As we saw last week, many of us have gotten some pretty distorted pictures of what heaven is like from the culture around us. I read this week about a young boy, caught in mischief by his mother. She asked, "How do you expect to get into heaven?" He thought for a moment and then said, "Well, I’ll just run in and out and keep slamming the door until they say, ’For heaven’s sake, either come in or stay out.’ Then I’ll go in."
Or then there was the Sunday school teacher who was teaching a group of kids about what it takes to get into heaven. "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?" "NO!" the children all answered. "If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?" Again, the answer was, "NO!" "Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my wife, would that get me into Heaven?" Again, they all answered, "NO!" "Well," the teacher continued, "then how can I get into Heaven?" A five-year-old boy shouted out, "You gotta be dead!"
Last week, we began our series on heaven by discussing our citizenship in heaven. We discovered that for those who are followers of Jesus Christ, our true citizenship is not here in the United States, or anywhere else on this earth, for that matter. That’s why the Bible refers to us as “aliens” while we are still on this earth. Our true home and our citizenship are in heaven. And all of us are on a journey that will one day result in us arriving at our true home.
But just as we have a lot of mistaken ideas about what heaven is like, I find that believers in general often don’t understand a whole lot about the process that happens in the life of a Christ-follower that ultimately results in our spending eternity in heaven in the presence of God. Some of us frankly don’t have a much better understanding than this group of nine year olds that were asked what heaven is like:
• Jim said, “When you die, they bury you in the ground and your souls goes to heaven, but your body can’t go to heaven because it’s too crowded up there already.”
• Judy said, “Only the good people go to heaven. The other people go where it’s hot all the time like in Florida.”
• John said, “Maybe I’ll die someday, but I hope I don’t die on my birthday because it’s no fun to celebrate your birthday if you’re dead.”
• Marsha commented, “When you die, you don’t have to do homework in heaven, unless your teacher is there too.”
So this morning, we’re going to see what the Bible has to teach us about our journey to heaven.
1. The journey begins by becoming a Christ-follower
Dana did a really great job in our “Connections” class last Sunday in helping us to understand the difference between a person who calls him or herself a “Christian” and one who is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. And the Bible is clear that only those who are followers of Jesus are citizens of heaven and are therefore able to make that journey. The words of Jesus Himself certainly confirm that principle:
"Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
If I travel to another country and I want to come back here to the United States, I have to have a passport to get back into the country. That passport is my proof that I am a citizen of the United States and that I am entitled to enter the country.
One day I will die and I am going to have to present evidence to God that I am a citizen of heaven and therefore entitled to enter. And the only acceptable passport will be the fact that I have trusted in Jesus Christ alone as the basis for my citizenship. There is nothing else I can do to earn that passport. I can’t do enough good deeds. I can’t claim that my church membership or attendance or giving is adequate. Even my position as a pastor won’t carry any weight whatsoever.
This morning, if you have never taken that first step of committing your life to be a follower of Jesus Christ, then I pray that you won’t leave here today until you make that decision. Because without that commitment, there is no other way for you to begin a journey to heaven.
So the first crucial step in our journey to heaven is to become a follower of Jesus Christ. And everything else I’m going to share with you this morning is completely dependent on that decision. Dana is going to spend some time in our “Connections” class the next two weeks describing the parallel journey for those who are not Christ-followers. And obviously that journey ends in a place that is as far from heaven as it could possibly be.
2. When we die, there is a separation
Today, we tend to think of death in terms that are consistent with most dictionary definitions of death, like this one from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:
a permanent cessation of all vital functions; the end of life
As a result, many people assume that when we die here on this earth our lives end and that we cease to exist. However, in Biblical times, the concept of death was much different. The Greek word used most often for “death” is a word that describes a separation.
For instance, Paul uses that word in Romans to describe spiritual death, which is separation from God:
For the wages of sin is death...
Romans 6:23 (NIV)
Paul also uses that word as it relates to our conduct. In Colossians, when he writes that we are to “put to death” conduct which conforms to our earthly nature, he is making the point that we are to separate ourselves from that.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5 (NIV)
So the Biblical idea of death was never considered to be a permanent cessation of life, but merely a separation. When we die, there is a...
• Separation of soul and body
Before we look at this principle some more, I want us to understand how I am using the word “soul” here. When we look at the Scriptures, we find that man was created in God’s image. And just like the triune God consists of three parts – two immaterial (God the Father and the Holy Spirit) and one material (Jesus) – we also consist of three parts – two immaterial (soul and spirit) and one material (body). We don’t have problem understanding what the material part, our body, is. But it’s a little more difficult to identify the soul and spirit. Although the two are similar, in that they are immaterial, they are not the same. We could spend a whole morning just looking at those differences, but for now, I’m going to identify them as follows:
soul = intellect, will and emotions – who we are as a person
spirit = part of the soul that communes with God
The tabernacle, and later the Temple expressed this reality in a physical form. The outer court, which corresponds to our bodies, housed the Holy Place, which corresponds to our souls. And then, within the Holy Place was the Holy of Holies, which was the place where God’s presence was manifest and which corresponds to our spirits.
So when I use the terms “soul” and “spirit” this morning, I’m referring to both of those immaterial parts of our being. And we’ll find that the Biblical writers use those terms somewhat interchangeably when they describe what happens upon our death.
The idea that death is a separation is clearly taught in both the Old and New Testaments:
and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 (NIV)
The writer of Ecclesiastes made it clear that at death the body and spirit are separated. The body returns to the ground and the spirit returns to God.
As the body without the spirit is dead...
James 2:26 (NIV)
James also makes it clear that at death the spirit is separated from the body. And once that separation takes place, the body and the soul go to different places.
o The body “sleeps”
The Bible frequently refers to death as sleep, but, as we’ll see in a moment, that only applies to the material part of our being, the body. When we die, our bodies immediately begin to decay. We’ve already seen that in Ecclesiastes where we saw that our bodies return to the ground and become dust. No matter how well we try to embalm or protect the physical body, it will eventually decay back into dust. That is one of the consequences of Adams’ sin:
...for dust you are and to dust you will return.
Genesis 3:19 (NIV)
o Soul immediately goes to be with God
Some groups that call themselves Christians teach a doctrine which is known as “soul rest” or “soul sleep”, which results from a lack of proper understanding about the three-fold nature of humans made in God’s image. But the Bible is clear that upon our death, our soul immediately goes to be in the presence of God and that we will be fully conscious of that existence. Let me share a few verses that clearly teach this principle. Let’s begin with a couple of passages from Paul’s letters:
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NIV)
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
Philippians 1:21-24 (NIV)
In both of these passages, Paul understood that death would result in a separation of his body and soul. It is also obvious that as soon as his soul was separated from his body, it would immediately be “at home” in the presence of God.
And then there are these words of Jesus that I alluded to last week, as He spoke to the thief on the cross:
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Luke 23:43 (NIV)
Just like Jesus, the body of the thief on the cross would be in the tomb that day. But as we saw last week, paradise is just another word for heaven, and the thief’s soul would be there in the presence of God as soon as he died.
All those passages very clearly teach that the soul of a follower of Jesus is separated from the body and immediately goes to heaven to be with God. Frankly, there is very little in the Bible that describes exactly what happens in what I would describe as an “intermediate state” of heaven. But the account of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16 does give us some insight.
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
Luke 16:19-23 (NIV)
There is some debate as to whether the words of Jesus here are a parable, or an actual account, but frankly it really doesn’t matter that much. Either way, Jesus very clearly intended to describe some things about heaven and hell with His words. I think we’ll be able to see it better when we talk about the bodily resurrection in a few minutes, but this passage clearly describes the existence of our souls after our death but before our souls are reunited with our bodies.
There are a couple of really exciting things that we can learn from this passage. The first thing we see is that when we die, God’s angels come and escort our soul to heaven. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that we have to pass through the first heaven, which is currently ruled by Satan and his demons.
The other thing that is really evident is that in our existence in this intermediate state we will be fully conscious. We will be able to recognize other people and apparently will even be able to see those who chose not to commit their lives to Jesus and who are permanently barred from His presence in hell.
Our bodies and souls will remain separated – our bodies in the ground and our souls in God’s presence – until the event we call the “rapture”.
3. At the rapture, our bodies will be resurrected and reunited with our souls
The word “rapture” actually never appears in the Bible. The word itself comes from a Latin word which means to “take away”, or “snatch out”. The concept of the rapture comes from a passage in 1 Thessalonians that we’ll look at in just a moment, which describes how Jesus will return for the purpose of reuniting the bodies and souls of His followers.
Unfortunately, the rapture has often become a point of contention in the church, rather than what it ought to be – a source of great hope, anticipation, excitement and joy that unites us. So I’m going to be about as definitive as I was last week when I answered the question “Where is heaven?” with “It is up.”
When will the rapture occur? Some time in the future. That’s all I can tell you with certainty. But I can tell you what will happen at the rapture because the Bible gives us a very clear picture of that:
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 (NIV)
When Jesus returns, all of those bodies of His followers who have been sleeping for all these years will be summoned from the grave and rise up to meet Jesus. It won’t matter if those bodies were buried in the ground and decayed, whether the bodies drowned and became shark food, whether the bodies were burned to ashes in a fire or accident. Jesus will put those bodies all back together. Here’s how Paul describes that process in 1 Corinthians 15:
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NIV)
Paul is quite clear that when Jesus returns and comes for those who belong to Him, the dead bodies of His followers will be resurrected in the very same way that His body was physically resurrected and reunited with His soul. That’s why Paul spends so much time in 1 Corinthians 15 writing about the importance of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Not only is His resurrection necessary to prove His victory over death and his ability to pay the penalty for our sins, but it also helps us understand what will happen to our bodies when they are resurrected by Jesus.
• Our resurrection bodies will be similar to our earthly bodies, but they will be transformed by Jesus into glorious bodies.
That’s exactly what happened to Jesus. His resurrected body was a physical body that was recognizable by those who knew Him. But he was also able to do things like walk through walls that He did not do prior to the resurrection.
Later in 1 Corinthians, Paul describes these resurrected bodies in more detail.
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body...I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
1 Corinthians 15:42-44,50-54 (NIV)
This passage describes how the same bodies that we have now will be raised up, regardless of what state of decay that they might be in, and will be transformed by Jesus into bodies that are fit to live forever in our home in heaven.
4. We will stand before the judgment seat (bema) of God, for the purpose of receiving rewards.
When we commit our lives to Jesus Christ, all of our sins, both those committed before we became Christ followers and those committed afterwards, are forgiven by God, and we will never be judged for them. But once our souls have been reunited with our glorified bodies, believers will face a judgment before God.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV)
The judgment seat that Paul writes about in this passage is also known as the “bema”. The concept of the Bema Seat comes from the ancient Olympics, where a judge would sit on the Bema Seat at the finish line. The judge’s purpose was to determine what position the runners came in-first, second, and so on-and then to give out the appropriate rewards. That is the imagery behind what is known as the Bema Seat. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul describes this process in more detail.
If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 (NIV)
This passage makes it clear that our salvation is not at issue here. But God will judge the things we did while here on this earth. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5, the purpose will be to determine whether those things were “good” or “bad”. Probably a better translation would be those things that are “useful” and those things that are “worthless”. The deeds that were worthless will be burned up and then we will receive rewards fro those things that were useful in building up the body. Jesus confirms this principle of rewarding His followers for their useful works in the Book of Revelation:
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”
Revelation 22:12 (NIV)
This is another one of those areas where Christians argue about when the bema seat judgment will occur – before or after the millennium. Again, all I can prove from Scripture is that it will take place some time after our souls have been reunited with our glorified bodies and before we take up our permanent residence in the New Jerusalem. And frankly, it really doesn’t matter whether that is before or after the millennium.
5. After the millennium, God will create a new heaven and a new earth where we will live forever
Here’s how John described that reality.
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. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
Revelation 21:1-3 (NIV)
After the millennium is complete and Satan, his demons and the unsaved have been thrown into the lake of fire, God is going to destroy the earth as we know it today, as it has been spoiled by sin. And then He is going to create a new heaven and earth that will be perfect, just like His original creation.
This will be the fulfillment of what Paul wrote in Ephesians 1 when he described how all things in heaven and on earth will be brought together under the headship of Christ.
And then, the...
o New Jerusalem will descend from heaven and be our permanent dwelling place
I am convinced that the New Jerusalem is the place that Jesus referred to in John 14 where he promised His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. That will be our final, permanent dwelling place. It will be a magnificent place to live and if you want to find out more about what it will be like, you can join us on June 8 for our Night of Worship where we will be focusing on what the New Jerusalem will be like. You won’t want to miss that!
No wonder Paul wrote that it would be “far better” to depart this world and be with Christ. We’ve often talked about how our life on this earth is a journey. But even at its very best, that journey can’t even begin to compare to our journey to heaven, where we will live in a glorious place in the presence of God forever.
