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So, a couple days ago, I was listening to “When I Get Where I’m Going” by 33 Miles (also recorded by Brad Paisley). The lyrics are as follows…

When I get where I'm going
On the far side of the sky
The first thing that I'm gonna do
Is spread my wings and fly

I'm gonna land beside a lion
And run my fingers through his mane
Or I might find out what it's like
To ride a drop of rain

Yeah, when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
And I will shed the sins and struggles
That I've carried all these years

And I'll leave my heart wide open
And I will love and have no fear
Oh, when I get where I'm going
Don't cry for me down here

Gonna walk with my grand daddy
And he'll match me step for step
And I'll tell him how I've missed him
Every minute since he left
Oh, and then I'll hug his neck

Yeah, when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
And I will shed the sins and struggles
That I've carried all these years

And I'll leave my heart wide open
And I will love and have no fear
Yeah, when I get where I'm going
Don't cry for me down here

So much pain, so much darkness
This world we stumble through
All these questions I can't answer
So much work to do

But when I get where I'm going
And I see my Maker's face
I'll stand forever in the light
Of His amazing grace

When I get where I'm going, yeah
When I get where I'm going, yeah
I'm gonna be in heaven, heaven

I’ve always liked the idea of this song and have song along since the first time I heard it…but this time I started actually thinking about what was being said in the song. Before I start bashing the song, I’d like to mention that I have absolutely nothing against the artists that played and recorded this song, nor the original writers of the song, I merely want to point out some things that I think should be improved, and some things that I believe are often mis-conceptions that people have about heaven.

The first disagreement that I have with this song is in the first couple of lines, “…The first thing that I’m gonna do is spread my wings and fly.” In my opinion, if you are a Christian and have lived a life longing to be like Christ and suffering persecution and longing to see His face, the first thing you are going to do when you get to heaven is seek Him. Not take advantage of some gifts that He might bestow upon you or go gallivanting around with your wings.

The chorus, however, is fairly biblical. Revelation 21:3-5 – “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’ And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new!’”

The last line of the chorus, “Don’t cry for me down here,” brings up a misconception that I think a lot of people use as a mechanism to cope with the death of a loved one. Often times Christians, at funerals and when remembering the dead, say that so-and-so is looking down on us right now. I don’t think that’s the case, though. If the dead knew, understood, and accepted the gift that of Life that God offers through faith in Christ Jesus, they are indeed in heaven. But the difference is, while they are in heaven, they won’t be focused on what is happening here on earth. They will be focused on God and only God. Revelation 4 describes the presence of the God, Holy Spirit (namely, the sevenfold Spirit [also described as seven lamps in Zechariah 4]), 24 elders, and 4 “living beings.” These 4 beings are described to be saying, “day after day and night after night,” the following: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty – the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” Verses 9 & 10 say that, “Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever).” Then, they say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” (Verse 11) See? When we, or our loved ones, get to heaven, we won’t be focused on how many people cried at our funeral or how elaborate our casket was, we’ll be worshiping the Creator of the Universe, for we will finally be in His presence.

And while I was studying about this today, I started wondering… “Ok, so we’ve got God seated on a throne in heaven…good…and we’ve got the Holy Spirit in the form of seven torches in front of the throne…good…but aren’t we missing something? I thought there was a Holy Trinity…not a Holy Duality. I didn’t have to read much further…Revelation 5:4-6 – “Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.’ Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth.” John goes on to describe how the Lamb [Jesus, the One given as a sacrifice for our sins] took the scroll. “And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb…and they sand a new song with these words: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation [Matthew 24:14]. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.” (V. 9-10) Then John looked again and, “heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders and they sang in a mighty chorus: ‘Worthy is they Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’ And then John heard, “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.’ And the four living beings said, ‘Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.” (V.11-14)

Wow. So there was my answer…we had God seated on the throne, the Holy Spirit before Him, and Jesus (showing his connection to the sevenfold Spirit) between the throne and those assembled…in a similar fashion that He is the bridge between humans and Life. I hope that this little dive into what Life will be like has blessed you as much as it did me. As Chris Tomlin says, “Sing with a chorus resounding before us, Holy is His name…blessing and honor, glory and power unto the Lord be praise!”

All Scripture references are from the New Living Translation. I have no intention of bashing or praising any particular band, singer, performer, or artist…the above is simply what I have learned after studying the Word regarding heaven.
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May God continue to Bless YOU!

Greg Z.
Haggai 2:5 & 1 John 1:3
www.facebook.com/gzimage
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Yeah, there's a number of songs out there with the dreaming of heaven theme. Personally, I've never found much fruit in speculating about it and at times wonder if it might be spiritually dangerous. For one, I've never been one to assume that heaven is where I'll eventually end up. As the bible says, I am already saved (Rom. 8:24, Eph. 2:5– Cool

, but I’m also being saved (1 Cor. 1:18, 2 Cor. 2:15, Phil. 2:12), and I have the hope that I will be saved (Rom. 5:9–10, 1 Cor. 3:12–15). Like the apostle Paul I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), with hopeful confidence in the promises of Christ (Rom. 5:2, 2 Tim. 2:11–13)."

But there are some ideas about heaven that are as quaint as they are novel. That song about playing football comes immediately to mind. Like I said, a novel idea, but I don't really get it.

Of course, I find a lot of Christian music theologically fuzzy. For instance in this song they sing: