For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
who thee by faith before the world confessed,
thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
The golden evening brightens in the west;
soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
the saints triumphant rise in bright array;
the King of glory passes on his way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
and singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
I like this song because it captures the heart of the Christian’s hope and ultimate destiny. Unlike much of contemporary Christian tradition, this hymn embodies an important truth that has been undervalued and often confused with another accepted belief of Christian theology. I am speaking specifically about the church’s teaching on heaven.
“This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue”.
or
“When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.”
My criticism of the tradition is not that there is no such place called heaven, but that the church has placed too much emphasis on heaven at the expense of new creation. When one surveys the biblical evidence, the vast amount of support strongly favors the bodily resurrection of all saints and new heavens and new earth as the final hope of the Christian. Heaven, on the other hand, is hardly touched upon in the scriptures. The modern conception of heaven, as a place in the sky by and by where all Christians go after they die, is simply an inaccurate description of what the Bible teaches as the goal of all creation. History is heading towards a climax, but heaven is'n it.
I think there are two reasons for the misconception of heaven as our eternal abode. First is our dualistic view of the world. Many have the idea that somehow the physical is subordinate to the spiritual. And by seeking fulfillment in the spiritual, the physical becomes an obstacle to overcome. The physical is bad and the spiritual is good. This leads to the second reason for our misunderstanding, and that is, an incorrect view of physical creation. God made everything and declared it as good, both physical and spiritual. Though the world has been corrupted by sin, God does not intend to abandon creation by taking everyone He loves up to heaven to live and destroy everything else that’s left behind. But instead, He will redeem all creation. This was the purpose of the resurrection of Christ. Jesus’ resurrection was the first fruits of a new creation.
Heaven is a good place. It is where the Lord dwells. As the apostle says, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”. But it is a temporary dwelling where “all the saints who from their labors rest” are waiting. And they are waiting for “a yet more glorious day” when God, the good creator, makes all things new; including our physical bodies. That is the hope which all creation is groaning for and to which all history is heading. That is where our eyes ought to be directed. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Alleluia! Alleluia!
