August 28, 2026 | www.gospelofjesuschrist.blog | River Wilde
The Bible actually gives us a surprisingly beautiful picture of life with God. Enough detail to show that eternity is life made whole, not an endless existence of sitting on clouds.
One important distinction first: Scripture speaks both of believers being with Christ after death and of the ultimate future when God creates “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). The fullest description of our eternal life is found in Revelation 21–22.
You will actually be with Jesus
This may be the greatest promise of all.
John 14:2–3 — KJV
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Notice Jesus doesn’t merely promise a beautiful place. He promises His presence.
Paul says the same thing concerning believers:
1 Thessalonians 4:17 — KJV
“…and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
There is also wonderful KJV passage that surprised me, for I had not ever come upon these verses. They specifically say God’s people will build houses and inhabit them. The important qualification is that Isaiah 65 is describing the renewed kingdom/new-creation setting, and Christians differ on exactly how its details relate to the Millennium versus the eternal state.
Isaiah 65:17, 21–23 — KJV
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth…”
Then God says:
“And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat…”
And then:
“…mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labour in vain…”
Think of this for a moment. We know through scriptures that families will be together in heaven, and do not need a temple sealing to make that happen. These scriptures prove something very important. Who would we build houses for? We would build them for people who are close to us, and those that we love, right?
We have good reason to expect relationships with other believers
Paul comforted grieving Christians by telling them about resurrection and our gathering to Christ:
1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 — KJV
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air…”
Notice the wonderful little word:
“together.”
Christian hope isn’t merely I will be with Christ.
It is we will be with Christ.
Scripture doesn’t answer every question about exactly how earthly family relationships function in eternity. But Scripture certainly portrays God’s people together, knowing, worshipping, serving and rejoicing in God’s presence.
It also reveals something important…Heaven WILL NOT be CHURCH all of the time. THANK HEAVEN! =) We will be spending time creating, building, harvesting, and doing things that are productive and meaningful. That’s a beautiful picture because it tells us something about God’s restored world: there is meaningful activity and enjoyment of what is created.
You will have a real, transformed body
Christian eternity isn’t ultimately about existing forever as a disembodied spirit. Scripture promises resurrection.
Philippians 3:20–21 — KJV
“…the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…”
And:
1 Corinthians 15:52–53 — KJV
“…the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
No aging toward death. No body gradually wearing down. Immortality, while living in a perfect body
There will be no more death, pain, sorrow, or crying
This is one of the most comforting descriptions anywhere in Scripture.
Revelation 21:4 — KJV
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Think carefully about what God promises to eliminate:
death — gone.
sorrow — gone.
crying — gone.
pain — gone.
Not merely reduced. GONE… Forever!!
You will still be YOU
Scripture doesn’t describe salvation as erasing your identity. Resurrection restores the person rather than replacing the person.
Paul writes:
1 Corinthians 13:12 — KJV
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
There is recognition, consciousness, knowledge and relationship.
Jesus Himself, after His resurrection, could speak with His disciples, walk with them, eat with them and be recognized by them.
Heaven will not be boring
This is sometimes badly misunderstood. God’s eternal kingdom isn’t described as billions of people sitting motionless on clouds playing harps.
Revelation says:
Revelation 22:3 — KJV
“…his servants shall serve him:”
And then:
Revelation 22:5 — KJV
“…and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
There is activity, purpose, service and responsibility.
Whatever work means there, it won’t carry the curse, exhaustion, frustration and futility associated with fallen life.
There will be a magnificent city
John describes the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21. It has walls, gates, foundations and streets.
Revelation 21:21 — KJV
“…and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.”
But something is conspicuously absent.
Revelation 21:22 — KJV
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”
There is no need to travel somewhere special to approach God. God Himself is there.
Will There Be Food, and Will We Eat There?
The Bible gives us strong reason to believe that eating and fellowship around food will be part of God’s coming kingdom. We should distinguish between the Millennium and the final eternal state, because some passages refer more directly to one than the other. But eating certainly appears in the biblical picture.
One of the clearest statements comes directly from Jesus:
Matthew 26:29 — KJV
“But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
That’s remarkable. Jesus describes a future occasion when He will drink it new with His disciples in His Father’s kingdom.
Jesus also said:
Luke 22:29–30 — KJV
“And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom…”
There is a great supper
Jesus described people sitting down together in God’s kingdom:
Matthew 8:11 — KJV
“And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”
Revelation also describes the marriage supper of the Lamb:
Revelation 19:9 — KJV
“Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Again, Scripture associates God’s coming kingdom with fellowship and a meal.
Jesus ate after receiving His resurrected body
This is especially interesting because it shows that a glorified/resurrected existence doesn’t necessarily eliminate eating.
After His resurrection Jesus asked:
Luke 24:41–43 — KJV
“Have ye here any meat?
And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
And he took it, and did eat before them.”
Jesus didn’t eat because His mortal body needed calories to remain alive. He had risen from the dead—and yet He could still enjoy food and fellowship.
What About ADVENTURE?
I believe the Bible gives us good reason to expect that eternity will contain discovery, activity, purpose, beauty, and experiences that could rightly be called adventure—although the Bible never specifically uses the word adventure to describe heaven.
What Scripture does reveal is much richer than the common picture of people sitting on clouds forever.
1. God is creating an entire new world
Revelation 21:1 — KJV
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away…”
Think about the scale of that statement: a new heaven and a new earth.
Scripture doesn’t tell us everything we will do or everywhere we will go in that creation. But it certainly doesn’t describe eternity as being confined to a small room.
God’s creation today contains mountains, oceans, forests, animals, stars, planets, incredible landscapes and things mankind has barely begun to understand.
And God says:
Revelation 21:5 — KJV
“Behold, I make all things new.”
2. There will be an enormous city to experience
John describes New Jerusalem in Revelation 21.
There are gates, streets, foundations, precious stones, a river and the tree of life.
Revelation 21:23 — KJV
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”
Then comes something particularly interesting:
Revelation 21:24 — KJV
“And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it…”
There is movement. There are people. There is activity.
3. And perhaps we have barely imagined what God has prepared
Paul writes:
1 Corinthians 2:9 — KJV
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
In its immediate context, that verse concerns God’s revealed wisdom rather than being simply a travel brochure for heaven. Still, the broader biblical truth remains: God’s future for His people exceeds what this fallen world has allowed us to experience.
So, will there be adventure?
If “adventure” means discovery, meaningful activity, creating things, experiencing God’s renewed creation, being with people we love in Christ, and continually experiencing the goodness of God, I think Scripture gives us plenty of reason to look forward to it.
And there will be one enormous difference between adventure here and adventure there:
You won’t be racing against the clock.
No aging. No approaching death. No final vacation. No last sunset. No wondering whether you have enough years remaining to experience something.
“…and they shall reign for ever and ever.” — Revelation 22:5 KJV
Will We Have Responsibilities in Leadership in Heaven?
The Bible gives strong indications that our eternal life with Christ will include meaningful responsibility, service, and even positions of authority. Heaven is not pictured as an eternity of simply sitting around with nothing to do. Jesus repeatedly taught that faithfulness now can be followed by greater responsibility in His kingdom.
In Luke 19:17 (KJV), Jesus says in the parable of the pounds:
“Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.”
And to another faithful servant:
“And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.”
— Luke 19:19
Jesus also said in Matthew 25:21 (KJV):
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
Revelation makes the idea even clearer. Revelation 22:3–5 (KJV) describes God’s servants in the eternal state:
“And his servants shall serve him:
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
And there shall be no night there… and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
And during Christ’s thousand-year reign, Revelation 20:6 says believers “shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 5:10 similarly says, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
So yes—there appears to be leadership and responsibility in our future with Christ, although Scripture doesn’t give us enough detail to say exactly what every person’s assignment will be. Some may be entrusted with greater responsibilities than others, and Jesus’ parables strongly connect future responsibility with present faithfulness.
And I think one beautiful detail is often overlooked: responsibility will no longer feel like the exhausting kind we experience here. There will be no corruption, jealousy, political maneuvering, fatigue, fear of failure, or sinful ambition. We will serve under the perfect leadership of Jesus Christ. Revelation doesn’t describe eternity as inactivity—it describes God’s redeemed people serving Him, seeing Him, and reigning with Him forever.
Is There Recreation in Heaven?
Yes—although the Bible does not use the word “recreation” to describe heaven, it gives us good reason to believe eternal life will include joy, fellowship, celebration, meaningful activity, beauty, and things we genuinely enjoy.
Most importantly, Scripture describes God’s presence as a place of profound joy, not boredom:
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
— Psalm 16:11 KJV
I love that phrase: “pleasures for evermore.” The Bible doesn’t tell us whether we’ll go fishing, play games, explore, create music, build things, or enjoy particular hobbies we love here. But it does tell us something better: whatever life with God ultimately contains, it will not be dull or empty. It will contain fullness of joy. There will be relationships, fellowship, worship, meaningful service, discovery, beauty, and pleasures untouched by sin, suffering, exhaustion, or death.
So, to me, there will be so much in heaven for us to actively be participating in, that will produce incredible JOY.
I come from a church where many assume that we will be doing temple work continuously in the millennial period. I can not think of a more boring activity than doing this every day, forever.
The Millennial Period as well as Heaven is going to be EXCITING, NEW, REFRESHING, and filled with things that will bring us a “FULLNESS OF JOY.”
I look forward to being in the presence of someone who understands me fully… Jesus Christ. I LOVE to learn, and what better teacher is there than Christ? I want to know how the earth was created, how a human body can actually grow a baby inside of it, how an environment can be perfectly set in the cosmos so that mankind can survive, and so many more things that are fascinating to me.
To be honest, I CAN NOT WAIT! I so appreciate the information that God has shared with us regarding Heaven. And, there is incredible anticipation to look forward to seeing all of the other things that He has not shared with us yet. “I can only imagine!”
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