What Does the Bible Say About Heaven?
One of the great questions many Christians ask is, “What will heaven be like?”
In the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, we find God’s final word on human history. And when we reach Revelation chapter 21, God unfolds for us the establishment of His eternal kingdom – heaven. Paradise. Eternity with Him.
Up until the very end of the Bible, we know almost nothing about what heaven will be like. In fact, the last three chapters of Revelation tell us more about heaven than all of the rest of scripture put together.
In these final chapters, we are told there will be three heavens. The first heaven will include the atmosphere including the clouds and oxygen we breathe. The second heaven is outer space where all the planets, constellations, and galaxies exist. And beyond that, there is a third heaven.
Paul gives us a slight hint at how incredible this third heaven will be when he says in I Corinthians 2:9, “…but just as it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.’"
In Revelation 21, John goes on to tell us that when we get to this new heaven, we will be living for eternity in:
- A New Creation
- A New City
- A New Community
- With A New Constitution
For Christians, living in this new heaven…in this new city…will be like nothing ever known before. In fact, Revelation 21:2 says: And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
Heaven - the Holy City
The Bible refers to the holy city as a bride, dressed up for a wedding celebration, symbolizes for us the intimacy we will have with God in heaven. And what this tells us is that heaven is, first of all, a relationship. And by using this illustration of a man and woman becoming husband and wife, God wants us to understand what our relationship with Him will be like in heaven. The most intimate relationship humans can share will only be a shadow of the intimacy we will have with God…for eternity!
This new city will be specially created for Christians, who will be the bride of Christ, as we are told in the New Testament.
All humanity began in a garden but will end in this new city, prepared like no other city that has ever been built. A city prepared for you and me who have put our trust in Jesus Christ.
What an amazing place heaven will be – prepared by our creator for His creation to live for all time!
To help you understand all that awaits you in heaven, I would like for you to have a copy of my booklet, Heaven: A Place Prepared for You. To find out how to receive your copy, please see the box on this page.
Heaven is something that is beyond our wildest imagination. Something I pray you will look forward to expectantly every day!
Bible Verses about Heaven
Revelation 21:4 - 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.”
John 14:2 - In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
1 Corinthians 2:9 - But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Revelation 22:1-5 - Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Romans 10:9-13 - Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Luke 23:43 - And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Matthew 6:19-21 - “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Hebrews 11:16 - But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Revelation 21:22-27 - And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ...
2 Peter 3:13 - But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
