5 Verses We Get Wrong About Heaven

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We know from Scripture that Heaven is a real place. Yet, what the Bible teaches us about it is far different from what many have been taught. In the Bible, the word “heaven” has more than one meaning. For example, Genesis 1:20 describes the creation of the birds that “fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” In this case, the word “heavens” refers to our atmosphere, the observable sky. The Bible also speaks of God’s “dwelling place in the heavens” and says that there are “angels in heaven” (1 Kings 8:30; Matthew 18:10). Here, the words “heavens” and “heaven” are not simply metaphors, but describe an actual place of residence. Everyone wants to know about heaven and everyone wants to go there. Though most of us are not in a hurry to pass away, we all have questions about it. The only things we can know for certain about heaven are things revealed in the Bible. Everything else is speculation and hearsay. While the Bible tells us everything we need to know about heaven, there are a number of things that we don’t get quite right. Here are five verses that we get wrong about heaven.

Caught Up in the Clouds

The most recognized passage used to describe Christians’ eventual escape from this world is in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” This passage, when placed in the larger context of the chapter, is answering questions that Christians in Thessalonica had concerning death. What has happened to our loved ones who have died before the return of Christ to earth? What our ultimate destiny and theirs? Paul’s answer: bodily resurrection! Not an escape into the sky.

The Renewed Earth

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According to Jesus, we are to pray “Your kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), not the other way around. When John’s vision in Revelation comes to its dramatic climax, the “new Jerusalem” comes down from heaven to the earth (Revelation 21:2). The “new heaven and new earth” (newness of nature and quality, not a replacement of the old) will be this planet, with beautiful new characteristics. It will be our world, free from groaning, evidenced by the “curse” being lifted (Revelation 22:3), no more death, mourning, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4); world peace (Isaiah 2:4 and Revelation 22:2); no more poverty (Revelation 21:6); peace in the animal kingdom (Isaiah 11); no more evil (Revelation 21:1); and God’s loving presence (Revelation 21:3).

Entering Heaven

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There are Christians who believe that the Bible teaches that everyone will enter heaven, but Scripture tells us not everyone will enter. In the book of Matthew, Jesus reminds us that not everyone will enter heaven. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7: 21-23). We are taught in the Bible that in eternity many people will seek to enter heaven, but will be stopped and turned into hell instead. Most religious people die with an expectation of God letting them into heaven, but it doesn’t work that way. You have to enter into heaven God’s way, which is through Jesus Christ.

Work to Do

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The idea of working in heaven is foreign to many people. Yet, the Bible clearly teaches it. When God created Adam, He “took the man and put Him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). Work was part of the original Eden. It was part of the perfect human life. God Himself is a worker. He didn’t create the world then retire. Jesus said, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17). Heaven too will be a place where we serve and work. Revelation mentions this several times; how we will be serving God. That is why God gave us work to do in the garden. The Bible tells us, “And we know that in all good things God works for those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). God also wants us to work together with us to counteract the groaning of our broken world. Empowered by His Spirit, we’re invited to join with God to bring what is good.