WILL YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING ON EARTH?

WILL YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING ON EARTH?

You will be able to see some of what’s happening on earth.

Yes. Those who are in the intermediate present heaven will be able to see what’s happening on earth, at least to some extent. The Christian martyrs that requested God’s judgement on those that killed them remembered the great suffering they underwent on earth and were aware that God had not judged their persecutors on earth yet (Revelation 6:9-11).

At the end times when Jesus returns and brings Babylon down because of its sin and rejection of God, an angel refers to what is happening on earth and says, “Rejoice over her (Babylon’s) fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes” (Revelation 18:20 NLT). The fact that the angel addressed the people living in heaven about what is occurring on earth indicates they are aware of what is happening on earth.

When heaven’s saints return with Jesus to set up his millennial kingdom (Revelation 19:11-14), it is highly unlikely that they would have remained ignorant of the culmination of human history taking place on earth. Instead, God and his angels and the saints themselves are about to return to earth for the ultimate battle of history against Satan and his demons. Jesus will be crowned as the king of the universe and the new heaven and new earth. Therefore, in the intermediate present heaven, you most likely see what is happening on earth. And on the new earth, you continue living your life for eternity.

Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Carol Stream, IL; Tyndale House: 2004), 69-71; Randy Alcorn, Heaven: Biblical Answers to Common Questions booklet (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2004), 34.