Understanding Heaven PT 3
So far we have learned why we should want to go to Heaven.
How we are going to get there (salvation/rapture)
Rewards we will receive(Crowns of Judgment)
Now we will learn who and what we will exactly see and do in Heaven.
1-Who are the inhabitants of Heaven?
God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Angels
Those he calls children
Hebrews 12:22, 23
22 You have now come to Mount Zion and to the heavenly Jerusalem. This is the city of the living God, where thousands and thousands of angels have come to celebrate. 23 Here you will find all of God’s dearest children, whose names are written in heaven. And you will find God himself, who judges everyone. Here also are the spirits of those good people who have been made perfect. 24 And Jesus is here! He is the one who makes God’s new agreement with us, and his sprinkled blood says much better things than the blood of Abel.
2-As magnificent as Heaven will be, their will be things missing in Heaven.
Marriage Matthew 22:30
30 When God raises people to life, they won’t marry. They will be like the angels in heaven.
Our joy in Heaven will be complete by God’s presence. We won’t need anyone else to complete it.
Death Luke 20:35,36
35 But in the future world no one who is worthy to rise from death will either marry 36 or die. They will be like the angels and will be God’s children, because they have been raised to life.
In Heaven we will once again have access to the Tree of Life.
Flesh and blood 1 Corinthians 15:50
50 My friends, I want you to know that our bodies of flesh and blood will decay. This means that they cannot share in God’s kingdom, which lasts forever. 51 I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed. 52 It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so that we will never die again.
Our bodies will be changed into “glorified bodies”
(Speaking About Rapture)
Sorrow & Pain Revelation 7:17
17 The Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to streams of life-giving water, and God will wipe all tears from their eyes.”
Curse Revelation 22:3
3 God’s curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God
The curse brought upon us by the fall of man will be removed.
Night Revelation 22:5
5 Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.
God’s glory will be the source of light for Heaven.
3-Things we will experience in Heaven
Joy Luke 15:7, 10
7 Jesus said, “In the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to.” 10 Jesus said, “In the same way God’s angels are happy when even one person turns to him.”
There is a celebration in Heaven when a person turns to God
Peace Luke 16:19–25
19 There was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and every day ate the best food. 20 But a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man’s house. 21 He was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. His body was covered with sores, and dogs kept coming up to lick them. 22 The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried. 23 He went to hell and was suffering terribly. When he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side, 24 he said to Abraham, “Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue. I’m suffering terribly in this fire.”
25 Abraham answered, “My friend, remember that while you lived, you had everything good, and Lazarus had everything bad. Now he is happy, and you are in pain. 26 And besides, there is a deep ditch between us, and no one from either side can cross over.”
The rich man had every opportunity to turn to God.
No one can cross over to help you when you wind up in Hades. It’s too late then.
Verse 24(Suffering/Heat)
Reward & Inheritance Matthew 5:11, 12
11 God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. 12 Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago.
1 Peter 1:4
4 God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.
Glory Romans 8:17, 18
17 His Spirit lets us know that together with Christ we will be given what God has promised. We will also share in the glory of Christ, because we have suffered with him. 18 I am sure that what we are suffering now cannot compare with the glory that will be shown to us.
It doesn’t matter what we endure here on Earth, God has promised us a reward in Heaven equal to the reward he will give Christ. Can anyone get that guarantee from someone here on Earth?
4 What will we do in Heaven?
Not all verses of reference included to save time/space. Summarized from Revelation
1 Singing (Revelation 15:2-4, 19:4-6)
Heaven will be a place of unending worship of God. Songs of praise will be sung for eternity.
In medieval monasteries hymns were sung constantly.
2 Serving(Revelation 19:5 22:3)
Everyone in Heaven will have a job assigned to them by God. It will not be like your earthly job was.
3 Supervising(Revelation 22:5)
Adam and Eve were in charge of Eden. God will put us in charge of the New Earth.
4 Sharing (Revelation 22:4)
We will share with our fellow Christians in the presence of God/Jesus
5 Studying(1 Corinthians 13:12)
12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.
Any question you had will be answered by God. We will have eternity to learn about God and his ways.
6 Being Served(Luke 12:35-37)
Scripture makes no mention of believers serving each other. We will be serving God and Jesus will be serving us.
5 Will there be sex in Heaven?
Yes and No. There will be sex as far as male/female. There will be no physical sex since sex is a physical relationship between man/wife(Remember marriage will be absent)
6 What will we look like in Heaven?
The Bible does not give extensive details on our bodies in Heaven. We shouldn’t be concerned with that. Just that we are there. What does it say?
Phillipians 3:20-21
20 But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ 21 has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body.
1 Corinthians 15:35,42-49
35 Some of you have asked, “How will the dead be raised to life? What kind of bodies will they have?” 42 That’s how it will be when our bodies are raised to life. These bodies will die, but the bodies that are raised will live forever. 43 These ugly and weak bodies will become beautiful and strong. 44 As surely as there are physical bodies, there are spiritual bodies. And our physical bodies will be changed into spiritual bodies. 45 The first man was named Adam, and the Scriptures tell us that he was a living person. But Jesus, who may be called the last Adam, is a life-giving spirit. 46 We see that the one with a spiritual body did not come first. He came after the one who had a physical body. 47 The first man was made from the dust of the earth, but the second man came from heaven. 48 Everyone on earth has a body like the body of the one who was made from the dust of the earth. And everyone in heaven has a body like the body of the one who came from heaven. 49 Just as we are like the one who was made out of earth, we will be like the one who came from heaven.
Our bodies in Heaven will never wear out, grow weak, or grow old. They will be full of power and glory. We will look the same as Christ.
Description of Heaven
Holy City Revelation. 21:2
2 Then I saw New Jerusalem, that holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.
Picture a bride on here wedding day-Is there anything more beautiful?
Revelation 21:10–27
10 Then with the help of the Spirit, he took me to the top of a very high mountain. There he showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down from God in heaven.
11 The glory of God made the city bright. It was dazzling and crystal clear like a precious jasper stone. 12 The city had a high and thick wall with twelve gates, and each one of them was guarded by an angel. On each of the gates was written the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 Three of these gates were on the east, three were on the north, three more were on the south, and the other three were on the west. 14 The city was built on twelve foundation stones. On each of the stones was written the name of one of the Lamb’s twelve apostles.
15 The angel who spoke to me had a gold measuring stick to measure the city and its gates and its walls. 16 The city was shaped like a cube, because it was just as high as it was wide. When the angel measured the city, it was about fifteen hundred miles high and fifteen hundred miles wide. 17 Then the angel measured the wall, and by our measurements it was about two hundred sixteen feet high.
18 The wall was built of jasper, and the city was made of pure gold, clear as crystal. 19 Each of the twelve foundations was a precious stone. The first was jasper, the second was sapphire, the third was agate, the fourth was emerald, 20 the fifth was onyx, the sixth was carnelian, the seventh was chrysolite, the eighth was beryl, the ninth was topaz, the tenth was chrysoprase, the eleventh was jacinth, and the twelfth was amethyst. 21 Each of the twelve gates was a solid pearl. The streets of the city were made of pure gold, clear as crystal.22 I did not see a temple there. The Lord God All-Powerful and the Lamb were its temple. 23 And the city did not need the sun or the moon. The glory of God was shining on it, and the Lamb was its light.
24 Nations will walk by the light of that city, and kings will bring their riches there. 25 Its gates are always open during the day, and night never comes. 26 The glorious treasures of nations will be brought into the city. 27 But nothing unworthy will be allowed to enter. No one who is dirty-minded or who tells lies will be there. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be in the city.
Verse 11-There will be no night in Heaven. The Glory of God will be the source of light.(Verse 23)
Verse 12,13-The Gates-There will be 3 gates on each of the four walls surrounding the city made out of solid pearl. Each of these gates will be named after 1 of the tribes of Israel. The gates symbolize access to Heaven.
Verse 14-The Foundation-The foundation of the city will be built out of fine jewels(listed in verse 19/20). They stones will have the names of Jesus’ 12 Apostles on them. The foundation symbolizes the stability of Heaven.
Verse 15,16,17-The Size of The City-The city will be like a giant cube 1500 miles high, wide, and long. The walls will be about 216 feet thick.
Verse 21-The Street-made of pure gold.
Verse 22-We will not need a church in Heaven, Heaven itself will be our church.
Revelation 22:1–5
22The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated. 2 Then it flowed down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river are trees that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations. 3 God’s curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God 4 and will see him face to face. God’s name will be written on the foreheads of the people. 5 Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.
Verse 1-The River-A river of life giving water will flow from the throne of God and Jesus right down main street.
Verse 2-The Tree-The tree of life that we were cut off from in the Garden of Eden will be present.
Verse 3-Death-People will no longer die. We will see God and Jesus face to face.
We have learned a lot of information in this series. Could you now describe Heaven to someone?
Lets try to sum up what we have learned to better tell someone about our future home.
Heaven will be the future, permanent dwelling place of all who except Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It will be shaped like a giant cube 1500 miles long, wide, and high. Its walls and foundation will be made out of sparkling precious stones like diamonds and sapphires. It will have 12 gates named after the 12 tribes of Israel with 3 gates on each side of the city. There will be no night. The Glory of God will serve as the light source for Heaven.
The streets will be made out of pure gold with a life giving stream of water running through it with trees of life on both sides. We will walk around with new bodies just as glorious as Jesus’ own body. We will receive crowns for the works we have done on Earth but will give them back to God in an act of worship. We will not be married but will see our saved loved ones in Heaven. We will sing continuously about God’s glory and serve him as Jesus serves us. There will be no death, pain, or suffering. We will rule along with Jesus over the new Earth forever.
The story is told of a little girl who had lived her life in the city
and was acclimated to the many street lights at night. She had opportunity to go to the country on a vacation. One star lit night she and her mother stood gazing up into the sky without any street lights to conceal its auora . The child was awestruck by its sparkling beauty. She exclaimed, "Mama, if heaven is so pretty on the wrong side, I wonder what it
looks like on the right side!"
Revelation 21: 27
27 But nothing unworthy will be allowed to enter. No one who is dirty-minded or who tells lies will be there. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be in the city.
Is your name written in the Book? If you want it to be pray this prayer with me now...........
