Quick Answer: From the Marriage Supper of the Lamb to Jesus eating in His glorified body, discover the biblical promise of joyful heavenly feasting.
Food and drink are intrinsically woven into the fabric of the human experience. From joyous wedding feasts to quiet mornings over a steaming cup of coffee, eating and drinking are rarely just about caloric intake. They are about communion, celebration, culture, and memory. In many ways, the table is the centerpiece of human connection. It is no wonder, then, that when we look forward to the afterlife, we intuitively wonder: Will we eat and drink in Heaven? If eternal life is merely a ghostly, ethereal existence devoid of the sensory joys we experience now, it can feel less like a redeemed Earth and more like a sterile, unfamiliar void.
Culturally, the concept of a disembodied heaven owes more to Greek philosophy—specifically Platonism, which viewed the material world as inherently flawed or evil and the spiritual realm as pure—than it does to biblical theology. When exploring how can a person go to heaven according to the bible, people often mistakenly picture heaven as floating on clouds and playing harps as disembodied souls. Because we unconsciously absorb this cultural trope, asking whether there will be pizza, wine, or roasted lamb in eternity feels almost sacrilegious to some, or childish to others.
Yet, God created the physical world and called it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). He designed our taste buds, our olfactory senses, and the complex agricultural rhythms that produce our food. If the Christian hope is not the escape from the physical world but the resurrection of the body and the renewal of all things, then the question of eating and drinking in the New Creation becomes a profoundly theological one. The answer not only shapes our view of the future but also affirms the goodness of God’s physical design in the present.
A Pastoral Note: I was once sitting with a widow who had just lost her husband of fifty years, and through tears, she whispered, ‘I’m going to miss our Sunday morning coffee on the porch.’ It broke my heart, but it also gave me the profound privilege to remind her that heaven isn’t a sterile, floating existence in the clouds. God created our senses—taste, touch, and smell—and the Bible speaks of a magnificent banquet awaiting us. I assured her that the deep joy of fellowship over a shared meal is something God redeems and perfects in eternity, not something He discards.
The Biblical Foundation: Feasting in the Kingdom
The Promise of the Messianic Banquet
Throughout the Old Testament, the ultimate consummation of God’s redemptive plan is frequently depicted not as a quiet, ethereal worship service, but as a raucous, joyous feast. In Isaiah 25:6, we see a stunning picture of the future:
“On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.” (Isaiah 25:6, NIV)
The Hebrew word for “feast” here is mishteh (מִשְׁתֶּה), which implies a drinking feast or a grand banquet. God does not merely promise survival; He promises abundance, luxury, and physical joy. The “aged wine” (shemarim, שְׁמָרִים) and “best of meats” (shemanim, שְׁמָנִים - fat things, rich foods) emphasize the sensory, physical nature of this future reality. This passage is unequivocally linked to the ultimate defeat of death (Isaiah 25:8), firmly placing this feast in the eschatological future—what we often refer to as “Heaven,” but more accurately, the New Earth.
Jesus and the Table
When Jesus arrived, His ministry was so characterized by eating and drinking that His critics labeled Him a “glutton and a drunkard” (Matthew 11:19). Jesus constantly used the imagery of a feast to describe the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 8:11, He declares:
“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.” (Matthew 8:11, NIV)
The phrase “take their places at the feast” translates the Greek word anaklinō (ἀνακλίνω), which literally means to recline—the standard posture for eating a formal meal in the Greco-Roman world. Jesus envisions a physical gathering, a literal reclining at a table with the patriarchs.
Furthermore, at the Last Supper, Jesus makes a definitive promise regarding the future:
“I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29, NIV)
Jesus explicitly anticipates drinking wine (genēma tēs ampelou, fruit of the vine) again. He does not say this metaphorically; He is speaking of a future, physical reality in the consummated Kingdom. While believers often wonder if they can calculate the day of Jesus’ return, the focus here is simply on the joyous physical reality of what awaits us when He does.
The Resurrected Body: The Prototype of the New Creation
The Post-Resurrection Christ
To understand what our existence in the New Creation will be like, we must look to the resurrected Jesus. Jesus is the “firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:20) of the resurrection. The body He possesses now is the kind of body we will possess in the New Heavens and New Earth.
When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, they were terrified, thinking they had seen a ghost (Luke 24:37). Jesus goes out of His way to prove His physical reality:
“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39, NIV)
But Jesus does not stop at allowing them to touch Him. To provide undeniable proof of His physical, biological reality, He asks for food:
“They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.” (Luke 24:42-43, NIV)
A resurrected, glorified body—the exact type of body believers are promised—is capable of consuming and digesting physical food. Later, in John 21, Jesus prepares a breakfast of fish and bread over a charcoal fire for His disciples. If the resurrected Lord eats broiled fish, there is every reason to believe that resurrected humans will also eat.
The Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem
The book of Revelation provides a glorious vision of the eternal state, prompting many to seek the biblical truth about heaven having streets of gold. In Revelation 22, John describes the restored Edenic state of the New Jerusalem:
“On each side of the river stood the river of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:2, NIV)
The New Earth features the Tree of Life, bearing actual fruit (karpos, καρπός). Fruit is meant to be picked, tasted, chewed, and eaten. If there is no eating in the New Earth, a fruit-bearing tree is a superfluous detail. This imagery brings the biblical narrative full circle: humanity began in a garden where they were given all fruit-bearing trees for food (Genesis 1:29), and humanity’s eternal destiny features a garden-city with a tree of life yielding monthly harvests.
Addressing Common Objections and Misconceptions
“Flesh and Blood Cannot Inherit the Kingdom”
Some point to 1 Corinthians 15:50 to argue against a physical, eating-and-drinking existence:
“I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”
However, Paul’s use of the idiom “flesh and blood” (sarx kai haima) here refers to our current, mortal, corruptible human nature, not to the literal presence of physical matter. He is contrasting our current state of decay with the imperishable state of the resurrection body. Just as Jesus’ body was raised imperishable yet still possessed “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39) and could eat fish, our bodies will be physical, but no longer subject to death, decay, or sin.
Will We Be Hungry?
If we eat in heaven, does that mean we will experience the pain of starvation if we don’t? Revelation 7:16 explicitly promises: “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.”
In our current fallen state, eating is a necessity for survival; hunger is a biological alarm bell warning us of impending death. In the New Earth, biological necessity and decay are eradicated. Therefore, eating and drinking will not be driven by the painful necessity of staving off starvation, but by the pure joy, pleasure, and communal celebration of God’s provision. We will eat not because we must to survive, but because we can to rejoice.
For a deeper study, see our guide on Psalm 91 Meaning: He Who Dwells in the Shelter which many readers have found helpful.
Romans 14:17: “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking”
Paul writes in Romans 14:17:
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Context is crucial here. Paul is addressing a dispute in the Roman church over dietary laws, kosher foods, and meat sacrificed to idols. He is telling the church not to divide over earthly dietary restrictions, because the core of the Gospel (the Kingdom) is righteousness and peace, not whether one eats pork or abstains from wine. Paul is not making an eschatological claim about the nature of the New Heavens and New Earth; he is addressing first-century church disputes.
Theological Implications: Why This Matters
The reality of eating and drinking in the New Creation affirms the theology of physical redemption. God is not throwing away the physical universe; He is redeeming it (Romans 8:19-21). The material world is not a mistake or a temporary testing ground to be discarded. Matter matters to God.
When we eat and drink in the New Earth, every bite will be an act of worship. Currently, our enjoyment of food is often tainted by gluttony, scarcity, bodily brokenness, or idolatry—sins that should make us pause and reflect on what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit. In eternity, our appetites will be perfectly calibrated to God’s glory. The sensory pleasure of tasting a perfectly ripe piece of fruit or a vintage wine will immediately turn our hearts in gratitude to the Creator who designed the fruit, the taste buds, and the capacity for joy.
Furthermore, eating is inherently communal. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9) is the ultimate gathering of God’s family. To share a meal is to share life. In eternity, we will sit across the table from brothers and sisters from every tribe, tongue, and nation, sharing stories of God’s grace over the best meal we have ever tasted.
3 Practical Applications
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Rejoice in the Goodness of Creation Now: Because the physical world is going to be redeemed, we can deeply enjoy the physical gifts God has given us today. Eating a delicious meal, sharing a cup of coffee with a friend, or celebrating with a glass of wine are not unspiritual distractions. When done with gratitude, they are foretastes of the eschatological banquet. Reject the false divide between the “spiritual” and the “physical.” Worship God by savoring the food He provides today.
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Practice Biblical Hospitality: If the eternal state is characterized by a massive communal feast, our earthly tables should reflect this future reality. Opening your home, setting a table, and feeding others is a profoundly theological act. It is a dress rehearsal for the New Creation. Invite the lonely, the poor, and the stranger to your table (Luke 14:12-14), demonstrating the radical, inclusive hospitality of the coming Kingdom.
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Find Comfort in the Face of Bodily Loss: For those suffering from physical ailments, eating disorders, food allergies, or failing health, the promise of a resurrected, physical body is deeply comforting. The Christian hope is not that you will finally escape your body, but that your body will be entirely made new. You will experience the physical joys of taste, nourishment, and community without the accompanying pain, sickness, or decay that plagues this current life. Your physical self has a glorious future.