FOUNDATIONS OF THE FAITH:
OUR ETERNAL STATE
REVELATION 21:1-27
I WAS IN MY OFFICE THIS PAST WEEK AND HAPPENED TO LOOK AT THE CALENDAR FOR UPCOMING EVENTS AND REALIZED THAT THANKSGIVING WAS ONLY THREE WEEKS AWAY.
I THOUGHT BACK TO THANKSGIVING AT MY HOME WHEN I WAS A CHILD. THOSE WERE SPECIAL TIMES AND HAVE GIVEN ME MANY SPECIAL MEMORIES.
THANKSGIVING FOR US WAS ABOUT THANKSGIVING DINNER, AND MY MOM WAS A GREAT COOK. MANY TIMES RELATIVES WOULD COME AND JOIN US. IT WAS A GREAT TIME AROUND THE DINING ROOM TABLE.
WE ALL SAT AROUND THE TABLE AND IT STARTED WITH A BIG BOWL OF ROLLS. THEY WERE NICE AND BIG, AND GOLDEN BROWN ON THE TOP. MOM MADE WHAT I LATER FOUND OUT WERE CALLED CLOVERLEAF ROLLS. THE DOUGH WAS ROLLED INTO THREE BALLS AND PLACED IN A MUFFIN TIN AND WHEN THEY WERE BAKED THEY LOOKED LIKE A CLOVERLEAF. SHE WOULD HEAT THEM UP TO SERVE AND YOU COULD OPEN THE CENTER OF THEM ON THE PLATE WITH A BIG PIECE OF BUTTER THAT WOULD MELT RIGHT INTO THEM. OH THEY WERE SO GOOD.
DAD WOULD BRING IN THE TURKEY AND CARVE IT. THE TURKEY WAS ALWAYS BIG AND COOKED TO A GOLDEN BROWN. IT WAS SO MOIST YOU COULD ALMOST RING IT OUT. THERE WAS ALWAYS A BIG LEG FOR ME. MOM AND I WOULD SHARE THE TURKEY NECK, AND MY SISTER AND I WOULD ALWAYS FIND THE WISHBONE.
THERE WOULD BE A BIG POT OF MASHED POTATOS ON THE TABLE. MOM WOULD PUT A DOLLOP OF BUTTER ON THE TOP OF THEM, SHE PUT BUTTER ON EVERYTHING, AND IT MELTED RIGHT IN. THEN CAME THE VEGETABLES, PEAS, CARROTS, SQUASH.
THERE WOULD BE A BIG BOWL OF HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE, AND DRESSING THAT JUST MADE THE WHOLE ROOM SMELL SO GOOD.
WE ATE AND ATE THAT DAY. IT WAS SO GOOD. EVERYTHING WAS SWIMMING IN GRAVY THAT WAS SO THICK AND HOT, THAT MY ARTERIES ARE HARDENING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT.
AND JUST WHEN WE THOUGHT WE WERE SO FULL THAT WE COULDN’T EAT ANYTHING ELSE, SHE BROUGHT OUT THE PIE.
OH THAT PIE WAS GOOD. FRESH BAKED APPLE, PUMPKIN, AND LEMON. SHE WARMED UP THE APPLE AND PUMPKIN BEFORE SERVING AND OF COURSE THEY WERE SERVED WITH A GENEROUS PORTION OF VANILLA ICE CREAM, AND YOUR CHOICE OF TEA OR COFFEE.
THE OTHER GOOD THING ABOUT THANSKGIVING DINNER WERE THE LEFTOVERS. WE WOULD ALWAYS HAVE HOT TURKEY SANDWICHES THE NEXT DAY. MOM WOULD MAKE HOMEMADE BREAD, SLICE IT, AND SMOTHER THE BOTTOM PIECE WITH GRAVY. THEN SHE WOULD PUT ON THE DRESSING AND TURKEY FROM THE DAY BEFORE. SHE WOULD THEN PUT ANOTHER PIECE OF HOMEMADE BREAD ON THE TOP AND A DOUCING OF GRAVY SO THICK AND HEAVY THAT THE PLATE WOULD NEED SIDEBOARDS.
SAY ARE ANY OF YOU HUNGRY NOW. WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO BE PART OF A DINNER LIKE THAT? IT’S CERTAINLY NOT HARD TO IMAGINE HOW GOOD IT WAS IS IT?
HERES THE POINT OF THE STORY. WE DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM USING OUR IMAGINATIONS TO PICTURE SOMETHING THAT’S GOOD, AND WE CAN BE VERY GOOD AT USING OUR IMAGINATION, YET WHEN IT COMES TO DARING TO USE OUR IMAGINATION TO THINK ABOUT HEAVEN, WE FEEL THAT WE ARE SO INFERIOR THAT WE CAN’T AND EVEN SHOULDN’T TRY TO IMAGINE WHAT IT IS LIKE.
THE BIBLE DOES SAY:
1 CORINTHIANS 2:9: “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"—”
THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS VERSE THAT SAYS WE SHOULD NOT TRY.
CONSIDER WHAT VERSE 10 SAYS:
1 CORINTHIANS 2:10: “BUT GOD HAS REVEALED IT TO US BY HIS SPIRIT. THE SPIRIT SEARCHES ALL THINGS, EVEN THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD.”
WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT GOD REVEALS SECRETS OF THE SCRIPTURES TO US, ONE OF WHICH ARE GLIMPSES OF WHAT HEAVEN AND OUR ETERNAL STATE WILL BE LIKE.
AS WE GO THROUGH THIS STUDY TODAY, I WANT YOU TO USE YOUR SPIRITUAL EYES TO ENVISION SOME OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF HEAVEN, AND WHAT OUR ETERNAL STATE WILL BE LIKE. I ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT AS WE DO THIS THAT NO ONE IS AN AUTHORITY ON THE ISSUE. MUCH OF WHAT I AM GOING TO SUGGEST TO YOU TODAY IS ARRIVED AT BY SUPPOSITION AND NOT DIRECTLY STATED. WE COULD BE RIGHT, WE COULD BE WRONG, BUT IT MAKES ME EXCITED THINKING ABOUT HEAVEN AND WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE.
POINT ONE: HEAVEN IS A PHYSICAL PLACE:
I BELIEVE THAT HEAVEN WILL BE A PHYSICAL PLACE. JESUS TOLD THE DISCIPLES:
JOHN 14:1-3:
“1 ¶ "DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED. TRUST IN GOD; TRUST ALSO IN ME. 2 IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE ARE MANY ROOMS; IF IT WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. I AM GOING THERE TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. 3 AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME BACK AND TAKE YOU TO BE WITH ME THAT YOU ALSO MAY BE WHERE I AM.”
IN REVELATION 21 JOHN STATES:
REVELATION 21:1:
“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.”
JOHN ALSO SAYS IN REVELATION 22:1-3
REVELATION 22:1-3:
“1 ¶ THEN THE ANGEL SHOWED ME THE RIVER OF THE WATER OF LIFE, AS CLEAR AS CRYSTAL, FLOWING FROM THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB 2 DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE GREAT STREET OF THE CITY. ON EACH SIDE OF THE RIVER STOOD THE TREE OF LIFE, BEARING TWELVE CROPS OF FRUIT, YIELDING ITS FRUIT EVERY MONTH. AND THE LEAVES OF THE TREE ARE FOR THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS. 3 NO LONGER WILL THERE BE ANY CURSE.
THERE ARE OTHER PASSAGES THAT WE COULD GO TO AS WELL BUT WE WILL DEAL WITH THESE THREE.
LET ME BEGIN BY SAYING THAT WHEN THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF HEAVEN IT IS SPEAKING OF WHAT WE CALL THE THRID HEAVEN. PAUL DESCRIBES WHERE GOD IS AS THE THIRD HEAVEN. ONLY TWO PEOPLE IN THE SCRIPTURES WRITE AS IF THEY HAD SEEN THIS HEAVEN: PAUL
JOHN
THERE ARE THREE HEAVENS INDICATED IN SCRIPTURE:
1. THE FIRST HEAVEN IS OUR ATMOSPHERE. ITS WHERE OUR BLUE SKY IS.
2. THE SECOND HEAVEN IS WHAT WE CALL OUTER SPACE. ITS WHERE THE PLANETS AND STARS OF ALL THE GALAXIES, KNOWN OR UNKNOWN ARE LOCATED.
3. THE THIRD HEAVEN IS THE LOCATION OF GOD.
A PHYSICAL PLACE IS INDICATED VERY HIGHLY IN THE PASSAGES I HAVE JUST READ.
FIRST: JOHN STATES THAT HE SAW A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH. IT INDICATES FOR US THE EXTENT OF THE FALL. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL NOT ONLY EFFECTED THE EARTH AND EVERYTHING ON IT, BUT ALL OF GOD’S CREATION.
JOHN IS TELLING US HERE THAT GOD IS GOING TO RE-CREATE A “NEW EARTH AND HEAVEN”, MEANING THAT ALL CREATION FROM THE TIME OF THE FALL UNTIL THE ETERNAL STATE IS GOING TO BE CHANGED.
HE IS NOT GOING TO CREATE “OUT OF NOTHING”. HE IS GOING TO USE THE EXISTING STRUCTURE OF THE WORLD, BUT WITH ONE VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE. THE SINFUL NATURE THAT HAS PLAGUED NOT ONLY ALL LIVING CREATURES BUT THE UNIVERSE ITSELF WILL BE GONE. WE WILL BE ABLE NOT ONLY TO SEE BUT TO LIVE IN THE WORLD THE WAY GOD HAD ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR US TO LIVE IN THE WORLD.
THERE ARE MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS IN OUR WORLD THAT GOD HAS BLESSED US WITH. SUNRISES AND SUNSETS, THE STARS SHINING BRIGHTLY AT NIGHT, THE WARMTH OF THE SUN. ALL THESE THINGS BEAUTIFUL AS THEY ARE, ARE TAINTED BY SIN. IN OUR ETERNAL STATE WE WILL SEE THEM AS GOD CREATED THEM TO BE SEEN, AND THEY WILL BE MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN THEY ARE NOW.
REVELATION 21:5: “HE WHO WAS SEATED ON THE THRONE SAID, "I AM MAKING EVERYTHING NEW!" THEN HE SAID, "WRITE THIS DOWN, FOR THESE WORDS ARE TRUSTWORTHY AND TRUE."”
NOW JOHN IS BEING ALL ENCOMPSSING HERE IN THIS STATEMENT, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WILL BE MADE NEW WILL BE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. JOHN 14 JESUS INDICATES TO US THAT HE IS BUILDING A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR US TO DWELL IN FOR ETERNITY.
JOHN SPEAKS OF THE “NEW JERUSALEM” IN REVELATION.
REVELATION 21:2-3:
“2 I SAW THE HOLY CITY, THE NEW JERUSALEM, COMING DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM GOD, PREPARED AS A BRIDE BEAUTIFULLY DRESSED FOR HER HUSBAND. 3 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.”
JOHN WOULD LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE “NEW JERUSALEM” IS GOING TO BE A PHYSICAL PLACE. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW JERUSALEM IS IN PHYSICAL TERMS THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND AND PICTURE.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION THE DIMENSION ON THE NEW JERUSALEM WILL BE 1,400 MILES LONG, WIDE, AND HIGH. IT WILL BE BIG ENOUGH TO HOST BILLIONS OF PEOPLE. YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT ONLY CHRISTIANS WILL BE LIVING HERE.
THE FACT THAT JOHN SAYS THAT GOD WILL DWELL WITH US INDICATES TO ME THAT WE WILL HAVE A PLACE TO DWELL IN. HE IS CAREFUL TO DESCRIBE THE RIVER OF LIFE AND THE TREE OF LIFE. BOTH INDICATORS OF A PHYSICAL NATURE.
BECAUSE THE TREE OF LIFE WILL BE THERE, AND THE FACT THAT THE TREE OF LIFE WAS ORIGINALLY LOCATED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN, SOME THEOLOGIANS HAVE SUGGESTED THAT THE GARDEN OF EDEN WILL BE PRESENT ON THE NEW EARTH.
EVEN THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL COULD BE PRESENT, AS IT WILL HAVE NO POWER. IT HAD NO POWER IN THE ORIGINAL GARDEN. WHAT CAUSED ADAM AND EVE TO FALL WAS DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD’S COMMAND NOT TO EAT OF THE TREE, NOT THE TREE ITSELF. IT WAS A TEST OF OBEDIENCE. OUR PRESENCE IN HEAVEN WILL BE A CONFIRMATION OF OUR OBEDIENCE IN ASKING JESUS INTO OUR LIVES AS LORD AND SAVIOR AND SO THE NECESSITY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW OBEDIENCE THAT THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL GAVE US WILL NOT BE NECESSARY.
THERE WILL BE A NEW EARTH, MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN ANYTHING WE CAN IMAGINE.
POINT TWO: WE WILL BE PHYSICAL BEINGS:
THE SCRIPTURES INDICATE IN SEVERAL PLACES THAT YOU AND I WILL HAVE PHYSICAL BODIES WHEN WE ARE IN OUR ETERNAL STATE.
JESUS DID PROMISE THE THIEF ON THE CROSS THAT “TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE”, AND PAUL DID SAY “TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY IS TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD.” WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT SHOULD WE BE CALLED ON TO FACE DEATH, OUR BODIES OR AHSES WILL BE PLACED IN THE GROUND, BUT OUR SPIRITS WILL IMMEDIATELY GO TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
AT THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE OUR PHYSICAL BODIES ARE GOING TO BE CHANGED OR RESURRECTED FROM THE GRAVE. THEY WILL BE REUNITED WITH OUR SPIRITS, AS WE AWAIT OUR ETERNAL HOME, IN WHAT SOME THEOLOGIANS HAVE CALLED THE “INTERMEDIATE HEAVEN.” WE WILL STILL BE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD, BUT NOT IN OUR ETERNAL HOME.
IT BEGS THE QUESTION, WHY WOULD THERE BE A RESURRECTION IF WE WERE NOT GOING TO LIVE IN A PHYSICAL STATE. THE PHYSICAL STATE WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED GOOD, AND HAD THE POTENTIAL TO LIVE FOREVER. IT ONLY CHANGED AT THE TIME OF THE FALL.
JUST AS GOD IS GOING TO CREATE A NEW EARTH WITHOUT THE EFFECTS OF THE SINFUL NATURE, SO TOO OUR RESURRECTION WILL ALLOW US A NEW PHYSICAL BODY WITHOUT THE CONSEQUENCE OF THE SINFUL NATURE. AS SUCH WE WILL BE ABLE TO LIVE FOREVER IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
CONSIDER THESE VERSES FROM REVELATION CHAPTER SEVEN:
REVELATION 7:9-10, 14-17:
“9 AFTER THIS I LOOKED AND THERE BEFORE ME WAS A GREAT MULTITUDE THAT NO ONE COULD COUNT, FROM EVERY NATION, TRIBE, PEOPLE AND LANGUAGE, STANDING BEFORE THE THRONE AND IN FRONT OF THE LAMB. THEY WERE WEARING WHITE ROBES AND WERE HOLDING PALM BRANCHES IN THEIR HANDS. 10 AND THEY CRIED OUT IN A LOUD VOICE: "SALVATION BELONGS TO OUR GOD, WHO SITS ON THE THRONE, AND TO THE LAMB."”
“14 I ANSWERED, "SIR, YOU KNOW." AND HE SAID, "THESE ARE THEY WHO HAVE COME OUT OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION; THEY HAVE WASHED THEIR ROBES AND MADE THEM WHITE IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. 15 THEREFORE, "THEY ARE BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD AND SERVE HIM DAY AND NIGHT IN HIS TEMPLE; AND HE WHO SITS ON THE THRONE WILL SPREAD HIS TENT OVER THEM. 16 NEVER AGAIN WILL THEY HUNGER; NEVER AGAIN WILL THEY THIRST. THE SUN WILL NOT BEAT UPON THEM, NOR ANY SCORCHING HEAT. 17 FOR THE LAMB AT THE CENTER OF THE THRONE WILL BE THEIR SHEPHERD; HE WILL LEAD THEM TO SPRINGS OF LIVING WATER. AND GOD WILL WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES."”
THESE VERSES INDICATE THAT WE WILL HAVE THE POWER TO SPEAK, AND TO WEAR ROBES. MARK ALCORN AND DAVID JEREMIAH BOTH ASK THE QUESTION CONCERNING THIS, “HOW COULD A SPIRIT WEAR A ROBE AND WHAT WOULD THE REASON BE FOR WEARING IT IF THEY WERE SPIRITS.”
MATTHEW 17:1-3:
“1 ¶ AFTER SIX DAYS JESUS TOOK WITH HIM PETER, JAMES AND JOHN THE BROTHER OF JAMES, AND LED THEM UP A HIGH MOUNTAIN BY THEMSELVES. 2 THERE HE WAS TRANSFIGURED BEFORE THEM. HIS FACE SHONE LIKE THE SUN, AND HIS CLOTHES BECAME AS WHITE AS THE LIGHT. 3 JUST THEN THERE APPEARED BEFORE THEM MOSES AND ELIJAH, TALKING WITH JESUS.
HERE WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH. APPEARING WITH JESUS IS MOSES AND ELIJAH. MOSE WE KNOW HAS DIED, ELIJAH WE KNOW HASN’T. HIS BODY WAS CHANGED, IF YOU WOULD SORT OF A PREVIEW OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE.
WHAT DOES THE SCRIPTURE TELL US ABOUT THEM. FIRST OF ALL THEY ARE IDENTIFIED. THEY KNEW IT WAS MOSES AND ELIJAH. THEIR NAMES WERE NOT STATED TO THEM. THEY IDENTIFIED MOSES AND ELIJAH BY THEIR APPEARANCE. SECOND MOSES AND ELIJAH WERE “TALKING” WITH JESUS. THIS OFFERS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THEY WERE USING HUMAN BODY PARTS (VOCAL CHORDS, MOUTHS) TO SPEAK TO HIM.
JESUS HIMSELF DISPLAYED HIS RESURRECTION BODY, AND JOHN RECORDS IN CHAPTER 21 OF JOHN THAT JESUS ATE WITH HIS DISCIPLES. HE WALKED THROUGH A LOCKED DOOR AND LATER ATE WITH HIS DISCIPLES. OVER 500 WITNESSES CAN TESTIFY TO SEEING HIS RESURRECTED BODY, WALKING AND TALKING WITH HIM, AND EATING WITH HIM.
POINT THREE: THERE WILL BE ANIMALS IN HEAVEN:
ISAIAH 11:6: “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.”
ISAIAH MAKES THIS PROPHECY SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, AND IT SHOWS THE CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR OF THE ANIMALS AS A RESULT OF THE ABSENCE OF THE SIN NATURE IN THEIR LIVES.
CAN THERE BE ANIMALS IN HEAVEN. THE POSSIBILITY IS CERTAINLY THERE. THIS VERSE WOULD TEND TO SUPPORT IT. JESUS DID COME TO THE EARTH AT ARMAGEDDON ON A WHITE STEED, BUT THIS WAS BEFORE THE ETERNAL STATE.
IT IS TRUE THAT ANIMALS WERE WERE CREATED WITHOUT SOULS, BUT THEY WERE ALSO CREATED WITHOUT SIN. THERE IS NO ACCOUNT OF THEM BEING CARNIVORES BEFORE THE FALL. EVE SHOWED NO FEAR OF THE SERPENT, WHATEVER IT WAS, BEFORE THE FALL. THE WILD NATURE IN ANIMALS WAS CREATED AFTER THE FALL NOT BEFORE IT.
IF THINGS THAT WERE CREATED BEFORE THE FALL WILL BE IN HEAVEN, THEN WE CAN ALSO INCLUDE AT LEAST THE POSSIBILITY OF ANIMALS BEING THERE, MERELY FOR THE FACT THAT THEY GIVE US ENJOYMENT, AND BECAUSE WE SERVE A GRAT GOD.
CONCLUSION:
HEAVEN IS GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR A VICTORIOUS PEOPLE. I WANT TO CLOSE WITH SOME GENERAL IDEAS ABOUT OUR ETERNAL STATE.
1. OUR BODIES WILL BE ETERNALLY PERFECT. ANYONE IN THE HEALTH PROFESSION WILL HAVE A NEW JOB TO DO.
2. IT WILL BE A PLACE OF PERMANENT PEACE. THE LEAVES OF THE TREE OF LIFE WILL BE FOR THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS
3. THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH, OR MOURNING OR PAIN. THESE ARE ALL OF THE SINFUL NATURE AND WILL BE GONE.
4. THE ONLY TEAR THAT WILL BE SHED WILL BE TEARS OF HAPPINESS.
5. WE WILL HAVE PERFECT RELATIONSHIPS IN HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 22:30: “AT THE RESURRECTION PEOPLE WILL NEITHER MARRY NOR BE GIVEN IN MARRIAGE; THEY WILL BE LIKE THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN.”
WHAT I BELIEVE JESUS WANTS US TO CONSIDER THERE IS THAT WE WILL HAVE BETTER RELATIONSHIPS THAN WE HAVE IN THIS WORLD. FRANK AND ANNIE WILL SOON BE CELEBRATING THEIR 65TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER DEARLY. THEIR EARTHLY RELATIONSHIP, AS WELL AS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OURS WAS EFFECTED BY SIN. IN HEAVEN WE WILL HAVE PERFECT RELATIONSHIPS AND THE NEED OF MARRIAGE WILL NOT BE THERE.
6. OUR ATTITUDES AND EXPECTATIONS WILL CHANGE IN HEAVEN. OUR THOUGHT PATTERNS IN THIS WORLD ARE LIMITED BY OUR FINITENESS. WE CAN DREAM OF HEAVEN, BUT ONLY UP TO A POINT. IN RESPONSE TO THIS WE FILL IN OUR DESCRIPTION OF HEAVEN FROM THOUGHTS OF THIS WORLD. HEAVEN IS GOING TO BE FAR GREATER THAN ANYTHING WE CAN EVEN BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT.
7. BUT BY FAR THE THING THAT WILL OUTSHINE ALL THE GLORIES OF HEAVEN, WILL BE BEING IN THE ETERNAL PRESENCE OF OUR LORD.
I USED TO THINK THAT WE WOULD NOT NEED TO CELEBRATE COMMUNION IN HEAVEN, AND I THINK I AM RIGHT ON THAT. NOW I ALSO THINK THAT WE WILL HAVE COMMUNION BUT FOR A DIFFERENT PURPOSE. AT THAT POINT IT WILL BECOME A CELEBRATION OF HIS LOVE.
THESE AND OTHER REASONS ARE WHY HEAVEN IS GOING TO BE SUCH A WONDERFUL PLACE. JESUS FINAL WORDS OF THE BIBLE IS AN INVITATION TO “COME” AND BE A PART OF HIS KINGDOM. WON’T YOU CONSIDER IT TODAY AS WE SING OUR FINAL HYMN OF THE DAY.
