What Will Heaven Be Like?
I'm sure, like myself, you have wondered this before. What will Heaven be like? I get asked this question once in a while, and it comes up in conversation from time to time as well. The only way I can truly answer this is with the Word of God as my source of information.
So, what does the Bible say about Heaven? The Bible teaches us that it will be a grand, eternal existence, and something of a family gathering. But what will it feel like, you may wonder? We certainly will have a physical feel to things, but also spiritual.
We learn in the Bible that our bodies will be like Jesus’, thanks to Him changing us to be as He is now - perfect and new:
Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV): But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
As we know, when Jesus rose and returned to visit His disciples, He ate with them and was physical to the touch. Based on the following Scripture, we can gather that if our Heavenly bodies are to be similar to Jesus’ Heavenly body, then it will be very physical as well as spiritual:
Acts 10:40-41 (ESV): but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
John 20:26-28 (NKJV): And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Heaven will also be a place where the sufferings and challenges we face on earth simply are no more:
Revelation 21:4 (ESV): He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
The redeemed will meet face to face with their Father God and Jesus, and we will be with Him forever. In fact, this is the clearest explanation from the Bible on what Heaven will be like. Take a look at these Scriptures that reference it:
John 17:24 (NKJV): Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Matthew 5:8 (NKJV): Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Revelation 22:4 (NKJV): They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NKJV): For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 (NKJV): Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
We Will See His Face?
Some question the aspect in regards to seeing His face, because one Scripture says no living man shall see God's face and live - but understanding what this truly means is exactly what makes this part all the more beautiful and glorious, and also emphasizes the importance of complete study of the Word in it’s entirety.
Exodus 33:20-23 tells us that, unless you are holy and pure, no human could see God’s face and live. However, those in Heaven can look upon God’s face without issue because they are now holy. For study reference, see John 1:18, 1 Timothy 6:16, and 1 John 3:2.
Exodus 33:20-23 (NKJV): But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
In fact, this is the greatest blessing of all eternity - that we shall see His face, and all the things that this glorious moment entails:
Matthew 5:8 (NIV): Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV): Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
Being unholy, it is impossible for a human to see God’s face, but it will happen in our eternal state of existence once we get to Heaven and be with the Lord, as we will be transformed once this occurs. The reference to the name of God being on our foreheads shows ownership and consecration:
Revelation 3:12 (NKJV): He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
Exodus 28:36-38 (NKJV): You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
Throughout the Bible, we have been taught that you could not look upon the face of God and live. Even Moses, who was so close to God, wanted to see God, and God told him no. He put His hand over Moses and passed by him, and Moses saw his back side:
Exodus 33:22 (NKJV): So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.
In Heaven, we will be in His presence for eternity and will be able to see His face whenever we want to. All that this entails is absolutely the best gift we will receive in Heaven because in it’s entirety it includes being with Jesus, being holy in our new bodies, and being with our Creator and Father, God, for all of eternity, with no more suffering, pain, death or evil to deal with. The purpose of life, in my honest and most simple opinion, is to love one another in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, which includes living according to the Word, until we are called home to Heaven.