“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 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.’”
Revelation 21:1-4
We often talk about “heaven” as the place believers go when they die, which is true. But that place is not the same place where we will live forever with the Lord and each other. The current heaven is a temporary dwelling place for the saints and angels until the Lord returns and makes all things new. It is important and helpful for us to regularly think about heaven.
One preacher said it this way:
- Good – our current life with the Lord is good, as those forgiven by the Lord Jesus with the Holy Spirit filling our hearts with love and power.
- Better – those who die in the Lord truly are in “a better place,” where there is no sadness or pain and they see the Lord face to face.
- Best – when Jesus restores all things and makes all things new, uniting the spiritual heaven with a new earth, it will not just be the renewal of the goodness of Eden, but the best of all possible conditions.
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”
Philippians 1:21-23
It is critical that we be clear about death and heaven, because when someone dies they only go to “a better place,” if they have been reconciled to God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus. Many people know John 3:16, but are not as familiar with some other verses right around it.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God… 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
John 3:16-18, 36
The blessing of heaven is for those who die “in the Lord,” not those who die apart from Jesus and His grace. Those who refuse to believe in and follow Jesus die “in their sin” and “the wrath of God remains” on them. Jesus said it very simply:
“Unless you believe that I am he [the Messiah] you will die in your sins.”
John 8:24
The Bible Project does a great job of illustrating the relationship between heaven and earth in salvation history. The bottom line is that right now there is a powerful separation between the holiness of heaven and the sinfulness of earth. Jesus stepped into that separation and darkness, bringing the light of His glory and grace into our world through His incarnation, life, ministry, death and resurrection. Now that light continues to grow and spread through the Body of Christ. One day soon Jesus will come back and fully unite heaven and earth when He makes all things new.
Amazingly, we have a preview of the glory of Jesus and the new heaven and earth in ourselves. C.S. Lewis wrote extensively about this in The Weight of Glory.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Romans 8:18-21
There is a glory in us now through the presence of the Holy Spirit. But that glory is just a preview of the freedom, power and righteousness that will be ours when Jesus comes back. Revelation 21 provides a vivid description of that glory of the church, described as an enormous cubical city covered in gold and jewels. Sometimes we think of that only as the place we will live forever, when in fact it describes the people who live in the place. But that is clearly what the new city represents:
Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.”
Revelation 21:9-10
Some come Sunday (10/19/25) to be inspired by Revelation 21 about the glory that will be ours when the children of God are fully revealed as part of the final redemption Jesus accomplishes when He comes back!