What Do We Know About Heaven? Part I

AUGUST 15, 2021 STUDY NOTES “HEAVEN” PART 1 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HEAVEN? INTRODUCTION One Sunday morning, the pastor of a small country church asked, “who wants to go to Heaven?” All but one old man, who was regular in church, raised their hand, the pastor was surprised at him The pastor asked him, “Brother, you don’t want to go to heaven when you die?” He answered, “Yes sir, but I thought you were getting up a load for today” That seems to be the thinking of most people, they want to go to heaven one day, but not today Maybe our study of Heaven will encourage us to be ready to go to Heaven any day Study the Bible and you will learn that everybody is not going to go to Heaven The old Southern spiritual says, “everybody is talking about Heaven, going there, O’ Lord” “But everybody talking about Heaven ain’t going there” We learn from the Bible that there is a Heaven, and we learn who is going there THERE IS A HEAVEN From Genesis to Revelation we read of Heaven, often written in the plural, the “Heavens” Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. Gen 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens 1Ch 16:26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. 2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Actually-there are three heavens identified in scripture The first heaven is the atmospheric heaven, the immediate sky, it is the heaven we see by day It is immediately above and around us where the birds fly and clouds float From the first heaven comes the wind, storms, lighting, thunder, rain, hail, snow, frost, and dew Deu 11:17 And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you. Deu 28:12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. Act 14:17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. The second heaven is the stratosphere, it is the heaven we see by night It is the area above the atmosphere, it is where the sun, the moon, and the stars are The interest of the world today is in the second heaven, billions are spent to study and go there The time of the Day of the Lord will come, and signs and wonders will be seen in the second heaven, Joe 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be Page 1 of 5 dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: Isa 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. There is a Third Heaven somewhere beyond the first and second heaven We see the first heaven by day, and the second heaven by night The only way to see the Third Heaven is by faith in Jesus Christ No amount of money will get you a ticket to enter-into the Third Heaven The Third Heaven is going to be our current study on Sunday morning for a few Sundays I am sure that the Third Heaven is the one you are most interested in, which we all should be People have many questions concerning Heaven, we will look at many of those questions If you want to learn the truth of Heaven you must go to the Bible, only God has the answers The Bible is the only source of truth concerning Heaven, man does not have the answers So, we must back up our statements of Heaven from scripture and not by man’s opinion There will be many scripture references in our study of the Third Heaven The most important question concerning Heaven is, “are you going to go to Heaven?” WHO GOES TO HEAVEN? God is the only one who can prepare the place known as Heaven God is the only one who can prepare man for the place known as Heaven There is only one way to Heaven, it is through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. God gave us His Son as the only way to heaven, Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus must save us from our sins before we can go to heaven, Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and bring us to God, 1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By believing in Jesus we have everlasting life, Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Only God’s children go to Heaven, God’s children are those who receive Jesus, Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: HEAVEN IS HOME FOR ALL WHO ARE SAVED Believers will die physically but they will never be separated from God Death separates life from the body but does not separate those who are saved from God Martha’s brother had died, Jesus assured Martha that He is the Lord of life, Joh 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: Physical death will separate the believer from earthly life in this world, but not from eternal life, Joh 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? The Gospel gives Christians an assurance of Heaven, Col 1:5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Unless Jesus was presently in heaven there would be no hope of heaven for us Remember that Jesus ascended to heaven because of His completed work of redemption We now have the promise, Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Page 2 of 5 Eternal life means life today and that heaven is our home at the time of our physical death To be at home in the body is to be absent from the immediate presence of the Lord, 2Co 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: But to be absent from the body (physical death) is to be present with the Lord, (that is Heaven) 2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Life upon this earth is our present home, “In Christ” we have a new life in the body As-long as we are at home in the body, we are absent from the immediate presence of the Lord But when we die physically, we change homes, we are no longer at home in the body We are immediately at home with Jesus, we are at home in the “Third Heaven” As soon as we leave this earthly body we are at home with the Lord In Philippians 1:21-23 Paul gave us three great truths about physical death: To die is gain, Php 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. To die is to be with Christ and to be with Christ is far better, Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: There was a time when the words of Jesus greatly discouraged the disciples He had told them that He was going to die and that He was going away, and they were discouraged Jesus told them not to be discouraged, literally He said, “don’t worry,” Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. To trust God and His promises is to defeat sorrow, discouragement, and worry We are not to even worry about death because Jesus has gone to prepare a home for us, Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.. (The “Father’s house” is the Third Heaven and the “many mansions” are dwelling places) We are not to worry about the future because Jesus is going to come again, Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. If we die before Jesus comes again, we will go home to be with Jesus in Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:8) 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 promises the return of Jesus and the “taking-up” of all living believers All Christians have hope, whether still physically alive or in Heaven with Jesus, 1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. Paul uses the term “asleep” to identify the state of physical death for the Christian He refers to the state of the body and not the soul, the Bible does not teach ''soul sleep” The theory of Soul Sleep teaches a state of unconsciousness between death and the resurrection But the words those “which are asleep” gives no evidence for the theory of “Soul Sleep” “Asleep” does not indicate an intermediate state of unconsciousness for the soul Asleep is a figurative expression referring to the resemblance between death and sleep To go to sleep is not the end of your life, you will wake up from sleep Death is not the end for the life of a believer, it is not even the end of life for the body There will be a future awakening of the body from the grave, the resurrection of the body It is the body and not the soul that is no longer in a state of communication at the time of death Death is a separation of spirit and body, at the time of death the spirit departs from the body Christians who have died and gone to Heaven will be with Jesus when He returns, 1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Jesus will bring the spirit of the believers who are in Heaven with Him when He comes “Will God,” means that everything that happens will take place because of “God” God is the one who will see to it that Jesus will return and that believers will return with Jesus Page 3 of 5 When Jesus leaves heaven to come back to earth He will lead the way for believers Christians living on earth when Jesus returns have a promise from God, 1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. In verse 14 Paul told us of the hope for the dead “in Christ,” those Christians who had died physically Now in verse 15 he tells us of the hope for those who are “alive and remain” They are the Christians who will still be living on the earth when Jesus returns Christians who have died before the return of Christ will receive their new bodies first, 1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: “The dead in Christ” refers to Christians who have died physically Then those who are still alive when Christ returns will receive their new bodies, 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. At the voice of Jesus, the graves of believers will be opened, and the body will resurrect The resurrected body will unite with the spirit of the believer which will be with Jesus Then Christians living on the earth will be “caught up” in a translated body They will receive a body like that of the resurrected body of the “dead in Christ” The “dead in Christ” will go first, then we which are “alive and remain” will catch up with them They started first, we catch up with them, and then “together” we all go to be with the Lord If we continue to live until Jesus comes again, we will not miss going to be with Jesus As believers, we are already citizens of heaven, Php 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: “Conversation” has the meaning of citizenship, our citizenship “is in heaven” CONCLUSION Why do I want to go to Heaven? Why do you want to go to Heaven? There are many reasons One good reason is because Heaven is the dwelling place of God It is true that God’s presence is everywhere, David said that God is everywhere present, Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? Even though God is everywhere present, the Bible teaches us that Heaven is His Home God lives in Heaven the Third Heaven is the place of the immediate presence of God Jesus often spoke of the “Father in heaven,” Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. Another good reason why I want to go to Heaven is because Heaven is where Jesus is now Jesus came from heaven to earth, Joh 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. Jesus was in Heaven before He descended to the earth and became flesh Jesus explained why He came from Heaven, Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. He gave His flesh to the cross of Calvary and eternal life was offered to sinful man Following His death and resurrection, Jesus returned to heaven, Mar 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. Having accomplished His redemptive work, He took His place of honor and authority, Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the Page 4 of 5 word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; There are many reasons why we would want to go to Heaven, whether it be today or not God the Father is there, Jesus Christ our Lord is there, all-of the saved who have died are there Our family and friends who had received Jesus into their life before they died are in Heaven That is why we are going to have a “Memorial Service” this afternoon That is why the family can call that service “A Celebration of Life” That is why we as Christians can sing along with the song you are now going to hear Watch the screen and sing Page 5 of 5