Why Foreign Missions? 22b Heaven
Introduction
We speak of ‘heaven’
as the place where the righteous/believers go after death. The previous study focused on the terms
‘sheol’ and ‘paradise’ as the place of the departed. The present study will expand this with a
focus on ‘heaven.’ Under investigation
here is to what extent should our proclamation of the Gospel offer a personal
hope beyond this life. Holistic
ministries that help the poor are rightly grounded in Scripture. Yet we need to recognize that there is a
potential (not necessary) tension between mission that is focussed on
addressing human need here and now and mission that involves pointing people to
the hope we have after death and in the future.
Also, the Prosperity Gospel, so wide-spread and so unbiblical, is a
false teaching that has infected many Evangelical and charismatic fellowships
in recent decades. It offers health and
wealth to believers here and now and has no answer to suffering and death apart
from the indictment of people’s levels of faith: ‘If you only had more faith,
you would not have these struggles.’
Thus we rightly continue our study of a Biblical view of life after
death as part of our larger study on the Gospel that we proclaim as part of the
mission of the Church.
I would add one
further comment on the relevance of this study of heaven for missionary
proclamation by way of introduction. The
distinction in Scripture between ‘heaven’ and ‘earth’ provides a division
between our own, personal life before God and our corporate, earthly
relationships. As we saw in the previous
study of ‘Sheol,’ there is an Old Testament notion of being gathered together
with the ancestors—meaning the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in
particular and others in general—the notion of ‘heaven’ in the New Testament is
both more individualistic and more universal.
It is more individualistic in that one might go to heaven upon death as
a believer but not be gathered to be with dead relatives who were not
believers. It is more universal in the
sense that there will be believers from every tribe, language, people, and
nation (Rev. 5.9; 13.7; 14.6). This
teaching eclipses animistic ties to the tribe’s ancestors or a spouse’s
unwillingness to become a believer because his or her deceased wife or husband
had not come to faith. The hope of
heaven also eclipses unduly nationalistic or ethnic foci in the faith. And it directly challenges the notion that
mission that has to do with our separating the wheat from the chaff in this
life (as in the medieval Christian crusades, Afrikaner settlement in South
Africa, or American ‘manifest destiny’ settlement of native American tribal
lands—or as in many Muslim practices towards non-Muslims). Rather, the notion of heaven stands as a
conclusion to a mission on this earth during which invitation to repent and
believe remains open until death (e.g., ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body,
whether good or evil,’ 2 Cor. 5.10). In such ways, a study of life after death is
highly significant for our larger study of Christian missions.
The notion of
‘heaven’ as the place of the departed righteous developed over time, and yet
the idea of a heavenly realm is found throughout the Bible.[1] The Hebrew term for ‘heaven’ is plural—shamayim. It can mean the sky above (e.g., Gen. 6.17,
the first occurrence of the term: ‘I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to
destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything
that is on the earth shall die’; cf. Gen. 15.5, where God tells Abraham to look
toward heaven to count the stars) or the place where God and his angels live
(‘And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from
heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for
God has heard the voice of the boy where he is,’ Gen. 21.17; cf. 22.11,
15). In Gen. 28.12, Jacob sees a ladder
extending from the earth to heaven and angels ascending and descending upon
it. Jacob’s response to this vision is,
‘And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none
other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Gen.
28.17). The term appears in the NRSV 836
times in the Old Testament, New Testament, and Jewish Apocrypha, and it is
found in most Biblical authors—it is a thoroughgoing concept essential to a
Biblical worldview. The following study
investigates the Biblical texts (not the other Jewish texts) on ‘heaven’.
A Three-Story Universe
As to a Biblical worldview, Ex. 20.4 offers a basic understanding of a
three-story world of heaven, earth, and the (watery) region under the earth:
‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that
is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water
under the earth’ (cf. Dt. 5.8). Yet this
basic notion can be expanded: Dt. 10.14 speaks of heaven and the ‘heaven of
heaven.’ Paul spoke of three levels of
heaven itself (2 Cor. 12.2). The early
(2nd c. AD?) Christian apocryphal book, the Ascension of Isaiah, has Isaiah pass through seven levels of
heaven. Thus there is some flexibility
in the literature in speaking of a three-story universe and of levels of heaven
itself.
Heaven is Where God Dwells
Heaven is the place where God dwells: ‘The LORD is in his holy temple; the
LORD's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind’ (Ps.
11.4; cf. Dt. 26.14; 1 Kgs 8.30; cf. 1 Kgs 8 and 2 Chr. 6; Ps. 123.1). The ‘place where God dwells’ is also the
temple, and so there are two related ideas of God dwelling in his temple in
heaven or in his temple on earth. Even
so, a place such as a temple cannot contain the God of heaven and earth ('But
who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot
contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make
offerings before him? (2 Chr. 2.6; cf. 6.18).
Paul, too, says that Jesus ascended ‘far above all the heavens’ (Eph.
4.10). Thus, every creature in the
three-part universe, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, will bow before
him (Phl. 2.10). The author of Hebrews,
too, says that Jesus ascended through the heavens (4.14) and is exalted ‘above
the heavens’ (7.26). He contrasts the
earthly with the heavenly—the heavenly country (11.16), the heavenly Jerusalem
(12.22), and a heavenly sanctuary (8.5; 9.24).
Peter speaks of a heavenly inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled,
and unfading (1 Pt. 1.4). Already,
believers are oriented heavenward. They
are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 2.6). They have died, and their life is hidden with
Christ in God (Col. 3.3). Their citizenship
is in heaven (Phl. 3.20). Especially
significant, the future heavenly things are brought into the present because
the Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven (1 Pt. 1.12). The overlap of the notions of heaven as the
place where God dwells and his angels reside and as the skies above allows for
the notion that a tall building (Gen. 11.4—the tower of Babel; cf. Is. 14.13)
or mountain (cf. Dt. 4.11) approaches God’s place or that rain is something God
pours out from his heavenly treasure (Dt. 28.12). Also, since flames go upwards, an offering on
an altar pictorially represents sending a gift to the heavens: ‘When the flame
went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended in the
flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their
faces to the ground’ (Jdg. 13.20).
God and the Beings in Heaven
There are beings in heaven: ‘One day the heavenly beings came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them’ (Job 1.6; cf. 2.1).
Since heaven and the skies overlap, worship of the sun, moon, and stars can be
understood as worshiping heavenly beings: ‘They rejected all the commandments
of the LORD their God and made for themselves cast images of two calves; they
made a sacred pole, worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal’ (2 Kgs
17.16; cf. 21.3, 5; 23.4-5). The
Biblical perspective is that these other beings and objects in heaven are part
of creation and not to be worshiped alongside God (Gen. 1.14-19; Ps. 19.1-6;
33.6); they are to worship God (Ps. 29.1; 69.34; 89.5-6). As with other Near Eastern religions, God is
said to ride through the heavens and thunder from above (Dt. 33.16; 2 Sam. 22;
Ps. 18; 68.33). Yet he both made heaven
and earth (Ps. 89.11; 96.5; 104.2-3; 124.8; 134.3) and rules both (Josh. 2.11;
Ps. 103.19; 115.3). God is not one among
other heavenly beings to be worshiped (Israel was enticed into Canaanite
worship of heavenly beings, cf. Jer. 7.18; 8.2; 19.13; 44.17-19, 25). He is the
God in heaven, as writings during the exile attest by speaking of him as
‘the God of heaven’ (Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel; cf. Jonah 1.9). Indeed, God is above heaven (Ps. 113.4, 6),
and there is no place in heaven, on earth, or in Sheol where one can go away
from God (Ps. 139.8). To emphasise that
he alone is God, Isaiah says that the heavens will be destroyed (Is. 34.4-5)
and God will create new heavens and a new earth (65.17; 66.22). Peter restates this in 2 Pt. 3.5-13. The earthly and heavenly dualism is fully
present in the book of Revelation. The
souls of ‘dead who from now on die in the Lord’ will rest from their labours
(Rev. 14.13), and the blood of the martyrs calls out from under the heavenly
altar (for their death is a sacrifice unto God), ‘How long?’ (Rev. 6.10). The two martyred witnesses are called up to
heaven (Rev. 11.12). Indeed, the saints
turn out to be the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21.1-4) and the temple is the Lord
God the Almighty and the Lamb (Rev. 21.22).
God and the Earth
The Biblical perspective is that, because of sinful humanity, the earth is
in need of God’s rule. God is bringing
earth under the control of his rule just as heaven is already under his control
(cf. the Lord’s Prayer, Mt. 6.11; Lk. 11.2; Revelation). Ps. 115.16 says that ‘The heavens are the LORD's
heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings.’ Satan, too, is a cause of
the chaos on the earth to be overcome: ‘Then I heard a loud voice in heaven,
proclaiming, "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of
our God and the authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has
been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God’ (Rev. 12.10;
cf. Mt. 4.8-9; Eph. 2.1).
Places of the Dead
As already seen in the discussion of Sheol in the Old Testament, so too the
New Testament has the notion that there are two different places for the dead,
one good and the other a place of torment.
The clearest description of this comes in the story of Lazarus and the
rich man, told in Luke 16. Upon his
death, Lazarus, the poor man, goes to where Abraham is and finds comfort (Lk.
16.22, 25). Being with the patriarchs,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is equivalent to being in the kingdom of God in Lk.
13.28. The rich man goes to Hades and is
in agony and tormented in flames (16.23-24).
Elsewhere, Jesus speaks of the wicked being thrown into outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 8.12; 22.13; 24.51;
25.30; Lk. 13.28), a furnace of fire (Mt. 13.42, 50), Gehenna (Mt. 5.22, 29,
30; 10.28; 18.19; 23.15; 23.33; cf. Mk. 9.43, 45, 47; Lk. 12.5; James 3.6),
Hades (Mt.11.23; 16.28; Lk. 10.15; 16.23; Acts 2.27, 31; Rev. 1.18). Revelation distinguished Death and Hades, the
place of the dead, from the lake of fire (Rev. 20.13)—the latter is the second
death and so a final state. In the story
of Lazarus and the rich man, a chasm separates the two places, which are
visible to one another (Lk. 16.23, 26).
Jesus speaks of a resurrection of life and a resurrection of
condemnation (Jn. 5.29). Jesus’ parable
of the sheep and the goats also depicts the righteous entering the kingdom
prepared for them from the foundation of the world and the wicked going to the
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25.34, 41). This future judgement and resurrection is
brought into the present in a passage such as Lk. 16’s story of the rich man
and Lazarus, where the state of those departed from this life is depicted prior
to the future resurrection.
Heaven is the place where the righteous go after life on earth. We find this idea already in the Old
Testament: ‘Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a
whirlwind…. (2 Kgs 2.1; cf. v. 11). The
notions of ‘kingdom’ and ‘heaven’ overlap, as also ‘paradise.’ This is clearly seen in the exchange between
the criminal and Jesus on the cross: ‘Then he [the criminal] said, "Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 He [Jesus] replied, "Truly
I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Lk. 23.42-43). The distinction between heaven and earth
becomes blurred because God reigns over both and because believers already
experience a heavenly existence and will in the future partake of one. Also, Jesus has already entered heaven. While
the ultimate hope of believers is a resurrection body, heavenly existence
characterizes such a body. Thus, there
is some similarity between heavenly existence upon death and the future
heavenly existence in the resurrection body.
Heaven and Heavenly Existence in the New Testament
The Greek term for ‘heaven’ is ‘ouranos’
and is found in both the singular and plural.
In the New Testament, Matthew in particular likes to use the plural in
the phrase ‘Kingdom of heavens’ (regularly translated in the singular in
English). The differences between heaven
and earth are overcome through Jesus’ ministry.
The Kingdom of God or ‘the Kingdom of the heavens’ (Mt.) draws near
through Jesus’ coming and ministry (Mt. 4.17; 10.7). Even as it grows on the earth like a mustard
seed (Mt. 13.31-32), it is also a heavenly goal. One should store up wealth in heaven (Mt.
6.20; 19.21), and heaven has to do with ‘eternal life’ (Mt. 19.16, 23).
The difference between heaven and earth also applies to the body that dies
and the resurrection body. As Paul says
in reference to the physical body in this life and the spiritual body in the
life to come, ‘There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory
of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another’ (1 Cor.
15.40), and, ‘So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is
perishable, what is raised is imperishable.
43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown
in weakness, it is raised in power. 44
It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a
physical body, there is also a spiritual body’ (1 Cor. 15.42-44). Paul concludes, ‘Just as we have borne the
image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven’
(1Cor. 15.49).
These words apply to the resurrection body, the ultimate hope of the
believer. Yet Paul applies the
distinction of earthly versus heavenly to the intermediate state as well in his
next letter to the same church. He says, ‘For we know that if the earthly tent
we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens. 2
For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly
dwelling-- 3 if indeed, when
we have taken it off we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this
tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be
further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life’ (2 Cor.
5.1-4). Being ‘naked’ or ‘unclothed’
appears to mean existence between death and the resurrection. Believers hope to be ‘further clothed,’
transition directly to the resurrection body.
Still, Paul can say, ‘Yes,
we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home
with the Lord’ (2 Cor. 5.8). Paul can
conceive of being out of the body—he does not suppose that existence requires a
material body (2 Cor. 12.2).
Jesus’ ministry entailed bringing the kingdom of heaven to this
earth—something for which the disciples were to pray (Mt. 6.11). John’s Gospel, in particular, emphasises that
Jesus is the Son sent by the Father from heaven. The Gospels understand the descent of the
Spirit of God upon Jesus at his baptism as a rending of the heavens such that
any difference between God’s kingdom rule in heaven and God’s reign upon the
earth is overcome (Mk. 1.10). Through
his death and resurrection, Jesus received all authority in both heaven and
earth (Mt. 28.18; Acts 7.55-56). And
yet, the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven that will entail a
final judgement is still future (Mt. 24.36-42).
Jesus will remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration
(Acts 3.21). Jesus’ ascension to heaven
(Acts 1.2, 10) does not mean his absence in the interim but his reception of
power and authority to direct the Church’s mission before the final judgement. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says that those who
believe in Him will do greater works because Jesus has gone to the Father (Jn.
14.12).
Conclusion
Thus, we might say that heaven is already and not yet. Heavenly existence is part of the
resurrection hope sometime in the future, but the righteous dead have gone to
heaven already (before the resurrection).
The vertical cosmology of heaven and earth can be stretched out
temporally in terms of this age and the age to come. Just as there is an overlap of the ages
between the first and second coming of Jesus, so too there is an overlap of the
heavenly and earthly realms. Heavenly
existence is already a feature of life for believers in this life. Jesus has brought the kingdom, the Spirit has
been given from heaven, and Jesus already reigns in power from the
heavenlies. Believers who have died are
already in heaven, and yet a future resurrection will entail heavenly bodies.
Thus, while we hope for a restoration of creation in the future and an end to
all evil on this earth, we know that the righteous who have died have already
begun to experience this ultimate state because they are in heaven.
The notion of ‘Paradise’ brings to mind the original garden of Adam and
Eve. Christian life can be told with
respect to this story. Yet, when
‘heaven’ is in view, the Christian life is told in terms of God’s rule, His
Kingdom, Jesus’ exaltation, and the place where God dwells. The former idea involves looking to the past,
whereas the latter involves looking to the future and is expressed in the New
Testament in terms of Jesus’ identity with God, who rules from heaven. Paradise and heaven are brought together,
though, as in Rev. 21 (heaven) and Rev. 22 (Paradise). Temporally, they already exist, and yet will
in the future be revealed on earth.
Thus, those who die in Christ go to heaven, where God dwells and rules,
and they experience heaven or Paradise already even though, temporally, Paradise
will one day be revealed on this earth.
Jesus’ teaching involved warning people about the future, challenging them
to prepare for heaven instead of hell. A
Biblical missiology must include such a warning as much as it includes a hope
for the righteous. Those in Christ can
hope to depart upon death and go to be with Jesus. They will go to heaven and be comforted from
this world’s chaotic evil, sin, suffering, and death. The judgement for what one has done in the
body may be future, but that judgement is already known upon death. The resurrection may be future, but heavenly
existence from the time of death anticipates the existence to come on the day
of resurrection. Paradise can already be
entered upon death even if it will be restored in the new heavens and the new
earth in the age to come.
Biblical missionary proclamation should involve offering people this
personal hope to righteous believers. We
might ask people, ‘If you were to die tonight, do you have an assurance that
you will go to heaven and be with Jesus because you have received his sacrifice
for your sins and accepted him as the Lord of your life?’ We learn from the Old Testament that heaven
is where God dwells; we learn from the New Testament that heaven is also a
place to which God gathers those who die in Christ. Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to
the Father, where he will prepare a place for them, for the Father’s house has
many places to stay (Jn. 14.2). Jesus
tells the repentant thief on the cross, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be
with me in Paradise’ (Lk. 23.43).
[1] This study has been written with
an awareness of the need to pay attention to possible differences between
authors and texts over time. There is
development between the Old Testament and the New Testament periods, e.g., and
authors can use stock ideas in new ways.
We also need to pay attention to different genres—such as poetry in the
Psalms and apocalyptic imagery in apocalyptic literature. The present study does not press these
distinctions, not because I am unaware of the importance of methodology in
Biblical theology but because I think that there is a remarkable continuity in
many of the texts despite some clear development of ideas—and because this is
only an essay, not a book! Readers,
though, are encouraged to pay attention to possible differences in the literature
over time, in different genres, between different authors, and in addressing
issues for different purposes and in different contexts.
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