After spending 3 ½ years with his disciples, Jesus shared one final meal and then began his preparations for what he was to face; for what he was to do. The first step in that preparation was these 12 men with whom he had shared so much of life. For 3 ½ years he had been with them every day, and there was little that they had not experienced together. But now he is going to leave them. There was a cross to endure, a payment for man’s sin that must be provided. His father must be satisfied, and mankind’s salvation secured.
When Peter asked Him where he is going and why can’t they follow him, Jesus answered with these words, “in my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).
In this promise Jesus gave his disciples hope. He gave hope that looked beyond the events of the night; even beyond the events of the rest of their lives. He gave hope that would quiet their grief, calm their fears and remove al doubt about what the future would hold for them. Jesus was going to leave, but they would only be separated from him for a short period of time.
Did they understand all that he was saying? No! They only understood a portion of what Jesus was trying to tell them, but that which they did understand brought comfort and peace in the instability of life. The day was going to come when they would go to the Father’s house, where they would again be with Jesus. That promise was not only to the disciples in an upper room in the City of Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago, but it is also for us; those who have believed the message they have shared.
This, however, raises a question for us; actually it raises a series of questions. We have already seen that where we spend eternity is directly dependent upon the decision that we make in this lifetime. If we have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, we will spend eternity in Heaven. If we have not trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, we will spend eternity separated from him; in the place prepared for the Devil and his angels, in Hell.
We have already seen that Heaven is not merely a concept, an idea, but it is where God dwells. It is entirely different from anything in this world. It is our home! If this is where we are going, if this is where we are going to spend eternity, then there are some questions that come to mind. “What is heaven (our Father’s house) like?” “What will we be like in our Father’s house?” “What will we do in our Father’s house?” It is the first of those questions that I would like to think about with you in this article: “What is heaven like?” To help us answer this question, it is necessary to pose and answer four foundational questions.
QUESTION #1:Where is Heaven?
In the past ages and in the present time, Heaven is always described as up!
When Elijah and Elisha were walking on the road from Gilgal to Bethel, the whirlwind took Elijah up to heaven (2 Kings 2:11). When Stephen was on trial before the Sanhedrin, he “looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,” and he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56). The apostle Paul was caught up into the third heaven, into Paradise, where he heard things that he could not tell another living person (2 Cor 12:2,4). When Jesus was take from this earth, 40 days after his resurrection, he was “taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). Heaven, from all eternity past and even today, is up; somewhere beyond all that God has created in the universe surrounding us.
In the future it will be upon and surrounding the earth
After the seven years of Tribulation, the time when the wrath of the AntiChrist is poured out against the Jews and the Church, and the wrath of God is poured out against this world who rejects His son, God will bring the rule of this world to an end. At the Battle of Armageddon the Son of God, Jesus, will defeat all, and he will begin his rule, his Millennial rule. At the end of that 1,000 year reign of Christ, those who have rejected Christ will be judged by Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They will be judged at the Great White Throne and then sent to their eternal destination in the Lake of Fire.
Then we see these words, ”then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband” (Rev 21:1a, 2). After the 1,000 years that Jesus Christ rules upon this earth, heaven will no longer be up and away from the earth, but it will be right here on this earth!
QUESTION #2:What will it look like?
It is the most beautiful thing that we have ever seen; made just for us (Rev 21:2)
John, the writer of the book of Revelation, said that this city, this Holy City, is absolutely beautiful; as beautiful as a bride is for her husband. Every bride is beautiful, having attended to every detail to prepare for her wedding. In every wedding I have attended, I have heard the words, “the bride is so beautiful.” This Holy City will be like a bride; for those who live there it will be the most beautiful place in the world. Jesus has prepared a place for us, heaven (John 14:2), just as a bride has prepared herself for her husband.
It is all that we will ever imagine or need
When John, the writer of Revelation, was taken to the top of a mountain so that he could see the beauty of the city, he said that it “shone with the glory of God” (Rev 21:11). In the Old Testament God hid Moses in a crevice in the rocks and covered him with his hand, so that Moses would not be destroyed by seeing the majestic glory of God (Exod 33:21-23). When thedisciples saw Jesus with Moses and Elijah, “Jesus’ face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light” (Matt 17:2).
The city is surrounded by a high wall with twelve gates; upon which are written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev 21:12-13), and the wall has twelve foundations upon which are written the names of the twelve apostles (Rev 21:14). The saints of the Old Testament will be there, from each of Israel’s tribes. The saints of the New Testament will be there, from all of the Church. It is surrounded by a wall that is 144 cubits thick (Rev 21:17).
The city is large enough to hold all of God’s children (Rev 21:15-17). It is 12,000 furlongs (1,342 miles) wide, long, and high. That is approximately the distance from Western New York to Orlando, Florida and from the Atlantic Ocean to St. Louis, Missouri; almost one-half of the area of the United States. This city is enormous, gigantic, with more than enough room for all of the saints of all of the ages to live there.
Everything in the city is absolutely beautiful (Rev 21:18-21). The foundations of the walls are made of precious stones. The gates are made of pearl; a single pearl for each gate. The great street of the city is made of pure gold.
From the throne of God flows the River of the Water of Life (Rev 22:1). Man will not have to drink from the River to have life, because he already has eternal life through Christ. But he can and will drink of the River because he has eternal life. Along the street is the Tree of Life (Rev 22:2) for the “healing of the nations.” This is not to cure the ills that people will have, for there will not be any ills there. The tree is there to simply enjoy, to taste, to eat; just as the water to drink.
This brings us to a third question, and that is…
QUESTION #3:Who is there?
God is there
John, the writer said, “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (Rev 21:3). God made man to live in eternal fellowship with him, but because of sin that came to the human race in the Garden of Eden, that eternal fellowship was lost. But now, after all the millennia, after all that God has done to make it certain, man again has that eternal fellowship with his Creator!
The Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ is there
John, the writer of Revelation, in his first New Testament letter said, “the day will come when we will see Jesus face to face; we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). When we get to heaven, we will see Jesus Christ. We will see him in person, and we will see him seated upon his throne (Rev 5).
There will be no temple in heaven, no place where sacrifices are made to God (Rev 21:22). All throughout the Old Testament, the Tabernacle and the Temple were necessary; daily and yearly sacrifices had to be made for mankind’s sin. At the cross, however, Jesus paid the final price for man’s sin, and no further sacrifice would ever be needed! Now, in heaven, all who are there have been purchased by that precious blood of Jesus Christ that was poured out at Calvary’s Cross. Nothing else is ever needed again! We will see our Savior face to face and worship him.
The Holy Spirit is there
Before creation God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) were in heaven. When God created the heavens and the earth, all three members of the godhead were involved. Throughout the Old Testament we see the Holy Spirit coming to equip men for specific tasks. After Jesus ascended, the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of sin, drawn men to Christ, seal them as a down payment of the full salvation that lay before them, and indwell them to provide power and guidance to live the Christian life. Throughout the history of mankind, the Holy Spirit has been intimately involved in so many parts of man’s life. When redeemed man joins God in heaven, the Holy Spirit will be there along with the Father and the Son.
Those who are saved are there
The apostle Paul said, “to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8). When he spoke of the Church being taken to heaven, Paul said, “we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thess 4:17b). All of the saints from all of the ages will be there; those we known and the great multitude whom we have yet to meet; all will be present. All will be there because of what Jesus Christ did on Calvary’s cross!
There is one final question to consider in this article, which is probably the most important in terms of why we would want to be heaven.
QUESTION #4:How is heaven different from this world?
Everything is new, absolutely different from this world (Rev 21:5-6)
God is going to make everything new (Rev 21:5). What has been here will not be there; what we have faced and endured here will not be in that place where God dwells. God will wipe every tear from the eyes of his children, because all of the suffering is forever over (Rev 21:4). Every form and manner of mankind’s sorrow (death, sorrow, crying, pain) will all come to an end.
The words “no more” will ring forth from the throne of God. There will be no more death (Rev 21:4). The funeral hearse will have made its last journey. No more funeral services, no more tombstones, no more tearful goodbyes, for “death has been swallowed up in victory!” There will be no more sorrow (Rev 21:4). Presently sorrow touches the lives of every person who lives on this earth. But in heaven, all sorrow will be gone; replaced by joy in the presence of God.
There will be no more crying (Rev 21:4). We live in a world filled with tears. But in heaven, the One who washed away our sins will wash away our tears. We will understand what God is doing and rest in his ultimate purposes. There will be no more pain (Rev 21:4). Walking through any hospital today shows people in pain; from the cancer floor to the emergency room pain is experienced and endured. But in heaven, pain (the result of sin) will be gone forever!
God’s children will be blessed, rather than suffering as we do in this world (Rev 3-4, 7-8)
In this world we suffer; in fact we are to expect suffering as we live in this world (1 Peter 2:4). When we get to heaven, however, it will all be different. Those who seem to profit and enjoy so much in this life, “the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, etc.” will be judged and punished (v.8). Sin will have been identified and judged, rather than promoted and rewarded as we continually see occurring in this life.
Sin will be gone forever
Nothing that is evil will ever enter the city (Rev 21:27). “Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be able to enter.” There is no sin in heaven; not in heaven now and not in heaven in the future. The things that we must endure in this world, the immorality, the criticism, the anger, the victimization by others, will all have come to an end!
Francis H. Lehman wrote this beautiful poem about heaven; which sums up what we have examined in this article.
“There’s no disappointment in heaven; no weariness, sorrow, or pain;
No hearts that are bleeding and broken; no songs with a minor refrain.
The clouds of our earthly horizon will never appear in the sky,
For all will be sunshine and gladness with never a sob nor a sigh.
We’ll never pay rent on our mansion; the taxes will never come due;
Our garments will never grow threadbare, but always be fadeless and new.
We’ll never be hungry nor thirsty, nor languish in poverty there.
For all the rich bounties of heaven His sanctified children will share.
There’ll never be crepe on the doorknob, no funeral train in the sky;
No graves on the hillsides of glory, for there, we shall never more die.
The old will be young there forever, transformed in a moment of time.
Immortal we’ll stand in his likeness the stars and the sun to outshine.
I’m bound for that beautiful city my Lord has prepared for his own;
When all the redeemed of all ages sing “glory” around the white throne.”
Sometimes I grow homesick for heaven, and the glories I there shall behold.
What joy that will be when my Savior I see in that beautiful city of God!”
Heaven is waiting; there for each and every one of us. It is a place where sin will be forever gone; where the sorrows and hurts of this world will be forever over. It is a place where all have been forgiven; where our Savior will be seen and enjoyed forever! Those who are there are those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, and as a result whose names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
If you have not already done so, will you turn from your sin and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior today? Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me” (John 14:6). God wants you to share what he has made for his children! Heaven awaits you if you turn to Jesus! The choice is yours to make.
