Answering Kids’ Five Biggest Questions On Heaven And Angels

Talking to kids about certain topics can feel a bit awkward. You know the ones—like how babies are made, the meaning behind drinking the “blood of Christ” during communion, or why the moon landings were totally faked (I jest. Probably.) These subjects may be uncomfortable, but they’re essential conversations.

If we shy away from these discussions, we risk leaving our children’s understanding in the hands of the same liberals who crafted the public school curriculum. Fortunately, approaching these topics isn’t as daunting as it may seem. You don’t need to be a theologian or pastor to discuss heaven and angels with your kids; you just need to be prepared.

In general, it’s worth educating yourself a little bit beyond watching a brief “Bible Project” video. Equip yourself with a good Bible concordance and a Bible will help you navigate their big questions with confidence. You’ll also want to consider whether your child is old enough to explore the answers together or if you’ll provide straightforward responses.

But I also put together some cheat sheets for parents on some of the big topics that kids love to ask questions about, and that parents often struggle with. In this article, heaven and angels are the topic of discussion. 

So here are my top five big questions (and answers) that kids ask about this subject:

Question: “Why can’t I see heaven?”

Answer: “Our Earthly eyes can’t see heaven, but after we die, our heavenly eyes will be able to see everything.”

The terms “earthly eyes” and “heavenly eyes” can help us explain the concept of “things visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:16). While on Earth we can only see the things on Earth, in heaven we’ll be able to see the things in heaven.

Question: “Who is in heaven right now?”

Answer: “God, Jesus, angels, and saints who have already died.”

After people die, our bodies remain on Earth and our souls go to either heaven or hell. People who love and follow Jesus (saints) will go to heaven after they die. People who don’t love Jesus will be forever separated from Him in a place called hell.

Question: “Can I take my favorite stuffed animal to heaven?”

Answer: “No, we can’t take anything with us to heaven, but what God has for us in heaven is perfect.”

This is the perfect opportunity to talk about the character of God and how great heaven will be. While we don’t have all the specifics about what “forever in heaven” looks like, we do know that God is a giver of good things and that heaven will be perfect. I would ask your child to think about the best toy ever, best food ever, best day ever, etc. and ask them to describe it. Then tell them that because God is so good, what He has for us in heaven is even better than that, far beyond what they can imagine. 

This is also a great moment to begin teaching our kids that while we don’t have every answer or that things don’t always make sense, we can be confident in who God is and what He has done for us. 

It’s also important to note a few other things: People are different than all the rest of God’s creation because we have souls. Animals, stuffed animals, toys, etc don’t have souls. The word “soul” is sometimes used interchangeably with “heart” or “spirit”. Our soul is where the Holy Spirit lives inside of us while we are on Earth and is the part of us that goes to heaven after we die.

Question: “What is heaven like?”

Answer: “Heaven is perfect. There will be no more sin, sickness, sadness, or death. We will get to live there with God forever.”

I would pull out all the resources for this question: A proper Bible, a good storybook Bible, and Junior Bible Quiz cards.

Revelation 21 is filled with beautiful imagery of what John saw in his vision of heaven. I would encourage you to open your Bible and simply read it to your kids. For more resources for your elementary-aged kids, The Biggest Story Bible (by Kevin DeYoung) has a great story about Revelation 21-22— story #104.

I also had to find my Junior Bible Quiz cards for this one. “Question #460: Name five things that will not be found in heaven? Tears, Death, Sorrow, Pain, Evil” 

Question: “What are angels and what do they do?”

Answer: “Angels are powerful messengers of God. Angels bring God’s messages to people, protect and guard people, and exist to glorify and obey him”

Angels were created by God to glorify him and to help carry out his plan on Earth. 

Two specific times in the Bible we see angels working on Earth to carry out the Lord’s plan that kids will probably be aware of are in Daniel 6, we see an angel shutting the mouth of lions so they would not hurt Daniel, and in Luke 1 when God sends an angel to Mary and Joseph to announce that Mary is pregnant with a baby whom they will name Jesus.

While people and angels are both beings created by God, they are not the same. When people die, we cannot become angels. Unlike people, they do not have physical bodies and normally cannot be seen with our “earthly eyes”. But they are real and involved in human affairs.