What is Heaven like and who goes there?
Heaven is both a spiritual realm and an internal state of oneness with God's heart. God's original purpose was to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth through perfected individuals, families, and societies, which would then extend into the spirit world. Those who enter Heaven are not merely believers, but those who embody God's true love, fulfill the Three Great Blessings of individual perfection, family establishment, and dominion over creation, and actively participate in building God's Kingdom.
The nature of Heaven and the path to it are central theological questions that define our ultimate purpose. Understanding this destiny is crucial, as it shapes our motivations, ethical choices, and how we perceive life's meaning.
The Biblical Foundation
The Bible offers rich descriptions of Heaven. Revelation paints vivid imagery of a "New Heaven and New Earth," a "New Jerusalem" that descends from God, where "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away" (Revelation 21:1-4). Jesus also promised, "In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:2-3). These passages point to a future dwelling prepared for believers, emphasizing an ultimate reward. However, the "destruction" of heaven and earth mentioned in scripture is metaphorical, signifying the overthrow of Satan's dominion and the establishment of a new, God-centered sovereignty (2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 21:1). The Earth is eternal, created by God to last (Psalm 69:35-36).
However, Jesus also taught that "the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21), suggesting an internal, present spiritual reality. He stated, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst" (Luke 17:20-21). This apparent duality poses the question: Is Heaven a future destination, a present state, or both?
This ambiguity extends to the requirements for entry. Some scriptures emphasize belief in Jesus: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Yet, Jesus also stressed doing God's will and bearing fruit: "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). This tension between belief in Jesus and doing God's will and bearing fruit has left believers seeking clarity. Jesus warned, "Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name...?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness’" (Matthew 7:22-23).
Divine Principle's Clarification
The Divine Principle resolves this dichotomy by explaining Heaven as both a spiritual realm reflecting our earthly life and an internal state of spiritual maturity and absolute oneness with God's heart. God's original ideal was the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth first, characterized by perfected individuals, families, and societies, which would then naturally extend into the spirit world. The "many rooms" (John 14:2) are the different spiritual realms, corresponding to the level of heart, true love, and adherence to God's purpose cultivated on Earth.
The spirit world is not a passive reward but a realm perfectly responsive to our character, relationships, and actions during our physical life. Our spirit matures and takes on the quality of the life we lived on Earth. Heaven, therefore, is not a place we simply "go to" but a state of being and a realm we actively build and enter based on our alignment with God's will. This occurs through fulfilling the Three Great Blessings, the fundamental purposes of human existence: 1. Perfecting individual character: To "be fruitful" means to complete our individuality, resembling God's divine nature and character, making our mind and body one centered on God's love. A person who achieves this becomes a temple of God, living according to His will and gaining divinity, having no desire to sin. Jesus exemplified this perfection, saying, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). 2. Establishing a true family centered on God: To "increase in number" means for perfected individuals to marry, have children, and expand a family into a tribe, nation, and world. The harmonious unification of male and female in marriage, becoming one flesh (Genesis 2:24), is the image of God. Through this, parents and children form a family of four loves, expanding God's lineage. 3. Exercising dominion over creation: To "subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:28) means to lovingly steward nature and develop science to create a comfortable and healthy community. Fulfilling these blessings lays the essential foundation for heavenly realization, both on Earth (the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth) and in spirit (the Kingdom of Heaven in the Spirit World).
Understanding the Deeper Meaning: The Kingdom of Heaven's Realization
The concept of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth is foundational. God's primary desire was for humanity to create a perfect world while in the physical body, with God at its center. This would then extend into the spirit world. The Fall of Man tragically prevented this, creating hell on Earth and in the spirit world by breaking humanity's vertical tie to God and horizontal ties to each other. God's history is a Providence of Salvation and Restoration, aiming to return humankind to its original state and realize the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth first. God's salvation is universal and for everyone, not just a select few.
"Who goes there?" In this light, those who enter Heaven are not merely those who believe, but primarily those who embody God's nature and strive to live according to God's ideal of true love and who participate in building the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. This means embodying God's love, dedicating oneself to the well-being of others, forgiving, serving, and living for the greater whole. It is a life of actively becoming children of God (Matthew 5:9), reflecting His character. This also means participation in the restoration of the family as the primary unit of God's Kingdom. Entering Heaven is thus a matter of spiritual qualification achieved through living a life of true love and selfless service. The Kingdom of Heaven is ultimately a universal family centered on God's true love, established first on Earth through perfected individuals and families, and then eternally inherited in the spirit world as the ultimate dwelling place for those who embodied God's heart. It is a realm for those who align their lives with God's ultimate purpose of creation: to experience and share true love endlessly, reflecting the very nature of God, who is love (1 John 4:8).
Paradise, and Why Heaven Is Not Yet Full
Scripture distinguishes carefully between two destinations, and the difference matters. To the thief on the cross Jesus said, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)—not in the Kingdom of Heaven. Since Jesus was crucified before he could establish the ideal family on Earth, he opened the way to spiritual salvation only, and those who receive him enter Paradise, a waiting realm of the spirit world, rather than the Kingdom of Heaven itself. This is why Jesus could still say that “no man hath ascended up to heaven” (John 3:13), and why he taught us to pray “thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). The Kingdom of Heaven in the spirit world fills only as people who have perfected mind and body, built true families, and lived for others on Earth pass into it—which is why Heaven must first be built here.
Spirits grow, moreover, only while joined to a physical body. Good words and good deeds send vitality elements up from the body to the spirit, while God's love and truth pour life elements down from above; deprived of either, the spirit stays stunted. Our life on Earth stands to eternity as the nine months in the womb stand to life on Earth—a preparation we cannot repeat.
What Heaven Is Actually Like
Heaven is not a vague state of bliss but a real environment with its own conditions, and those conditions are worth describing plainly. There is light everywhere, yet no sun hangs in the sky; the brightness comes from the love and life of God shining through everything, so nothing casts the kind of shadow we know on earth. Scripture describes exactly this: "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it" (Revelation 21:23). The surroundings are beautiful beyond earthly comparison — gardens, water, palaces and halls — and they are not fixed scenery. Because that world responds to heart and thought, a person's surroundings appear according to what is within them. Those with a rich inner life live in a rich environment, while those who arrive with little love find their surroundings correspondingly bare.
Heaven has levels, and they are not separated by walls or gates that could be forced. They are divided as if by curtains of light, so that each person naturally dwells where the quality of their love allows them to breathe freely. Someone from a lower level can look toward a higher one and see its brightness, but cannot remain in it, in the same way that a person unaccustomed to a language cannot follow the conversation in a room. Jesus indicated this variety when he said, "In my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2). No one is barred by an official decision; each simply belongs where their heart has grown.
The Life Lived by Those in Heaven
Life there is active, not idle. Thought and action are joined, so that intention becomes deed immediately: to go somewhere is to be there, without distance or delay, and to wish to see someone loved is to be in their presence. Learning happens with startling speed, because the mind is no longer slowed by a body that tires, so understanding that took years on earth can be grasped quickly. People work, create, study, and serve. They gather constantly — banquets, celebrations, music, and reunions of families and generations — and the joy of these gatherings comes from the presence of others, not from consumption. Ancestors and descendants meet, and those who lived for others on earth are received with honour by the very people they served.
The centre of that life is relationship. Heaven's residents live to give, and because everyone gives, no one lacks. There is no competition for position, since the highest position belongs to the one who has loved the most and who therefore has no wish to be served. Families remain families, and the love between husband and wife, parent and child, matured on earth, continues and deepens rather than ending. Nothing there is hidden, because the inner person is visible; a heart formed in truth has nothing to fear from that transparency, which is one reason honesty on earth is such a practical preparation.
Who Goes There
Those who enter are the people who became, in their earthly lifetime, the kind of person heaven is made of. It is not entry by declaration or by membership, but by resemblance. Someone whose love reached beyond themselves to family, neighbour, nation, and world is at home in a world where all love flows outward. Someone who never learned to give finds that same world unbearable, not because they are punished, but because they have no organ for its air. This is the plain meaning of the words, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8), and of the warning that the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20).
Living the Principle
To "go to Heaven" means to live a heavenly life now, demonstrating God's love practically: 1. Deepen your relationship with God through daily prayer and meditation, seeking His guidance to perfect your individual character. 2. Practice true love and forgiveness within your family and community, serving others selflessly to establish God-centered families. 3. Take responsibility for creation and your work, striving for excellence and ethical conduct in all endeavors to steward the natural world. 4. Cultivate a strong internal character, overcoming selfish tendencies and embodying virtues like humility and patience, becoming a true companion of God.
These answers explain the Bible in the light of the Divine Principle, the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Read about the author, Sun Myung Moon.
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Sources and further reading
- The Holy Bible, King James Version — Scripture quoted and referenced throughout the answers.
- The Divine Principle (full text) — The complete text of the Divine Principle, the teaching of Reverend Sun Myung Moon that these answers explain.
- Unification texts library (tparents.org) — Large online library of Unification texts, sermons and collected speeches, including the Cheon Seong Gyeong.
- Short video lectures in English — Playlist of short English video lectures presenting these same principles.