What The Bible Says About Heaven
(Text: John 14:1-3)
By: Barry L. Cameron
* Depending on which version of the Scriptures you use, there are between 400-500 references to Heaven.
II Corinthians 12:2, Paul talks about being caught up to the “third heaven.”
* There are actually THREE HEAVENS:
1. The Atmospheric Heaven (1st Heaven)
* The atmosphere above the earth.
* Gen. 7:11-12, “The floodgates of the Heavens were opened.”
2. The Planetary Heaven (2nd Heaven)
* Stars, moon, and the planets
* Gen. 1:14-17
3. The Heaven Where God Lives (3rd Heaven)
* II Cor. 12:2
* This is where God dwells with His holy angels and those saints who have died.
* The FIRST TWO HEAVENS will pass away (II Peter 3:10)
- That’s what Jesus meant when He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)
* Now, when we refer to the THIRD HEAVEN as the place where God lives, we are referring to that as a place of dwelling, not a place of containment.
- God is omnipresent. In other words, He’s so big He can be everywhere at the same time.
I Kings 8:27. Solomon faced this dilemma when he was dedicating the temple he’d built for God.
- He acknowledged the omnipresence of God and how no temple or even all three heavens could contain Him.
* So, when we say that Heaven is God’s dwelling place, we’re not saying that He is contained there.
- It is His home. His headquarters. His throne.
Isaiah 57:15. Here is God’s testimony that He has a real dwelling place.
Isaiah 63:15. Here is Isaiah’s testimony of God’s dwelling.
Psalm 33:13-14. Here is David’s testimony of God’s home.
JESUS’ testimony: Matthew 5:16,34,45; 6:1,9; 7:11,21; 10:32-33; 12:50; 16:17; John 14:1-3.
* So, the place where God dwells is the THIRD HEAVEN, the Heaven of heavens.
* Now, when the curtain is drawn on this present age, the Bible says that God will renovate the heavens and the earth.
II Peter 3:13, “But in keeping with His promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”
* What will happen to the FIRST HEAVEN and the FIRST EARTH? (Revelation 21:1)
II Peter 3:10. God is going to renovate the old heavens and the old earth with fire.
- And He will merge His heaven with a new earth to form a new universe.
* This massive remodeling project has always been the plan of God.
- Isaiah 65:17-19
* This is going to be so great a place, that the FIRST HEAVEN and the FIRST EARTH will pale in significance.
- Isaiah 65:17, “The former things will not be remembered.”
* God promises that this new heaven and new earth will last forever. (Isaiah 66:22)
* In the NEW UNIVERSE, the NEW JERUSALEM will serve as the capitol city, the focus of everything.
* Revelation 21 gives us the details.
NOW, here’s the SETTING:
(1) The Battle of Armageddon has been fought. (Rev. 19)
(2) The earthly, millennial reign of Christ has ended. (Rev. 20:7)
(3) The GREAT WHITE THRONE judgment has taken place and the devil and all those whose names were not found in the BOOK OF LIFE, are sentenced to an eternity in Hell (Rev. 20:10-15)
(4) God’s universal remodeling project takes place with the end result of a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH. (Rev. 21:1)
What Will The NEW HEAVEN And The NEW EARTH Look Like?
* Greek word for “new” is “KAINOS.” Not just “new” but something “different.” (better)
- Same word “KAINOS” used in II Cor. 5:17.
* The NEW EARTH will be familiar.
- Jerusalem will be there. But it will be a NEW JERUSALEM. (Different and better)
- John describes the NEW HOLY CITY having walls, gates and streets.
- He also mentions water, trees, a river and a high mountain.
* While there will be some things similar to this earth, other things will be entirely different (better).
- For instance, Rev. 21:1 says there will be “no more sea.”
- Today, our earth is predominantly water.
* On the NEW EARTH, there will be “no more sea.”
* Some scholars see this as a removal of all national boundaries.
- Others claim the sea represented fear to the ancients, so this is the removal of fear from the earth.
* Regardless, the only water mentioned in the NEW HEAVEN is “the river of the water of life” (Rev. 22:1)
- This river flows right down the main street of the NEW HOLY CITY (Rev. 22:1b-2a)
* The “sea” is not the only missing in the NEW HEAVEN/NEW EARTH.
- Also missing will be: tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain (Rev. 21:4)
Revelation 21:1-2. John sees this magnificent city coming down out of Heaven and becoming a part of the new earth. (Heaven and earth are now one.)
- The Heavenly realm has moved its capitol city intact to the new earth.
- “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.” (Rev. 21:3)
Revelation 21:2. The word “prepared” tells us the NEW JERUSALEM had already been made before the creation of the new heaven and new earth.
Revelation 21:2. “Coming down out of heaven,” tells us this place comes from the “third heaven” Paul talked about.
Who prepared it? Evidently, this is what Jesus was talking about in John 14:1-3.
The description of it: Revelation 21:10-22:6
Revelation 21:12. The city had “a great, high wall with twelve gates.”
- This wall serves no functional purpose. It’s not to keep people out or to keep people in.
- The wall has twelve foundations (vs. 14) named after the twelve apostles.
- The gates are named after the twelve tribes of Israel (vs. 12).
ILL. John MacArthur says:
“The existence of gates implies that people are able to leave and enter the city. Don’t think the city contains us. It will be our home, but we will not be confined there. We will have the infinite universe to travel, and when we do, we will go in and out through those gates.”
How Big Is This City? (Revelation 21:15-16)
* The city is perfectly symmetrical, a massive cube, 1500 miles wide, 1500 miles long, and 1500 miles high.
- Why a cube-shaped city?
- The Holy of Holies in Solomon’s temple was a cube of twenty cubits. (I Kings 6:20)
* The NEW JERUSALEM is the Holy of Holies for eternity.
* According to the measurements of the city, the NEW JERUSALEM covers an area of 2.25 million square miles.
- By comparison, all of greater London is 621 miles. The actual city of London itself is an area of only one square mile with a population of about 5,000.
- On that basis, the NEW JERUSALEM would be able to house over a hundred billion people. * And that doesn't take into account the height of this great new city.
* Heaven will be large enough for the “few” who find the narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14).
* We’ll find out in eternity that the “few” are actually “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.” (Revelation 7:9)
- And Heaven will have room for every one of them.
How far is 1500 miles?
* If you placed the NEW JERUSALEM inside the United States, it would reach from New York to Denver and from Canada to Florida.
I Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
- The delights of Heaven are beyond the scope of our wildest imaginations.
Does A Christian Go Directly To Heaven At Death? YES!
* II Cor. 5:8, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
Will We Have Bodies In Heaven? YES!
* I John 3:2, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
- Jesus had a body in his resurrection.
- We will too!
* Jesus’ resurrected body was the same body, but in a glorified sense.
- The wounds were still visible (John 20:27)
- He could be touched and handled (Luke 24:39)
- He talked with people (Luke 24:13-18)
- He ate real, earthly food (Luke 24:42-43)
* But, he could pass though walls (John 20:19)
* He could appear in different forms so He was not immediately recognizable (Mark 16:12)
* He could suddenly appear out of nowhere (Luke 24:36)
* He could ascend directly into heaven in bodily form (Luke 24:51)
Will We Know Each Other In Heaven? YES!
* I Corinthians 13:12, “Now I know in part; then shall I know fully, even as I am fully known.”
* Matthew 17:1-8, Moses and Elijah appeared with JESUS at the transfiguration.
- Peter, James and John clearly knew who they were.
- We’ll know everyone there when we get there.
What Will We Be Doing In Heaven?
* We won’t sleep because there will be no night there and our bodies will be incapable of being weary, sick or tired.
* We’ll be eating for sure. There’s fruit there.
* We’ll be learning throughout eternity.
* We’ll be singing (Revelation 5:9) and serving (Revelation 22:3)
Some Interesting Verses:
* Matthew 22:23-30
- Matthew 24:37-38
* Isaiah 65:17-25
The Most Important Question Of All? Will you be in Heaven?
Fanny Crosby:
“When my life’s work is ended, and I cross the swelling tide,
When the bright and glorious morning I shall see,
I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side, And His smile will be the first to welcome me...
Thru the gates of the city in a robe of spotless white,
He will lead me where no tears will ever fall;
In the glad song of ages I shall mingle with delight
But I long to meet my Savior first of all.”
* Fanny Crosby was blind. She knew the first person she would ever see would be Jesus.
