As we think about what heaven is like, I want to remind you in Revelation 21 it talks not only about the new heaven and the new earth and the new Jerusalem. Our primary abode in eternity will be the new Jerusalem on the new earth. The new heaven is a part of that, but new Jerusalem is where we will reside. So, we are looking at what the eternal state will look like.
Our question today is: Who will be there? We have looked at some of these already.
1. God. Obviously, we know God is there as the heavens are God’s, and He dwells in the heavens in ways we cannot comprehend. He is bigger than all the universe! The heavens cannot contain Him. At the same time, we find that He will be there and be tabernacling, being with the people on earth during that time according to Revelation 21.
2. Christ. Christ will be there. The whole Trinity will be a part of that. Christ will be the representative of the Godhead physically. He will be in physical form as we can understand.
3. Angels. The angels will be there. Angels populate heaven and they are there all the time. Throughout all of Scripture we find the angels, these spirit beings that God has created to serve Him and serve us as the elect are there.
4. Believers. The believers will be there. Philippians 3:20 says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” We have believers there. Our citizenship is already there, we are a part of heaven, but we are just waiting for those days when the Lord will come back and take us to be with Him.
Another question that kind of banks off of this is: What about children or those that maybe because of mental capacity are not able to make a choice about Jesus Christ or place their faith in the Lord because they are infants, too young, or lack the mental capacity, what will become of them? We wish Scripture would give us more details about that, but we only know a little bit. Often, people who believe that children will be in heaven turn to the passage where David’s child dies in 2 Samuel 12:23 and David says, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me,” indicating that he will one day be with that child with the Lord in heaven. That is not a slam dunk however, because many believe he is simply talking about death. So as that child died, he will not come back to life, and so David will one day die and be with that child in death. It is not a slam dunk. It is part of the argument, but it doesn’t do it all for us . . .
