When the Bible describes God’s eternal kingdom, it paints a picture for us of the most glorious feast, nothing less than a heavenly party. These biblical depictions are important because it seems we can’t get the popular presentations of heaven—complete with halos and harps—out of our heads. At least for some of us, cloud hopping with background strings isn’t very appealing. The good news is, that image, however ingrained it may be, is nothing like what the Bible tells us heaven is going to be like. Note the words found in Isaiah:
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. (Isa. 25:6-8)
We’re given a clue that this text is referring to the finality of God’s coming kingdom (what some theologians call the consummated kingdom) by the promise of “wiping away tears from all faces.” John, in the book of Revelation, uses this same picture to describe the new heavens and the new earth. He sees the heavenly Jerusalem descending upon the new earth and he hears a loud voice, saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.” (Rev. 21:1-4) We’ll return to that passage in Isaiah 25, but for now, it’s important for us to see that heaven is going to be a feast. Not a feast with cold buffet food and Martinelli, but with the most flavorful meats, and the smoothest wines!
The other great thing about this feast is who we’ll get to eat with. Imagine sitting down with the saints throughout history who have followed Jesus. Eating with faithful mothers, missionaries, and martyrs. Jesus gave us a glimpse of the banquet table at one point in his ministry. While healing a certain soldier’s friend, Jesus praised the soldier’s faith, saying, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 8:11) We’ll get to recline with the great heroes of the faith, men, and women who have gone before us, and we’ll get to hear the stories of God’s deliverances firsthand from their glorified lips.
If we can recognize the patriarchs in heaven, then surely we will also be able to recognize our own loved ones in Christ who will be joining us at the feast. This means that heaven won’t only have the best food—it will have the best company, too.
Food, family, and friends are great, but the primary reason heaven isn’t going to be boring—the best thing about heaven—is that God will be there. The Psalmist understood this, saying, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.” (Ps. 73:25) The Psalmist recognized that there’s nothing that compares to the beauty of God. For all eternity, God will captivate our hearts at the feast. His infinitude will never grow dim, and we will never be distracted. It’s the best party because he is the Lord of the feast, and God is a lavish host.
