Heaven (32 page)
Authors: Randy Alcorn
WILL WE EXPERIENCE TIME IN HEAVEN?
Scripture says, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (2 Peter 3:8). Does this
mean there will be no time in Heaven?
The natural understanding of a New Earth is that it would exist in space and time, with a future unfolding progressively,
just as it does now. Yet people repeatedly say there will be "no time in Heaven." One theologian argues, "What a relief and
what joy to know that in heaven there will be no more time."
195
Another writer says, "Heaven will be a place where time will stand still."
196
Where do such ideas come from? A misleading translation in the King James Version of the Bible says that "there should be
time no longer" (Revelation 10:6). This was the basis for theologians such as Abraham Kuyper to conclude there will be no
time in Heaven. But other versions correctly translate this phrase "There will be no more delay!" (NIV, RSV"), which means
not that time itself will cease but that there is no time left before God's judgment is executed.
Other people are confused because they remember the phrase "Time shall be no more" and think it's from the Bible. It's actually
from a hymn. Ironically, the same hymn speaks of "When the morning breaks . . ." Both the words
morning
and
when
are references to time.
John Newton's hymn "Amazing Grace" demonstrates a better grasp of time:
When we've been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise, Than when we'd first begun.
197
Scripture contains many other evidences of time in Heaven:
• Heaven's inhabitants track with events happening in time, right down to rejoicing the moment a sinner on Earth repents (Luke
15:7).
• Martyrs in Heaven are told to "wait a little longer" when they ask "how long" before Christ will judge the inhabitants of
the earth and avenge the martyrs'blood (Revelation 6:10-11). Those in Heaven couldn't ask "how long" or be told "wait a little
longer" unless time passes in Heaven.
• Paul spoke of Heaven in terms of "the coming ages" (Ephesians 2:7). He speaks not just of a future age but of ages (plural).
• God's people in Heaven "serve him day and night in his temple" (Revelation 7:15).
• The tree of life on the New Earth will be "yielding its fruit every month" (Revelation
22:2).
There are days and months both in the present and eternal Heaven.
• God says, "The new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me. . . . From one New Moon to another and from
one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me" (Isaiah 66:22-23). New Moons and Sabbaths require moon,
sun, and time.
• God said, "Summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (Genesis 8:22). This wasn't the result of the Curse; it was
God's original design.
• We're told that "there was silence in heaven for about half an hour" (Revelation 8:1).
• The book of Revelation shows the present Heaven's inhabitants operating within time. The descriptions of worship include
successive actions, such as falling down at God's throne and casting crowns before him (Revelation 4:10). There's a sequence
of events; things occur one after another, not all at once.
• The inhabitants of Heaven sing (Revelation 5:9-12). Music in Heaven requires time. Meter, tempo, and rests are all essential
components of music, and each is time-related. Certain notes are held longer than others. Songs have a beginning, middle,
and end. That means they take place in time.
How can Scripture be any more clear about time in Heaven? (Right down to silence in Heaven for half an hour.) To say we'll
exist outside of time is like saying we'll know everything. It confuses eternity with infinity. We'll live for eternity
as finite beings. God can accommodate to us by putting himself into time, but we can't accommodate to him by becoming timeless.
It's not in us to do so because we're not God.
Writers frequently distinguish between the Greek words
kronos
and
kairos,
viewing the former as "human time" or "quantity of time" and the latter as "God's time" or "quality of time." It's suggested
that in eternity we'll live no longer in
kronos
but in
kairos.
However, it's unclear what this means. Will we still live in chronological sequence, where one word, step, or event follows
the previous and is followed by the next? The Bible's answer
\syes.
IS TIME BAD OR GOOD?
One writer maintains, "The end of the world is the end of time. Time will cease to exist. Time is a mark of the fallen state
of the world."
198
But this would be true only if Adam and Eve existed outside of time—and they didn't. The sun rose and set in their perfect
world. The sixth day of creation was followed by a day of rest. Time was
not
a mark of the world's fallen state.
God knows and can access past and future as readily as present. We can remember the past and anticipate the future, but we
can live only in the present. Time is our environment. Just as a fish cannot live outside of water, so we cannot live outside
of time and space.
Another author says, "Over everything on earth hangs the dark shadow of time."
199
But the shadow is not time. The shadow is death, which is a loss of resources and opportunity. People imagine time is an
enemy because the clock seems to move so slowly when we're having a root canal and so quickly when we're doing what we love.
But time isn't the problem, the Curse is. Time isn't the enemy, death is (1 Corinthians 15:26). Time predated sin and the
Curse. When the Curse is lifted, time will remain. Without the Curse, time will never work against us. We won't run out of
it. Time will bring gain, not loss. The passing of time will no longer threaten us. It will bring new adventures without
a sense of loss for what must end.
We'll live
with
time, no longer
under
its pressure. When we see God face-to-face, time will pass, but we'll be lost in him. We'll be busy exploring his universe,
working on projects, fellowshiping with him and each other, listening to and telling great stories. We'll delight in time
because it's part of what God calls "very good." It's a dimension in which we'll enjoy God.
When we say good-bye in Heaven, we'll know people won't die before we see them next. Time will no longer be an hourglass in
which the sands go from a limited past to a limited future. Our future will be unlimited. We'll no longer have to "number
our days" (Psalm 90:12) or redeem the time, for time won't be a diminishing resource about to end.
Theologian Henry Berkhof anticipates that time itself will be resurrected to what God created it to be:
Time is the mould of our created human existence. Sin led to the fact that we have no time, and that we spend a hurried existence
between past and future. But the consummation as the glorification of existence will not mean that we are taken out of time
and delivered from time, but that time as the form of our glorified existence will also be fulfilled and glorified. Consummation
means to live again in the succession of past, present, and future, but in such a way that the past moves along with us as
a blessing and the future radiates through the present so that we strive without restlessness and rest without idleness, and
so that, though always progressing, we are always at our destination.
200
Buddhism, which knows no resurrection, teaches that time will be extinguished. Christianity, solidly based on a resurrection
of cosmic dimensions, teaches time will go on forever. For too long we've allowed an unbiblical assumption ("there will be
no time in Heaven") to obscure overwhelming biblical revelation to the contrary. This has served Satan's purposes of dehumanizing
Heaven and divorcing it from the existence we know. Since we cannot desire what we can't imagine, this misunderstanding has
robbed us of desire for Heaven.
WILL THE NEW EARTH HAVE SUN, MOON, OCEANS, AND WEATHER?
A
s we've seen, there will be direct continuity between this earth and the New Earth. But the Bible includes some passages that
have led people to believe that the New Earth will have no sun, no moon, and no seas. Will that be the case? If so, won't
we miss those aspects of our current lives?
WILL THE NEW EARTH HAVE A SUN AND MOON?
People who think the New Earth won't have a sun and moon generally refer to three passages:
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
(Revelation 21:23)
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them
light. (Revelation 22:5)
The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting
light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your
everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land
forever. (Isaiah 60:19-21)
Notice that none of these verses actually says there will be no more sun or moon. (Reread them carefully.) They say that the
New Jerusalem will not
need
their light, for sun and moon will be outshone by God's glory. The third passage says that at the time when God's people
will possess the land forever, the sun won't set and the moon won't wane, yet neither will dominate the sky because of God's
brighter light.
The emphasis isn't on the elimination of sun and moon, but on their being overshadowed by the greater light of God. Who needs
a reading lamp when standing under the noonday sun? Who needs the sun when the light of God's presence pervades the city?
The sun is local and limited, easily obscured by clouds. God's light is universal, all pervading; nothing can obstruct it.
God himself will be the light source for the New Jerusalem, restoring the original pattern that existed in Genesis 1 before
the creation of sun and moon. Light preceded the light-holders, sun and moon, and apparently God's very being provided that
light (Genesis 1:3). So it will be again—another example of how the last chapters of the Bible reestablish something from
the first chapters.
Isaiah tells us, "The Lord will be your everlasting light" (60:19). But John goes further, saying, "The Lamb is its lamp"
(Revelation 21:23). John tells us in his Gospel that Jesus is "the true light that gives light to every man" and the light
that "shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it" (John 1:9,5). He records Christ's words, "I am the light
of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, butwill have the light of life" (John 8:12). And John sees what
Isaiah couldn't: The God who is the city's light is the Messiah himself.
Isaiah says to God, "Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn" (Isaiah 60:3). The New Jerusalem
will be a city illuminated not only by God's holiness but also by his grace.
WILL THERE BE NO MORE SUNSETS?
Some people comment, "If the New Earth will be full of the light of God, does that mean we won't see any more sunrises and
sunsets?" Do you love sunrises and sunsets? Are you disappointed to think you might not see any again? Our sun is one of countless
billions of suns. I think we'll see many more sunrises and sunsets, on many worlds. And when we're watching one of those spectacular
sunrises, I don't think we'll wonder,
What am I missing?
Note that the Revelation 22:5 passage quoted earlier says, "There will be no more night." Some people believe this is figurative,
speaking of the moral perfection of the New Earth. Darkness is associated with crime, evil done under cover of night. Darkness
is synonymous with distressed travelers unable to find their way. Prostitution, drunkenness, and idol worship often happened
at night. In the modern era of electric lights, it's difficult to understand the utter dread of traveling in the dark and
the threat of being locked out of the city gates that would close at night to prevent robbers, bands of marauders, or enemy
sol diers from invading a city. To be outside the city at night was to be exceedingly vulnerable. This will no longer be.
Yet darkness isn't evil—God created it before the Fall (Genesis 1:5). Night is also associated with positive things: time
with family after a hard day's work, opportunity to talk, rest, have dinner with loved ones, read Scripture, and pray.
Because God created the first celestial heavens to display his glory (Psalm 19:1), when he makes the new celestial heavens,
they will perform this mission even better. That means
we'll have to be able to see them.
If that requires darkness, as it does now, then darkness we will have, if not on Earth, then somewhere from which we can behold
God's glory in the new heavens.
I'm speculating, but I don't believe these passages demand constant and unvarying brightness, certainly not outside the New
Jerusalem. There maybe diffused light or twilight, without total darkness. Light may be constant in the Holy City but not
necessarily in the cities and countries outside the city gates.
To view the new heavens, we might travel to the far side of the moon and other places where stargazing is unhindered by light
and atmospheric distortion. Imagine the quality of telescopes that redeemed minds will design and build. We may be able to
visit innumerable planets from which the wonders of the night sky can be viewed to the praise and glory of God.
How will our eyes be able to tolerate the bright light of the New Jerusalem? Our new bodies will be stronger than our present
ones. We'll be designed for our highest purpose, to see God's face—brighter than the sun—without being blinded. Rather than
turn away from that Light, we'll be drawn to it.
WILL THERE BE OCEANS?
One of the confusing—and to many people disappointing—statements of Scripture is that on the New Earth there will be "no longer
any sea" (Revelation 21:1). When we read that, we think that there will be no more warm, inviting waters, no more surfing,
tide pools, snorkeling and fun on the beach, and no more wonderful sea creatures. That's bad news.
But when Scripture says "there was no longer any sea," the core meaning is that there will be no more of the cold, treacherous
waters that separate nations, destroy ships, and drown our loved ones. There will be no more creatures swallowing up seafarers
and no more poisoned salt waters. That's good news.
Steven Lawson elaborates: "To the ancient peoples, the sea was frightful and fearsome, an awesome monster, a watery grave.
They had no compass to guide them in the open sea. On a cloudy day, their ships were absolutely lost without the stars or
the sun to guide them. Their frail ships were at the mercy of the tempestuous ocean's fearsome, angry storms. The loss of
human life in the sea was beyond calculation. So the sea represented a vast barrier for nations, continents, and people groups."
201
Hence, the prospect of "no more sea" was very positive for the passage's original readers. Of course, God created the seas
(Genesis 1:9-10). Like everything else he made, they were very good (Genesis 1:31). But the Curse had a devastating effect
on creation. The seas as we now know them are deadly to human consumption. God's originally created seas surely wouldn't have
poisoned people if they drank from them. It seems likely that the Curse resulted in the contamination of the oceans, as well
as the threat to human life from floods, tidal waves, and tsunamis.
If a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him
and what he touches. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies,
the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night
in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God
which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Lawson also suggests there will no longer be seas because the seas as we know them are the result of God's judgment through
the Flood. "Many scientists who are Christians believe that before the great flood of Noah's day, there was no sea. But in
the Flood, the bottoms of the deep were opened up, allowing the release of great bodies of water, and the world was flooded.
The oceans were then formed between the overturned land masses and the seas became a barrier separating what we now know to
be continents, further dividing the human race. On the new earth, it appears there will be no sea because the earth will
be restored to its original splendor."
202
A case can be made that given the fallen state of nature, the salt seas function as a great antiseptic to cleanse the earth
and make life possible here. The salt seas purge, cleanse, and preserve the earth. They absorb and cleanse the pollution and
filth poured into them.
203
On the New Earth such cleansing will no longer be necessary.
Even if this passage means literally "no more ocean," of course this wouldn't require the absence of large bodies of water.
Revelation tells us a great river flows right through the capital city (22:1-2). How much more water will there be outside
the city? Flowing rivers go somewhere. We would expect lakes. Some of the world's lakes are huge, sealike. The New Earth could
have even larger lakes, especially if they have no oceans to flow into. Huge lakes could, in effect, be freshwater oceans.
Another reason I believe the New Earth will have large bodies of water is that, as I argue in chapter 39, the same animals
that inhabit our current planet will inhabit the New Earth. Most animal species live underwater, not on land, and most of
those live in the ocean. (It would certainly be no problem for God to refashion such creatures to live in fresh water.)
In a passage that definitely contains references to the New Earth, portions of which are cited in Revelation 21-22, Isaiah
60 says of the renewed Jerusalem, "the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come"
(v. 5). The passage goes on to speak of inhabited islands and their ships traveling the sea: "Surely the islands look to me;
in the lead are the ships ofTarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your
God" (v. 9). Somehow the "no more sea" of Revelation 21 and the "wealth of the seas" and the great ships traveling them in
Isaiah 60 are compatible.
As someone who loves to snorkel, explore ocean waters for hours at a time, and marvel at multicolored fish, great sea turtles,
squid, rays, and eels, I sympathize with people's instinctive resistance to the words "there was no longer any sea." I've
seen hundreds of different kinds of fish, some of them more spectacular than any land creature. I've done enough diving to
know it's exhilarating, even worshipful, to be immersed in a God-made world normally beyond our reach. I remember one time
snorkeling with one of my daughters, a friend, and his son. Suddenly we heard the melodic sounds of whales calling to each
other. The sounds were so loud we expected whales to appear any moment. We floated, nearly motionless, just listening to
musical beauty and power that defy words. I felt closer to God during that twenty minutes than at nearly any other time in
my life.
I predict the New Earth will include large bodies of water where we'll dive, perhaps without tanks or masks. Can you imagine
effortlessly holding your breath for hours? Imagine fresh water we can freely drink of, water in which we can open wide our
eyes and play with God's creatures of the deep. Instead of salt water, it will be pure, refreshing, life-giving "sweet" water,
just like the ocean water the noble mouse Reepicheep found in the waves near Asian's country
204
WILL THERE BE SEASONS AND VARYING WEATHER?
Some people have never thought about Heaven's weather because they don't think of Heaven as a real place, certainly not on
the New Earth. Or they assume the New Earth will have bright sunshine, no clouds, no rain . . . forever.
In a passage that promises rescue, security, and no more famine or fear for his people, God says, "I will bless them and the
places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees of the field
will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops" (Ezekiel 34:26-27).
Is rain a bad thing? No. It's good. We'll see trees bearing fruit on the New Earth. Will they be rained on? Presumably. Will
rain turn to snow in higher elevations? Why not? If there's snow, will people play in it, throw snowballs, sled down hillsides?
Of course. Just as resurrected people will still have eyes, ears, and feet, a resurrected Earth will have rain, snow, and
wind.
As I write these words on a cold December day, a strong wind is blowing. Nearly bare trees are surrendering their last leaves.
A row of fifty-foot-high trees, a stunning bluish green, are bending and flailing. It's a powerful, magnificent sight that
moves me to worship God. We're expecting our first winter snow. The feeling of warmth and serenity here in the protection
of our house is wonderful. It makes me ponder the protecting, sheltering, secure hand of God. I've often had similar feelings
during pounding storms. Lightning, thunder, rain, and snow all declare God's greatness (Job 37:3-6). Is there any reason to
conclude such things will not be part of the New Earth? None. Of course, no one will die or be hurt by such weather. No one
will perish in a flood or be killed by lightning, just as no one will drown in the river of life.
