Paul Enns
Author and minister.
In heaven we will enjoy a continuity of love in a profound way.
There is a day coming when all of the suffering, all of the maladies of this life are destroyed, when we, in our glorified bodies, will live in heaven, on the new earth, eternally fulfilling God’s ordained purpose for us.
God created man for fellowship… The fall of man ruined that and Paradise—that is, the garden of Eden—was lost, but on the new earth paradise will be regained and God will again fellowship with mankind in a unique sense.
The new earth will be like Eden. ..the deserts will gush with water. … A beautiful and bountiful land will flourish.
While we look forward to a new heaven, let’s first consider the new earth, for the new earth will indeed be like heaven on earth. We will live on a restored earth.
It is only as we focus our thoughts on heaven that we will correctly interpret life on earth.
Believers have a genuine, unfailing hope of a future reunion with loved ones…we can find joy in anticipating our future reunion.
We can look forward expectantly to a beautified, restored earth where there is complete peace, tranquility and safety. No crime. No storms. Only peace. What a hope!
On the new earth—heaven—we will have perfect bodies, resistant to any ailment. Our new bodies will continue on forever, without missing a beat.
Although believers will not receive their resurrection bodies until the rapture, it is apparent that believers will have bodies in the intermediate state in heaven.
The ultimate reflection of the Creator’s glory will be the redemption and glorification of our bodies, when at the rapture, our bodies are transformed into the image of Christ. (1 Thess. 4:116-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-56).
Jesus’ ultimate prayer for His own people is that they would be in fellowship with Him in heaven forever… Jesus wants us to be with him—and with each other—in His Father’s house.
In heaven, “we will have a real body with a real voice—and we will recognize each other’s voice.”
God, through Jesus Christ, is the victory, and the renewed earth will reflect that glory.
Heaven is where God dwells. It is a specific place; …a place of unparalleled tranquility and beauty. It includes the new heaven and new earth.
Scripture indicates that heaven is not distant but rather… heaven is near—in another realm.
During the tribulation there will be a national turning of Israel to the Lord; they will walk in righteousness. … God established an everlasting covenant with Israel and it will be of everlasting duration.
Upon death the believer goes immediately into the presence of Christ in heaven, a realm far better than this earth…Heaven is our true home.
On this present, fallen earth there is sorrow, suffering, sickness and death. On the new earth there will be life—everlasting life, unending health, joy, and gladness forever and ever.
We are limited by our visual, physical senses; yet from the Scriptures we can readily conclude that heaven is indeed not distant at all. It is nearby.