A Different Heaven

Q: Do saved Jews go to a different heaven than gentiles?

A: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28)." If all Christians are one in Christ Jesus, regardless of their ethnic heritage, do you think there is multiple heavens for them? No, there are not different heavens for "saved Jews" and "saved gentiles." If there were different heavens than Romans 2:11, "For God does not show favoritism," would be in question. Furthermore, one could make the argument that there could be different heavens for members of the different Christian religions like Catholicism and Protestantism. A person could even go as far as to suggest different heavens based off of skin color. Where does it stop? Besides, there really isn't anything in the Bible that refers to Jews who accept Christ as "saved Jews." The Bible speaks, specifically, of the Body of Christ as being something totally void of ethnic and cultural labels.

"His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility (Ephesians 2:15-16)." When the Apostle Paul is speaking of God creating "one new man out of the two," he is not speaking in terms of individuals, but rather in terms of Jews and Gentiles. From God's perspective there are only three types of individuals, Jews, Gentiles and the Church, made up of Jews and Gentiles who have accepted Christ as their Savior. Throughout much of history Jews and Gentiles have been at odds with one another. God set the Jewish people apart from the rest of the world so He could establish and bring forth His plan of redemption for all mankind, Jesus Christ. Because the Jews were the "apple" of God's eye, protected by Him and in a covenant relationship with Him, it separated the Jews from the Gentile world and hostility developed between the two. Therefore, God came to this earth to bring them together through faith in Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, many Jews rejected Jesus Christ, their prophesied Messiah, and the Gentiles didn't believe they were dead in their sins much less recognizing their need for a Savior. "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:22-24)." The same attitude exists today among unbelieving Jews and Gentiles. However, we only preach one Gospel because there is only one Savior and one body of believers. That is the brilliance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It can be preached all over the world and received by anybody willing to accept it regardless of their different ethnic, cultural and, even, religious background. That is why the Bible speaks of Jew and Gentile believers as "no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household...(Ephesians 2:19)." All believers are one in Christ with one destination and that is all of us going to one heaven to spend eternity with our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands (Revelations 7:9)." Imagine the glorious site when all believers from all over the world, from every moment in time, are gathered together in heaven in the presence of Jesus Christ. What a glorious site to behold. We live in a time that yearns for unity, for love and for peace on earth. Yet, the means by which most try to obtain this goal is through accepting and promoting that which separates all of us. Religious, ethnic, cultural and racial differences cannot not be ignored or emphasized in pursuit of this goal. And that is why it will never be achieved through human effort. The only way to bring everybody together in peace and harmony is through preaching the Gospel. It is only when the hearts of individuals are changed through coming alive to God in Christ that what divides us falls away as what unites us comes forth.