Category Archives: heaven

In Heaven We Will Be Holy And Sinless

Posted on by
Reply

We will be absolutely holy and sinless. That concept is very appealing to me, and I suppose to all of us who struggle with sin and have a longing to be free of it. Romans 6 has much to say about sin and how we sometimes find ourselves becoming slaves to sin; then also about how we may be free from sin and slaves of righteousness and live in sanctification.

Well, after we die, or after we are raptured, our struggle is over. We will receive absolute victory over sin—because God will give us a brand-new body without sin. Let’s look at two different verses and see what they say.

Philippians 3:20-21

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

The part we want to examine here is that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, will transform our old natural body into a body like His own glorious body. A body without sin.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44

 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

In this group of verses we have come in the middle of a discussion about resurrection and what our resurrection body will be like. In verses 36-38, Paul compares our dead body and our resurrection body to a dead seed that sprouts new life. Just as a dead seed sprouts new life, God gives new life to the body of a believer who dies. It will be a body just like the old one, but will be a new resurrection body.

In verses 42-44 Paul tells us how the new body is different from the old one. The body we have now is perishable—we get old, sick, and eventually die. But our new body will be imperishable—it will never get sick or diseased; and it will never die. Our present body is dishonorable—because of the way we have treated it; we have sinned against it. Bur resurrection body is a body of glory and honor. Thirdly, our present body is weak and frail and subject to temptation and sickness. But out new body will be strong and powerful. This old body is a natural body, but our new resurrection body will be a spiritual body, that is, a supernatural body having no natural limits.

In Revelation 21:8, 27 and 22:15 we are given a description of people who won’t be allowed into heaven. Combining these verses together, we come up with people who are unclean, cowardly, abominable, liars, murderers, idolaters and sorcerers. And as Revelation 21:27 infers, these people’s names will not be written in the Lamb’s book of life.

So here we see the great contrast. All those who are excluded from heaven (and are not written in the book of life) have remained in their sins—because they have rejected God’s salvation; hence their sins remain with them forever. But those who are saved, they have been forgiven of all sins and cleansed by His blood.

Now I want to take a little time trying to describe what being holy and sinless will be like in heaven. But that’s going to be very hard, because none of us has experienced it. We have always been sinful. I suppose the best we can do is try remembering when we have been less sinful.What it was like. Okay, I’ll try. Way back when I attended an all-day Christian conference (this was when I was about twenty-five years old), I remember being so uplifted by all the excellent bible teachers; and even more, by speaking to so many smiling, fellow believers about all their wonderful Christian adventures. That entire day was like experiencing heaven on earth. Sin was the last thing on my mind.

Attending church hasn’t always been pleasant for me. Some churches I have attended were nothing but a drag. But the church I am attending now is so blessed. I enjoy the fellowship with so many fellow believers, and I so look forward to singing the hymns and courses and all the worship.

Putting these two things together, I would say that when I have been in Christian fellowship and surrounded by good bible teaching and the worship of God, my sin is at a low point—and that is why I feel so uplifted.

I’m thinking that being holy and sinless in heaven for eternity will be at least a thousand times better than at any low point of sin on this earth. It will be so glorious. We will be surrounded by believers and the fellowship will be wonderful. Awe! Breathing the fresh clean air will be so good. And feeling the heavenly light on our faces will be blessed. We will walk in His light forever and enjoy His wonderful fellowship—never thinking about sinful temptation ever again.

In Heaven We Won’t Be Disturbed by the Existence of Hell

Posted on by
2

Just as the former things (of this world) will not be remembered or come to mind (Isa. 65:17), we won’t be affected in any way by the existence of hell. I don’t think the suffering of those in hell will even come to our mind. John MacArthur indicates in his book, The Glory of Heaven, according to Isaiah 66:22-24, “The destruction of the wicked will ultimately be something for which we will worship God.”1

Yes, I can’t believe we will suffer in the least over those in hell. God will shield our mind and emotions from any suffering. And He has said to us through David in Psalms 16:11,

You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Hence, if we are full of the joy of His presence and of the pleasure He gives us, how can we at the same time think about and suffer for sinners in hell. It seems to me that God will separate believers from any contact with unbelievers. In Revelation 21:8 and in 22:15, God tells us that those who have chosen an unbelievers life (with all the sins they commit), they will have a special place separated from believers. It is a place that God has designed for them with Satan and all his demons. And we should not be sorry for them or think that God is unjust. He gives them what they deserve. And we all deserve it; but God reached down to all of us and gave His Son to die for us and save us. All we had at do was believe in Him. We who believe have eternal life. But those who chose not to believe and obey Him will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on them (Jn. 3:36).

1 John MacArthur, The Glory of Heaven (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1996), p. 98.

Heaven Will Be A Life of Rest

Posted on by
1

Our rest is written about in Revelation 14:13, where John says,

And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

From this verse we may affirm that the souls of all those who die in the Lord (and also, all those who are raptured) will be at rest from all labor and strife of being in an ungodly world and of the sins of the world. But, in contrast (from verse 11), all those who are not believers will have no rest day and night for eternity. Here, in the context, it speaks of those unbelievers during the Tribulation who receive the mark of the beast; but it will be the same for all unbelievers—they all will have no rest, only torment and strife. Therefore, this rest we speak of here (in verse 13) is a serenity of the soul, a peacefulness of a life made perfect in holiness by the blood of our Savior. And it is even that way now when we confess our sins and resolve to obey Him. He lets us rest in Him and we are at peace; thus, for all of eternity in heaven we will have that same rest—and an even greater rest.

In Heaven Everything will Be New and Different

Posted on by
Reply

I suppose, when we arrive in heaven in our new bodies, the first thing we will notice with great joy and thankfulness is that everything is new and different. All the old things of the flesh and of the old world will be gone—or will we even give it a thought? There will be no more sadness, only joy. There will be no more death, only life. There will be no more mourning, only joy and rejoicing. There will be no more crying, only laughing and praising God. There will be no more pain, only peace and pleasure.

I think it will be worthwhile to go through all of these five points (from Revelation 21:4) and try to get a better grasp of the changes.

No more sadness. All through one’s life there is always some degree of sadness. Some people seem to be sad all the time for one thing or another. Others appear to be happy most of the time; but perhaps they have found ways to hide their deep-down sadness. Nonetheless, when we see Jesus and we are instantly made like Him, all our tears will disappear. He will wipe them all away. And then we will say with Paul, “He has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). And we will know that He has accomplished it by His own suffering and death on the cross. As the prophet Isaiah has written, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore. And our sorrows He carried…and by His scourging we are healed” (Isa. 53:4-5).

No more death. The impending death of a loved one and news of our own death is always grievous. We can do nothing about it. We may delay it for a while, but soon it will come. But Christ has abolished that enemy forever. By His death and resurrection, He has established victory over death—for Himself and for all who believe in Him. Now we may say with Paul, “Death is swallowed up in victory. “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YUR STING” (1 Cor. 15:54-55)?

This victory will be absolutely confirmed for us in heaven. We will forever not feel the doom or the pain of it. It is no more.

No more mourning. Mourning is a deep-down brokenness over our own sin and failure. Because we are all sinners, we all go through mourning. But mourning is particularly prevalent with those that want to be closer to God, with those who regularly humble themselves when

they feel pride creeping up in themselves. Hence, in their obedient humility they will be miserable and mourn over their sin (Ja. 4:8-9).

Though mourning is something we ought to do now because of our condition, in heaven we won’t have to mourn since we will have no sin. In fact, the absence of mourning will be a constant reminder that God has removed our sins from us, having forever cleansed us of all sin and put us on the wonderful path of light and joy forever.

No more crying. Crying is not necessarily bad for us. It is a very natural way a baby expresses his or her needs when feeling hungry, tired or feeling discomfort—since they can’t communicate any other way. For an adult, it isn’t a matter of communication, but more of an outlet of strong emotions in times of sadness or feelings of rejection or pain—but sometimes even of happiness.

I don’t know if there will be absolutely no crying in heaven. We may cry out of extreme happiness or thankfulness to God. But never out of sadness or pain or discomfort. All that will be gone. Christ will have taken care of that on the cross. It will have all been paid for. We will be free from it all. All our emotions then will be only of joy, and laughter, etc.

No more pain. Certainly, Christ bore much pain on the cross for us. He bore all the pain in payment for our sins. We still have pain now since we still sin. But when we see Jesus and He turns our body into glory, our pain will vanish. Where sin is present there is pain. But when sin goes away, so does pain. It will be forever gone.

These are the five things that are listed in Revelation 21:4 as being “no longer.” But I wonder if maybe there are other things that would be included. Yes, I’m sure that in addition to these five things that are at the top of the list, there are many things that are from the flesh, from sin, and from the devil that will be no more. And we won’t ever have to worry about them popping up into our minds ever again; for as the prophet Isaiah has written (in Isaiah 65:17), “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.”

In Heaven God Will Always Be With Us

Posted on by
Reply

Yes, and we will be living in His house with Christ and the saints forever.

 In Revelation 21:2-3, John wrote,

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

This, I think, is the greatest difference on the positive side. Yes, we will have no more evil and sin and pain to deal with, but we will have a marvelous and beautiful home, and wonderful fellowship eternally with the Father and the Son and all the saints.

This future heavenly blessing of dwelling with God is a fulfilment of a promise made to Israel based upon their obedience. In Leviticus 26:11-12 God said to them,

‘Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. 12 ‘I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.

Though this promise was originally made exclusively for the Jews, now all non-Jews can reap their spiritual blessings through faith in Jesus Christ, who is of the seed of Abraham and of David.Yes, all who have received entrance into heaven by faith in Jesus Christ will have the pleasure of God’s constant presence. In fact, we will be living in God’s house—His tabernacle. I can think of two passages that refer to this. In John 14:1-2 it says,

Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

Then also in 1Thessalonians 4:17, speaking of the rapture of the church, Paul writes,

Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord (bold for emphasis).

No longer any Sea – from Revelation 21:1

Posted on by
4

In my study I have been examining all the differences from the old earth to the future, new earth (Rev. 21:1). In this blog post we will look at three different views on the meaning of the phrase “there is no longer be any sea” (from Revelation 21:1. Then we will return to each of the three views and consider both the negative and the positive points. I think this will help us to arrive at the true meaning of this phrase, “there is no longer any sea.”

First view, that there will no longer be any water (H20). John MacArthur holds this view. He believes that the new heaven and earth will not have a water-based environment, that our new bodies will no longer need water (H20) to exist, that our glorified bodies and all that grows on the earth will be based on a completely different life principle. And the water referred to in Revelation 22:1 and 17 will not be H20, but heavenly water that will be water of eternal life.

Second view, that there will no longer be oceans and seas. This is probably the most popular view, held by many Christian scientists. It is a belief that the earth will be restored to its original state—that the oceans and seas we have now resulted from the flood, whereas before the flood there was probably only fresh water from rivers and streams. This view of course supposes that the earth will not be destroyed, but will be restored to its original condition.

Third view, that there will no longer be evil. This view may hold some popularity because of the few biblical reference to the word “sea” as symbolizing evil or demonic.

Well, I think all of these views have some positive (or true) points, as well as some negative points. For now, I will hold back my opinion as to which view I think is correct, or the strongest. I think the best way to go at this is to give you both the positive and the negative points on each view (as I see it), then let you ponder it.

The first view, no water. The positive point on this view is that there may be coming something better than water. It is a belief that our new heaven and earth will be made of something better—everlasting and indestructible. It supposes that the water in our bodies and in our plants and in our atmosphere is not now indestructible; hence the new creation of a new life substance. Whatever that substance is, we don’t know, but God knows and it will be glorious. It will be a “water of life” that is not H20, but something better.

On the negative side, there doesn’t seem to be any other Scripture that supports this view, other than the fact that God will make all things new and that He will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life (Rev. 21:4-5), which may not be water as we know it. There is nothing specific in Scripture that says that there will no longer be H20 on the new earth. Also, I think the people that are most opposed to this view are those who now enjoy water sports and all the beautiful plants and flowers that are water-based. They just can’t imagine eternal life without these things. These are the same people who believe that God will bring the earth back to the way it was in the very beginning in the garden of Eden where everything was made up of very pure water.

The second view, no salt-water oceans and seas; just fresh-water rivers and streams. The overwhelming positive side of this is the belief that if this is how the earth was originally (as God made it), then it must be what He will do to make it as He originally intended.

The negative side of this argument is that we don’t have enough biblical evidence just in those few words— “no longer any sea” —to support this view.

The third view, that “sea” is symbolic of evil. I will bring the negative side to this view first. At first glance, we don’t see anything in the wording here to suggest symbolism or that God is not speaking literally.

On the positive side, by examining the word “sea” in some Scriptures we will find that it represents something evil or wicked. Here are a few examples.

Isaiah 57:20

But the wicked are like the tossing sea,

For it cannot be quiet,

And its waters toss up refuse and mud.

Psalm 74:13

You divided the sea by Your strength;

You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

Revelation 13:1

And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.

Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.

I admit, that our argument (that sea is symbolic of evil) from the first two verses is rather weak; but, I think, in Revelation 13:1, it is strong. John MacArthur comments: “The sea represents the abyss or pit, the haunt of demons…The picture is of Satan summoning a powerful demon from the abyss…”9

Also, to further this symbolic argument; the wording, “there is no longer any sea,” is very similar to the wording in verse four, “there will no longer be…” This tells me that there may be a connection in the context between the meaning of “sea” and in the words in verse four— “tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain.” Hence, I think we may see that “sea” not only has the meaning of evil and demons, but also the similar meaning of death, mourning, crying and pain. And so, we see that all these things are the things of the first heaven and earth that will pass away. Hence, when the writer of Revelation says, “and there is no longer any sea,” He could very well be meaning that there will no longer be any evil or anything of the old earth that is connected to the sinful, evil world.

It may seem that I am leaning toward the third view, and that may be true; but I am still open to the other views. We will see.

9 Ibid., notes on Revelation 13:1.

No More Sin and Corruption

Posted on by
2

In the new heaven and earth there will be no more sin and corruption.It will all be gone. And because that is true, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 16:11, our life will be eternally full of joy and pleasures. And we will have nothing to fear from any evil ones; we will dwell securely forever (Psalm 16:9). And all that surrounds us on the earth and in the heavens will be free of any curse. All that we see and touch will be delightful to us. Nothing will ever harm us. Everything will be perfect; perfect weather, perfect air to breath, just the right amount of light we need, and no fear of storms. And I can’t imagine how beautiful God will make it for us. Everything that we think is beautiful now in nature will be much better, much more beautiful. And all that we eat and enjoy now, it will be much better—tastier and more enjoyable. (from Revelation 21:1-5)

The Destruction of the Universe

Posted on by
5

There is not much written in the bible about this particular subject, but what is written certainly deserves our attention. We will look at three passages: in Matthew, 2 Peter, and Revelation.

Matthew 24:35

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Here Jesus is telling His disciples that in the future heaven and earth will pass away, that they are not permanent or eternal, but His words are eternal.

Revelation 20:11 and 21:1

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away…

As we see in Revelation 20:11, as soon as it is time for the judgment of all non-believers at the great white throne, the earth and heaven will go away. After that, in Revelation 21:1, John saw a new heaven and a new earth, which appeared to take the place of the old heaven and earth. And I take “heaven” here to mean the universe—but, as we will see, some will disagree with me.

2 Peter 3:10-13

 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

This passage, as we see, presents the details that the other passages leave out.  All three of the passages are speaking of the Day of the Lord when the earth and the heavens are destroyed, but this passage is themost precise. So, as we discuss this subject more thoroughly, we will mainly look at this Peter passage.  And to give this subject a fair hearing we will look at four different commentaries holding different views. The first two will be from an earlier time—over two-hundred years ago. The second two are living today.

Adam Clark (1762-1832). From his bible commentary on 2 Peter, he writes,

[From verse 10] As the heavens mean here, and in the passages above, the whole atmosphere, in which all the terrestrial vapours are lodged; and as water itself is composed of two gases, eighty-five parts in weight of oxygen, and fifteen of hydrogen, or two parts in volume of the latter, and one of the former; for if these quantities be put together, and several electric sparks passed through them, a chemical union takes place, and water is the product; and, vice versa, if the galvanic spark be made to pass through water, a portion of the fluid is immediately decomposed into its two constituent gases, oxygen and hydrogen;) and as the electric or ethereal fire is that which, in all likelihood, God will use in the general conflagration; the noise occasioned by the application of this fire to such an immense congeries of aqueous particles as float in the atmosphere, must be terrible in the extreme.

[From verse 11] Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. [“All these things”] will all be separated, all decomposed; but none of them destroyed. And as they are the original matter out of which God formed the terraqueous globe, consequently they may enter again into the composition of a new system; and therefore the apostle says, 2 Peter 3:13: we look for new heavens and a new earth-the others being decomposed, a new system is to be formed out of their materials. There is a wonderful philosophic propriety in the words of the apostle in describing this most awful event.1

From Clarke’s comments it is clear that he gives no possibility of the heavens to mean the universe. He is quite content to think that the passage is only referring to our atmosphere being burned off by fire. And then after the fire a new heavens (our atmosphere) and earth will be formed.

Jamison, Fauset and Brown. (of the same time period as Adam Clarke). In this commentary they write,

The certainty, suddenness, and concomitants, of the coming of the day of the Lord. Faber argues that the millennium. etc., must precede Christ’s literal coming; not follow it. But “the day of the Lord” comprehends the whole series of events, beginning with the premillennial advent, and ending with the destruction of the wicked, final conflagration, and general judgment (which last intervenes between the conflagration and the renovation of the earth)… As “the works” in the earth are distinguished from “the earth,” so by “elements” after “the heavens,” Bengel explains ‘the works therein’-namely, the sun, moon, and stars (as Theophilus of Antioch, pp. 22, 148, 228; and Justin Martyr, ‘Apology,’ ii. , 44, use stoicheia). Rather, as “elements” is not so used in Scripture Greek, the component materials of “the heavens,” (including the heavenly bodies (mentioned in the world’s destruction, as in its creation): it clearly belongs to “the heavens,” not to “the earth,” etc.2

Here the heavens are depicted as the universe (the sun, moon and stars). And other theologians are referred to: Johann Bengal (1687-1752), Theophilus of Antioch (writings from 180-185 AD), and Justin Martyr (100-165 AD). I would say, they have some excellent sources.

Randy Alcorn, from his book Heaven (published 2004). Alcorn has an entire chapter devoted to this subject, entitled, “WILL THE OLD EARTH BE DESTROYED…OR RENEWED?” Here are a few quotes:

A variety of theologians take this view of temporary, not final, destruction. Wayne Grudem, in his discussion of 2 Peter 3:10, which speaks of “everything” in the earth being “laid bare,” suggests that Peter “may not be speaking of the earth as a planet but rather the surface things on the earth (that is, much of the ground and the things on the ground).3

John Piper argues that God did not create matter to throw it away. He writes, “When Revelation 21:1 and 2 Peter 3:10 say that the present earth and heavens will ‘pass away,” it does not have to mean they go out of existence, but may mean that there will be such a change in them that their present condition passes away.4

Several prominent ancient theologians acknowledged the continuity between the present earth and the New Earth. Jerome often said that Heaven and Earth would not be annihilated but would be transformed into something better. Augustine wrote similarly, as did Gregory the Great, Thomas Aquinas and many medieval theologians.5

As God may gather the scattered DNA and atoms and molecules of our bodies, he will regather all he needs of the scorched and disfigured Earth. As our bodies will be raised to new bodies, so the old earth will be raised to become the New Earth. So, will the earth be destroyed or renewed? The answer is both—but the “destruction” will be temporal and partial, whereas the renewal will be eternal and complete.6

It appears that Alcorn has done some great research, but I think he has pretty much gathered from only those that agree with him. I would say that he is in the same camp with Adam Clark. And they speak only of the earth and not the universe.

John MacArthur (taken from his The MacArthur Study Bible notes on 2 Peter 3:10 and Revelation 21:1). From 2 Peter 3:10, he writes,

The “heavens” refer to the physical universe. The “roar” connotes a whistling or a cracking sound as of objects being consumed by flames. God will incinerate the universe, probably in an atomic reaction that disintegrates all matter as we know it…The “elements” are the atomic components into which matter is ultimately divisible, which make up the composition of all the created matter. Peter means that the atoms, neutrons, protons, and electrons are all going to disintegrate…The whole of the physical, natural earth in its present form, with its entire universe will be consumed. Cf. Is 24:19, 20; 34:4.7

From Revelation 21:1 MacArthur writes,

The entire universe as we know it will be destroyed (2 Pet. 3:10-13) and be replaced by a new creation that will last forever. This is an OT reality (Ps. 102:25, 26; Is. 65:17; 66:22), as well as a NT one (Lk 21:33; Heb. 1:10-12).8

As we can see, MacArthur’s view is much different than most others. That is because he sticks closely to the literal meaning of the text without rationalizing or reasoning as to what would be more logical. Also, instead of going to other human sources, he is more content in using only (or mostly) Scripture.

As for my beliefs and comments on this awesome subject, I would like to go first to the small phrases: “fled away” (in Rev. 20:11), “passed away” (in Rev. 21:1, and “pass away” (in 2 Pt. 3:10 and Matt. 24:35). They seem to depict a going out of existence, not a burning off for a later renewal. I think Revelation 20:11 is the most convincing of this. It says, “[the] earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.” It sure sounds like they (heaven and earth) disappeared to John. And when you add the 2 Peter passage to it, we may understand that the fleeing away will be quickly and in all directions—like a huge atomic explosion or an incineration.

And then, in Revelation 21:1, when the new heaven and earth come into existence, they will come to replace the old heaven and earth; for it says, “for the first heaven and the first earth passed away.” Note also that there is a clear distinction from the heaven and the earth, confirming that the heavens referred to is not earth’s atmosphere; it is the universe.

Now some may have the belief that God will bring us back to the garden of Eden, that He will want to continue what He started—a do over; hence the belief of earth’s renewal. And I am not apposed to thinking that the new earth will be similar to Eden. But I don’t think it will be a renewal. It will be an all-together new and different earth—a new creation that will last forever, without flaws.

Certainly, God is not opposed to destroying and starting over. He did it with the flood, and He did it with Sodom and Gomorrah. But next time it will be a total destruction and a recreation.

Also, we see in Matthew 24:35, and other references, that this earth and the heavens will not last forever. Here are a few of those other references.

Psalm 102:25-26

And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

26 “Even they will perish, but You endure;

And all of them will wear out like a garment;

Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.

Isaiah 34:4

And all the host of heaven will wear away,

And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll;

All their hosts will also wither away

As a leaf withers from the vine,

Or as one withers from the fig tree.

Matthew 5:18-19

“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Hebrews 1:10-12

“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,

AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;

11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN;

AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT,

12 AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;

LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED.

BUT YOU ARE THE SAME,

AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”

1 Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

2 Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

3 Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.: Wheaton, Illinois, 2004). P. 146.

4 Ibid., pp. 146-147.

5 Ibid., p. 149.

6 Ibid., p. 150.

7 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2006), John MacArthur’s notes on 2 peter 3:10.

8 Ibid., notes on Revelation 21:1.

Imagine Heaven — Part 2

Posted on by
Reply

In the last post we looked at verses fromMatthew 5:8, John 14:1-4, Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 3:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, Hebrews 11:13-16, 1 Peter 1:3-4, and Revelation 21:1-8. Today we will look at verses from Revelation 21:9-22:5.

Revelation 21:9-22:5. This section depicts all that God reveals to us about the holy city, the New Jerusalem—that place that will be our eternal dwelling with God. We won’t go over every point in any great detail; we will cover just the high points to stir our imagination of what our future home will be like.

Ch. 21:10-11. This great city, which John saw coming down out of heaven from God, sparkled with the glory of God. Its brilliance was like that of a crystal-clear jasper. Some commentators say that it will be more like a clear diamond.

Ch. 21:12-14.  This great and marvelous city will have a very high wall around it with twelve gates, three on each of its four sides; and the gates will have written on them the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. These gates with the names inscribed on each one will be an eternal reminder of Israel and also of the millennial temple that will be set up in the same way (Ezek. 48:30-35).

Ch. 21:15-16. The city will be 1,500 miles square and 1,500 miles high, in the shape of a cube. So, it will have over two-million square miles of ground space and plenty of space above for several levels. I imagine that each of our dwellings will be very large! With very high ceilings! What do you think?

Ch. 21:17-20. The thickness of the clear diamond walls will be seventy-two yards; that’s almost three quarters the length of a football field. That’s pretty thick, but it has to be to support all the weight of a 1,500-mile-high city. Also, the rest of the inside of the city; its streets (v. 21), and I suppose other interior walls, will be of pure gold, gold like pure glass. I’ve never seen transparent gold. I can’t imagine it, nor can I imagine clear diamond walls. Now the foundation of the city—all around the bottom part of the walls—will be composed of twelve kinds of very expensive precious stones, again it will represent and bring honor to the Jewish people.

Ch 21:21. The twelve gates all around the city will be made of pearl; that is, each gate will be made of a single pearl. That is very hard to imagine since the gates will be very large; at least seventy-two yards thick and who knows how high.

Ch. 21:22. There will be no temple anywhere in heaven, for the presence of God will fill the new heaven and earth and He will be the new temple.

Ch. 21:23-24. Whether there will be a sun or moon anywhere in heaven, I’m not sure; but in the city there will be no need for their light, for the glory of God will light up the city and also the new earth. All people on the earth will see by the light of the glory of God coming from the city.

Ch. 21:25-27. There will be no night in the city; it will be light all the time and the gates will never be closed, inviting anyone to come and go in and out of the city. And it appears that God will be pleased with people coming into the city; their personalities will be honoring to God and others; that is, every person that comes into the city will make it more glorious and honoring to God. Think of it, my presence there will bring an added joy to all. But nothing unclean or evil will be allowed in the city.

Ch. 22:1-5. In this passage John records things that are especially enjoyable and beneficial to the soul for eternity. John sees a river flowing from the throne of God coursing down the center of main street. This river is unique in that it is crystal clear and eternally nourishing. That is, it holds all the qualities in it that keeps us living and thriving for eternity. Hence, it is more than H2o; it contains all the living qualities of God’s holy life. I believe it is the very water that Jesus spoke of to the woman at the well (Jn. 4:14). It is water that if anyone drinks of it will never thirst again. Hence, in heaven we will be eternally satisfied. Moreover, on either side of the river there will be a tree of life bearing twelve crops of fruit—one crop every month; and the leaves of the tree will be for the healing of the people.

Now I don’t think this description of the river and the fruit trees are entirely literal. I’m not sure what we can expect to see, but I think the main point of this picture is to tell us that we will be eternally nourished and satisfied with God and the Lord Jesus. I think there may be several living rivers and multiple fruit trees wherever we go—to delight us.

Verses three through five seem to clump many things together—important things that John needs to say before he concludes.

  • That there will no longer be any curse. All that from the old earth is over.
  • That God’s throne and of the Lamb will be present somewhere in the city. I imagine it will be in a central location.
  • That His bond-servants (you and me) will serve Him.
  • That we will see His face; finally, we being sinless will be able to see God’s face.
  • And God’s name will be on our foreheads—to symbolize that we are His and He forever will protect us (Rev. 7:3).
  • And there will no longer be night; and we will no longer need the light of the sun because God’s glory will give us all the light we need.
  • And we will reign with God and the Lord Jesus forever and ever.

Imagine Heaven

Posted on by
2

One good way to keep our focus on heaven is to once in a while try to imagine it. I don’t very often do that, but I should. I confess that maybe I don’t trust my mind. But we should remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:15-16,

But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

Well, right away I’m thinking, am I spiritual enough? That I suppose sounds logical, but we must believe God to sanctify our mind. I would say, get in the word more and pray more and obey Him more. And then trust God that you do have the mind of Christ. And as you are trusting Him, I would suggest going through all the passages we have previously looked at on heaven and see if that will stir up your imagination.

Randy Alcorn wrote a book on heaven. He said early on in his book, “God has given us glimpses of Heaven in the Bible—to fire up our imagination and kindle a desire for Heaven in our hearts.”1

Now before we go through the nine passages again for the purpose of stirring our imagination, I would suggest that there will be very little in the bible, in reference to heaven, that speak of the beauty of nature on this earth. There are many passages that speak of nature’s beauty in reference to God’s creation and His power over creation, but not in reference to what heaven will be like. You will see this in Romans 1:20 and also in a few Psalms.

I say these things not to dampen your imagination in regard to nature’s beauty. I do think that God is all for beauty and that heaven and the new earth will be very beautiful. However, remember that God said in Revelation 21, that the “first earth” and “the first things” are “passing away.”  And He said, “I am making all things new.” Also, remember that our flowers, and most other plants, fade away and can be very easily damaged. But things in heaven will never fade away. I suggest that they will be made of different stuff than we have now. That’s something to think about.

Okay, lets go over all the references we looked at earlier and make some observations about what heaven is like.

Matthew 5:8. Here we may conclude that heaven will be seeing God for who He really is, having all the fruits of the Spirit.  And we will also enjoy all the people who are in their new bodies—how they are not being at all sinful, and how they are also seeing God as we do.

John 14:1-4. In heaven we will see the Father’s house (the New Jerusalem) with many rooms. Everyone will have his own room. And where He is, there we will be also. Yes, we will have our own private room, but God and Jesus will always be there too. And we will also be going and visiting each other. It will always be a party, enjoying company with good friends. I wonder how our rooms will be decorated and whether we will be involved in decorating them.

Philippians 3:20-21. Our body will be glorious like Jesus’ glorious body was. And they will be supernatural: powerful, able to do miraculous things—whatever Jesus did after He was resurrected. He walked through walls, appeared and disappeared, etc.

Colossians 3:1-3. Our life is now hidden with Christ in God. In heaven He will be our ultimate comfort, joy and protection. And we will be so much life Him in many ways.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. We will always be with the Lord; and just as we will ascend with Him to heaven, I imagine that He will take us to many marvelous places in the new universe and in the third heaven. Yes, I think we will fly around together with Him to many wonderful places.

Hebrews 11:13-16. In heaven when we are enjoying our great city that he has prepared for us, we will look back and remember how we longed for a better place—a holy and sinless place.

1 Peter 1:3-4. When we were born again we were born into a living hope—the hope of obtaining an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not pass away. Hence, this inheritance has eternal qualities like joy, peace and righteousness, in addition to God’s presence and Christ’s companionship.

Revelation 21:1-8. This passage is a summary of all that will be new and different in the heavens and the earth. Here is a list of the differences:

  • There will no longer be any sea. There is a lot of discussion among theologians as to what this means, which we will discuss later.
  • There will be a holy city, the new Jerusalem, which will descend down from the third heaven. This is where we will live. Each of us will have our own living quarters there.
  • God’s presence will always be with us. We will be His people.
  • He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
  • We will never die; we will live forever in our eternal bodies.
  • There will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain.
  • We will forever be satisfied with the springs of living water—everlasting nourishment from Christ.
  • We will never have to fear evil people. They will be gone forever in their own place.

1 Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Wheaton, Illinois) 2004, p. 16.