Andrew Schroer

I say it all the time, but it isn’t exactly true. I mean it is, but it isn’t.

Allow me to explain.

As pastors, we often talk about how all those who believe in Jesus as their Savior will live forever in heaven.

But that isn’t true … exactly.

I mean, it is true. Because Jesus suffered the punishment of all our sins on the cross and conquered death by rising on the third day, all those who die in the faith receive eternal life (John 3:16).

The Bible tells us clearly that when a person dies, their soul and body separate (Ecclesiastes 12:7) and the soul goes before God for judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The souls of all who believe are welcomed into heaven where God dwells. In contrast, the souls of all those who did not believe in this life are sent to the punishment of hell (Luke 16:19-31).

With me so far? If you are a Christian, this should sound familiar.

But then on the Last Day, Jesus is going to come back to judge the living and the dead. He will raise all the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:16). In other words, all the bodies of the dead will be reunited with their souls. At that time, God will separate the believers from the unbelievers (Matthew 25:31-33). The believers he will take up into the clouds with him (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The unbelievers he will send, body and soul, back to hell where they will remain forever.

Then God will destroy our present physical world – the universe – with fire (2 Peter 3:10). Finally, he will create a new heavens and a new earth – a new universe – like the perfect paradise he created for Adam and Eve. There we will live, body and soul, together with God forever (Revelation 21:1-4).

In other words, heaven isn’t our forever home. Heaven is our temporary residence until Judgment Day. After Judgment Day, we will once again live in our bodies in a new physical world.

As preachers, we often speak in shorthand and simply say, “We will live in heaven forever,” because the new heavens and the new earth will be our heaven, our paradise, our forever home. Technically, however, heaven is only a way station, our Casablanca, if you will, where we wait until Judgment Day.

In the end, though, it’s a distinction with little difference. In heaven, we will be with the Lord and each other, enjoying eternal life in paradise. After Judgment Day, we will experience the same, only in physical bodies in a physical world.

So, the question is: As pastors and priests, should we stop saying that we will live forever in heaven? If you have a chance, let me know what you think. I go back and forth on this issue. Talk to your pastor or priest about it. This is something few Christians think about or talk about.

In the end, though, never doubt. Through faith in Jesus, you will live forever (first in heaven and then in the new heaven and new earth).

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).