What You Need to Know About Heaven
Most of us want to know more than we do about heaven and hell. Candidly, God has revealed more than we are capable of understanding. Yet, as with money, more is better, but more is never good enough.
Following is a quote from one who is not my favorite theologian, yet, a diamond found in a rock pile is still a diamond. Reinhold Niebuhr said, “It is unwise for Christians to claim any knowledge of either the furniture of heaven or the temperature of hell.” Meaning don’t try to know what you don’t need to know, nor that can be known.
If you have been saved you are on your way to heaven, enjoy the certainty. God is a good God, trust Him. It does not matter where you may be in life right now, the truth is God has great things in store awaiting you.
Not to be self-promoting, but the title of my book on heaven further confirms this, “Heaven: Earth’s Ultimate Mystery.” It just is, don’t try to completely solve the mystery. The sub title of the book amplifies this: “Heaven is a mystery encapsulated in an enigma encased in a conundrum.”
Conversely it is also true what Niebuhr said about hell, “… it is prudent to accept the testimony of the heart, which affirms the fear of judgment.”
Some persons read of the unique experience of a Bible character and think it is to be the experience of all people in all of time.
Don’t let what you don’t know keep you from enjoying what you do know. Enjoy these known facts.
Heaven is a place. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” The pastor in my little home church preached one Sunday morning that heaven wasn’t a place, just a state of being. That night he preached there is no such place as hell. The next morning he and my dad met on the street and the pastor greeted my dad, “Where you going, Mr. Price?” Dad replied, “After what you preached yesterday there is no place for me to go,” Jesus said there is.
Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people, prepared by the grace of God.
Heaven is a perfect place. What would we expect of our perfect God?
Heaven is a permanent place. It is eternal.
Heaven is a productive place. We can’t comprehend what we will be doing, but it will be gratifying. That is enough to know.
All that is true but the capstone is Jesus is there and in reality it is His fulfilling love and grace that make heaven heavenly.
The Apostle Paul closes the case on the subject saying, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him …” (I Corinthians 2:9).