Why Study Heaven?

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. 

What Does It Mean to be Saved - Repentance

What Does it Mean to be Saved
It Means Repenting of Your Sin

Matthew 21:28-32 "But what think ye? a certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.  And he came to the second, and said likewise.  And he answered and said I go, sir: and went not.  Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto hm, The first.  Jesus saith unto them, Verily  I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you."
 
Repentance from sin, a most essential part of the gospel that Christians believe along with being born again, conviction and confession of sin.. the next message in this series called What Does it Mean to be Saved  is repentance from sin. After this will be the message on faith. If you put faith and trust alongside repentance, together those doctrines are the gospel.  The most basic and essential gospel doctrines are repentance and faith.  Without repentance no one can be saved.  Repentance is the most neglected doctrine today.

The parable of Matthew 21:28-32  is about repentance.  True repentance is not just talking about it like the second son, not a mere profession, it is an action,  a change of direction and there is not a teaching that is more central in the bible than the teaching of repentance.  John the Baptist taught it and the Lord Jesus himself, Mark 1:14-15 "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee,preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."   To preach repentance is to preach the gospel.  Repent and believe is the gospel of God.  If repentance is missing from any preacher or evangelist's preaching, than that preaching is not the gospel of God, but some other gospel.  When our Lord sent out the disciples to preach he commanded that they preach repentance from sin.  Peter always preached repentance, Paul preached the same; repentance.  Acts 17:29-30 "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men ever where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."   Repentance is the command of God to all men, its a universal command.  Repentance cannot be overestimated much less removed from the gospel like the purpose-driven church or the emergent church has done.  They do not mention sin so they do not mention repentance from sin because they do not preach the gospel.

Bible Men: Jonah, Part 3 - Jonah Obeys God

Jonah - Part 3

Jonah obeys God, goes to Nineveh and learns more lessons.

For previous studies on Jonah 1 go here, for Jonah 2 go here.

In Jonah 2 we learned how Jonah was swallowed by the great fish, whom the Lord Jesus called a whale, that the LORD had prepared for this task.  We learned how Jonah came to the end of himself, and prayed to the LORD his God.  We learned how Jonah made that great statement "Salvation is of the LORD." and how the LORD spoke to the fish, and Jonah was vomited onto dry land.  We don't know if Jonah's appearance was altered or not,  the bible is silent on this point, so I will not speculate.

And so again  3:1 "the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time saying Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." This time Jonah is obedient.  He went to Nineveh "according to the word of the LORD"  V3 also tells us that Nineveh "was an exceeding great city of three days' journey."   This does not mean that Nineveh was three days away from Jonah, for the next verse tells us "And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said,  V4 "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."  It took three days to walk through the city of Nineveh, so great a city was it, it was filled with wickedness, and for three days Jonah walked through the city preaching God's message V4 "yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown..