|
|
|
|
The account of Jesus discussion with the Sadducees reveals their weakness in understanding the Scriptures when it comes to the subject of heaven and eternal life.
They did not believe in the supernatural, so rejected angels, and the resurrection of the dead. I'm not sure how they could factor a supernatural being like God into their theology without acknowledging a supernatural, but that's another matter. In Matthew's gospel (22:29) Jesus told them that they did not understand the Scriptures nor the power of God. You must understand both in order to get to heaven. The Scriptures point us to salvation in none other than Jesus and then we must believe in the power of God to bring about that salvation. If you believe in the Scriptures without the power of God you are no better then the demons. If you believe in the power of God without the Scriptures then you have a false gospel. But it gives us the opportunity to talk about what the Bible says about heaven, which isn't a lot. This won't be an exhaustive study of the topic, but an overview. Are there really two heavens? This is an interesting thing to think about. Some theologians postulate that there is something called an "intermediate heaven" that co-exists in another dimension right along with the current universe we observe. Occasionally God opened a door so men could see into this dimension - examples include Elisha's servant in 2 Kings 6, and Stephen in Acts 6 & 7. The theory goes that when Christians die they go to a place that is with God but is only a temporary heaven and that when the resurrection happens we get physical bodies and then eventually God creates a new heaven and a new earth and they are really one and the same - that we don't go "up" to be with God in heaven, but that God comes "down" to be with us and brings heaven with Him! (Revelation 20) Heaven, the eternal state, is a physical place, however. Hebrews 8:5 tells us that the earthly sanctuary is but a "shadow" of the heavenly reality. That heavenly tabernacle, theologians suggest, is right now in the present Heaven and will be brought down with the New Jerusalem. Psalms 102:25-28Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end. 28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you. Matthew 24:34-35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 2 Peter 3:10-13 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. The bottom line, though, is that heaven is where God is: John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. What will we be like in Heaven? We will have physical bodies and they will be indestructible (Luke 20:36). Jesus after His resurrection possessed a body that could eat, talk, and be seen. It was different in many respects however: it cannot die, and did not seem constrained by the physics of our world (walking through walls and disappearing at will, for instance). John 21 is one place where we see Jesus in His resurrected physical body. In Luke 24:36-43 Jesus actually proves He is physical by eating in front of the disciples. Daniel 12:2-3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Also Matthew 13:43 - "shine like the sun") 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened - not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Colossians 3:4When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Will We Know Each Other? 1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. We will know each other - Jesus called the patriarchs by name in Matthew 8:11, Jesus said "It is I" (Luke 24) He didn't become someone else. There will be marriage, just not to each other - but to God. That oneness will put any physical oneness here on earth to shame. (Luke 20). It doesn't mean we won't be even closer to our spouse than we are on earth, it will just be different. Will there be time? Revelation 10:6 in the KJV says "there will be time no longer." The NKJV, plus NIV and ESV translate it "delay." This is apparently where some commentators get the idea that time will not exist. Some suggestions in favor of time in heaven: Coming ages (Eph 2:7) We will serve him night and day (Rev 7:15) Fruit of the Tree of Life every month (Rev 22:2) (many others) Will there be animals in heaven? Isaiah 11:6-9 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. God uses the same Hebrew word for "soul" nephesh for humans and animals. So animals have non-human souls. God rescued them from the flood. Livestock were also given rest on the Sabbath. We are to be stewards of animals (Proverbs 12:10). There could be new animals, or renewed animals that once lived on earth. Even our pets could end up in heaven on the New Earth. What will heaven look like? Calling it the New Earth - it should be familiar, only so much better. How could that be? One analogy to suggest: Did you know that what you see is not what's out there? Humans actually have a very limited ability to "see" the world around us. Birds, for example, see a much wider array of colors than we do. For instance, did you know that the daisy flower has a dark ring encircling the center of the flower? We can't see it because we can't "see" in the UV spectrum of light. So I think it safe to assume that any beauty we have on the present earth will be many many times better on the new earth. But far from sitting on clouds with harps and angel wings - we will have a new earth and a new city to explore, and a universe to serve God in. There will be worship services (Revelation 4, 7) that will blow anything on this earth away. My prayer is that I'll be counted worthy to be a part of the one of the worship teams (we'll probably all be on a worship team for that matter!). Revelation 19:9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God." NIV John 14:1-4 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going." ESV Revelation 2:7 To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' Revelation 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. Revelation 21:10-12 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed Revelation 21:22-27 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day - and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 22:1-5 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. What Will Life Be Like in Heaven? We will eat, drink (maybe even coffee!), learn, move, interact, sing, have jobs, and enjoy-all the good things of earth will be there and even better! But we won't be subject to sin or temptation. 2 Timothy 2:12 We will be rulers with Christ Psalms 16:11-17:1You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalms 17:15As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. Matthew 5:11-12 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 8:10-11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, Hebrews 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 2 Peter 3:13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Revelation 7:15-17 5 "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 shelter them with his presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Isaiah 65:16-18 because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes. "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. Conclusions Heaven is a real physical place that will include a new physical earth that will be much better than the present one. We the redeemed will be there in face to face presence with God the Father. We will have physical bodies that cannot die but are recognizable as us. There will be men and women, possibly animals, but no marriage except to the Lamb. We will live in homes, eat, drink, laugh, sing, work, learn, travel - all the good things that we do on earth, but better, in an existence that is free from sin and temptation in which we can choose to forget the old and enjoy relationships to the fullest without being pressed for time. Much of this study is owed to the work of Randy Alcorn in his book "Heaven." |
>>Show/Hide Comments<<