Present Heaven New Heaven
2 Corinthians 5:8
Message #41
We started this mini-series on Heaven with one very big truth: “Heaven is Real.” And we tried hard to begin to shake up any possible misconceptions we might have about Heaven. The last message was about the Real New Earth and our Real New Bodies, and we were trying to get a better picture of the realness of eternity.
But there is one thing that we haven’t talked about yet, and it begins with questions like these.
When do we go to the Eternal Heaven?
Are there saved people there now?
Do they have their resurrected bodies now?
And if they are not in the Eternal Heaven now, then where are they?
So, today, let’s get a better grasp on the Present Heaven and the Eternal Heaven.
Turn over to 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NLT)
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
If your Bible uses the word “sleep” here, it is a euphemism for the word “died.” A euphemism is “an indirect expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or unpleasant.”
Paul says We want you to KNOW what has happened to the believers who have died - so that you don’t grieve, like people who have NO HOPE.
This verse is talking about Believers who have died in Christ before the Rapture and God wants you to know what happens to those Believers.
Here’s the important distinction. When a Believer dies today, they go immediately to Heaven. That Heaven is what we are calling the “Present Heaven.” Then, the “Heaven” we are studying in Revelation Chapters 21 and 22 is most often called “the Eternal Heaven.”
Are they both Heaven? – YES!
Are there differences? – YES!
But they are both Heaven, which is primarily defined as “the place where God dwells.” And God currently dwells in the Present Heaven, and God will certainly dwell in the Eternal Heaven.
The Bible teaches when a Believer dies, they go immediately to be with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8 (NLT)
8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
The NKJV says here [We would] rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
For a Believer, being absent from the body is being present with the Lord. And that being “immediately present” with the Lord is what we are referring to as “the Present Heaven.” What we call Heaven today IS the place where God dwells (definition of Heaven) and it is the place where Believers go the moment they die, and there is a new Eternal Heaven coming that all Believers will enjoy forever with the Lord.
But the Present Heaven is Heaven because the Lord is there, and because the Lord is there, it is far better than being here.
Paul says this in Philippians.
Philippians 1:23–24 (NLT)
23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
Paul knows as soon as he dies, he’s going to be with the Lord in Heaven, which he knows is far better (for him) than being here.
Now, this Present Heaven/Eternal Heaven distinction often brings up the question of purgatory, so let’s talk a minute about that because there are so many people who have been influenced by the Catholic Church. I often read the Official Catholic Theology website catholic.com. On the doctrine of purgatory, in one place on the official Catholic website, it says, The Catholic Church defines purgatory as “a purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven . . .” and in another place on catholic.org God wants us to be perfect. (When the Bible uses the word perfect, it means “complete” or “mature.”) If we are not perfected by the time we die, we will be perfected in purgatory. Both of those statements directly contradict the Bible’s perfectly clear teaching that we receive the righteousness of Christ through faith in him alone – with no works added.
The idea that someone could become “more perfected” for Heaven by being in purgatory than they can by “through faith in Jesus Christ” cannot (in any way) be supported by scripture. The Bible says we receive our righteousness through faith in Christ alone because he died for our sins. When we put our faith in him, Romans 6 says, we are so identified with Christ that what he’s done becomes what we’ve done. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that he became our sin in order to pay the full penalty for it, and then he gave us freely the righteousness of God in Christ. Ephesians 2:8- 10 also – I could go on forever. We receive faith through Christ alone, and it is through his work that we enter Heaven. And if we were to say that we have to go somewhere and somehow perform some “thing” in order to get more perfect, then that means Christ is not enough and that we complete our work of salvation—what a sad, sad thing.
In the end, purgatory is one of many doctrines in the Catholic Church that is clearly based on church history and church tradition. Here’s how they do it: they start with a doctrine. The doctrine of purgatory really started around 600 AD, which is a long time after the Bible was written. It really became ingrained in the church in the Middle Ages, 1100 AD or so. They now have a doctrine they now have to defend. They start with the doctrine. They don’t start with the Bible. An honestly, our friends of the Reformation – Calvinists – do the same thing. They start with a doctrine. And then, they force scripture to support their church’s historical doctrine – which is exactly how so many religions use the Bible to support their doctrines that are not actually in the Bible.
There is no place in the Bible where it says you have to achieve a higher level of perfection to get into Heaven. It’s not there. But catholic.com does support the doctrine of purgatory with scripture. They point to a scripture, and then, with complex explanations, they explain how that scripture is actually speaking of purgatory. I see this a lot, do you? If the normal person can’t pick up the Bible and read a section (which is how it was written in normal Koine Greek, street level, street language Greek) and get that doctrine, then someone else has made that doctrine and is using that doctrine to try to substantiate their doctrine. We have to be so careful, which is why I always say, this could be this, this could be that, because if it’s not clear in the Bible, I’m not going to make it clear to you. So, watch out for those complex explanations that convince you that a scripture in the Bible doesn’t mean what it says.
However, does the Bible talk plainly about a Present Heaven that will one day become the Eternal Heaven? Absolutely! So, let’s look at some of those scriptures. We’ve already seen two scriptures from the New Testament that clearly refer to a Present Heaven where Believers go immediately when they die.
Now, let’s go back to the Gospels – turn to Luke Chapter 23. Jesus is on the Cross, and there are two thieves beside him. Why are two thieves on Calvary with Jesus? Because they both deserve death. They both had lived a life that deserved capital punishment, which means probably murder involved, something really serious. And they were both put there by God so that we could see that there are none righteous, not one. And at the last moment, one of those thieves made a decision that put him in Heaven that same day.
Luke 23:42–43 (NLT)
42 . . . “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” (You guys know there is no salvation prayer in the Bible. What you do find, are expressions of faith. And this is an expression of faith. It’s an acknowledgment of who Jesus is. It’s an acknowledgment of faith that he’s the Messiah and that he IS going to be coming into a Kingdom and a desire to be there.)
43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This word, translated as “paradise” here, is a word used in the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, to refer to the Garden of Eden, where God dwelt with Man. The word Paradise is often used to refer to the Present Heaven, and Jesus says, “Today -you will be there with me.”
Let’s look at another one. Turn over to Luke Chapter 16 – the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
Some say this IS a parable
Some say this is NOT a parable
If it is a parable, then Jesus used it to make one major point. And so, you don’t dissect parables; you look for that one major point. If so, this is an awesome parable. I’d say about half of the evangelical scholars say this is not a parable. Instead, it is an actual teaching event, which means we can dissect it. I’m going to do a little bit of both because it’s not clear whether Jesus meant it to be a parable or not.
But in either case we can get an idea here of what the Present Heaven is like.
Luke 16:19–31 (NLT)
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury.
20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.
21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet (aka - Abraham’s Bosom). The rich man also died and was buried,
23 and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.
26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home.
28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
So, what can we learn from this teaching from Jesus?
1) There IS a PLACE where those who die go instantly
2) It is a place of CONSCIOUS Existence
2) There is Either Comfort - or Torment there
3) There is NO Switching Places - and NO Crossing Over
Some of the other things this scripture possibly indicates are (if this is more teaching than parable):
1) We will be Recognizable - Retaining our Names
2) We will be able to Communicate
3) We will have knowledge of HOW we lived on Earth
4) We will have concern for those on earth we’ve left
I say “possibly” on some of those things because IF this scripture was meant to be a parable, then parables are meant to teach one main point. And I hope you can see the one main point here is – Be on the right side of this chasm when this day comes for you.
Let’s look at another one. In Acts Chapter 7, the martyr (Stephen) is about to be stoned by the Jewish religious teachers.
Acts 7:55–56 (NLT)
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
56 And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”
Here, God opens the Present Heaven to Stephen, and Stephen sees Jesus in his glorified body standing at the right hand of God. The fact that Stephen recognizes Jesus is significant and that Jesus is standing (not floating) is significant, and clearly, the Lord was showing Stephan where he was about to go.
Let’s look at another one. One of our favorite places in Israel is in Caesarea Philippi, which is awesomely portrayed in The Chosen, season four, by the way. At the base of Mt. Hermon on a huge rock – and Caesarea Philippi is actually built out of a huge rock. This time on the Mt. of Transfiguration with Jesus.
Luke 9:28–32 (NLT)
28 . . . Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. (Mt. of Transfiguration)
9 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.
30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus.
31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.
It’s safe to say Moses and Elijah (representative of the Law and the Prophets) are definitely in the Present Heaven. Here, they appear glorious to see, and somehow, the Disciples recognize them. They are talking with Jesus regarding what’s about to happen, a current event. This is a huge scripture regarding “relationships in Heaven” because we can clearly see Moses, Elijah, and Jesus IN relationship.
And so, that is a glimpse into some of what the Present Heaven is like. So now, let’s talk about the Eternal Heaven. But first, before the Eternal Heaven begins, those who have died “in Christ” will receive their resurrected and glorified bodies.
Let’s turn back to 1 Thessalonians 4.
1 Thessalonians 4:14–18 (NLT)
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
18 So encourage each other with these words.
Encourage each other with the knowledge of Heaven. This life may feel like real life – it’s not; it’s a vapor. The Eternal Heaven is real life because it lasts a lot longer than this life. Verse 14 says God will bring with him the Believers who have died, meaning they are already WITH him. They will get their resurrection bodies first. Then Believers who are still alive will be caught up (raptured) to join them, and together we will meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore, encourage one another with these words.
So, at this point
Believers who are already with the Lord
and Believers who have now been raptured
All have their resurrected and glorified bodies.
And we place that event, the Rapture, at Revelation Chapter 4 at the beginning of the Tribulation. It is called pre-tribulation. (Other people place the Rapture at different places – it’s okay! They still get to go to Heaven.) And then, the seven-year Tribulation is followed by the Millennium (1,000 years), and the Millennium is followed by the Eternal Heaven.
And so, now comes the Eternal Heaven of which the New Earth is an integral part. This is when all Resurrected Believers will be living forever in a resurrected universe with God and with one another. So, all Believers, the Earth, and the Universe are all resurrected, glorified, and perfected, and God dwells with us.
Let’s go back to Revelation 21 to close. These three verses are the creation of the Eternal Heaven.
Revelation 21:1–3 (NLT)
1 Then I saw a new heaven (this word heaven is not the word where God exists; that word is our atmosphere and our stellar space – which is massive)and a new earth, for the old heaven (again, not the place where God dwells, but our heaven) and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.
2 And I saw the holy city (this is where God dwells), the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven (the heaven where God exists) like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is noiw among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. (those are all relational statements)
Again, these three verses are the creation of the Eternal Heaven in which all Believers will live with God and with one another for eternity. In verse 1, the New Heaven (our atmosphere and space) and the New Earth are created. And then, in verse 2, the Holy City (the dwelling place of God) comes down into the New Heaven and New Earth. God has always done it since the Garden of Eden. God comes to man. We don’t work our way to God. We don’t achieve or attain our position with God. God comes to us, even in the Eternal Heaven.
And verse 3 says, Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. God is coming down to a New Earth to dwell with a resurrected people that he loves, just like God came down to the original earth he created to dwell with Adam and Eve.
The earth and our atmosphere and space will all be restored to the perfection God originally created it all to be, and the relationship God created Mankind to have with him will be restored to the perfection he originally created our relationship with him to be. God created you for relationship with him in the perfect, glorious creation he made for us. And God has a perfect plan to spend eternity with us in a restored Eternal Heaven and Eternal Earth.
Guys, the more you can grasp of what God has in store for you in Heaven, the less you will be chained to this world.
So, take hold of what God has planned for you. Start your relationship with Jesus Christ now so that he can start preparing a place for you to be with him for eternity.
But there is one thing that we haven’t talked about yet, and it begins with questions like these.
When do we go to the Eternal Heaven?
Are there saved people there now?
Do they have their resurrected bodies now?
And if they are not in the Eternal Heaven now, then where are they?
So, today, let’s get a better grasp on the Present Heaven and the Eternal Heaven.
Turn over to 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NLT)
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
If your Bible uses the word “sleep” here, it is a euphemism for the word “died.” A euphemism is “an indirect expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or unpleasant.”
Paul says We want you to KNOW what has happened to the believers who have died - so that you don’t grieve, like people who have NO HOPE.
This verse is talking about Believers who have died in Christ before the Rapture and God wants you to know what happens to those Believers.
Here’s the important distinction. When a Believer dies today, they go immediately to Heaven. That Heaven is what we are calling the “Present Heaven.” Then, the “Heaven” we are studying in Revelation Chapters 21 and 22 is most often called “the Eternal Heaven.”
Are they both Heaven? – YES!
Are there differences? – YES!
But they are both Heaven, which is primarily defined as “the place where God dwells.” And God currently dwells in the Present Heaven, and God will certainly dwell in the Eternal Heaven.
The Bible teaches when a Believer dies, they go immediately to be with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8 (NLT)
8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.
The NKJV says here [We would] rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
For a Believer, being absent from the body is being present with the Lord. And that being “immediately present” with the Lord is what we are referring to as “the Present Heaven.” What we call Heaven today IS the place where God dwells (definition of Heaven) and it is the place where Believers go the moment they die, and there is a new Eternal Heaven coming that all Believers will enjoy forever with the Lord.
But the Present Heaven is Heaven because the Lord is there, and because the Lord is there, it is far better than being here.
Paul says this in Philippians.
Philippians 1:23–24 (NLT)
23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
Paul knows as soon as he dies, he’s going to be with the Lord in Heaven, which he knows is far better (for him) than being here.
Now, this Present Heaven/Eternal Heaven distinction often brings up the question of purgatory, so let’s talk a minute about that because there are so many people who have been influenced by the Catholic Church. I often read the Official Catholic Theology website catholic.com. On the doctrine of purgatory, in one place on the official Catholic website, it says, The Catholic Church defines purgatory as “a purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven . . .” and in another place on catholic.org God wants us to be perfect. (When the Bible uses the word perfect, it means “complete” or “mature.”) If we are not perfected by the time we die, we will be perfected in purgatory. Both of those statements directly contradict the Bible’s perfectly clear teaching that we receive the righteousness of Christ through faith in him alone – with no works added.
The idea that someone could become “more perfected” for Heaven by being in purgatory than they can by “through faith in Jesus Christ” cannot (in any way) be supported by scripture. The Bible says we receive our righteousness through faith in Christ alone because he died for our sins. When we put our faith in him, Romans 6 says, we are so identified with Christ that what he’s done becomes what we’ve done. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that he became our sin in order to pay the full penalty for it, and then he gave us freely the righteousness of God in Christ. Ephesians 2:8- 10 also – I could go on forever. We receive faith through Christ alone, and it is through his work that we enter Heaven. And if we were to say that we have to go somewhere and somehow perform some “thing” in order to get more perfect, then that means Christ is not enough and that we complete our work of salvation—what a sad, sad thing.
In the end, purgatory is one of many doctrines in the Catholic Church that is clearly based on church history and church tradition. Here’s how they do it: they start with a doctrine. The doctrine of purgatory really started around 600 AD, which is a long time after the Bible was written. It really became ingrained in the church in the Middle Ages, 1100 AD or so. They now have a doctrine they now have to defend. They start with the doctrine. They don’t start with the Bible. An honestly, our friends of the Reformation – Calvinists – do the same thing. They start with a doctrine. And then, they force scripture to support their church’s historical doctrine – which is exactly how so many religions use the Bible to support their doctrines that are not actually in the Bible.
There is no place in the Bible where it says you have to achieve a higher level of perfection to get into Heaven. It’s not there. But catholic.com does support the doctrine of purgatory with scripture. They point to a scripture, and then, with complex explanations, they explain how that scripture is actually speaking of purgatory. I see this a lot, do you? If the normal person can’t pick up the Bible and read a section (which is how it was written in normal Koine Greek, street level, street language Greek) and get that doctrine, then someone else has made that doctrine and is using that doctrine to try to substantiate their doctrine. We have to be so careful, which is why I always say, this could be this, this could be that, because if it’s not clear in the Bible, I’m not going to make it clear to you. So, watch out for those complex explanations that convince you that a scripture in the Bible doesn’t mean what it says.
However, does the Bible talk plainly about a Present Heaven that will one day become the Eternal Heaven? Absolutely! So, let’s look at some of those scriptures. We’ve already seen two scriptures from the New Testament that clearly refer to a Present Heaven where Believers go immediately when they die.
Now, let’s go back to the Gospels – turn to Luke Chapter 23. Jesus is on the Cross, and there are two thieves beside him. Why are two thieves on Calvary with Jesus? Because they both deserve death. They both had lived a life that deserved capital punishment, which means probably murder involved, something really serious. And they were both put there by God so that we could see that there are none righteous, not one. And at the last moment, one of those thieves made a decision that put him in Heaven that same day.
Luke 23:42–43 (NLT)
42 . . . “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” (You guys know there is no salvation prayer in the Bible. What you do find, are expressions of faith. And this is an expression of faith. It’s an acknowledgment of who Jesus is. It’s an acknowledgment of faith that he’s the Messiah and that he IS going to be coming into a Kingdom and a desire to be there.)
43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This word, translated as “paradise” here, is a word used in the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, to refer to the Garden of Eden, where God dwelt with Man. The word Paradise is often used to refer to the Present Heaven, and Jesus says, “Today -you will be there with me.”
Let’s look at another one. Turn over to Luke Chapter 16 – the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
Some say this IS a parable
Some say this is NOT a parable
If it is a parable, then Jesus used it to make one major point. And so, you don’t dissect parables; you look for that one major point. If so, this is an awesome parable. I’d say about half of the evangelical scholars say this is not a parable. Instead, it is an actual teaching event, which means we can dissect it. I’m going to do a little bit of both because it’s not clear whether Jesus meant it to be a parable or not.
But in either case we can get an idea here of what the Present Heaven is like.
Luke 16:19–31 (NLT)
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury.
20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.
21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet (aka - Abraham’s Bosom). The rich man also died and was buried,
23 and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.
26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home.
28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
So, what can we learn from this teaching from Jesus?
1) There IS a PLACE where those who die go instantly
2) It is a place of CONSCIOUS Existence
2) There is Either Comfort - or Torment there
3) There is NO Switching Places - and NO Crossing Over
Some of the other things this scripture possibly indicates are (if this is more teaching than parable):
1) We will be Recognizable - Retaining our Names
2) We will be able to Communicate
3) We will have knowledge of HOW we lived on Earth
4) We will have concern for those on earth we’ve left
I say “possibly” on some of those things because IF this scripture was meant to be a parable, then parables are meant to teach one main point. And I hope you can see the one main point here is – Be on the right side of this chasm when this day comes for you.
Let’s look at another one. In Acts Chapter 7, the martyr (Stephen) is about to be stoned by the Jewish religious teachers.
Acts 7:55–56 (NLT)
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
56 And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”
Here, God opens the Present Heaven to Stephen, and Stephen sees Jesus in his glorified body standing at the right hand of God. The fact that Stephen recognizes Jesus is significant and that Jesus is standing (not floating) is significant, and clearly, the Lord was showing Stephan where he was about to go.
Let’s look at another one. One of our favorite places in Israel is in Caesarea Philippi, which is awesomely portrayed in The Chosen, season four, by the way. At the base of Mt. Hermon on a huge rock – and Caesarea Philippi is actually built out of a huge rock. This time on the Mt. of Transfiguration with Jesus.
Luke 9:28–32 (NLT)
28 . . . Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. (Mt. of Transfiguration)
9 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.
30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus.
31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.
It’s safe to say Moses and Elijah (representative of the Law and the Prophets) are definitely in the Present Heaven. Here, they appear glorious to see, and somehow, the Disciples recognize them. They are talking with Jesus regarding what’s about to happen, a current event. This is a huge scripture regarding “relationships in Heaven” because we can clearly see Moses, Elijah, and Jesus IN relationship.
And so, that is a glimpse into some of what the Present Heaven is like. So now, let’s talk about the Eternal Heaven. But first, before the Eternal Heaven begins, those who have died “in Christ” will receive their resurrected and glorified bodies.
Let’s turn back to 1 Thessalonians 4.
1 Thessalonians 4:14–18 (NLT)
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
18 So encourage each other with these words.
Encourage each other with the knowledge of Heaven. This life may feel like real life – it’s not; it’s a vapor. The Eternal Heaven is real life because it lasts a lot longer than this life. Verse 14 says God will bring with him the Believers who have died, meaning they are already WITH him. They will get their resurrection bodies first. Then Believers who are still alive will be caught up (raptured) to join them, and together we will meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore, encourage one another with these words.
So, at this point
Believers who are already with the Lord
and Believers who have now been raptured
All have their resurrected and glorified bodies.
And we place that event, the Rapture, at Revelation Chapter 4 at the beginning of the Tribulation. It is called pre-tribulation. (Other people place the Rapture at different places – it’s okay! They still get to go to Heaven.) And then, the seven-year Tribulation is followed by the Millennium (1,000 years), and the Millennium is followed by the Eternal Heaven.
And so, now comes the Eternal Heaven of which the New Earth is an integral part. This is when all Resurrected Believers will be living forever in a resurrected universe with God and with one another. So, all Believers, the Earth, and the Universe are all resurrected, glorified, and perfected, and God dwells with us.
Let’s go back to Revelation 21 to close. These three verses are the creation of the Eternal Heaven.
Revelation 21:1–3 (NLT)
1 Then I saw a new heaven (this word heaven is not the word where God exists; that word is our atmosphere and our stellar space – which is massive)and a new earth, for the old heaven (again, not the place where God dwells, but our heaven) and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.
2 And I saw the holy city (this is where God dwells), the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven (the heaven where God exists) like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is noiw among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. (those are all relational statements)
Again, these three verses are the creation of the Eternal Heaven in which all Believers will live with God and with one another for eternity. In verse 1, the New Heaven (our atmosphere and space) and the New Earth are created. And then, in verse 2, the Holy City (the dwelling place of God) comes down into the New Heaven and New Earth. God has always done it since the Garden of Eden. God comes to man. We don’t work our way to God. We don’t achieve or attain our position with God. God comes to us, even in the Eternal Heaven.
And verse 3 says, Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. God is coming down to a New Earth to dwell with a resurrected people that he loves, just like God came down to the original earth he created to dwell with Adam and Eve.
The earth and our atmosphere and space will all be restored to the perfection God originally created it all to be, and the relationship God created Mankind to have with him will be restored to the perfection he originally created our relationship with him to be. God created you for relationship with him in the perfect, glorious creation he made for us. And God has a perfect plan to spend eternity with us in a restored Eternal Heaven and Eternal Earth.
Guys, the more you can grasp of what God has in store for you in Heaven, the less you will be chained to this world.
So, take hold of what God has planned for you. Start your relationship with Jesus Christ now so that he can start preparing a place for you to be with him for eternity.