WHAT IS LIFE LIKE IN THE INTERMEDIATE HEAVEN?
Pages 65-67 – “Heaven” by
Revelation 6:9-11
“When (the
Lamb) opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had
been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had
maintained. They called out in a loud
voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the
inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’
Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a
little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were
to be killed as they had been was completed.”
I offer here twenty-one brief observations concerning this passage:
When these people died on
Earth, they relocated to Heaven (v.9).
These people in Heaven
were the same ones killed for
People in Heaven will be
remembered for their lives on Earth.
These were known and identified as ones slain “because of … the
testimony they had maintained” (v. 9).
“They called out” (v. 10)
means they are able to express themselves audibly. This could suggest they exist in physical
form, with vocal cords or other tangible means to express themselves.
People in the
intermediate Heaven can raise their voices (v. 10). This indicates they are rational,
communicative, and emotional – even passionate – beings, like people on Earth.
They called out in “a
loud voice,” not “loud voices.” Individuals speaking with one voice indicate
that Heaven is a place of unity and shared perspective.
The martyrs are fully
conscious, rational, and aware of each other, God, and the situation on Earth.
They ask God to intervene on Earth and to act on their behalf; “How long …
until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (v. 10).
Those in Heaven are free
to ask God questions, which means they have an audience with God. It also means they need to learn. In Heaven, people desire understanding and
pursue it. People in the intermediate Heaven know what’s happening on Earth (v.
10). The martyrs know enough to realize
that those who killed them have not yet been judged.
Heaven dwellers have a
deep concern for justice and retribution (v. 10). When we go to Heaven, we won’t adopt a
passive disinterest in what happens on earth.
On the contrary, our concerns will be more passionate and our thirst of
justice greater. Neither God nor we will
be satisfied until his enemies are judged, our bodies raised, sin and
The martyrs in Heaven
clearly remember their lives on Earth (v. 10).
They even remember that they were murdered.
The martyrs in Heaven
pray for judgment on their persecutors who are still at work hurting
others. They are acting in solidarity
with, and in effect interceding for, the suffering saints on Earth. This suggests that saints in Heaven are both
seeing and praying for saints on Earth.
Those in Heaven see God’s attributes
(“Sovereign … holy and true”) in a way that makes his judgment of sin more
understandable.
Those in Heaven are
distinct individuals: “Then each of them
was given a white robe” (v. 11).
There isn’t one merged
identity that obliterates uniqueness, but a distinct “each of them”
The martyrs’ wearing
white robes suggests the possibility of actual physical forms, because
disembodied spirits presumably don’t wear robes. The robes may well have symbolic meaning, but
it doesn’t mean they couldn’t also be physical.
The martyrs appear to have physical forms that
God answers their
question (v. 11), indicating communication and process in Heaven. It also demonstrates that we won’t know
everything in Heaven – if we did, we would have no questions. The martyrs knew more after God answered
their question than before they asked it.
There is learning in the present Heaven.
God promises to fulfill
the martyrs’ requests, but says they will have to “wait a little longer” (v.
11). Those in the intermediate Heaven
live in anticipation of the future fulfillment of God’s promises. Unlike the eternal Heaven – where there will
be no more sin, Curse, or suffering on the New Earth (Revelation 21:4) – the
present Heaven coexists with and watches over an Earth under sin, the Curse,
and suffering.
There is time in the
intermediate Heaven (vv. 10-11). The
white-robed martyrs ask God a time-dependent question: “How long, Sovereign Lord
… until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (v. 10). They are
aware of time’s passing and are eager for the coming day of the Lord’s
judgment. God answers that they must
“wait a little longer” until certain events transpire on Earth. Waiting requires the passing of time.
The people of God in
Heaven have a strong familial connection with those on Earth, who are called
their “fellow servants and brothers” (v. 11).
We share the same Father, “from whom every family in heaven and on earth
is named” (Ephesians
Our sovereign God knows
down to the last detail all that is happening and will happen on Earth (v. 11),
including every drop of blood shed and every bit of suffering undergone by his
children. Voice of the
Martyrs estimates that more than 150,000 people die for