of Christians today to learn that they have a mostly Greek concept of Heaven. We have written in our other two articles about how Greek philosophy, following in the footsteps of Plato, demeaned the flesh and earthly things. To Greek philosophers, the spiritual realm became of primary importance while the flesh and earthly things were spurned and looked down upon. To the Greeks, it was important to get rid of the body. Then they could ascend to that perfectly spiritual state where one could lounge in those Elysian Fields, somewhere in the heavenlies. That sounds a little like those who think they will sit on a cloud and strum their harps forever.
The popular theologian N. T. Wright sums it up saying: “…in much Western piety, at least since the Middle Ages, the influence of Greek philosophy has been very marked, resulting in a future expectation that bears far more resemblance to Plato’s vision of souls entering into disembodied bliss than to the biblical picture of new heavens and new earth.” (Wright 80)
WHAT MOST CHRISTIANS THINK ABOUT HEAVEN
A lot of Christians are not too excited about heaven. Many Bible scholars simply ignore the subject. Alcorn says: “Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote an in-depth two-volume set titled The Nature and Destiny of Man. Remarkably, he had nothing to say about Heaven. William Shedd’s three-volume Dogmatic Theology contains eighty-seven pages on eternal punishment, but only two on Heaven. In his nine-hundred-page theology, Great Doctrines of the Bible, Martyn Lloyd-Jones devotes less than two pages to the eternal state and the New Earth.” (Alcorn 8)
It seems that a lot of Christians are almost bored with the subject. God made us from the earth and he has given us millions of pictures of the earth but very few pictures of heaven. Alcorn tells the story of a little fish who was bound for fish heaven: “When you die, you’ll go to fish Heaven and – Isn’t this great? – there will be no water! You won’t have fins, and you won’t swim. And you won’t eat because you won’t need food. I’ll bet you can’t wait to get there!” (Alcorn 266)
SOME MISTAKEN IDEAS
Some folks might say, “Wait a minute. Didn’t Jesus promise us mansions in heaven?” It is unfortunate that the King James Version translated it “mansions” in John 14:2. Modern versions translate this as “rooms” (NIV, RSV & ESV) or “dwelling places” (NAS, NRS & NET). Wright clears this up saying: “The word for ‘dwelling places’ here, monai, is regularly used in ancient Greek not for a final resting place but for a temporary halt on a journey that will take you somewhere else in the long run.” (Wright 150) Those saints now waiting with Jesus in the old Heaven will soon be on their way to the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Then there is the popular idea that Christ will appear and rescue the saints, taking them to Heaven shortly before the tribulation. There they will celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb. This whole idea is based upon a misunderstanding of another Greek word. The word apantēsis or “to meet” (1 Thess. 4:17) is derived from a particular political practice in the Greco-Roman world. When a king or dignitary visited a city the leaders and many citizens of the city went out to meet him and to accompany him back to their city. (Elias 179) The obvious implication of this word is that the newly resurrected saints will go up to greet the coming Lord and accompany him back to the earth. It is clear that Jesus is coming to take over the earth, not just to remove his defeated saints before the coming battle.
We need to remember that the Bible is very earth-centered. “Erets [Heb. Earth] is the fourth most frequently used noun in the Old Testament, appearing more than 2,500 times.” (Alcorn 211) In Revelation 21:1-4, we learn “…that the glorified church will not remain in a heaven far off in space but will spend eternity on the new earth. From verse 3 we learn that the dwelling place of God will no longer be away from the earth but on the earth…heaven and earth will no longer be separated, as they are now, but will be merged.” (Hoekema 285) Alcorn says “If God were to end history and reign forever in a distant Heaven, Earth would be remembered as a graveyard of sin and failure. Instead, Earth will be redeemed and resurrected.” (Alcorn 143)
THE WICKED WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE EARTH
In much theology today it is the righteous who will be removed and supposedly taken to Heaven. However, the Bible says: “The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip” (Psa. 37:29-31). In Proverbs 2:21-22, the author states: “For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it.” In Proverbs 10:30, it is stated bluntly: “The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land.” We surely remember that in the parables of Jesus it is the wicked who are removed. God will so remove the wicked from the earth that not a trace of them can be found (Mal. 4:1).
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WILL COME
The genius of God’s plan is to unite things in Heaven and things on earth together under the headship of Christ (Eph. 1:10). We have said before that we Christians have all things going up while the Bible has all things coming down. Jesus instructed us to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). We should pray that prayer every day and ask for the kingdom to come to earth. Habakkuk 2:14 says: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” This speaks of a very thorough saturation. We should pray every day for this to happen.
The righteous will be ruling for Christ as Adam should have done. The many godless rulers of earth will then be displaced. That alone should bring joy to millions. The Bible says that the whole creation has been groaning in pain awaiting this (Rom. 8:22). In Revelation 2:26, we see that overcoming Christians will be given authority over the nations.
THE GLORY OF JERUSALEM
God has always instructed us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psa. 122:6). There is a reason for this instruction. Jerusalem is the center of God’s redemptive activity on earth. It is the spiritual capital of the earth and will soon be the political center as well. We can assume that resurrected David will rule over all Israel (Ezek. 34:24) and that the resurrected disciples will rule over the tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28). Jerusalem will become a very busy center. We can understand why the devil and evil nations have tried for thousands of years to destroy Jerusalem.
Like the New Earth, there will be a New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is described in Revelation 21. It will come down after the Millennium and its description is naturally and spiritually astounding. Alcorn says: “The ground level of the city will be nearly two million square miles. This is forty times bigger than England and fifteen thousand times bigger than London.” (Alcorn 250) It is amazing but the city is as high as it is wide and long (21:16).
The city will be filled with incredibly precious things. The tree of life will be restored and the river of life will flow from the city. Nothing impure will ever enter there but the saints of God will come to Zion with singing and eternal praise on their lips.
THE GLORY OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
After the earth is finally cleansed and Satan himself is permanently removed, we will see some astonishing changes in Jerusalem, Israel and in the whole world. The world and Jerusalem will be filled with unbelievable beauty and glory. When the creation is at last brought into God’s order we will see the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven and God making his dwelling place on earth. We will see heaven and earth becoming one: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev. 21:3). The New Heaven will then be joined to the New Earth forever. The millions of pictures we have seen on earth, the flowers, the sunsets, the rivers, etc. will all take on astounding beauty. There will be no more sickness, death, tears, sorrow or sighing. All these former things will be gone.
We will see the tree of life once more available to God’s saints. People will no longer eat from the forbidden tree of human knowledge. This is the “I think” tree, the “I’ll do it my way,” tree or the “I have my truth” tree. They will eat from the tree of life and drink from the river of life (Jesus). In this sparkling new world, Jesus will take his eternal bride, the true church. The long-awaited marriage of the Lamb will finally occur.
The prophet Daniel says something really incredible: “Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him” (Dan. 7:27). Revelation near its end (22:5) has this happy note about God’s saints,“…And they will reign for ever and ever.”
-Jim Gerrish
wordofgodtoday.com
Published 2022
Randy Alcorn, Heaven
Jacob W. Elias, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Believers Church Bible Commentary
Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future.
N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope.