What's Next?

Intro

There is no verse in the Bible that says you are going to heaven when you die

… Do I have your attention now?

To be more clear, there is no verse that says we will leave this cruel world behind to live a disembodied existence in an eternal spritual realm with God

We need to clean up some of the “caricatures” of our picture of heaven

Explain what a caricature is (show Will Smith picture) and make a joke about my hairline

Caricature #1 = Our eternal home is purely spiritual

Caricature #2 = Our eternal existence will be as disemobied spirits

Caricature #3 = Our eternal outfit will be a halo, white robe and a harp

Caricature #4 = Our eternal activity will be one forever-long church service

Almost all of these caricatures come from the influence of Platonic thought in Christian theology

Plato taught that the spiritual realm was good and perfect, while the physical realm was evil and needed to be escaped

The Gnostics of the early church picked up on this philosophy and drew many (crazy) conclusions

Many were (rightly) disregarded as heresy, but some influence has remained; largely in respect to the afterlife

The Bible does NOT teach this type of dualism (spirit good; body bad)

Instead, we are described as holistic beings (body, soul, spirit) created in the image of God… and it was good!

So when we make the goal of our existence to merely “fly away” to heaven when we die, we miss many important things.

A massive assumption has been made in Western Christianity that the purpose of being a Christian is simply, or at least mainly, to “go to heaven when you die,” and texts that don’t say that but that mention heaven are read as if they did say it, and texts that say the opposite, like Romans 8:18-25 and Revelation 21 - 22, are simiply screened out as if they didn’t exist. (N.T. Wright)

So if the Bible doesn’t teach a disembodied, eternal, spiritual destination in heaven… what does it teach?

Great question! This demands an answer, because we ALL know that death changes things, and we need to be firmly grounded in the hope of Jesus

Share the story of going to my great uncle Pete’s funeral and peering into the open casket with Brad; there was his body, but where did HE go?

So, what’s next? What does the Bible teach will happen right after death?

What’s Next? (Intermediate State)

OT:

Sheol = place of the dead

Sometimes also translated as “the pit” or “the grave”

NOT a reference for hell (as we will learn more about later)

For the people of God and everyone else alike

Cf. Ecclesiastes 9:9-10.

For the most part, the Old Testament is largely vague and silent about the nature of life after death

A good caution for us as well:

What the Bible teaches on the afterlife is more of a signpost than a photograph (thank N.T. Wright for this analogy)

Lots of mystery; little detail; but full of hope that points to a true promise

We need to be careful when we “fill in the blanks”

I will try to establish biblical “pillars” that I believe are clear and firm (non-negotiables)

Then we will fill in a framework within those pillars (still biblical, but room for different faithful interpretations)

NT:

Pillar: All people go somewhere immediately after death

Christians are in the presence of Christ after death

Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:6-9.

Home in the body = away from the Lord; away from the body = at home with the Lord (Jesus)

So take heart! Those who trust in Jesus are certainly with Him when they die

Just like my great uncle Pete, and all those who we know are now absent

This is exactly what Jesus meant when he told the repentant thief hanging on the cross next to Him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)

Non-believers are separated from Christ’s presence after death

Often described as darkness, with weeping and gnashing of teeth

Cf. Matthew 8:10-12.

It is faith that distinguishes between the two

Caution! Jesus often uses this description in parables, so we need to be aware of figurative language

Point is still the same: Without faith in Jesus, we will be away from His presence

Pillar: All people await the resurrection and judgment for their eternal future

Cf. John 5:24-29.

Jesus tells us plainly that “all who are in the tombs” will experience the resurrection

Those who believe in Him (and do good) will go to “the resurrection of life”

Important to include verse 24! Belief is our basis for grace, mercy and life

Those who do not believe (and do evil) will go to “the resurrection of judgment”

So while we have the immediate promise of being in God’s presence after death, that is NOT our eternal home

The best way to describe what we are waiting for is the New Heaven and the New Earth

Cf. Revelation 21:1-5a.

THIS is where we spend eternity; not in a spiritually disembodied state; THIS is what we are all waiting for

Framework: Therefore, joining Christ in heaven is an intermediate state

Cf. Revelation 6:9-11.

This picture of God’s throne room in heaven clearly shows people of God, in God’s presence, waiting for justice and complete fulfillment of His kingdom

Don’t worry about the white robes! This is symbolic imagery

We also read about God’s throne room in heaven in Rev. 4 last week, learning that the 24 elders are in constant worship

24 elders = the church = present with God in heaven… yet waiting for more

Different explanations:

Purgatory

A Roman catholic theology that teaches the dead must be “purged” of their sins before entering heaven

Led to the habit of praying for deceased and the practice of indulgences (paying the church to expediate someone’s stay in purgatory)

Nothing in this is biblically based, and is not a good description of the intermediate state

Soul sleep

Martin Luther championed this idea, largerly in reaction to the Catholic teachings of purgatory and indulgences that he sought to reform

“Thus after death the soul goes to its bedchamber and to its peace, and while it is sleeping it does not realize its sleep, and God preserves the awakening soul.” (Martin Luther)

As much as it helped people reject purgatory, there isn’t much biblical basis for soul sleep, either

Comes from a misunderstanding of when the Bible uses the word “sleep” to describe those who have passed away (figurative, not literal)

Like in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”

Heaven

We can all it heaven, God’s presence, paradise, or the Present Heaven

What we mean is that it refers to the temporary existence of believers in heaven with God while awaiting the resurrection and New Heaven and New Earth

Share the story of Randy Holm calling Paradise the “front porch” of heaven

When a Christian dies, he or she etners into what is referred to in theology as the “intermediate state,” the transitional period between life on Earth and the future resurrection to life on the New Earth. Usually when we refer to “Heaven,” we mean the place that Christians go when they die. This is what I am calling the present or intermediate Heaven. (Randy Alcorn)

So yes, the Bible DOES teach that when you are a follower of Jesus, you go to Heaven after you die

The catch is that is only a temporary stop on the way to our eternal, resurrected future

Framework: What is the Present Heaven Like?

Heaven is all about being in the presence of God

This should bring us tremendous peace and comfort (for ourselves and others)

Winnie the Pooh is full of nuggets of truth:

“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day”

“Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

“Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon”

“When all else fails, take a nap”

Show the picture with the quote, “Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. ‘Pooh!’ he whispered. ‘Yes, Piglet?’ ‘Nothing, said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. ‘I just wanted to be sure of you.’”

There is a certainty, a peace, a confidence that comes from being in the presence of God

On the other hand, the experience of non-believers after death is best described as being away from God’s presence

All the figurate and descriptive language stand as warnings that we should avoid such a fate

Heaven is far better than our life on earth

Cf. Philippians 1:23 “I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”

It is a challenge to peice together too many details about the nature of heaven

Remember, sign-posts vs. photographs!

But we can be certain it is even better than anything we experience during our life

Think of your favourite memory; dream up your best future; Multiply times 1,000

Heaven is about continuity

With our past life

Just as the martyrs were crying for justice, there is good reason to believe that you will continue to be you!

With our eternal home to come

We are being held in God’s hand for a specific eternal future, one that will be connected to the past, the present heaven and then forevermore

Conclusion

So let us move away from settling for caricatures of our heavenly hope

It will not be disconnected from us, or boring, or uncertain

Instead, let us rest on the wonderful hope that the Bible declares is ours in Christ Jesus

In Christ, we can be with God immediately on the other side of death

In His presence, in a place that is far greater than earth

In Christ, we can anticipate the resurrection to a New Heaven and New Earth

Our permanent hope is not merely spiritual, but physical and related to how everything has been created

Let us also heed the warning that Scripture shouts with the hope of salvation

Without Christ, we are outside of God’s presence on the other side of death

Without Christ, the resurrection is one of judgment and punishment

The invitation is clear: Jesus is King of kings and Lord of Lords; He has promised to return to judge the living and the dead; today you have a chance to worship and follow Him now and forever