Heaven's Threefold Inhabitants

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

(Hebrews 12:22-24)

Heaven is currently populated by three distinct classes of God’s creations. The angels of God form one class, and the saints of God, who constitute the church, form another. However, there is a third class of God’s creations in heaven today: all children. All children across the earth, from conception until the age of thirteen, remain spiritually alive to God. As such, they are His children, for God is the Father of all spirits (Hebrews 12:9). Everyone living on earth dies spiritually when they reach the age of thirteen. This occurs because, from that age, God holds them accountable for their sins, and since all sin, all therefore die (Romans 7:9). This is why we must be born again. However, because all children are still spiritually alive, they do not need to be born again, as the saints do. Consequently, when children die physically, they ascend directly to heaven. When saints fall asleep in the Lord today, they also ascend directly to heaven (2 Corinthians 5:8).

This was not always the case. Under the Old Covenant, when saints died, they went to a place Jesus referred to as Abraham’s bosom, located beneath the earth (Luke 16:22). It was only after Christ’s resurrection that the Old Testament saints could be born again, and only then could they ascend to heaven with Christ for the first time (Ephesians 4:8). Children who died under the Old Covenant, however, never went to Abraham’s bosom, as they were still spiritually alive to God. While their believing parents went to Abraham’s bosom, the children ascended directly to heaven. The prophet David understood this concept, which is why he said of his deceased infant son, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23).

In the passage of Scripture quoted above, the Holy Spirit describes these three classes of God’s creations in heaven today. He mentions the angels as one class and the saints as another, referring to them as “the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven.” Then He speaks of the third class, called “the spirits of just men made perfect.” This phrase can also be translated as “the spirits of the innocent made perfect.” Since God deems children innocent (Psalm 106:38), this class refers to the children of God.

Since our Lord Jesus was raised from the dead, both saints and children who die go directly to heaven. Currently, both reside together in the part of heaven that our Lord called Paradise (Luke 23:43), also known as Eden, the garden of God. However, they are there in spirit only, as neither the saints nor the children have received physical bodies yet.

There are several differences between the saints and the children in heaven. The primary difference is that the saints are part of the church and are destined to become the bride of Christ, whereas the children are not part of the church and thus are not destined to be part of the bride of Christ. Another difference is that the saints will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of their lives on earth (Romans 14:10–12), whereas the children will not be judged. Additionally, the saints have been made both kings and priests to God (Revelation 1:6), while the children are neither priests nor kings. As priests, the saints will minister before God in the heavenly city of Jerusalem, whereas the children, not being priests, will not dwell in the city of Jerusalem to minister to the Lord. As kings, the saints will be joint heirs with Christ, inheriting the world to reign over it. In contrast, the children will not inherit the world to come, as they are not joint heirs with Christ. Nevertheless, they will dwell in God’s new earth as His children, and it is over these children that the saints will reign as kings for eternity. Another difference is that the saints are filled with the Holy Spirit, whereas the children are not.

Michael E.B. Maher

The End of the Age

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