By Dr. Anne Davis

One of our viewers recently posed a question that I would like to address. Is there a heaven?

Well, both a Hebrew word and a Greek word for “heaven” appear in the original text of the Bible, which means that something called “heaven” really does exist. However, this term precipitates numerous questions, and we will now address three of them.

1. Is heaven a real place or a concept?
2. What is God’s relationship to heaven?
3. What is the relationship of God’s people to heaven?

According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2014, approximately 72% of Americans say they believe in heaven, which is defined as a place “where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded.” However, there are numerous, often conflicting interpretations that describe this heaven and who will participate in it.

I find it interesting to view the ancient Israelite concept of the universe, which is based on biblical passages and includes heaven, earth, and hell. Of course, with our current scientific information we know that this vision is not based on facts but appears to be mythological. Nevertheless, the “concepts” projected by this ancient worldview still seem to hold true today.

The following diagram of the ancient Israelite understanding of the universe is from James Christian, Philosophy: An Introduction to the Art of Wondering. It depicts a flat earth with a half globe-shaped firmament above the earth where the sun, moon and stars reside. Above that is an abundant volume of water, which was the source of the flood at the time of Noah. And above the waters is the highest heaven where God and the angels reside. Below the earth is a place called Sheol where the dead reside until the time when they can be united with God. 

I do not suggest that this ancient worldview is an accurate picture of heaven, but certain concepts have carried over into our thoughts today.

I suggest that we sense there is a “place” where God exists, and that place is above the earth. For those who believe in an afterlife, the dead are either with God when they die, or they are somewhere until a future event when they will be resurrected to be with God.

I have been intensely absorbed in studying the Scriptures for over  forty years, and I emphasize the phrase “intensely study”. My absorption in the Holy Writings has become the passion of my life, and I rarely wake up in the morning without thinking, with some excitement, what portion of Scripture or biblical concept I will be studying that day. 

With that said, I must add a word of caution. I will be sharing with you my concept of heaven that has emerged after all these years of research and study, but I am not the source for truth. Only the Word of God contains the truth about God. So, we must all be cautious about what we hear and what we are taught. If you have any doubts or concerns, your source of truth is the Word of God.

I think the most important concept about heaven that I can share with you is a firm understanding that the ancient Near Eastern document we call the Bible is not a literal, western recording of events that occurred thousands of years ago. It undoubtedly includes things that really happened, but Scripture is presented with a rich, ancient, eastern worldview that is teeming with subtle linguistic devices to encourage a search for what the Bible calls “hidden meaning”. In Job we learn that “God is in the process of uncovering [the verb is spoken in Hebrew with extreme emphasis] deep mysterious things and He is causing the darkness to come into the light.” [Job 12:22; my translation from the Hebrew].

A common teaching encourages us to read the Scriptures with only a literal interpretation. This approach stems from the Protestant Reformation in the 15^th century when the invention of the printing press made the Bible available to those who could read, so the church no longer controlled what the people understood as biblical truths. Martin Luther’s two cries of sola scriptura (only the Scriptures) and sola literalis (only a literal translation) ended the interpretive domination by the church.

This emphasis on sola literalis has lingered even into our world today. Unfortunately, that approach to the Bible does not allow students to penetrate beyond a surface meaning. Instead, if God is truly the author of Scripture, which is why we call it God’s Word, then the Holy Writings are as deep as the infinite nature of God. 

So, I will now offer you some of my thoughts, but again, you must test them with your own study of the Word of God.

I believe there is a God, which some people call the Father to distinguish Him from the Son, Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us that no man can see God, who has no form (Ex 33:20; 1 Tim 6:16), and the Bible further describes God as Spirit, which is likened in the Hebrew Scriptures to wind or breath (John 4:24). That is, we can experience what God does, but He has no form that our five senses can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch.

Scripture tells us that we cannot come into God’s righteous presence in a condition of sin, or we will die. We must be what Scripture calls “righteous”, which means without sin. 

Eternal life that we read about in Scripture is a promise of something future. That promise guarantees that someday God’s people will be able to come into His presence in righteousness. 

Scripture further describes a completely righteous person as a spiritual being. When Jesus returned after his resurrection, he was a spiritual being. However, he did indeed have a physical form as evidenced by his telling Thomas to feel the nail holes in his hands. So, I suggest that a spiritual being, who is without sin, can walk by the Spirit a hundred percent of the time.

At this point, I want to explain where I am leading you. I believe that eternal life is a spiritual person who is righteous without sin, and this person will be able to come into the presence of the Righteous God, who is Spirit. This is a concept that we simply cannot grasp in a literal way. I suggest you let yourself “feel” what it will be like to be in God’s presence, which will occur at some time in the future for those who are members of God’s household.

Some people think this will happen like the click of a finger when Jesus returns, and all of God’s people will magically be resurrected at that time to come into God’s presence. I have come to a very different conclusion, which I have painstakingly documented in my 4-part series on the Remnant that you can find on Amazon in three forms: printed paperbacks, a Kindle version, and downloadable audio files.

I have concluded, from my decades of research in Scripture, that God is in the process today of methodically drawing us closer and closer to Him. Scripture calls this a maturing activity of growing in righteousness. 

Everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice [that is, doing righteous acts] have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:13-14

I have concluded, and have substantiated in my work on the Remnant, that you will be able to come into God’s presence “when” you have matured to the point that God sees you as righteous in His eyes. Of course, we cannot be perfect in a sinful world, so I always say that “God only sees the heart”. You might remember the account about God’s selection of the next king of Israel who would follow Saul. From Jesse’s seven sons God chose the youngest one, David, because “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lords looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).

I am not suggesting that we are saved by works. Instead, God will make a selection when Christ returns of those who have matured enough in righteousness to participate in a remnant whose work, together with their leader Jesus Christ, will make it possible for the rest of God’s children to come into His presence.

So, let’s address now the three questions we started with and I will offer my thoughts.

1. Is heaven a real place or a concept? Heaven is not a physical place in the clouds where God sits on a throne and angels are flying around. Instead, it is a spiritual concept where God’s people will be in spiritual forms, and they will be able to come into God’s spiritual presence. This may be a hard concept to grasp. My one suggestion is that we focus in our lives today to grow closer to our Lord Jesus Christ by submitting to him in humble obedience so we will be maturing in righteousness.

2. What is God’s relationship to heaven? The Bible tells us that heaven is where God resides. That place is not on earth, but unlike other ancient cultures whose gods were distant from mankind, our God comes from where He resides in heaven to be with us. First, He was in the Temple in Jerusalem. Then we learn that His spiritual presence (remember, He has no physical form) is now in those with faith in Christ. In his letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul demands an answer to a powerful rhetorical question. “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).  We call this Spirit of God the Holy Spirit, which is God’s holy nature of love, truth, light, and righteousness. That gift is in you when you first believe in God’s son, the Messiah. However, it needs to be activated by a walk of faith and love in Jesus Christ. You are not yet a spiritual person, but when you walk by the Spirit, which you can only do in part and from time to time, you will give others a glimpse of what is still future.

3. What is the relationship of God’s people to heaven? Since God is Spirit with no physical form, and heaven is a concept of where God’s people be with our perfect and holy God, we must imagine eternal life with God as a time when we will become spiritual beings who will be able to come into in the presence of our spiritual God.

You may be dissatisfied with what I have presented because it is normal for humans to want something concrete that they can experience with their five senses. So, just let me repeat my suggestion that you focus in your life today on growing closer to your Lord Jesus Christ by submitting to him in humble obedience so you will be maturing in righteousness. And some day you will be able to come into the glorious presence of God.

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