Touching Eternity: Heaven: Faith-filled Fanfic, Pt. 6
Last time, we looked at a few tips for how to depict Hell and a character’s experiences there. This time, we’ll be looking at a much more joyful destination. Heaven.
Just as it’s a serious thing for a fictional person to wind up in Hell, it’s also a serious thing for one to wind up in Heaven. I’ve had three of my fanfic characters spend on-page time in Heaven, and one come very close to stepping into it. One of those characters is an angelic being, the other three are human.
As with depicting Hell, there are three key factors to take into consideration when depicting Heaven in fanfiction, and they’re actually the same as the ones from the previous post.
Take into account what the Bible has to say.
Heaven is as different from Hell as anything can be. Instead of all the horrors Hell holds, Heaven contains untold joys and wonders. It is also the place where God and His angels dwell.
The Bible tells us key details about Heaven, such as: there is no need for celestial bodies to provide light, because “the Lamb is the light thereof” (Rev. 21:23); God will be there, and from His throne will flow “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal” (Rev. 22:1); the tree of life will be there (Rev. 22:2); the curse of sin will be gone (Rev. 22:3); and many more wonderful things.
Should you have occasion to usher one of your fanfic characters into the halls of Heaven, do so reverently.
For the two human fanfic characters I worked with who stepped into Heaven, they both did so because they were dead. One only appeared on page after she’d been dead for years (in our time). The other had just died. These two characters had known one another in life, so when they met in Eternity, they still knew one another, even though they looked different, due to having glorified bodies instead of mortal ones. Their interactions were filled with awe, hope, and new life, and they got to interact with angels, other residents of Heaven, and even the Book of Life.
Remember why this experience is necessary.
Sending someone to Heaven is a weighty (however glad) thing and must not be done lightly or flippantly. To step into the abode of the Almighty is a sobering experience to be partaken of with care.
When someone’s life ends, and their immaterial self steps into Eternity, their destination has already been sealed. If, in life, they accepted Christ’s payment for their sin, Heaven is their destination. If they rejected that payment, Hell is. There is no third option.
So, why is your character experiencing Heaven? Is it because they’re dead? Are they a heavenly being? Or are they close to death and experiencing glimpses of Eternity? Whatever the answer, keep that in mind as you write.
The third human fanfic character of mine that touched Eternity was near death. This person essentially saw Heaven’s gates, but God let them know this wasn’t their time to die, so they wound up recovering from their injuries. That moment isn’t one this person remembers clearly, but the sense of it stays with them their entire life.
How does Heaven affect those who go there?
If your fanfic character is dead and in Heaven, their experience there will understandably differ from someone who is only seeing brief snippets of Eternity. It will also differ widely from an angelic being who’s spending time in Heaven. But whatever the case, be aware that this experience will change the person or being who has it. Albeit, in the case of an angelic being, that change might be something as simple as a more thorough reverence for God.
An angelic being I’ve worked with in my fanfic pieces has spent time in Heaven, interacting with both God the Father and God the Son, sometimes simultaneously. This experience also brought the character in contact with fallen Lucifer, since God had called Satan before Him, as He did during the events of the Biblical book of Job.
The angelic being in my fanfic work got a rare perspective on how God sometimes works. Even though what that angel witnessed didn’t shift their theology, it did inform their interactions with human characters from that moment on.
Touching Eternity is an amazing, serious thing, and all of us will do it at some point. When you walk with your fanfic characters through this experience, keep that in mind.
Next post, we’ll look at seemingly impossible situations and how God can (and sometimes does) step in.
Check out the index page for this blog series to see other topics we’ve covered.