ONE MINUTE AFTER YOU DIE
HEAVEN, HELL, & WHO WILL GO WHERE
SELECTED SCRIPTURES
ALL THINGS NEW
1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-57, REVELATION 21:1-7
INTRODUCTION
- We have arrived at the last of our four looks into the subject of death and what happens afterward. A few weeks ago we began this journey by looking at Luke chapter 16: the story of the rich man and Lazarus. We noted that in this parable we find valuable information about what happens to those who are not saved when they die.
- We saw that the soul of the rich man went to Hades, the place of torment, immediately after death. And while there he experienced the pain and anguish of a literal fire, past memories, lost relationships, and the worst of all, irrevocability. So will be the intermediate state of all who die without Christ.
- We moved then to the end of history for the unregenerate. In Revelation 20 we saw what will happen when Jesus Christ comes back. The souls in Hades will be resurrected to stand before the King of kings. They will be condemned because their names will not be found in the book of life, and they will be cast, soul and body, into eternal Hell. There the torments of Hades will continue, intensify, and go on forever.
- Then last time, we began shifting our focus to the infinitely more positive eternal destination. The destination of those whose sins are forgiven by Christ through faith in his work on the cross. That destination of course, is paradise or Heaven.
- We saw the thief on the cross who was crucified next to Jesus. When he realized the situation he was in, he turned to Christ and asked him to remember him when he came into his kingdom. The Lord responded by telling the thief that on that very day he would be with him in paradise. So will be the intermediate state of all of us who die with Christ.
- Now the emphasis last time was not so much on what heaven will be like, but what heaven is. Remember, on the most basic level, heaven is being in the unhindered presence of God. Then we saw that Old and New Testament believers experienced that presence upon death – and so will we. One minute after we die our souls are in God’s presence and this is paradise.
- To wrap things up then, we will move to end of history once again. What will happen to those of us who have Christ as Savior when he returns to usher in eternity? That’s the first question we will answer. And what exactly is heaven going to be like? That’s the second question we will attempt to address.
- There are actually going to be two passages of Scripture that will provide the basis of our discussion. They are 1 Corinthians 15:50-57 and Revelation 21:1-7. Each of these passages will answer one of those questions. Let’s start with the first one: What will happen to those of us who have Christ as Savior when he returns to usher in eternity? To answer let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 15.
- While you are finding your place, let me just give a bit of a disclaimer here. Our discussions to this point, and our discussion today will be purposely simple with regard to the specific doctrines of eschatology. There is a lot going on when we get to this time period of history. So accordingly there is a lot that we are not looking at, and this is on purpose.
- Questions regarding the timing of the rapture, the length of the tribulation, the person of the Antichrist, the meaning of the millennium, and so on, all have their place and are important. But in order to keep the basic issues clear we are simplifying this a bit. So for those of you who are well versed in those things; don’t worry, we’re not forgetting things and those issues will be addressed in due time.
- Having said that, let’s look at v.50 of 1 Corinthians 15 in order to see what will happen to us when Christ returns.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
- What is Paul saying here? Well let’s set this passage in its context. Paul is at the end of a discussion on the topic of resurrection. At the beginning of chapter 15 Paul discusses the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And he proclaims the importance of Christ’s resurrection by pointing out that only if Christ was resurrected and is alive forever can we hope to be resurrected and alive forever.
- See there were some people who were teaching that there is no such thing as a future resurrection from the dead, because there is no such thing as resurrection. Greek dualists would have taught this as well as the Sadducees that we read about in the Gospels. But Paul says if there is no such thing as resurrection then not even Christ has been raised, and if he has not been raised then our faith is useless. So Paul teaches that because Christ has been resurrected, we can look forward to the hope of our own resurrection.
- Then in v.35 Paul asks a bit of a rhetorical question: How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come? And he gives a lengthy answer. Verses 50-57 are the last portion of that answer. Let’s look at what he says.
- First in v.50 he states a simple truth: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Our bodies as we know them now cannot enter Heaven. They are stained with sin and crippled by sin’s effects. So how then are we to enter into Heaven – with simply our souls? No.
- Look at v.51: Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
- Here’s what he’s saying:
WHEN CHRIST RETURNS, WE WILL RECEIVE GLORIFIED BODIES
- The bodies that we have right now are not suitable for eternity. They are perishable. They are wasting away. So God will transform our earthly bodies into immortal bodies that are fit for Heaven.
- This will happen, Paul says, in the twinkling of an eye - as fast as you blink. Those who are dead before Christ returns; whose souls are with him in Heaven, will be rejoined with their bodies in an instant. Those who are alive when he returns will be transformed immediately. One moment, the souls of the redeemed dead are in Heaven and the redeemed living are in their normal bodies; the next moment the redeemed dead are raised and glorified – followed by the redeemed living being changed.
- Then we will no longer be subject to death – physical or spiritual. That’s why he quotes from Hosea: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
- Now a good question then is: what will these bodies be like? We know that they will be immortal and therefore not subject to death. But I’m sure you’ve wondered some of these things when you think about what you will be like in heaven: Will I look like I do now? Will I recognize other people? And so on.
- There are some things that we just don’t know. We won’t know until we are there in Heaven. But we can glean a few things from looking at what Jesus’ resurrection body was like.
- In Luke 24 Jesus makes several appearances after his resurrection. There are a few things to be noticed when reading through that chapter concerning the resurrection body. First, Jesus was recognizable – at least when he wanted to be recognized. It seems as though when people first saw him they had difficulty recognizing him; but after a short time he revealed himself to them and they identified him. So on some level at least, we will be recognizable.
- Although we might take this for granted: he could speak; he was capable of communicating. He talked with several people after he was raised. We then, of course, will be able to communicate – to speak, to sing, to shout for joy.
- Now this is one of my favorites: he could eat. He ate fish with his disciples. So there is at least a possibility that we will enjoy meals of various kinds in Heaven. And this is important beyond just food. This shows us that Jesus had a real body. He was physically raised from the dead. He was not a spirit or a ghost or a phantom. He was a real bodily person. Glorified yes, but real as well.
- Lastly, I’m sure some of you will recall this, he retained some of his earthly attributes. By that I mean there were remnants of his earthly body present in his glorified body. You might remember that the wounds from the nails in his hands and feet were visible.
- Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that our wounds and scars will be with us; because of course Jesus’ wounds were of particular importance. But it does suggest that certain features we have now, we will also have with our glorified bodies.
- We can gather then, a small glimpse of what we will be like from these things. We will retain certain features and capabilities, but our bodies will be capable of living with God forever.
- So last time we saw what Heaven is – being in the presence of God. We’ve gotten just a small glimpse of what we will be like in Heaven. Now let’s turn to the question of what Heaven itself will be like. To do this, let’s turn to Revelation 21:
Read Revelation 21:1-7
- In Revelation 21 we are back to the final point in history. Remember at the end of chapter 20 we read about the final judgment of all unbelievers. All those without Christ are cast into the lake of fire forever; and now we read about the final destination of all those who are in Christ.
- The first thing we notice about the new heaven and earth is a reiteration of what we talked about last time:
IN HEAVEN GOD WILL DWELL WITH MAN
- Look at v.3: And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
- It cannot be stated enough that this is what makes Heaven, Heaven. Paradise would not be paradise if God was not there. Maybe you’ve heard it put this way before; if not, this is a good way to think about things: If Heaven was a place where you saw all of your loved ones and all of your friends; a place where there was no evil or pain or suffering or crying; if it was a place that was beyond your wildest dreams, and you had everything you ever wanted; but Jesus Christ was not there, would you still want to go to Heaven?
- Thinking about it that way allows us to keep our priorities straight. But that’s kind of a trick question if you think about it. Here’s why: without God we have no way of experiencing joy, peace, love, happiness, and life. If God was not there then it wouldn’t be Heaven it would be...what? Hell.
- Only because God exists do we experience any of those things. That’s why Heaven will be the ultimate joy because God will be manifestly present. All of the things were know as good things will be intensified to their peak because the very definition of good is right there.
- We will be back to an Eden-like relationship with God. In his presence with no sin. Now, because of this, certain things will be absent from Heaven. A few of these things are mentioned here in Revelation 21.
- They are all found in v.4. And the first thing I want us to notice is that:
IN HEAVEN THERE WILL BE NO DEATH
- This is kind of a no-brainer isn’t it? If we are to be given eternal life, that means conversely that there will be no such thing as death. Verse 4 says: death shall be no more.
- We naturally assume that when we inherit eternal life we will not die. But I want us to think about the implications of death being no more – particularly as it relates to a common question asked about Heaven.
- You may have heard it asked: “If Adam and Eve were capable of sinning in the Garden of Eden, will we be capable of sinning and falling again in Heaven?” After all, Satan was originally an angel in heaven and he rebelled against God. Will we be capable of doing the same thing?
- That is a very thoughtful question. It seems like it would have a complicated answer; but not really. The answer is no. We will not be capable of sinning in heaven. That’s why v.4 says that the former things have passed away. Even more clear is v.27 of this same chapter; which says that nothing unclean will ever enter into Heaven.
- When you wrestle with the fall of Satan from Heaven and the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, the best conclusion to come to, in my opinion of the biblical data, is that God ordained, planned for, and allowed those events for the purpose of displaying his glory.
- He is not the author of sin, but ordained it and planned for it. In other words, he is not the one who sinned or ever tempted anyone to sin, but he is the one who allowed it in his universe for the purpose of displaying his redemptive attributes.
- In Heaven, redemptive history is over. God has revealed himself as Redeemer and his glory will be on full display for eternity. So there is no reason to allow sin again. That’s why John says with finality that nothing unclean will ever enter into Heaven. God allowed it once; but will not allow it again.
- And that’s the big implication that we get from death being no more. If death is no more, and death is caused by sin, then sin is no more. Because sin always causes death. I know it’s a little lofty, but it’s important for us to grasp.
- So that’s the first thing. In Heaven there will be no death and no sin.
- The second thing Heaven will be without is mourning:
IN HEAVEN THERE WILL BE NO MOURNING
- Again this is quite simple; v.4: neither shall there be mourning, nor crying.
- There is no death because there is no sin. And guess what: there is no mourning because there is no sin. There is no crying because there is nothing to cry about. This seems like another no-brainer, right?
- But there are also implications that come along with this. Another big question that often comes up is: “If there is no crying or mourning in Heaven, how much will we remember about our earthly life? And how much will we know about what is going on in Hell?” This is another good question. In order to answer it I want us to turn to 1 Corinthians 13.
- In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul is addressing the issue of spiritual gifts; particularly how love should govern the use of spiritual gifts. And he appeals to the permanent nature of love. Now I want us to see what he writes in vv.8-12:
- Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
- Paul’s point here is that the spiritual gifts, particularly the gifts of prophesy, tongues, and knowledge are temporary. He says the gift of tongues will cease; with the implication that it will cease by itself, and knowledge and prophecy will pass away when the perfect comes. The perfect is our eternal state in Heaven. In Heaven, we will know and understand fully, what we now only know and understand partially.
- In other words, everything that is included in the concept of spiritual gifts: teaching and preaching, helping and serving, evangelism and so on; has the purpose of building us up in our knowledge of Christ: who he is, and how he works. In Heaven these things will not be necessary, because we will have a full understanding of reality. We will know as much as a glorified finite person can know.
- Well, what’s the point? The point is that we will in fact remember things about our life on earth; and as hard as it is to imagine, we will know and be aware of what is going on in Hell.
- Here’s what we can’t quite wrap our minds around: our understanding of God; his justice, holiness, wrath, perfection, as well as his love, grace, mercy, and patience, will be such that remembering life on this earth and understanding the punishment of Hell will not make us sad. It will make us worship God even more.
- It will not cause us to mourn. It will cause us to praise. We will worship God for being who he is – in all of his glory...all of his glory.
- And our next point goes right along with that:
IN HEAVEN THERE WILL BE NO PAIN
- Revelation 21:4 once again says: neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore.
- We’ve already looked at the idea that there will be no emotional pain because we’ve stated that there will be no mourning or crying. But there will also be no physical pain.
- Think about every headache you’ve ever had and say “Sayonara.” We really don’t realize how much physical pain we’ve grown accustomed to until we really stop to think about it. There will be no arthritis, no broken bones, no bruises, no bleeding, no weariness, no exhaustion.
- By now you should be getting the idea that the curse of the fall will be completely and irrevocably reversed. Death came at the fall; eternal life comes at glorification. Pain and sorrow came with the fall; perfect health and joy comes with glorification.
- And you should also be noticing that the joys of Heaven are the exact opposite of the torments of Hell. We deserve the pain of a literal, unquenchable fire, but instead we get perfect relief from all pain. We deserve to be cast away from God’s presence forever, but instead he will dwell with us. We deserve, as I mentioned last time, to be in outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, but instead God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
- Even as all the joys of this life and the common grace of God will vanish for those in Hell; all of the pains of this life and the effects of sin will vanish for those of us in Heaven.
- And we could go on. The Bible says that there will be no night in Heaven. So presumably, we will not sleep. The Bible says that there will be no marriage in Heaven. Our relational fulfillment will come from God alone.
- But ultimately, it is best to remember that we can only begin to imagine what Heaven will be like. Our finite minds cannot comprehend it all. Being in the unhindered presence of God in Heaven, in its fullest form, is unimaginable. We will simply have to experience it to know what it’s like.
- So the best way I can think of to describe what Heaven will be like, is to say what Jesus proclaims in v.5:
CONCLUSION: IN HEAVEN ALL THINGS WILL BE MADE NEW
- Everything will be made perfect. Even creation itself. Romans 8:20-22 says that creation will be set free from its bondage to decay. In fact, creation is described as groaning longingly for that day.
- And so we wait. We wait with anticipation; knowing that these things will surely take place. As Christ said to John in vv.5-6: Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true...It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
- Because we know that one minute after we die we will be in the presence of Christ; and because we know that when he returns at the end of history we will be glorified forever; we echo the words of John in the second to last verse of the Bible: Come, Lord Jesus! Amen!
