Animals, Textbooks, and Speaking in Heaven

No one really knows exactly what the new heaven and the new earth will be like. So if we aren’t too dogmatic about it, we can all imagine what we would like it to be like when we get there. For instance, my family has always thought that in the restored order of creation it is likely we will be able to have close friendships with all animals the way we do today with pets only even better. So, we like to pick which sort of animal we will “have” in heaven.

Another thought that I have about heaven concerns knowledge and language. A lot of people think that in heaven we will know everything. I don’t think so. I prefer to think that we will all start out in eternity with the same basic knowledge we had before we died. Over eternity we will then have a chance to learn more about God and His creation and our place in His Kingdom.

Some people think (and it is quite possible Biblically) that we will all speak the same language in heaven. I hope not. I think that we will all (once again) possess the linguistic abilities we had in life. We will then be able to spend eternity learning new languages and ways to communicate and worship God. It is so much more interesting that I will have to learn Hebrew as I try to get to know some of those Biblical heroes better. (As I teach them a little English along the way.) Also, knowing languages the way I do, it will be so much better having hundreds of languages to express different nuances as we communicate throughout eternity.