Encouragement

Heaven, Part 1—The Excitement of the City

by J.W. Phillips
03/24/25
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Heaven, Part 1—The Excitement of the City

If I were going to make a big move to some faraway place, I would want to know as much as I could about that place—in advance! For me, occasional speculations would never do! I would want answers to such questions as: What does this new home of mine look like? What are the people like who live there? What will I do once I get there?

The reason I would ask these and other questions is because any move across a continent, or across an ocean, is bound to change my circumstances, my relationships, in fact my entire outlook on life.

So what would it be like to move to a place so far away no boat or plane could get you there? And what would it be like to stay in that place—not for months, years, or decades—but for multiplied millennia? Can you imagine how life-altering this would be?

The Excitement of a City
In describing the place called Heaven, the Bible presents two contrasting pictures.¹ One picture is that of a stimulating city offering lots of things to do (Revelation 21:2).

To me, this picture of a city is a lot better than that one which has a believer floating on a cloud with a harp! The ethereal, antiseptic heaven of Hollywood—where everyone walks slowly, rotates their heads mechanically, stares their weird “other worldly” stares and speaks somber profundities in a whispered monotone—is not a place where I want to go! Far preferable to me would be God’s busy, bustling city booming with life!

In Revelation 3:12, we find Jesus calling Heaven “the city of my God.” This appellation conveys affection, pride, a sense of belonging—something million-dollar ad campaigns try to stir up, only to see their promotion diluted by the harsher realities of life, such as drugs, traffic, and crime.

Problems such as these won’t ever plague God’s city, though, because Revelation 21:2 calls it “a holy city.” Now, if that isn’t a contradiction in terms! A holy city ... where?

When we think of the city, we think of shady politicians, bribable policemen, the sleazy halls of prostitution, and those dark alleys where gang members hide out.

Can you imagine a city where no evil is going on—where there are no judges, no jails, and nothing punitive, restraining, and remedial?

Can you imagine a city where everyone has the joy of the Lord, where everyone is filled with the Spirit, and where everyone has an overflowing love toward other people?

It is no wonder Jesus spoke of this place with such great affection!

Hebrews 13:14 speaks of Heaven as “a continuing city.” In other words, it’s not one of those cities with relics and remnants that speak of a past glory, a city that time has passed by but the tourists still visit.

The reason there will never be any merchandising of memorabilia in this city is because there won’t be any decay or deterioration in this city!

Other cities may have to consult the dusty past to find what was best about their city, but this one never will! Heaven is as remarkable today as it was in the beginning.

Revelation 21:21 tells us the streets of this city are made of pure gold. Literally? Maybe, but probably not.

Remember, gold is said to be the king of metals, that which has the greatest value. Could it be, then, that by using this metaphor of gold, God was saying: that which you and I will pay an exorbitant price—and then preserve with fastidious care and display with infectious pride—doesn’t even compare with what Heaven has to offer? Why, we paved our streets with that stuff!

Scripture likens this old world of ours and all it has to offer to a footstool. Of course, a footstool is hardly a cherished piece of furniture. By looking at it, one would never be able to guess what the mansion or the rest of the estate looked like.

Expanding this thought for our benefit, John Bate wrote these words:

Let a man take a survey as far, as wide, as deep and as minute as his mind will enable him of the beauties, the sublimities, and the magnificence of all the works of God, and of man, as they lie out on the broad surface and in the great depths of the earth, and ask, if such are the glories which compose and enshrine the footstool and the vestibule, what must the glories be which adorn and compose the palace—the abode of his throne? If the workmanship of the outer court is so superb, what must that be which is exhibited in heaven itself? ²

That part of the created order we are privileged to see is immensely impressive! Language often fails us when it comes to describing what we see in nature. At best, our words can only encourage the reader to supply his or her own imagination to envision the reality we’re trying to describe.

So what sensations will we experience when we finally see with our own eyes all that Heaven has to offer?

Pretty exciting, right? The city!

The Bible also tells us that gates will surround the city. Commenting on these gates, John MacArthur writes:

The existence of gates implies that people are able to leave and enter the city. Don’t think the city contains us. It will be our home, but we will not be confined there. We will have the infinite universe to travel, and when we do, we will go in and out through those gates.³

What an adventure that will be! There are many people who would have loved to travel extensively while on earth but money or time didn’t allow them to do so.

There should be no great regret about this, however, because travel itineraries we earthlings can’t even imagine will be ever available to us in ages to come! So—just one more highlight in the city of God!

Notes:
1. In setting forth this picture of Heaven as a city, I have used concepts and wording offered in E.M. Bounds’ wonderful little book, Heaven, (Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1975).
2. W.T.H. Richards, God’s Great Promises, (Abingdon Press, Nashville and New York, 1973), pp.107, 108.
3. John MacArthur, The Glory of Heaven, (Wheaton, Il., Crossway Books, 1996), p.106.