Truth About Heaven

Today, we begin to wrap up our journey through Revelation…we’re at the best part.

I have been looking forward to this part of Revelation…for a long time…to go through it with you.

I hope that today and next week will be refreshing… as we think about Heaven especially the new Heaven and the new Earth. So we're in Revelation 21. 

We have looked at some tough subjects…Tribulation…Antichrist…Great White Throne Judgment. 

We also looked at the Millennium, 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth…when we rule & reign with Him.

With every crazy thing that happens politically…here in Canada or south of the border or around the world…I remind myself…there is coming a day when that won't happen, when Jesus rules & reigns. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. But today, we're going to look at Heaven. 

1 Corinthians 2:9 “…no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him…” 

We often hear re: heaven. Eye hasn't seen…ear hasn't heard…it hasn’t even entered into our heart. (no one can understand). Keep reading: “…these things God has revealed to us through His spirit."

So we have the revelation of God…to help us know (at least in part) what Heaven is going to be like.

So I titled this message:  Truth about Heaven…

PEOPLE HAVE SOME WEIRD IDEAS ABOUT HEAVEN…confusion about what Heaven will be like. 

Ex. Some think we turn into angels when we die. Source? Not from the Bible. We just don’t.

Ex. When you die…enter the pearly gates…Peter stops you and ask questions.

Ex. You’ll eventually get to Heaven…but you got to go somewhere first to burn your sins off. 

Ex. In Heaven we sit on clouds playing harps. How boring? No wonder people aren’t excited heaven

"Satan labours to give people an inaccurate view of Heaven. He slanders three things…God’s person, God's people, and God's place. Some of Satan's favourite lies are in regards to Heaven.” R. Alcorn

But Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you.”John 14:2

Here in Revelation 21-22 we are about to read about that place. The place Jesus has prepared.

What we are dealing with here is the new Heaven and the new Earth, the eternal state of Heaven. 

Now, a couple preliminaries as we get started:

“Heaven” is mentioned in the Bible 532x

“Heavens”  171x in the plural, the Heavens.

So over 700x Heaven is mentioned. Therefore…a very important subject mentioned that much.

English word HEAVEN comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word, heave-on. to be lifted up or uplifted.

Hebrew word for Heaven...shamayim is a word that means…the heights.

Greek word is similar…ouranos, means…lofty or lifted up. 

So when "Jesus lifted up His eyes to Heaven and prayed." It's typically referred to as upward.

Now, having said all that…not a lot is said in the Bible about Heaven. I wish there were more details. 

There's more in the Bible about the Tabernacle…than there is about Heaven. 

Perhaps the reason is to prevent us from trying to get there as soon as possible.

So in the Bible, Heaven is spoken of in 3 different ways…

a. The TERRESTRIAL heavens…atmosphere surrounding earth…the birds of the heavens. 

b. The CELESTIAL heavens…moon, stars, sun. Etc. “The heavens declare the glory of God.”

c. The THIRD Heaven…Heaven of heavens…God's Heaven…the dwelling place of God's glory.

That is what Paul called it: "I was caught up into the third Heaven.” 2 Corinthians 12:2

Paul said in Philippians, "Our citizenship is in Heaven.” I.e, you have an address in Heaven. You're going there one day. Paul also wrote, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

In other words, no matter how good you have it on earth…Heaven will be far better!

So what is Heaven like?

Well, we don't need to guess. We read in Revelation 21:1 “Then I saw…”

John has seen so much! Given to him by Jesus Christ of Heaven…called Revelation

He’s seen the Tribulation…Antichrist…Second Coming of Jesus…millennial kingdom. Now Heaven.

So John is an eyewitness.

I ‘would rather listen to what John saw about Heaven…than man’s speculation.

Five TRUTHS about Heaven…

TRUTH #1 Heaven & Earth Will Be DESTROYED…Revelation 21:1

This can be a difficult truth for some. Destruction? What do you mean heaven & earth destroyed? 

Revelation 20:11 "Then I saw the great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From His presence earth and sky fled away." 

So after Christ’s millennial reign on Earth…present universe will be destroyed… i.e. lit cease to exist.

So what does that mean? It means no earth as we know it…no Rocky Mountains, no Atlantic ocean, No Pacific ocean…No Niagara Falls…No East Coast beaches…

The earth itself…all that we know…even the millennial Earth, will be completely destroyed.

BTW…This is not new news:  We actually have read about his a lot.

Hebrews 1:10-12, "Like a robe, you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed." 

Changed into what? God is going to create a new Heaven and a new Earth.

Matthew 24:35 ”Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”

We focus on the second part…but notice the first…Heaven and Earth will pass away. There it is.

Jesus himself announced there will be an end to this world.

Important to note…this earth was designed by God to be temporary…It's His to begin with. 

He will completely take it out of existence…

Colossians 1:17 “And He (Jesus) is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together."

What holds the universe together? Answer? Jesus holds it together.

Question, what happens when He lets go? The earth, Heavens, & universe will cease to exist.

And one day He will let go. By the way, that is described by Peter, 2 Peter 3:7, 10-13.

It's a great question. If the material universe is going to burn up, what kind of a person should you be? Not a materialistic person. You should be a SPIRITUAL person.

TRUTH #2 The New Heaven and Earth will be a BRAND NEW DESIGN…Revelation 21:1-2

Revelation 21:1-2

Revelation 21:1–2 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Notice the word "new." “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…” v.2 "I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem."  v.5 "He who sat on the throne said behold…I make all things new.”

We will take a closer look at new Jerusalem next week.

But just a note about that, v.2 “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

a. LIKE A BRIDE…It seems God is saving the best for last and can't wait to see your face when He shows you this part of heaven.

July 26, 1996  I stood at the front of St John’s…nervous wedding…but then Karen appeared and began walking down the aisle. And for me, it was like, Wow! I was like, I'm OK now.

A bride adorned for her husband…that’s how God describes Him showing you this part of heaven, the New Jerusalem. More on that next week.

b. ALL THINGS NEW…v.5 "Behold, I make all things new." In Heaven, everything is always NEW.

Revelation 21:5

Revelation 21:5 ESV

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

I won’t go up to Roger and say “Hey, is that a new shirt?” He’ll say: Yes, it's new. It's always new.

It’s in the present tense. "Behold, I am…(always, constantly)…making all things new." 

We buy new things they soon get scuffed, dinged, lose their shine…I make all things new. 

c. ANTICIPATED for a long time…this new Heavens and earth have been anticipated for a long time. 

Not just here in the NT…it goes way back to the OT:

Isaiah 65:17 God said, “For behold, I create new Heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind."

Everything is new. Best day ever every single day. 

d. IT IS ALL NEW…heaven & earth…Jerusalem…all things…a very particular word. You need to know.

“new”= kainos is the word…very different from the typical word.

“neos” is the usual word in Greek for new…as in never been seen because it's chronologically new. 

“kainos” But this word, means new qualitatively. I.e. it's a fresh design. It's new in quality.

It's different from this or that. It's completely different.

So pause and think about what God did in 6 days…He made the heavens and the earth!

He did an amazing job!.  There are some awesome places on Earth, so gorgeous. In 6 days! 

I love this. God made the old one. He'll make a new one. And it'll be completely qualitatively different.

No He is not going to re-create them with existing materials.

He created them out of nothing…and He will create this New Heaven and New Earth out of nothing.

So new Heaven and New Earth will be different qualitatively, qualitatively new, fresh design.

BELIEVER! KNOW THAT YOUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT! 

Think of your future in a nutshell:

Part 1…The BELIEVER DIES…their body goes into the grave…their soul goes into God’s presence. 

“…absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” a place of joy, a place of comfort.

Not a lot of information about this part of Heaven. Some think it's God’s throne room Revelation 4-5. 

Your soul…spirit will be in God's presence. You will be fully aware, fully awake, able to communicate, fully enjoy God's presence. Just your soul will be there, not your body. 

Part 2…The RAPTURE…you get your new body…your old body is resurrected and transformed into a new body. That happens at the rapture.  For more info…read 1 Corinthians 15

Part 3… The JUDGEMENT seat of Christ…where you & I stand before Jesus Christ (not the great white throne). The bema seat is the Greek word. You get your reward for your faithfulness to Jesus Christ in serving Him while you were on the earth. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Part 4…MARRIAGE SUPPER of the Lamb. Probably the last seven years…some think that's the whole millennial kingdom. Some think it's the 7-year tribulation period while we're in Heaven, we enjoy the marriage supper of the lamb. Sounds like a party, right?

Part 4…RETURN WITH JESUS…where we come back with Jesus at His 2nd Coming for 1,000 years. 

Part 5…ETERNAL STATE…this is what we're talking about…new Heaven, new Earth, new Jerusalem. 

TRUTH #3 The New Heavens & New Earth Will Be VERY DIFFERENT!

Notice the the Bible is silent about features regarding the new Earth in the eternal state except in negatives. John tells us what's NOT there.

.v.1, "There is no more  …John’s very simple, but profound way of saying… 

The new earth will be completely different from the old earth…different from what we know right now. 

a. NO SEA… Revelation 21:1b “…and the sea was no more.”

This is a startling change from the present earth…may find it difficult to imagine.

Nearly 3/4 of the earth is covered by water. All life on earth depends right now on water. Our bodies are made up of 65%water…blood is 90% water. If you don't drink water, you will die.

This means the new heaven and the new earth will be based on a completely different life principle…

All of life right now depends on the hydrological cycle…there will be no hydrological cycle…the continuous process of moving water between the oceans…atmosphere…land and groundwater…through evaporation…condensation…precipitation and run off and infiltration back to water bodies…

Also…seas/oceans divide people…no sea = no separation…access everyone.

Is there any kind of water in heaven? Yes. Revelation 22:1 "I saw a pure river of the water of life."

We'll look a little bit at that next time as we close this series.

b. It’s going to LOOK & FEEL very unfamiliar.

At funerals, you often hear things like: “He's up there right now playing golf.” No,  

it's going to be completely unfamiliar from what we are used to.

Before we look at what else is not there…notice WHAT IS THERE. 

WHAT IS THERE? Revelation 21:3

Revelation 21:3

Revelation 21:3 ESV

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

GOD IS THERE…The tabernacle of God is with men…and He will dwell with them. 

3x in one verse, God is with them…God is with them…God is with them. {Theme of all Scripture}

In Heaven, you will be with God in a very unique sense, a very intimate sense, not like here. 

No more behind the veil…no more looking through a glass dimly, no more. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

God is present with us now in His Holy Spirit. But you will have Him in Heaven, God will be there.

And He says, “Come to My house. Live with Me and My Father's house or my many mansions.

Come on in…you will have access, instant to God. No appointments necessary. 

He will be with you. You will be with Him. I can't wait to just hang out and just have a conversation. 

I can’t wait to ask Him all the questions…

He's with us. He's with us. He’s with us.

NO TEARS…Revelation 21:4

Revelation 21:4 ESV

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Probably the most comforting verse in scripture, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes…

No Kleenex in heaven, no sniffling in Heaven, no tears.

Can you remember days of tears in your life? Of course you can. We all can.

I have wept so many times in this life…I have lost many friends who have gone before. I have had days of tears, tears of loneliness, tears of regret, tears of poverty, sympathy. We've cried them all.  

But God will wipe away every tear. There will be no crying.  Look at what else. No more death.

NO DEATH…

In the next 24 hours, 175,000 people will die….that means every year 63 million people die on Earth…

Here on earth…death scars life…scars human existence…BUT NOT IN HEAVEN.

In heaven…no death, no cemeteries, no funerals, no funeral homes, no heart-rending goodbyes, no death. And because there's no death, there's no living with the fear of death.

But there is no death in Heaven. And if there is no death, then there's no conditions that bring death. No doctors, no dentists, no cavities, no surgeries, no disease, no viruses, no hospitals. 

NO SORROW…

Then it says, “no mourning (sorrow).” Ever get cranky? Moody? Down & depressed? Sure you do. 

Everybody does. Even the psalmist said, "I am weary with my groaning every night I flood my bed with tears, I drench my couch with my weeping, my eye wastes away because of grief…” Psalm 6:6

But there is coming a day when you won't relate to that. It will all be in the rear-view mirror, won't even come to mind any longer. 

No sorrow…no sadness…no depression. You'll never say "have a good day" in Heaven.

Every day in heaven will be awesome. Every day will be the best day ever, 

NO PAIN… 

Then it says there's “…nor pain anymore." 

No PHYSICAL PAIN…No need for Advil or Tylenol ibuprofen? No head aches, no migraines! 

There'll be no more pain in heaven. You'll have a perfect body. Time takes its toll on every body… 

No RELATIONAL PAIN…no confrontation, no strife, no needing reconcile, no relational breakdown. 

No EMOTIONAL PAIN…the hurts of this life will be completely forgotten.

Revelation 21:5-6

Revelation 21:5–6 ESV

5 And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

And get a load of v.6. He said to me, "It's done.”

The one who spoke at the beginning and said "let there be light" now says, "it's done." 

This is the end of world history. It is done. I am the alpha and the omega…the first and last letters of Greek alphabet, the beginning and the end. 

“To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life…” = picture of abundance…of satisfaction.

Right now we do not experience everything our heart longs for…but in heaven abundant satisfaction.

TRUTH #4 The New Heaven and New Earth Will NOT BE FOR EVERYONE…

John wraps up his preview of heaven with a serious and solemn warning.

He makes very clear that Heaven will not be for everyone.

Revelation 21:7-8

Revelation 21:7–8 ESV

7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

v.8 “the cowardly…those who pushed it away, too afraid to make a commitment for Christ 

“the faithless”…unbelieving…they should have believed, they could have…but they wouldn’t believe, 

“the detestable…” abominable…the out-and-out, flagrant sinner…

“murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars…

Now, this implies unrepentant murderers because murderers will be in heaven. 

Those who ask Jesus to forgive them of their sins and came to Christ will be there. 

But if they didn't, "murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers idolaters, and all liars will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." 

Do you get the picture? It is very clear and graphic.

Heaven is exclusive. Not everybody gets there. 

You don't get to live however you want to live and be very sincere in your little worldview and belief system and expect God to say, “OK, good enough. Come into Heaven.”

Heaven is very exclusive. Not everybody goes there.

Not everybody listening to me right now will go to Heaven because some people are listening and as they hear it…they're reject what I'm saying.

So who is it for? Him who conquers…overcomes…victorious! 

Who's that? Every Christian has overcome. (nikeo)

If you believe in Christ, you are a conqueror…an overcomer. 

1 John 5:4–5 ESV

4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

If you're a Christian..know this…the best is yet to come.

If you are not a Christian…the worst is yet to come.

You're just going to grow old on this Earth. And the only thing you have are memories. 

Hopefully you got some good ones to hold onto. And then it's really bad after that. If you're a believer, it's better and better and better.

The best is coming. No broken homes, no broken hearts, no rehab, no hell. No hell. 

And listen, as good as the Christian life is here, I'm the first to admit, there's something missing.

And some of you go, why is something missing…You are designed to feel that way.

CS Lewis "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

You were made for another world.

And this is the world you were made for. And this is the world you are going to if you are an overcomer…meaning you believe in Jesus Christ. If you don't, you need to.

So I plead with each and every one today…Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Put your faith in Him. 

PRAY…

Father, we close this portion of Scripture, knowing we have just scratched the surface of our eternal home. We are just peering through the gate. We're just peeking over the wall. We are still seeing through a glass darkly. We can only imagine…but added to our imagination is the revelation of God. 

You have told us in part what the eternal state will be like, new Heaven and new Earth. It is hard for us to imagine.. Most of it is just flat-out awesome. And we are looking forward, knowing that our citizenship is in heaven. 

But Lord, I pray for anyone who is here today or tuning in online…maybe they are not quite sure if they're ready to leave planet Earth…non sure if they're right with you. I pray they will get right with you.