HEAVEN: WHAT’S UP WITH HEAVEN

1. Will Heaven Be boring?

Psalm 71:19; Isaiah 40:12-28; Phil. 3:20-21; Heb. 9:24

In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain writes about a view of Heaven. The Christian spinster, Miss Watson takes a dim view of Heaven. Huck said: She went on and told me all about a good place (Heaven).  She said all a body would have to do there was said was go around all day with a harp and sing, forever and ever. Huck continued: So, I didn’t think much of it and I don’t even play the harp. I asked Miss Watson if she reckoned Tom Sawyer would go there, and she said, not by a considerable sight. I was glad about that, because I wanted him and me to be together. The pious Miss Watson had nothing to say about Heaven that appealed to Huck. And if we are honest, nothing that appeals to us.

There another story about Randy Alcorn talking to a pastor about Heaven. The pastor said he would not bring a message about Heaven to the pulpit because it made him sad because he just couldn’t think about just floating on a cloud all day. There are several theologians who have stated of that view of Heaven that they pity the man who never thinks accurately about Heaven. This sounds a bit like Mr. T- “I pity the fool”. There is a lot of theological neglect of Heaven and most people have never heard a sermon on Heaven-  especially as we will view it.

There are many Scriptures that provide a very good picture of our beginning look at what Heaven is really like, but let’s start with the following: Hebrews 9:24; Psalm 71:19; Isaiah 40:12-28; and Philippians Heaven- and 3:20-21.   These tell of God’s presence, God’s creation, and God’s love.

2. Are You Looking Forward to Heaven?

John 14:1-3; Phil. 1:21,23; 2 Cor. 5:6,8

Jonathan Edwards, a great Puritan preacher, often spoke of Heaven. He is quoted: “It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward Heaven…to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for or set our hearts on anything else, but that which is our proper end and true happiness?” This follows what I have often said that this life is just our pre-life; the real life is in Heaven.

Let’s go to these verses for some perspective: John 14:1-3; Philippians 1:21, 23; and 2 Corinthians 5:6, 8. John tells us that Jesus is going to prepare a place for us and return to get us. Paul tells us he is longing to be with Jesus in Philippians. In Corinthians, Paul says we are not at home in these bodies and prefer to be away from these bodies.

HEAVEN IS MENTIONED OVER 600 TIMES IN THE BIBLE- FAIRLEY WELL SPLIT 300 TIMES EACH IN BOTH THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

Are there other verses you like that says we are looking to Heaven?

3. Is Heaven Beyond Our Imagination?

2 Tim. 2:7; Psalm 119:18, 1 Cor. 2:9,13; 2 Cor. 12:2-4

When Marco Polo returned to Italy from the court of Kublai Khan, he described a world his audience had never seen- one that could not be understood without the eyes of imagination. Not that China was an imaginary realm, but it was very different from Italy. Yet as two locations on planet earth inhabited by humans, they had much in common. It gave some reference points of the two locations that helped for understanding. The writers of Scripture present Heaven in many ways, including as a garden, a city, and a kingdom. Because of these references, they offer us a bridge to understanding Heaven.

So, let’s look at the following scriptures: 2 Tim. 2:7; Psalm 119:18, 1 Cor. 2:9,13; 2 Cor. 12:2-4. Paul writes in Timothy that the Lord will help us understand these things. Psalm says that the writer asks God to open his eyes to see the “wonderful truths”. 1 Cor. 2:9 says that no one can see, hear, or mind can imagine what God has prepared. Verse 13 states that no human wisdom can tell us these things- they come from the Spirit. In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about the third Heaven that only God could know. (More on the third Heaven later).

4.Can You Know You’re Going to Heaven?

Rev. 21:27; Romans 6:23; John 3:16; 1 John 1:9; Eph. 2:8-9

Ancient cities kept rolls of their citizens. Guards were poised at the city gates to keep our criminals and enemies by checking their names against the list. While today, we don’t keep lists on which to check; however, this is exactly the context found in Revelation 21:27. “Nothing impure will ever enter (the city), not will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

1 John 1:9 tells us one of the best methods to know we are going to Heaven. Forgiveness is established by our confession. I know we all can quote John 3:16- Jesus gave His life for our sins. Romans 6:23 tells us that the “wages of sin is death” and eternal life is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. Finally, in this section, Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.”

5. Will Anything Prevent Believers From Going To Heaven?

Many religions and people talk about the “unforgivable sin”. Some say it is suicide, some others attempt to make a list or type of people who can’t be forgiven. The Bible teaches if a person is a true believer is Jesus, confesses their sins, and prays to receive Jesus as their savior they can’t be “snatched” out of the hands of God. It is stated in John 10:28-29: “I give them eternal life and they will never parish. No one can snatch them away from me, for My Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.” So, suicide, cremation, being blown apart, or anything else can prevent the true believer from going to Heaven.

Jesus, in Matthew 12:31-32, says there is one, and only one, unforgiven sin. “Every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven- except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Any one who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.”

6.Unveiling the Mystery

Rev. 1:1-6, Psalm 103:10-12; Acts 17:11; Luke 11:23

Psalm 103:10-12 says God doesn’t punish us for our sins but has unfailing love for us. In Luke 11:23 Jesus tells us that anyone who not working with Him is against Him. Acts 17:11 Paul reports that those in Thessalonica were open-minded and listens to the Gospel to help them know the mystery of salvation. Paul often talked about the mystery of the word or gospel.  Then in Revelations Jesus stated that the New Testament is about unveiling the mystery of what had been hidden.

The first six verses of Revelation 1 set the stage for all of Revelation and prepares us for the Coronation of a Savior- Jesus!!

REVELATIONS 1:1-6

1:1– The Revelation of Jesus. In the N.T. revelation (unveiling of a mystery) is always used of a divine unveiling of something that has been hidden. Here Jesus is the one who discloses “what must soon take place” – and in the process reveals something of His glory.

1:2-3– Blessing. The “one who reads” and “those who hear” refer to a public reading of the book in church. Because this is “prophecy”, in the sense of divine revelation, it merits immediate acceptance as Scripture. Because the revelation comes directly from the risen Jesus, it is of utmost importance.

1:4- The seven churches. All seven were in the Roman province of Asia, now Asia Minor. They are listed in 1:11, and a message directed to each is found in Rev. 2 and 3. It describes the churches of John’s day- but they are also present churches, with good and bad qualities- all during the Church Age, which is from Pentecost (50 days after Jesus’ resurrection) to Rapture.

1:5a- Firstborn from the dead. Christ’s resurrection is the pledge that we too will be raised. He was not only the first, He is the One who has supreme authority over the vast family of faith destined to follow Him.

1:5b-6- Doxology to Christ.  Here is some of the most powerful praise found in the Bible, celebrating Christ’s love, the forgiveness won for us by His blood, and the exalted position to which He has raised us.