God is Heaven

What is Heaven like? Amazing creatures, unspoiled beauty, no evil, pure motives, untainted love, no physical or mental pain or suffering.

Although we struggle to imagine it, C.S. Lewis believes we have instilled in our hearts the desire to be in Heaven:

“[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.”

I recently read a comment by a fellow warning of the evils, especially for Christians, of reading fantasy books. First, I found his reasons contradictory to what I had previously shared about the friendship and writings of J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Then, I thought, isn’t the Bible itself full of fantastic imagery, especially when it describes Heaven?

Can you even picture these things as you read the following verses from the book of Revelation?

Revelation 4:1-8, “In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

Revelation 21:19-21, “The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.”

Revelation 9:7-10, “The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces. They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion. They wore armor made of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle. They had tails that stung like scorpions…”

Revelation 12:3&9, “I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns…This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.”

A battle ensues, led by the Archangel Michael and his angel army. Spoiler alert: God’s army wins! In Revelation 1:8, Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”

And we win! Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Heaven is going to be amazing and I look forward to (someday) meeting you there!

Until then, the question of enjoying fantasy and science fiction entertainment is not uncommon. If you like to escape to Rivendell or Narnia, no worries. An article from Focus on the Family delineates written art forms from doctrine.

If you are interested, please read more Biblical descriptions of angels by Bible Gateway here, and more details about Heaven by Crosswalk here.