God’s “house,” in a large sense of the word, is the entire universe overall, with heaven being where He and different groups of spiritual beings live, like angels, cherubim, seraphim and others.
One part of Jesus’ mission was to find faithful followers who will eventually live in heaven with God and His son, Jesus.
In Matthew (16:24, NLT), Jesus said to his disciples, “…If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”
After his resurrection, Jesus said this in John (14:2, NASB): “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”
We understand this to mean that faithful followers of Jesus will have a home in heaven. In much the same way we might prepare a special room in our house for a guest to live with us, Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for them in heaven.
This special group of faithful followers is also described in the BIble as the “bride of Christ,” (see Isaiah 61:10, Revelation 19:7) the “elect,” (see Matthew 24:24) the “church” (Ephesians 5:27) and other descriptions.
The church will have very important work to do in God’s future kingdom. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, every person who has ever died will be raised from the dead with the opportunity to live forever. The work of the church will be to help humankind living on the perfected earth to return to a relationship with God. So, Jesus’ followers inherit heaven as their home, but the earth will be their workplace.They will be working with the people on earth, reconciling them back to God, which means helping people to live good lives in harmony with God’s ways.
What might heaven be like? In Isaiah (66:1, NIV) God says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool…” Our earth is a magnificently beautiful place, so if the earth is being described as a footstool (a place to rest your feet), how much MORE beautiful heaven must be – where God lives! The book of Revelation (see 22:5) teaches us that it will always be filled with light!
Both the books of 2 Corinthians (12:2-4) and Revelation (2:7) relate heaven to “paradise” – so it’s reasonable to assume it is a very special, lovely place! So, what does the Bible say about heaven? God, Jesus and other spirit beings (like angels) live there. Part of Jesus’ mission was to look for a special group of faithful followers who would eventually live in heaven with him and serve God forever. In God’s future kingdom, this special group will work to bring raised humankind back into a restored relationship with God – free from sin!
This video is from Christian Questions Podcast. For more information please go to https://christianquestions.com
