10th April 2026 Question box

Tonight’s question is:

What does heaven look like?

In Colossians 1:16 it says: “in Christ all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.” So there’s this visible created universe, but there’s also a created realm that’s normally invisible to us.

However, there are occasions in the bible when God gives someone a glimpse into heaven. So for example, in Revelation chapter 4, John says: “I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven…” (v.2) His body didn’t travel there, but somehow in his spirit he was able to see into heaven. And in heaven all the focus is on God sitting on his throne. And so I’ll just read to you some of the things he saw…

And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal…

And then his description goes on, and then in the next chapter:

“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne.” (Revelation 5:6)

Now here’s the difficult thing. To what extent is this a literal description of heaven itself? And to what extent is he seeing symbols, which highlight the great truth about heaven: that Jesus is Lord and that his sacrifices on the cross is central to God’s purposes. Like, if I died and went to heaven and met Jesus. Am I going to see a human-looking person? Or am I going to see a sacrificed-sheep-looking person?

There are many things in the book of Revelation which are clearly intended to be symbols which illustrate things for us. Like, later in the book, John sees a seven-headed-beast coming out of the sea – and I don’t think we’re supposed to be literally on the lookout for sea monsters… (Revelation 13:1) And yet… some symbols that we use on earth which are designed to point to heavenly realities. But what do the realities look like? I don’t know.

What I do know is that our final destination is not “up there in heaven,” but rather it will be the glory of heaven that comes down to purify and glorify the earth. And this new creation will be like the resurrection body of Jesus: Recognisable, and yet also more glorious.

So thanks for that question.

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This question was originally answered in our evening service on 23 November 2025. I’ll aim to post another question and answer next week. You can read about how our question box works here.