1/18/26 “A Biblical View of Heaven”
Revelation 21:1-8
Heaven.
It’s a word that means many different things, to many different people.
Adherents to Hinduism see heaven as a place to enjoy good karma....and eventually... Moksha – a liberation from reincarnation.
Followers of Buddhism view heaven as a place called Nirvana....a transcendent realm where sufferings & rebirth finally cease.
Muslims view heaven as a perfect garden reserved for those who perform enough good works here on earth to appease a god they call Allah.
Atheists – of course - deny the existence of Heaven altogether
Mormons believe in different levels of heaven – in which the highest realm is reserved for couples who become gods and give birth to spirit children who return to earth as babies.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in a heaven where 144,000 people will rule over everyone else in heaven....these 144,000 people, are – of course – Jehovah's Witnesses.
Popular Culture has always been fascinated with the topic of heaven.
Movies like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, ‘City of Angels’, and ‘Bruce Almighty’ are all based upon various conceptions of heaven.
Countless songs over the years have referenced heaven: “Stairway to Heaven’....’Knockin’ on Heaven’s door’... ‘Tears in Heaven’...’Go Rest High on that Mountain’....
I remember when I was a sophomore in High School a song came out called ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’ ....recorded by Belinda Carlisle.
....It had a music video complete with blindfolded dwarfs in trenchcoats just running in place...holding giant globes.....DWARFS IN TRENCHCOATS!
How do you get any cooler than that?
It was a very catchy song....but it had TERRIBLE Theology!
Heaven is most definitely NOT a place here on earth....just turn on the news and you’ll be immediately reminded of that...
Heaven is one of the most misunderstood concepts in our world today....
For instance....We hear stories about sitting on clouds plucking harps
....or trying to persuade St. Peter to let us through the pearly gates
.....or - and this is a big one - believing that our loved ones will sprout wings and transform into angels after they pass on from this world....
....or....I Guess....that we will be surrounded by Trenchcoat wearing dwarfs!
....well.... I think one reason why the world doesn’t comprehend Heaven very well - is because those of us who know what the Bible actually says about heaven.....
....we’ve dropped the ball....we haven’t corrected misconceptions that people have about heaven....
...The world’s ignorance of heaven has gone ‘under our radar’, so to speak.
So, this morning we’re gonna take a few moments to consult the only source that contains the real truth about heaven....that, of course, being - God’s Word.
Before we look at today’s specific passage of scripture from the book of Revelation...
....let’s take a moment to review what the Bible has to say about heaven....leading up to our passage in Revelation.
The most important word in the Old Testament that speaks of the afterlife is the Hebrew word Sheol....some of you might be familiar with that word.
Sheol is used 65 times in the Old Testament....and it describes the general realm of the dead.
It can also be translated as ‘the grave’....but the word sheol carries with it the expectation of consciousness in the afterlife...as opposed to another Hebrew word that simply refers to a non-conscious state of lifelessness.
...and within this place of conscious existence, the Old Testament teaches that there are 2 separate regions.
One region is reserved for the souls of the faithful who are allowed to dwell with God Himself....
But Sheol also consists of another region – completely cut off from the first.
....this area is reserved for the souls of the wicked who experience sorrow and pain.
Now....When the New Testament came along, it was primarily written in Greek....
....and the Hebrew word Sheol got translated to the Greek word ‘Hades’
Sheol – and Hades – are then...essentially...the same thing.
In Luke chapter 16, Jesus tells a very important story regarding the 2 realms within Sheol....or, Hades.
There was a rich and wicked man who eventually dies, and his soul is taken away to the realm of torment within Hades (Sheol)....
The place we would equate with ‘hell’
....while a poor man of faith by the name of Lazarus - who once begged at the rich man’s gate - eventually dies...
....we’re told that he is escorted by angels to “Abraham’s side”....a place used to describe the realm of Hades where spirits of faithful people would reside with God.
Jesus describes how the rich man - in his misery - is able to see Lazarus & Abraham in a place far off in the distance...but he is unable to go there himself.
Jesus describes this great barrier in Hades.... (Speaking as if he were Abraham addressing the rich man):
“And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.” (Luke 16:26)
Some believe that this story of Jesus is describing fictitious characters....while others – like myself – tend to believe that these two individuals were indeed real people....especially since Jesus describes Lazarus by name....
But in either case, the lesson concerning Hades (Sheol) remains the same....
2 regions are described.
One is a region of bliss....while the other is a region of torment.
We also notice that both the rich man – and Lazarus – are fully conscious after death.
This lends support to the idea that immediately upon death, we as believers will be ushered directly into the presence of our savior.
When Pual writes in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be “Away from the body means to be at home with the Lord”....this clearly indicates that we will indeed be fully conscious the moment after we die....
Over the years, I’ve read numerous books that detail the accounts of people who have had what are called ‘Near Death Experiences’...NDE’s for short...
....people who’ve clinically died – they have no pulse or lung function – but then are resuscitated....
There are some NDE stories that I’m very skeptical of ....
I’m skeptical of them because what’s being relayed by the individual does not square with what the bible says about heaven....
But then there are some NDE accounts that are quite convincing....
....especially when the revived individual is able to relay information about specific things happening while they were medically ‘dead’
I remember reading about one such account where - after the revived individual regained consciousness - they immediately asked about a car crash that they saw take place a few blocks from the hospital....
....the medical people looked into it, and sure enough, there had been a crash earlier that day during the exact time that the patient was on the operating table...
...and the revived person described the crash in vivid detail....right down to the color and make of the vehicles...
It’s difficult to argue against the validity of documented cases such as these
But....When dealing with NDE’s, we need to rely upon the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our assessment of these stories...
If the individual’s account.... in ANY WAY....does not match up with scripture.....you know – without a doubt – that it's a false claim....end of story.
But – at the very least – NDE accounts that seem to be legit ought to encourage all of us that there is indeed a spiritual realm that we will enter upon our physical death.....
..... and entering that realm will either be an inexpressibly wonderful experience....or it will be one of inexpressible horror.
Another aspect about the afterlife that we learn from the story of Lazarus and the rich man is that the eternal destiny of both of these individuals was irrevocably fixed....neither was able to go to where the other was taken.
This puts to rest any unbiblical idea having to do with some sort of ‘second chance’ for salvation after we die....
Made up doctrines – such as purgatory – have no biblical basis whatsoever...
The idea of Purgatory – where deceased souls have an opportunity to shake off enough sin to enter heaven - is nothing but spiritual wishful thinking that has no support in scripture.
In fact, the writer of Hebrews states: “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.....” (Hebrews 9:27-28)
The bookends of your life are your first breath and your final breath....it is between those 2 breaths that your life will be judged....
....and the basis of that judgement will be whether you ever accepted Jesus Christ at some point between those two breaths.
M.R. DeHaan put it like this: “Once we have passed through the door of death, we can’t pick up our suitcase and move out because we don’t like the accommodations.”
Adding to that, Erwin Lutzer states: “One minute after we die, we will be either elated or terrified....and it will be too late to reroute our travel plans.”
So we have this dual-compartment reality of the afterlife described in the Old Testament as Sheol....then translated as Hades in the New Testament....
But what about this word ‘Heaven’ that we use all the time today....?
I mean....Our second worship song from this morning wasn’t called ‘Hymn of Sheol’.....or ‘Hymn of Hades’....It was called ‘Hymn of Heaven’...right?
So, where does the word ‘Heaven’ come from?
Well...I’m so glad you asked! 😊
After Jesus’ ascension in the book of Acts, the early church writers such as Paul and Peter – inspired by the Holy Spirit - began to refer to the dwelling place of God as a separate realm altogether from that of Sheol, or Hades...
In other words, the Old Testament compartment of Sheol known as ‘Abraham’s Bosom’ - the place where Jesus described Lazarus as being - would now come to be referred to as the place where God made His dwelling...
...a place Paul refers to as the ‘Third Heaven’
2 Corinthians 12: 2-4 reads “I know a man (Describing himself) who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. And I know that this man – whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows – was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.”
When Paul wrote these words 2,000 years ago, the ‘1st’ heaven was used to described the earth’s atmosphere....
The ‘2nd’ heaven described the observable universe, filled with planets & stars...
But the ‘3rd’ heaven was used to refer to the dwelling place of God himself...
A spiritual place – or dimension - now described as being ‘above’ rather than ‘below’
....a separate place from hades altogether.
...Hades now became synonymous with the word ‘hell’....a place where souls lacking faith in Jesus were assigned upon death...
So this 3rd Heaven that Paul was told not to describe in detail....
...It now brings us to the book of Revelation....where - this time - John is given permission - actually, commanded – to describe what he sees and hears in this 3rd Heaven.
What John is describing in our passage for today is actually what theologians refer to as the eternal state....
....the existence with God that many of us naturally think of when we consider the word ‘Heaven’
....It is when time itself becomes irrelevant for us because eternity has begun.
You won’t need to wear a watch in the eternal state....time will no longer be something that constrains you...
....in fact, I don’t think time will even exist as we know it today.
Remember the opening words to the song “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder?”.... “When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and TIME shall be no more.”
Scientific inquiry has revealed that the fabric of time – along with space and matter - had a beginning....and it will someday have an end.
Personally....I’m looking forward to living in a dimension that transcends time!....No more sagging body parts, no more memory problems...no more wrinkles....
....no more monthly bills....months won’t even exist....days won’t exist....hours won’t exist...you will exist....but time will not.
Try to wrap your head around that one! 😊
....No more hair club for men....or age-defying skincare products for women...ladies, can I get an Amen?
In verse 1 (Revelation 21:1) of our passage for today, John describes a new heaven and a new earth.....
....This would be after the 1,000-year millennium...which follows the 7-year tribulation period – a time that is described in great detail in the book of Revelation...
What John is talking about in chapters 21 & 22 of Revelation occurs after the final events of human history take place....and all of the judgements have been completed.
If human history were compared to a football game....the events of Revelation 21 & 22 would be taking place after the game is over....after the clock runs out in the 4th quarter....
Time is up.....literally.
We read in these verses that God does something amazing here...
He re-creates everything....
He brings into existence a new heaven....and a new earth.
You might be thinking....I can understand why there would need to be a new earth, with all of the sin and decay we see around us....but a new heaven?
Why a new heaven?
Well....if you recall...at some point in the ancient past, sin was found in the mighty angel Lucifer....and sin was committed by a third of the angels who – along with Lucifer - rebelled against God....
You know the rest of the story....Lucifer is consigned to the earth as Satan....he goes on to deceive Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden...
....we all inherit that sin of Adam – along with the physical death & decay that it produces...
Look at that....we're back to wrinkly skin and crow’s feet again!
But, even more devastating than physical death, the sin that we all inherit from Adam will also result in our own spiritual death....
....that is, unless we repent of our sins and submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ at some point in our life.
Jesus is the only path to salvation. Period.
He is THE way, THE truth, THE life.... NO one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)
Acts 4:12 says “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
As difficult as it is to hear...every single one of us born on a trajectory toward hell....unless - by grace through faith - the reigns of our life are turned over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
So, there will be a brand-new heaven....and a brand-new earth.
John then goes on to describe some of the distinct features within this new dimension of existence...
He describes a city coming down from heaven that is – apparently – suspended above the new earth....
He calls this the new Jerusalem....a perfect cube that measures 1,500 miles in length, width, and height.
That’s one big city!
1,500 miles is like from here to Miami, FL....and as tall as it is wide and deep!
1,500 miles high would reach far past the earth’s atmosphere...in fact, it would reach about six times higher than the international space station!
Some have asked why God would design the city in such a way as to represent a perfect cube....we don’t know for certain....but I have an idea.
Remember the Holy of Holies within the tabernacle?
The place where it was said that God’s Spirit dwelt the most intensely upon the entire earth ....
Well, the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle – and in Solomon’s temple - was always a perfect cube....it was the same distance in width, length, and height.
10 cubits wide, 10 cubits deep, and 10 cubits high...
Look at verse 3 (Revelation 21:3) of our passage for today describing the new Jerusalem...
...it reads “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them.”
Now....that may be just a coincidence that we see in scripture....but I think It’s more than that....I believe that the New Jerusalem will also be the new Holy of Holies....Where God Himself will interact with the people of heaven.
Where God will dwell with all of His redeemed.....for all of eternity
Then we have Verse 4 (Revelation 21:4)
Verse 4 is undoubtedly one of the most comforting verses in all of scripture.
In heaven, there will be no more death....no more disease....no more crying....no more pain....
A question that commonly comes up is: Do people in heaven remember their lives on earth?
...and, if so, won’t we grieve loved ones who are not with us in heaven?
Those are great questions....
Personally, I believe that we will remember our lives on earth....and that we will recognize family members in heaven...
In the synoptic gospels, we read about the transfiguration of Jesus where Moses and Elijah appear alongside of Jesus....
Peter, James, and John instinctively know who Moses and Elijah are...even though they lived centuries apart from each other....
In terms of grieving a loved one who is absent from heaven....there’s no easy answer to that question – other than to take scripture at its word....that there will literally will be no sorrow in heaven....it will be a place of perfect contentment and joy.
Simply put....Grieving will not be a part of the heavenly experience....how God causes that to happen...only He knows.
In the remainder of chapter 21, John goes on to describe other aspects of heaven:
The new Jerusalem – made of all sorts of precious metals and jewels - will have 12 gates....with each containing a name of one of the 12 tribes of Israel....
It will also contain a wall with 12 foundations....with each foundation containing a name of one of the 12 apostles...
In verse 22 (Revelation 21:22) we are told that there will be no Temple because the Father and the Son ARE its temple...
Verse 23 (Revelation 21:23) describes a place where no sunlight is needed because God will be its light....a light infinitely greater than anything emanating from a cosmic star....
There will be no ocean....there will be no night....there will be no impurities....there will be no sin....there will be no injustice....
There will be a crystal-clear river flowing from the throne of God....straddled on each side by the tree of life...
This tree should sound familiar....it made an appearance way back in the beginning of the Bible....
If you recall...In the Garden of Eden...It was the tree of life that Adam and Eve ate from that kept them ageless and healthy
Now it reappears in the eternal state to give its immortal fruit to the inhabitants of heaven... those whose names are in the Lamb’s book of life...
Interestingly enough....I’ve also read a few commentaries suggesting that right beside the tree of life....there will be a heavenly Culver’s....but with Pepsi products rather than Coke....where the flavor of the day is always Cookie Dough Craving....and where the ketchup dispensers never run dry.... 😊
....All joking aside.
Heaven will be an existence that simply defies our ability to describe it...it will be more beautiful and joyful than we can possibly imagine....
....but...you must have a relationship with Jesus in order to someday experience this eternal dimension of paradise....
You must know him – not only on an academic level – but on a relational, heart-based level as well.
If you have yet to fully and completely submit to the Lordship of Jesus in your life...
Please – PLEASE - do it today!!
If you are unsure of what that involves, see myself, or one of the deacons after the service....
....we will gladly take you through the biblical steps of what it means to become a follower of Jesus Christ...
I guarantee you....It will be the most important decision that you will ever make.
...And when you do....heaven will be waiting.
Let’s Pray.
