If there is one topic you should get excited about as a believer in Jesus Christ, it is heaven. I would even say if you can’t get excited about heaven, then you need to check your heart because heaven is our eternal home. Everything we do in this life should be geared toward the day we see Jesus face-to-face. Ultimately, he is our eternal reward, and we will have the privilege of spending eternity with him.
That is going to be an amazing time and hopefully you are looking forward to it. To help put you in the heavenly frame of mind, I want to share 21 Bible verses to tell you what heaven will be like. Let this be an encouragement to you to keep pressing forward, because there is a blessed hope awaiting you so don’t give up.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Yuri_Arcurs
2 Verses about What Heaven Will Look Like
One of the most descriptive places in Scripture that helps us know what heaven will look like is found in the book of Revelation. I would encourage you to read chapters 21-22. Here are some excerpts to help give you some perspective.
“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:10-14).
“The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were made of pearls — each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass. I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light” (Revelation 21:18-23, NLT).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/homeworks255
4 Verses about What We Will Do in Heaven
The Bible does not tell us everything we will do in heaven, but here are a few verses that tell us some of the things we will do there.
Worship around the throne
“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!’”
Fellowship with Jesus and other believers
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
Partake in the marriage feast of the lamb
“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
‘Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear’”
Continue to serve God
“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him” (Revelation 22:3).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Jantanee Rungpranomkorn
7 Verses about Who Goes to Heaven
I know there is a narrative in our society that makes it seem like everyone goes to heaven when they die. That is not true and here are some verses to remind you of that reality.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again’” (John 3:3).
“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit’” (John 3:5).
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Revelation 22:14-15).
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36).
4 Things Jesus Says about Heaven
Jesus talked about the kingdom of heaven, but he didn’t give a lot of description of what heaven would be like. Here are some things he did say concerning heaven.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26).
“Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise’” (Luke 23:42-43).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/masterzphotois
4 Verses about Preparing for Heaven While We Are on Earth
If you are planning to be in heaven one day, then it makes sense to start preparing for it now. Here are some verses to get you thinking in that direction.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossian 3:1-3).
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-3).
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
An Eternal Mindset
If you are in Christ, then one day you will be in heaven with him. Our job is to prepare for heaven now while we are alive on earth. You do that by being the person God has called you to be and doing the things God has called you to do. There is no better frame of mind than having an eternal one. This will help keep everything in proper perspective. The highs and lows of this life are nothing compared to what God has in store for us when we get to heaven. Let the truth of our eternal home be a reminder that it will be worth it all in the end.
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Boonyachoat
Originally published Monday, 06 March 2023.
