‘And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” ’ (Rev 21:3-4)

What comes to mind when you think of heaven? The bible advises us to ‘set our minds on things above, not on earthly things’ (Col 3:2). Thinking about heaven would certainly fulfill this; yet what exactly is heaven? 

Is heaven an actual place, or a state of mind? 

The bible implies that heaven is an actual place rather than simply a state of mind:

Jesus is described as being 'taken up' into heaven (Acts 1:11). The first martyr Stephen gazed 'into heaven' and saw God’s glory (Acts 7:55). The psalmist says ‘from heaven' the Lord looks down and sees all mankind (Psalm 33:13). Jacob has an encounter with God that leaves him declaring, 'How awesome is this place!... this is the gate of heaven’ (Genesis 28:17). Jesus said He is preparing ‘a place’ for us (John 14:2).

Wayne Grudem describes heaven as ‘the place where God most fully makes known His presence to bless.’

What can we expect after the final judgment?

After the final judgment, believers will enter a kingdom:


Jesus will say ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the ‘foundation of the world’ (Matt 25:34). God will create a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). We will live in a ‘holy city’ (Rev 21:2).

Will believers have physical existence in heaven? 

Yes!

 

We will ‘eat and drink’ at the marriage supper of the Lamb and enjoy a feast: ‘On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples... the best of meats and the finest of wines’ (Rev 19:9; Isaiah 25:6). 
What's more, the tree of life will bear ‘twelve kinds of fruit’ (Rev 22:2).

We will hear music: ‘And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps’ (Rev 14:2).

We will see the unparalleled beauty of the new creation, as it shines with the ‘glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal’ (Rev 21:11). 


It is possible we will also continue to increase in our knowledge of the Lord, as Grudem points out, because we can never exhaust His greatness (Psalm 145:3).

Heaven means living in the fullness of God’s presence forever

The most important characteristic of the new creation and holy city is that God will dwell with us:


‘The dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them.’ (Rev 21:3)
. We will see God’s face and His name will be on our foreheads (Rev 22:4).
 We will be full of joy because in His presence is ‘fullness of joy’ (Psalm 16:11). There will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain (Rev 21:4).

Will the earth as we know it be destroyed?

God will not destroy this earth but it will be restored and renewed:

This verse might at first seem to suggest that the earth will be replaced:  'the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.’ (Revelation 21:1). However, according to Brandon Andress, the word for ‘new’ here is kainos which can imply being renewed or qualitatively new.

 Secondly, the bible says God so loved the ‘world’ which is kosmos in Greek, meaning the whole created order (John 3:16). Paul writes, ‘The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God’ (Romans 8:21).

So our final destination is not ‘up’ somewhere entirely new, but a renewed world in which God dwells.

Biblical witnesses to heaven 

The following people in the bible saw heaven:

Elijah was caught up into heaven (2 Kings 2:1-2). Enoch was seemingly taken up into heaven without tasting death (Genesis 5:24). John had a vision of heaven (Rev 4:1). 

People today have been taken into heaven and then come back to earth to testify to it (Read about Mary Neal's experience).

Sources: 

Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem

A New Earth or a Renewed Earth? by Brandon Andress

What Does The Bible Say Heaven is Like? by Jack Wellman