It seems that many people's perception of heaven* is of a place where they will reunite with loved ones (human and pets**, typically)in endless bliss. Where does the concept of heaven come from? Is it wishful thinking bordering on fantasy or does it originate in the pages of the Bible? If the latter, is there not a major inconsistency in denying God, His creation in favor of evolution, the resurrection of Jesus Christ or other miracles, in part because people do not think they are scientifically verifiable, but accepting the existence of a place which no astronomer with all of our modern technology has ever found? Has heaven evolved like most people believe the earth has done? Out of what?
If heaven is in fact, a Biblical idea, does that not imply that we should investigate what the Bible has to say about it? Who made it, who gets to go there, and why? Jesus says, "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man." (John 3:13 cf. 6:38 ESV) Might not he know more about it than we do? He says, "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33 ESV)
Peter, one of Jesus' closest followers, says, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
Mental assent is insufficient, "because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
(Romans 10:9) Lordship is not an American cultural concept so we don't understand the fullness of it. If I acknowledge someone as Lord then I am ceding control of my life to them. This includes my will, my future, my plans, my possessions, my relationships. Jesus says to "count the cost." (Luke 14:25-33)
Heaven is a place of unimaginable bliss because God resides there, as Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible, depicts. But not everyone gets to go, as verse 15 indicates. "Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters (those who put anything before God), and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." (ESV)
* I am not attempting to resolve the theological question of where genuine believers reside in the next life i.e. heaven, a new (or renewed) earth etc.
** Nor am I attempting to state whether pets or other animals will join humans there.
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One book by and old saint whom I have forgotten, said heaven would be an active place where we would worship, work, create, engineer, laugh, etc. It would be like the earth without all the sin. Take all the human inventions, sanctify them, and that may be what heaven is like.
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