Will we be able to eat anything in Heaven?

Question

Eating meat and potatoes for lunch after missing breakfast, I was thanking God for such delicious foods. Then I came up with a question; will we be able to eat in Heaven? I love eating, and I wouldn't be able to stand not being able to eat chili-dogs for eternity in Heaven. Is there any biblical backups that states whether or not will we be able to eat anything once we die?

Answer 1

A great deal of this is copy-pasted from my answer to another, similar question.

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First off, Revelations 19 has a wedding feast.

Revelation 19:9 (NIV)
⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

(Emphasis mine.)

You can't really have a feast without food or drink. There is also the promise of Jesus that He will not drink wine again until this very same feast.

Matthew 26:29 (NLT)

²⁹ Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”

Mark 14:25 (NLT)

²⁵ I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

Luke 22:18 (NLT)

¹⁸ For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”

This statement takes place immediately after Jesus offers wine and bread at the first Communion. Now, if there weren't any grapes in Heaven, could there be wine? Now, obviously, God could very easily simply produce wine on the spot, and a miracle should never be excluded from the set of possibilities.

Now to actually answer your real question: we can't really know. I know of no verse that talks about whether or not there is any food or drink being consumed in Heaven right now. That said, what is there to keep Jesus and other people already up there from enjoying the gift of eating that God gave them? I mean...I could totally imagine Jesus munching on some fish with Peter, James, and John right now...

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I read a great book several years ago - Heaven by Randy Alcorn - that essentially showed from Scripture how the New Earth would be like the Old Earth in pretty much every way, just bigger, better, and without sin and its effects. I also recently read another great book - Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge - that developed the personality of Jesus far beyond a shallow reading of the Gospels.

For example, remember when Jesus met the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection? (Luke 24:13-34) I mean, c'mon! "What things?" (Verse 19)? He had have been practically smirking there! This is the same Jesus that generously produced nearly a thousand bottles of wine at the wedding in Cana and the same Jesus that fed a total of about 25,000 people on two separate occasions.

The same God made our taste buds that allow us to enjoy the delicious food He provided for us. Also, we will have bodies in Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:3). Such enjoyment that we have now...why would He deny us that in Heaven? Ha! I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too! Probably with Jesus at some point! I promise you, you'll have your chili-dogs! :D

Answer 2

Well, Jesus was able to eat after His resurrection, so I assume we will, too:

Luke 24:39-43

39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

However there is no evidence in the Bible (that I know of) indicating that spirits can consume food. You might have to go hungry until the resurrection. ;-)

Answer 3

I very much worry about this myself.

If I become a spirit and am full of energy I might not feel sleepy at all. In that case I won't have the pleasure of napping on a Sunday afternoon after some hot soup and pirozhoks. :-(

But I suspect that these pleasures would be replaced with other kinds of pleasures.

I hope nobody thinks I'm blaspheming by making this analogy but have you ever interacted with anyone addicted to drugs?

People who are addicted to heroin would tell you that it feels like being in the arms of God. People on meth say that they feel full of energy like superman.

My point is that since human mind is capable of experiencing these emotions it probably was made for such experiences but the fall from grace cut us off. (I'm in no way advocating drugs just making a point)

As another example, we humans are capable of seeing only a part of the electromagnetic spectrum that we call as light. Just imagine if we were able to see the entire spectrum. I suspect we might spend the first few decades in heaven walking around heaven marveling at the new colors.

1 Corinthians 2:9 No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.

Hence I think that there would be new sorts of pleasures beyond anything that we can even imagine. And once we've experienced those we may not even remember about the old things.

But if you're too adamant about it I think you can eat chili-dogs.

In the old testament we can see the angels taking on a human form and eating food prepared by Abraham.

Combine that with -

Matthew 4:3 If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.

So it might be easier than here actually. All you have to do is command some stones to become chilli-dogs and munch away. :)