What fun is it in heaven if we’re going to be playing harps forever?

I see only three passages in the Bible dealing with people playing harps in heaven. Let’s look at them.

“And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints” (Revelation 5:8).

These figures are playing harps, but we don’t know how long they are playing. It’s my impression that they have erupted in spontaneous worship when the Lamb, Jesus, takes an important book from the hand of God. Also, these are just twenty-four people, not all the people who have died in the past. Let’s see the second passage.

“And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps” (Revelation 14:2).

We are not told who is playing these harps, nor the duration of the playing. So we can’t draw the conclusion from here that everyone who dies will play harps in heaven forever. Let’s see if we can get that teaching from the third verse that mentions a harp.

“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God” (Revelation 15:2).

This is more promising, but still draws short. These people with harps are limited in number. Specifically, they have been taken from the earth, out of the clutches of the character popularly called the Antichrist because they remained true to their faith in God.

The Bible does not teach that all people who go to heaven will play harps. Other groups of people are mentioned in heaven, and none of them have instruments to play.

The Bible is the sole resource and authority for the issues of heaven and eternity. If this is all we can find there regarding all of us playing harps for eternity in heaven, then there is no basis for the belief.

In the Bible, harps and other instruments are frequently used to praise God. Will you play a harp for him forever? When you engage yourself in the will of God here and find God helping you and guiding you, then you can burst into spontaneous worship – because your love desires to show him appreciation in this way. I have no doubt that this attitude will continue after all of us have risen from the dead. Then we’ll find many more reasons to worship and praise him again and again.

What Do You Think?

a. Did you get the idea of playing harps all the time in heaven from the media? If so, is the media a reliable source of religious instruction?

b. When we were children, adults taught us simplified Bible truths. But the understanding is that the children would grow up reading the Bible on their own to grasp the nuances. Is your Bible knowledge being strengthened with personal study, or do you still rely on knowledge taught to children?