An elderly couple died and went to heaven. When told they could eat anything they wanted and not gain weight or get sick, the husband told his wife, “If you hadn’t stressed healthy eating so much, I could have been here ten years earlier!”
Someone has said that there will be no fast foods in heaven because no one will be in a hurry. But neither will there be a need for health foods in heaven. No one will be eating healthy to live longer. Nor will anyone count calories, go on a diet, or eat special foods to avoid allergies. The real question is, If we do not need to eat to stay alive and healthy, will we eat at all in heaven?
In every culture and nationality, eating a meal together is intimately connected with friendship, companionship, conversation, and hospitality. In Israel the seven major religious celebrations were called “Feasts” because nearly all included major times of festive eating. These times of eating commemorated God’s faithfulness to and communion with his people.
The first miracle Jesus ever did took place at a wedding in Cana in Galilee (northern Israel). Wedding celebrations in the Jewish culture of that time often lasted seven days. That’s a lot of eating and drinking! At some point in the celebration, the wine at the wedding ran out. Jesus had the servants fill six empty stone jars with water. The jars were huge, containing about twenty to thirty gallons each. Once they were filled to the brim, Jesus instantly turned them into aged wine. It tasted far superior to any wine the guests had had so far. The purpose of this miracle was to symbolize the eternal kingdom Jesus would establish on the new earth after his second coming. The abundance of wine pictured the abundance of joy in that kingdom.
Not only will we eat in heaven, it will be central to the celebration of Jesus’ return to establish his rulership over the world. At Christ’s return, prophesied by John, the announcement is made, “Let us rejoice and exult and give him [God] glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb [Jesus] has come, and his bride [all Christian believers] has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7 NET). This celebration, like most weddings in our own culture, will include a wedding banquet. An angel told John to write down this promise: “Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” (v. 19:9 NET). What is a banquet if there is no food and drink?
The night before Jesus’ death, he celebrated the Passover by sharing a meal with his disciples. Then he broke some bread into pieces and ate it with them. This act represented how, by faith, believers are joined spiritually with Jesus’ broken body, which was crucified on the cross.
Next he took a cup of wine, and together they drank it. This represented his blood that was spilled out while on the cross. Finally he said, “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God” (Mark 14:25). If Jesus and his disciples will eat and drink in the coming kingdom, so will all who have put their faith in him.
On one occasion, when a Roman (Gentile) military leader asked Jesus to come heal his servant, Jesus explained to those following him that many other people outside Judaism would eat in his coming kingdom. “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11).
After his resurrection, Jesus himself ate with his disciples on at least three occasions. Since his resurrection body is a pattern for ours, we too will eat in our resurrection bodies in the eternal heaven. Jesus even taught his disciples directly that he would eat and drink with them in his kingdom rule. He told them, “you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:30).
Since our bodies will be perfect and will not need the food we eat, everything that is eaten will be completely absorbed into our bodies or miraculously disappear inside us. There will be no need for any elimination of liquids or solids. Nothing will come out too fast or too slow since nothing will need to come out at all! For many of us, happy day! No acid reflux, indigestion, food poisoning, or other such issues. We will eat all the hot sauce and spicy food we want!
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Isaiah 25:6; Matthew 22:1–4; 25:10; Luke 22:17–18; 24:30, 41–43; John 21:12–13; Acts 10:41; Revelation 2:7