What will heaven be like?

from the old testament

• Details about heaven are even vaguer in the Old Testament than in the New Testament. However, this supports the New Testament conclusion that heaven is a physical location, not purely a spiritual realm. Primary support for that is that Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) apparently entered it without dying.
• Additionally, Genesis describes creation as “very good” before sin entered (Genesis 1:31). This sets the theological expectation that God will not only counteract the moral effects of sin, but also the physical ones. Thus, the creation account sets an expectation for how the final creation, and thus final destiny for believers, will be life. Isaiah supports that anticipation in Isaiah 65:17–25, where it opens with God saying, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”
• Finally, the concept of Sabbath rest, built into creation (Genesis 2:2–3) and daily life (Exodus 20:8–11), points toward death for believers as being a time of rest. For example, Isaiah 57:1–2 reads, “The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity; he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness.”

from the new testament

• Adding to Enoch and Elijah's support for heaven as a physical place is Jesus’ presence there. When He left earth, He ascended in physical form (Acts 1:9–11). The angels also said He would return the same way, implying an unchanged body (Acts 1:11). Additionally, we learn that after he entered heaven, “he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus, as fully human, is in heaven right now.
• Additionally, Paul said that believers alive when Jesus came, along with the resurrected dead, will meet Jesus in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). This implies that we will then enter heaven alive until Jesus returns and brings His kingdom (Revelation 20:1–6). At that point, it appears that believers will leave heaven and live on earth. Note, however, that not everyone agrees that believers (or all of them) will live on earth then.
• Theologians call the time between then and God’s final judgment the “intermediate state.” Technically, that’s when we will live in heaven. Besides indicating that people exist there physically, the story in Luke 16:19–31 suggests that people will recognize one another there. That may indicate that people in heaven and Hades will have temporary bodies. That idea is strengthened by the fact that the martyrs in heaven are said to be given robes, implying they can wear them (Revelation 6:9–11). However, that also could all be figurative language to help us relate to that state. Thus, we must be careful about how confident we are as to what “life” will be like for deceased believers in heaven.
• While the Luke 16 passage indicates that we’ll be with other believers, Paul both said, “I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Philippians 1:23) and “we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Those statements indicate that, in heaven, we will also be with Jesus.
• We also learn that it will be a time of rest. Revelation 14:13 reads, “‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’”
• After God judges everyone (Revelation 20:11–15), there will be “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more” (Revelation 21:1). Many people mistakenly conflate life after that time with being in heaven. However, once sin has been judged, creation will be recreated (or restored). This will return it to the “very good” state it once was. Then, a new Jerusalem will descend from heaven to earth (Revelation 21:2). It is in it that we read about “streets of gold” and gates made of pearl (Revelation 21:21). Since that’s on earth, those descriptions apply to at least one area of the earth: where the new Jerusalem will be located.
• In the Old Testament, we learn that God intends to dwell with His people (cf. Ezekiel 37:27), which finds its fulfillment in the new earth and new heavens (Revelation 21:3). Additionally, at that time, believers will reign forevermore (Revelation 22:5). While not technically heaven, that end goal demonstrates that the purpose for believers of creation, this life, death, and resurrection is so that we can dwell with God forever.

implications for today

We all long for heaven, even if we don’t know exactly what it will be like. Think about the moments you wish you could hold onto: tasting an incredible meal and wishing there were more, standing before a breathtaking view and wanting to stay just a little longer, laughing with people you love and wishing the moment would never end, or experiencing a joy so deep that you wish time would simply stop. We were made for more than fleeting moments of goodness—we long for something lasting.

The Bible gives us enough to know that heaven is real and wonderful, but it doesn’t give us every detail. What it does make clear is that heaven isn’t ultimately about golden streets, beautiful scenery, or even the absence of suffering. Heaven is great because Jesus is there. And in the and, believers will dwell with God forever. But that raises an even more important question: How can imperfect sinners like us ever enter the presence of a perfectly holy God?

Jesus, being fully God (John 1:1), also became fully human (Philippians 2:6–7). He was like us but without ever sinning (Hebrews 4:15)—He is the only perfect human. He died to pay the penalty for sin for all who repent and trust in Him. To those who do, God credits Jesus’ perfect righteousness to the sinner (Romans 4:5). It’s that righteousness, not our own, that lets us enter heaven and stand before God for eternity!

Repent now, believe in Jesus, and join us in heaven when you die!