Creation
God has created many beautiful things. Sometimes, we might wonder if it can get any better than this, but is there more after this life? God wrote a lot about this in His message to us, the Bible, so it seems that it’s something that He really wants us to know. What is waiting for us after this life is over will greatly affect how we live our lives today.
Personalized
In movies, we see many different ideas of what heaven is like. Usually, they will say that it’s whatever a person loves the most. Everyone seems to get their own “personal” heaven.
Religions
People have made up their own religions where “heaven” is their idea of wonderful. Some say that if you are good enough, you can get to a state where you are part of nothing. I suppose that if you live in a very noisy area, that might seem nice.
Others would say that if you fight for that religion, you will get many wives.
Usually, heaven in these religions is for people who have done good things or lived good lives. What does God say about heaven?
Jesus
Jesus said this.
John 14:2-3 (NASB)
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Jesus said that there are many places to live in His Father’s house (God’s house). He said that He was going there to prepare a place for His people. So, we see these things about this scripture.
- There are many dwelling places (so we won’t run out of space or feel cramped).
- Jesus went to prepare this place for His followers.
- He will come back one day and take His followers there.
- Jesus and His followers will be together.
Earthly Bodies
2 Corinthians 5:1-3 (NASB)
1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
- This body in which we live is temporary, like a tent.
- God has prepared a place for us that is eternal — it never goes away.
- It is in the heavens.
- It is so much better than what we have now, it’s like not even having clothes to wear or a place to stay.
Heavenly City
Hebrews 11:16 (NASB)
16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
- Our current country is not permanent.
- God’s country is better.
- It is a heavenly country.
- God is not ashamed of His followers.
- God prepared this city for them.
Works
As we said earlier, most religions say that you have to do certain things to earn a place in heaven. We all know ourselves, though. Do we honestly think that we can be good enough to deserve something as incredible as this heaven that we have been reading about? What does the Bible say?
Romans 3:23 (NASB)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 7:18 (NASB)
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
Ephesians 2:1 (NASB)
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
If we don’t deserve heaven, and we can’t possibly earn it, what can we do?
God’s Mercy
Ephesians 2:4-7 (NASB)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Because of God’s love and mercy, He took our place on the cross. This is not something that we deserved or could possibly earn. It’s a free gift.
Notice that this is past tense. Paul is saying that God already did this. He already entitled us to having a place with Jesus, a place where He will show us “the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Danger
There are dangers that we have to avoid, and challenges that we have to overcome. This life is not easy.
Revelation 3:17-18 (NASB)
17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
There are times that we might be tempted to be satisfied with what we have, thinking that we are doing well. If only we could see things the way that God sees them, we would see things quite differently.
We think we’re rich; God says we are poor.
We think we can see everything clearly; God says that we are blind.
God even tells us that the beautiful clothing of religion that we wear is actually like the emperor’s clothes in the old children’s story. Just because someone tells you that you’re okay doesn’t mean that you are.
My opinion of myself is not accurate.
The opinions of others are not accurate.
Only God’s opinion is real.
If God says that He is my only hope, I can believe Him.
How We Live
As we said earlier, what waits for us after this life will greatly affect how we live our lives. That’s because how we live our lives today greatly affects what happens to us after this life. We can’t earn heaven, but what we do makes a difference.
Matthew 24:41,44-46 (NASB)
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
44 “Then they themselves also will answer, Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?
45 “Then He will answer them, Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.
46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Notice:
- The “eternal fire” was prepared for the devil and his angels.
- The punishment is eternal (never ends).
- The reward (life) is also eternal.
- There is a separation between the two groups.
Lake of Fire
Revelation 20:10,15 (NASB)
10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
As we saw in Matthew 24, this lake of fire and brimstone (sulfur) was created as a punishment for the devil and his angels, not originally for people. If people choose to follow the devil, and not God, they will follow him all the way into eternal, never-ending torment.
Book of Life
If our names are in the Lamb’s book of life, we will be spared that torment, as we see in verse 15 above.
Revelation 3:5 (NASB)
5 He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
This is what we see in this passage.
- There is a way to get our names in the “book of life.”
- It is possible for our names to be erased from this book.
- There is something for us to overcome.
- If we overcome, Jesus will tell His Father and the angels that we belong to Him.
Overcoming
The only way for us to overcome is to depend on Jesus. He overcame death and the grave, because He paid for our sins by His sacrifice. As we have seen, it’s impossible for us to be “good enough” to earn heaven. Jesus had to do it, and He did. All we have to do is worship Him, trust Him, and follow what He tells us to do in the Bible. If we do, He says that we have a new city waiting for us.
New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:1-4 (NASB)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
God is going to wipe out heaven and earth, because we have corrupted it. He is preparing a new Jerusalem, His holy City.
Revelation 21:16 (NASB)
16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.
To put this in perspective, 1500 miles is about the distance from Louisiana to New England. That’s how long, wide, and tall the city is. That leaves plenty of room for everyone who has ever existed.
Light
Revelation 21:22-23, 22:5 (NASB)
22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
We won’t need to go somewhere special to meet with God, because He will always be there with us. We also won’t need the sun or any other light, because God Himself will be there. His glory will be brighter than our own sun.
The Curse is Gone
Revelation 22:1-4 (NASB)
1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;
4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
Everyone needs water to sustain life. God will give us pure water that comes straight from His throne, providing constant, renewing, refreshing, eternal life. There will also be a tree of life that will always be bearing fruit. The curse that we all received when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden is broken. The tree of life, from which they should have been eating, will be there for us.
To show that we are children of God, we will have His name on our foreheads. This will be a constant reminder that we no longer have anything to fear. We are now part of the family of God, and that will never change — for all eternity!
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