Misconceptions: Heaven

Introduction:

A little about myslef and our ministry:

When it comes to Heaven, our brains are boggled with several ideas of what it is. My thinking of what eternity and heaven were as a kid.

Culture has often formed our idea of what heaven is like, a glorious place in the sky where the good people get to go when they die. There are MISCONCEPTIONS galore when it comes to heaven. Maybe you’re like me when I bite into a fresh warm fluffy doughnut, I say “That’s heaven on earth”.

A couple months ago on the Grace Students instagram, we asked you guys to answer a few questions. The first question we asked was “What do you think heaven is like?”. We got plenty of unique answers. Here are a few of them: “a place of happiness and understanding to those who are different”, “better than ice cream”, “one big place for all believers, but at the same time is a different paradise for each”, “Like camp table rock but better and all the time”, “relaxing and peaceful”, “constant worship and complete surrender”

We also did a poll asking “Does the idea of heaven confuse you?”. This poll revealed that almost 60% of you ARE confused about what heaven is like.

The last question was “Where did you get your ideas about heaven?” Here are a few of those answers: “The Bible”, “Church”, “A mix of what the Bible says, my parents, and some imagination”, “ “Conversations with other people.”

Clearly, we are all over the place concerning what heaven is, what it is like, where it is, and how we should know. Throughout the next couple weeks, we hope to clear up the confusion, and replace misconceptions about heaven with the truth of God’s word. We will be discussing misconceptions about what Heaven is, where it is, what it is like, and how we get there.

This week, we are looking at Scripture that talks about what happens in the end times, and what happens to our bodies when we die physically.

Intro Revelation

Talk about the style of today’s teaching. Then what kind of book Revelation is.... Final book in the Bible. It has a lot of apocolyptic imagery, judgement and the end of all time type content.

At the end of time, every person who has ever lived will come face to face with their creator.

(It is Jesus who will judge every person who will ever live. )

Revelation 20:11-15

Verse 11 -

Jesus is the one who will judge all creation: This is the setting of the final judgement. Earlier in the chapter before 19:11 we see a description of Jesus and He is said to be the one who judges. Let’s reimagine what we think of Jesus. We typically think of Him only as being the earthly Jesus who walked alongside the disciples, or as Him hanging on the Cross. We don’t always think of Him as judge. But many places reference Him as judge: 2 Cor. 5:10, Acts 10:42, Acts 10:31, John 5:22, John 5:30, Romans 2:16 and many more places talk about Jesus being the judge. He has earned the right to be judge because of His victory over sin and death on the cross.

Jesus has all power and dominion over the earth: “Earth and heaven fled from His presence”. We don’t typically think of such unimaginable greatness, power, majesty, wonder and glory when we think of Jesus. Question: What do people do when are near a hurricane? (not just see one but near one) Anyone in their right minds will not go into the hurricane. Explain exceptions. What about a tsunami, tournado and other natural disasters. They try to escape and stay safe. This is true of all earth and heaven because of Jesus’ power.

Verse 12 -

All people will account for the way they lived their life: All types of the dead people: both great and small, significant in the world’s eyes and the least important person one could imagine and every other person inbetween these two categories.

First come the books that we don’t know exactly what all they contain, but we know that they have the works people and a description of what they did on the earth. Next, comes the book of life. “The dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books”. You may be thinking, “I didn’t think that Christians were judged by their works? I thought it wasn’t a matter of your good outweighing the bad you’ve done.” If you thought that you’re right. There is more here, but without going into too much detail, those who’s names are written in the book of life are people who have repented and believed having faith and have been made right before God on the basis of Jesus’ death on the cross on their behalf and His resurrection. And they will be judged according to how they served God on the earth.

This is a wonderful time for believers! Praise the Lord, He has cleansed us with His blood and made us new so that we will live forever with Him! Can I get an, “Amen”?! The next verses aren’t ones that all will celebrate tho...

Verse 13-15 -

This is a horrible time for those who have not repented and believed in Christ. It absolutely the worst thing that will ever happen to them and this should break your heart for the people you know in your life that do not know the Lord and have not become His children. This is called the second death and where those who have rejected Christ will spend an eternity away from God. Hell’s description here is a lake of fire.

Question: Are you ready to be face to face with your creator? Talk about how tomorrow is not a guarantee.

Heaven is the final state of redeemed humanity. It is the place where God makes His home with us.

When we follow the redemption plan from creation to Christ then eternal glory, we see that this is the end. This is as much as the Lord has decided to let us know about.

Revelation 21:1-8

Verse 1 -

The new heaven and earth will come. That’s right, God is going to make a new heaven and earth. He is going to restore everything to be complete once again and return all of creation to the perfection just like it was before the fall of man when sin and death entered the world. A similar picture Is given to us in Isaiah 65:17-25.

Talk about all of the things sin has affected in the world: human and animal life, weather, plants (thorns & poisons), solar system.

Verse 2-3 -

New Jerusalem - what Jerusalem signifies.

This is describing what heaven will be like. It will God dwelling with humans. It is going to be like nothing we’ve ever experienced before. We are going to be in God’s presence at all times! In God’s presence is perfect peace, joy, love, unity, fullness. It is perfection.

Genesis-Rev. Broken relationship theme. There will be no more broken relationships. Because our relationship with God will be perfected and everyone who is in perfect relationship with will have perfect relationship with each other. Christians no longer have a broken relationship with God, because of what He accomplished on the cross, but because we are still sinful it is not a perfected one until this moment.

Isaiah 43 - new heaven and earth. Same promise.

Verse 4 -

God will restore heaven and earth into the state that it was in before the flood. Everything bad in this world, death, pain, grief, sorrow, trouble and sickness will be restored and healed.

Verse 5 -

God tells John to write down what he saw. This is important because it shows that God wants us to know the end of this story. God doesn’t want us to have any doubt about what will be our outcome and He doesn’t want us to wonder if He will bring justice to the world.

The words He says are faithful and true.

Verse 6 -

When God says something it is final. There is no, ‘what if’ because He will do what He says He will.

Alpha/Omega , beginning/end. Because He created them both.

Freely give to the thirsty from the springs of the water of life! Jesus with the woman at the well.... living water. Gospel message.

Verse 7-8 -

Contrast between the one who conquers, Christians (more than conquers) and the faithless (and list of all other sins) who will spend eternity away from God.

We will be God’s son and He will be our Father.

Explain why it contrasts those who are defined by their sin and those who are given new life in Jesus. Sinning and struggling with sins vs someone who is willfully sinning, without remorese and is defined by those things.

Talk about the Holy Spirit living in the believer to form them into the image of God.

God is preparing a place for us (believers) in heaven and a new body that will be perfect.

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5

We are spiritual beings that have a physical body, not physical beings that have a ‘spiritual side’.

We have a hope that goes beyond this physical life.

Talk about Mom.

A few verses befor this, it talks about how Christians are to have perseverance in the world because of the hope.

Closing

Hopefully today we began to make heaven and eternity a little more understandable. There is a lot more that will be talked about and in the coming weeks we’ll continue to see what Scripture says about heaven to help us know what our eternal dwelling will be.

Although this life is hard and we go through many challenges, God is with us Christians. And we have a HOPE that goes far beyond this world.

Application/Response:

Two types of responses:

1. Christian

We want to be excited about heaven and eternity. We want to set our minds on the next life. This is good, but what this doesn’t mean is to think about eternity in a way that will paralyze us from following God today. Our focus on eternity should push us to follow Jesus all the more because we know this life is temporary.

2. Non-christian

There is only one response that a person who is not a Christian can do. They can’t do what the Christian can do because they are unable, they don’t have new life in Christ. It is a call to repentance and believe in the finished work on of Jesus on the cross.