Real Earth, Real Bodies
Revelation 21:1, 1 Corinthians 15
Message #2
We started our last message talking about a subject that should be near and dear to every Believer’s heart and a subject that really should be very high on the priority list for every non-believer. That subject? Heaven! The message last week was “Heaven is Real!” I did my best last week to try to get us thinking about the big picture of heaven, about just trying to get us to grasp how real heaven is. And that was the only point. Heaven is real! Heaven is real! Heaven is really real!
And I just couldn’t let it go. I almost titled this message “Heaven is Real – Part 2.” But I didn’t want it to be a bad sequel. So, I still want to talk about that same subject. In the last message I started introducing some major themes and threw out some general summary statements. And I told you to relax, that I would back them up and get into detail. This message I will start doing that in hope and prayer that we might possibly adjust some of our misconceptions about heaven.
In our culture it is pretty easy to have misconceptions about heaven. You might have some assumptions about heaven that who knows where you got it. You might have got your assumptions about heaven from Greek mythology. You might not know that is where you got it, but that may be where you got your assumptions.
So today, I want to start backing up and clarifying some things that we have been talking about. Yes, this is still about Revelation 21 and 22, the last two chapters of the entire Bible. And here is my prayer; that by the time we leave the last two chapters in the Bible you will be sold out, passionate, excited, jumping for joy about the realities of heaven. That is what we want. We want Christians who are intentionally bound for heaven. They are clinging to it, their eyes are set on it, they’re excited about it, and they understand what it is going to be like. That is our goal for this message.
Last week I mentioned a book that has been challenging me. It’s written by Randy Alcorn and the book is called “Heaven.” It is large, it is detailed, and it is written a bit from a challenging theologian standpoint because he indeed is challenging some of the conceptions that have crept into the church about heaven. There are things in the book that I would kind of question, just like you should, but you should read it. You should read the book. It will challenge your conceptions about heaven.
Let’s start today in Revelation 21:1.
Revelation 21:1 (ESV)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
This week I want to talk more about the new earth because I want it to be clear, I want it to be concrete, I want you to know it, to feel it, to experience it. The new earth is an integral part of what we call heaven.
I want to talk more about the new earth because maybe you are a little like I was. I didn’t realize I had some misconceptions because I thought heaven was cool. I was anxious to go there. Every time I was with someone who was going there, I was jealous of them.
But it turns out, when I really challenged myself, that I didn’t really see heaven as real and as tangible and as touchable as this earth. I really saw it kind of (I’m sorry to say) metaphysically, kind of disembodied, kind of spirit only. And so that is what we talked about in the last message. That I think our biggest misconception in the church is that we think heaven is some disembodied, ethereal, floating-around place that is full of spirits.
That is really what we think mostly about heaven. A place where we get a fresh new toga, where we get a cloud, and a harp. And then we wonder why Christians aren’t totally pumped about heaven. Because really, I have never thought about wanting a toga, a cloud, and a harp. Those things have never inspired me. And so why would they inspire me if I view heaven like that?
Well, guess what? The Bible doesn’t view heaven like that. Where do those types of views come from? Well, I think initially from Greek mythology mixed into pagan thinking. And then it comes out in cartoons and movies and crazy stories. And then guess what? We believe it. Or at least we are influenced by it. Heaven is not like that at all. I think those views are actually a deceptive lie of the devil meant to keep you from being excited about heaven, to get us to say, “Yeah, I know I get to go to heaven, but I’m not that anxious to go.”
Well, maybe that’s because you don’t understand it.
One reason we may think of heaven as this disembodied, spirit only, ethereal kind of metaphysical kind of place, is because of how we understand the millennium. We did the millennium in Revelation 20, and we talked about the earth in the millennium. And when I say “millennium” if you’ve been around a while, you say “Oh yeah, that thousand-year reign on earth with Jesus.”
And so, what do you view? You view this earth. You view us with Jesus on earth. And you say “I can see it. I can visualize it. I can imagine it.” But then we have these verses that say what is going to happen to earth. Whoosh! It is going to pass away. We have these verses that say that earth is going to pass away at the end of the millennium and it is really to make room for the new earth, but we get hung up on the pass away part. “Okay, I get it. I can see myself in the millennium, but then the earth vaporizes, it passes away.”
Turn over to 2 Peter. You should read all of 2 Peter Chapter 3 about the judgment and about the new earth. It’s really a critical chapter as we study heaven. Verse 10 of 2 Peter Chapter 3 is one of the most descriptive verses about this point that I am talking about. It is also notably, one of the hardest verses in the entire New Testament to translate. The translators say this. One of the hardest verses in the entire New Testament to translate, here it is.
2 Peter 3:10 (ESV)
10 . . . the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
That last sentence, some say is the hardest sentence to really get a correct translation on in the New Testament. The ESV says the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. The NKJ says “burned up.” It says different things in different versions. There are at least six or seven different words used there at the end of 2 Peter 3:10.
If you’re reading NKJ look down at your footnote, it will say what some of the other manuscripts say. But then after that, it says “Literally – found” Because the word is literally found, as in “found out.” The earth and all the works that are done on it will be found out, will be exposed.
And so, we get this idea that the earth is gone. Even here in Revelation 21:1, the earth will pass away. Three gospels, the synoptic gospels, in all three gospels Jesus says this earth will pass away. And so even though in the Greek there is really more to it than just “pass away,” we get hung up on that pass away. “I can envision the millennium because it is on the earth, but then the Bible says it is going to pass away and now all I am left with is a cloud and a toga and a harp.”
We don’t make the connection, do we? We don’t make the connection from the millennial earth to the new earth. We somehow think that earth is not as real after this earth passes away. It’s just not true.
All through the Bible, there are references to the new earth. There are three prophecies about the new earth in the Book of Isaiah. So, this is not just for Revelation, not just for the New Testament, but all through the scripture we see verses that apply to the new earth.
Some scholars argue, does this apply to the millennium or does this apply to the new earth? And I would say, first of all, stop arguing. And then I would say, what if it is both? What if all that stuff in Isaiah 60 and Isaiah 66 and Isaiah 52 (I think) all talks about the new earth – what if that is about the new earth too, not just the millennium? I don’t know for sure. I’m not going to argue with you about it, but what if it does?
What about John 14 in the Upper Room Discourse when Jesus says “I go to prepare a place for you.” He says “In my father’s house are many dwelling places.” It means places to dwell in my Father’s house. Like one house with many rooms. “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. If I go I am going to come back to you and I am going to take you to where I am.”
Listen, he meant it for real. It’s a real place that he is making for you. It is a real place. And you’re going to walk; you’re not going to float. And you’re going to eat, which I am especially excited about! And you’re going to fellowship. It’s real.
Maybe it’s because we think it’s more spiritual, it’s more highly evolved, to not talk about a heaven having a tangible earth, with dirt, with sky, with trees, with mountains, with rivers, with animals, with cities, with nations and with kings, and with real people and real relationships. having real things to do, real work. Well, guess what? The Bible says all those things are in heaven.
God is going to recreate the earth and put you on it. Only the earth amplified and glorified and perfected and without sin. It’s going to be indescribable.
Plus, there is this other little preacher problem, and I’m part of it. Because I like to say “This earth is going to burn up, it’s going to vaporize, man! And everything we love in this world is going to vaporize so why are we fighting so hard to take hold of the things in this world because it is all going to vaporize.”
I say that. But listen, what I am trying to do is to shake you loose of the sinful stuff that has you in bondage. I’m trying to get you to be set free from the stuff of this world. But what happens, unfortunately, is that I kind of imply that there’s not going to be anything in heaven that is here on this earth. What I mean to say is there is not going to be anything sinful or having the effects of the fall in heaven as it is here on this earth. But because I don’t say that and I say, “This stuff is going to burn up,” you think the harp and toga and the cloud are really true. No, it’s not, and I’m sorry. I apologize.
There are things in the new earth that you can experience today. You just can’t experience them to the level or to the perfection. But the Bible talks about the new earth in terms that you and I can relate to today. I just want you to know that the new earth is real. It’s like this earth, only better. Only improved and amplified and glorified and perfected.
And so, some scholars don’t say this world is going to burn up, they say this world is going to be regenerated. It is going to be restored. God is going to restore it to new. He is going to make all things new, which means return things to being new. So, those scholars take the verses about this world being judged by fire in a similar fashion as 1 Corinthians 3 teaches us about our works being judged by fire. So, write this down. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and look at this during this week. This deals with the Bema Seat, the judgment seat of Christ (our twelfth message in this Revelation series covered this – “Judgment, Reward and Loss.”)
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 says that all the works that you do on this earth are going to pass through a fiery judgment. And everything you did that was worthless, illustrated by wood, hay, and stubble, is going to vaporize – it’s going to burn up. But listen, here’s the point. That same fire is going to refine everything you did that was godly and divine. So, all of your works that are for God, of God, and by God are going to not be destroyed by the fire of judgment, they are going to be refined by the fire of judgment. Useless works destroyed; godly works refined by the same fire. And so, this is how the scholars see the new earth being refined by fire.
So yes, the earth is going to pass through fire. But it is not to be vaporized, it is to destroy all things associated with sin and the fall, and to refine all things associated with God and heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:17 talks about the same thing with us. It says “Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new” But listen, when you got saved, you didn’t pass away. Alright? When I got saved at nineteen years old, the next time my mother saw me, she thought she was looking at the same person. But she wasn’t. All the old things about me had passed away, and all things had become new, but I looked like the same person. It’s the same with the earth.
Here’s how Randy Alcorn summarizes it.
“The earth’s death will be no more final than our own. The destruction of the old Earth in God’s Purifying judgment will immediately be followed by its resurrection to new life. Earth’s fiery “end” will open straight into a glorious new beginning.”
Heaven is real. The new earth is real, as real and in some ways more real than this earth. I am coming back to that. I can’t teach Revelation 21 and 22 until you have clear in your mind that heaven is real. Because if I just teach through it, you’re going to think, “What does that mean, Tree of Life? What does that mean, city? What does that mean, nations and kings? What does it mean that we will come in and out?”
It means what it says. But we have to get in our mind that heaven is real and then when we read about it, we will think “Man that is so cool!” Because it is real.
Here is what I want to start with. I want to start with the resurrection of our bodies because I think this is a big deal. I think that we really don’t get that when our bodies are resurrected, they will be real. They will be real resurrected bodies. It’s a good place to start, because if you believe that your body is real then you’ll believe that the place you’re going to live forever is going to be real, because how can a real body be in a non-real place?
So, let’s talk about real bodies. Our bodies resurrected and glorified will be real, tangible, touchable, “interactable,” they are going to be real. Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. It is all about the resurrection. It is the truth of the resurrection and the truth of the resurrection body. It starts with such a critical text, and I am going to skip it, I can’t teach the whole chapter, it is 58 verses. That’s why I am just skimming through.
But let me just tell you as a preface, as a setup and this is critical. The real, tangible, actual physical resurrection of the body of Jesus Christ is the very core of our faith. If Jesus Christ did not really, tangibly, physically, actually be raised from the dead in the same body he died in, if that didn’t happen, our faith is futile and we are still lost in our sins and nothing we believe is true. That is how critical the real, actual, tangible resurrection of Christ is.
Let’s start in verse 17.
1 Corinthians 15:17 (ESV)
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
Paul is explaining how centrally critical the actual resurrection is. So, he is talking about physical resurrection, not spiritual resurrection.
Continuing in verse 20.
1 Corinthians 15:20 (ESV)
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (died).
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. So, your faith is not futile, you’re not still in your sins because if you put your faith in Christ, he actually has been raised from the dead just as you will be if you are in him.
…the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Asleep means died. There is no soul sleep. Jesus is the Firstfruits of the Resurrection. It means he is the Forerunner. It means that he is the first of more like him. It means that he is the first of much more like him. He is the Forerunner of the Resurrection.
It means that we will be like him in his resurrection – let me just qualify it right up front. I don’t mean like him in his divinity. I mean like him in his resurrection. We will be like him in his resurrection, to a certain extent. We will be like him the way he was resurrected, physically, bodily.
So, if I were to say to you, “Right now envision your resurrected body,” what would you say? Would you see it as kind of ethereal, spiritual, disembodied? Would you say, “You know, I’m not really sure, I kind of am flying around on a cloud with wings. How did I get those wings? And I don’t know, am I a ghost?” Guys, we need to know what we are going to look like when we are resurrected.
Now we are going to talk about the temporary heaven, the presence of the Lord, and the eternal heaven with a resurrected body, we will talk about it – so don’t get hung up on it right now. But what I am talking about right now is the resurrection. The resurrection body that is going to occupy the new earth which is an integral part of the new heaven. Here’s what you need to see. It’s a real, tangible, physical body.
Here’s what R.A. Torry says, who is the original builder of Biola Bible College (Bible Institute of Los Angeles.)
“We will not be disembodied spirits in the world to come, but redeemed spirits, in redeemed bodies, in a redeemed universe.”
Here’s the deal. Look carefully. Redeemed spirits, meaning without sin. Redeemed bodies, meaning without sin. Redeemed universe, meaning without sin. When you read those words, especially redeemed bodies, do you see yourself kind of like you are? I mean do you see yourself like you – only better? Listen, we need to see in the Bible that there is a continuity between our current bodies and our resurrected bodies. Heaven is not Glamour magazine, so, get rid of those images. Heaven is a glorified body, the magnificent creation that God created in you, without sin and glorified. That’s a really big deal.
1 Corinthians 15:35 (ESV)
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
That’s the first question, isn’t it? What kind of body am I going to have? What kind of body am I going to have in the resurrection? Look down at verse 40.
1 Corinthians 15:40 (ESV)
40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.
Heavenly bodies, earthly bodies. The Greek word for body is SOMA. Here’s what SOMA means, literally. “The material composition of an entity.” What an entity is made up of. You, by the way, are an entity. You are made up of what we call your body. So, are you going to be the material composition of an entity in heaven? Yes, yes you are. That is what “heavenly bodies” is. Is it different than your earthly body? Yes. But is it still a body? Yes. You will still have a body and we just happen to have this incredible, wonderful picture of it in Christ’s resurrection, which we are going to look at in a second.
So, when you see heavenly bodies in verse 40, don’t think it means spirit. Why would the Holy Spirit have Paul write body there if you weren’t a heavenly body? Would he have not said “spirit?”
What about verse 44?
1 Corinthians 15:44 (ESV)
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Paul is just trying to say the same thing over, and over and over again. That’s what Paul is doing here. He is talking about the difference. He is differentiating, he is separating two bodies. And so, he says heavenly body and earthly body, and then he says natural body and spiritual body. It is a body, it’s just spiritual. He is trying to say it is different than the one you have now, but it is still a body.
1 Corinthians 15:50 (ESV)
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Now we have this interpretation thing called context, where we interpret the Bible according to a context a verse is written in, and the context here is that Paul is trying to separate the earthly body from the heavenly body. And so his inference here is that this flesh and blood, this sinful flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God because it is perishable, it is declining. Here’s the truth; you started dying the day you were born. That’s the truth. So, you can’t inherit an eternal kingdom because you are in the process of dying. So, the resurrection body, though a similar body, will not be like this decaying flesh and blood.
Look down at verse 53.
1 Corinthians 15:53 (NLT)
53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
Do you see it? It’s not that we stop having bodies. It’s that our dying bodies are going to be transformed into bodies that never die. Our mortal bodies are going to be transformed into immortal bodies. What I need you to see before I teach the rest of Revelation is that it is a real body. What kind of body? What will they look like?
Skip back to verse 49.
1 Corinthians 15:49 (ESV)
49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Obviously talking about Adam and Jesus. We’ve born the image of the man of dust; we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. So that means we have an example. That means we have something we can look at and say our resurrection bodies will be like that. That body is whose? Jesus. All we have to do is look at Jesus’ body and say, okay, alright. That is kind of what I am going to be like. Have you ever wondered, “Hey Jesus, why did you hang out in this place for forty days after the resurrection?”
I’ve wondered, why forty days? Well, I believe, it’s number one, to prove his resurrection, which those forty days proved it historically without a doubt. But also, it is so that we could see kind of how he lived resurrected. This is incredible. Let’s take a look at it.
After his resurrection, Jesus was seen by hundreds. He was seen by his disciples; he was seen by up to five hundred. He interacted with people. So, if we will go through the gospels (which we can’t fully do today) and look at Jesus’ resurrection, which is not that long a period, we can say “Hey, if this is how he was after the resurrection then this is how I’ll be after the resurrection.”
The first thing you have to look at is the empty tomb. Why was the tomb empty? Because the same body that Jesus died in rose from the dead. If it was a different body, where did that body go? It’s the same body. The same body he died in is his resurrected body. I hope that is a big deal to you. It is. His body didn’t remain in the tomb while he was resurrected because he was in it.
Did people recognize him? Yes. Was he initially not recognized by Mary in the garden when Mary first realized that his body was gone? Yes. Was he hiding his recognition from her? I don’t think so, I think she was so overcome with grief, and in the Middle East culture was for a woman not to look a man in the eyes. That was just their culture. And so, chances are she didn’t know until he said her name, and then she turned and said, “Rabboni. Teacher, it’s you.” She recognized him immediately when she saw him. That was incredible.
Turn to Luke 24. In Luke 24 Jesus is walking with the two unnamed disciples on the road to Emmaus. This is another chapter for you to study this week. Here is what I want you to see in the chapter. Write these words down in your margin. Talked, ate, and fellowshipped. Wait a minute. Jesus rose from the dead in the same body he died in, people recognized him, he talked, he ate and he fellowshipped with them. That’s the key point that you’ll look for in Luke 24. And then, when those two disciples came back to the ten disciples (Thomas wasn’t there) and they are telling the story, we read in Luke 24:37-43 the following.
Luke 24:37–43 (ESV)
37 But they (disciples) were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
43 and he took it and ate before them.
He is our forerunner. He is our First fruits. We’re going to be like him. And he says Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And then he asks for something to eat.
I want you to see how incredible it is that Jesus interacted with people. John Chapter 20, Jesus meets Thomas who wasn’t there a week earlier in the text we just read. And what does he do to doubting Thomas? “Hey pal. Touch my hand. Put your hand in my side. See how real I am.”
Then in John 21, again Jesus interacts with his disciples. And John 21 is super cool, you need to read it because Peter (I love Peter) says, “I’m going fishing.” And so, Peter gets a hold of half a dozen disciples, and they walk up to the Sea of Galilee, and they start fishing. They fish all night. In the morning, they hadn’t caught anything, and the fog is just sitting on the lake there, and the sun is just rising, and they see someone on the shore. And he says, “Hey, have you guys caught anything?”
“No!”
And he says, “Cast your net on the other side of the boat.”
And so, they throw their net on the other side of the boat and they catch so many fish it almost capsizes the boat. And then John says, “Hey, I think that is Jesus.” And Peter jumps out of the boat and swims to shore. And so, the disciples get all the fish and bring the boat to shore. When they get to shore, in John 21, Jesus is fixing a real fire. He is going to fix a real fish breakfast. He has fish himself.
Then there is this little thing that is really important. Jesus has a little personal heart to heart with Peter. Because Jesus wants to address the whole denying him thing that went on during the crucifixion. What’s the point? The resurrected Christ interacted with the people he loved the most.
Does that mean that you are going to get to come back as a ghost and talk to people? No, that is not what this is. This is a resurrected Christ interacting with people he loves, as our first fruits, as our forerunner. So, when you are resurrected at the rapture, when you get to the millennium, but for sure the new earth, you will be able to interact and eat just as well. Real Jesus, real food, real friends, real fellowship.
What about in Matthew 8:11? Just write this down.
Matthew 8:11 (ESV)
11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
What if he means what he says? He does! And I for one would love to have some hummus and pita bread with Abraham. I mean, seriously. “Abe,” I would say. “Man, you messed up more than me. I totally studied your life, and it made me feel so good that you made more mistakes than I ever did.” (It’s true. Study it.)
What about Matthew 26:29 when Jesus is speaking to his friends?
Matthew 26:29 (ESV)
29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Listen there is no interpretive reason to think that means anything else but Jesus actually drinking the cup with these actual disciples in the actual kingdom. He says, “Hey we’re going to do this again. You remember this. It’s not the last time we are going to do it.”
Let me just tell you really quick. God made you to live in harmony with him and with others. Love the Lord your God. Love one another. God created you to live in harmony, so when you live in harmony with God and others you love it. You’re in the zone. You’re like, “Lord this is good.” Why? Because God created you to live that way.
Listen, some of you more than others, when you recognize the glory of creation that has been unmarred to some extent (all of creation has been marred by sin) but when you grasp the glory of creation, you’re just like “God, this is incredible!” I’m telling you God put those desires in your heart because they are a slice of heaven. Just like Ephesians says the Holy Spirit is our down payment, our earnest. He is our taste of heaven. So is your harmony in relationships with God and others. So is the incredible world.
Let me just close with a little bit of Max Lucado. If you don’t own a Max Lucado book, buy one. Just pick one, he has written like, six hundred. Just pick one. Listen, when I say this to real spiritual, knowledgeable people, they say “You’re kidding, right?”
I’m just telling you right now, Max Lucado is my favorite Christian writer. Because everything he writes makes me cry.
Max Lucado from the book, “The Applause of Heaven.”
The Book of Revelation could be entitled the Book of Homecoming, for in it we are given a picture of our heavenly home.
John Describes it in Revelation 21:1–5 (NLT)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth . . .
2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem . . . like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
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.
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.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” . . .
The most hopeful words . . . are those of God’s resolve: “I am making everything new.”
[You and I can’t make all things new], but God can. “He restores my soul,” wrote the shepherd. He doesn’t reform; he restores. He doesn’t camouflage the old; he restores the new. The Master Builder will pull out the original plan and restore it. He will restore the vigor. He will restore the energy. He will restore the hope. He will restore the soul.
“Great,” Jesus said, “is your reward in heaven.” He must have smiled when he said that line. His eyes must have danced, and his hand must have pointed skyward. For he should know. It was his idea. It was his home.
Listen, guys, heaven is real. And before we finish this section of Revelation 21, you’ve got to know it’s real. So, when you read verses that can take no commentary because they are so phenomenal, you’ll just be in awe. We need to be excited, expectant, and passionate about our heaven because it is real.
And I just couldn’t let it go. I almost titled this message “Heaven is Real – Part 2.” But I didn’t want it to be a bad sequel. So, I still want to talk about that same subject. In the last message I started introducing some major themes and threw out some general summary statements. And I told you to relax, that I would back them up and get into detail. This message I will start doing that in hope and prayer that we might possibly adjust some of our misconceptions about heaven.
In our culture it is pretty easy to have misconceptions about heaven. You might have some assumptions about heaven that who knows where you got it. You might have got your assumptions about heaven from Greek mythology. You might not know that is where you got it, but that may be where you got your assumptions.
So today, I want to start backing up and clarifying some things that we have been talking about. Yes, this is still about Revelation 21 and 22, the last two chapters of the entire Bible. And here is my prayer; that by the time we leave the last two chapters in the Bible you will be sold out, passionate, excited, jumping for joy about the realities of heaven. That is what we want. We want Christians who are intentionally bound for heaven. They are clinging to it, their eyes are set on it, they’re excited about it, and they understand what it is going to be like. That is our goal for this message.
Last week I mentioned a book that has been challenging me. It’s written by Randy Alcorn and the book is called “Heaven.” It is large, it is detailed, and it is written a bit from a challenging theologian standpoint because he indeed is challenging some of the conceptions that have crept into the church about heaven. There are things in the book that I would kind of question, just like you should, but you should read it. You should read the book. It will challenge your conceptions about heaven.
Let’s start today in Revelation 21:1.
Revelation 21:1 (ESV)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
This week I want to talk more about the new earth because I want it to be clear, I want it to be concrete, I want you to know it, to feel it, to experience it. The new earth is an integral part of what we call heaven.
I want to talk more about the new earth because maybe you are a little like I was. I didn’t realize I had some misconceptions because I thought heaven was cool. I was anxious to go there. Every time I was with someone who was going there, I was jealous of them.
But it turns out, when I really challenged myself, that I didn’t really see heaven as real and as tangible and as touchable as this earth. I really saw it kind of (I’m sorry to say) metaphysically, kind of disembodied, kind of spirit only. And so that is what we talked about in the last message. That I think our biggest misconception in the church is that we think heaven is some disembodied, ethereal, floating-around place that is full of spirits.
That is really what we think mostly about heaven. A place where we get a fresh new toga, where we get a cloud, and a harp. And then we wonder why Christians aren’t totally pumped about heaven. Because really, I have never thought about wanting a toga, a cloud, and a harp. Those things have never inspired me. And so why would they inspire me if I view heaven like that?
Well, guess what? The Bible doesn’t view heaven like that. Where do those types of views come from? Well, I think initially from Greek mythology mixed into pagan thinking. And then it comes out in cartoons and movies and crazy stories. And then guess what? We believe it. Or at least we are influenced by it. Heaven is not like that at all. I think those views are actually a deceptive lie of the devil meant to keep you from being excited about heaven, to get us to say, “Yeah, I know I get to go to heaven, but I’m not that anxious to go.”
Well, maybe that’s because you don’t understand it.
One reason we may think of heaven as this disembodied, spirit only, ethereal kind of metaphysical kind of place, is because of how we understand the millennium. We did the millennium in Revelation 20, and we talked about the earth in the millennium. And when I say “millennium” if you’ve been around a while, you say “Oh yeah, that thousand-year reign on earth with Jesus.”
And so, what do you view? You view this earth. You view us with Jesus on earth. And you say “I can see it. I can visualize it. I can imagine it.” But then we have these verses that say what is going to happen to earth. Whoosh! It is going to pass away. We have these verses that say that earth is going to pass away at the end of the millennium and it is really to make room for the new earth, but we get hung up on the pass away part. “Okay, I get it. I can see myself in the millennium, but then the earth vaporizes, it passes away.”
Turn over to 2 Peter. You should read all of 2 Peter Chapter 3 about the judgment and about the new earth. It’s really a critical chapter as we study heaven. Verse 10 of 2 Peter Chapter 3 is one of the most descriptive verses about this point that I am talking about. It is also notably, one of the hardest verses in the entire New Testament to translate. The translators say this. One of the hardest verses in the entire New Testament to translate, here it is.
2 Peter 3:10 (ESV)
10 . . . the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
That last sentence, some say is the hardest sentence to really get a correct translation on in the New Testament. The ESV says the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. The NKJ says “burned up.” It says different things in different versions. There are at least six or seven different words used there at the end of 2 Peter 3:10.
If you’re reading NKJ look down at your footnote, it will say what some of the other manuscripts say. But then after that, it says “Literally – found” Because the word is literally found, as in “found out.” The earth and all the works that are done on it will be found out, will be exposed.
And so, we get this idea that the earth is gone. Even here in Revelation 21:1, the earth will pass away. Three gospels, the synoptic gospels, in all three gospels Jesus says this earth will pass away. And so even though in the Greek there is really more to it than just “pass away,” we get hung up on that pass away. “I can envision the millennium because it is on the earth, but then the Bible says it is going to pass away and now all I am left with is a cloud and a toga and a harp.”
We don’t make the connection, do we? We don’t make the connection from the millennial earth to the new earth. We somehow think that earth is not as real after this earth passes away. It’s just not true.
All through the Bible, there are references to the new earth. There are three prophecies about the new earth in the Book of Isaiah. So, this is not just for Revelation, not just for the New Testament, but all through the scripture we see verses that apply to the new earth.
Some scholars argue, does this apply to the millennium or does this apply to the new earth? And I would say, first of all, stop arguing. And then I would say, what if it is both? What if all that stuff in Isaiah 60 and Isaiah 66 and Isaiah 52 (I think) all talks about the new earth – what if that is about the new earth too, not just the millennium? I don’t know for sure. I’m not going to argue with you about it, but what if it does?
What about John 14 in the Upper Room Discourse when Jesus says “I go to prepare a place for you.” He says “In my father’s house are many dwelling places.” It means places to dwell in my Father’s house. Like one house with many rooms. “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. If I go I am going to come back to you and I am going to take you to where I am.”
Listen, he meant it for real. It’s a real place that he is making for you. It is a real place. And you’re going to walk; you’re not going to float. And you’re going to eat, which I am especially excited about! And you’re going to fellowship. It’s real.
Maybe it’s because we think it’s more spiritual, it’s more highly evolved, to not talk about a heaven having a tangible earth, with dirt, with sky, with trees, with mountains, with rivers, with animals, with cities, with nations and with kings, and with real people and real relationships. having real things to do, real work. Well, guess what? The Bible says all those things are in heaven.
God is going to recreate the earth and put you on it. Only the earth amplified and glorified and perfected and without sin. It’s going to be indescribable.
Plus, there is this other little preacher problem, and I’m part of it. Because I like to say “This earth is going to burn up, it’s going to vaporize, man! And everything we love in this world is going to vaporize so why are we fighting so hard to take hold of the things in this world because it is all going to vaporize.”
I say that. But listen, what I am trying to do is to shake you loose of the sinful stuff that has you in bondage. I’m trying to get you to be set free from the stuff of this world. But what happens, unfortunately, is that I kind of imply that there’s not going to be anything in heaven that is here on this earth. What I mean to say is there is not going to be anything sinful or having the effects of the fall in heaven as it is here on this earth. But because I don’t say that and I say, “This stuff is going to burn up,” you think the harp and toga and the cloud are really true. No, it’s not, and I’m sorry. I apologize.
There are things in the new earth that you can experience today. You just can’t experience them to the level or to the perfection. But the Bible talks about the new earth in terms that you and I can relate to today. I just want you to know that the new earth is real. It’s like this earth, only better. Only improved and amplified and glorified and perfected.
And so, some scholars don’t say this world is going to burn up, they say this world is going to be regenerated. It is going to be restored. God is going to restore it to new. He is going to make all things new, which means return things to being new. So, those scholars take the verses about this world being judged by fire in a similar fashion as 1 Corinthians 3 teaches us about our works being judged by fire. So, write this down. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and look at this during this week. This deals with the Bema Seat, the judgment seat of Christ (our twelfth message in this Revelation series covered this – “Judgment, Reward and Loss.”)
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 says that all the works that you do on this earth are going to pass through a fiery judgment. And everything you did that was worthless, illustrated by wood, hay, and stubble, is going to vaporize – it’s going to burn up. But listen, here’s the point. That same fire is going to refine everything you did that was godly and divine. So, all of your works that are for God, of God, and by God are going to not be destroyed by the fire of judgment, they are going to be refined by the fire of judgment. Useless works destroyed; godly works refined by the same fire. And so, this is how the scholars see the new earth being refined by fire.
So yes, the earth is going to pass through fire. But it is not to be vaporized, it is to destroy all things associated with sin and the fall, and to refine all things associated with God and heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:17 talks about the same thing with us. It says “Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new” But listen, when you got saved, you didn’t pass away. Alright? When I got saved at nineteen years old, the next time my mother saw me, she thought she was looking at the same person. But she wasn’t. All the old things about me had passed away, and all things had become new, but I looked like the same person. It’s the same with the earth.
Here’s how Randy Alcorn summarizes it.
“The earth’s death will be no more final than our own. The destruction of the old Earth in God’s Purifying judgment will immediately be followed by its resurrection to new life. Earth’s fiery “end” will open straight into a glorious new beginning.”
Heaven is real. The new earth is real, as real and in some ways more real than this earth. I am coming back to that. I can’t teach Revelation 21 and 22 until you have clear in your mind that heaven is real. Because if I just teach through it, you’re going to think, “What does that mean, Tree of Life? What does that mean, city? What does that mean, nations and kings? What does it mean that we will come in and out?”
It means what it says. But we have to get in our mind that heaven is real and then when we read about it, we will think “Man that is so cool!” Because it is real.
Here is what I want to start with. I want to start with the resurrection of our bodies because I think this is a big deal. I think that we really don’t get that when our bodies are resurrected, they will be real. They will be real resurrected bodies. It’s a good place to start, because if you believe that your body is real then you’ll believe that the place you’re going to live forever is going to be real, because how can a real body be in a non-real place?
So, let’s talk about real bodies. Our bodies resurrected and glorified will be real, tangible, touchable, “interactable,” they are going to be real. Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. It is all about the resurrection. It is the truth of the resurrection and the truth of the resurrection body. It starts with such a critical text, and I am going to skip it, I can’t teach the whole chapter, it is 58 verses. That’s why I am just skimming through.
But let me just tell you as a preface, as a setup and this is critical. The real, tangible, actual physical resurrection of the body of Jesus Christ is the very core of our faith. If Jesus Christ did not really, tangibly, physically, actually be raised from the dead in the same body he died in, if that didn’t happen, our faith is futile and we are still lost in our sins and nothing we believe is true. That is how critical the real, actual, tangible resurrection of Christ is.
Let’s start in verse 17.
1 Corinthians 15:17 (ESV)
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
Paul is explaining how centrally critical the actual resurrection is. So, he is talking about physical resurrection, not spiritual resurrection.
Continuing in verse 20.
1 Corinthians 15:20 (ESV)
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (died).
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. So, your faith is not futile, you’re not still in your sins because if you put your faith in Christ, he actually has been raised from the dead just as you will be if you are in him.
…the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Asleep means died. There is no soul sleep. Jesus is the Firstfruits of the Resurrection. It means he is the Forerunner. It means that he is the first of more like him. It means that he is the first of much more like him. He is the Forerunner of the Resurrection.
It means that we will be like him in his resurrection – let me just qualify it right up front. I don’t mean like him in his divinity. I mean like him in his resurrection. We will be like him in his resurrection, to a certain extent. We will be like him the way he was resurrected, physically, bodily.
So, if I were to say to you, “Right now envision your resurrected body,” what would you say? Would you see it as kind of ethereal, spiritual, disembodied? Would you say, “You know, I’m not really sure, I kind of am flying around on a cloud with wings. How did I get those wings? And I don’t know, am I a ghost?” Guys, we need to know what we are going to look like when we are resurrected.
Now we are going to talk about the temporary heaven, the presence of the Lord, and the eternal heaven with a resurrected body, we will talk about it – so don’t get hung up on it right now. But what I am talking about right now is the resurrection. The resurrection body that is going to occupy the new earth which is an integral part of the new heaven. Here’s what you need to see. It’s a real, tangible, physical body.
Here’s what R.A. Torry says, who is the original builder of Biola Bible College (Bible Institute of Los Angeles.)
“We will not be disembodied spirits in the world to come, but redeemed spirits, in redeemed bodies, in a redeemed universe.”
Here’s the deal. Look carefully. Redeemed spirits, meaning without sin. Redeemed bodies, meaning without sin. Redeemed universe, meaning without sin. When you read those words, especially redeemed bodies, do you see yourself kind of like you are? I mean do you see yourself like you – only better? Listen, we need to see in the Bible that there is a continuity between our current bodies and our resurrected bodies. Heaven is not Glamour magazine, so, get rid of those images. Heaven is a glorified body, the magnificent creation that God created in you, without sin and glorified. That’s a really big deal.
1 Corinthians 15:35 (ESV)
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
That’s the first question, isn’t it? What kind of body am I going to have? What kind of body am I going to have in the resurrection? Look down at verse 40.
1 Corinthians 15:40 (ESV)
40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.
Heavenly bodies, earthly bodies. The Greek word for body is SOMA. Here’s what SOMA means, literally. “The material composition of an entity.” What an entity is made up of. You, by the way, are an entity. You are made up of what we call your body. So, are you going to be the material composition of an entity in heaven? Yes, yes you are. That is what “heavenly bodies” is. Is it different than your earthly body? Yes. But is it still a body? Yes. You will still have a body and we just happen to have this incredible, wonderful picture of it in Christ’s resurrection, which we are going to look at in a second.
So, when you see heavenly bodies in verse 40, don’t think it means spirit. Why would the Holy Spirit have Paul write body there if you weren’t a heavenly body? Would he have not said “spirit?”
What about verse 44?
1 Corinthians 15:44 (ESV)
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Paul is just trying to say the same thing over, and over and over again. That’s what Paul is doing here. He is talking about the difference. He is differentiating, he is separating two bodies. And so, he says heavenly body and earthly body, and then he says natural body and spiritual body. It is a body, it’s just spiritual. He is trying to say it is different than the one you have now, but it is still a body.
1 Corinthians 15:50 (ESV)
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Now we have this interpretation thing called context, where we interpret the Bible according to a context a verse is written in, and the context here is that Paul is trying to separate the earthly body from the heavenly body. And so his inference here is that this flesh and blood, this sinful flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God because it is perishable, it is declining. Here’s the truth; you started dying the day you were born. That’s the truth. So, you can’t inherit an eternal kingdom because you are in the process of dying. So, the resurrection body, though a similar body, will not be like this decaying flesh and blood.
Look down at verse 53.
1 Corinthians 15:53 (NLT)
53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
Do you see it? It’s not that we stop having bodies. It’s that our dying bodies are going to be transformed into bodies that never die. Our mortal bodies are going to be transformed into immortal bodies. What I need you to see before I teach the rest of Revelation is that it is a real body. What kind of body? What will they look like?
Skip back to verse 49.
1 Corinthians 15:49 (ESV)
49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Obviously talking about Adam and Jesus. We’ve born the image of the man of dust; we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. So that means we have an example. That means we have something we can look at and say our resurrection bodies will be like that. That body is whose? Jesus. All we have to do is look at Jesus’ body and say, okay, alright. That is kind of what I am going to be like. Have you ever wondered, “Hey Jesus, why did you hang out in this place for forty days after the resurrection?”
I’ve wondered, why forty days? Well, I believe, it’s number one, to prove his resurrection, which those forty days proved it historically without a doubt. But also, it is so that we could see kind of how he lived resurrected. This is incredible. Let’s take a look at it.
After his resurrection, Jesus was seen by hundreds. He was seen by his disciples; he was seen by up to five hundred. He interacted with people. So, if we will go through the gospels (which we can’t fully do today) and look at Jesus’ resurrection, which is not that long a period, we can say “Hey, if this is how he was after the resurrection then this is how I’ll be after the resurrection.”
The first thing you have to look at is the empty tomb. Why was the tomb empty? Because the same body that Jesus died in rose from the dead. If it was a different body, where did that body go? It’s the same body. The same body he died in is his resurrected body. I hope that is a big deal to you. It is. His body didn’t remain in the tomb while he was resurrected because he was in it.
Did people recognize him? Yes. Was he initially not recognized by Mary in the garden when Mary first realized that his body was gone? Yes. Was he hiding his recognition from her? I don’t think so, I think she was so overcome with grief, and in the Middle East culture was for a woman not to look a man in the eyes. That was just their culture. And so, chances are she didn’t know until he said her name, and then she turned and said, “Rabboni. Teacher, it’s you.” She recognized him immediately when she saw him. That was incredible.
Turn to Luke 24. In Luke 24 Jesus is walking with the two unnamed disciples on the road to Emmaus. This is another chapter for you to study this week. Here is what I want you to see in the chapter. Write these words down in your margin. Talked, ate, and fellowshipped. Wait a minute. Jesus rose from the dead in the same body he died in, people recognized him, he talked, he ate and he fellowshipped with them. That’s the key point that you’ll look for in Luke 24. And then, when those two disciples came back to the ten disciples (Thomas wasn’t there) and they are telling the story, we read in Luke 24:37-43 the following.
Luke 24:37–43 (ESV)
37 But they (disciples) were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
43 and he took it and ate before them.
He is our forerunner. He is our First fruits. We’re going to be like him. And he says Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And then he asks for something to eat.
I want you to see how incredible it is that Jesus interacted with people. John Chapter 20, Jesus meets Thomas who wasn’t there a week earlier in the text we just read. And what does he do to doubting Thomas? “Hey pal. Touch my hand. Put your hand in my side. See how real I am.”
Then in John 21, again Jesus interacts with his disciples. And John 21 is super cool, you need to read it because Peter (I love Peter) says, “I’m going fishing.” And so, Peter gets a hold of half a dozen disciples, and they walk up to the Sea of Galilee, and they start fishing. They fish all night. In the morning, they hadn’t caught anything, and the fog is just sitting on the lake there, and the sun is just rising, and they see someone on the shore. And he says, “Hey, have you guys caught anything?”
“No!”
And he says, “Cast your net on the other side of the boat.”
And so, they throw their net on the other side of the boat and they catch so many fish it almost capsizes the boat. And then John says, “Hey, I think that is Jesus.” And Peter jumps out of the boat and swims to shore. And so, the disciples get all the fish and bring the boat to shore. When they get to shore, in John 21, Jesus is fixing a real fire. He is going to fix a real fish breakfast. He has fish himself.
Then there is this little thing that is really important. Jesus has a little personal heart to heart with Peter. Because Jesus wants to address the whole denying him thing that went on during the crucifixion. What’s the point? The resurrected Christ interacted with the people he loved the most.
Does that mean that you are going to get to come back as a ghost and talk to people? No, that is not what this is. This is a resurrected Christ interacting with people he loves, as our first fruits, as our forerunner. So, when you are resurrected at the rapture, when you get to the millennium, but for sure the new earth, you will be able to interact and eat just as well. Real Jesus, real food, real friends, real fellowship.
What about in Matthew 8:11? Just write this down.
Matthew 8:11 (ESV)
11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
What if he means what he says? He does! And I for one would love to have some hummus and pita bread with Abraham. I mean, seriously. “Abe,” I would say. “Man, you messed up more than me. I totally studied your life, and it made me feel so good that you made more mistakes than I ever did.” (It’s true. Study it.)
What about Matthew 26:29 when Jesus is speaking to his friends?
Matthew 26:29 (ESV)
29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Listen there is no interpretive reason to think that means anything else but Jesus actually drinking the cup with these actual disciples in the actual kingdom. He says, “Hey we’re going to do this again. You remember this. It’s not the last time we are going to do it.”
Let me just tell you really quick. God made you to live in harmony with him and with others. Love the Lord your God. Love one another. God created you to live in harmony, so when you live in harmony with God and others you love it. You’re in the zone. You’re like, “Lord this is good.” Why? Because God created you to live that way.
Listen, some of you more than others, when you recognize the glory of creation that has been unmarred to some extent (all of creation has been marred by sin) but when you grasp the glory of creation, you’re just like “God, this is incredible!” I’m telling you God put those desires in your heart because they are a slice of heaven. Just like Ephesians says the Holy Spirit is our down payment, our earnest. He is our taste of heaven. So is your harmony in relationships with God and others. So is the incredible world.
Let me just close with a little bit of Max Lucado. If you don’t own a Max Lucado book, buy one. Just pick one, he has written like, six hundred. Just pick one. Listen, when I say this to real spiritual, knowledgeable people, they say “You’re kidding, right?”
I’m just telling you right now, Max Lucado is my favorite Christian writer. Because everything he writes makes me cry.
Max Lucado from the book, “The Applause of Heaven.”
The Book of Revelation could be entitled the Book of Homecoming, for in it we are given a picture of our heavenly home.
John Describes it in Revelation 21:1–5 (NLT)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth . . .
2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem . . . like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
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.
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.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” . . .
The most hopeful words . . . are those of God’s resolve: “I am making everything new.”
[You and I can’t make all things new], but God can. “He restores my soul,” wrote the shepherd. He doesn’t reform; he restores. He doesn’t camouflage the old; he restores the new. The Master Builder will pull out the original plan and restore it. He will restore the vigor. He will restore the energy. He will restore the hope. He will restore the soul.
“Great,” Jesus said, “is your reward in heaven.” He must have smiled when he said that line. His eyes must have danced, and his hand must have pointed skyward. For he should know. It was his idea. It was his home.
Listen, guys, heaven is real. And before we finish this section of Revelation 21, you’ve got to know it’s real. So, when you read verses that can take no commentary because they are so phenomenal, you’ll just be in awe. We need to be excited, expectant, and passionate about our heaven because it is real.