Degrees of Heaven?

Dear Victorious,

A friend says that there are different degrees of heaven. She says a good way to understand it is to think of types of housing, ranging from mansions to trailer parks. She claims that the more righteous people will live in the mansions, and those less righteous - but still saved, will be relegated to the "trailer parks." Isn't this just a bunch of garbage? I can't believe this!

Sandy

Dear Sandy,

While your friend's proposition may be annoying and sound offensive, this is a good case of our needing to test whatever we are told against Scripture. Jesus said, "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done." (Matthew 16:27)

Jesus has the authority to judge all of the earth (Romans 14:9-11 and Philippians 2:9-11). His judgment is already working in lives, but there is a future, final judgment when Christ returns to earth (Matthew 25), and everyone's life will be reviewed and evaluated. This will not be confined to unbelievers (contrary to popular Christian opinions). Christians will also face judgment. Our eternal destiny is secure, so what's to judge?

Jesus will be looking at how we've each handled the gifts, opportunities and responsibilities that we've had in our earthly lives. He says in Matthew 16:27 that he will then decide about our heavenly rewards. So there is some truth to what your friend is telling you. We will not all experience heaven the same way --- and God never promised that we would! He promised that we will experience heaven if we believe on His Son, Jesus Christ. He defined belief as obedience and submission to. So if I believe in Jesus, and my belief is evidenced by my obedience, then my salvation is secure. I will get to heaven. (And so will you!)

My advice? Don't worry about the various degrees of heaven. If God wanted us to understand them, He would have provided us with information about that. All we can do is speculate and there is little value in that. I think that we are tempted to wonder about or even debate the various ways mankind might experience heaven because of our brokenness. Let's face it, humans are proud and jealous. Not one of us wants to believe that we'll get anything less than someone else. We don't want to admit that we might deserve anything less than someone else.

If you focus your attention on Christ in this life, then you can move forward with no thought of your next life. Your future is already secure. And whether you live in a heavenly version of a mansion - or a heavenly version of a trailer park, I'm confident that you will be ecstatic about it. Remember, God promised you an eternal life of joy, peace and fellowship with Himself. So even if you are experiencing heaven differently than someone else, you won't mind that a bit!