Gtcotr/ws102313
This
life block is designed to be an initial and very simple introduction to heaven.
We could spend the rest of our lives learning all that has been revealed about this
wonderful place and still not exhaust its comprehensive expanse and glory.
Thankfully we will have a whole lot more time than merely our earthly life to
explore heaven’s grandeur. However, in the time we have together now; allow me
to begin our study on the adventure called heaven.
The
word “heaven” is used 551 times in the KJV of the Bible. On top of that the
place and purposes of heaven are mentioned hundreds of more times and
referenced from Genesis to Revelation with great expectations for the future.
What
we most often intend when we talk about heaven is the place where God lives and
where we want to go when we die. This is totally the right definition of
heaven. Heaven is where God lives and carries on the
operation of the universe. Heaven is where God has established His
throne and where He speaks from, receives prayers into, dispatches angels from,
and welcomes His children into when they die and leave planet earth. That is
the heaven we all know and look forward to enjoying.
However,
when we read the word “heaven” in the Bible, it is not always referring to that
place where Jesus is presently seated at the right hand of God’s throne. In
fact, there are 3 distinct heavens spoken of in the Bible.
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished …
We
can clearly see the scriptures referring to heavens as being plural in the
creation. But, how do we arrive at the understanding of 3 heavens?
2 Corinthians 12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago –
whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know,
God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
·
The
first heaven is the air we breathe - the atmosphere of earth held under the
canopy of our sky. This heaven is separated from the expanse of the universe
that we know as space or the heavens.
Genesis 1:8 And God called
the firmament Heaven.
Luke 21: 33 "Heaven and earth
will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
This
first heaven is the heaven that will pass away when the earth melts with a
fervent heat.
·
The
second heaven is what we see when we look up at the heavenly bodies of planets,
stars and galaxies in outer space
In
Psalms 8 David considered the sun and moon and all the heavenly handiworks of
God. In Genesis 15 God told Abraham to number the stars of heaven – the heaven
he could view from earth which stretches beyond our understanding and contains
the stars we see at night.
God
is the creator of those heavens and they praise Him. I have no idea what was or
is intended for them. (We hear that the
universe is continually expanding at the speed of light. Perhaps one of the
reasons is because, as far as we were told, God said let there be light and He
did not tell it where to stop. I suppose Light has continued to spread in all
directions from that time creating that heaven.)
·
The
third heaven is God's abode. It is where God’s Angels and saints who have
passed on, reside and prepare for the end of this world and the beginning of
the next.
Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the
LORD: "Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool.
This
is where Jesus lived with God before He became flesh and blood as the incarnate
Son of Almighty God. And it is where He ascended to so that He could spend time
preparing a house for us so that we could live with Him eternally as His bride.
(Acts 1:11; John 14:1-3; Revelation 21:2;9ff)
For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives
life to the world. (John 6:33 NKJV)
Jesus
came down from heaven to be born of a virgin and save souls.
Key Scripture
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will
rise first. (I Thessalonians 4:16 NKJV)
Jesus
ascended back into heaven and is coming again from heaven soon.
Heaven
is more real than our temporary existence on earth. Heaven
is eternal but we are not meant to live there forever. Heaven is a
temporary residence for the souls of God's children until He cleanses the earth
of sin and begins a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.
God
gave us a picture of His will for man on earth from the first 2 Chapters of
Genesis. One day we the redeemed will begin that world once again. In the mean
time, between Genesis 3 and Revelation 22, we are in a parenthetical moment of
God dealing with rebellion in heaven and sin on earth. During this time God
welcomes and rewards His children in His eternal abode until all things have
been made ready, the marriage supper of the Lamb enjoyed, all rebellion
abolished and every rebel banished.
Our earthly hope is heaven - our heavenly hope is a new earth.
Heaven
will one day be the place where the judgment will occur before God's throne. The
devil and his angels along with the souls of every man and woman who refused
the blood of the Lamb of God will be cast out from God's presence forever. Only
those who are covered by the blood of Christ will be given entrance into the
eternal Messianic Kingdom and live with Jesus in the city of New Jerusalem on a
new earth without sin, sickness, poverty, pain, worry or fear forever and
forever.
Heaven
is also the place where our thoughts, intents, and actions will be revealed and
rewarded. Great rewards will be given some and others will have nothing to
offer God and the Lamb who saved them and redeemed them from eternal
destruction. There will be so many sorrows and tears that God will give special
time for them to dry before continuing with His plan.
Some
may say: I don't want or need rewards ... Just getting into heaven will be
reward enough. To quote a dear friend and scholar:
“To place little value on what heaven says has great value insults
the very Lord who offers these rewards.” (David Shibley – Living as if Heaven Matters)
A
casual attitude towards the prized rewards of heaven could be considered an
insult and an offense to God. You see, Heaven is not a
reward - heaven is our Father's home and we are welcomed there not by
reward but by grace. No works can grant one entrance into God's presence or His
palace - it is by grace and grace alone. We are given sanctuary in His presence
because we are family. Rewards however, are earned. It seems they are very
important to God and they should therefore be to us.
How
can we consciously be on our way to God's home and take Him no gift.
Important Points
1. Our citizenship is in heaven.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Philippians 3:20 NKJV)
2. We have a family in heaven.
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, (Ephesians
3:14, 15 NKJV)
3. Heaven is a temporary place of man's
residence. Not because it will pass away but because we
will one day live again upon the earth.
4. Heaven is not a reward but a welcomed
entrance into our Father's house.
5. Your eternity depends on heaven.
Supporting Scriptures Colossians 1:16; 3:1-3
Genesis 22:11 Deuteronomy
10:14 2 Chronicles 18:18
Jeremiah 23:24 Psalms 119:89 Revelation
21:1
