ADVENT STUDY TWO: Is Heaven Beyond Our Imagination?

Image from FarSide cartoons.

Getting Acquainted:

Where is your favorite garden? What makes that garden so special?

What is your favorite city? What about that city makes its special to you?

What is your favorite building in the whole world? Why?

What was the best banquet you have ever attended?

Let’s Begin

The introductory remark on this second chapter of our book is by Alister McGrath who writes: To speak of “imagining Heaven” does not imply or entail that heaven is a fictional notion, constructed by deliberately disregarding the harsher realities of the everyday world. It is to affirm the critical role of the God-given human capacity to construct and enter into mental pictures of divine reality, which are mediated through Scripture and the subsequent tradition of reflection and development. We are able to inhabit the mental images we create, and thence anticipate the delight of finally entering the greater reality to which they correspond.

Our Bible begins with a garden. The Garden of Eden is a paradise setting where God is present and available. Our Bible ends with a garden which is Heaven, where God is present and available.

The writers of Scripture present Heaven in many ways, including a garden, a city, and a kingdom. Because gardens, cities, and kingdoms are familiar to us, they afford us a bridge to understanding Heaven. However, many people make the mistake of assuming that these are merely analogies with no actual correspondence to the reality of Heaven…. Too often we’ve been taught that Heaven is a non-physical realm, which cannot have real gardens, cities, kingdoms, buildings, banquets, or bodies. So we fail to take seriously what Scripture tells us about Heaven as a familiar, physical, tangible place.

Imagine being in Italy as the explorer Marco Polo tried to explain to you the court of Kublai Khan. Very few people had traveled from Italty to China. Marco Polo tried to explain the common points of the two places to help people understand what he had seen and experienced.

John 14: 1-3: Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.

Heaven is under construction.

God’s Kingdom will come to Earth.

A physical resurrection awaits us. We look beyond the spiritual and allegory to being to understand the physical and tangible place that Heaven will be.

“You and I are both physical and spiritual beings; we experience the physical and try to imagine the spiritual. Our bodily resurrection is essential to endow us with eternal righteous humanity, setting us free from sin, the Curse, and death.” p. 16

THE IMPORTANCE OF USING OUR IMAGINATION

“We cannot anticipate or desire what we cannot imagine. That’s why, I believe, God has given us glimpses of Heaven in the Bible – to fire up our imagination and kindle a desire for Heaven in our hearts. And that’s why Satan will always discourage our imagination – or misdirect it to ethereal notions that violate Scripture. As long as the resurrected universe remains either undesirable or unimaginable, Satan succeeds in sabotaging our love for Heaven.”

God has given each of us an imagination and expects us to use it. Why do you think that many Christians shy away from studying Scripture and letting it guide their imagination to visualize what Heaven will be like?

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“We should ask God’s help to remove the blinders of our preconceived ideas about Heaven so we can understand Scripture. The Apostle Paul said, ‘Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this’ (2 Timothy 2:7). I encourage you to pray, ‘Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.’ (Psalm 119:18).

“Everything pleasurable we know about life on Earth we have experienced through our senses. So, when Heaven is portrayed as beyond the reach of our senses, it doesn’t invite us; instead, it alienates and even frightens us. Our misguided attempts to make Heaven ‘sound spiritual’ (i.e., non-physical) merely succeed in making Heaven sound unappealing.”

PICTURING HEAVEN

The author believes that by the time we finish this book, we will have a biblical basis for envisioning the eternal Heaven. We will understand that in order for us to have a picture of Heaven – which will one day be centered on the New Earth – we don’t need to look up at the clouds; we will simply look around and imagine what this world will be like without sin and death and suffering and corruption.

After the resurrection of the dead, we will see our eternal home, the New Earth.

His description on page 18: “So look out a window. Take a walk. Talk with your friend. Use your God-given skills to paint or draw or build a shed or write a book. But imagine it – all of it – in its original condition. The happy dog with the wagging tail, not the snarling beast, beaten and starved. The flowers unwilted, the grass undying, the blue sky without pollution. People smiling and joyful, not angry, depressed, and empty. If you’re not in a particularly beautiful place, close your eyes and envision the most beautiful place you’ve ever been – complete with palm trees, raging rivers, jagged mountains, waterfalls, or snow drifts.

“Think of friends or family members who loved Jesus and are with Him now. Picture them with you, walking together in this place. All of you have powerful bodies, stronger than those of an Olympic decathlete. You are laughing, playing, talking, and reminiscing. You reach up to a tree to pick an apple or orange. You take a bite. It’s so sweet that it’s startling. You’ve never tasked anything so good. Now you see someone coming toward you. It’s Jesus, with a big smile on His face. You fall to your knees in worship. He pulls you up and embraces you.

“At last, you’re with the person you were made for, in the place you were made to be. Everywhere you go there will be new people and places to enjoy, new things to discover. What’s that you smell? A feast. A party’s ahead. And you’re invited. There’s exploration and work to be done – and you can’t wait to get started.”

There are biblical basis for the above statements, and many more.

IF “NO EYE HAS SEEN,” HOW CAN WE KNOW?

A pastor told the author of this book, upon hearing it was a book on Heaven, “Well, since Scripture says, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God prepared for those who love Him,’ what will you be talking about? Obviously, we can’t know what God has prepared for us in Heaven.” (He was referring to 1 Corinthians 2:9)

The sentence was not complete: “ ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’ – but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit” (emphasis added). It will be God’s Word (v. 13) which tells us what God has prepared for us.

I believe God has many surprises in store for us, but as the author says, “God has revealed to us about Heaven” many things, and these belong to us and to our children. It’s critical that we study and understand these things. “That is precisely why God has revealed them to us!”

2 Corinthians 12:2-4: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.

This simply says that Paul should not talk about what he saw; contrast that with John, whom Jesus commanded him to write all he saw.

Two of the OT prophests, Isaiah and Ezekiel, wrote about what they had seen in Heaven. I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human,6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. 10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 11Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. 12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. 14 The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning. 15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16 This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. 18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. 19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. 23 Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. 24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25 Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings.26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. (Ezekiel 1:4-28)

Isaiah 55:9: 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. But when God’s words are reduced into words and reveals them in Scripture, He expects us to study them, meditate on them, and understand them – again, not exhaustively, but accurately.

SETTING OUR HEARTS AND MINDS ON HEAVEN

“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1) Our hearts should be set on Heaven; we need to live a Heaven-centered life. The subsequent verse after the one above says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” We should join the legion of folks whose hearts are “longing for a better country” (Hebrews 11:16). Our eyes cannot be set on Christ without them being set on Heaven as well.

“The Greek word translated “set your hearts on” is zeteo, which “denotes man’s general philosophical search or quest.” The same word is used in the Gospels to describe how “the Son of Man came to seek…what was lost” (Luke 19:10). It’s also used for how a shepherd looks for his lost sheep (Matthew 18:12), a woman searches for a lost coin (Luke 15:8), and a merchant searches for a fine pearl (Matthew 13:45). It is a diligent, active, single-minded investigation. So we can understand Paul’s admonition in Colossians 3:1 as follows: ‘Diligently, actively, single-mindedly pursue the things above” – in a word, Heaven. (Now you have a clear biblical reason for reading this book!)”

“The word zeteo is in the present tense, suggesting an ongoing process. “Keep seeking Heaven.” Don’t just have a conversation, read a book, or listen to a sermon and feel as if you’ve fulfilled the command. Since you’ll spend the next lifetime living in Heaven, why not spend this lifetime seeking Heaven, so you can eagerly anticipate and prepare for it?”

Our minds are set on Earth, not Heaven. Things we hear reinforce that which we know to be more real: “Avoid sexual immorality,” because that is our tendency. “Don’t jump off a tall building,” is seldom heard because most people don't face that kind of temptation in their lives. “Think on Heaven” is one we should stress. “Think beyond Earth” is another.

Is there a daily reminder you have to think about Heaven? Is there something you do to seek Heaven? My daily routine includes time spend in my prayer kneeler which takes me to the realm of Heaven; I try to imagine the face of Jesus as I pray which makes my prayers more real. Time at the altar at church also produces that and even seems to speed up answers to my prayers.

C. S. Lewis wrote, “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 their left 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.”

Perhaps, as the author says, we need a generation of people who see human beings as God intends them to be.

FUELING OUR IMAGINATION

We should be at the point where we use our imagination more fully as we read Scripture and as we think of the heavenly realms. We are both physical and spiritual creatures. Many of us have caught brief glimpses of the holy realm in our lives. Francis Schaerffer, a 20th Century theologian and writer said, “The Christian is the really free man – he is free to have imagination. This too is our heritage. The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.”

Think back to moments in your life where you foresaw something better for yourself because you knew God was in control. For me, it was nights before going to sleep in my dorm room, freshman year of college. I was in a world that I had never known before, made possible by my parents’ dream for a better life for me; my only job was to stay the course, do the best I could, and await the next moment where I could serve. My imagination would go wild, excitement easily beat out despair, hope fueled my drive.

“If you’re a Christian suffering with great pains and losses, Jesus says, “Be of good cheer” (John 16:33). The new house is nearly ready for you. Moving day is coming. The dark winter is about to be magically transformed into spring. One day soon you will be home – for the first time. Until then, I encourage you to meditate on the Bible’s truths about Heaven. May your imagination soar and your heart rejoice.” P. 22