Is There a Place Called Heaven
Revelation 21

This morning we will deal with wonderful truths concerning Heaven. This evening we will take up the awful and fearful doctrine of eternal punishment -- Hell.

First, the glorious doctrine of Heaven. The Bible avers:

"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He wil dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.' Then He who sat on the throne said "Behold, I make all things new.' And He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.' And He said to me, 'It is done!' I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.' Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gats on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed; twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; ad the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ningth topaz, the tenth chrysophrase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls; each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, of the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.' Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." Revelation 21 (New King James Version)

This is not the first vision of the New Heavens and the New Earth. Isaiah also prophesied that this created order will be radically changed when Jesus comes.

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind . . . No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed . . . The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox. And dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, says the Lord." Is 65: 1, 29, 25

And this idea of a city, we have met before.

"By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac, and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Hebrews 11:3-10

The Root of Our Troubles

One of the things we meet when we deal biblical view of Heaven is how literal it is described. It is a place -- "I go to prepare a place for you." The Greek there for place is "topos." We get the word topographical map from this word. It is a place. It has gates. It has streets. It has walls.

We have been so affected by Greek philosophies that it is difficult for us to understand Heaven as a place. We think of it as a state of mind or a condition of the soul. We think of it as outside of space and time.

God is not like that. He describes Heaven in the most literal of terms.

I want to ask you, what is the perfect state for mankind? When did man ever live in a perfect state? You will tell me it was before man sinned in the Garden of Eden. Man had a body, but he did not grow old or get sick. He ate from the garden, but did not grow fat or have indigestion. It was not a state of mind or a plane of existence outside of time and space. Well, Heaven is the perfect place for mankind and it will be just as literal as the Garden of Eden.

Will we eat in Heaven? I have no doubt about it. Are we not invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb?

Will there be animals in Heaven? This world and the heavens above us are to be made new. I have no doubts about it.

I believe it was the great theologian and Bible scholar, Albert Barnes, who was asked if thought there would be dogs in heaven. Barnes said "Yes, but not your dog." He then explained that animals do not have eternal souls, so there will be dogs but not your dog. Then he said "But as for cats, I refer you to my sermon on Hell." I guess he didn't like cats!

The Intermediate State

Now, when do we enter Heaven? Do we enter Heaven immediately upon death or do we enter after the resurrection?

Some teach a doctrine called "soul sleep." This is the view that the soul in unconscious between death and the resurrection. And the Bible does often describe that time, which we call the "intermediary state," as a time of sleep. Let me give you two examples:

"Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:51

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 4:14

The Bible, however, is clear that at the moment of death the saved go immediately on to Heaven. Lazarus went immediately went to heaven while the rich man went to torment. Jesus told the thief on the cross "This day you shall be with me in Paradise." Paul said absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5 You will recall that Paul went up there. He was caught up into Paradise. While he was there he was conscious and heard inexpressible words. 2 Corinthians 12.

Why then does the Bible use the term "sleep." Its so simple, don't miss it. Death is called "sleep" because the body is resting, not the soul. The soul is active and engaged. The soul is at home with the Lord. It is the body that is laid in the ground that is asleep, awaiting the coming of the Lord.

Who is in Heaven

First, the Lord will be there. The great black preacher John Jaspers had a sermon on his first few days in Heaven. He said an angel was going to meet him and tell him that he had a fine mansion in heaven, "don't you want to see it?" "Yes sir, I do want to see that mansion, but first I want to see my Jesus." Then the angel will say "we have Moses and Paul and Peter here. Don't you want to see them?" He said "Yes sir, I do want to see them, but first I want to see my Jesus" Then he will be told about his crown all bedecked with jewels, "Don't you want to see your crown?" "Yes sir, I do want to see my crown, but first I want to see Jesus." O Heaven would be just another fancy joint without Jesus, but Jesus will be there to great us and say "well done thou good and faithful servant."

Second, the angelic host will be there. The regular angels, those which did not fall with Lucifer will be there. The ruling angels, known as the
Archangels will be there -- two are named, Michael and Gabriel. Then the Cherubim and Seraphim will be there. These are special angels who guard the throne and the holiness of God. They have not ceased to cry out "Holy, Holy Holy," since God created them. Then the Elders will be there. These are God's servants around His throne.

Third, all of the redeemed will be there. All of them, not those just of our little group. Have you ever heard of the beatific vision? It is the way that we will be changed immediately upon our sight of the Lord. The Bible says that when we see Him we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. Paul said that now we see through a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Then we shall know just as also we are known. I believe that when we have the beatific vision we will have greater understanding of the struggles of others and all that separated God's children down here shall melt away up there.

There will not be a Methodist section and a Baptist section and a Pentecostal section. There will be the angels, the seraphim, the elders and the redeemed -- and according to the word of God, that's all.

John Wesley was an Arminian. He believed in free will and he believed that you could fall away from grace. George Whitefield was a high Calvininst. He believed in election and the security of all believers. He and Wesley were close friends. One day a fellow Calvinist asked Mr. Whitefield if he thought he would see John Wesley in Heaven. "No," said Whitefield. "He will be far closer to the throne of God than I shall ever be." In Heaven, many of the things that divide us here will be meaningless there. We will wonder what all the fuss was about!

What is Not in Heaven

We cannot grasp Heaven for what it is. It is too grand, too glorious, for us to understand what Heaven is. Therefore God tells us what it is not.

No sea -- V. 2 The sea refers to separation. John was the pastor of the church at Ephesus, but at this time he was banished to the Isle of Patmos -- a rugged little island across the Aegean Sea. Every time he looked at that sea it reminded him of how it separated him from the church he loved so well. There will be no separation in Heaven.

Furthermore, there will be no:
No tears -- V 4
No death
No pain
No low companions -- V. 8, 27
No temple -- V. 22
No insecurity -- V. 25

It enough for me that He promised that it would be a land of no tears. That’s great, but He also said it would be a land of no death. That means there will be no cancer, no heart attacks or stroke, no accidents. It is greater still that he said it is a place where you don't have to lock your doors at night. Greater still is it that He said that there will be no temple, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. That's the best of all.

God Plants the Desire in Our Hearts

As we grow closer to the Lord, Heaven gets dearer to us.

There is an old joke about a preacher who was preaching on Heaven. He got sort of excited and told the congregation that if they wanted to go to Heaven, raise their hand. Everyone raised their hand except Deacon Jones. "Deacon Jones, don't you want to go to Heaven?" "Yes, I do, but I thought that maybe you were getting up a load to go right now."

You know, I used to think like Deacon Jones, but I am getting to think more and more like that old preacher.

I love my wife and my children. They are the great joy of my life. But I have more family in Heaven than I do on earth. My grandparents are all over there. My father's been there sixteen years. My mother's been there two years. As time goes by, it's getting to where I know more people in Heaven than I do on Earth.

God uses life to give us a yearning, a preparation, for Heaven.

I once read a story about a Louisiana farmer who had some tame ducks. One day he caught a Mallard, a wild, duck. He tied a string to its little duck leg so it couldn't fly away. For awhile the beautiful Mallard duck was content to quack and waddle and swim around the pone. Soon a warm wind blew in and flocks of Mallard ducks began there migration to the north. That little Mallard duck looked up to the sky and looked at them the way ducks do -- first one eye and then the other. Something in him said he had to fly, he had to soar, he had to go on to another place. Every time he flew, the string pulled him down. Eventually the string broke and made his way to his northern home.

I had a great aunt who I loved. Her real name was Emma Moore, but we all called her Auntie. What a wonderful woman she was. She went into the nursing home and stayed there for quite a few years before she died. Anytime someone would show her a little attention she would tell them that she had written a song (she didn't really write it, but we played along with her Alzheimer disease). She would sing:

This world is not my home
I'm just a passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from Heaven's open Door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

And that's the way it is with Heaven. God has written it on your heart. Perhaps God has put Heaven on your heart today. You're not sure that if you were to die today that you would go to Heaven. Today you can leave this place knowing that you have a mansion reserved for you bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. Some of you have loved ones on your hearts. You want them to go to Heaven. You're concerned about their soul. Would you pray for them? Would you ask the Holy Spirit to do His convicting work upon their hearts so that they might be saved? Some of you may just want someone to pray for you. This invitation is for you. Some of you may feel the Lord tugging at your heart saying "This is the place for you. I want you to be a part of this fellowship." Whatever your need, you come as we sing.