PRESENT HEAVEN
The Apostle Paul considered it vital for us to know what happens when we die: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Paul speaks of those who have died- “fallen asleep”. If we are alive at Christ’s return, he assures us we will “be caught up” together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18). We often think mostly about the eternal Heaven (Revelation chapters 21 & 22). But because we’ve all had loved ones die, and we ourselves will die unless Christ returns first, we should consider what Scriptures teaches about Present Heaven. By definition, an intermediate state of location is temporary, but it is”better by far” than living here on Earth under the curse, away from the direct presence of God (Philippians 1:23). Still. the intermediate or present Heaven is not the place we are made for- the place God promises to refashion for us to live forever. God’s children (all true believers in Jesus) are destined for life as resurrected beings on a resurrected Earth.
It may seem strange to say that the Heaven we go to at death or in Rapture isn’t eternal, but that is what the Scriptures tell us. The eternal New Heaven and New Earth will be an entirely renewed creation where we will live with God. We will end up living not in a different home (present Heaven), but in a radically improved version- the New Heaven and New Earth. The present, intermediate Heaven is in the angelic realm, distinctly different from the Earth where we live now. The Present Heaven will be a physical place, not on this Earth, that will be great to be with Jesus and worship Him. Our soul, absent of the body, (2 Corinthians 5-10) will go to present Heaven in a conscious state (Luke 16:22-31), where Christ depicted Lazarus and the rich man as knowing where they were and what was happening. After believers (martyrs) death (or Rapture), they are pictured in present Heaven, crying out to God to bring justice on Earth (Revelation 6:9-11)- the article on Life in Present Heaven. The present Heaven is usually not visible to those on Earth. However, in Acts 7:55-56 when Stephen was stoned because of his faith in Christ, he gazed into Heaven and it is written: “Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God”. Scripture tells us that Stephen did not dream this, but that he actually saw it. Contrary to what we often hear, in Revelation 6:9-11 it appears to tell us that those in Present Heaven can not see what is happening on earth. It says that an angel told those in heaven that a person had been saved on earth and those hearing this responded with a surprise.
In Revelation chapters 4 through 19 everything that Jesus told Apostle John to record are all what will and are happening in Present Heaven. We are told there are scrolls in Heaven, elders who have faces, martyrs who wear clothes, and even people with “palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9). There are musical instruments in the present Heaven (Rev, 8:6), horses coming into and out of Heaven (2 Kings 2:11; Rev. 19:14), and an eagle flying overhead in present Heaven (Rev. 8:13). Hebrew 9:24 says: “Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one, He entered Heaven itself”. Luke 23:43 tells that Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with Me in paradise”- this clearly says that this Heaven (present) is a physical place. n the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Greek word for paradise is used to describe the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:8; Ezekiel 28:13), which is certainly a physical place. In Revelation 2:7 we are told that “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God”. This is yet another clear indication that the tree of life is real and will be in the Present Heaven.
The Apostle Paul tells us that our souls, without our bodies, long to be covered and not be in any spirit form. 2 Corinthians 5:2-4 states: “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life”. Also in Revelation 6:9-11 the martyrs are described as wearing clothes. This indicates that disembodied spirits don’t wear clothes. This is yet another indication that our souls in Present Heaven will not be disembodied spirits. Revelation 12:11 and 1 Corinthians 15:12-32 are other indications that our bodies are not disembodied in Present Heaven. However, we can be sure that all true believers in Christ will get their super bodies like how Jesus is described in John 20:19, Luke 24:31 and Acts 1:9 when He suddenly appeared through locked doors and walls to the disciples and defied gravity and ascended into the air in His resurrected body.
All of these observations are true for all in Present Heaven, our loved ones already there and for us when we die- unless the Rapture occurs first. From these observations and the other incidents shared in the other verses about Present Heaven, we can make many other conclusions about what will be possible in Present Heaven. However, we are not to say that these other conclusions, not indicated by specific Scripture, are for sure- only that they are possibilities. Another of the Mysteries we will learn for God- first hand!
God loves you and has promised a marvelous eternal life- more to come in the New Heaven and the New Earth!!!!!!
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