Heaven

Date: 28/11/99
Speaker: David Meiklejohn
Text: John 14 v 1-4

John 14 v 1-4

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
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.
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.
And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

I've taken a look at Hell, and now I'd like to look at what the Bible tells us about Heaven. Jesus didn't say too much about Heaven, but in the verses above he explains that of course it is a good place to be. If it wasn't, he would have told us. The fact that we will be with him when we get there should be the best thing about it.

What is Our Picture of Heaven

What is our idea of Heaven? Is it a quiet country scene, with streams and meadows, animals in the fields? Is it a majestic palace, with precious metals and jewels everywhere? Is it just a simple village where people are nice to each other and no-one is lonely? Let's look at what John saw of Heaven:

Revelation 4 v 2-11

It's difficult to picture this scene that John describes. He obviously found it difficult to put into words, as a lot of the language uses words such as 'like' or 'as'. But there are a few things we can take from this passage:

The most important thing about Heaven is that God is there. When we are there we will be with him, we will see him as he is, and we will be able to talk to him.
The rainbow reminds us of God's mercy. When we stand before God we may well be overawed by his presence that we feel we have no hope of survival, but the rainbow reminds us that God has saved us, and he will never destroy us.
There is a lot of singing in Heaven. The angels' chief purpose is to give praise to God, and we will be giving him praise as well. Whether this means we will spend all our time singing to him, I don't know, but praise and singing certainly seem to be involved.

What Will it Be Like For Us?

As we have seen, there will be singing in Heaven, and we will spend our time giving praise to God.
We will have a reward for our works and our persecutions while here on earth. The Bible talks of storing up our 'treasures in Heaven' and 'great is your reward in Heaven'. These will be eternal rewards, which is why it is better to do a work for the Lord unnoticed, than before people, and get our reward immediately.
There will be no marriage. In Luke 20 v 35, Jesus explained that there would be no marriage in Heaven. While this would be a happy affair for some, some would see this as a backwards step, but we can only assume that our personal relationships with each other, and with Christ, would be so amazing that they would be way beyond what marriage could give.
We will have new bodies. When Jesus came back from the dead, he had a new, different, body. We too will be given new bodies, perfect and everlasting, making us like Christ (Philippians 3 v 21).
There will be no hardship. Revelation 7 v 9-17 gives a picture of the people of the Lord serving him, he living among them, and there being no tears, no hunger and no thirst.

What Does the Future Hold

The Bible tells us of future times. We know that if we die, we will go to be with him. We know that at the Rapture, he will catch us up to be with him. We know there will be a judgement, and our works shall be revealed. What else does it tell us?

Revelation 19 v 7-10

There will be a marriage. The lamb of God will be united with his church. They will be presented to him spotless, cleansed by his blood, and we will be with him forever.

Revelation 21 v 1-4, 10-27

There will be a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. In Peter, it tells us the earth will be renewed by fire, cleansed of all the sin that currently fills it. We will live on this new earth, in this new city of Jerusalem. There is no temple in the city. In the olden times, the temple was a building where the people would go to meet God. In our times, our bodies are the temple, and God resides within us. In the new Jerusalem, God will be present with us, and there will be no need of a temple. The width, breadth and height of the new Jerusalem are the same. It could be a cube, but more likely would be a pyramidical shape.

Are You Looking Forward

Are you looking forward to Heaven, to the marriage supper of the lamb, to the new Jerusalem, to eternity?

It will be better than you can imagine.
Our work on earth will be rewarded in Heaven.
We already have a personal relationship with Christ. In Heaven we will be able to walk and talk with him.

Next - Haggai pt 1