A man said to me the other day, "I do not like your Savior".
"Why?" I said.
He said, "Because He sends men to hell."
I said, "I have never heard of His sending anyone there. Men send themselves there."
(Ezek 18:23) Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
Jesus was never at fault because a soul went to hell. Never! Never! No soul confronting Jesus in that great day of days at the judgment bar of God will ever presume to say, "I am lost through your fault." None will say that to Him.
No, Jesus never sent anyone to hell. However, He does send people to heaven.
That's what we are looking at this evening. Those whom Jesus sends to heaven.
Last time we looked at Heaven: the place. This week I want to look at Heaven: the occupants.
I Angels
A When we arrive in heaven some of the first beings we will see are angels. In fact, we will see multitude upon multitude of angels:
(Heb 12:22) But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly ...
(Rev 5:11) Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.
B Let me pause for a moment to say something about the "four living creatures" mentioned in our Scripture reading. They are actually mentioned 11 times in the book of Revelation (4:6; 4:8; 5:6; 5:8; 5:14; 6:6; 7:11; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4). The first time we meet them is in Revelation 4
(Rev 4:6-8) Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. (7) The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. (8) Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
The four living creatures are quite similar to the creatures that Ezekiel tells us about (Ezek. 10:20). Ezekiel calls the living creatures of his vision "cherubim," which we know to be a kind of angelic being.
The Bible leads us to conclude that the four living creatures are angels of God.
C We will see angels when we get to heaven. But that should not surprise us. After all, heaven is God's home. And wherever God is, there are angels: think of God and two angels visiting Abraham just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18); think of Jacob's vision of a ladder with angels ascending and descending upon it and the Lord standing above (Gen 28); think of Isaiah seeing the Lord in a vision and an angel purifying him by putting a burning coal to his lips (Is 6); and, the book of Revelation always shows the throne of God surrounded by angels.
D Those angels that we will see in heaven, what are they doing? In scene after scene we see them worshiping God:
(Rev 4:8) Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
(Rev 5:9-10) And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (10) You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
(Rev 5:12) In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
(Rev 7:11-12) All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, (12) saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"
II The Saved
A The second group that we notice in heaven is the saved or the redeemed. John writes:
(Rev 7:9) After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count ...
"A great multitude that no one could count." This, of course, is the fulfillment of God's promise to His servant Abraham:
(Gen 22:17) I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore ...
Centuries after God said this the promise is fulfilled and the church, Abraham's descendants, is before the throne of God and she is a great multitude, more than anyone can count.
I have to ask you this evening: are you going to be part of that multitude, that crowd beyond number standing before the throne of God?
I tried to imagine this past week what it would be like to be part of that kind of crowd. How exciting, how wonderful that will be. A number of years ago I was in the Hoosier dome in Indianapolis, Indiana for a Promise Keeper's Convention. The announcer said there were 65,000 men in attendance. It was awesome to hear 65,000 men sing "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty." But in heaven I will be part of a crowd beyond number, a crowd that is excited and screaming and enthusiastic. Can you imagine the excitement, the enthusiasm, the joy of being part of such a large crowd?
Just before our text, in verses 4-8, the Apostle John numbers off that crowd. He mentions each of the 12 tribes of Israel and from each of those 12 tribes there are 12,000: 12 X 12,000 for a total of 144,000. This sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it? On the one hand we are told it is a crowd beyond number; on the other hand we are told the crowd numbers 144,000. In the Hebrew language the number 12 is the number of wholeness and completion. And John repeats it twice. In heaven there will be 12 X 12 thousand people. This tells us something about that great multitude before the throne of God that no one could count. It will be complete. Not one person will be missing. John is telling us that before the throne of God not a single true member of the church will be missing, all will be there, none will be left out.
How comforting. As you all know, we are all sinners in need of grace. Every single one of us is lost. Yet every lost one of us, none excepted – if we believe – will be part of that crowd beyond number. None of us will be missing; the number is whole, the number is complete. And that means all of us, if we – by grace – believe, no matter how terrible we may think we are, no matter how much we may doubt our salvation, every single lost and last one of us will be saved, will be found before the throne of God. There is a place, says John, for every single true believer.
I remember a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game I attended. The game was kind of boring because the Brewers performed so poorly; they lost 8 - 0 and got only two hits. So I started to watch the people around me. I especially watched a man in his forties who reminded me a bit of comedian Steve Martin. He kept jumping out of his seat and going to the concession stands. When he walked he would do the space walk. One time he stopped, lifted up his foot, pulled down one of his socks to the top of his shoes, and then continued his space walk. He smoked cigarette after cigarette. He kept looking around to see if anyone was watching him. Would such a weird guy make it to heaven? I have to say, "If he believes in Jesus – no matter how weird he acts or is – he will be in heaven too."
I ask you again, are you going to be part of that crowd? You will be, you can be, but only if you, by grace, believe.
B Let me pause for a moment to say something about the 24 elders that we see in our Scripture reading. They are mentioned 12 times in the book of Revelation. We notice that they are dressed in white, indicating purity; they are seated on thrones, suggesting honor; they are crowned with victors' wreaths; and they bear witness to the blood of Christ by which they have been redeemed. Such a description means they can only be saved people.
C John tells us another thing about the saved in heaven:
(Rev 7:9) After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language ...
That crowd beyond number, that crowd that no one could count, that crowd with none missing, comes from all over the earth.
These words remind me of the children's song I sang in Sunday School:
Jesus loves the little children,
all the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
they are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
This children's song reminds us of an important Biblical truth: the church of Jesus Christ is more, far more, than white, Dutch, American, or Christian Reformed. They are from every tribe, and nation, and people, and language.
All around us we see walls, barriers, and labels separating people from people. Race, skin-color, language, nationality, political persuasion, income, class level, sex, geography, profession, education – all of these can be barriers which separate people from people.
In the church there is no room for such barriers. In the community of the church we don't separate people according to skin-color, nationality, sex, profession, or anything else. And in heaven, before the throne of God, none of those barriers exist anymore.
(Rev 7:9) After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language ...
Again I ask: are you a part?; are you a part of that great multitude that John saw before the throne, a multitude that no one could count, a multitude of endless variety?
D Everyone of those people who are in heaven are there because of Jesus.
(Rev 7:9) After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
Who are all these people and why are they all there? John evidently wondered this too. But before he could ask one of the elders answered him.
(Rev 7:13-14) Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" (14) I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
All those people are sinners. Heaven is not a place for people who have been perfect on earth. It is for people whose robes have been washed. The robes, of course, are the garments of sin and evil that we by nature cloak ourselves in. In other words, heaven is a place only for those who were sinners while on earth but have now been cleansed.
Let me tell you right now, if you start to think about yourself, "I'm not so bad, in fact, I'm pretty good," then heaven is not for you. If you don't have an awareness of sin in your life, heaven is not for you. Heaven is for sinners.
Notice, the robes have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. In other words, the sinners in heaven are there because they have been cleansed and purified by the blood of Christ. We are being told here about the church's one foundation: even Jesus Christ. It is Jesus, His blood, His sacrifice, which called the church into being. And, it is only because of Christ that the church is redeemed and can appear before the throne of God.
This is true for all, for everyone in that multitude, whether they are red or yellow or black or white, they all need to be cleansed by the blood of Christ. It is only because of that blood that you and I can someday stand before the throne of God – wearing robes of white; part of a crowd beyond number from every nation, tribe, people and language.
So I ask you again, are you part of that crowd that John sees before the throne?
III Jesus
Who will be in heaven? God's angels are there. Believers are there. And, Jesus is also there. Heaven is where our Savior is. Where He is, there we shall also someday be. You know the words of Jesus:
(Jn 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.
What a blessing and what joy to someday be with Jesus in a way that we cannot be right now.
Topic: God
Subtopic: Power of
Index: 3808-3811
Date: 11/1992.22
Title:
The story is told of a Sunday school teacher who asked her group of children if any of them could quote the entire twenty-third psalm. A golden-haired, four-and- a-half-year-old girl was among those who raised their hands. A bit skeptical, the teacher asked if she could really quote the entire psalm. The little girl came to the rostrum, faced the class, made a perky little bow, and said: "The Lord is my shepherd, that's all I want."
She then bowed again and sat down. She may have overlooked a few verses, but that little girl captured David's heart in Psalm 23.
Along this line, I think of what the Apostle Paul wrote:
(Phil 1:23) I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far ...
Heaven is where Jesus is, and someday we will join Him there. And, why joy, what bliss, what happiness to be in glory with the Lord Jesus.
Conclusion
Who is in heaven? Angels are there. Believers are there. Jesus is there. But now I need to ask: will you be there? Let me end with a poem I came across this past week:
Topic: Heaven
Subtopic: Opened
Index: 1548
Date: 9/1994.28
Title:
I dreamed death came to me one night
and heaven's gates flew open wide.
With kindly grace St. Peter came and
ushered me inside.
There to my astonishment were friends
I had known on earth,
Some I had labeled as unfit
and some of little worth.
Indignant words flew to my lips:
Words I could not set free,
For every face showed stunned surprise --
No one expected me.