Hi
@BillG,
I'm about to nerd out, so please forgive me and feel free to skip over this post if it's too long.
I have often wondered about things like this. Will we just know everything instantly, or will eternity also mean a state of eternal learning? After all, Adam and Eve didn't know everything when they were created in the garden -- or at least, they didn't seem to know the dire consequences of eating from the wrong tree. And we would hope that if they had known, they certainly wouldn't have made the wrong choice.
A quick Google search says there are over 7,000 known languages in use, and apparently that doesn't even include "dead" languages like Latin. Will there just be one universal language in heaven, or will we automatically know all 7,000+ languages? If not, will we be spending our time learning them? Will the people who were gifted as translators on earth still work as translators in heaven? Will there be technology like the things they are coming up with now, offering instant translation in any language?
When Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, they thought He was a ghost, but to prove to them that He was living, He asked for something to eat -- and He ate a piece of broiled fish (Luke 24.)
Will we eat in heaven? I tend to think so, as Adama and Eve ate before the fall. Will we have refrigerators? Will there be a need for them? Will food go bad in heaven? Will we cook? I'm assuming it won't be over simple camp fires if we do. Will we have some kind of powers where we can automatically cook the food with our minds? Maybe so. But if for some reason, we need machines to cook and store our food, if we have refrigerators on earth that keep track of what we've used, and tell us what we need to buy, how much more advanced will they be in heaven? And will they keep advancing? Or will they already be in a perfect state with no need for further creativty or innovation?
I'm assuming heaven is a big place. If I want to travel from one side of heaven to another to visit a beloved friend, will I be able to transport like in a sci-fi movie? Will there be a need for transportation in heaven, like on earth? If so, who will design the things we need to get from here to there? Or will we be like the angels and just fly to wherever we need to go?
Jesus said that in His Father's house, there are many rooms -- that He will one day take us to to dwell in. Who is building these rooms? God Himself? Will they all be the same? I imagine not. One look at life on earth, and you can tell God likes variety. Will they need updating? Will they be carefully planned out, and the built?
I've read accounts of people who have supposedly visited heaven and while I don't put much stock into them because they can't be verified until we get there, it's been said that people in heaven were doing the same things as people on earth, such as building buildings. I have family members who have designed and had several houses built. Back then, everything was done on paper. Nowadays, they have computer programs that can show you what everything will look like before you've even bought the land. How much more advanced would this be in heaven!
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when God specifically names two craftsman He wants to work on His temple Bezalel and Oholiab -- Exodus 36) -- because He himself gave them the knowledge of creativity and design in specific areas. Was the knowledge only for their lives on earth, or are they continuing to design in heaven?
I've often wondered what God will use technology-minded people's gifts for in heaven. Maybe they will do something else completely, or maybe there will be a glorified version of "heavenly tech work" that they will continue and add on to once they get there.
I don't know. I've read the Bible through about 7 times and have studied it since childhood, so if I'm missing something, please feel free to point out any passages that might answer these questions.
My Grandpa was from an age where he remembered the first time their house had electricity. He was in high school, and saw the lights on at their home for the very first time as he was approaching the house. Understandably, my Grandpa liked things he was familiar with, and wanted nothing to do with modern technology. (Even though, at the time, electricity was very much modern technology!)
His only phone was one that was attached to the wall with a cord. I myself resisted getting a smart phone for the longest time, until a friend convinced me. Now I find it a necessity. When a family member had an emergency last week, I went to pick up some things they needed and could instantly send pictures of everything they had, allowing my family to choose what they needed on the spot without making a separate trip or dragging them to the store.
Will we have a need for things like phones in heaven, or when we want to communicate with someone, will we somehow automatically be able to telepathically tune in to each other's thoughts? I don't know. And if there IS technology in heaven, what about people like my Grandpa? Will he automatically just want/know how to upgrade, or is he asking God for old-time versions of the things he was familiar with?
I myself like the actual act of typing on a real keyboard. The old-fashioned part of me misses phones with real buttons because I find the tactile sense of pushing a raised button that makes a click to be very therapeutic. I wouldn't mind being able to continue that in heaven.
I realize heaven is going to be far beyond anything we could ever dream or imagine. Perhaps there won't be a need for anything we have on earth, and surely any versions of things here that might exist will surpass anything we could ever think of.
As for me... I wonder how God would react to my request for a simple keyboard and ability to communicate with people through it.
After all, there is always something in most people that wants to hang on to at least a few things from the past that they prefer.
I know there won't be a need for those things in heaven, but I'll be very curious to see how God handles this aspect of humanity, since I'm assuming it might be part of how we were created.
Thank you for your very thought-provoking post!