This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com.
Works of art suffer the ravages of time. Museum curators and patrons go to great lengths to preserve masterpieces left in their care. When we see Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, or Michelangelo’s David, we appreciate the care with which these timeless treasures have been handled.
At the same time, some classic paintings and sculptures have fallen into such disarray that they require the expert touch of restorers. Even then, their work often attracts controversy. For example, art lovers continue to debate whether the restoration of the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel between 1980-1994 was a triumph or a travesty.
Sometimes, however, it’s plain to see when a restoration effort has run horribly off the rails. Take the statue of Virgin Mary and Child Jesus in Sudbury, Canada. Vandals lopped off Jesus’ head, prompting local artist Heather Wise to sculpt a new head of clay.
When she placed it on the existing stone body, perhaps the only happy person was Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons. The restored head resembled Maggie Simpson far more than the Son of God. The faithful were so horrified, the original stone head was recovered and put back in place.
Whether expert or amateur, art restorers do their best to refresh works of art while retaining the aesthetic character of the original. No one is under the illusion of improving the masterpiece, for that is the domain of the artist alone.
When we consider the greatest work of art ever completed – God’s creation of all things – we know we’re viewing a masterpiece desperately in need of restoration. We live in a world that groans beneath the weight of sin, and we long for the day when Jesus returns to make all things new (Rom. 8:22; Rev. 21:5). Many try to remake the world in their image – dictators and revolutionaries, for example – while the evil one has claimed this fallen world as his own.
It’s only going to get worse until Jesus – the original artist of the cosmos – returns to set things right. Yes, Jesus is returning to create new heavens and a new earth. But we should not suppose that he is merely – if we may use that term – sending us back to the Garden of Eden. Rather, the creator causes the new heavens and earth to retain the qualities of creation as “very good indeed” (Gen. 1:31) and then goes beyond “good.” Only the God of creation can improve on perfection.
Is heaven our final home?
Is heaven the final destination of all who rest in Jesus? Or do we spend eternity someplace else?
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul describes two mutually exclusive states of existence for Christians. While we are “at home in the body we are away from the Lord.” And when we are “away from the body” we are “at home with the Lord” (5:6, 8).
The New Testament teaches that upon death, believers’ souls and spirits separate from our lifeless bodies and enter the presence of God in heaven (see Phil. 1:21-24). There we enjoy intimate fellowship with our Lord while awaiting the future resurrection and glorification of our bodies (John 5:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:51-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
We see magnificent glimpses into the throne room of heaven through the eyes of John in the Book of Revelation: the triune Godhead; an emerald-colored rainbow surrounding a glorious throne; living creatures; elders; angels; and redeemed people from every tribe, language, people, and nation. The combined voices of all creatures proclaim, “Blessing and honor and glory and power to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (Rev. 5:13).
We may be tempted to stop here, as if heaven is the last stop in life’s long journey. It is breathtaking. But it gets better. Heaven, a place so awe-inspiring that Paul is not allowed to speak the inexpressible words he hears while visiting there, nevertheless is a temporary home for those who rest in the Lord until he returns to earth and brings us with him.
What should we know, then, about heaven?
Three heavens
While rabbis in ancient times envisioned as many as seven heavens, the Bible generally uses the Hebrew word shamayim and the Greek word ouranos in three ways:
First, of the atmospheric heaven, or the sky (Gen. 1:8). It’s where the birds fly (Mark 4:32), the clouds carry storms (Luke 12:54, 56), and the rain falls (Jas. 5:18).
Second, of the stellar heaven(s), where the moon and stars shine (Ps. 8:3; Heb. 11:12).
Third, of the domain of God, or his dwelling place (1 Kings 22:19; Luke 20:4).
The Scriptures also speak of the “heavens” as a metaphor for where Christ reigns with his church (Eph. 2:6), as well as the unseen spiritual realm that evil beings inhabit (Eph. 6:12). The context determines the word’s proper meaning.
For our purposes, we’re concerning ourselves with what Paul calls the “third heaven,” or “paradise,” the domain of God (2 Cor. 12:2). It is the intermediate state between death and resurrection for Christians, giving way ultimately to everlasting life on a restored earth.
Next: Key truths about heaven
