This is the Reverend Dr. Glenn WIlson, pastor of the Burt and
Woden, Iowa Presbyterian churches. This
week we are talking about heaven.
Hebrews 12:22-24 tells us something
amazing about what the gospel has done for us:
But you have come to
Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have
come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of
the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the
judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the
mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better
word than the blood of Abel.
The writer is here comparing Mt. Sinai with Mt. Zion. Under the
old covenant no one could come near God except under very strict conditions.
That’s why the mountain shook with thunder and lightning. [Note: three times
the writer of Hebrews uses a Greek word that means “to come near” or “to
approach closely.] But now in Christ we have been brought near to heavenly
realities. Think of what he is saying:
In heaven, We are with the angels. We are with out loved ones, we
are with God, we are with Jesus himself. Heaven is a real place, it’s where
Jesus is right now, and it’s where Christians will go to be with him.
What is heaven like? The
Bible gives us glimpses. images and pictures of heaven and comparisons with life on earth. Here
are some biblical facts about heaven. It is …
Most of us have heard that heaven is a place where the streets are
paved with gold, the gates are made of pearl, and the walls made of precious
jewels. Those images come from Revelation 21-22, which offers us the most
extended picture of heaven in the entire Bible.
This passage gives us some images with earthly comparisons, but heaven will
be much greater than we can imagine.
Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4 in 1 Corinthians 2:9 “What
no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[b]—
these are the things God has prepared for those who love him—
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[b]—
these are the things God has prepared for those who love him—
Here’s a delightful legend that makes the point very well:
I love the old story of the rich man who, on his death bed,
negotiated with God to allow him to bring his earthly treasures with him when
he came to heaven. God’s reaction was that this was a most unusual request, but
since this man had been exceptionally faithful, permission was granted to bring
along just one suitcase. The time arrived, the man presented himself at the
pearly gates, suitcase in hand– BOTH hands, actually, since he had stuffed it
with as many bars of gold bullion as would fit. St. Peter said, “Sorry, you
know the rules–you can’t take it with you.” But the man protested, “God said I
could … one suitcase.” St. Peter checked, found out that this one would be an exception,
prepared to let the man enter, then said, “OK, but I will have to examine the
contents before you pass.” He took the suitcase, opened it, saw the gold bars
and asked quizzically, “You brought PAVEMENT?”
When John writes about a street paved with gold, I do not doubt
his words. He simply reports what he saw in his vision. Thus his words are
literally true. They are also meant to tell us that the things we value so
highly in this life will be used to pave the roads in heaven.
Heaven is a real place filled with real people. The Bible pictures
it as a great city filled with all of God’s people.
What would such a city look like? It would be a city with …
No pollution for the skies would always be crystal clear.
No crime or violence for no criminals would ever enter.
No greedy politicians, no drug pushers, no child molesters.
No potholes and no power outages either.
It would be filled with abundant parks, rivers, rolling meadows,
and flowing streams. Lining the streets would be flowers in constant bloom,
fruit trees of every kind, every species of plant life growing free from
pestilence and disease. As my dad, a
Methodist minister used to say – It will have all the good things of earth and
more, much more – the brokenness will be gone and the glories like that of the
Garden of Eden will be restored.
The gates would be made of pearl, the walls of jasper, the streets
of gold.
Beautiful music and praises
floating from every direction.
In the city that God builds, there are no tears, there is no sorrow
… no regret … no remorse. Bitterness gone forever, failure left far behind,
suffering redeemed and rewarded. There are no eyeglasses, no braces, no
wheelchairs, no false teeth, no bald heads, no hearing aids, and no crutches.
Aspirin gone, accidents over, cancer disappeared, heart attacks banished, AIDS
a distant memory. In heaven no one grows old and feeble.
There is one other thing you won’t find in heaven. There are no
cemeteries in the city God builds. Why? There are no funerals … for in that
glad city no one ever dies.
If you make it to that city, you live forever, never to die again.
Either you believe in heaven or you don’t. It’s either a real place or it
isn’t. This is heaven-where all our best dreams finally come true. And you get there by the miracle of
salvation. You must believe in Jesus as
your Lord and Savior. So embrace Him
and commit to Him or recommit to him right now!
This has been Pastor Glenn Wilson of the Burt and Woden
Presbyterian churches. Have a Jesus
filled day.
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