Heaven is Real
Revelation 21:1-8
Message #39
God originally created this earth to be a perfect paradise for Mankind to live and have fellowship with God and with each other. But sin (and the devil) had other plans. Sin separated us from God and from the life God created us to have. But Jesus Christ reconciled us to God by providing the only true victory over sin and through the work of Jesus Christ, one day God will completely restore all of his creation to its sinless perfection.
At the fall on mankind, all of creation was subjected to the crse of sin and since that dreadful day in the Garden of Eden, all of creation has been groaning, waiting to be set free from the corruption sin brought.
Romans 8:20–21 (NLT)
20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope,
21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
And that day IS coming, when all of creation will join us as God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
Guys, the best is yet to come. It really, really IS! God ends the entire Bible with two massive chapters on Heaven because the best is yet to come.
Heaven is what keeps us “looking forward” to better days because the best is yet to come.
God ends the entire Bible (which tells one story from Genesis to Revelation – we call it the Scarlett Thread of Scripture). The Bible ends with two incredible chapters on Heaven – because the best is yet to come. Heaven keeps us pushing. I tell people all the time, look up! Look past the horizon. Allow Heaven to push you, to give you better days to look forward to, and allow it to carry you through the tribulation and trials that Jesus promised would be in this world.
All Believers have always used Heaven to keep pressing through because all of the greatest promises of God are in Heaven, including the greatest promise of God himself being there and being our God. As Believers, we need always be looking forward to the great things God has in store for us, and the greatest of all those great things is all reserved for us in Heaven. And that’s what we begin looking at today as we start to wrap up the incredible study of Revelation.
We’re going to spend the next five messages talking about Heaven. So today, we’re going to do some big-picture truths, and then we’ll get into more detail in each message.
These chapters about Heaven are the best chapters in Revelation, and if you have given your life to Jesus as your Savior and Lord, they will be the best chapters of your life.
Heaven is the best of everything you can imagine in this life without the sin. It’s the absolute best of what God created this life to be – without sin.
And so, we need a more accurate view of Heaven. I want you to be sure what happens “up there” in Heaven because it will give you peace, hope, comfort, and confidence. Here is a huge truth we need to grasp.
Heaven is going to radically improve and increase all that is from God in this life. C.S. Lewis says We are now in the “Shadowlands” – we’re looking into a mirror dimly. We see and experience only a shadow of what God has created for us – And what he has created us to be.
And Heaven is where all that God created us for
and all that God created us to be
will become a very real reality.
We need to blow out the incorrect view of Heaven – of us being a disembodied spirit only, floating on a cloud, strumming a harp for eternity. That is nowhere in the Bible.
There will not be one godly good thing that will be missing there, including the godly best of your relationships and experiences here – without sin. Sin and its effects are all that will be missing in Heaven because sin brings death, and there will be no death in Heaven. There will be only life, and that life will be eternally abundant. When Jesus says in John 10:10, “I come that they may have life and have it more abundantly,” we’re so messed up that we think he is talking about this life. We think abundance means more stuff. But guys, everything in this world is kindling for the fire. It’s okay if you have it, and praise the Lord if God has blessed you with some kindling for the fire. Praise God – enjoy it, and give some of it away, and do what God tells you – whatever it is. But don’t think that’s the abundant life because God created you for so much more abundance than that. He created you for a heavenly abundance. Lift your eyes over the horizon and see the abundant life.
You’re going to know the people you love (who are saved). You’re going to live in relationship with them and with God. You’re going to be productive doing things, and serving, and worshiping the Lord.
We are going to be part of Jesus “having dominion over” all of creation, and that means the entire universe of creation.
And most of all, we are going to live in the continual presence of our loving, eternal Father, and our Savior Jesus Christ.
It’s critical we get this right in our minds, and it’s important that we get excited about it. Believers have always looked to the glory of Heaven for strength and encouragement to “press on” through this “not so heavenly” world.
In fact, Revelation was initially written to encourage Believers to keep their eyes set on Heaven to survive the trials and persecution they were experiencing in the world. Revelation was written (95 or so AD) to Christians who were under tremendous trials and persecutions by Rome. The persecutions had already started; they got worse before they got better. But they’d already started by the end of the First Century. And so, God says, “Look. Let me finish the Book – not by telling you how to survive persecution (that was Peter’s job in 1 and 2 Peter), but let me tell you the end of the story to give you the encouragement and the motivation and the passion and the determination to run to the tape – to get to the end. Let me give you a picture of what it looks like when the race is over. That will keep you running.” That’s what Heaven is.
Unfortunately, the devil has had some real success getting our eyes off of Heaven and getting them set on this world. He’s used religion, the culture, our desire not to talk about death – whatever he’s used. As Christians in general, we don’t have a really clear picture of Heaven. And if we did, we would be like, “Man!!! I am going there!!” The devil has convinced us this world is our real life, and Heaven is just someplace we go when this real life is over.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and nothing could be further from what the Bible says about Heaven. The Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of just one part of what we have to look forward to in Heaven in Philippians.
Philippians 3:20–21 (NLT)
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
THAT is some good news! This is just a glimpse of one reason that we can say Heaven is real. So, have we seen Jesus’ resurrected body in the Bible? Is there an author who has seen his glorified body? (In Revelation Chapter 1, John saw the glorified Christ.) We can look at Jesus and say, “Okay. It’s something like that.”
Guys, we need to exchange our own thoughts for God’s eternal truth of what Heaven will be like.
There are plenty of religions that make up their own stuff about Heaven. They usually do it to motivate their people to do something for the church. Islam does the same thing, you just create something about Heaven. It’s interesting because both Islam and the Mormons (the LDS church) have this promise in Heaven, if you’re high enough in Heaven (in the LDS church) that involves having sex with a whole bunch of women. I know that sounds harsh to say, but it’s true. Mormonism, if you reach a high enough level, you get to populate your own planet – be a savior like Jesus. Islam – if you go blow up some innocent Jewish person, you get seventy virgins in Heaven. Isn’t that weird? Really? Would God use sex with seventy women as a motivating factor? NO!
So, watch what you hear about religion. Check it with the Bible. If it’s not in the Bible, can you question it for me, please?
Catch ahold of God’s eternal truth of what Heaven will be like.
Heaven is very real!
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ today, it is critical that you have your heart and your mind set
on a very real Resurrection life
in a very real Resurrected body
with a very real Resurrected Jesus
on a very real Resurrected earth.
A resurrected earth that includes all of the things God created without the effects of the curse of sin (we have a picture of that in Genesis).
God wants you to “set your sights” on the incredible realities of Heaven, and the devil wants to keep you from doing that.
Colossians 3:1–2 (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
set your sights on the realities of heaven, All that Heaven IS. New Heaven, New Earth, New Jerusalem – all that Heaven is – Heaven is Real
Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
It doesn’t mean quitting your job, sitting on a rock, and ohm. It means as you’re going through this life, this life isn’t consuming you. The thoughts of Heaven are consuming you. You realize you are passing through this life, and there is a very real Heaven waiting for you when you finish the race – so press on.
If the enemy can’t convince you that Heaven doesn’t exist (his first choice), then he wants to at least rob you of the excitement, passion, and drive that God wants to give you through the true knowledge of Heaven. You’re not motivated by it because the devil wants to convince you it is ethereal and boring. Don’t let that happen to you. Find out in God’s Word (I’ll tell you how to do that in a second) how to develop this clear vision, this clear view of Heaven, so you can say, “Man! That’s where I’m going. That’s where this story ends.” God wants to give you the true knowledge of Heaven, and he wrote it in the Bible for you.
If you have given your life to Jesus Christ today, then this life is not your real life. God says – and you might know this, but it’s this battle you have in your life – God says, “This is not your real life. Your actual real life is in Heaven.”
Let’s continue with Colossians.
Colossians 3:3-4 (NLT)
3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
What does that mean? We will share in all his glory. And one day, when you share in the glory of Christ, you will experience those things as God fully created them to be. This is serious motivation here if we really grasp that. Your life today is a shadow of your real life with Christ in your Relationship in creation with God. We do live in God’s creation; though it’s been corrupted by sin, we can still see a shadow. We see a shadow of real relationships, real godly relationships. Our God is a relational God. And the shadow of relationships, the relationships we have now, even with God, are only a shadow of what they will be in Heaven.
By the Holy Spirit in response to what Christ has done for us or in our place, we have a relationship with God, but it’s still a shadow of what it will be. God created us for relationships with one another. That’s why the Ten Commandments are only broken into two sub-categories – Vertical love and Horizontal love. Why would God take the horizontal love out in Heaven? There’s nothing to indicate that we won’t know one another and have relationship with one another in Heaven. And there’s a ton, and we’ll get into it, to indicate that we absolutely will have relationship with one another in Heaven.
Let me recommend a great book: Heaven – by Randy Alcorn
Please don’t watch crazy YouTube videos about Heaven, and don’t get sucked into certain religions or teachings on Heaven that you cannot find in the Bible.
My encouragement is to buy the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. Then read the Bible verses as you come to each one and allow it to inspire you to think deeply about what the Bible actually says about Heaven. And then, get excited because Heaven is real. And (as a Believer) God is saving for you and indescribable eternal life with him there.
So (finally), let’s start the last two chapters of the Bible, which are all about the glory, and the truth, and the reality of Heaven. We start with the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Revelation 21:1 (NLT)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.
The New Earth (which is part of New Heaven) will not be a spirit-only kind of place. It will be a tangible, physical place – like we know it now with ground, and water, and trees, and vegetation, and animals, and people, and natural wonders – all of it.
The Greek word used for the New Earth is spelled “GE,” from which we get the word Geology. It speaks of the physical, tangible earth’s surface. And the word used for Old (or first) Earth is PROTOS – from which we get “Prototype.” THIS earth that we live on now is the proto-type of the New Earth, much like our bodies are the proto-type for our resurrected bodies.
Our bodies are a proto-type of our resurrection bodies. Jesus had the same body when he was resurrected. In Revelation Chapter 1, he is glorified, and it’s a lot different.
Somehow, in a way that we can’t get too specific about, our resurrected bodies will look like Jesus’ resurrected body. That’s what the Bible says: they will look like his body. And so, we need to change our whole frame of thought from a weird, cartoonish religion to what the Bible says. It’s a real earth as this earth prototype, and our bodies will be similar to our fleshly bodies.
We are talking about a tangible New Earth for us to tangibly live on with each other and God will tangibly be there.
God is creating a New Earth that is more real than this current earth because this “current earth” is going to pass away, but the New Earth will never pass away. The tangible New Earth will remain perfect forever with you living on it, experiencing life in it, and serving God in it as part of the New eternal Heaven.
This New Earth has a capital city in it.
It is a real city
It is a perfect city
It is the City of God – in its perfect, eternal form
Revelation 21:2 (NLT)
2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
This is a real, incredibly awesome city (the New Jerusalem). We are going to look at the New Jerusalem next message – so for today, we will move on.
What we know so far is God has made a New Heaven, a New Earth, and a New Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:3 (NLT)
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “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.
What makes Heaven, Heaven is that God dwells there with Man. THAT is what really makes Heaven, Heaven. Just like God “lived with” Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God is living with us on the New Earth in the New Heaven, and we will be his people – really, tangibly, physically. God himself will be with [us].
We’ll talk more about God living with us as we continue.
But what I want us to see today is that Heaven is real!! It is more real than this earth. And it has all the benefits of God actually being with us.
Revelation 21:4 (NLT)
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Our Heavenly Father will personally wipe away every tear and death will be done away with.
No more sorrow
No more crying
No more pain
These things are gone forever. All of the effects of sin have been removed for eternity by the work of Jesus Christ.
This New Earth and New Heaven and New Jerusalem will be new in the best sort of way.
Revelation 21:5 (NLT)
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
The Lord on the throne says, “Look, I am making everything new!” But this word translated “new” does not necessarily mean something we’ve never seen, but it does mean new as to the quality and nature of a thing. It is new in quality and new in nature. It is new, as in “how it was originally made to be.”
God is restoring all of creation to its originally created quality and purpose with all the wonder of God and none of the effects of sin.
And then God makes it very clear to John, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
God doesn’t want us duped by our own thinking.
God doesn’t want us duped by the influence of this world.
God doesn’t want us duped by the influence of the devil.
God’s Word is trustworthy and true, and you can take that to the eternal bank.
Revelation 21:6–7 (NLT)
6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.
7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
On the Cross, Jesus finished the work of our salvation. Here, he is saying the New Earth and New Heavens are finished (different Greek Word) being created. He has returned all of creation back to its original sinless state – the only difference now is that we get to be part of it.
And Jesus Christ will give freely this water of eternal life to all who thirst for it and we are victorious in Jesus Christ will inherit all these blessings as sons and daughters of God.
It will be the most thrilling, fulfilling, mind-blowing eternal life that you could ever imagine.
But then, we have an abrupt reminder to all unbelievers.
Revelation 21:8 (NLT)
8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
This is a list of those whose lives are characterized by these sins without the cleansing forgiveness of Christ.
This is a graphic list of all unbelievers. There are no true Believers here.
But Ephesians Chapter 2 says we, too, were once dead in our sins, separated from God’s presence in Heaven. But God made a way through faith in Jesus Christ for us to be forgiven, justified, and raised to new life – new eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8 (NLT)
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Your eternal entrance to Heaven is all by God’s grace, but you receive it by putting your full faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.
To be there (in Heaven), you must begin the adventure here (on this earth). Turn from your sin. Put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and begin this incredible eternal heavenly adventure with God today.
At the fall on mankind, all of creation was subjected to the crse of sin and since that dreadful day in the Garden of Eden, all of creation has been groaning, waiting to be set free from the corruption sin brought.
Romans 8:20–21 (NLT)
20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope,
21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
And that day IS coming, when all of creation will join us as God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
Guys, the best is yet to come. It really, really IS! God ends the entire Bible with two massive chapters on Heaven because the best is yet to come.
Heaven is what keeps us “looking forward” to better days because the best is yet to come.
God ends the entire Bible (which tells one story from Genesis to Revelation – we call it the Scarlett Thread of Scripture). The Bible ends with two incredible chapters on Heaven – because the best is yet to come. Heaven keeps us pushing. I tell people all the time, look up! Look past the horizon. Allow Heaven to push you, to give you better days to look forward to, and allow it to carry you through the tribulation and trials that Jesus promised would be in this world.
All Believers have always used Heaven to keep pressing through because all of the greatest promises of God are in Heaven, including the greatest promise of God himself being there and being our God. As Believers, we need always be looking forward to the great things God has in store for us, and the greatest of all those great things is all reserved for us in Heaven. And that’s what we begin looking at today as we start to wrap up the incredible study of Revelation.
We’re going to spend the next five messages talking about Heaven. So today, we’re going to do some big-picture truths, and then we’ll get into more detail in each message.
These chapters about Heaven are the best chapters in Revelation, and if you have given your life to Jesus as your Savior and Lord, they will be the best chapters of your life.
Heaven is the best of everything you can imagine in this life without the sin. It’s the absolute best of what God created this life to be – without sin.
And so, we need a more accurate view of Heaven. I want you to be sure what happens “up there” in Heaven because it will give you peace, hope, comfort, and confidence. Here is a huge truth we need to grasp.
Heaven is going to radically improve and increase all that is from God in this life. C.S. Lewis says We are now in the “Shadowlands” – we’re looking into a mirror dimly. We see and experience only a shadow of what God has created for us – And what he has created us to be.
And Heaven is where all that God created us for
and all that God created us to be
will become a very real reality.
We need to blow out the incorrect view of Heaven – of us being a disembodied spirit only, floating on a cloud, strumming a harp for eternity. That is nowhere in the Bible.
There will not be one godly good thing that will be missing there, including the godly best of your relationships and experiences here – without sin. Sin and its effects are all that will be missing in Heaven because sin brings death, and there will be no death in Heaven. There will be only life, and that life will be eternally abundant. When Jesus says in John 10:10, “I come that they may have life and have it more abundantly,” we’re so messed up that we think he is talking about this life. We think abundance means more stuff. But guys, everything in this world is kindling for the fire. It’s okay if you have it, and praise the Lord if God has blessed you with some kindling for the fire. Praise God – enjoy it, and give some of it away, and do what God tells you – whatever it is. But don’t think that’s the abundant life because God created you for so much more abundance than that. He created you for a heavenly abundance. Lift your eyes over the horizon and see the abundant life.
You’re going to know the people you love (who are saved). You’re going to live in relationship with them and with God. You’re going to be productive doing things, and serving, and worshiping the Lord.
We are going to be part of Jesus “having dominion over” all of creation, and that means the entire universe of creation.
And most of all, we are going to live in the continual presence of our loving, eternal Father, and our Savior Jesus Christ.
It’s critical we get this right in our minds, and it’s important that we get excited about it. Believers have always looked to the glory of Heaven for strength and encouragement to “press on” through this “not so heavenly” world.
In fact, Revelation was initially written to encourage Believers to keep their eyes set on Heaven to survive the trials and persecution they were experiencing in the world. Revelation was written (95 or so AD) to Christians who were under tremendous trials and persecutions by Rome. The persecutions had already started; they got worse before they got better. But they’d already started by the end of the First Century. And so, God says, “Look. Let me finish the Book – not by telling you how to survive persecution (that was Peter’s job in 1 and 2 Peter), but let me tell you the end of the story to give you the encouragement and the motivation and the passion and the determination to run to the tape – to get to the end. Let me give you a picture of what it looks like when the race is over. That will keep you running.” That’s what Heaven is.
Unfortunately, the devil has had some real success getting our eyes off of Heaven and getting them set on this world. He’s used religion, the culture, our desire not to talk about death – whatever he’s used. As Christians in general, we don’t have a really clear picture of Heaven. And if we did, we would be like, “Man!!! I am going there!!” The devil has convinced us this world is our real life, and Heaven is just someplace we go when this real life is over.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and nothing could be further from what the Bible says about Heaven. The Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of just one part of what we have to look forward to in Heaven in Philippians.
Philippians 3:20–21 (NLT)
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
THAT is some good news! This is just a glimpse of one reason that we can say Heaven is real. So, have we seen Jesus’ resurrected body in the Bible? Is there an author who has seen his glorified body? (In Revelation Chapter 1, John saw the glorified Christ.) We can look at Jesus and say, “Okay. It’s something like that.”
Guys, we need to exchange our own thoughts for God’s eternal truth of what Heaven will be like.
There are plenty of religions that make up their own stuff about Heaven. They usually do it to motivate their people to do something for the church. Islam does the same thing, you just create something about Heaven. It’s interesting because both Islam and the Mormons (the LDS church) have this promise in Heaven, if you’re high enough in Heaven (in the LDS church) that involves having sex with a whole bunch of women. I know that sounds harsh to say, but it’s true. Mormonism, if you reach a high enough level, you get to populate your own planet – be a savior like Jesus. Islam – if you go blow up some innocent Jewish person, you get seventy virgins in Heaven. Isn’t that weird? Really? Would God use sex with seventy women as a motivating factor? NO!
So, watch what you hear about religion. Check it with the Bible. If it’s not in the Bible, can you question it for me, please?
Catch ahold of God’s eternal truth of what Heaven will be like.
Heaven is very real!
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ today, it is critical that you have your heart and your mind set
on a very real Resurrection life
in a very real Resurrected body
with a very real Resurrected Jesus
on a very real Resurrected earth.
A resurrected earth that includes all of the things God created without the effects of the curse of sin (we have a picture of that in Genesis).
God wants you to “set your sights” on the incredible realities of Heaven, and the devil wants to keep you from doing that.
Colossians 3:1–2 (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
set your sights on the realities of heaven, All that Heaven IS. New Heaven, New Earth, New Jerusalem – all that Heaven is – Heaven is Real
Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
It doesn’t mean quitting your job, sitting on a rock, and ohm. It means as you’re going through this life, this life isn’t consuming you. The thoughts of Heaven are consuming you. You realize you are passing through this life, and there is a very real Heaven waiting for you when you finish the race – so press on.
If the enemy can’t convince you that Heaven doesn’t exist (his first choice), then he wants to at least rob you of the excitement, passion, and drive that God wants to give you through the true knowledge of Heaven. You’re not motivated by it because the devil wants to convince you it is ethereal and boring. Don’t let that happen to you. Find out in God’s Word (I’ll tell you how to do that in a second) how to develop this clear vision, this clear view of Heaven, so you can say, “Man! That’s where I’m going. That’s where this story ends.” God wants to give you the true knowledge of Heaven, and he wrote it in the Bible for you.
If you have given your life to Jesus Christ today, then this life is not your real life. God says – and you might know this, but it’s this battle you have in your life – God says, “This is not your real life. Your actual real life is in Heaven.”
Let’s continue with Colossians.
Colossians 3:3-4 (NLT)
3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
What does that mean? We will share in all his glory. And one day, when you share in the glory of Christ, you will experience those things as God fully created them to be. This is serious motivation here if we really grasp that. Your life today is a shadow of your real life with Christ in your Relationship in creation with God. We do live in God’s creation; though it’s been corrupted by sin, we can still see a shadow. We see a shadow of real relationships, real godly relationships. Our God is a relational God. And the shadow of relationships, the relationships we have now, even with God, are only a shadow of what they will be in Heaven.
By the Holy Spirit in response to what Christ has done for us or in our place, we have a relationship with God, but it’s still a shadow of what it will be. God created us for relationships with one another. That’s why the Ten Commandments are only broken into two sub-categories – Vertical love and Horizontal love. Why would God take the horizontal love out in Heaven? There’s nothing to indicate that we won’t know one another and have relationship with one another in Heaven. And there’s a ton, and we’ll get into it, to indicate that we absolutely will have relationship with one another in Heaven.
Let me recommend a great book: Heaven – by Randy Alcorn
Please don’t watch crazy YouTube videos about Heaven, and don’t get sucked into certain religions or teachings on Heaven that you cannot find in the Bible.
My encouragement is to buy the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. Then read the Bible verses as you come to each one and allow it to inspire you to think deeply about what the Bible actually says about Heaven. And then, get excited because Heaven is real. And (as a Believer) God is saving for you and indescribable eternal life with him there.
So (finally), let’s start the last two chapters of the Bible, which are all about the glory, and the truth, and the reality of Heaven. We start with the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Revelation 21:1 (NLT)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.
The New Earth (which is part of New Heaven) will not be a spirit-only kind of place. It will be a tangible, physical place – like we know it now with ground, and water, and trees, and vegetation, and animals, and people, and natural wonders – all of it.
The Greek word used for the New Earth is spelled “GE,” from which we get the word Geology. It speaks of the physical, tangible earth’s surface. And the word used for Old (or first) Earth is PROTOS – from which we get “Prototype.” THIS earth that we live on now is the proto-type of the New Earth, much like our bodies are the proto-type for our resurrected bodies.
Our bodies are a proto-type of our resurrection bodies. Jesus had the same body when he was resurrected. In Revelation Chapter 1, he is glorified, and it’s a lot different.
Somehow, in a way that we can’t get too specific about, our resurrected bodies will look like Jesus’ resurrected body. That’s what the Bible says: they will look like his body. And so, we need to change our whole frame of thought from a weird, cartoonish religion to what the Bible says. It’s a real earth as this earth prototype, and our bodies will be similar to our fleshly bodies.
We are talking about a tangible New Earth for us to tangibly live on with each other and God will tangibly be there.
God is creating a New Earth that is more real than this current earth because this “current earth” is going to pass away, but the New Earth will never pass away. The tangible New Earth will remain perfect forever with you living on it, experiencing life in it, and serving God in it as part of the New eternal Heaven.
This New Earth has a capital city in it.
It is a real city
It is a perfect city
It is the City of God – in its perfect, eternal form
Revelation 21:2 (NLT)
2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
This is a real, incredibly awesome city (the New Jerusalem). We are going to look at the New Jerusalem next message – so for today, we will move on.
What we know so far is God has made a New Heaven, a New Earth, and a New Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:3 (NLT)
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “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.
What makes Heaven, Heaven is that God dwells there with Man. THAT is what really makes Heaven, Heaven. Just like God “lived with” Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God is living with us on the New Earth in the New Heaven, and we will be his people – really, tangibly, physically. God himself will be with [us].
We’ll talk more about God living with us as we continue.
But what I want us to see today is that Heaven is real!! It is more real than this earth. And it has all the benefits of God actually being with us.
Revelation 21:4 (NLT)
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Our Heavenly Father will personally wipe away every tear and death will be done away with.
No more sorrow
No more crying
No more pain
These things are gone forever. All of the effects of sin have been removed for eternity by the work of Jesus Christ.
This New Earth and New Heaven and New Jerusalem will be new in the best sort of way.
Revelation 21:5 (NLT)
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
The Lord on the throne says, “Look, I am making everything new!” But this word translated “new” does not necessarily mean something we’ve never seen, but it does mean new as to the quality and nature of a thing. It is new in quality and new in nature. It is new, as in “how it was originally made to be.”
God is restoring all of creation to its originally created quality and purpose with all the wonder of God and none of the effects of sin.
And then God makes it very clear to John, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
God doesn’t want us duped by our own thinking.
God doesn’t want us duped by the influence of this world.
God doesn’t want us duped by the influence of the devil.
God’s Word is trustworthy and true, and you can take that to the eternal bank.
Revelation 21:6–7 (NLT)
6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.
7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
On the Cross, Jesus finished the work of our salvation. Here, he is saying the New Earth and New Heavens are finished (different Greek Word) being created. He has returned all of creation back to its original sinless state – the only difference now is that we get to be part of it.
And Jesus Christ will give freely this water of eternal life to all who thirst for it and we are victorious in Jesus Christ will inherit all these blessings as sons and daughters of God.
It will be the most thrilling, fulfilling, mind-blowing eternal life that you could ever imagine.
But then, we have an abrupt reminder to all unbelievers.
Revelation 21:8 (NLT)
8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
This is a list of those whose lives are characterized by these sins without the cleansing forgiveness of Christ.
This is a graphic list of all unbelievers. There are no true Believers here.
But Ephesians Chapter 2 says we, too, were once dead in our sins, separated from God’s presence in Heaven. But God made a way through faith in Jesus Christ for us to be forgiven, justified, and raised to new life – new eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8 (NLT)
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Your eternal entrance to Heaven is all by God’s grace, but you receive it by putting your full faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.
To be there (in Heaven), you must begin the adventure here (on this earth). Turn from your sin. Put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and begin this incredible eternal heavenly adventure with God today.