What Does the Bible Actually Say About Heaven? (Plus Verses!)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

The idea of heaven has been a powerful and enduring aspect of religious belief for millennia, shaping everything from personal hope to grand theological doctrines. But what exactly do people mean when they talk about heaven? Where do our modern concepts of this celestial realm come from, and how have they changed over time? What does the Bible say about heaven?

In this article, I’ll examine the evolution of the idea of heaven — from ancient Judaism and Greek thought to the teachings of Jesus and later Christian theology — and show how the concept of heaven has shifted and adapted to fit various cultural, spiritual, and philosophical contexts. I’ll also look into the linguistic and historical origins of heaven and the profound hopes and questions it continues to evoke today.

Etymology and Meaning

A 2023 Pew Research study found that 71% of Americans believe in heaven as a literal place one can go after death (61% believed the same about hell). But what is heaven? Where did our ideas about it come from? Let’s start with the word itself.

The word heaven comes from the Old English word heofan which originally meant simply “sky or firmament.” Interestingly, other languages also used words for heaven which originally meant sky. The Hebrew word, for instance, shamayim, can also mean either heaven or sky and the Greek word for heaven used throughout the New Testament is ouranós, which can also mean sky. What is the significance of this?

Clearly, when people conceived of heaven as the home of God, they envisaged it as above the earth. This makes sense on several levels: since heaven is not visible to human beings, it must be somewhere other than the earthly plain. And since God is believed to be higher than humans in every way, heaven must be literally higher than the earth. However, there was a time when the concept of heaven did not yet exist in Judaism or elsewhere.

In Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife, Bart Ehrman notes that our oldest biblical writings about the afterlife “do not talk about ‘life after death’ but simply the state of death, as all people, righteous and wicked, reside in their graves or in a mysterious entity called Sheol.” Sheol could either mean the literal grave or the abode of the dead, described in Job 10:21 as “the land of gloom and deep darkness.”

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Ancient Greek thinkers had a similar idea of the destination of the dead, which they called Hades (Hades was also the name of the god of the dead). This was the land of all departed souls, good or bad, and, like Sheol, a dark, dismal place. That was how Homer’s Odyssey described it, for example. Later Greek authors, however, had a different view.

Ancient Greek philosopher Plato, living about 500 years before Jesus, wrote that there were two options in the afterlife. In Plato’s dialogue The Phaedo, Socrates says that after death, all people are led by a guide to the other world where they are judged. Those who led evil lives are guided to a dark place under the earth, while those who lived good lives get taken to a better place and rewarded.

Ehrman writes that, similarly, the Hebrew Bible view of the afterlife changed in the 6th century BCE, when the Hebrew Prophets claimed that the nation of Israel, destroyed by other nations, would be brought back to life by God. Eventually, some Jews began to believe that the same thing would happen to righteous individuals who had died. This was a common view in the time of Jesus, and Jesus himself seems to have held it.

But where would these resurrected people live? In The Historical Figure of Jesus, E.P. Sanders writes that while most Jews believed that God reigned in heaven, some, Jesus among them, also believed that God would bring this heavenly kingdom to earth, effectively blurring the line between the two realms.

According to this idea, the wicked had controlled the world for too long, and God was about to intervene to restore the world to its original purity. He would punish the wicked and reward the righteous, establishing a divine, heavenly kingdom on the earth. So what does the Bible say about heaven within this context? How is it described?

What Does the Bible Say About Heaven?

While heaven is certainly mentioned in the Bible, quotations about it are often quite vague. Paul’s letters are the earliest Christian writings we have, so let’s start by looking at what Paul says about heaven.

In Philippians 3:20, Paul says that for enemies of Christ,

Paul makes a major distinction here between “earthly things,” or the crude material world, and heavenly things. He is certain that Jesus resides now in heaven and that those who are on Christ’s side will live there permanently as well. In Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of his Life and Teaching, Maurice Casey writes that Paul, like most Jews of his day, believed that the heavenly kingdom would extend onto the earth. While the implication is that heaven is a wonderful place, Paul’s letters lack an actual description. What does Jesus say about heaven in the Gospels?

In Matthew 6:19-20, Jesus says something interesting:

According to Jesus, in heaven nothing decays, nor are there thieves to steal what is valuable (presumably they would not get into heaven). While this isn’t a detailed description of heaven, it does tell us that what is valuable on earth may not be valuable in heaven and that there are no forces of decay or destruction there. If taken literally, this seems to describe a physical place, although later Christians would believe that, if so, heaven was not physical in the same way as the earthly realm.

In John 3:16, one of the most famous verses in the New Testament, Jesus says “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Although the word heaven isn’t mentioned here, the implication is that for those whom God judges worthy, heavenly life will never end. Further on, in John 14:2-3, Jesus says

Here, Jesus describes heaven as God’s house, and within that house, many other houses prepared for those who believe in Jesus. Again, these seem to be physical descriptions, although there is plenty of room for metaphorical interpretation as well. Apparently, then, going to heaven means one receives a permanent dwelling place for all eternity.

Revelation 21:2 describes the New Jerusalem, another word for the Kingdom of Heaven, descending from heaven to the earth. Then in verse 4, a voice tells the author that, for those worthy of citizenship in this kingdom, God

In this heavenly place, then, there will be no more suffering, either physical or emotional. Revelation 22:1-5, though, gives what appears to be the most vivid description of this new heavenly kingdom:

The majority of Revelation is allegorical in nature, with each physical thing representing an idea, so we can’t necessarily count on the literal truth of this description. However, a few things about this conception of heaven are clear from these verses. First, there will be abundance, represented by a divine river and endlessly-producing fruit trees. Second, nothing evil or accursed will be allowed in, signifying that heaven will be unfailingly safe. Third, heaven will be a place in which God is endlessly worshiped. Finally, there will be only light, representing holiness and goodness, without the darkness that represents evil and suffering.

This description corresponds quite nicely with descriptions of the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve had sinned (there are even trees of life). Just as many early Christians saw Jesus as the new Adam, the author of Revelation saw heaven as the renewed paradise into which human beings were first placed. Heaven, then, is not just an end but also a return.

These verses constitute much of what people assume about heaven. Notice, though, that in all these verses, the heavenly kingdom will descend to the earth, erasing the line between the two realms. Modern conceptions of heaven rarely include this, thinking instead of heaven as an otherworldly place beyond the stars.

While there are other references to heaven in the New Testament, they all generally reinforce what the above verses say. Having looked at biblical descriptions of heaven, I’d like to compare them with some modern notions of heaven and see if they fit together.

Modern Views of Heaven vs. the Bible

What does the bible say about seeing loved ones in heaven? Well, not everyone is granted access to heaven, according to the Bible. In fact, NT books give different requirements that must be met in order to enter. Matthew 25:34-37, for instance, says that only those who give to the needy and care for the sick will be allowed into the kingdom. John 3:16 says that merely believing in Jesus is enough. In short, those loved ones who meet the criteria, whatever they are, for being divinely rewarded will apparently be there. Those who don’t will be excluded.

Will heaven be a utopia without war, famine, or disease? The description from Revelation 22 above certainly indicates that there will be no poverty, which rules out famine. Since Jesus says that nothing can corrupt what is in heaven, we must accept that disease, which corrupts our bodies, will not be there either. And since Revelation also has a description of a final battle before the heavenly kingdom comes, it’s likely that a biblical heaven will have no war either.

What does the Bible say we will do in heaven? This is a good question, given that much of our lives on earth entail dealing with challenges. In a perfect heaven where all needs are met, what do people do? The only description we have of this in the Bible is the quote from Revelation 22, in which the citizens of heaven simply worship God.

What does the Bible say about dogs going to heaven, or pets in general? It does not mention whether there will be animals or not. I have to believe that the modern idea of our beloved pets meeting us in heaven is simply derived from the idea that it will be an ideal place. Many of us (myself included) can’t imagine an ideal place without our furry friends.

Conclusion

As you can see, much of what modern people believe about heaven (well, those who believe in heaven) is, of course, conjecture. Even the Bible is fairly vague about what it will be like, prompting people throughout history to make guesses based on that scant information.

The earliest forms of Judaism had no heavenly reward. Instead all people either were simply buried — meaning their lives simply ended — or gone to a dark, gloomy place under the earth, despite their deeds or character. Likewise, Greek mythology described Hades, a gloomy place under the earth where souls of the departed ended up.

Later, some Jews decided that God would resurrect the righteous dead. This led to the idea of heaven, God’s dwelling place where these righteous souls would also dwell. Greek philosophy came to a similar conclusion, adding that those who were not good in this life would be punished in the next.

What does the Bible say about heaven? While the Bible isn’t entirely clear on what heaven is like, it does give us some information: heaven is a completely different realm from earth (at least until the heavenly kingdom comes). It is the dwelling place of God and Jesus and where believers will go when they die. In heaven, there is no decay and thus the people or souls there will live forever without growing old or dying. Since it will be filled with only righteous people, heaven will also be entirely safe. No one will experience physical or emotional pain and there will be endless abundance for everyone as they eternally worship God.