Is Heaven Boring?
Let’s start with a quote from an atheist. That’ll be interesting.
“I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse.”
-Isaac Asimov
Full disclosure, in the past I have read and enjoyed many of the late Dr. Asimov’s books. Not his non-fiction work, but rather his fiction stories. They are fascinating and engaging. But alas, it’s been many years and they no longer hold the same allure. In fact, recently I was at a bookstore with thousands of used books, and I had no desire to pick up anything from Dr. Asimov or other similar authors I enjoyed in the past. Apparently, the Holy Spirit is changing me in a great many ways.
Speaking of books, the idea of this blog post came from a book I am currently listening to on Audible. My lovely bride and her small group did a study on it, and I was intrigued, so when she finished the audio book, I decided to check it out myself. But before we get into all that, let’s talk more about Dr. Asimov’s perspective.
The Boredom of Heaven?
I must admit, had I seen that quote before starting to listen to the book, I would have shared a bit of the same sentiment. Not that Hell would be desirable in any way, but rather that heaven sounded terribly dull. Let’s be totally, 100% honest. The picture of heaven presented by many throughout the ages sounds like the longest, most dull church service ever.
“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.’”
-Revelation 4:8 NIV
(A quick aside, I’m going to not get into the “living creatures” in this post. The book gives some thoughts.)
Don’t get me wrong, God is the Holy One and deserves our praise, worship, and adoration. After all, it is Jesus, who is God, that redeemed us from our sin by His voluntary death on the cross and gives us eternal life as promised and previewed through His own resurrection.
But singing the same tune over and over and over and over and over for all eternity? Please, is there another option? I have some Christian songs on earth I already can’t stand because they’ve been WAY overplayed. I don’t want that for eternity!
Is Heaven a Place in the Clouds?
The issue is this. That’s not at all everything that happens in heaven. Also, heaven is not a bunch of disembodied spirits floating on clouds playing harps. That’s 100% NOT biblical. It’s an interpretation of a philosophical position, often attributed to Plato, that material things are inherently bad and spiritual things are inherently good. We could also get this from a misinterpretation of several scripture passages, including this one from Paul.
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
-Romans 7:24 ESV
The misinterpretation is that the body is bad and is the cause of our sin. Over and over “the flesh” is called out in scripture as being a source of sin to be avoided. But it’s not our bodies that are the cause of sin. Sin is inherent in all of us because of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Check out this post on Sins vs. Mistakes. It’s not our bodies that are the source of sin, God created us, body, soul, and spirit, along with the entire universe and called it all “very good.” No, we are all born into sin because of original Fall of man.
Would you like some proof of that? Jesus had a body and yet was sinless. Jesus died and came back to life, still in a body. He wasn’t a spirit. He ate and drank, walked and talked, all in His resurrected body.
So, is Heaven a place in the clouds? No, the Heaven we will be in for eternity isn’t in the clouds. Actually, Belinda Carlisle was somewhat right. Heaven is (or will be) a place on earth. Sort of.
The Truth About Heaven
Look at this quote from John the apostle.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
Revelation 21:1-5 ESV
God will create a new heaven and a new earth. Further study, and looking at part of John’s words above make another truth clear. God will not destroy the old heaven or the old earth. “Behold, I am making all things new.” No, God is going to redeem the earth, just as He redeemed us!
Earth will be restored to the perfect glory it had before the Fall, as it was at the time of Eden, and even better! The New Jerusalem comes down to the new earth and God dwells with us there…or rather, here. That’s right, the same earth, but now redeemed, resurrected, just like our bodies will be resurrected. All the beautiful, amazing things that exist on the current earth, will likely also exist on the new earth, but in their original glory. Nothing will be marred by the result of the Fall, people, animals, and the earth itself will be restored to the glory God originally designed.
Our resurrection bodies will likely be based on the same idea as the resurrection body of Jesus. Our bodies, gloriously recreated by God to be without sin, to live on a fully restored new earth.
What Will the New Earth be Like?
Hear me friends, heaven and earth will come together, both renewed, as shown by John in Revelation 21. Heaven won’t be boring. Dr. Asimov was wrong. There will likely be adventures, opportunities to learn and explore, and an infinite number of things to do. And not only on the new earth, but perhaps in the rest of restored universe as well.
Don’t fear that in your life before death you could miss some amazing site on this earth, you may be able to see it, better than it would ever have been here, on the new earth. You don’t need a bucket list, you just need to know that God has promised to restore all things, including the earth.
And people? It’s hard to even imagine! Of course, all your loved ones who died in Christ will be there, physically in bodies on a physical new earth. You’ll know them, AND you’ll be able to meet people you never met who also died in Christ, including those who were gone from earth far before you born. Want proof of that? Here are the words straight from Jesus.
“I tell you that many will come from east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
-Matthew 8:11 CSB
Beloved, I could go on and on. You’ll have work you love, relationships that never end, amazing adventures, and best of all, you will be in the place your wonderful Savior is with you, for all eternity.
Is Heaven boring? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Stop listening to lies of the enemy and get excited to talk to others about your glorious eternal home. It may be part of what brings them to Christ!
The Reveal
Let me tell you a bit about the book upon which this post was based. Please note it is supported by many, many scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments. The book is called Heaven, and it’s by Randy Alcorn. I am almost finished listening to the audiobook. It’s fantastic! But my lovely wife read the physical book at the same time as listening to the audiobook. FYI as of this writing, the audiobook is a previous version, so the content in the physical book is more current, and there is more detail. She said it’s also better organized. In this post I’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s in either one.
Here is my STRONG recommendation for any Christian who wants to really understand what Heaven will be like, as supported by the Bible itself and not false philosophies that the enemy has used to turn people off to it. Read the physical book or get the audiobook, whichever you prefer, but get this life-changing information in your hand! You’ll be amazed at the level of detail, all the answered questions, and how we’ve mostly gotten the idea of a dull, boring Heaven completely wrong!
If you have follow-up thoughts, feel free to reach out to me directly via our contact form. Also, if you’d like to learn more about me and why I create all this content about following Jesus, check out my About page.
Love you Jesus follower!