Heaven Pt-1 Series

Understanding Heaven

As a Christian you know you want to go to Heaven. Even people who don’t believe in God think they can go to Heaven. Yet most Christians would not be able to describe Heaven to someone or don’t have a clear understanding of it themselves.

If someone asked you “So what will Heaven be like?” could you answer them?

In this sermon series we will look at Heaven and answer these questions.

Why should we want to go there?

What are the 3 different types of Heaven?

Who will be going there?

How do we get there?

Where else can we go?

What will it look like?

Who and what will we see there?

Because the language of the Bible can sometimes be confusing when describing sizes or amounts we will use the Contemporary English Version for ease of understanding in this sermon unless noted.

Time Magazine Article March of 1997 “Does Heaven Exist?”

“Do you believe in Heaven?” 81% yes 13% no 6% not sure

“Where will you go when you die?” 68% Heaven 3% Hell 29% not sure

These statistics show a failure of some churches to educate their congregation about Heaven. If 81% said they believed, 81% should have known they were going there when they die.

Why should we want to go there?

1 Corinthians 2:9

9 But it is just as the Scriptures say,

“What God has planned

for people who love him

is more than eyes have seen

or ears have heard.

It has never even

entered our minds!”

The human mind cannot conceive or visualize what the true Heaven will be like.

Most of the descriptions of heaven are in the Book of Revelation Chapters 21&22..

God told John The Revelator to write down what he saw and not to keep it a secret. Why? So that we would know what to look forward to and to hope for.

Colossians 3:1,2

3 You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God’s right side. 2 Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth.

If you are a Christian, your destiny is be in Heaven with Christ! Don’t focus on what life is like here but look forward to life up there!

Going to Heaven should be the most important thing we hope to accomplish.

Matthew 13:45

45 The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a shop owner is looking for fine pearls. 46 After finding a very valuable one, the owner goes and sells everything in order to buy that pearl.

It does not matter what we have to endure, give up, or sacrifice. Nothing we can accomplish on Earth can compare to what we will have in Heaven.

What are the 3 different types of Heaven?

HEAVEN — a word that expresses several distinct concepts in the Bible:

1. As used in a physical sense, heaven is the expanse over the earth.

1 Natural Heavens-the sky and the heavens

1. The Atmospheric Heavens(The Sky)

Genesis 1:6-8

6 God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.” 7 And that’s what happened. God made the dome 8 and named it “Sky.” Evening came and then morning—that was the second day.

Isaiah 42:5

I am the Lord God. I created the heavens like an open tent above. I made the earth and everything that grows on it. I am the source of life for all who live on this earth, so listen to what I say.

Spread Out

Jeremiah. 10:12

W ith your wisdom and power you created the earth and spread out the heavens.

2. The Stellar Heavens(The Stars)

Genesis. 1:14; 26:4

14 God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. 4 I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all of this land. They will be a blessing to every nation on earth,

Both were created by God

Genesis 1:1

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Both will be destroyed

Hebrews 1:10–12

10 The Scriptures also say, “In the beginning, Lord, you were the one who laid the foundation of the earth and created the heavens. 11 They will all disappear and wear out like clothes, but you will last forever. 12 You will roll them uplike a robe and change them like a garment. But you are always the same, and you will live forever.”

2 Peter 3:10

10 The day of the Lord’s return will surprise us like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a loud noise, and the heat will melt the whole universe. Then the earth and everything on it will be seen for what they are.