PRESENT AND FUTURE HEAVEN
Life on Earth.
There are essentially three phases of life. The first phase is your life on earth. When God created you in your mother’s womb, your humanity began physically, metaphysically, and spiritually: “For you (God) created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”( Psalm 139:13-16 NIV). You developed and grew physically, metaphysically, and spiritually, and will continue living until you die. But death is not the end.
Intermediate Present Heaven
If you are a Christian, your second phase of life is in intermediate present heaven with Jesus. This is the concept of heaven that most people are vaguely familiar with today.
Currently, Jesus remains in heaven until the time comes for God to spiritually restore everything: the universe, earth, and all life (Acts 3:21). At your death, your human spirit will leave your body (Ecclesiastes 12:7) and go to the intermediate present heaven or hell (Luke 16:22-31). As Jesus assured the thief that repented and died on the cross next to Jesus, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43 ESV).
Similarly, after the death of the beggar Lazarus in Luke 16, Jesus described Lazarus as being conscious in the presence of God. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side” (Luke 16:22 NIV). You will experience a separation of your physical and nonphysical aspects of your humanity. As the apostle Paul wrote, you will be away from your earthly body and at home with the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8). Your body may be buried or cremated, but your soul will continue to consciously exist apart from your body. Your life in intermediate heaven with Jesus will be much more fulfilling than your life on earth. Paul also wrote that to be with Christ is far better for you than to remain alive on earth (Philippians 1:23).
Is intermediate present heaven a physical place?
Some Bible scholars believe intermediate present heaven could be a physical place based on the following passages. “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7 NIV). In Eden, the tree of life was a physical tree that the cherubim angels guarded (Genesis 3:24, 2 Kings 19:15). Now this tree is in the paradise of God, which is the intermediate present heaven, and Christians will be able to eat from it (Revelation 2:7). The tree of life will be transplanted into the future eternal heaven (Revelation 22:2). “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent (physical body), we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:2-4 NIV). Scholars debate over whether 2 Corinthian 5:2-4 means there will be physical clothing in the heavenly dwelling in both the intermediate present heaven and future eternal heaven or only the future eternal heaven. Paul explained, “I know a man in Christ (Paul himself) who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven [intermediate present heaven or paradise]. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know-God knows. And I know that this man-whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows-was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4 NIV). Scholars disagree as to whether Paul’s vision of his body in heaven was a physical or an immaterial body.
But in the Old Testament, God took Enoch, who walked with God, to heaven (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah went up into to heaven without dying (2 Kings 2:11-12). So it appears that the physical bodies of Enoch and Elijah went to the intermediate present heaven. At a minimum, Christ’s resurrected physical body is in the intermediate present heaven. In Jesus’ account of the death of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus, with Lazarus going to Abraham’s side (intermediate present heaven) and the rich man going to current hell (sheol) in torment, the rich man asked Abraham to direct Lazarus to dip his finger in water and to go the rich man to touch the rich man’s tongue because of the agony of the fire and heat in current hell (sheol) (Luke 16:19-31). Some Bible scholars argue that this account demonstrates that there is some type of physical body in the intermediate present heaven, as opposed to describing figurative symbolic imagery for spiritual torment of the rich man in hell. Other passages that Christians debate over regarding whether text language describes actual physical aspects of the intermediate present heaven or figurative symbolic imagery include: people with “palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9 NIV); musical instruments (Revelation 8:6); an eagle flying overhead (Revelation 8:13); smoke from the glory of God (Revelation 15:8); horses coming into and out of the present intermediate heaven (2 Kings 2:11; Revelation 19:14). But all Christians agree that if there are some type of physical bodies in the intermediate heaven, they are not the fully resurrected glorified bodies, because the resurrection of all Christians has not occurred yet since Jesus has not returned to the earth.
For a more physical place view of intermediate present heaven, see Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Carol Stream, IL; Tyndale House: 2004), 53-63. For a more nonphysical spiritual view of intermediate present heaven, see Hank Hanegraaff, After Life: What You Need to Know About Heaven, the Hereafter & Near-Death Experiences (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing, 2013), 22-25, 69-79.
What will life be like in intermediate present heaven?
There are many things you can know about your life in intermediate present heaven from the following three verses in Revelation 6 about Christian martyrs that are in the intermediate present heaven: “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them” (Revelation 6:9-11 NLT). This passage demonstrates that in intermediate present heaven:
The people who died on earth relocated to heaven, but will still remember what happened to them on earth and will be remembered on earth by others (Revelation 6:9; see also Hebrews 12:23).
The people shouted to the Lord, which means they can speak and rationally and emotionally express themselves individually and with others in unity, while praying to God to intervene on earth on their behalf (Revelation 6:10).
The people recognize God’s attributes of being the “O Sovern Lord, holy and true” and being able to judge (Revelation 6:10).
The people know what happened to them on earth and what is happening on earth because they realize that God has not yet judged those that killed them (Revelation 6:10; see also Revelation 18:20, 19:1-5, 11-14).
The people are each distinct individuals that were each given a white robe which could be a physical or spiritual robe (Revelation 6:11).
God answered the people’s question confirming that you will be able to communicate with God and may fulfill your prayer request if it is within God’s will and purpose (Revelation 6:11).
There is time since the people had to rest a little longer until the last martyr dies before God would judge those that killed them (Revelation 6:10-11).
The people have a strong familial connection with “their brothers and sisters-their fellow servants of Jesus” on earth (Revelation 6:11 NLT, see also Ephesians 3:15).
God knows what happened and what will happen on earth (Revelation 6:11).
Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Carol Stream, IL; Tyndale House: 2004), 65-73; Erwin Lutzer, One Minute After You Die: A Preview of Your Final Destination (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1997), 35-41; Kenneth D. Boa and Robert Bowman Jr., Sense and Nonsense about Heaven and Hell (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007), chapter 6.
The bodies of Christians will be resurrected in future eternal heaven
Future eternal heaven.
The third phase of life is the future eternal heaven or hell. As Jesus Christ died and resurrected, Christians will resurrect. When Jesus appears and returns to earth a second time (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), souls of followers of Christ that previously died will be reunited with their bodies. Likewise, Christians that are alive when Christ returns will experience a transformation event that is equivalent to death and resurrection. Their bodies will be glorified with all the attributes of immortality. “It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead.
Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. … Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 54-55 NLT).
The earth will be transformed into “a new heaven and a new earth.”
The earth will also be glorified, renewed, and transformed into “a new heaven and a new earth” (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1 NIV). The apostle Peter preached that God promised through the Old Testament prophets that God would “restore everything” including the earth (Acts 3:21 NIV, see also Isaiah 60, 65, and 66). More specifically, the apostle Paul explained that the earth will be transformed and glorified just like the bodies of Christians, “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves … groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:19-23 NIV). God will “bring all things in heaven and earth together under one head, even Christ” (Ephesians 1:10). Isaiah 60 contains the best biblical commentary on the “new earth” described in Revelation 21 and 22. God’s people will have a glorious future on the “new earth” where all nations and kings will bring their treasures to God for God’s use and participate in worship of God and benefit from the glorious renewed city of Jerusalem. They will experience everlasting spiritual pride and joy for all generations, in which peace will be their governor and righteousness will be their ruler. There will be no violence because their walls will be “Salvation” and their gates will be “Praise” all its people will be righteous (Isaiah 60:1-21).
Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2004), 81-98, 100-102; Kenneth D. Boa and Robert Bowman Jr., Sense and Nonsense about Heaven and Hell, chapters 7, 8, and 17.