Generally, before they take on a project like this, they study the proposed plans carefully because they want to make sure that every little detail is considered so that they will have a wonderful place to live the rest of their lives on this earth.
Yes, planning a family house is exciting, but listen, if people can get excited about earthly houses, then it is easy to understand why Christians get excited about their future home in heaven, where they will live for eternity.
In this sermon we want to study the "blueprints" in God's Word, to see what kind of eternal home God has prepared for His family. As we study the Word of God, we find three people who are qualified to tell us about that wonderful place.
1. THE APOSTLE PAUL
In 2 Cor. 12:2-4 we read, "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."
Paul was saying that he had been caught up to the THIRD HEAVEN. He did not know if he had been in his body or out of his body. That was not significant. However, what was significant was that he supernaturally saw the third heaven.
How many heavens are there? There are three:
(a) THE FIRST HEAVEN is where the clouds are, and where the birds and planes fly. We can see this first heaven with the human eye.
(b) THE SECOND HEAVEN is where all the planets and stars are located. We can see this heaven with a powerful telescope. In this space age, we have been able to send people into the second heaven. As far as science can tell there is no life that exists in the second heaven.
The second heaven is beautiful, but there is a heaven that is more beautiful, it is the third heaven.
(c) THE THIRD HEAVEN is where God lives. People have some beautiful places to live.
Illus: You could take all the beautiful areas in the world and put them together, and they would not come close to being as beautiful as the place where God lives in the third heaven.
Do you know what is so great about that? That is exactly where every saint of God will live for eternity!
Illus: Some of the saints of God live in third world countries and they live in some horrible conditions. But one of these days, they are going to live in this wonderful place called heaven.
God allowed Paul to make a short visit to that glorious place, but once he visited it, GOD TOLD HIM NOT TO SPEAK OF WHAT HE SAW to people on earth. Can you imagine how hard it was for Paul to see all the glory of heaven and not being able to say a word about it?
Illus: That would be as bad as the preacher who skipped church and played a perfect game of golf. He could not tell anyone what he had done, because if he said a word, they would have known he played golf instead of going to church.
God did not want him to tell. Why? There are two possible reasons:
(a) Because there are no words that could DESCRIBE IT
Often, to describe something we have to have something we can relate it too.
Illus: Have you ever tried to describe a beautiful red rose to a person who was born blind? It is impossible to describe such a thing to a person who does not know how to relate anything to colors.
The best thing Paul could do was not to say anything, to prevent giving a distorted view of this wonderful place! That could be the reason God would not let Paul say anything about what he saw.
Illus: Suppose you lived on earth in the days of Noah, and someone told you that one day there would be automobiles, airplanes, computers, televisions, telephones, fax machines, interstate highways, and space vehicles that would take a man to the moon, etc.. Your would have thought that they had escaped from the "funny farm."
I can assure you that if Paul had to describe what he saw, we all would say, "Paul, your much learning has made you mad."
(b) Because God wanted it to be a SURPRISE
A lot of people do not like surprises, but when the saints of God see this wonderful place it will be a surprise they will enjoy.
Whatever the reason, God prohibited Paul from talking about what he saw when he came back.
In Phil. 1:23 we read, "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better."
Paul, one of the few to see that glorious place, never was the same afterwards! Another mortal that can tell us about that glorious place is...
2. THE APOSTLE JOHN
When John was on the isle of Patmos, God revealed to him all the horrifying things that were going to take place after the rapture of the church.
For example, God revealed to him about the antichrist, the tribulation period, the battle of Armageddon and the Great White Throne Judgment.
John saw THE MOST HORRIFYING MOMENTS OF THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. Then, God evidently thought he might be due some good news, so God pinned back the curtains of heaven and let John have just a glimpse.
John's response after he saw it was, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20b)
Illus: Some have asked, "Why doesn't the Bible say more about heaven than it does?" The answer has been given, "If God told us about the greatness of heaven, we all would be begging Him every day of our lives to please take us to our eternal home, and we would not want to stay here on earth to serve Him."
The apostles John and Paul saw that glorious place, and once they saw it they were ready to depart from this life immediately.
There is one more person who can tell us about this grand place that is called heaven.
3. THE LORD JESUS
Jesus had more to say about heaven than any other person in the Bible!
• He came from heaven
• He is in heaven now
• He is waiting for our arrival
It is appropriate that He has so much to say about heaven because He knows more about heaven than anyone else. In Rev. 21, He tells us that heaven is a...
I. NEW PLACE
In Rev. 21:1-3 we read, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
God's Word says that God will create A NEW HEAVEN and A NEW EARTH. The Word of God is very clear on this, but some people have a hard time interpreting the Word of God literally.
Some say this is not actually what is going to happen, that what is going to happen is that the heaven and earth will be CLEANSED or RESTORED.
Illus: In other words, they believe it is as if someone had an old rocking chair that had gotten in bad shape. Instead of buying a new one, they restored it and made it look like new.
IS IT NEW JUST BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN RESTORED? No! It has the appearance of being new, but the fact is that it is the same chair it has always been. God's Word says nothing about RESTORATION! It only speaks of a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH.
WELL, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE OLD ONE? We do not have to GUESS. Look at the rest of the verse - "...For the first heaven and the first earth were PASSED AWAY..."
A. Why will God make a new heaven and a new earth?
Many believe, (and we can only speculate), that He does this for a couple of reasons.
1. Because Satan had corrupted the old heaven
2. Because Satan has corrupted this old earth
You may ask, “So what! What DIFFERENCE does that make?” It makes a BIG DIFFERENCE!
Illus: Suppose you were an abused child. All your childhood you were abused by someone in the home you were reared in. Would you, as an adult, want to spend the rest of your life in that home? You probably would not! Why? Because you have bad memories, and you would want to move away from that place and never again be reminded of those horrible memories.
God has some horrible memories of Satan's rebelling against Him, and one-third of the angels of heaven turning against Him. Satan corrupted heaven with sin! Likewise, we all have memories of sin in our lives. We have been gloriously forgiven, but we remember things we would like to forget.
Illus: One young lady lived in sin and did not think much about it as a teenager. But later in life she had to live in that same town and lived with regret. She said many times, “I wish I could move out of this town and never come back!”
We all have had SINFUL THINGS in our lives that we wish we could put behind us, but we will be locked in prison with our memories until we die. As long as we live, we cannot get away from them.
Listen, here is the good news! Heaven could not be the great place it is going to be FOR GOD or FOR US, if we were going to be constantly reminded of the corruption of HEAVEN and EARTH. So, God will do something about that. He will create a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH. In Isaiah 65:17, we read, "For, behold, I create NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH:…”
WHY DOES GOD USE SUCH DRASTIC STEPS?
Look at the last part of verse 17 again, “…and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
Once God creates the NEW HEAVEN and the NEW EARTH, the old heaven and earth will pass FROM GOD'S MEMORY AND FROM OUR MEMORY.
Once again, read Isaiah 65:17, "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former SHALL NOT BE REMEMBERED, NOR COME INTO MIND."
Illus: Christian parents could not enjoy heaven if they knew their lost children were suffering torment in a Christless eternity. God will allow all the former things to be remembered no more.
B. How will God make a new heaven and a new earth?
He will create it. Look at Isaiah 65:17 again, "For, behold, I CREATE NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH..."
We often use that word "create" when we say someone is "very creative." We are misusing the word "create" when we use it in connection with humans. Why? Because no man has ever CREATED anything! We are not creators. God is The Creator!
We can build things. That is, we can take pre-existing materials and build things out of them, but we cannot "create" anything! For example,
Illus: A carpenter can build a house, but he cannot "create" a house. Anything we build comes from pre-existing materials or thoughts.
God is the CREATOR and God will create, "...NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH..." The present heaven and earth will pass away into oblivion as if it had never existed. One day we shall live in the NEW PLACE and we will not remember the past OLD HEAVEN and the OLD EARTH anymore. Jesus tells us that heaven will be A NEW PLACE. He also provides...
II. NEW PEACE
Heaven will not only be a NEW PLACE, Jesus will also provide a NEW PEACE.
In Rev. 21:1 we read, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was NO MORE SEA..."
WHY DOES GOD SAY THERE WILL BE NO MORE SEA?
Look at the words, "...no more sea..." We all know people who love the sea. In fact, some people think the nearest thing to heaven in this life is to live by the sea. In the Bible the "sea" does not speak of such good times, but there it often represents bad things.
A. The "sea" represents storms
Those of you who frequently watch the weather channel notice that all the storms come from the sea. Over water they build up high winds and we wait on shore, at their mercy, for them to hit us, sometimes with such forceful winds that it is devastating. When this happens, there is very little we can do to protect ourselves from them. Likewise, in this life we are often struck by all kinds of devastating things such as sickness, diseases, and death. There is very little we can do about these things.
In the Bible, the sea represents storms. God says He will create new heavens and a new earth, but He makes a point to say there will be NO MORE SEA. That is to say, when we go to heaven there will be no more storms in our lives. THE SEA REPRESENTS STORMS.
B. The "sea" represents separation
When countries are at war, often wives and husbands have been separated when the husband had to ship out to go to a foreign country across the sea. Husbands and wives have stood at the edge of the ocean, and as far as the eye could see water was all they could see. They knew that somewhere beyond that place where it seemed like the sea and the sky touched, was a loved one. Their hearts were saddened because that sea separated them.
On the sea of life, DEATH has separated us from our loved ones, but notice, in the Bible there IS NO MORE SEA! Also, in the Bible...
Heaven is going to be the perfect environment. Look at the architectural plans of this marvelous place. For example, the Bible tells us that...
• THE GATES WILL BE OF PEARL
In Rev. 21:21 we read, "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl..."
Today we ride by houses where rich people live, and see the beautiful ornamental iron gates. Gates have always been a SYMBOL OF PRESTIGE, and the affluent have spent more on their gates than others of us have spent on the houses we live in. Notice, in heaven the gates will be made of pearl. We know how valuable pearls are and so God lets us know that in heaven pearl will be no more than iron is down here. Why? Heaven is something that is so much greater than we can imagine. Pearls will not be so valuable there.
• STREETS WILL BE PAVED WITH GOLD
In Rev. 21:21b we read, "...and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."
Why? Because we understand that gold is one of the most valuable things on this earth. Heaven will be such a wonderful place, that there we will walk on gold as if it were no more than asphalt.
• THE FOUNDATION OF THE WALL WILL BE MADE OF PRECIOUS JEWELS
In Rev. 21:19-20 we read, "And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst."
If we were going to build a building and we had all these valuable stones, we would not place them in the foundation where no one could see them. We would want to make walls out of them where everyone could see them. What God is saying is that heaven is such a wonderful place that the things that men crave and die to have, will be no more than foundation stones in heaven. Just reading about this glorious place makes us want to go there.
Conclusion:
Joni Erickson said, “As a child I wondered where God lived in outer space, and how long it would take to get there. You cannot go there in a rocket ship. That's because heaven exists beyond even speeded-up time. Traveling at a zillion miles per hour might catapult you instantly to the edge of our universe, but to take a step into the third heaven requires something different, for our flesh and blood cannot enter it. You must be born again or you cannot, as Jesus warned, "see the kingdom of God." (Christian Reader, Vol. 33, no. 5.)
I. NEW PLACE
A. WHY WILL GOD MAKE A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH?
B. HOW WILL GOD MAKE A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH?
II. NEW PEACE
A. THE SEA REPRESENTS STORMS
B. THE SEA REPRESENTS SEPARATION
