Is Heaven What You Think It Is?
11/13/2016 Isaiah 11:1-9 Revelations 20:7-15
Do you know that most of what we think about heaven is not what the bible teaches. Most of what many people think about heaven comes from Hollywood. There is this strange eerie but soft kind of music playing in the background. There is always fog especially around people’s feet.
There is Saint Peter sitting in a chair at the pearly gates deciding if you can come in or not. There are people floating around on clouds playing harps. Nobody seems to be having a really good time. Nobody goes to spend time with God or to worship Jesus. It’s usually just a couple of people passing by each other on the clouds with wings attached.
Then there is what we have heard in church about heaven. First you run to see Jesus, then you find your favorite family members. Everybody gets a robe and is assigned to a special choir section. For 10,000 years straight, they sing praises to God and when they finish, they have only just begun. . Heaven is described as a church service that never ends.
The only fun things they do is dance on the streets of gold and have a great big meal with everybody at the wedding feast with Jesus. After the feast they spend eternity in heaven as spirits floating through the air. The only problem with this, is that its not what we find in the bible. We do find it in the songs we sing, but not in the bible.
The Scriptures teach that all of history is moving toward a definite event that has already been determined by God. This is why we do not panic because of things going on around us. We don’t let hurricanes, wars, terrorist attacks, elections, or catastrophic events cause us to lose our faith or shatter our resolve to follow Christ. Jesus told us all these things will happen, but it is not the end .
The book of Revelations tell us how the world is going to end and what God’s ultimate purpose for humanity really is. God wants us to know we are not here by chance. We are here by purpose. Let’s look at what the Scriptures teach us about what is to come and what heaven is and is not. Most of our teaching is found in chapters 20, 21 and 22 of the book of Revelations.
First of all there are two resurrections. Revelation 20:4-5 (NIV) 4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
What we do on earth while we are alive is going to affect what happens to us in the next life and in heaven. God is preparing some of us to be rulers in his kingdom when Jesus returns to the earth. After the second coming of Jesus Christ, there is going to be a kingdom set up on this earth that is going to last for a 1,000 years.
Everyone that was killed because of their faith in Christ will be resurrected from the dead, and they are going to rule with Jesus Christ for a 1,000 years. Our brothers and sisters who are being killed by BOKO HARAN in Nigeria as well as the Christians who were thrown to the lions in the first century are all going to take part in the first resurrection.
If you die for the cause of Christ, you receive a part in this 1,000 year reign of peace with Christ. During this 1000 year period, Satan is going to be locked up so that he will not be able interfere with their lives. This kingdom is going to be set up on the present earth. There will still be people outside the kingdom who are in rebellion against God.
After a 1000 years, Satan is released and once again leads the people who are outside of the reign of Christ in a final assault against the kingdom Christ had established. The attack is a disaster for Satan and his followers, and the devil is instantly thrown into the lake of fire for all eternity. That’s the last we hear of him in history and that’s his final resting place.
Once Satan is removed, then comes the second resurrection which is going to include everybody who was not in the first resurrection. Everybody is going to go before God to be judged. Everybody is coming back to life and is going to receive a body that will last forever. Books will be opened which will detail everything that has been done. Nobody is going to blame anybody for their sin. Nobody is going to be judged good enough to be saved.
There is a book though that will remove you from the crowd and that is the Book of Life. If your name is in the book of Life you will be saved. Your name is entered into the Book of Life when your life to Jesus Christ.
When the judgment at the throne of God is over, death and hades are thrown into the lake of fire. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the fire. God’s begging and waiting for people to get saved is over. The bible clearly states, that it is not God’s will for any to perish, but for those who refuse to accept God into their lives, God allowed them to pay the penalty for their own sin and rebellion.
After the judgment God is going to do something new. 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) 9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-- . Do you remember Jesus said that he was going away to prepare a place for us. What we currently know as heaven and earth is going to cease to exist. In Revelations 21, God creates a new kind of heaven and earth.
This new earth is going to come fully equipped with all that we need. The new earth is going to be a physical place. We are not going to live in heaven forever, but rather on this new earth.
Our main address is going to be in a holy city called the new Jerusalem. What makes this city so different is that the new city that we are going to live on is going to come directly down from heaven to the new earth. God is going to build the city to perfection before we move in. Remember Jesus said, “I am going away to prepare a place for you.” This city is going to be unlike anything we have ever seen before.
John tells us that the city is going to be 1500 miles wide, 1500 miles long, and 1500 miles high. That is one city that would cover the states of ohio, Indiana, Illinois Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Miss, Louisiana, part of Texas, north Florida and pieces of other states. Do you know how many believers could fit in a city that size? At 1500 miles high, the penthouse suites are going to be in outer space. The current level of the earth’s atmosphere is only 300 miles.
The city is going to be made of all kinds of precious jewels and it is going to be beautiful. The main street running through the city is made up of pure Gold. Down the middle of the street is a river with the water of life. God has given us a glimpse of how beautiful he can make things in looking at the color of the leaves in autumn This is the place that Jesus is going away to prepare for us. But that’s just the building itself.
There is the transformation of our bodies. John says that when we see Jesus, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. We know that Jesus’s resurrected body was a physical one. He told Thomas to touch him. We know that he could eat with his body because he ate fish with the disciples.. We know that he could travel through space and through walls because he appeared in locked rooms. We know that he knew people’s names and what they had done. So if we are going to get a new resurrected body. We can expect to be able to do these things.
There are going to be people from every tribe, every race, every language, and every time period living together in this city with each other. This city is going to be multi-racial, multicultural, and intergenerational. We will have achieved being one as Jesus prayed we would.
God is going to dwell with his people in this city. We will be able to talk to God on a more personal level than God talked with Adam and Eve. God is going to satisfy every need that we have.
The city will not need the light of the sun or moon because God’s glory is going to illuminate the entire city. There will no night in the city because God’s glory never ends.
John tells us that God is going to wipe away every tear from our eyes. You may ask, why would we be crying on this new earth. These may be tears left over from the judgment.
Maybe we will be crying because of our loved ones and friends who were not in the Lamb’s book of life. If we still have our memories, we would know of their fate. Some of our tears may be due to how little we did for Christ, in view of all that Christ has done for us. We may have very little to show for the cause of Christ, but we ourselves are still saved.
God promises us that there will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Sin will no longer be a reality in our lives. Temptation is going to be gone. Although our primary relationship will be directly with God, we will have secondary relationships with each other. We are going to have friendships without arguments.
We are no longer going to feel isolated or alone, because the presence of God is going to always be with us. People are not going to be tripping because there will not my any lying, gossip, slander or the like because sin is gone. We are not going to need others to make us feel complete, because God will have made us complete in Him. God is making everything new, and God is doing it with perfection.
There were twelve gates to the city which means you could enter or leave the city. Verse 21:10 says that the nations of the earth will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. Now who are these kings? Do you remember the parable of the ten minas in which Jesus gave 3 people the same amount of money and told them to use it for him.
The first one gained 10 more, the second one 5 more and the last one nothing. Jesus said, you will take charge of ten cities, the second 5 cities, and the last one nothing. I think the cities Jesus may have been referring to were in these nations outside the new city on the new earth.
There is going to be commerce going on onthe new earth. That is why Jesus told us to establish a bank account now in heaven, by putting our money through our tithes and offerings. He told us to lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven. We will be able to use it it in the new earth.
People were given positions of authority based on their faithfulness and productiveness to Christ. When God called us for the purpose of doing good works, I don’t think those good works are limited to what we do here.
God is preparing us for different functions on the new earth that He plans to create. Some of us are going to have special responsibilities because of our faithfulness and sacrifices made in this life. You are not going to die and go floating around on clouds with a harp. You are going to a real physical place, where there is something you will be doing that you thoroughly enjoy doing. You will know what it is to be in the presence of God and to see God face to face.
Keep in mind there is a new earth, which means there are things outside of the city for us to be able to enjoy and explore. Nature is going to exist without the sin factor. Animals also are going to exist if God is to fulfill what his word says.
God did make the promise in Isaiah that Isaiah 11:6-9 (NIV) 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. If God created animals for the first earth, then there is no reason to think God could not have created animals for the new earth.
When sin entered the world it affected all of creation. Just like we have looked forward to new bodies, so has the creation. In Romans 8:11 God promised that creation would be liberated from bondage and decay. This means no more earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons or the like. All of creation is going to remain in perfect order as God originally intended it to be.
Those of us who love viewing nature and the stars are going to be able to do this up close and in awe at what God has created for us to enjoy. God wants us so much to share in the future that he has for us, that he has made the truth so simple and available to all of us.
God will even allow the worst of sinners, to repent and make a confession of Christ on his dying bed, and put his name in the Book of Life. God wants people to be saved and that’s why he told us to tell others about Jesus. There are people who think they are on their way to heaven for an eternity of joy when in fact they are not. They are headed for the lake of fire, and sometimes we are too eager to just let them stay on their road.
One of the other misconceptions we have about heaven is that everybody is going to be with God eventually. God makes it clear that those who chose to sin without repentance will not be allowed into the new city nor upon the new earth. He says in verse chapter 21 verse 8 Revelation 21:6-8 (NIV) 6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
In our study in the book of James, its not enough to simply say I believe in God and think that gives you eternal life. James pointed out even the demons believe and they shake in fear of God. To believe is to allow God to begin to work a change in your heart and in your life. What you believe is also important. The idea that everyone is free to believe however they want and still have life is not a teaching from the bible.
Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life. Noone comes to the Father except through me. He promised he was going away to prepare a place for us, and that he would come back to take us there. In his father’s house are many rooms. When your house is 1500 miles wide and 1500 miles long and 1500 miles high, you better believe there are plenty of rooms to live in.
We are moving toward the completion of God’s plan for humanity. On this new earth, although we are given new immortal bodies we are still human beings. We do not turn into angels. Instead we begin to look more like Jesus. The bible does not tell us all there is to know about the new heavens and the new earth. It is clear that we will be spending eternity on a new earth and living in a city where God dwells.
If you do not want to be in God’s presence now, then you’re not going to want to be in God’s presence then. But the word of God does teaches us, that every knew is going to bow, and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus is Lord. Make it count by confessing it before you die. Otherwise you will discover that heaven is not at all what you think it is.
Sermon outline Is Heaven What You Think It Is?
Isaiah 11:1-9 Revelations 20:7-15 Revelations 21, 22
A. Where Do Our Views Come From
1. Hollywood
2. The Church
B. History Is Moving Toward An Event
1. Don’t Fear What Happens
2. Revelations Describe The End Time
3. Revelations 20, 21,22
C. There Are 2 Resurrections
Revelation 20:4-5 (NIV) 4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
1. First Resurrects For Martyrs
2. Thousand Year Reign With Christ
3. Kingdom Set Up On Earth
4. Satan Tied Up For 1,000 years
5. Satan’s Final Battle
D. The Second Resurrection
1. Everybody Not In The First
2. Great White Throne Judgment
3. Books Are Opened
4. Book Of Life
5. Lake Of Fire
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) 9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-- .
E. New Earth & Heaven
1. Real Physical Place
2. New Jerusalem From Heaven
3. City Built By God
4. 1500 Square Miles 12 States
5. Reaches Into Space
F. The City
1. Main Street Of Gold
2. Jewels Building Materials
3. River Of Life
G. The Transformation Of Us
1. We Shall Be Like Jesus
2. Resurrected Body Was Physical
3. Things Jesus Did, We Will Do
H. The City Part 2
1. Every Tribe, Language Nation
2. God Will Dwell With His People
3. Talk Directly To God
4. City Lit By God’s Glory
I. God Removes All Tears
1. Why Crying In The New Earth
2. God’s Promise
3. Primary Relationship To God
4. Secondary Relationship To others
5. No Sin, No Temptation
J. The New Earth
1. 12 Gates To The City
2. Kings Come And Go
3. Parable Of The 10 Minas In Luke
4. Commerce Takes Place
5. Lay Up Treasure In Heaven
6. People Receive Places Of Authority
7. God’s Preparation For Good Works
8. Things Outside The City To Enjoy
K. God’s Promises In Isaiah
Isaiah 11:6-9 (NIV) 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. If God created animals for the first earth, then there is no reason to think God could not have created animals for the new earth.
1. Sin Kept Creation In Bondage Rom. 8:11
2. No More Natural Disasters
3. Enjoy The Creation
L. God’s Mercy Extends To The Worst
1. Wants All Saved
2. People Are Deceived
3. Not Free To Devise Your Own Plan
4. God Allows People To Pay For Their
Own Sin
5. God Has A Standard And Will Not
Make Exceptions
Revelation 21:6-8 (NIV) 6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
M. Faith Requires Action
1. James-Faith & The Demons
2. To Believe Is To Change
3. Jesus, I Am The Way
4. We Are Moving Toward Completion
5. All Will Confess
6. We Remain Humanity
7. The New Earth Is The Eternal Home
John 3:16-21 (NIV)
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
