Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. ...But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:9, 10, 14)
We've already seen in a previous post that hell is not a place where the Devil will get to torment unrepentant sinners and unbelievers for all eternity, but the misconceptions of the "afterlife" don't end there. For centuries the most common depiction of heaven is a place full of fluffy white clouds where the saint's of God will spend eternity floating around in white robes strumming harps, but what does the Bible say?
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2, 3)
(Speaking of the heroes of faith in the Old Testament,) These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ...They desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. A city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:13, 16, 10)
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
And there came unto me one of the seven angels... Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ...And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, an in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Revelation 21:9-12, 14)
The angel accompanying John gives the measurements of the city, and its wall. They are cube, meaning having 6 sides of equal proportions. The number six represents man (Genesis 1:26, 31; Revelation 13:18). In God's kingdom, all mankind are equal. See Matthew 20:25-26 and Galatians 3:26-29.
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. (Revelation 21:18, 19, 21)
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof... And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there... And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:22, 23, 25, 27)
And he shewed me a pure river of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1, 2)
Heaven is not a bunch of fluffy clouds but a city. The gates are made of pearl, not gold, and they never close. Peter is not the gatekeeper, but Jesus himself will collect his people at his 2nd coming. New Jerusalem does not remain in heaven, but is relocated, at the end of the millennium, to the earth, not this earth, but the earth made new.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)
For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; hath hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: (Isaiah 45:18)
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, ...Heaven and earth shall pass away... But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (Isaiah 51:6, Matthew 24:35, 2 Peter 3:10)
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I john saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:1-4)
The saints will have a mansion in God's holy city, New Jerusalem, built by God himself, and they will build for themselves houses in the earth made new where they will plant gardens and never get sick, grow old, or die. Never again will they know sorrow or have reason the mourn.
Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. (Isaiah 65:17-19)
And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. (Isaiah 65:21, 22)
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 65:25)
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)
Click here for more on the millennium: when and where it happens. (Coming soon.)
Click here for more on Christ's 2nd coming; aka the rapture: when and how it occurs. (Coming soon.)
Click here to know what happens when we die and here to learn whether or not hellfire burns forever.