In the first part of this Q&A, we looked at the biblical evidence that God the Father, Jesus Christ the Word, and innumerable angels are all in the third heaven.
But are there any human beings in heaven? What about those who have died and have lived good lives? Did they go to heaven and live there now in a conscious state?
In Ecclesiastes 9:5 we read: “For the living know that they shall die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten.”
Psalm 146:3-4 illustrates that the day one dies, his thoughts perish.
No human being has ascended to heaven, as Jesus revealed in John 3:13, and this is a telling piece of Scripture: “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from, and it is heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.”
The NIV states “No one has ever gone into heaven.” The old Luther Bible says: “No one ascends to heaven.”
Acts 2:29 and 34 are also instructive on this matter:
“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day… For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand…”
And Hebrews 11:39-40 speaks of the great men and women of old and shows that they are STILL awaiting their reward: “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”
For much more on this subject, please see our Q&A: https://www.eternalgod.org/question-and-answer-1066/ and our booklet “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”
Those who know the doctrines of the Church of the Eternal God and its international affiliates will be fully aware that our understanding from the Word of God is that we do not go to heaven at death.
For those who may want to study this more thoroughly, please see our Q&A’s:
“What are the biblical proofs that we do not go to heaven when we die?” https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-11453/
“Do certain biblical passages tell us that we go to heaven when we die?” https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-11468/
“How do you explain certain passages in the Bible suggesting that we go to heaven when we die?” https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-11483/
“Doesn’t the Bible say that we will enter the kingdom of heaven? Doesn’t this show that we will go to heaven when we die?” https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-11501/
There are some commentators who say, incredibly, that there are human beings in heaven, and in their physical state, and they even make some other even more preposterous assertions. We have no doubt about their sincerity, but such errors are something that we must avoid.
What is in Heaven?
We read in Exodus 20:4 the following: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth…”
This verse reveals that there are things in heaven.
Revelation 3:5 speaks of a “Book of Life” which is in heaven. In our booklet “Are You Predestined to be Saved?”, we read in the first chapter, page 3, the following description:
“‘THE BOOK OF LIFE. The most important heavenly book, or scroll, that pertains to God’s true children is mentioned numerous times in Scripture. But many who have read these references have falsely assumed that this particular book is just a figurative expression, rather than a real, albeit spiritual book. The opposite is true. The book we are talking about is a VERY real book! It is called in Scripture, ‘the Book of Life.’ For example, we read in Revelation 3:5: ‘He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I [Jesus Christ] will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.’ On its face value, and without trying to ‘interpret’ this passage, we are plainly told that the names of true Christians are written down in a particular book—the Book of Life—and that they will not be erased from it as long as they continue to overcome. We can also understand from this that their names could be blotted out from the Book of Life.”
The information below is taken from Mr Norbert Link’s very revealing booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World” on pages 59-62:
“In Revelation 20:12 we read: ‘And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. Barnes Notes on the Bible states: ‘And the books were opened – That is, the books containing the record of human deeds.’
“Revelation 4:2 mentions a ‘throne set in heaven.’”
We have seen, in part one of this Q&A that God the Father and Jesus Christ, both Spirit beings, reside in heaven. In Psalm 47:8 we read: “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.” And in Psalm 103:19: “The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”
“Revelation 4:4 describes several thrones in heaven.”
The Scripture reads: “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.”
“Revelation 4:6 speaks of a ‘sea of glass’ before the throne in heaven.”
The Scripture reads: “Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.”
“Revelation 5:1 mentions a spiritual scroll, sealed with seven spiritual seals.”
The Scripture reads: “And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.”
“Revelation 5:8 talks about a spiritual harp and golden bowls.”
The Scripture reads: “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”
These golden bowls housed the prayers of God’s people, the saints, which indicates how important they are. Incense burned in the temple in the Old Testament gave off a pleasing aroma to God, and His people’s prayers are likened to this.
“Revelation 8:2–5 reveals the existence of a spiritual golden censer, a spiritual golden altar, and even spiritual fire.”
The Scripture reads: “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.”
“We are informed in the book of Hebrews that all of these spiritual objects were used as a pattern for the creation of physical objects at the time of Moses. We read in Hebrews 9:23–24, in the Living Bible: ‘That is why the sacred tent down here on earth, and everything in it—all copied from things in heaven—all had to be made pure by Moses in this way…But the REAL things in heaven, of which these down here are copies, were made pure with far more precious offerings… It was not in the earthly place of worship that He did this, for that was merely a copy of the REAL TEMPLE IN HEAVEN.’
“So, there is a spiritual temple in heaven (Revelation 11:19; 15:5–6, 8). Further, we read about the temple of the tabernacle. God showed Moses exactly on the mountain how to build the earthly tabernacle. Time and again we read (Exodus 25:9; 25:40; 26:30; and 27:8) that God showed Moses a pattern as to how to build the tabernacle, the altar, the golden lamp stand and the sanctuary. God showed Moses what the real spiritual heavenly things look like. Moses was also instructed to form two cherubim, which were to cover the mercy seat. Again, God showed Moses, if he did not already know, what cherubim look like…
“Isaiah 14:13 reports that Satan, formerly Lucifer, said: ‘I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation.’ Ezekiel 28:14 adds what God said about Lucifer: ‘You were the anointed cherub who covers…You were on the holy mountain of God.’ This spiritual mountain of God in heaven is also described in Hebrews 12:18–24.
“We read about a city in heaven, the spiritual or heavenly Jerusalem (compare Hebrews 11:9–10; Revelation 3:12). It will come down to this earth in the future (Revelation 21:2–3, 10–21; 22:1–2).
“Revelation 2:7 says that the tree of life is in the Paradise of God. Ezekiel 28:13–16 adds that Lucifer, who became Satan, was in the garden of God at the time of his creation, long before there ever was a physical world. So, we see that there is a spiritual garden of God, a Paradise, in heaven. 2 Corinthians 12:2–4 mentions that ‘Paradise,’ the spiritual garden, is in the third heaven where God dwells [and is] a heaven composed of spirit—the third heaven… where God lives (Psalm 11:4; Hebrews 9:24)]. The physical garden of Eden, which God later created for Adam and Eve, was patterned after the spiritual garden that exists in heaven, and in which is a spiritual tree of life. When the heavenly Jerusalem comes down to this earth, the heavenly garden, with the tree of life in it, will come down to this earth as well.
“Revelation 21:1 tells us that the heavenly Jerusalem will come down from heaven to this earth, AFTER God has created a new heaven and a new earth. This will take place after all human beings have been changed into immortality or have been burned up and destroyed in the lake of fire. By that time, as we read in Revelation 20:14, death will no longer exist. We are told that death will have been cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 21:4–5 confirms that there will be NO MORE DEATH from that time on.
“It is true that during the Millennium, certain of the things mentioned in Revelation 21 and 22 will be found on this earth as physical forerunners (Ezekiel 47:1, 7–8, 12). There are differences, however. Ezekiel 47 talks about the existence of a physical temple. When the heavenly Jerusalem comes down to this earth, after the Millennium, there will be no temple in it, ‘for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple’ (Revelation 21:22).”
In our booklet “Is That in the Bible? – The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation” page 145, we read:
“……John sees the ‘holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God’ (Revelation 21:2). This is a literal city—albeit not physical, but spiritual. (For more information on the spiritual nature of the new Jerusalem, please read our free booklet, ‘Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.’) That this city is literal and not just a symbolic reference to the Church, for example, can be seen from the very detailed and specific description in Revelation 21:10–22; 22:1–5. We are told in Revelation 21:2, in conjunction with other Scriptures, that God is presently ‘preparing’ this city in heaven (compare Revelation 3:12; Hebrews 11:9–10; 12:22; 13:14; Galatians 4:26). We also read that Jesus Christ is presently ‘preparing’ for us a place in the ‘Father’s house’—the new Jerusalem (John 14:1–3).”
What marvellous and thrilling information about who and what is in heaven—exciting and mind-blowing facts that we may not have previously fully understood or appreciated.
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)