Many people imagine heaven as sitting on a cloud, strumming a harp, and how soul-crushingly boring that sounds. Others think heaven might be a non-bodily or non-physical experience, or even outside of time. But that is not the case. Heaven, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Millennial Reign of Christ, which is also part of the Kingdom of Heaven, will all be bodily, physical experiences. We will experience the passage of time and physical existence in ways that are at least somewhat similar to what we experience now.
Let's start with where Old Testament believers went after they died. Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 gives us insight into this place of the dead. In the story, Jesus mentions that Abraham is there. We know from Scripture that Abraham was saved by faith, as stated in Genesis 15:6, where it says, "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." This shows that even in the place of the dead, those in the righteous segment are there by faith alone.
Now, let's move to the current heaven. The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. This means that when believers die, they immediately go to be with Christ. Salvation has always been by faith, not by works. We see this clearly with the thief on the cross. Despite having no time to do good deeds, he placed his faith in Jesus, and Jesus assured him that he would be with Him in paradise that very day. This highlights that faith, not works, is what grants us entry into heaven.
Revelation definitely talks about a Millennial Kingdom, but there are differing interpretations on what that Millennial Kingdom actually means. I believe in a literal thousand-year Kingdom of Heaven on earth, as described in Revelation 20:1-6, where Christ reigns directly in a period of peace and righteousness. After this millennium, we enter into the Eternal Kingdom of Heaven, as described in Revelation 21. Here, God creates a new heaven and a new earth, where He will dwell with His people forever. There will be no more death, sorrow, or pain, and everything will be made new.
It's important to note that the ultimate Kingdom of Heaven will be a physical, planetary existence – either this world renewed or an entirely new world.
The Bible speaks of the Lake of Fire in Revelation 20:14-15 as the final destination for those who reject God. My view is that this represents eternal conscious torment, with varying degrees of punishment based on one's actions and knowledge, as suggested by Jesus in Matthew 11:21-24. However, it's important to acknowledge that there are differing opinions on this topic. Some respected believers hold to annihilationism, the view that the Lake of Fire ultimately leads to the complete destruction or cessation of existence for unbelievers, rather than eternal torment.
In summary, believers can look forward to being with Christ immediately after death, a future Millennial Reign of Christ on earth, and the ultimate Eternal Kingdom of Heaven where God will dwell with His people forever. While interpretations on eschatology and heaven can vary, these differences shouldn't divide us. The Bible provides a solemn reminder of the importance of faith in Jesus.
Thanks for joining me today. If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to leave them in the comments.
Lucas thank you for this article on heaven. Your article caught my attention because you mentioned annihilationism as being a view that some respected Christians hold to. I have written a book on this topic in favor of annihilationism. If you'll allow this comment to post, I just wanted to provide your visitors with some information on annihilationism. What I would consider to be some of the strongest verses supporting annihilationism would be these:
[Hebrews 10:26-27, 39 ESV] 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. ... 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
The author of Hebrews above is using the phrase "fire that will consume the adversaries" to intentionally contextualize his wording, "preserve their souls" in verse 39 above. Look below in Isaiah where the author of Hebrews is borrowing this fiery phrase from:
[Isaiah 26:11, 14, 19 CSB] 11 LORD, your hand is lifted up to take action, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame. Let fire consume your adversaries. ... 14 The dead do not live; departed spirits do not rise up. Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them; you have wiped out all memory of them. ... 19 Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For you will be covered with the morning dew, and the earth will bring out the departed spirits.
The content of Isaiah 26 above sounds a lot like Jesus in Matthew 10 here:
[Matthew 10:28 NASB20] 28 "And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
And then here's God saying almost the same thing as Jesus above through Isaiah 10 below in regard to those who side with antichrist during the tribulation:
[Isaiah 10:17-18 NASB20] 17 And the Light of Israel will become a fire and Israel's Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. 18 And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.
And then considering the content of the passages I've just shown, it may be possible that these Thessalonians verses below are translated properly, expressing the same concept. The Thessalonians verses below are about the day of the Lord, just as Isaiah 26 and Isaiah 10 above are:
[1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, 23 LSB] 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman who is pregnant, and they will never escape. ... 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Even those passages which seem to be the strongest in favor of the eternal conscious torment view such as Revelation 14:11 and Revelation 20:10 have an annihilationist interpretation which can be well supported with scripture. In my book "Hell is Made Holy" I show a strong case that the language in Revelation 14:11, "the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever" is a very likely reference to the virtually never-ending smoke of the Old Testament sacrificial system, which in part symbolizes complete and utter destruction, not endless torment. In the book, I also show how there are eight Old Testament prophecies foretelling the killing of satan and not his endless torment as some would interpret Revelation 20:10. I even show how John in Revelation points to one of these Old Testament passages several times by using words and content directly from it in Revelation. The Old Testament passage that he points to is here:
[Isaiah 27:1 NASB20] 1 On that day the LORD will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
For those who would like the full details of the things that I'm mentioning here from my book "Hell is Made Holy", it's available as a free PDF download from https://go.davidaaronbeaty.com/hellbook because I believe that nobody should be prevented from learning about God just because they cannot afford to buy a book. I welcome any feedback or questions that you may have about annihilationism or about the book. God bless you
Hey Lucas,
I agreed with most of what you said. I personally believe that when we die we go to the grave until one’s particular judgement. I take the “absent from the body” phrase to more metaphorical, I.e. when we die the next thing we will notice is Christ at the bema. Anyway my main reason for commenting is why you didn’t include what I term as “exclusive universal reconciliation “ as a valid third option for those who don’t hold a traditional view of the Lake of Fire?