One would think that the Biblical presentation of a heavenly future would be met with unanimous delight by Christians. Nevertheless, a few Christians have misgivings about heaven, believing the heavenly estate will be a realm of drudgery and dissatisfaction. Some view heaven as little more than a continuation of our present existence.
Heaven will involve a measure of continuity, to be sure. We will have the capacity to see and hear; we will remember loved ones in Christ, We will have a sense of belonging to Jesus Christ in a saving relationship. We will continue to experience pleasure--- a holy pleasure.
Ps.16:11- "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." True: Ps.16 forecasts the Person of the Messiah. There are, though, eternal and heavenly benefits for people of faith in Christ.
In other words, the heavenly reality will not be a 'more of the same' continuation of this life. Heaven will immensely expand the blessedness of this life and eliminate all the unpleasantness of our imperfect world (see Rev.21:1-4). Glorified believers in Christ will not grow weary of heavenly benefits. The prospect of dissatisfaction with the place and reality of heaven will be an everlasting impossibility.
Back in 2004, Randy Alcorn wrote a book simply entitled 'Heaven'. Much of the book is speculative, although Alcorn himself takes the Bible quite seriously. Many readers were initially stunned by some of the arguments for a present, intermediate heaven followed by a future, recreated heaven. While admitting the debatable nature of these topics, Alcorn argues for possible temporary bodies given to glorified human beings prior to the Day of Resurrection (in which the recreated heaven will be merged into a new earth).
One teaching that emerges repeatedly in the book is the Scriptural emphasis on heavenly joy. There will be no likelihood of sin or boredom in heaven. In our glorified and sinless condition, we will be happily transformed from the inside out. And: The pleasures will never stop coming.
Alcorn describes the matter in these words:
"Our belief that heaven will be boring betrays a heresy: that God is boring. There is no greater nonsense. Our desire for pleasure and the experience of joy comes directly from God's hand. He made our taste buds, adrenaline, sex drives, and the nerve endings that convey pleasure to our brains. Likewise, our capacity for joy and exhilaration were made by the very God we accuse of being boring. Are we so arrogant as to imagine that human beings came up with the idea of having fun?
"Won't it be boring to be good all the time?" someone asked. Note the assumption: sin is exciting and righteousness is boring. However, in reality, sin robs us of fulfillment. Sin doesn't make life interesting; it makes life empty. Sin's emptiness inevitably leads to boredom. When there's fulfillment, when there's beauty, when we see God as He truly is---an endless reservoir of fascination---boredom becomes impossible.
Those who believe that excitement cannot exist without sin are thinking with sin-poisoned minds. Freedom from sin will mean freedom to be what God intended, freedom to find far greater joy in everything. In heaven, we will be Filled with joy and eternal pleasures."
Heaven will involve a measure of continuity, to be sure. We will have the capacity to see and hear; we will remember loved ones in Christ, We will have a sense of belonging to Jesus Christ in a saving relationship. We will continue to experience pleasure--- a holy pleasure.
Ps.16:11- "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." True: Ps.16 forecasts the Person of the Messiah. There are, though, eternal and heavenly benefits for people of faith in Christ.
In other words, the heavenly reality will not be a 'more of the same' continuation of this life. Heaven will immensely expand the blessedness of this life and eliminate all the unpleasantness of our imperfect world (see Rev.21:1-4). Glorified believers in Christ will not grow weary of heavenly benefits. The prospect of dissatisfaction with the place and reality of heaven will be an everlasting impossibility.
Back in 2004, Randy Alcorn wrote a book simply entitled 'Heaven'. Much of the book is speculative, although Alcorn himself takes the Bible quite seriously. Many readers were initially stunned by some of the arguments for a present, intermediate heaven followed by a future, recreated heaven. While admitting the debatable nature of these topics, Alcorn argues for possible temporary bodies given to glorified human beings prior to the Day of Resurrection (in which the recreated heaven will be merged into a new earth).
One teaching that emerges repeatedly in the book is the Scriptural emphasis on heavenly joy. There will be no likelihood of sin or boredom in heaven. In our glorified and sinless condition, we will be happily transformed from the inside out. And: The pleasures will never stop coming.
Alcorn describes the matter in these words:
"Our belief that heaven will be boring betrays a heresy: that God is boring. There is no greater nonsense. Our desire for pleasure and the experience of joy comes directly from God's hand. He made our taste buds, adrenaline, sex drives, and the nerve endings that convey pleasure to our brains. Likewise, our capacity for joy and exhilaration were made by the very God we accuse of being boring. Are we so arrogant as to imagine that human beings came up with the idea of having fun?
"Won't it be boring to be good all the time?" someone asked. Note the assumption: sin is exciting and righteousness is boring. However, in reality, sin robs us of fulfillment. Sin doesn't make life interesting; it makes life empty. Sin's emptiness inevitably leads to boredom. When there's fulfillment, when there's beauty, when we see God as He truly is---an endless reservoir of fascination---boredom becomes impossible.
Those who believe that excitement cannot exist without sin are thinking with sin-poisoned minds. Freedom from sin will mean freedom to be what God intended, freedom to find far greater joy in everything. In heaven, we will be Filled with joy and eternal pleasures."