Eternity Heaven

Turn to Rev. 21

Tonight we are finishing up the series on Eternity. If you remember we looked at the scope of eternity a few weeks ago, the idea of forever. Then last week we looked at the unfortunate place of hell. But tonight we get to talk about the fun stuff—heaven!

Let me pray and let’s get started:

God thank you for your presence, and that we can experience you here in our time of worship of You. Help us to dive into your Word and learn from you tonight. Speak to us tonight. Amen.

Intro:

I know we had a little fun with the Time Travel Trivia earlier [Game sold on downloadyouthministry.com] Do you ever think about that? About whether or not time travel was real?

[Leader Note: I used the following personal illustration about the Back to the Future movies. You can easily adapt and edit my words to make the illustration work for you.]

To be honest, this series all started out of realizing that we are currently living in the future.

I was driving around during Christmas break and realized it is now 2015…

That is the future! You guys know that my favorite movie of all time is Back To The Future (actually all three of them together!)

Someone gave me this little McDonald’s Toy from 1991 that they found at a thrift store of the DeLorean time machine, and it still sparks out the back!

See I grew up when that was the big movie!

Now it’s a classic (Makes me feel old!)

But you see in Back to the Future 2, the main character Marty travels to 2015 and sees the “future.” Of course there are hover boards, flying cars, hologram movies, crazy colorful outfits, also bionic implants, and, oh yeah, flying cars!

[Could show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d68yRIE9OvQ but cut for time]

The future has always amazed me.

I have always wished I could travel in time, but I know that will never be possible.

But thinking about the future makes me think of the expanse of all of time, all of the past behind us, and all of the future ahead of us.

In the space of all of that, how significant is the time we actually do have in the greatness of eternity?

We’ve looked at this each week, but remember

yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

In the greatness of time, in the space of all eternity, our life is like the fire from this match. [Repeat the illustration from the previous weeks, lighting a match then shortly blowing it out]

It burns bright for just a short while, and then its done. All that is left is a small trail of smoke, and the rest just vanishes into the expanse out here.

See we have to remember that eternity is far beyond what our minds can actually comprehend.

Eternity is forever.

When will eternity end? Never.

That makes no sense to us, because we only understand time.

But you see, in the same way we try to understand eternity, I want to talk tonight about heaven.

Before we really get into it, just try to remember, we can only grasp things based off of our own understanding.

This means that for anything in existence, if you can’t compare it to something you know, then you can’t really understand it.

So tonight as we talk about heaven, we will talk about it in ways we can understand, even though it is beyond our true capability to grasp.

Let me remind you too, though, that heaven is our eternity only if we choose to surrender our lives here on earth to God and receive His forgiveness through Jesus.

But if we choose to reject God, and go through life without Him, we will spend eternity in that same way—separated from God.

[Leader Note: Here again, adapt the following for your own setting.]

We did this last week, and I think you guys had some fun, so what I want you to do is grab those outlines at the table.

Flip it over to the questions on the back and check out question number 1.

In the space provided, draw a picture of heaven.

Try to think of things that will be there, and what you expect.

Draw whatever comes to mind as I read you these Scripture passages that talk about heaven.

Then in a few minutes you will get to share your pictures with the people at your table. So go ahead and start drawing, as I read these verses.

(NLT)

11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.

(NLT)

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

The skies display his craftsmanship.

(NIV)

43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

(NLT)

19 Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.

(ESV)

18 For thus says the Lord,

who created the heavens

(he is God!),

who formed the earth and made it

(he established it;

he did not create it empty,

he formed it to be inhabited!):

“I am the Lord, and there is no other.

(NLT)

6 “You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.

(NLT)

9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.

(NLT)

2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?

(NLT)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Ok, just like last week, I want you to pass your papers around. This time, though, vote on whose drawing is the best and then bring it to me up front here.

[Spend a moment enjoying the pictures. Talk about how funny or awesome they are. This part is not in the manuscript. You could also have students take pictures of their drawings and post them to Instagram using a hashtag.]

Teaching:

Let’s dive in to what we can learn about heaven tonight. These may go fast, but grab those outlines and here we go!

The first thing I want you to know is that Heaven Is A Real Place.

I know that may sound pretty basic. Of course it’s real, you may think.

But it is important to say because sometimes people think of heaven differently. [Used some internet research at http://www.lifewayresearch.com/2014/10/28/americans-believe-in-heaven-hell-and-a-little-bit-of-heresy/ but didn’t go into detail about it.]

See I think some people think heaven is a transcendence of this life, or just a state of mind.

But I think the Bible is pretty clear that heaven is a real place, where God is enthroned, and where you and I will be one day if we’ve committed our lives to Him.

With all that said, though, think of all the misconceptions about heaven. I remember growing up, thinking that if heaven was just a church service that would never end… well that sounded more like hell to me!

There was boring music, boring people, I had to dress up, and I was uncomfortable!

As a quick aside—I desperately hope that church doesn’t feel that way to you!

Or how about this one: did anyone draw an angel on a cloud with a harp?

Where did we come up with that idea of heaven? That doesn’t sound like an eternity I would like to be part of!

Maybe if you swap the harp for a really high end expensive electric guitar and all the effect pedals I could get to rest on my cloud… maybe then we are in business.

Did anyone draw the idea of St. Peter checking in guests at the Pearly Gates, like a hotel receptionist? Yeah, that’s not in here, exactly.

But multiple times in the Bible, we do get accounts of people who have had visions of heaven, or even travel to heaven.

I want to look at their descriptions of heaven—especially of John who gives us one of the clearest descriptions from .

Before we describe heaven, though, write this down. Heaven is Indescribable.

I know that seems to make no sense.

But before we get into the descriptions we have in the Bible, it is important to remember that this description comes to us from a man, John, who is using what we do know to try to explain what we don’t know.

This means I believe he is just barely scratching the surface about what heaven is like.

It’s kind of like the movie Back to the Future 2, when they try to tell us what the future will be like

. They used stuff we knew, like skateboards and cars, and made them into cool technology.

When in reality, the big invention over the past 20 years has been the smart phone

. But think of how you would describe a smart phone to someone from the past.

Go further back; say a couple hundred years back.

They have no comprehension of even a phone, let alone the Internet, or Google, or a camera, or apps, or hashtags.

So check out [NLT], the first few verses:

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. 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. 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.”

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

So right here we are getting an “emotion” of heaven.

This is not really a physical description yet, but more of a feeling.

Heaven is a place where death doesn’t exist, where pain doesn’t exist, where crying doesn’t exist.

I mean think of all the things in life, that don’t exist in heaven, because they aren’t needed:

No Band-Aids,

no tissues,

no medicine,

no insect repellent,

no coats because you’re never cold,

no makeup,

no doctors,

no lawyers,

no stress,

no doctors, no lawyers, no stress, no money, no running out of battery, no buffering, no drama, no umbrellas, no sunscreen, no sub-tweets, no bad movies, no flu, no stomach virus, no cancer, no regrets, no hurt…let’s just sum up, no sin or effect of sin.

no money,

no running out of battery,

no buffering,

no drama,

no umbrellas,

no sunscreen,

no sub-tweets,

no bad movies,

no flu,

no stomach virus,

no cancer,

no regrets,

no hurt

…let’s just sum up, no sin or effect of sin.

Let me read, though, the rest of the chapter, and try to imagine the scene as I read it:

15 The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles.

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Just to get a grasp on the size and scope of what he is talking about, the measurement would be about from New York City to Denver, CO, and then from Canada to Mexico.

17 Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel).

15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. 19 The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

21 The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.

22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Dang. That is a pretty description. And remember—this isn’t heaven, but rather just the capital city inside of heaven! That’s huge!

Dang. That is a pretty description.

And remember—this isn’t heaven, but rather just the capital city inside of heaven! That’s huge!

So even though we have this description, remember that heaven is too indescribable to actually fully grasp.

Another thing to understand about heaven is that Heaven is Eternal.

Meaning it always has been and always will be. It is not something that will happen eventually, but rather has always existed.

Look at the Old Testament passage of . The prophet had the chance to see a vision of Heaven, and remember this is way early on in the Bible.

(NLT)

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Now check out Revelation, the very end of the Bible—almost 1000 years later, and the description John gives us in Chapter 4

…I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. 3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow…

…In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. 7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—

the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

The same worship of God has been going on for thousands of years, and will continue to go on.

Now again, maybe you think that doesn’t sound like a good time, because all you have to experience worship is what we do here, and it isn’t your favorite.

Well honestly, that’s because we are people and even though we try really hard, we are going to mess up.

We have a distorted view on what true worship looks like.

Here’s the thing:

that opinion is kind of the view of someone who looks to see what they get out of worship, not what they give to God.

Does it make me feel good inside? Am I emotionally connected?

Even the question: Do I feel God?

All of those are ways we view worship around us, and not God.

See here’s the final thing, what I would say is the most important thing: Heaven is The Presence Of God.

No matter what the architecture looks like,

No matter what the activities are (there’s so much room for activities!),

heck, it doesn’t even matter who else is there.

What matters most is that God is there in all of His perfection. I think nothing else will even be important.

Imagine constant perfection.

Honestly, we cannot, because we only live in a world that is affected by sin.

You know one of the most core things about sin, is that it is about us—or when I am thinking about me.

Sin is selfishness.

So don’t think of heaven as what I get after I die.

That is a very selfish thought.

But rather think of heaven as what we get to be part of, and that is the constant honor and glory and worship of our creator, God.

See at the very root, the most foundational thing is that in eternity there will be a distinct difference between God’s presence, and God’s absence.

Where God is present, perfection is present, and there we have heaven.

Where God is absent, there is separation from God, and there we have hell.

Knowing all of this, how does it impact our lives?

If we were just created for heaven, why doesn’t God just get rid of all this now and take us there?

God has a purpose for us—to give us the chance to truly love Him, because we choose to love Him.

The choices we make, the way we live our lives here, will determine our eternity.

If we choose to live for God, and love Him with everything we are, our eternity will be with Him forever.

However, if we choose to live for our self—constantly seeking out ways to satisfy our every desire, and not surrendered to God, we will, for all eternity, be left to our own desires and separate from God.

Let me close with what is written in [NLT]

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

“14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Pray / Include Salvation Prayer