Last Friday we discussed quite a fair bit about heaven. Heaven, as a place of eternal bliss and rest, has been largely a marvellous mystery to many believers. The bible gives us some clues about heaven but they remain as clues and not a detailed retirement brochure displaying colored shots of 5-star mansions, of lavish banquet and feasting and of exquisite wining and dining.
Before I start to recap, I would like to set the record straight. Talking about heaven is mostly an exercise in spiritual imagination. As no one I know or have talked to has been to heaven, I can only say that any talk about heaven is 50% biblically based and 50% imaginatively constructed (of course, the percentage apportionment is discretionary). Although I do not doubt the reality of heaven, I do doubt the authenticity of some of the accounts given by people who claimed to have been taken up to heaven.
So, heaven is indeed a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace, but it is also a mystery to many and the thought itself is inspiring enough without figuring out too much about it. The key here is to keep watch and pray. The hope here is to be heavenly-conscious and at the same time, evangelistically mindful. And the faith here is to live your life on the blessed assurance of eternal reconciliation.
We know that when we die now, we will go to intermediate heaven - a place where believers await the final judgment. This is like a default position for believers. All Christian who accepted Christ and did not renounce him along the way would get a free ticket to intermediate heaven. How about those who rejected Christ? Is there an intermediate hell reserved for them?
An issue that is close to my heart is; what will happen to infants and "earthly saints" like Gandhi who died without accepting Christ? How about aborted fetuses? Will they land up in intermediate heaven or hell? I think no one has the definite answer to this. It is easy and painful to say that they will be lost forever. Are they really lost forever? I'll leave this to God (But didn't God said to Moses, "...I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." - Exodus 33:19).
Then, we talked about our identity and relationship in heaven. In my previous recap, I wrote that all relationships cease to exist in heaven. Our wife and children will no longer be recognised as our wife and children. They will just be heavenly resurrected bodies worshipping God in one big family, rejoicing and celebrating throughout eternity. Well, on this, I am glad that Mark kor and Annie our spiritual nanny stood up and woke me up.
They disgreed and said that we do not lose our identity and relationships in heaven. They assert that our wife and children, parents and relative, and friends remain as they are. They will not take any other form. Neither will these intimate and precious relationships be neutralised. Annie said, "what will heaven be without the grand reunion with my father and loved ones?" She relishes the joy of welcoming friends and relatives into heaven when they arrive. I am sure Mark will want to play with Zi le in heaven and take long walks with his wife along the river of life. (or pop up behind the heavenly reception counter and give her a pleasant surprise!)
In short, it defies good sense for any earthly relationship that has brought so much joy and hope in our earthly lives to be erased away when we enter pearly gates. (what was I thinking?) The choice is of course obvious: enter heaven amidst a multitude of accommodating strangers or enter heaven celebrating with our loved ones, hugging and shedding tears of joy with them, dancing and singing like there's no tomorrow? Well, I guess the latter scene is more like heaven to me.
And this view is biblically based. Annie brought up Christ, after his death at the cross, appearing to his disciples and Thomas and 500 more in his resurrected body. They recognised him beyond the deep scars and bruises. She also brought up the transfiguration of Moses and Elijah in shining robe. With enlightened understanding, the disciples recognised them. Even the rich man called Lazarus by name and pleaded with him to dip his finger in water to quench his thirst (Luke 16:25). Read also the faith of the centurion where Jesus spoke about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matt 18:11).
Then, we talked about sex. Will we be getting any with our loved one in heaven? (don't mind the ghetto slang). Well, if you read Matthew 22:30 about the widow and 7 dead husbands, you will note that marriage and remarriage will cease. Some believe that there is only one marriage in heaven and that is our marriage to Christ. But for me, remarrying is out of the question because Anna "the wife" will be the first to object! I would too. More practically, I believe that we will be renewing our earthly marriage vows in heaven. There may be a small, modest dinner. And possibly, after that, some good loving...(don't mind the ghetto slang). Or may be not... I'll leave it to your imagination...
How about our age? Will we be and look the age we die? Or, will we be always 33? Will we be at our sweet 16? (this was Mark's wish - our very own peter pan). Or, will we be ageless? Well, this is where your imagination comes in...
How about activities? Will we be worshipping and praising all throughout eternity? I don't know about you, but that's a lot of worshipping and praising. I empathise with the musicians' fingers. I hope there is more to do than that in heaven. Books? Video games? Shopping? How about sleep, rest and food? Will we still need to eat in heaven? (Jesus barbecued with his disciples by the beach in his resurrected body) What do we wear? How about make up, diamond ring and gold chain? (Well, what could be shinier than our glorified white robe?) Do we burp or fart in heaven? How about going to the toilet? Will our pets go to heaven? On the latter point, some writers believe that animals have non-human souls and we will see them in heaven. (Isaiah 11:6-9; Genesis 1:30, 2:7, 6:17; 7:15,22)
Lastly, do we argue in heaven? Do we gossip, backstab or insult? Here, there is a consensus among the experts. We will sin no more in heaven. Our resurrected bodies and our union with God make us perfect, spotless and sinless. There will be eternal harmony and peace in heaven. The great reconciliation will transform us into perfect spiritual beings. We will be like the good neighbors, always offering well baked cookies to new arrivals. The joy never ceases.
So, heaven will be what heaven will be. And Revelation 21:1, 3-5 is a good place to start firing up our spiritual imagination about heaven (with particular emphasis on the words in bold):-
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then, he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Any contributions?
(For a complete, exhaustive and colorful description about heaven, you can read the book of the same name by Dr Randy Alcorn - the book is scaringly detailed - pages 400 plus tomb).
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