by Tony Sullivan
The Restoration Herald - Jun 2026
One of the most glorious promises in Scripture is Jesus’s words in John 14:2: “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2 NASB used throughout).
Sometimes we eat something really good, and we say, “You should try this—it’s heaven.” We get a good night’s sleep, and we say, “That was heaven.” We spend some time with friends, and we say, “That was just like heaven.”
Christians believe in Heaven and long to go there. Sadly, however, there are many who do not believe in Heaven.
The famous atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair said that Heaven is “a delusional dream of the unsophisticated minds of the ill-educated clergy.”
The English philosopher Bertrand Russell said, “There is darkness without, and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere; only triviality for a moment and then nothing.”
The English mathematician and philosopher Alfred Whitehead is quoted as saying, “Can you imagine anything more appallingly idiotic than the Christian idea of Heaven?”
Many adopt the same philosophy today, namely that life is trivial, meaningless, and then there is nothing. Human reasoning attacks the teaching of Heaven. Some see the idea of Heaven as “Pie in the sky, when you die by and by.” Some unbelievers dismiss the idea of Heaven with sarcasm and ridicule.
Well, brothers and sisters, the individuals quoted above are wrong. As are the philosophies they espouse. All of them now know what we have known for years, that there is a Heaven. Furthermore, there is a Father who waits to greet us there.
Human existence demands that there be a Heaven. The idea of Heaven is in the culture of all nations. These cultural concepts of Heaven don’t mirror what the Bible teaches, but a blessed afterlife is a part of their belief system.
I read where King Tut’s tomb was filled with provisions for him to use in the afterlife. There is an instinct in man that calls for eternal life somewhere beyond this earth.
C.S. Lewis said, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Similarly, the writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that, “God has set eternity in our hearts” (3:11). Man has an innate longing for something beyond this physical world.
God’s Word also reveals Heaven to us. The Word of God tells us there is a Heaven, a place of rest, and freedom from all the things this world throws at us. Furthermore, God’s Word is true. It says there is a Heaven, so without question, Heaven exists. What we could never obtain through investigation, God has revealed to us through His Word.
Paul writes about Heaven. John speaks in Revelation about the nature of and worship there. He speaks of eternal peace and joy.
Most importantly, Jesus tells us about Heaven. He tells the thief on the cross, “This day you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
The Resurrection also gives a living hope of Heaven. The apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
In 1 Corinthians 15:19, the apostle Paul tells us, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” Then, in the next verse, Paul continues with the comforting proclamation, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”
Let me close by asking this question: “If there is no Heaven, where do we go?” Jesus said, “Where I am, you will be also.” Where is He? Mark 16:19 says, “So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.”
The Scriptures are clear and true. There is a place called Heaven, and God is waiting for us there. Can’t wait to see you there one day.
Tony Sullivan is the Evangelist with the Lester Road Christian Church in Fairburn, GA. He is also an Associate Evangelist with the CRA. He can be reached by email: Tonycra@att.net.
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A few years ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to become a part of the Board of Directors of International Disaster Emergency Service (IDES). I’ve been exposed to IDES and their incredible ministry for as long as I can remember and have, on several occasions, had the joy of sharing in its work. From participating in work trips to a storm-ravaged Pearlington, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, to helping with shed building projects after a tornado ripped through our neighboring region in 2012, to volunteering with numerous “God Always Provides” (G.A.P.) food packing events, IDES has always been a familiar and beloved mission to me.
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