Six questions everyone wants answered about heaven

We’re all familiar with scenes of puffy clouds, pearly gates, and St. Peter checking the guest list, but do these clichés have any truth to them?

Heaven isn’t a punch line; it’s a real place where God wants us to be. And it’s worth searching for real answers to honest questions we all have.

Heaven is more about a person than a place.

What do we really know about the afterlife?

Six Questions Everybody Wants Answered About Heaven

1. What will heaven be like?

God promises to be with people in “a new heaven and a new earth,” and describes a pure and beautiful city where Jesus makes everything good (Revelation 21:1-3). It’s like a wedding feast and celebration because God and His people will be united (Matthew 8:11, Revelation 19:6-9). People will have new bodies and will celebrate Jesus because He’s everything we’ll ever need (2 Corinthians 5:1-4, Revelation 22:3).

2. Will we recognize people in heaven?

It’s likely our memories of people and how we lived will stay with us after death (Luke 16:19-31). However, sadness and pain will not carry over from our experiences on Earth (Revelation 21:4).

3. Will marriages continue in heaven?

Marriage is for a man and wife during their time on Earth and it ends when one of them dies (Matthew 22:30, Romans 7:2).

4. Do people become angels in heaven?

No. God made humans distinctly different than angels (Psalm 8:4-6, 1 Corinthians 6:3).

5. Will pets or animals be in heaven?

The Bible doesn’t give a definitive answer. Humans are specially created by God with souls, while there’s no evidence of that for animals (Genesis 1:26). However, animals are included in the new heaven and earth, places of peace and joy for everyone there (Isaiah 65:25).

6. Who goes to heaven?

Will children who died before they were old enough to understand go to heaven? Or someone who never had a chance to hear about Jesus?

Our presence in heaven does not depend on our intellectual ability or the facts we know about God or the Bible. It’s not about a doctrine someone holds or an age at which someone died.

Heaven is more about a person than a place. The defining factor in who goes to heaven is solely and completely dependent on whether that person has repented of sins and turned to Jesus (John 3:16, Acts 4:12). Jesus is the final judge of who will be in heaven and who won’t (Matthew 25:31-46).

What we know for sure about heaven is far more significant than what we don’t know. Our understanding is limited, but God’s grace is unlimited. And He invites us each to spend eternity with Him.