What and Where is Heaven?

I continue to ponder the meaning of the words of Hebrews 9:24-28 this week. In this passage about Christ our High Priest, we hear that he went not into the old temple in Jerusalem, but into heaven itself once and for all. Today's questions  are about heaven. What is it? Where is it?

Among the many emails I get came this one about children and their views of heaven. Here are some samples.

• Mom, God's so neat, and heaven's supposed to be so great.  Could me and Gloria go there Saturday for a sleep-over?

• Our seven-year-old daughter, Clarisa, was not really excited about going to Sunday school, but her little friend talked her into it. After the first class, at lunch she said, "I like my teacher, and she said if I come to Sunday school every Sunday, she'll show me how I can get a free trip to heaven."

• My three-year-old granddaughter, Morgan, came over one day and looked around the room and asked, "Where's Grandpa?" I answered, "He's in heaven."  Surprised, she looked at me and said, "Still?"

• When Jenny was four, she asked, "Does heaven have a floor?"     Surprised, I said, "Well, Jenny, what do you think heaven is like?"          She looked up at the sky and clouds and replied, "Well, I can't see any  floor, so I guess people are just up there on coat hangers!"

Many of us adults are almost as confused about our hope. Perhaps part of the confusion lies with the fact that whatever heaven holds is outside and beyond our experience. In 1 Corinthians 2:9 the Apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah 64:4 to remind us our eyes have never seen, our ears have never heard and our minds have never conceived what God has prepared for His beloved children. Paul himself was caught up to heaven and says he heard inexpressible things that a man is not permitted to tell (2 Corinthians 12:4).

The whole thing gets more complex when you realize that the space above and beyond us, with the stars and planets, is also called heaven. In Genesis 15:5 we read that the LORD said to Abraham that he should gaze into the sky or heaven and count the stars, because that's how many descendants he would have.

On the other hand, when the Apostle speaks about Christ ascending, he says he "ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself" (Ephesians 4:10). This is in accord with Psalm 11:4 where we read that the LORD's throne is in heaven.

Heaven as the dwelling place of God—our Father who art in heaven—is also the place where the holy angels dwell. The prophet Micaiah said he saw the LORD on his throne and all the host of heaven standing by (1 Kings 22:19).

The rebel, evil angels on the other hand are not permitted into this glory. They are confined to what Paul calls the "heavenly places" (Ephesians 3:10 and 6:12). That most likely refers to the atmosphere surrounding our planet. They are not allowed into deep heaven.

Those of us who put our trust in Christ, however, have the hope laid up in heaven (Colossians 1:5). We have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing" (2 Corinthians 5:1-5).

And along with that we have the promise of a renewal of creation. We are part of that creation and our bodies, together with everything the LORD has made, will be made new. All this is a hope unseen, but nevertheless real, because of Christ's resurrection (Romans 8:18-25).

Without a doubt, words fail us to describe what awaits, but wait we must and wait we will.So, come LORD Jesus. Come soon—Marana tha (1 Corinthians 16:22).