This is Part 1 of a series by Paul Dowling on the subject of Heaven.
Why Study Heaven?
Rev 22:1-6
Glory, Paradise, or Heaven.. we are not studying the atmosphere, the universe or space, but God's dwelling place. Why study heaven? Because life in this world distracts us and blots out thoughts of heaven. Things closer to us are seen to be bigger than eternity but they are not.
Another reason is that through misunderstanding heaven it doesn't appeal to as many people as it should. You may say "How could heaven not be appealing"? Some may find it boring, they suppose it to be like a church service that goes on and on, while sitting on a marble seat. Such a view has limited appeal and is childish. Some are apathetic about heaven, clumsy at understanding its beauty. But that is not the biblical view and that is another reason why believers should study heaven from the bible and look at the true biblical portrait.
Another reason is because we can know about it. 1 Corin 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" Some people use this text to say we don't know about heaven, you can't picture it, you can't hear it, you can't imagine it so why consider it. But they need to read the next verse, 10 . "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." Natural man can't imagine the things that God has prepared, but God has revealed them to believers by his Spirit through his word, the bible. That is the limit that God has told us about heaven and we can know what he wants us to know. We are duty bound to study heaven because God has revealed it and whatever God has revealed, we are to study.
We should study heaven because it is a powerful evangelistic weapon. Look at the world around you, there is a dis-satisfaction with materialism. Look at people's faces, are they happy? They are not happy at all, most of them. There is no joy in materialism, it does not bring happiness or contentedness. If this life is it, and all we have and we live and then we die and it is over, that is depressing. How appealing in that situation is heaven.. time is just a vapor but your soul lives forever and can live forever with God securely in heaven, satisfied in a place of indescribable beauty. A new Paradise where every lie, deceit and wrong has been purged. What a powerful evangelistic weapon therefore, heaven is. God offers sinful human beings an eternity of happiness, what a glorious possibility.
Another reason is that many people take it for granted that they are going there when they are not. Many take it for granted but there is no evidence in their lives that they are joined to Christ. They are nurturing a false hope. We hear silly things about how people who have died are enjoying heaven when people take it for granted that they are there. But they have no good reason for their perilous assumption and they are going to be shocked because neglect of heaven is lethal. Heaven is not natural, not the normative extension of everybody's life after death. It is not the next stage that happens automatically when people die. That is not what the bible teaches us. It is not a natural progression and everybody goes to heaven. You can't live a godless life and take heaven for granted. You can't assume that you will go to heaven. The bible teaches that it is actually astounding that anybody is in heaven and to have hope of heaven you must be saved by grace through faith. Then you do the will of the Lord, that is the proof. Heaven will only be entered by those who repent and trust in Jesus Christ and that is why we need to study it because the ignorance of heaven is huge.
Heaven is not a human right. It is God's right. The only human right that exists is hell. That is the only thing that human beings deserve. The wages of sin is death. In grace God gives his Son. In grace Christ receives sinners, and in grace they turn from their sin to Christ, repenting. In grace God brings many sons to glory. Anyone who takes heaven for granted will never be there. Jesus speaks of the narrow gate that leads to the narrow way that leads to life. The narrow gate is salvation, the narrow way is self-restraint where you watch how you live and how you walk and that is the way that leads to life. Without Jesus Christ as Saviour, no one enters heaven. In looking at heaven, the idea is that heaven would come to woo our hearts, that we would fall in love with this idea and long for it more than we do. But please remember that If you are not a Christian, if you are not saved, if you are not repenting and trusting in the Lord you will not go to heaven.
Where is heaven? Heaven is up. Everywhere that the bible speaks of heaven it is upward, the lofty place, the exalted place, the word itself means of great height. Psalm 103:11 "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him" Heaven is high above the earth. Isaiah 57:15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit......" There are countless references "lift up your eyes to heaven" It is always described as Up.. Christ in John 17:1 "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven..." Its nonsense to say it is a metaphor, up means up and that is a fact. If you lift your eyes up you are looking towards heaven and God's throne.
Heaven is not only up it is also in eternity, beyond this universe. The universe is a created thing that God made in the beginning, it is bound in time. Time is also created. Eternity is beyond time. Heaven is beyond all that, timelessness, eternal. Eternity means without beginning and without end, beyond time. Time will one day end, but eternity will be forever. What can be beyond time? Eternity. That is why in heaven there is no more death, no more sickness, no more change because there is no time. Lets study it because we like to study places we are going to go.
Anyone who is not saved, don't assume that you are going to go to heaven, you must enter in through Christ, the narrow gate and the narrow way that leads to life. If you want to spend eternity with God, you must do something about it in time. You prepare for eternity in time so that you don't end up somewhere you didn't want to go.
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The above notes were made by myself from the sermon by Paul Dowling of Whiteabbey Congregational (Reformed) at Sermon Audio.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=13161084910
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