************ Sermon on Belgic Confession Article 37k ************
Doctrine: Eschatology; What Heaven is Like
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on December 5, 1999
B.C. 37k
Revelation 21:1 - 22:6
"What Heaven is Like"
Introduction
Topic: Heavenly Home
Subtopic:
Index: 1356
Date: 3/1988.30
Title:
A little girl was walking with her father in the country. No neon signs, no automobile headlights or street lamps marred the stillness of the crisp evening. As she looked into the deep blue velvet sky, studded with an array of diamonds which put the most dazzling Tiffany display to shame, she said, "Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what do you think the right side will be like?"
In answer to this question the Bible tells us that we cannot even imagine what heaven will be like. Paul says,
(1 Cor 2:9) However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"--
Heaven, in other words, will be better and greater and more wonderful than we think it will be.
We are all interested in heaven and what life in heaven is like. I can think of a number of reasons why this is the case. The Bible tells us that our citizenship is in heaven:
(Phil 3:20) But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ
Our names are written in heaven:
(Luke 10:20) However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Our treasure is in heaven:
(Mat 6:20) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Our eternal home is in heaven:
(John 14:2) In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
And, heaven is God's dwelling place:
(Isa 63:15) Look down from heaven and see from your lofty throne, holy and glorious.
(Isa 66:1) This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
Because of all this, we are intensely interested in what heaven is like.
The Bible talks about heaven being open. Ezekiel, for instance, saw heaven opened and saw visions of God (Ezek 1:1). Jesus told His disciples they would see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man (Jn 1:51). Stephen saw heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). And, Peter saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners (Acts 10:11). But only the book of Revelations tells us what was actually seen when heaven was opened. Beginning with chapter 4 the apostle John describes for us what he sees when he entered the glorious realm of heaven.
So what does John see? What is heaven really like?
I Heaven is a Place
Our starting point has to be the last verse of our Scripture reading:
(Rev 22:6) The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true ..."
Why do I start off with this verse? Because there are those who say that heaven is "a state of mind," "a fancy," "a dream," "an abstraction," "an idea," "wishful thinking," "a figure of speech," "a feeling." But, the Bible testifies that heaven is as real as the roof over our heads or the home in which we live or the book that we hold in front of our eyes. Jesus says,
(John 14:2-3) In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Notice, two times Jesus calls heaven "a place." He also refers to it as "my Father's house." There is no doubt that Jesus thought of heaven as a real, actual place. And, in his vision John also sees heaven as a real, actual place.
If heaven is a place, where is it? Well, heaven is up. Now we knew that, didn't we? But no matter what part of the globe I stand on, it's still up. In Ephesians Paul reminded us that when Jesus came to earth, He descended, and when He left earth, He ascended. In Acts 1, the angels told the early disciples that Jesus had been taken up. In 1 Thessalonians 4 when the Lord comes, He will come down, and when the church meets the Lord, it will go up. In the Psalms we read that when God contemplates His creation, He looks down, and when His creatures gaze at God, they look up.
In Revelation when John was about to be given a tour of heaven, he was invited to come up. When the new Jerusalem is ready for occupancy, we're told in our Scripture reading from Revelation 21, that it will come down. Heaven is up. It's up above the atmosphere, the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the ionosphere, the exosphere. It's beyond the galaxy, it's beyond the thousand million galaxies in our universe. It is fair to say that heaven is beyond time and beyond space and exists in an entirely different dimension.
II Heaven is a Renewed Place
Listen again to the opening words of our Scripture reading from Revelation 21:
(Rev 21:1-2) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. (2) I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
There are two Greek words used in the New Testament for the word "new" (neos and kainos). One of the words is used with reference to time. The phrase, "The Young People have a brand new foose ball table" fits this use of the word "new." The foose ball table is brand new. It was just made. The other word for new is used with reference to quality or kind or character. Someone who is a prostitute or alcoholic, for instance, can turn over a new leaf and act like a new person. Or, someone who has lost 50 pounds can look like a new person.
When John tells us about a "new heaven and a new earth," he doesn't mean new in time. It is not brand new, something that never existed before. Rather, it is a renewed or a re-created heaven and earth. It is of a different quality or kind or character than the old heaven and earth.
John loves this use of the word new. Consider the many times he uses new in this sense:
-we have a new name (Rev 2:17; 3:12)
-we sing a new song (Rev 5:9; 14:3)
-we will live in a new Jerusalem (Rev 3:12; 21:2)
-God is making everything new (Rev 21:5)
In a number of places the Apostle Paul uses the word new in the same way:
(Gal 6:15) Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
(Eph 2:15) by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
(Eph 4:24) and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
In these verses Paul talks of those who have been saved and regenerated. They become new people though they are still in the same body and still have the same soul. They are regenerated and transformed and are now like Jesus. They are new.
Only those things and people that are new, that have been renewed and re-created and transformed, have a place in the new or renewed heaven and earth.
III Heaven is a Beautiful City
Listen once again to the opening words of our Scripture reading from Revelation 21:
(Rev 21:1-2) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. (2) I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
We notice here that our new home is in a new and beautiful city.
I cannot help but observe that cities always dominate a land. For example: France is Paris; Italy is Rome; England is London; Israel is Jerusalem; the United States is Washington D.C.; and, Canada is Ottawa. You do not think of any of these countries without thinking of its most famous city.
When John thinks of heaven he thinks of a city: the new Jerusalem. I am always amazed that it is John who has this kind of vision. John, you see, was from Galilee. He was not a city dweller; he lived in the countryside, surrounded by trees and flowers and grass. Yet, the view that he saw of the life to come was not a return to the Garden of Eden but rather a vast, endless city.
This idea of our future life being in a city goes all the way back to Abraham. Do you remember what Hebrews says about Abraham?
(Heb 11:10) For he [Abraham] was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Don't forget, Abraham lived in tents and moved from place to place. A tent is but a temporary dwelling in a temporary location. But for the future Abraham was looking forward to a permanent dwelling in a permanent dwelling place.
Many are turned off by the thought that our future life is in a city. In this life and on this earth the city is anything but a perfect place. In fact, in today's cities we can easily find all that is evil, wicked, perverse, and wrong with human life. Every sin imaginable, every indignity possible, and every form of suffering conceivable is experienced in today's cities. Think of Los Angeles or San Francisco and chances are that you think of theft, rape, murder, AIDS, prostitution, homosexuality, organized crime, drugs, poverty, welfare, unemployment, slums, alcoholism. School children carry knives and guns. Neighbors don't know each other. Strangers are never to be trusted. Today's cities are jungles of concrete and steel.
Why is a city the setting of our future life? Think back to what God said in the Garden of Eden. God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him" (Gen 2:18). Our happiness, by God's design, depends upon others. God has designed us to fellowship with one another, to have communion with one another, to enjoy one another. As Paul writes, "For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone" (Rom 14:7). Or, as one of our 20th century authors put it, "No man is an island." For this reason men and women get married and have children. For this reason we join groups like Rotary or Kiwanis or Lions. For this reason we join together in a Christian school society to educate our children. For this reason we live together in the City of Visalia. For this reason we play team sports. And, for this reason God calls us to be part of His church. Notice, most of life revolves around community: whether it be family, service clubs, teams, towns, cities, or church. It will be exactly the same way in our future life. We will live in the great city, the beautiful city, the wondrous city, the new Jerusalem because cities are places of fellowship and communion and togetherness. There we will be given an eternity to see, know, enjoy, get acquainted, and fellowship with each other.
In our Scripture reading John tries to describe our eternal home for us. But let me again caution you with the words of Paul I quoted earlier:
(1 Cor 2:9) No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him ...
We would be wrong to take John's description literally. For John is trying to describe the undescribable.
First of all, John describes our eternal home from the outside. He paints us a picture of its vastness: it is 1,500 miles up, down, and across (Rev 21:15-17). He paints us a picture of its security and accessibility: it has a high, great wall and it has 12 gates – 3 in every direction. He paints us a picture of its beauty and splendor: its foundations are decorated with every kind of precious stone, its streets are paved with gold.
Secondly, John describes our eternal home from the inside. Oh, what a glory! But John notices that three things are missing. The first thing that is missing is the sun and moon. The city gets its light and illumination from God Himself (Rev 21:23). We see the truth of this with Moses already. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai where he had met with God, his face was shining brightly, reflecting the glory of the light of God. And, when the Lord Jesus was transfigured, his face and clothing and body became bright and brilliant, reflecting the light of the presence of God.
The second thing that is missing is the temple (Rev 21:22). At the time of John the great cities of the world were all known for their beautiful temples. Herod's temple was in Jerusalem. The temple of Athena was in Athens. The temple of Artemis or Diana was located in Ephesus. And Rome was known for its temples dedicated to various gods and idols. But in the new Jerusalem there is no temple. Why not? Temples are places where one goes to meet with and worship his or her god. But in the New Jerusalem the redeemed will live in the very presence of God Himself so they have no need for a temple. They shall look directly upon the face of the Almighty.
The third thing that is missing – thank God – is sin and the tears caused by sin. We are told that God "will wipe every tear from their eyes" (Rev 21:4). Tears caused by suffering will be no more. Tears brought on by emotional, physical, relational, or spiritual pain are gone. Tears of repentance will cease. Tears of mourning have no place there. Tears of grief and remorse over sin are not to be seen. Tears spilled over loved ones who don't know the Lord or who have left the Lord are ended. Tears because of temptation and struggle and addiction and fallenness are no more. Tears of pain won't be found. Sin and the effects of sin are gone: "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things have passed away" (Rev 21:4).
Conclusion
Heaven is a place. It is a renewed place. It is a beautiful city.
Heaven is the hope, the real hope, of everyone who believes in Jesus. It is the hope of everyone who believes in Jesus just like the Promised Land was the hope of Israel. However, to enter the Promised Land Israel had to first cross the waters of the Jordan. Those waters of the Jordan, do you know what they are the symbol of? They are the symbol of death. And those water had to be crossed before Israel could enter into the Promised Land. In the same way, we can enter our Promised Land – the new Jerusalem – only when we too have crossed the waters of death OR when the Lord Jesus returns.
Because of our fallen natures we dread death. Actually, though, death is just a stream that divides us from our eternal home. That is why Paul could so triumphantly write:
(1 Cor 1:55,57) "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (57) But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Topic: Heavenly Home
Subtopic:
Index: 1356
Date: 9/1986.29
Title: Safely Home
Eric Barker, a missionary from Great Britain, spent over 50 years in Portugal preaching the Gospel, often under adverse conditions. During World War II, the situation became so critical that he was advised to send his wife and eight children to England for safety. His sister and her three children were also evacuated on the same ship. Although his beloved relatives were forced to leave, he remained behind to carry on the work. On the Lord's Day following their departure, Pastor Barker stood before his congregation and said, "I've just received word that all my family have arrived safely home!" He then proceeded with the service as usual. Later, the full meaning of his words became known to his people. He had been handed a wire just before the service informing him that a submarine had torpedoed the ship, and everyone on board had drowned. He knew that because all were believers they had reached a more "desired haven." The knowledge that his family was enjoying the bliss of Heaven comforted his heart.
And, if we believe, this thought can comfort us too as we consider our own death or the death of our loved ones. This can comfort us as we await the return of the Lord. God, you see, has promised us a place, a renewed place, a glorious city.
(Rev 22:6) The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true ..."