The Apostle John’s Vision of Heaven
Revelation 21:1-8
One of the earliest Christian Creeds written by early church Fathers in the 2nd to 7th Century gives a statement of faith that defines the Christian Faith from Non Christian Faith.
Apostles Creed
English Version
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. AMEN.
The Apostles Creed pulls together the basic beliefs of the New Testament. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died and was buried and on the third day rose form the dead and ascended into heaven.
The Apostle John in Revelation 21 gives us a picture of heaven. Death is not the end, but the beginning of a personal presence with Jesus Christ.
The Reader’s.Digest quoted from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen’s autobiography "Treasure in Clay."
I stopped to ask a few boys for directions to the Town Hall where I was giving a lecture. They told me where the Town Hall was and then asked, "What are you going to do there?"
"I’m giving a lecture on heaven and how to get there. Would you like to come and find out?"
"You’re kidding," one boy said. "You don’t even know the way to the Town Hall."
There’s a song that goes: "Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace - I want to see my Savior’s face, Heaven is a wonderful place... I want to go there"
"Us News and World Report" commented on a 1990 survey which indicated that 78% of Americans believed in heaven - and believed they were going to get there.
There is only one place to find out about life after death. God’s Word, the Holy Bible is the only place to find what the future holds following death. Jesus proclaimed that He was going to prepare a place for us. John 14:2 - “There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly.” That after his ascension he would be in heaven and when the believer dies the believer goes to be with the Lord. Jesus said, “Where I am there you will be also.”
God’s Word states that Heaven is a Wonderful place.
I. Heaven is a Wonderful Place
Revelation 21 talks about the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. Chapter 21:1-2 The prophet Isaiah gave a picture of heaven in Isaiah 65:17. “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth – so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore.”
Peter spoke of a new heaven in 2 Peter 3:11-13. “Since everything round us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! You should look forward to that day and hurry it along – the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God.”
Stories outside the Bible make heaven a very boring place. For eternity you will float around on a cloud and play a harp.
Bill Hybles, pastor of the Willow Creek Church near Chicago, says that among his earliest memories of church was being in a children’s choir. They dressed up in robes, & stood on risers, & practiced a lot. And he says that as a child he hated almost every minute of it. He hated putting that robe on, & he hated having to stand still for so long.
"To make matters even worse, the Choir director told me, `If you don’t like singing in the choir, you’re not going to enjoy heaven.’ So as a child, I thought of heaven as putting on a choir robe & standing on a riser & singing for all eternity. So I wasn’t really all that excited about going to heaven."
C.S. Lewis writes, “There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to make the Christian hope of heaven ridiculous by saying that they do not want to spend eternity playing harps. The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them at all. All the scriptural imagery—harps, gold, and so on—is of course a symbolical attempt to express the inexpressible… People who take these symbols literally might as well think that Christ told us to be like doves, he meant that we were to lay eggs.”
The Apostle John was in exile on the Isle of Patmos for preaching the Gospel of the risen Christ. The risen Lord Jesus appeared to him and gave him the Revelation – the last book of the New Testament.
Heaven is viewed by some as the ultimate retirement village. You finish up your work on earth and enjoy a few years of work and adventure and then pass on to an eternal weekend in Palm Springs.
One man who played golf fives days a week asked, “Will there be gold in heaven?” He said, “I can’t be happy unless I’m golfing, heaven is supposed to make me perfectly happy; therefore must be golf in heaven.”
It is true that there will be joy in heaven and God gives us the desires of our heart. But probably God has made us for more significant activities than 0golf. Besides, we know in heaven there will be no lying, no swearing, no cheating, so how can there be any golf? Tennis yes, but golf a question mark.
There’s one thing that all 14 of our grandchildren looked forward to when we visited them. We would often bring each of them a small toy. Children never seem to get tired of toys. Now, imagine how they would react if I took our grandchildren to a "Toys R Us" store, opened the doors and said, "Grandma and I have come into an inheritance that includes everything in this store. It’s all yours."
That would be heaven for them.
How would you describe heaven to someone who has never been there? The Apostle John in his revelation from Jesus is tying to describe heaven. If you were trying to describe a jet 747 airliner to someone who lived a thousand years ago? You would have to use drawings, and symbols. “It something like a giant metal bird that flies with a great roar.”
Heaven will be more wonderful than anything we can imagine. Paul said in I Corinthians 2:9 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
#Max DePree tells about the time his dad reached the age of 99. He was having some physical problems and had to go to the hospital. Max and his dad had serious conversations and his dad assured him he was ready to die and go be with the Lord.
But in the hospital his dad was giving the nurses a hard time about going to bed. He insisted on sitting up in his chair. They eventually called the son in to talk to the senior Depree. After talking away the son asked his dad if he was ready to go to bed. He said, “No.” After four time refusing to go to bed Max asked his dad why he didn’t want to lie down. His dad said, “Because if I lie down, I’m going to die.”
Max said to his dad, “But dad you told me you were ready to die.” “I am,” his dad replied, but not today. He was ready to die but not today.
Heaven is a wonderful place but we want to live and are in no hurry to make our exit.
II. Heaven is Where God Is.
Heaven is a place where God will dwell with his people in person. There will be everlasting joy, comfort and peace.
Rev. 21:3-4, “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.”
Think of it, “no more sorrow, or death or pain.” No more common colds, no more cancers. There will be no second class citizens. Prisoners and slaves will be free, hungry people will have plenty of food, no more murders, or fighting; everyone will be at peace.
If you enjoy being with the people of God on earth you will enjoy being in God’s presence in heaven. The creator of the universe – the planets, the stars, the earth, all creatures – is also the creator of the new heaven and a new earth. In God’s presence there will be unity of love, no more fences or pit bulls to divide us. No more suicide bombers and no broken homes. All the evils in the world will pass away. Love will triumph.
III. Heaven is being at home with Jesus.
Rev. 23:5-6 – “And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look I am making all things new!’ And then he said to me, ‘Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, ‘It is finished! I am the alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of water of life without charge! Al who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”
#A well known preacher was invited to dinner at the home of a very wealthy man in Texas. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area.
Pointing to the oil wells, punctuating the landscape, he boasted, "Twenty five years ago, I had nothing. Now as far as you can see, it’s all mine." Looking in the opposite direction, at his sprawling fields of grain, he said, "That’s all mine." Turning east toward huge herds of cattle, he bragged, "They’re all mine too." Then, pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, "That too is all mine."
He paused expecting the pastor to compliment him on his great success. The pastor, however, placing one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointing heavenward with the other, simply said, "How much do you have in that direction?" The man hung his head and confessed "I never thought of that."
Heaven is not about getting a large mansion or getting certain rewards. Heaven is about a Person, the Person of Jesus Christ.
The Apostle John said he saw a vision of heaven with a person like the “Son of Man” on the throne with hair that is white like wool, eyes that blaze like fire, a doubled-edged sword coming out of his mouth, and hands holding the stars of the churches and the keys of death and Hades.
#A story is told about a wealthy Christian who somehow got obsessed with the idea of taking some of his wealth to heaven. Now he knew the Bible clearly teaches that you can’t take it with you. But so obsessed was he with this desire that he just prayed & prayed & prayed that God would give him permission to take some of his wealth to heaven with him.
Finally, his persistence in prayer paid off. God spoke to him & said, "Okay, enough all ready! You can take one suitcase with you into heaven."
The story continues with the man deep in thought, "What do I take? What are the most valuable things that I can put into my suitcase?"
Well, he finally decided, & filled his suitcase full. Then one day he died, & when next we see him, he is slowly approaching the pearly gates dragging his suitcase behind him.
St. Peter met him there at the gate & said, "Wait a minute. What do you think you’re doing? You’re not allowed to take anything into heaven." The man answered, "You don’t understand. I have special permission from God Himself to take this suitcase into heaven."
Peter rubbed his beard & said, "Well, that’s very unusual. I can’t imagine God letting you do that. Let me look inside your suitcase & see what’s there." So the man dragged the suitcase over, & Peter opened it to see that it was filled with gold bars & gold bricks & gold ingots.
Peter said, "Well, all right. If God said so, I suppose you can take that in if you want. But why in the world did you go to all this trouble just to bring more pavement into heaven?"
Heaven is not about walking on streets of gold or receiving all the other blessing of God. Heaven is about being with Jesus.
The Apostle John reports that he fell down before the throne in heaven to worship. The Son of Man touches him with his right hand and says, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!”
The sword represents the symbol of power. Jesus is sovereign. He has absolute power and authority over the universe. Jesus is ruler of all. He is King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Revelation 1:17 “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one who died. Look, I am alive forever and ever? And I hold the keys of death and grave.”
Someday if you are part of the family of God, Jesus will place his hand on your shoulder and say, “Don’t be afraid I am with you.”
#Dr. Richard Mouw, the president of Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, tells of an experience he had when he was in Kindergarten.
One day in December a visitor came to kindergarten. He was wearing a big red suit with a splendid sash. His head and hair were as white as snow, and his feet were boots as black as coal. His vice was “like the sound of rushing waters”: HO! HO! HO!
“I’m here to see who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, how you’ve behaved. Who will come tell me what they want?”
These five-year-old kids were terrified. Santa stood in the midst of them, the glory of Santa shown round about them, and they were sore afraid. No one moved.
The teacher was a little embarrassed. She did not understand why no one was volunteering for the great white judgment throne.
Finally Santa looked at five-year-old Rich Mouw. “Come sit in Santa’s lap,” he ordered. Rich didn’t know why he was chosen, but he walked as slowly as he could to the front of the room.
What Rich didn’t know was that Santa was actually a man from Rich’s church, a man named Mr. Cooper. Rich knew him and liked him a lot. Santa felt Rich’s fear. He pulled back his beard. He put his hand on Rich’s shoulder. Quietly so no one else could hear, he said: “Hey, Richard, don’t be afraid. It’s me – Mr. Cooper. You already know me. I’m your old friend. It’s okay. Don’t be afraid.”
When we see Jesus face to face we will fall at his feet like John. Jesus said to John, “Hey, John, don’t be afraid. It’s me! Jesus! The one you loved. You already know me. I’m your old friend. Don’t be afraid.”
In C. S. Lewis’ wonderful books The Chronicles of Narnia, the characters who have lived in Narnia have completed their time and work there. In a closing chapter entitled “Further Up and Further In,” Aslan, the lion who represents Christ, has come for them in order to take them home. They are headed away from Narnia and are about to enter Aslan’s land. But they are met with familiar scenes. One of the characters cries out: “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this.”
I believe that when we enter the real heaven, we will say, “This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. It will be a new earth — restored and redeemed — the place we were meant to live.
Heaven is a wonderful place.
Heaven is where God is.
Heaven is at home with Jesus.
