To atone for the sins of your past life. A few of you are secular or poorly taught and Heaven for you is putting on a comfortable white sheet, growing chubby along with popping out two small wings, sitting on a cloud and playing a harp for eternity. Yet in spite of this confusion, Heaven is in the Bible over times, describing three different places. There are three different heavens there is no 7th heaven. First is the atmospheric heaven, which is the sky. Second is the stellar or celestial heaven, which is outer space.
The third is the divine Heaven, which is the abode of God. The Bible declares, if you believe in the sky and outer space, you should also believe in the place where God dwells, the third heaven.
Heaven is called a place, a real place, as real as Los Angeles, DC or New York—a place which does not seem far, since at death you believers pass immediately from this place to that place. The third heaven is just as real as the first heaven and the second heaven.
But why should you believe in this real place called Heaven? Then why are Christians, even here today, not passionate about Heaven? Because of wrong, worldly, wimpy and weird views about Heaven. Some of you here right now only have idolatrous thoughts, satanic manipulations and worldly views of Heaven. When Heaven comes to mind, it is only of the toga-clad roundling on the cloud, with a halo and a harp.
Or worse, your indifference to your eternal home is exposing an indifferent commitment to Christ. Or you have never studied, read or meditated on what Heaven will truly be like for Christians. Or you are just too preoccupied with the entertainment of this world to even engage in anticipation of your true future home.
Today you need to repent and begin the habit of daily thinking about Heaven, longing for Heaven, being consumed with Heaven and aching to get there. You need this more than you know. And the only time believers actually dwell on Heaven is when someone they love dies. But the Lord Jesus Christ wants you thinking about your future home.
My sister Wendy just moved from Spokane to Murrieta. When you move to a new city, what do you do? When you know you have to move, how do you act? You start checking out the churches, neighborhoods, schools, the climate, the restaurants, the shopping areas, entertainments, outdoor enjoyments—you actually start researching everything you can about the new place in advance.
Because it is going to be your new home. Hey, Christian—Heaven is your new forever home. You are going to live there. And if you really believed it, you would check it out. You should want to know everything about the home you were made for. You will spend years here, but then you will live eternally in Heaven. Think more about Heaven than this life here.
When you do become rightly consumed with your heavenly home, heavenly thinking will restore your hope during current trial and suffering. Dwelling on Heaven reassures you God is in charge and knows what He is doing. Focusing on eternity reminds you this world is not all there is. Setting your mind on Heaven refocuses your heart on what your true treasure is and heavenly longing will reignite your passion to serve the Lord aggressively right now.
The truth is, being heavenly minded is the only thing that will make you any earthly good at all. Our Lord has revealed your future home in His Word and several other resources were super helpful.
Most of this comes from Revelation 21 to The Bible taught us in our study of 2 Peter that the current Heaven and Earth will be destroyed and redone to a new Heaven and new Earth—not only devoid of sin and evil, but devoid of any exposure to sin, wickedness or evil. This new Heaven is perfect, nothing is defiled, nothing tainted, only the joy of the Lord.
The new Heaven is a new creation, a totally new universe—a perfect expanse to enjoy and explore. Like a salesman, let me give you a tour of your future home, with one exciting difference—the price is free. The reason is, only Christ was capable to pay the price necessary to secure your entrance into Heaven, and He offers it freely to all who believe and obey Him. Heaven is a glorious place because of what is there and what is not there.
Revelation 21 to 22 tells us there are eleven things not in Heaven—the sea, sin, death, mourning, crying, pain, night, a temple, curse, sun or moon. No more sin means no more death, mourning, crying, pain and curse. No more temple means no more going to your knees in prayer—just go talk to Jesus. His glory takes care of night or the need for the sun or moon.
What else is not there? Actually, it will never stop. Heaven will go on forever. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. Here are 8 of the most interesting facts about heaven. Okay, so this trumps all the other most interesting facts by a gazillion degrees. But seriously. This is what will make heaven, heaven. The presence of God See Revelation and our ability to look on Him will occupy our affections, emotions, thoughts, conversations, songs, etc. Jesus Himself said that eternal life is knowing God John The presence of God will be so fascinating and thrilling and mind-boggling, it will literally take forever to get over it.
I am not sure how it works. I am not sure how it looks. But something wonderful is going on, even now, for those who are awaiting their glorified bodies. Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with Him on that very day in Paradise Luke Read Revelation Men speaking with trumpet like voices.
Many Christians, to be fair, find this thought horrifying, and some teach universal salvation or that evildoers are simply annihilated. What do the faithful do in Heaven? The same thing the angels do. They worship God and sing his praises. The writer of Revelation even offers us a sample song. Korea, where the incessant praise music and propaganda were required and all-pervasive, I sometimes wonder if the dynastic leaders there somehow lifted a page from an older playbook.
It has been said that the only god worthy of worship is one who neither wants nor needs it. What are we to think of a deity who creates the earth and her inhabitants—in fact the entire universe—so a few bipedal primates, most of whom were never born, can spend an afterlife in this posture of praise and adulation?
This Heaven goes on forever. Most of us would prefer to live longer than the time allotted to us. Aging sucks, and losing a loved one is one of the most painful wounds we can experience.
But forever? Forever is infinity. It never ends. Fiction writers who seriously explore the idea of immortality rarely treat it as something to be desired, and for good reason.
Even kids grasp the problems, for example, when they read Tuck Everlasting. Author Edgar Shoaff put it bluntly: Immortality—a fate worse than death. The movie Groundhog Day is a comedy. Could an omnipotent god create an afterlife that was actually some form of paradise? And without a doubt pained Bible believers who read this article will insist that their God has done just that.
Some will fall back on the words of Paul and claim, on biblical authority, that they and I have no idea what Heaven will be like—other than eternally wonderful. But the fact is, Christians for centuries have claimed that they do have an idea of what Heaven will be like. New Testament writers, Church fathers, monks, iconographers, crusaders, inquisitors, reformers, conquistadors, missionaries, priests, nuns, Sunday school teachers, pulpit pounders, faith healers, televangelists, Internet wonders In this life a child begins to learn to love by loving mother, then father, then siblings, then pets.
The concentric circles of love are then gradually expanded, but the beginning lessons are never abandoned. There is no reason to think God rips up this plan after death. What Will Heaven Be Like? Thirty-five frequently asked questions about eternity. Page 1 of Page 1 of 10 Next. Tags: Eternity Heaven Hell. References: None. Posted: January 28, Related Bible Studies.
Add to Cart View Cart. Good Religion, Bad Religion Thirty-five frequently asked questions about eternity.
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