What is Heaven Like? (Part 1)

Is Heaven Like This?

Or Is Heaven Like This?

What Is Heaven Like?

One of the biggest questions I had growing up before I ever became a Christian is what is heaven like?  However, when I was young and asked people, if they could describe heaven to me their answers were always, something like, "Well there won’t be pain or suffering. God will be there. I think there’s some clouds and angels."  These answers were not good enough for me. 


That's why I am writting about it today.  Many of us have many misconception of what heaven will be like. What is the normal picture of heaven that comes to your mind? Something like angels on clouds with golden streets? But this is wrong!


How has our view of heaven been so warpped? Is this really what the bible says heaven is like? I hope not! Because they are right, this seems boring!

How Our View of Heaven Was Warped:

Our view of heaven has been warped. I think someone who is crafty and cunning and evil has distorted our view of heaven. I think someone who wants to deceive the world has changed the image of heaven, which is that it is a place of great joy, of amazing sights, of amazing relationships, and of wonders beyond our imagination, into a boring, pathetic, unpopular place where people strum a harp all day and wish they could die because of bordom. Who is this person? Satan. Satan has changed our view of heaven to make it less appealing.
Think about this. It makes sense doesn’t it. If you don’t want some one to go to heaven, what can you do?  One thing you can do is distort and warp mankinds view of heaven.  That is just what Satan has done.  He has made heaven like a boring retirement home.

Present Vs Eternal Heaven:

What I will do is answer this question, “What is Heaven Like”? I will do this in a three part blog, so come back if you want to get the full view of what heaven will be like.  However, before I get started, I have to make a distinction. There is a difference between the heaven we go to when we die and the heaven we will be in for eternity. Let me explain. The present heaven is were we go when we die (it is a spiritual place). As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be in the presence of the Lord. However, not much information is given on the present heaven except that we will be with God. All we know is that this place is temporary. It is like traveling from LA to New York with a layover in Denver. Denver is the present heaven. New York is the eternal heaven. Denver is just a temporary destination just like the present heaven is temporary.

The eternal heaven is were we go when Jesus Christ returns at the 2nd coming. It is this heaven where we will spend eternity. Our time in the present heaven will be like a drop in the bucket compared to the eternal heaven. And fortunately, there is loads of information on the eternal heaven in Scripture.

Back to the Question:

So, “What is Heaven Like”? What kind of place is Heaven where we will spend eternity?

Look at Revelation 21:1-4. We read,

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

What do we see here in the very beginning of this passage? What does it say? "1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away."

 What is John writing about here in Revelation? How does this help us see what Heaven will be like?


If you’ve read the book of Revelation, you know that John is talking about the end time. One day, God will judge the earth and right every wrong. As you read through the book of Revelation you know that the will be famine and death and earthquakes and wars until finally Jesus Christ returns in all his power and glory to put his enemies under his feet. At the end Satan and the fallen angels are thrown into hell. People are judge for their actions and only those who have trust in Jesus Christ to pay for their sins will receive eternal life will go to be with God. Only those, Revelation says, who are written in the book of life will go to heaven.


Then John tells us in chapter 21 what this heaven will be like. And the first thing he says, the first thing John says to describe heaven, is that it will be a new heaven and a new earth. Heaven, John says, will not be us floating in the clouds with a harp. Now heaven will consist of a new heaven and a new earth.

What does this mean a new heaven and earth? Let me also explain this concept of heaven. When John writes the heavens he is talking about is the universe with the stars and the sky. This is where some people get confussed. The Jews used heaven in three different ways. The first was to mean the sky. The second is outer space. The third is where God dwells. So John is talking about the first and the second use of heaven. He is saying that God will change the earth and the universe so that it is no longer cursed. It will be new. It will be perfect. The old earth as we know it will pass away.


Now does this mean that God is creating a completely new earth and a completely new universe. Scholars are divided, but that is missing the main point! 


The point is that heaven is a real place. It is a real physical place just like where you are sitting right now. Creation will finally be restored to its’ former glory where everything is perfect. We will live on a real earth in a real universe forever and ever.

What This Means For You and Me:

What does this mean for you and me.  We can be excited about an amazing future.  We will not be bored in heaven.  We will not be flying around with angel wings and harps sitting in the clouds.  We will be on a real physical earth where there will be trees, animals, mountains, rivers, and gardens.  Heaven is going to be a place like the original Garden of Eden God had made.  Man will live in harmony with creation and spend eternity exploring a new universe and a new earth.

Are you excited?  Does this give you one more thing you can thank God for? Find out next time as I explain the other two things we can expect in heaven.