Does heaven consist of people floating around on clouds getting bored? Do we play harps there? Are angels like babies with wings? What does God’s word say about heaven? Who goes there? What is heaven like?
1. God is heaven
While heaven is a place, it is a place where God dwells. God fills heaven. God is Heaven. So what is this God like? He is described like this:
“Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And faithfulness the belt about His waist.” (Isaiah 11:2-5)
God is faithful and God is righteous. He is the One in heaven. Sometimes people say “this is heaven” or “that is like heaven” to indicate how much they enjoy something. But the darling of heaven is God, and the focus of heaven is Jesus.
He is the One who is Heaven and He is the most enjoyable. So when people go to heaven, they enjoy being with God and knowing Him face to face.
“One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
“Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.” (Psalms 73:25)
But why should we desire such a God?
The Creator who made all good things is Himself good.
“God is Love” (1 John 4:8). He Himself is “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4). And those in heaven “will see the King in His beauty” (Isaiah 33:17).
“O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8)
2. Eternal life
So now that we know God is the focus of heaven. What then is eternal life all about?
The Scriptures say: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)
Eternal life is to know God and Jesus His Son, and in heaven we will see Him face to face. Eternal life is to have a personal, intimate relationship with an infinite God who created us.
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:13-17)
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:19)
Jesus is the image of God and all the attributes of God the Father dwells in Jesus the Son. Eternal life was paid for with a price, the price of Christ’s blood. It is Jesus’ blood that redeems sinful people so that those who believe in Him can be reconciled to God and have the right to eternal life. No one can go to heaven based on their own good works. All people have sinned and no amount of good works can cover up those sins.
But the Son of God died on behalf of mankind so that those who believe in Him and follow Him will inherit eternal life. A perfect and righteous God became our substitute and paid the price for our wrongdoings so that we can live and be with Him, and not undergo God’s wrath for our sins. For more information on who goes to heaven, see the article Eternal Life.
3. We will worship God
So in heaven we will spend time with God and get to know Him face to face. Imagine spending time with the most Wonderful Person.
“O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” (Psalm 95:1-7)
In heaven, God is worshiped by His creation. And what does this God whom we will worship look like?
Here is a glimpse from Scripture of the appearance of Jesus, the Son of God:
“And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.” (Revelation 1:12-16)
Truly seeing God is seeing Him as the embodiment of love, joy, peace, wisdom, strength, power, honor, glory, and every good. Even though we haven’t seen Jesus in the flesh, it is not important. What is important is what He is like on the inside — that He is faithfulness and love.
God is beautiful on the inside, and beautiful on the outside as His glory shines through. Therefore, God deserves our worship.
4. God will show us His love forever
The intense love with which the Father has loved us will be shown to us forever.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:5-7)
And the Father will comfort His children like a mother would comfort her babies:
“And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.” (Isaiah 66:12-13)
5. We will be wedded to Christ
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” (Matthew 22:2)
Not only will we enjoy our relationship with God the Father, but we will be wedded to Jesus, the bridegroom who died for us.
“‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Revelation 19:7-8)
The God who made pleasure in the body between a man and his wife also made pleasure in the spirit between God and His people. The things on earth are only a shadow of the things in heaven. And the spiritual things surpass that of earthly things.
“For He says, ‘The two shall become one flesh.’ But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:16-17)
“I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,
In lovingkindness and in compassion,
And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will know the Lord.” (Hosea 2:19-20)
“He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zephaniah 3:17)
6. Many relationships in Paradise
There will be many relationships in heaven which we can enjoy. This includes people whom we know, who died in Christ: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
And we can have relationships with all the saints of God and angels as well. If anyone likes good friendships, heaven is the place to be. And not only are there friendships, since we are all called children of God, we are all family as well.
“You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant…” (Hebrews 12:22-24)
If you wonder what angels look like, they don’t look like babies with wings. Angels are called sons of God (Job 1:6, Job 2:1). They often appear as men to people on earth. For example:
“While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen.'” (Luke 24:4-5)
Also sometimes angels come to people in disguise (Hebrews 13:2). And sometimes, humorously, they choose to look or sound like the people they are helping. For example, the church was confused between Peter and his angel, because when Peter appeared, they thought it was his angel (Acts 12:13-15).
But this is a glimpse of what some angels really look like:
“I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire, and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars…” (Revelation 10:1-3)
7. A new heaven and a new earth
God will create a new heaven and new earth. And on this new earth, on Mount Zion, He will prepare a feast for His people. And there will no longer be pain or death or mourning.
“The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.
And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.
He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 25:6-8)
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away… ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.'” (Revelation 21:1,3-4)
Children will play. Predatory animals will eat straw and not do any harm.
“And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 11:6-7)
The Paradise that was lost will be restored. This Paradise will be filled with streets of gold (Revelation 21:21), large precious stones (Revelation 21:19), the tree of life (Revelation 2:7), the river of life (Revelation 22:1), and many mansions in which we will live (John 14:2-3).
“For you will go out with joy
And be led in peace;
The mountains and the hills will break into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:12)
8. God will put us in charge
Just as an angel is in charge of water (Revelation 16:5) and another angel has power over fire (Revelation 14:18), God will put us in charge of His possessions.
Jesus told a parable regarding this: “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions” (Matthew 24:45-47).
Saints will rule the earth: “And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).
Saints will judge the world and fallen angels for their sins (1 Corinthians 6:2-3). What gives saints the right to do this?
Jesus says, “Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:25-29).
9. Every good thing and the good surprise
And God will give us every good thing.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)
Of course, there will be many good surprises, which no one has ever thought about, because He says:
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
10. A new body with which to enjoy it all
God will give each of us a new body with which to enjoy all of heaven. The One who created us the first time, will create for us new incorruptible bodies.
“That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.
All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. …
Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Corinthians 15: 36-44, 49)
We receive these new bodies at Jesus’ second coming.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
So both the people who have died in Christ (fallen asleep), and those believers who are still living on earth when He comes, will be changed to take on new heavenly bodies. While no one knows the time of Christ’s second coming except for God the Father, we should wait expectantly for Him as He can come at any time (Matthew 24:36).
11. Believers will be taken to heaven
In the meantime, the spirits of those who die in Christ will be with God in heaven.
There were two criminals with Jesus when He was crucified. Jesus said to the criminal suffering on a cross next to Him, who had come to believe in Him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). This indicates that the spirits of believers will be with Jesus after they die. As it is written, “while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6). So when we are absent from our earthly bodies, we can be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Conclusion to what is heaven like
Not everything described about heaven in the Bible is described here. And there aren’t enough words to express what it will be like. But this much we do know. And we also know that He who promised is faithful and true. Therefore, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
The Bridegroom has said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
The Bridegroom also said, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).
Read Revelation 22 in the Bible.