Fix Your Eyes On Eternity: A 12-Day Devotional On Heaven And The New EarthSample

Some well-meaning Christians cite 1 Corinthians 2:9 as Scriptural proof that we can’t know what Heaven will be like: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But they forget to include the very next verse, which says: “But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.”

What we otherwise could not have known about Heaven, because we’re unable to see it, God says He has revealed to us through His Spirit. This means that God has explained to us what Heaven is like. Not exhaustively, but accurately.

God tells us about Heaven in His Word, not so we can shrug our shoulders and remain ignorant, but because He wants us to understand and anticipate what awaits us. Yes, many things about Heaven are secret and God has countless surprises in store for us. But the things God has revealed to us about Heaven belong to us and to our children (Deuteronomy 29:29). It’s critically important that we discuss and understand them.

We can’t anticipate or desire what we can’t imagine. That’s why God has given us glimpses of Heaven in the Bible—to fire our imaginations and kindle a desire for Heaven in our hearts. If God didn’t want us to imagine what Heaven will be like, He wouldn’t have told us as much about it as He has.

The writers of Scripture present Heaven in many ways, including as a garden, a city, and a kingdom. Because gardens, cities, and kingdoms are familiar to us, they afford us a bridge to understanding Heaven. However, many people make the mistake of assuming that these are merely analogies with no actual correspondence to the reality of Heaven (which would make them poor analogies). 

Analogies can be pressed too far, but because Scripture makes it clear that Jesus is preparing a place for us, that God’s Kingdom will come to Earth, and that a physical resurrection awaits us, there is no reason to spiritualize or allegorize all earthly descriptions of Heaven.

We should ask God’s help to remove the blinders of our preconceived ideas about Heaven so we can understand Scripture.