Heaven is a Real, Physical Place

What the Bible says about our eternal home

When you think about heaven, what do you visualize? Is it a hazy realm of clouds and bright light? Or is it something more concrete than that?

I think one reason we struggle to comprehend heaven is because our culture has painted it in such intangible terms. But that’s not what the Bible says about heaven.

According to Scripture, heaven is a real, physical place—the ultimate paradise. We will be able to touch and feel it. Our senses will be heightened in our new bodies, and we will experience heaven with every one of our senses.

Yes, this place will be beyond description and far outside our current ability to comprehend. But it will be real and it will be physical. It’s far more than just the soft, pastel-colored cloud landscape of popular culture.

Let’s look at how the Bible describes heaven. The apostle John records this description. I hope you’ll read it in full:

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the [e]names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

[Chapter 22]

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
—Revelation 21:9–22:2

Details, Foundations and Levels

In this passage, when John writes about the “bride” and the “wife,” he means believers. We are the bride of Christ, and we will become His wife. He gives us specific details:

• Our new city will be almost 1,400 miles long, wide, and tall, like a cube. (An architect could design a lot of mansions to fit in that amount of space.)

• There will be twelve gates, three on each side, and they will be made of pearl.

• On each gate will be inscribed the name of one of Israel’s patriarchs.

• The city will also contain twelve foundations with the names of the twelve disciples written on them.

There are two possible ways to explain these foundations. One is that there will be twelve foundations underneath the 1,380-mile-high wall. Another possibility is there are twelve stories with a foundation at each level. Honestly, I don’t know which interpretation is correct. If there were twelve stories in that structure, each one would be more than 100 miles above the next.

So if the city is twelve levels high and you lived on one of them, you might live on the Peter level near the Judah gate. Or you might live on the Andrew level by the Ruben gate.

No matter where you live in this city, it will be beautiful, beyond human description, and eternal. You will move in but never have to move out. (Currently, the average American moves every four years, even though most people hate moving.) In the heavenly city, you will never have to move again.

Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

In today’s real estate market, builders have certain set plans to build houses in new subdivisions. If you are shopping for a home in one of these areas, you probably have limited choices of models. Sometimes these are called “cookie cutter” homes or “McMansions.”

I do not believe this is the way Jesus is preparing our mansions. God didn’t use a cookie cutter to make people, and He’s not going to use one to make our mansions either. You won’t have to worry that your house will look exactly like your neighbors’ house. It is going to be a house that looks like you, designed for you.

In fact, I believe you are going to walk into your house in heaven, and your jaw will drop. You will look around and think: This is me! It won’t be your “dream home.” No, it will be a “beyond-your-wildest-dreams home.” Every detail of your new house will fit your personality exactly.

This mansion is only part of the reward for giving yourself to Jesus and living for Him. Every believer will have one.

A House without Worries

Here on earth, many people struggle with the financial cost of a house, but in heaven there’s no struggle. There will be no payments, no upkeep, no insurance, no taxes, no need for a security system or pest control, and no utilities. You won’t need to mow the yard or repair the fence. Everything in your house will be composed of precious stones, gold, and pearls. It will be stunningly gorgeous with colors and textures no one on earth has ever seen before.

You won’t have utilities to worry about, either, because your power source is Jesus Himself:

The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.—Revelation 21:23

How much would you have to love someone to buy them a house, pay all the bills, and expect nothing in return? Most of us would only do it for our spouses. Jesus will do it for us because we are His Bride.

It took God six days to create the earth, but Jesus has been in heaven for more than 2,000 years preparing a place for you. Imagine how amazing it must be. He explicitly told the disciples, “I’m leaving and going to My Father’s house. There are many mansions there. I’m going to prepare a place for you. As surely as I leave, I’ll come back and get you so you can be with Me forever.” (See John 14:2-3.)

The Tree of Life

I don’t know how nice your house is here on earth, though I do hope it is a comfortable one. But I can tell you it’s going to feel like a rubbish heap compared to what the Lord is preparing for you.

Remember, Jesus said to lift up our heads and look up. In other words, don’t become so focused on earthly things that you forget about your Lord and the place He is preparing for you. Enjoy the blessings of earth, but don’t marry them. Save the wedding for Jesus. He is building your home in the Father’s house, and it is a real place.

But there’s more than just houses there. In the middle of our eternal home is the Tree of Life:

In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.—Revelation 22:2

Remember, the original home for humanity was the Garden of Eden. Humanity was kicked out of that home because Adam and Eve chose to eat from the wrong tree (see Genesis 3). They could have chosen the right tree. They could have chosen eternal life.

The good news is God still has that tree, and He has planted it in the new Eden, our eternal home. We will eat of the Tree of Life, and death will be no more!

I hope this article gives you a little more to imagine when you think of your eternal future in the presence of Jesus. It’s far more than clouds and sunlight. In involves custom homes, foundations and gates. It includes a gorgeous tree. It involves a place prepared just for you. And it will be filled with the shining glory of God.

Look up, because this incredible future is drawing near.