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Our citizenship is in Heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body; by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.-Philippians 3:20-21

Recently I have been thinking a lot about Heaven. What will Heaven be like? Who will be there? Is it as glorious as it sounds? Is Heaven for real? I have been diving into the Bible to learn more. Below are a few of my findings about Heaven.

Individuals have various beliefs about Heaven which have been shaped by songs, television, and Hallmark cards. A lot of these beliefs are not supported by Scripture; therefore, before I share about Heaven, I must address what Heaven is not.

Heaven is not a place filled with individuals who arrived because of their good deeds. Your good deeds do not get you into Heaven. Everyone who dies does not go to Heaven. You will not meet Saint Peter at the gate asking for your name and being allowed to enter based on whether or not your name is on his list. Heaven is not a place where individuals sit on clouds, play harps, and eat Philadelphia cheese cake. Your household pet will not be in Heaven. Heaven will not be filled with individuals who have been promoted to “guardian angel” to watch over people on Earth. There are no holes in the floor of Heaven and every time a bell rings an angel does not get its wings. Finally, in Heaven there will be no marriage or giving in marriage.

These are just a few common beliefs which are not supported by Scripture. If these beliefs are not supported by Scripture than what does Scripture teach?

Scripture teaches that Heaven is a place of unending, never-ceasing, indescribable joy. Heaven will be filled with individuals who trusted in Christ for their salvation. Individuals who admitted they were sinners, believed in Jesus, and confessed their sins. Jesus, Himself, said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life no one gets to Heaven but through me.”

There will be no sadness, no sickness, no sorrow and no death in Heaven. Sin, death, Alzheimer, cancer, aids, abuse, pornography, pride, covetousness, blasphemy, gluttony, idolatry and every other evil will be cast into the lake of fire and will not be in Heaven. The paralyzed will walk, the blind see, and the deaf will hear. The lion will lie down with the lamb and the child will put his hand over the viper’s hole.

In Heaven the streets will be paved with gold. Imagine the immaculate beauty of Heaven if they use gold to pave the streets. We will sit down and enjoy a meal with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Imagine enjoying a slice of pizza, hamburger, cob salad or any of your other favorite foods with the King of Kings. Imagine enjoying a nice glass of wine or Dr. Pepper (for the tee totaling Baptists) with the Lord of Lords. We don’t know what we will be eating but it will be a meal filled with laughter, great conversation, and joy.

We will be rewarded for our work on Earth in Heaven. Your labor on Earth is not in vain and will be rewarded. God sees the sacrifice you are making and will reward you. God loves all of his children and will disown none of them, but He doesn’t equally reward the obedient, generous, and hardworking children the same as He does the disobedient, stingy and lazy ones.

Everything will be restored to the way it was supposed to be. Everyone will have a new body and the effects of sin will be removed. Our minds will be renewed and perfectly united to Christ. Our bodies will be renewed to work for Christ and our soul will be renewed to worship Christ. The Bible is not clear on the nature of our new bodies; but the Bible is clear on the fact that we will all have new bodies and we will all recognize each other. We will once again be reunited with our loved ones, friends and family. We will sit and listen to stories of God’s grace in our lives and we will join with the myriads of angels crying, “Worthy is the Lamb!”

In Heaven we will work with God and rule with Him during the millennial reign. There will be no sun because God’s light will shine forever. Finally, the greatest blessing of Heaven is not the streets of gold, new bodies or being reunited with loved ones rather the greatest blessing of Heaven will be unhindered fellowship with God, Himself. We will spend eternity singing praises to God and worshiping the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. As “Amazing Grace” so beautifully states, “when we’ve been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun  with no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun…”

In conclusion, Heaven is a place filled with unending, never ceasing, indescribable joy. A place where everything will be restored to the way it was supposed to be and will be filled with those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as there Lord and Savior. May we press on and work hard until the day Christ calls us home to be with Him in paradise.