his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven." It equates God's dwelling place, his Tabernacle, with the people who live in Heaven. Hence it
retains the two familiar ideas of the objects of Satan's slander—God and his people—while not recognizing the less familiar
one, God's dwelling place, Heaven. The NASB reading offers an alternative understanding of the passage.
CHAPTER 2
IS HEAVEN BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION?
To speak of "imagining heaven" does not imply or entail that heaven is a fictional notion, constructed by deliberately disregarding
the harsher realities of the everyday world. It is to affirm the critical role of the God-given human capacity to construct
and enter into mental pictures of divine reality, which are mediated through Scripture and the subsequent tradition of reflection
and development. We are able to inhabit the mental images we create, and thence anticipate the delight of finally entering
the greater reality to which they correspond.
Alister McGrath
W hen Marco Polo returned to Italy from the court of Kublai Khan, he described a world his audience had never seen—one that
could not be understood without the eyes of imagination. Not that China was an imaginary realm, but it was very different
from Italy. Yet as two locations on planet Earth inhabited by human beings, they had much in common. The reference points
of Italy allowed a basis for understanding China, and the differences could be spelled out from there. 29
The writers of Scripture present Heaven in many ways, including as a garden, a city, and a kingdom. Because gardens, cities,
and kingdoms are familiar to us, they afford us a bridge to understanding Heaven. However, many people make the mistake of
assuming that these are merely analogies with no actual correspondence to the reality of Heaven (which would make them poor analogies). Analogies can be
pressed too far, but because Scripture makes it clear that Jesus is preparing a place for us, and God's Kingdom will come
to Earth, and a physical resurrection awaits us, there is no reason to spiritualize or allegorize all earthly descriptions
of Heaven. Indeed, some of them may be simple, factual statements. Too often we've been taught that Heaven is a non-physical
realm, which cannot have real gardens, cities, kingdoms, buildings, banquets, or bodies. So we fail to take seriously what
Scripture tells us about Heaven as a familiar, physical, tangible place.
As human beings, whom God made to be both physical and spiritual, we are not designed to live in a non-physical realm—indeed,
we are incapable of even imagining such a place (or, rather, non -place). An incorporeal state is not only unfamiliar to our experience, it is also incompatible with our God-given constitution.
We are not, as Plato supposed, merely spiritual beings temporarily encased in bodies. Adam did not become a "living being"—the
Hebrew word nephesh —until he was both body and spirit (Genesis 2:7). We are physical beings as much as we are spiritual beings. That's why our bodily resurrection is essential
to endow us with eternal righteous humanity, setting us free from sin, the Curse, and death.
THE IMPORTANCE OF USING OUR IMAGINATION
We cannot anticipate or desire what we cannot imagine. That's why, I believe, God has given us glimpses of Heaven in the Bible—to
fire up our imagination and kindle a desire for Heaven in our hearts. And that's why Satan will always discourage our imagination—or
misdirect it to ethereal notions that violate Scripture. As long as the resurrected universe remains either undesirable or
unimaginable, Satan succeeds in sabotaging our love for Heaven.
After reading my novels that portray Heaven, people often tell me, "These pictures of Heaven are exciting. But are they based
on Scripture?" The answer, to the best of my understanding, is yes. Scripture
retains the two familiar ideas of the objects of Satan's slander—God and his people—while not recognizing the less familiar
one, God's dwelling place, Heaven. The NASB reading offers an alternative understanding of the passage.
CHAPTER 2
IS HEAVEN BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION?
To speak of "imagining heaven" does not imply or entail that heaven is a fictional notion, constructed by deliberately disregarding
the harsher realities of the everyday world. It is to affirm the critical role of the God-given human capacity to construct
and enter into mental pictures of divine reality, which are mediated through Scripture and the subsequent tradition of reflection
and development. We are able to inhabit the mental images we create, and thence anticipate the delight of finally entering
the greater reality to which they correspond.
Alister McGrath
W hen Marco Polo returned to Italy from the court of Kublai Khan, he described a world his audience had never seen—one that
could not be understood without the eyes of imagination. Not that China was an imaginary realm, but it was very different
from Italy. Yet as two locations on planet Earth inhabited by human beings, they had much in common. The reference points
of Italy allowed a basis for understanding China, and the differences could be spelled out from there. 29
The writers of Scripture present Heaven in many ways, including as a garden, a city, and a kingdom. Because gardens, cities,
and kingdoms are familiar to us, they afford us a bridge to understanding Heaven. However, many people make the mistake of
assuming that these are merely analogies with no actual correspondence to the reality of Heaven (which would make them poor analogies). Analogies can be
pressed too far, but because Scripture makes it clear that Jesus is preparing a place for us, and God's Kingdom will come
to Earth, and a physical resurrection awaits us, there is no reason to spiritualize or allegorize all earthly descriptions
of Heaven. Indeed, some of them may be simple, factual statements. Too often we've been taught that Heaven is a non-physical
realm, which cannot have real gardens, cities, kingdoms, buildings, banquets, or bodies. So we fail to take seriously what
Scripture tells us about Heaven as a familiar, physical, tangible place.
As human beings, whom God made to be both physical and spiritual, we are not designed to live in a non-physical realm—indeed,
we are incapable of even imagining such a place (or, rather, non -place). An incorporeal state is not only unfamiliar to our experience, it is also incompatible with our God-given constitution.
We are not, as Plato supposed, merely spiritual beings temporarily encased in bodies. Adam did not become a "living being"—the
Hebrew word nephesh —until he was both body and spirit (Genesis 2:7). We are physical beings as much as we are spiritual beings. That's why our bodily resurrection is essential
to endow us with eternal righteous humanity, setting us free from sin, the Curse, and death.
THE IMPORTANCE OF USING OUR IMAGINATION
We cannot anticipate or desire what we cannot imagine. That's why, I believe, God has given us glimpses of Heaven in the Bible—to
fire up our imagination and kindle a desire for Heaven in our hearts. And that's why Satan will always discourage our imagination—or
misdirect it to ethereal notions that violate Scripture. As long as the resurrected universe remains either undesirable or
unimaginable, Satan succeeds in sabotaging our love for Heaven.
After reading my novels that portray Heaven, people often tell me, "These pictures of Heaven are exciting. But are they based
on Scripture?" The answer, to the best of my understanding, is yes. Scripture
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