Heaven- is it for Real? Part 2

I love seeing people's homes. There is something about seeing how a person lives that can really give you a glimpse into their character, their interests, and what makes them 'tick'. It gets me thinking about the wonder and beauty of seeing our heavenly home for the first time- it will amaze us and cause us to glorify even more our Saviour who prepared it for us (John 14:3). 

In Part 1 of 'Heaven- is it for Real?', I was writing about how easy it is for us to think about heaven according to how it is shown in Hollywood. Instead of reading the Bible and finding out what the Home Owner has to say, we are taken by visual depictions and claims of people who have been there (for an interesting article on the danger of these claims, read this). 

The other danger when it comes to thinking about heaven, is thinking too much about heaven as being a place of constant singing, rather than dwelling on the fact that it is part of God's ultimate plan to have a New Heaven and New Earth. For those who don't enjoy singing all that much, let this help you realise 'heaven' encompasses a lot more than just the heavenly choirs (amazing as they may be!) 

A New Heaven and New Earth

• Isaiah 65:17 tells us there will be a new heaven and new earth. 

• Psalm 102:10 reinforces this, telling us that while God is eternal and will never change, heaven and earth will. 

• Revelation describes this new heaven and new earth being created after the end of the world as we know it. 

• In Revelation 21:1-3, we read "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."

• Tim Keller, in his sermon "The New Heaven and New Earth" (available itunes), points out that this is what makes Christianity so different to other religions. God recreates a perfect world, with heaven and God coming down to earth. Our goal is not about us escaping this world (though we will be set free from sin and the effects of sin), it is about the recreation of a perfect world. Like the Garden of Eden, God will dwell with man. But this time, it will be permanent. 

So What Will It Be Like?

• Perfect! No sin nor defilement- ever. No effects of sin. (Revelation 21:27)

• Beautiful (Revelation 21:15-21).

• It will have a River of Life and fruit trees (Revelation 22:1-3)

• There will be no night as the Lord God will be so radiant he will be all the light that is needed (Revelation 22:4-5)

• We will see God face to face and have full knowledge of Him (Revelation 22:4, 1 Corinthians 13:12). 

What Will We Be Like?

• Perfect! (bring it on- can't wait for this)

• New bodies will be given (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

• We will work. The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-29 highlights that we will be given different responsibilities depending on how we use our time and giftings on earth. 

• Our work will be enjoyable. While we do not know what work we will do, we know that Adam was given work to do (Genesis 2:15). This work will not be tainted with sin so we will glorify God in and through it and enjoy it, being completely satisfied with our work.

As I think about my home and then think about the new home that awaits me, I know which one will be the more impressive. In it there will be no sin nor hardships nor toil. Pain and grief will not pass through its doors. I will be able to glorify God completely and serve him in enjoyment and satisfaction. In the mundane moments, may I echo Jonathan Edwards' prayer, "Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs" for when I consider eternity, my daily life gets a little more perspective. 

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Wisdom- when to talk, when not to.

Over the past few years, I have often been faced with the decision of when to speak and when not to. Prior to mothering, I worked in a Christian School, where teachers gathered each morning, shared a devotion and prayed together. It was a thing of beauty. But it was also a time where doctrinal differences often surfaced. For the sake of love and unity, we tried not to major on the minors, and instead focused on Jesus and our ministry of training children to love and serve Jesus. Recently though, listening to "Word-Based Ministry" by Nancy Guthrie, I was challenged that sometimes true love is talking to a friend or questioning their interpretation of the Bible. After all, we are called to encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13) and have the Word of God dwelling in us to encourage, teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16).

This morning, in James, I read "Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom" (James 3:13). So what is wisdom? How is a person wise? The Bible tells us that wisdom is firstly fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10) and then it is knowing and doing God's Word (Deuteronomy 4:5-6). We are told that a wise man builds his house on the Word of the Lord (Matthew 7:24). We are also told that God's Word makes wise the simple (Psalm 19:7). So if we are to be wise, we fear the Lord and we read, hear and do His Word. 

Proverbs 3:13-24 (beautiful and well worth the read!) tells us wisdom and understanding are beautiful things we are to pursue. It is more precious that rubies and brings peace, blessing, safety and security. When we are reading, meditating, trusting in God and His Word, we are secure in our knowledge and understanding of Him and have a firm foundation for our lives. 

So then, in James 3:13, how do we show meekness? Often I hear this word and in the English dictionary it refers to humility but there is also a sense of weakness about it. In the Bible, according to the Strongs Concordance, it says "Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness." In James 3:13, the Greek word used for 'meekness' is a derivative of this original form. It also means a a gentle strength brought about by reliance on God's Word and direction:  "For the believer, meekness (4240 /praýtēs, "gentle-force") begins with the Lord's inspiration and finishes by His direction and empowerment. It is a divinely-balanced virtue that can only operate through faith (cf. 1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim 2:22-25) (Strongs Concordance). 

If we are to show true wisdom and understanding, we are to walk day-by-day with a gentle strength brought about by fearing God and loving and knowing His Word. As we rely on the Holy Spirit within us, our actions will then involve living out God's Word. Sometimes this will mean gently and loving correcting a brother or sister, recognising that we are growing together in the love and knowledge of our Saviour Jesus. For knowledge, understanding and love of God and His Word is TRUE WISDOM. 

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Heaven- Is It For Real? Part 1

Do you ever look around our world and long for heaven? I was interested in a discussion recently on heaven and there seemed to be some differing views about what it actually is, where it is and what we are told about it in the Bible. With the emergence of books and films that like to claim people have been there, it is easy to use these as a framing reference, instead of the Word of God.

To help, I've put together some information about heaven and what we are actually told about it in the Bible. I will do this in two parts- Part 1 on the basic information we know, Part 2 on the New Heaven and Earth.

Heaven is where:

• The Father is (Matthew 6:9)
• Our Saviour Jesus is (Hebrews 9:24)
• The angels are (Matthew 22:30)
• Those who have died who had faith in Jesus are (Hebrews 12:23)
• Our citizenship is (Philippians 3:20)
• Our inheritance is (1 Peter 1:3-4)
• Our rewards are (Matthew 5:12, Matthew 6:19-21)

Location, please?

• In a number of verses we are told heaven is high up (Isaiah 57:15, Psalm 102:19)
• God looks down from heaven (Isaiah 63:15)
• It is an actual place from where God looks out (Psalm 33:14)

As John MacArthur says, "Now listen, heaven is up. It’s up beyond everything that we know in the material universe. It is as big as God. It is that which engulfs within it the material universe as we know it which is billions and billions and billions of light years to its extensions. And it is that which is the heaven of God which embraces this universe in its midst. Now, you can’t keep thinking about that because what you’ve got beyond the universe that’s created, the universe of time and space as we know it, is infinity. And it is as, an infinite as God is infinite and that’s how infinite heaven is. We can’t handle that because we are captive to a time-space mentality. We cannot conceive of endless, eternal heaven. But that’s what the Bible teaches."

Does a person go straight to heaven when they die? 

Yes, immediately on death:

• Jesus tells thief on the cross "today, you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:42-43)
• Paul would prefer to be away from his body and present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

What is Heaven Like?

Revelation Chapter 4

• There is a throne where God is (Revelation 4:1-3), where lightning, thunder, majesty, glory and colours come from (Revelation 4:5) and where the Spirit of God is (Revelation 4:5, cf Isaiah 11:2). On each side of the throne are 4 living creatures (Revelation 4:6-8).
• Around the throne are 24 thrones with 24 elders on them (Revelation 4:4).
• In front of the throne is a sea of glass (Revelation 4:6).

More information: John MacArthur has a series on Heaven that is worth a listen.

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