Bored in Heaven -- Part Two?" F.A.Q - "Will We Be Bored in Heaven -- Part Two?"

Introduction In this lesson we will continue to look at what life may be like in the eternal Heaven. In the last lesson, I will continue to posit that we will never be bored in Heaven. It will be a place of many good and productive activities.

Will our Life’s Work Continue in Heaven? Because there will be continuity from the current Earth to the New Earth, it is possible that we may continue some of the work we started in this life. At least for those occupations which will be continued in Heaven.

In my opinion, we may pursue some of the same things we were doing (or dreamed of doing) before our death. Of course, people whose jobs depend on aspects of our sin-cursed world will find that their work is no longer needed in Heaven.

For example, since sickness and disease, accident and injury won’t exist, there will be no need for doctors or dentists or EMTs, etc. Nor will there be a need for police officers, because crime will not exist. No funeral directors (no deaths); no insurance sales people (no deaths or disabilities), etc.

All these will find new occupations in Heaven, they won’t be unemployed. What is now an interest or hobby may become their main vocation in Heaven. Still others may continue with work that is similar to what they do now, such as gardeners, engineers, builders, artists, musicians, scientists, etc.

A significant difference for all who labor in Heaven is that the work will be without the hindrances of toil, pain, corruption, and sin. Author Victor (1802 –1885) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, and human rights activist. His most famous novel was The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

In reflecting on his life’s work, Victor Hugo spoke profoundly of anticipating his work in heaven: “I feel within me that future life. I am like a forest that has been razed, the new shoots are stronger and brighter. I shall most certainly rise toward the heavens the nearer my approach to the end, . . . . .

“…the plainer is the sound of immortal symphonies of worlds which invite me. For half a century I have been translating my thoughts into prose and verse, history, drama, philosophy, romance, tradition, satire, ode, and song; all of these I have tried. But I feel I haven’t given utterance to the thousandth part of what lies within me. . . . .

“…When I go to the grave I can say, as others have said, “My day’s work is done. But I cannot say, My life is done. My work will recommence the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes upon the twilight, but opens upon the dawn.”

“… (Victor Hugo, The Future Life, quoted by Dave Wilkenson, “And I Shall Dwell,” sermon preached at Moorpark Presbyterian Church, Feb. 18, 2001). I feel sure that Hugo was right in saying that our life’s work (though perhaps not in our current vocation) will continue on the New Earth.

For one thing, our calling to glorify God will never end. It applies as much here and now as it will then and there. In The Biblical Doctrine of Heaven, Wilbur Smith says that: “In Heaven, we will be permitted to finish many of those worthy tasks which we had dreamed to do while on Earth, …

“…but which neither time nor strength nor ability allowed us to achieve.” (p. 95). Our work in Heaven will proceed without the limitations of time, money,weariness, sin, corruption, and all the other things that we must deal with here. In Heaven, the work we do we will love to do.

All of us have known people who had so much talent and seemed to always be doing good for others, and when they died, it seemed such a tragic loss. Why them? Why this waste? We may ask. Why should all the wisdom and knowledge and productivity of this person be ended?

But in God’s universe, nothing is ever lost. No preparation is ever in vain. Heaven also needs clear heads, warm hearts and skilled hands. If some of our duties are laid down, others will be taken up. Any regret for labor lost here will be swallowed up in the joyful anticipation of service in Heaven.

What will it be like to perform a task – to build and create – knowing that what you do will last? What will it be like to always be gaining skill, so that our best work will always be ahead of us? Our minds and bodies will never fade, and we will never lack resources and opportunity.

Our work will never degenerate. Buildings won’t just last for fifty years, but forever. Books won’t only be in print for twenty years, but for eternity. Imagine the joy and job satisfaction generated because our work will have lasting significance.

Will There Be Cultural Developments? In the beginning, Adam was given a cultural mandate to rule over the earth and to develop a God-glorifying culture. Because of the Fall, that cultural mandate has never been carried out in the way God intended.

But in the New Earth, this mandate will be perfectly and sinlessly fulfilled. Only then shall mankind be able to rule under Christ properly. Culture is the natural, God-intended product of God’s gifting, equipping, and calling for mankind to rule over His Creation.

The Bible describes developments in farming, metallurgy, and the creating of musical instruments shortly after the Fall (Gen. 4:20-22). If God had no interests in those cultural improvements, the Bible wouldn’t make note of them and He would not have allowed them.

We are made in the image and likeness of God. God created us to glorify Him in creative accomplishments. And, I believe that God is pleased by those accomplishments, so long as they don’t oppose Him or His word.

Only Adam and Eve ever began to experience what it was like to subdue the Earth, and they didn’t get very far. Was God short-sighted, not anticipating the Fall? Did He give up on Adam and Eve after they had sinned? The answer to both quesitons is no.

God makes no mistakes, and He had a plan that would fulfill His original design in greater ways. The resurrected culture on the New Earth will reach heights that no society has ever seen before. I believe that every legitimate and excellent fruit of human culture will be carried into, and contribute to, the splendor of life in Heaven.

Instead of the new creation being a radical new beginning, in which the excellent and noble fruits of mankind’s labor be discarded, the New Earth will be enriched by (and benefit from) what will continue on in Heaven. God will fulfill the right work that was started here in this life.

I do not believe that God will bring us into an eternal existence of mental constriction or emotional and creative impoverishment. Inspired and rightly motivated creativity will surely be valued by God and its fruit continued into the New, resurrected Earth.

What creative possibilities await us in the Heaven, our present imaginations cannot conceive of.

Lifeboat or Ark Theology. Much of our concept of the eternal Heaven is based on our acceptance of either a “lifeboat” or an “ark” theology. Some say that we have wrecked the world, and that what is important now is to rescue people from the wreckage.

In a nutshell, this is lifeboat theology. It’s as if the creation were like the Titanic hitting the iceberg of sin, and there is nothing left for us to do but get into the lifeboat. This assumes that the ship is sinking and that God has given up on it, and is concerned only with the survival of His people.

In this theology, any effort to salvage creation amounts to “rearranging deck chairs while the ship is going down.” Those believing in Lifeboat Theology say that the Christian’s sole task is to get into the lifeboat, keep it afloat, pluck drowning people from the water, and sail on to Heaven where all will eventually be well.

This is the assumption and perspective that drives many evangelical Christians. But there is an alternative to Lifeboat Theology, and that is Ark Theology. Noah’s Ark saved not only people, but preserved God’s other creatures and the Earth as well.

The Ark’s purpose was to carry the occupants to safety, but also to return to the destroyed earth and begin again! Once the Flood subsided, everyone and everything was intended to return again to restore the earth. God didn’t give up on his creation.

God’s preservation of man, animals, and the Earth itself, demonstrates that He has not given up on His original plan for a perfect earth with perfect inhabitants. In fact, He commanded Noah, after the Flood, to do exactly what He had commanded Adam to do after the fall.

The command was to replenish the earth and multiply. Noah promptly went out and planted a vineyard (Gen. 9:20). This put mankind to work again on the Earth. Our gifts and special interests are not accidents. It is the way God hard-wired us.

God made each of us the way we are. He intricately designed each of us to uniquely express His glory. Speaking of God’s sovereign distribution of a variety of spiritual gifts, the apostle Paul said in I Cor. 12:7 (NCV):

“Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good.” On the New Earth, the gifts, skills, passion and tasks God will grant each of us will not only be for His glory and our personal good, but also for the good of the whole family of God.

How Might We Express our Creativity? In the present Earth, human imagination and skill has produced some amazing works. The engineering feats, the books, manned space flight, music, microwaves, computers, T.V., cars, prenatal surgery, banana pudding, and millions of other things testify to this.

With the resources God will lavish on us in the New Earth, what will we be able to accomplish? Without creativity, music would be a dull cacophony of noises. Without creativity, books would be colorless and superficial. Without creativity, paintings would be non-existent or lifeless.

The possibilities boggle the mind. Without creativity, our homes would be like barracks and our buildings would be unimaginative boxes with roofs. God has prepared a place for us where He will equip us to maintain it and to develop it to His further glory. The possibilities boggle the mind.

There will be better of everything there (cf. Philip There will be better of everything there (cf. Philip. 1:23) – better Beethoven, better Rembrandts, better Raphael’s. Better poetry, better songs, better food, better science, better prose, better technology, better architecture, better EVERYTHING! Our culture will glorify God in ways that surpass our most fantastic dreams.

These will no doubt be beautiful and well decorated. I believe that people will express creativity in every area of their work and leisure in Heaven. Isa. 65:21 (NIV) says: “They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.” These will no doubt be beautiful and well decorated.

What indeed might creative, Godly minds create in eternity? Buildings of the type in the New Jerusalem reflect extensive cultural advancement. Human builders will learn from God’s design, just as Leonardo da Vinci learned from studying the form and flight of birds while designing his flying machine. What indeed might creative, Godly minds create in eternity?

Can you imagine what Galileo, da Vinci, Edison or Einstein would have achieved if they had lived even a thousand years, unhindered by sin’s curse? What will we achieve with resurrected bodies, resurrected minds and unlimited resources and time to achieve on the New Earth?

As I have mentioned before, researchers claim that even the most intelligent people only use at most about 10% of their brains. Before the fall, I think Adam and Eve must have used near 100% of theirs. On the new Earth, our gifts won’t be diminished by age, death, pettiness, insecurity, or laziness.

In Closing Undistracted and undiminished by sin and the constant distraction of survival, mankind will create and innovate at unprecedented levels. And it will all be to God’s eternal glory, and we will NOT be bored in Heaven. End of Lesson