Pastor Jesse Bradley of Grace Community Church outside of Seattle, Washington, recently spoke with Fox News Digital to address some of the most pressing questions he gets from people about Heaven. While admitting that “No mind can fully conceive all of the goodness God has designed for us” in Heaven, Bradley did point out three key takeaways about Heaven, the first being that it is, in fact, a real place. He pointed to John 14:1-6, which states that Jesus is preparing a place for us. He reiterated that Christ is the only path to Heaven and that Heaven is the reward of His salvation. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) addresses the idea of Heaven as symbolic rather than real. “Heaven is a literal place because the Bible tells us so,” wrote Billy Graham. He also says, “The Bible tells us that God set ‘a firmament in the midst of the waters,’ divided ‘the waters from the waters,’ and ‘called the firmament Heaven’ (Genesis 1:6-8).”

More than just being real, Pastor Bradley also went on to describe the eternality of Heaven. “God’s dwelling place, Heaven, will also be forever. No doubter, skeptic or opposition can ever take Heaven away from God,” he said. Quoting CS Lewis in Mere Christianity, he goes on to quote the yearning of every human heart for another place as further evidence for the existence of Heaven. “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world,” said Lewis in his great work. 

Finally, Pastor Bradley stressed how Heaven is a personal place. Referencing 1 Corinthians 15, Bradley said, “We will receive resurrected bodies and be reunited with loved ones in perfect relationships and unity,” and that “God will finally dwell with us.” Of course, there are many scoffers at the idea of Heaven. Arnold Schwarzenegger made headlines in June when he referred to Heaven as a “fantasy.” Mentioning a question he’d received from Howard Stern about what happens after death, the action star recalled saying, “Nothing. You’re six feet under.” He went on to say there will be no reunion with past loved ones “Except in some fantasy.” “When people talk about, ‘I will see them again in heaven,’ it sounds so good, but the reality is that we won’t see each other again after we’re gone. That’s the sad part,” he added. 

Zachary Mettler of The Daily Citizen responded to Schwarzenegger’s comments, writing, “In all due respect, Mr. Schwarzenegger, you’re wrong.” He cited the historical proof of Jesus’s life and resurrection. Like Pastor Bradley, he also referred to the human yearning for eternity, as CS Lewis had pointed out, and the meaninglessness of life without God. “[If] there is no God, and there is no immortality … it means that life itself is absurd,” he quoted Christian theologian William Lane Craig. “Arnold Schwarzenegger is probably best known for his ‘I’ll be back!’ catchphrase in ‘The Terminator,’” wrote Mettler. “As Christians, we believe that it’s Jesus who is coming back – and heaven is our eternal home.”