Heaven

HEAVEN

Php 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven……..

The word heaven means: The abode of God, the angels, and the souls of those who are granted salvation. I love that –the souls of those who are granted salvation! As Christians we have an incredible hope and an incredible destination. We who have trusted Christ can be assured of two things –we will receive eternal life when we die and in this world we will have tribulation, thankfully we are told by Jesus that He has overcome the world and can help us in our tribulation. 10 million years from now everyone we meet or know will be alive, either in heaven or hell, but we who have placed our trust In Jesus and repented of our wicked ways will be in heaven. Look at these well known verses:

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Joh 10:28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Tit 1:2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,

1Jn 2:25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

I think by some of these verses we can see that we can trust God when He says that we have eternal life.

So what happens when we die do we sleep for a thousand years or do we lie in the grave until judgement day? No, we go to be with Jesus in the glorious city the New Jerusalem. All people on earth will go either to the place of torment and then to the lake of fire or to the heavenly city and then on to eternal joy and purpose. Notice I say purpose and not playing a harp on a cloud. Here are some Scriptures to show that when we die we are with Him.

1Th 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

1Th 5:10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

2Co 5:6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.

Php 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Php 1:23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

Php 1:24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.

So, when we die our flesh man dies or goes to sleep as it is referred to in some translations. Then our spirit man and soul go to our eternal destinations, which is an exact replica of ourselves without any scars or defects. On judgement day we will all be reconnected with our bodies and stand in judgement, in other words there will be a resurrection of our bodies and we will be judged three in one, body, soul and spirit!

1Th 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Heaven our spirit man is in the express image of ourselves, so we will instantly recognize one another. Many believe that we will all be as Jesus or around the age of Jesus-33 because that was the age He died, because the Scripture says:

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is..

What happens when we die :

Psa 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

By many accounts of many Christians dying the angels of God fetch us and take us to our glorious destination. So where do we go?

Those who are redeemed as Christians go to the New Jerusalem the glorious city of God! The location of the city is in the northern part of the universe:

Psa 75:6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.

So promotion must come from the north and:

Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north