“If there can Freedom WITHOUT Sin in Heaven, why not on Earth as well?”

I, like many others, tend to believe God could not have created Man's freedom to choose good without including the ability to choose evil as well. The very concept of 'choice' in order to be meaningful and possess integrity requires the idea of genuine options from which to choose.

However, there are some who would argue that if God could create a future Heaven where freedom will exist without evil, then surely He could've created a similar situation on Earth. Therefore, so this argument goes, love is possible without any risk of evil i.e. evil could’ve been avoided if God wanted love. But given that evil does exist, God must’ve desired that too. A friend of mine words this objection best:

Some may argue that to be free there MUST be a possibility of sin. But we must continue to ask: Is there any possibility of a resurrected saint sinning or breaking up with God in heaven? Since there will be no more suffering and tears in heaven I assume there will not be another cosmic rebellion there. Thus, God can enable us to freely want to obey Him without the possibility of wanting to do otherwise (sinning).

And another one:

In the New Jerusalem, you and I are NEVER able to choose evil, correct? We are still free, right? Since in Heaven, all tears, pain and sickness will be wiped away forever, the assumption - that the elimination of ALL suffering is incompatible with the presence of free-will in the world - would also suggest the absence of freewill beyond the Pearly Gates.

I hope to respond by making three inter-related points.

Note: For simplification, usage of the word 'Heaven' here will be equated to the 'New Jerusalem' / Eschatalogical Future and 'Earth' represents our present situation. This is regrettably not entirely correct because Scripture speaks of a NEW 'Heaven & Earth' together the old, but it helps my typing fingers (no I don’t use all of them, *smile*).

First, put simply, Earth and Heaven form the beginning and end (respectively) of an on-going story

Heaven is the climax and the pinnacle of the divine story (formulated in part by His creatures) whereby God's agents are perfected in personal relationship with the Lord of Hosts, who's finally hosting an everlasting worship-party for His Beloved. We thus cannot look at Heaven and Earth as two separate scenarios independent of each other (or worse still, as two distinct 'test environments'!), an assumption inherent in the objection raised. Instead the former must be understood as the culmination and fulfilment of a divine initiative originating in the latter.

In a word, the New Jerusalem cannot be understood separately from the 'big picture' to which it - and our present earth – belongs. The grandeur and wonder of the eschatalogical future is in no small part of a result of the CONTRAST with the less-than-optimal glory in our earthly present, as the below verses imply:

· Rev 21:4, "He will wipe away every tear...there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain..." (this wonderful promise would be much less remarkable if there were initially NO tears, death, mourning, crying, etc.)

· Rev 21:6, "To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life...(this offer of eternal relief cum refreshment makes sense only to those who have KNOWN and FELT thirst and longing)

· Rev 22:5, "There will be no more night..." (again, this will only amaze and rejuvenate those who have experienced the fear and uncertainties of the night)

And we mustn’t forget the aspect of HOPE being fulfilled and realized (Rom 8:22-25), a heavenly joy certainly forfeited if earth was to be ‘like heaven’, thus making the latter much less what Scripture promises it will be.

We love Heaven - great. We want Earth to be similar? That sounds logical. But do we realize that one of the reasons why we will love Heaven is because it's DIS-similar to Earth? The original issue has self-evaporated.

Therefore, some/most(?) of the experiential benefits of Heaven are present as an improvement, restoration, transformation of situations on earth, without which the glory of Heaven falls short. Needless to say, one 'benefit' of Heaven is the cherished freedom-without-evil-and-suffering (at which I'll stop and ask that if we wished to 'transport' such a situation to earth, then why not bring along the Holy City and the River of Life as well?

In fact, why not just actualize Heaven without earth?

Second, ‘Heavenly’ (i.e. sinless) freedom must be understood as the end-point of the process of personal perfection.

My friend’s objections, IMO, miss the point, the structure, and the inherent nature of personal perfection (which is what I believe the freedom in Heaven represents).

It's like taking a look at a very godly person whose spirituality was developed over a course of 5-10 years, and then questioning why God couldn't have accomplished the sanctification in 5-10 days.

Or like asking why Jesus didn't expedite the making of the disciples into the evangelical powerhouses (that they were in the NT period) a couple of years and thus have 12 super-spiritual strongmen by His side in Jerusalem instead of the motley crew who eventually deserted and denied Him in His hour of need. Or like asking why Diego Maradona couldn't in 1980 be the player that he was in 1986. Or why Martin Luther couldn't develop his theological prowess about 10 years earlier (and maybe hammer his theses in advance too).

Personal development is a rich and complex phenomenon. The later successes/strength come about because of the earlier struggles, because of the prior failures (and the reflection UPON the failures), because of the preceding repentance and sorrow, because of the previous 'aiming' or surrendering of one's heart and mind towards a certain positive direction.

Perfection of personal virtues and abilities are thus necessarily 'historical' or 'progressive' in nature. And as the New Jerusalem is the pinnacle of the process of perfection, the freedom we'll witness then must necessarily have a 'less-than-perfect' beginning.

Here we must also grasp the very important spiraling factor of free-will: The more we obey God the easier it will be to do so, leading to even more obedience and so on. God strengthens and 'enhances' our faith and walk with Him even more when we show that we're serious about it and strive to please Him. This flows naturally to our final point:

‘Heavenly’ (i.e. sinless) freedom must be understood as the reward for perseverance in the faith

In this sense, Heaven (and the capacity to choose God forever) is a fitting prize for those who have been consistently choosing God prior to His return. It is a gracious gift and blessing bestowed upon those who've proved that they really wanted it by holding on to His promises prior to meeting Him face to face:

· Rev 8:14-16, "These are they who have come out of the Great Tribulation; they have washed their robes and made the white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple...never again will they hunger (or thirst)..."

· Rev 11:18, "...The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name..." (maybe the defenders of 'irresistible grace' and 'non-apostasy' should think about what meaning and integrity a reward can have if its recipients can only do that which was determined for them from the beginning of time, without a genuine struggle...)

· Rev 12:11, "They overcame (the Accuser) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony...they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death"

· Rev 20:4, "...I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus...They had not worshipped the beast or his image..."

· Rev 19:7, "For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen (which stands for the righteous acts of the saints), bright and clean, was given her to wear"

The glory and promise of the Eschaton is something promised NOT independently of the perseverance of believers and their choices.

Conversely (diverging a little here), God will give over to a depraved mind (and to do what ought not to be done) those who do not think it worthwhile to retain His knowledge (Rom 1:28), and He will powerfully delude those who refuse to love the truth and delighted in wickedness (2 Thess 1:10-12). If we want truth, then God will get it to us. But if we consistently want a lie, then God will send even that to us as a judgment.

See the write-up on Romans 9:18 for further discussion on hardening.

Our capacity for choosing evil or good can indeed be intensified in either direction by divine hardening (see above verses) or inspiration (Jer 32:40, Eze 11:19, etc.), but such divine intervention is itself CONTINGENT upon our decisions to choose for or against Him. God empowers us, but certainly not against our wills! And if we constantly will ungodly purposes, then God will eventually say, "So be it" and judge you by decreeing what your heart keeps on desiring.

Pulling it all together…

If we understand God's blessings as significantly dependent upon the consistent surrendering of our hearts towards Him - and if we understand Heaven as an ultimate blessing for final perseverance - then the issue of eternal non-rebellion can also be perceived as the very 'natural' outcome and resolution of a process of personal growth already working out on earth.

The much treasured 'free-will-without-evil' is NOT something which God can just will into existence independently of Man but is in fact a reward contingent upon prior or pre-Heaven perseverance and faithfulness in the midst of GREAT evil!

Rev 12:10-11, "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ. FOR the accuser of our brothers...has been hurled down...they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony"

The salvation, power, kingdom and authority of God coming i.e. the perfected Heavenly End, is significantly juxtaposed with Satan finally being overthrown i.e. the prior defeat of the forces of evil. This overthrowing is itself in no small measure a result of the faithfulness and courage i.e. the choices(!!) of believers who undergo the tribulations of such evil.

How terrible yet beautiful is the richness and complexity of Creation! In the light of this, asking why God doesn't initiate freedom without evil on earth when He 'obviously can' in Heaven sounds extremely naive.

In conclusion, the theory that God could've actualized freedom on earth WITHOUT the potential for evil - by appealing to the scenario in Heaven - needs to be rejected because:

· It fails to see Heaven & Earth as inextricably linked parts of one grand picture (and how this affects one's analysis)

· It fails to consider the progressive nature of personal growth in character and spirituality (which forms the context for personal choices)

· It fails to remember that the future residents of Heaven are the very same ones who will prevail on earth (and the implications of this regarding personal choice).

Back to Main Page