Is Heaven God’s Reward For The Saved?
Is Heaven God’s Reward For The Saved? …
or should I say reward for the righteous? … or maybe I should just
say reward for good people?
Plenty
of other religions teach something along these lines… paradise for
obedient muslims, Valhalla for brave teutonic warriors, happy hunting
grounds for Iroquois and cherokee, living among the stars as the
ancient Egyptians taught. The idea of going to some better place for
those who lived a good life during their days on earth is found in
multiple systems of belief.
The
promise of going to heaven is not an idea that springs from the pages
of scripture. Quite the contrary. It’s an idea that humans already
had in their imaginations and then tried to force back into the word
of God. The real truth about the reward God has in store for
believers is all there in your bible… what believers receive, where
they go, when it happens. Do you know how to where to find it?
Popular Ideas About Heaven
Imaginings
about what heaven is like vary based on culture and tradition. In
what remains of our western culture its common to think of heaven as
a place beyond the clouds with streets of gold [or glass], it usually
has a gate for entry, people who get to go there sprout wings and
wear white robes. Based on preference some see heaven as an urban
environment with a beautiful city, some see heaven as a glorious
rural place in a natural setting.
What’s The Popular Idea of What Those in Heaven Do?
They
play harps and sing songs, or they gaze upon God’s beauty and
perfection. Another popular notion is that heaven dwellers get to
enjoy and experience all the wonderful things they were denied on
earth… wealth, pleasure, excitement.
Some
of these ideas about heaven in western culture come from scriptural
depictions of the throne room of God and what goes on there… but go
terribly astray in many ways... especially by presenting heaven as a
place of reward that good people get to go to after death.
What’s The Popular Idea of When a Person Goes to Heaven?
As
mentioned earlier… the popular imagination says people go to some
sort of spiritual dwelling place moments after they die. People who
try to reconcile this ancient idea with scripture teach:
-
Body dies and decays [true]
-
The soul which does not die [because its immortal] returns to God. The souls that lived righteously are received in heaven. There, they experience the beatific vision [gazing upon the perfection and beauty of God] which gives them ecstasy, joy, fulfillment. In this manner they wait for the redemption of their bodies when Christ returns. [mostly false]
Ecclesiastes
12:7.
Why
do I say part of that teaching about the soul going to God is false?
Because other scriptures indicate something very different!
Principle: How Do We Interpret The Meaning of a Given Scripture?
Last
week we looked at an example of how the context gave us a better
understanding of what the verse said and did not say. In this
instance we are going to do something commonly called “using
scripture to interpret scripture”.
You
might think that figuring out what a verse “does not say” is a
backwards approach. But after 3,500 years of reading, interpreting,
explaining, pondering… human beings have brought a lot of their own
ideas to the table and worked very hard to inject their ideas into
scripture.
The
idea of an immortal human soul that never dies but lives on is one
such idea, as is the idea humans who live a good life are rewarded by
going immediately to a better place… to Valhalla, or to live among
the stars. Remember: the Egyptians had beliefs like this long before
God’s word and revelation of truth was given to humanity through
His chosen instrument… the people and prophets of Israel.
Scriptures That Present A Very Different Program of Events
Consider
the case of David. A guy that God said was “a man after my own
heart”. Well thought of by God Himself [Acts 13:22]. Surely David
would be a prime candidate for heaven, right?
Acts
2:21-35 as part of the main point that Christ has been raised to
life and ascended to the heavenly throne room of God as foretold by
the prophets. Inspired by God, Peter teaches that David, the man who
wrote down those specific prophecies, is not raised up to life
from the grave, and has not ascended to heaven. David’s body
died, he was buried, his body decayed, and the tomb at that time was
still there in Jerusalem.
David,
a righteous and deserving man according to God, is not in heaven
gazing at the glorious perfection of God waiting for the redemption
of his body at Christ’s return.
John
3:13 Christ alone, of all those who have ever lived a life in the
flesh has ascended to heaven. Nobody else has ever ascended to heaven
after they died in the flesh. Note: John wrote this account about 25
years after Paul was already dead himself and presumably many other
faithful church members too had passed away.
Let’s Reconsider Ecclesiastes 12:7
The
body dies and returns to the chemical elements it was composed of.
That part remains consistent with the verses we read in Acts. The
spirit returns to God who gave it. What is this portion of the verse
saying… and what is it not saying? Are people reading their already
existing ideas about life after death into this verse.
Let’s
apply this to David: David died, was buried, his body returned to
dust… and his spirit returned to God who gave it. Let’s apply
what we learn from Acts 2 to David:
-
David remains in the grave in contrast to Christ who’s life was not left in the grave. Unlike Jesus, David has not been raised to life. So, the spirit God gave to David, which returned to God upon death is not to be considered alive.
-
David has not ascended to heaven. So, the spirit God gave to David which returned to God is not considered as David “going to heaven”.
That
spirit which returned to God is not David. Its something God added…
and apart from the body it’s not David. The scripture says that the
spirit which returns to God is something God gave to you. Its not
you, its something God put in you which He takes back when you are
done.
A
spirit without a body is not a living being. It does not think, act,
or feel.
So,
what is it?
I
like to think of it as a sort of record of us that God keeps. When
the time comes God will place that spirit in a new body that does not
die and decay. Without a body its just a set of information.
What is the Purpose of a Resurrection?
To
put that spirit back into a body so it can live.
Everyone
who has read the bible agrees that God’s word is very clear that
the dead are raised to life and given a new immortal body at the
return of Christ. But how do you reconcile that with the other
[erroneous & pre-biblical] assumption that persons souls are
still alive somewhere else...in heaven… experiencing joy or bliss?
A
common work around is to say that the resurrection body rises to be
reunited with the soul that is in heaven.
But
if the immortal soul is up there in heaven experiencing joy, peace,
contentment… without a body… why does it need or want a redeemed
body at some future point?
Such
a teaching about resurrection does not seem to have any logical
purpose…
I
would go further and say that the popular teaching: that an immortal
soul departs from the body at death and goes to live in heaven,
actually does damage. It causes confusion about the real character,
judgment and love of God the Father. Wrong teachings leads to other
wrong conclusions like:
-
God’s word is illogical [or can only be understood outside the confines of rational thought]
-
God doesn’t really have the power to give life and take it away
The Kingdom of God… The Real Reward
Jesus
did not teach His disciples to expect to go to heaven. He spoke to
them instead about the rule, the power, and the authority of God [who
is in heaven]. That rule will be established on earth. Those who are
Christ’s would be rewarded with a position and place within that
ruling authority alongside Christ.
Remember,
Christ alone has been raised from the dead to eternal life. Of all
that have ever lived a human life Christ alone has ascended to heaven
after death.
We
have God’s promise that we too will be raised to eternal life like
Jesus Christ. But we will not be whisked away to be with Him in
heaven. No, we are raised to join Him [be with Him] when He comes to
rule with the authority and power of God on earth. The goal is not to
escape earth… its to transform the earth.
Acts
1:3 even after His death He taught the KOG.
Acts
1: 9-11 He will come back.
Zechariah
14:4, 9 Scripture so specific about His return that it even tells
us where [not when]
Matthew
25:31-34
Luke
21:27-31
Christ
will return to earth and establish the rule of God here… on earth
as it is in heaven
Matthew
6:10 the time when God’s rule [His will] comes to earth is what
we are told to look forward to and prayer for.
Matthew
5:3-5 the reward of the saved is to inherit the earth as co-heirs
with Christ and have a part to fulfill with Him in establishing the
will and rule of God on earth.
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