HEAVEN
THE FINAL HOME OF THE REDEEMED

          In the natural body, we are imperfect vessels or instruments for the maximum and perfect usefulness of God’s Spirit.  However, in the new life with our resurrected new body, God’s Spirit will empower us for the perfect worship of His glory and praise, the perfect service to one another, and the perfect exercise of fellowship in love for all of God’s family.

 

          Heaven is the marvel of marvels and so great that the question of questions is “Why did Jesus leave Heaven and come to a sinful, dying, rotten world?”  The only answer is that God loves us.  The proof of His love is the Cross.  His supreme goal is to make us Christlike.  His gift or reward is eternal fellowship with Him and all of His children.  Such a life in Christ is still a mystery and a dream that cannot be imagined or comprehended and yet, because of the Cross and the Resurrection, Heaven is a reality that can’t be denied!  Go For It! (Col. 2:11-15).

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          So far, we have discussed only the first aspect of the Christian’s inheritance.  The Promised Land of the Christian is not only a land which is imperishable but also a land which is undefiled and will never fade away (1 Pet. 1:4).  We will now examine these two other aspects of our future inheritance.

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          The second aspect of our future inheritance reveals that it will be undefilable.  Our present world is defiled, polluted, sin-stained, disgraceful, and shameless.  It is a world where impurity and ungodliness has touched every segment of our social, economical, political, and spiritual life.  Our heroes are athletes, movie stars, the “big shots” or famous people of this world even when he or she is a devil or a saint.  For too many people, God is money, power, and prestige.  The Lord God Almighty is looked down on as being helpless, useless, harmful, and even as nonexistent.  Life is cheap and can be disposed of by legal or illegal measures.  Nothing is sacred.  All of God’s creation has been defiled.  Today we are plagued with climate changes, terrifying and destructive storms that reap thousands of lives by nature’s fury of tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornados.  Imperfection, stride, and sufferings exist everywhere.  Man and creation in pain is groaning for restoration (Rom. 8:13-22).  In Noah’s time, the works and hearts of man had become so evil that God sent a great flood to clean up the mess and start over again.  However, there are astronomers, geologists, and other scientists who tell us that our earth once enjoyed a perpetual spring.  There were no Arctic regions of frozen ice and snow.  These regions were a veritable paradise.  The great deserts of Africa or the vast, dreary waste lands of Central Asia were fertile regions with forests, lakes, and rivers.  In North America, Bible believing Christians explain what happened in the area of the Grand Canyon of Arizona as being the results of the flood of Noah’s day and not that it was formed by the Colorado River over millions of years.  The area was once a forest land of big trees and vegetation, water life, and animal life.  In the basin of the Colorado River that travels through the barren regions of Utah and Colorado, the land was filled with gardens of Eden, with trees, flowers, green meadows, and beautiful streams.  These sections of the earth which became unproductive are witnesses of God’s curse on the physical world because of man’s sin (Gen. 1-4).  The earth grew barren as its people became more rebellious.  The evidence of disorder is felt even in the animal world of hissing venomous snakes, savage beast like the crocodile, the grizzly bear, the lion or tiger, or birds of prey that devour one another, and insects and viruses which take away man’s life or his comfort and happiness.

 

          Why and how has the earth suffered so many catastrophic events and experienced such gigantic changes?  Most scientists who have swallowed the lie of evolution, rejected the Book of Genesis as a myth, and denied the truth of a Creator God say they do not know.  But Christians know! God’s Book gives us the answers.  The Bible reveals that every event in history has God’s hand on it.  He controls history with the sole purpose of bringing a lost and defiled world back to His heart and His will in order that man be made perfectly suitable to live with Him in His House forever.

 

          To achieve His goal of salvation for sinful man, God was motivated by two things.  One was His love for man.  And since He is a holy God and a man stained by sin cannot stand in His presence, a demand for justice was His second motive.  Man’s rebellion and defiance of His Lordship demanded a sentence of death and eternal separation from His presence.  Therefore, for man’s salvation, the penalty of man’s debt had to be paid for or he would have to face the wrath and judgment of a holy God.  But God already had a marvelous but costly plan to satisfy His demand for justice.  He would send His Son. To die on a Cross to pay the debt of sin.  The Cross would show the world the worst side of mankind and the best of God.  In His love for man and His demand for justice, God nailed man’s debt to the Cross.  What a divine picture of grace taken from the custom of New Testament times.  The custom of that day was for a man’s debts to be written on what was called A Certificate of Debts.  All of a person’s debts were written on the certificate and signed by the debtor.  When the debt was paid or forgiven, the certificate was nailed to the door frame of the debtor’s house for all the world to see that the debt had been cancelled.  Thus, the Cross is the “Good News” that our sin has been paid for, or debt has been cancelled, Satan, hell, and the grave have been overcome, and the risen Savior is victorious.  Our sin was nailed to His Cross!  We are free, safe, and forgiven!  On the new earth, there will be no disorder, no defilement.  God’s House will be filled with His glory, His presence, His joy, His love for ages without end!  The wedding banquet of the Lamb and the Church will fill Heaven with the shouts of Hallelujah forever! (Rev. 19:1-8; 21:1-7; Col. 2:11-15; Rom. 5:1-10).

 

          Heaven is undefilable! A glorious land that is not polluted with a lack of reverence, esteem, and honor for the Father. It is the land where the Lamb of God has removed every stain of sin and restored man to a life that is perfect, free, joyous, and glorious.  A land where the slave of sin has become a saint and the heir of God and the joint heir with Christ.  A land where life is delivered from futility, bondage, and corruption.  It is the work of the Holy Spirit to make us heirs with God.  And His presence within us is the Lord’s guarantee of Heaven as our home.  With the death of the Lamb of God, all of our sins were nailed to the Cross and washed away by the sacrifice of His blood.  Our new life in Christ was sealed by the Spirit which is a guarantee of God’s promises, a sign of His security, His proof of authenticity, His declaration of ownership, and His sovereign authority for pledging our future inheritance.  However, this is not all of the amazing story!  Hold on to your hat!  Your mind is about to be blown!  The Bible says that God the Father has appointed Jesus through whom He created the universe to be the owner of His vast creation.   And remember, the Holy Spirit made us joint partners or heirs with the Father and with the Son.  Jesus now refuses to call us slaves or servants.  Instead, Jesus says we are his brothers and sisters and that we will be glorified together.  Amazing!  The King of glory will share with His people all of the new universe and the new earth.  He will share His throne, crown, scepter, palace, treasure, and robes as the reward of every Christian.  As joint heirs, the golden streets of paradise, the gates of pearls, the river of life, the wonderful joy of fellowship with the Father and all of His happy family, the magnificent music, and the everlasting sounds of praise and gratitude are all ours!  Nothing will defile the glory and wonder of our eternal home for jealousy, selfishness, greed, or any other evil will not exist (Jh.17:22; Rom. 8:12-17; Heb. 1:2; 2:10-11).  Sin and Satan will be gone!  For God made Jesus to be sin for us.  He Himself was without sin but became our substitute on the Cross to pay for our sin debt (2 Cor. 5:21).  Isaiah had predicted this event over 700 years before Jesus was born saying, “With His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:6).  Our eternal salvation was guaranteed when Jesus cried out from the Cross “It is finished!” (Jh. 19:30). The confirmation or approval of Jesus’ work of suffering and dying for our sin was proclaimed by the Lord’s angels saying “He is no longer in the grave! He is Risen!” (Luke 24:5-6).  Thus, Jesus’ resurrection was the Father’s “Assurance or Insurance” that every child of God will receive a perfectly new resurrected body just like that of our Lord’s.  It will be a body made suitable for living in the heart of God, and wherever God lives will be Heaven (Jh. 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:12-28; Eph. 2:1-7; Rev. 21: 1-27; 22:1-4).  In the City of God, no abomination or defilement will be found (Rev. 21:8).  What a city!

 

          The third aspect of our future inheritance reveals a priceless gift of eternal life. Eternal life is the quality or kind of life that God possesses.  He is eternal.  He always was, always will be. He never changes.  The kind of life that He has, He freely gives through faith in His Son.  This life is described in His Word as a life that is incorruptible, honorable, powerful, and eternal. This life provides a sure hope that is beyond the reach of change and decay.  It will never “fade away.”  It is a new birth of the sinful, lost man who lives in a condition of life which is pitiful, tragic, desperately wicked, and hopeless.  Sinful man stands in need of a new nature, a new life, and a new destiny.  Only God can provide for these needed changes.  The “Good News” is that God, through His love, justice, mercy, and grace, has provided for man’s needs.  The gift of eternal life through faith in Christ provides for the rebirth of a right relationship of man with His Creator and for a life of joy, peace, and hope without any elements of decaying.  Eternal life never fades away!  This is the “Good News”!  This “Good News” is the amazing and wonderful reality that the new man in Christ has been lifted into a new life of purity and holiness, a life of serenity with genuine hope, and a joy and peace that will last forever.  However, “The Headline News” of our receiving the gift of eternal life as our inheritance is the fact that our inheritance is God Himself.  Jesus said that He is the life of God (Jh. 14:6).  He said, when you see Me, you are looking at the face of the Father (Jh. 14:9).  To have eternal life, Jesus says “abide” or “dwell” in Me (Jh. 15:1-11).  To “abide” or “dwell” in Jesus means to be “at Home” with God.  Thus, God is our reward, our inheritance. To be made the home of the Holy Spirit is God’s pledge that our future home in Heaven is imperishable, undefilable, and will never fade away (Jh. 14:16-18; Ps. 16:5; 73:23-26).  Heaven, where we will stay and live in God’s house, in God’s presence, with God’s family for all eternity is a promise more glorious than can be imagined!  And, the price paid took two Crosses- Christ’s Cross and our Cross- to win such a Crown!  All we can say is Hallelujah!

 

          The Bible reveals many of the changes that are going to take place when the old earth passes away to make room for the new.  In reality, “All Things” will be made new.  We will deal with only a few of the changes.

 

          First, there will be a New Heaven, a New Earth, and a New Universe (Rev. 21,22).  The New Heaven will be the Paradise of Eden restored to perfection where sin does not exist.  A garden with an eternal spring of all that is lovely, and of supreme and eternal enjoyment.  This is the dwelling place of God.  He is its builder.  This is the Heaven that God will bring out of His Universe to the New Earth.  It is the City of God, the Holy City, which will be the New Jerusalem on the New Earth, the capital city of Heaven.  The beauty and extravagant splendor of this city is compared to a bride who is wonderfully prepared and adorned to meet the bridegroom.  These words may be made more meaningful if we compare them with the Taj Mahal which was built between 1639 and 1653 by the Indian ruler Shah Jahan.  The building was to be a tomb for his wife, and then later, for himself.  The building was made of white marble, black semiprecious onyx stones with quotes from the Koran, and the walls, ceiling, and caskets were inlaid with stones in floral designs.  The project required over 20,000 skilled workers and took over twenty years to complete.  Finally, the ruler and his wife of fourteen years were placed in the tomb.

 

          The question to meditate on is simply this:  If an Indian ruler could build such a magnificent tomb for his wife and for himself, what will Heaven finally be like?  Without a doubt, it will be “something out of this world” for Jesus has been preparing a place to live with His bride for over two thousand years!  And evidently, He is still working on it.  However, one day the Taj Mahal will pass away but God’s Heaven will last forever.  And John says that His House shines “with the glory of God, and its brilliance is like that of precious jewels (Jh. 14:1-4; Rev. 19:6-8; 21:1-3, 10-14 ;9-27; 22:1-5).

 

          Heaven is a real place with real people that exist with real bodies which can express all kinds of emotions, communicate with one another, wear clothing, are full of health, vigor, and pleasure.  It is a real place where God lives, a place from which Christ came to the earth, and a real place to which Christ returned at His ascension.

 

          Heaven is not a place of disembodied spirits but bodies that can be identified as the old you and the old me now made perfect.  Jesus now lives in His physical resurrection body, and we are promised bodies like His.  At the fascinating time of the transfiguration of Jesus, the three disciples recognized the glorified Christ with Moses and Elijah.  God even spoke to them (Matt. 17:1-8; Jh. 14:2-3; Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Jh. 3:2).

 

          Heaven is often referred to as “up there.”  John in Revelation chapter four describes the “up there” Heaven.  However, in Revelation 20:11-12; 21:1-7, 9-27; 22:1-5 John describes the “down here” Heaven.  The “down here” Heaven is the City of God, the New Jerusalem that God brings down to His New Earth.  This is the Heaven that shall be His eternal Home and our eternal home.

 

          Let us try to understand the differences between the “up there” and the “down here” Heavens.  The two Heavens are definitely not the same.

 

   The “up there” is the Present Heaven.

• It is temporary in nature (Chapters 4-20 of Revelation).

• It is the Paradise Jesus promised the dying thief on the Cross (Lk. 23:43).

• It is the present location of the City of God where He lives (Rev. 21:23).

• It is the temporary home of the angels and the departed Christian loved ones who died in the Lord.

• It is the place where the saints have not yet received their final rewards.

• It is a place where the saints have recognizable and fully functional   bodies which are perfectly suitable for Paradise.

   

   The “down here” is our Future Heaven (Rev. 21 and 22).

• It is permanent in nature – Our Final and Eternal Home.

• It is the Paradise, the City of God, the New Jerusalem which God is preparing for His bride  the Church  and that He will bring with Him to the New Earth.

• It will be the new tabernacle or temple where God will live and reign forever.

• It is where the saints will receive their resurrected bodies which will be like the body of Jesus Christ.

• It is where the saints will receive their rewards:

  • the crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:78)

  • the crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:4)

  • the crown of life (Rev. 2:10)

  • the crown of the Kingdom of God (Lk. 12:31-32)

  • where the saints receive the Blessings of the Beatitudes (Lk. 6:20-26)

  • where the saints who have lived by The Golden Rule” will be the sons of the Most High” (Lk. 6:27-38)

  • where the saints will receive God’s everlasting love (Rom. 8:31-39),

  • the fountain of the water of life, the inheritance of everything God has (Rev. 21:67)

  • where the saints’ greatest reward will be God Himself (Rev. 21:3,7).

  • God gave Himself through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son that we may receive the gift of eternal life and live with Him forever (Jh. 14:23; 17:3)

 

         The Final Heaven is our Permanent and Eternal Home.  It will be located on the new Earth.  The Redeemed and Restored New Earth will be made after:

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• The second coming of Christ (Heb. 9:27, Rev. 19:19, 11-16; 22:12,13)

• The bodily resurrection of the saints (1 Cor. 15:12-26, 36-49, 50-57)

• The final judgment (Rom. 1:18-32; 2:1-16; 1 Pet. 4:17-19; Heb. 10:26-31; Rom. 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:9-10)

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          The Redemption and total Restoration of man and creation from the ruins and chaos of the old, sinful, decaying, and dying world to a glorious and perfect new man and a new earth, reveals the power of God, His love for mankind, and His demand and plan to satisfy His justice to forgive man. Even the redeemed man will recognize that God alone is worthy of the crowns of rewards which they have received from man on earth and from their Lord in Heaven.  And they will humbly cast their crowns at His feet and join the largest and greatest choir in Heaven singing, “Worthy is the Lamb” who was slain to redeem man to God by His blood (Rev. 5:9-13).  The saints will retain only one crown, the crown of the eternal presence of God Himself (Rev. 4:8-11).

 

          Therefore, only in our Final Home will evil, sorrowing, suffering, tears, and death be washed away.  Until that glorious day, our Lord is still at work on earth and in Heaven.  To be sure, God has a gigantic heavenly work program for the saints.  They are not just sitting on the clouds playing some musical instrument.  It’s just possible that the saints in Heaven have been included in Christ’s work of drawing all men on earth to Himself!  Why not? (Lk. 15:7,10). 

 

          Second, after sorrowing, suffering, pain, and tears are eliminated, the Bible lists several other things that will not be found in our Final Home.  What are they? Let us look at God’s Book of Future Changes.

 

1. There will be “no more sea” (Rev. 21:1).

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Could it be possible that John is saying, “I’m free from this prison on the island of Patmos!  I’ll never be separated any more from my Lord, His Church, my loved ones!  This sea is no longer a separation from life!” Was this what John was saying? Many writers think that John meant “no more sea” period. Some of these writers believe that to do away with the sea is God’s plan to make accommodations for the untold millions of the redeemed saints. However, when we consider the fact that God’s goal is to banish or eliminate sin and make the New Earth a perfect place for Himself and His children, His idea is change or transition from the imperfect but non annihilation. Redemption means to restore the extravagance of something but not to destroy it. Since the New Earth will still be hills, valleys, mountains, lakes and rivers, birds, flowers, and animals, why not a new sea?And, if there will be “no sea,” then God will make something which will be even better than our present sea.

 

God will have no “housing problem!” Heaven will be a place that is big enough for all redeemed souls. Heaven will be as big as the heart of God!

Today, the glory of God is seen by the vast expanse of sky and water, the crashing of waves on the shore, the beauty of the beaches, the fantastic sights of cities like Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that dress and light up the shorelines, and the sight of the great ships that plow the sea’s waters. And, if National Geographics here on this earth can present the wonders and beauty of nature with its magnificent splendor and untold numbers of animals, gorgeous birds, exotic water creatures and exquisite fish, the fascination provided by whales, dolphins, sharks, and the indescribable scenes of the deep seas, why will the Heavenly Geographics not present a bigger and better splendor? I’m confident they will! God was delighted with His original creation. The new creation will be greater and more delightful to Him and to man. Thus, for me, it is inconceivable that God plans to completely destroy such a large part of the world that gives Him and man so much joy, wonder, and delight. With whatever God comes up with, we will be overjoyed and thankful!

 

2. There will be “no temple” in our Final Home (Rev. 21:3,22).

 

The word for temple is the same word used for the “Most Holy Place” which was the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle and later the temple built by King Solomon from 946-959 B.C. The temple was the center of worship for God’s people.

• It was the symbol of God’s presence with His people.

• It was the symbol of God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness, and for the seriousness of sin against God.

• It was a place of prayer.

• It was a place of preparation for the real Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who would pay sin’s debt on the Cross.

 

The High Priest of the temple could only enter once a year into the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the sins of god’s people. When Jesus died on the Cross, the large curtain which separated man from the holy presence of God was ripped apart for man to live in His presence.It was a symbol that the Cross opened Heaven’s door for man to live with God every day, every week, every month, and every year forever. Thus, Heaven is His Home, His Tabernacle, His Temple, and nothing short of God’s physical, visible, and loving presence at all times and places in our Final Home.

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Can you imagine what it will be like to spend every moment with God? How about becoming “a pillar” in God’s House? Or, walking with Him “clothed in white garments”? And, what about seeing God “face to face” and have His name and our new name written on our forehead?  All of these things are blessed symbols of the saint’s joy, unshakable, secure, and eternal place in God’s presence. They speak of the godly character of His people and the joy of celebrating Heaven with Him. His written name on our forehead is the imprinting of His character and the declaration that we belong to Him and no other. He alone is our Lord and Master.

No wonder there will be “no night” in Heaven or any need of the sun and moon. God the Father and His Son, the Lamb, will be all the light we need.  Their glory and majesty will illuminate all of Heaven and provide for every need we have.  God or man will no longer struggle with darkness in the land ruled by love (Rev. 3:12; 21:1-4, 9-27; 22:1-5).

    

3. There will be no marriages in Heaven, with one exception, the marriage of the Lamb with His Bride – the Church (Eph. 5:31-32).

 

Jesus said that the saints in Heaven will be like the angels (Matt. 22:30). Angels are deathless creatures and do not have the need or power of procreation. They were not created to produce more angels. The saints will, in their new resurrected bodies, have the same characteristics as the angels.  Both will be happy, complete, useful, and fully suited to enjoy all that God has in store for His children.  On this new adventure with our Lord, we will respond with praise and thanksgiving forever!

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Mark Twain was asked the question of “Why will there be no marriage in Heaven?”  After a moment of thought, Mark said “because in Heaven a man cannot serve two masters.”  Mark may have given his answer just as a joke.  However, he was dead right in that Christ alone is our Master.  The Bible says that He is:

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• The Alpha and Omega – the very source and creator of all things.  All Life begins in Him and all Life ends in Him.  Only He can say, “I alone am the Lord God Almighty!  There is no other!” (Rev. 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13).

• The Annihilator of all pain, sorrow, suffering, and death (Rev. 21:4).

• The Only Giver of Eternal Life, and all good things (Jh.3:16; Rev. 21:67; Rev. 22:16-17).

• The Owner and Possessor of our souls.  We have been sealed by God’s Spirit and have His name written on our forehead (Eph. 1:13-14; Rev. 7:3; 9:4; 22:4).

• The Bridegroom of the Bride – His Church (Rev. 21:9).

• The Sole Way, Truth, and Life to lead lost mankind to God the Father and to our home in Heaven (Jh. 14:6).

• The Substitute to pay man’s debt of sin by dying on the Cross.  He knew no sin but was made to be sin for us (Gal. 3:10-14; 2 Cor. 6:21).

• The Risen Savior who will return for those who know Him as their Lord (Jh. 14:13; 17:24).

• The Lamb of God who was slain before the foundations of the earth for man’s salvation, and who is worthy of Eternal Worship (Rev. 5:1114).

 

These declarations concerning our Lord and Savior are but a few of the reasons why in Heaven that all eyes will be fixed on Jesus Christ.  He alone as the Lamb of God is worthy of praise and worship.  And, this reality will call for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb with His victorious Bride – the Church.  This celebration will be the first and last Marriage Banquet ever to be recorded in Heaven!  (Oh! Sorry, my friend, if you thought that your marriage was “made in Heaven.”  Just keep on making your marriage a “heavenly affair”).

God Himself performed the first marriage.  It was the marriage of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  This marriage must have been a wonderful, happy, and glorious occasion.  The invited attendants must have been a host of angels, and lots of animals and beautiful birds.  Whether or not the angels sang or shed some happy tears, we are not told.

God must have been delighted and fully satisfied.  After all, He had planned the whole affair.  Later, He would declare marriage to be “honorable.”  He also determined its obligations or purpose as being the reproduction of a multitude of people destined for the throne of Heaven through faith in His Son (Gen. 2:18,24; 3:20; Ps. 128; Prov. 3:10; Heb. 13:4; Matt. 19:4; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 6:16; 7:10; Eph. 5:31).

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Why then will the marriage of the Lamb to the Church be the last marriage to be performed?  Jesus revealed the answer while still on the earth.  Marriage had been on God’s drawing board from eternity past.  And His plan was that marriage would belong only to the old earth and not to the New Earth or New Heaven (Matt. 22:30; Mk. 12:23).  Jesus said that to think of Heaven as only a continuation or extension of this world is a big mistake.  Marriage on earth will have fulfilled its responsibilities of intimate relationships and procreation.  In Heaven, God has planned for new, greater, and deeper intimate relationships.  These relationships will far transcend even the best of the physical relationships of marriage on earth.

 

The ideal or perfect model of marriage on earth was intended by God to be a union of one man and one woman that was so unbreakable and perfect that it made them one flesh (Matt. 19:1-9).  In this total unity of being “glued together,” God had no design for divorce except in the case where there is the pursuit of sexual immorality.  Also, the “oneness” was not given for one act in life.  While sex is a supremely important and delightful part of marriage, it is not to be the sole reason for marriage.  The couple are meant to do all things together.  Marriage is to be a total union of personalities, of wishes, desires, and goals in life.  Life together was never intended to make life more difficult but to bring a new completeness, a new fulness, a new satisfaction, and a new commitment where all of life is shared in a loving, godly manner regardless of the circumstances encountered.

 

Therefore, it should not be a strange idea to accept that the marriage of the Lamb and the Church will be closely tied to the ideal which God intended for the marriage of two people.

The Jewish word for marriage means sanctification or consecration.  The word described something which was dedicated to God as His exclusive and peculiar possession.  It referred to anything which is absolutely given in total surrender to God.  Thus, in marriage the husband is consecrated and dedicated only to his wife.  And the wife is consecrated and dedicated only to her husband.  Each becomes the exclusive possession of the other.  And that is the way a man and woman become one in the flesh.  This ideal of marriage is the same for Christ and His Church.  These same concepts of oneness are played out in the metaphors in Scripture where “husband and wife” is used to refer to Christ and His Church (Eph. 5:32; 2 Cor. 11:2). 

 

For example, the Church is compared to:

• “branches on a vine” (Jh. 15:5)

• “an olive tree” (Rom. 11:17-24)

• “a field of crops” (1 Cor. 3:6-9)

• “a building as a new temple” (1 Pet. 2:4-6)

• “a holy priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:5)

• “God’s house” (Heb. 3:3,6)

• “the pillar and bulwark of the truth: (1 Tim. 3:15)

• “the body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12-17) (Eph. 5:31-32)

• “the Bride of Christ” (Rev. 21:9; 22:17)

 

Then in Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:15-16 and Colossians 2:18, we read that God the Father “has put all things under His feet and made Him the supreme Head of the Church.”  As the Head of the Church, Paul describes the relationship of Christ with His “wife.”

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Thus, the Church is pictured as the family of God.  It is a big and wonderful family where God is our Father, and we are His sons and daughters.  We will no longer be called slaves but friends, brothers, and sisters (Matt. 12:49-50; 1 Tim. 5:1-2; 1 Jh. 3:14-18).  All our relationships in Heaven will be completely satisfying and more wonderfully fulfilling than the best of any earthly marriage.  The earthly marriage is only a shadow, a ray of hope, an exhibition of a greater reality to be revealed, and the unrealized intention of God.  Only in Heaven will the intention of God be fully realized.  On earth, we many times long for and struggle to have a good marriage.  Sin gets in our way, and we fail miserably.  However, in Heaven we will have a perfect marriage between Christ and His Church.  Right now, we are preparing to attend the greatest wedding of the universe.  Just think!  Audrey and I will be married to the same Lord we love and serve.  He loved us on our earthly journey.  He chose us as lovers and partners for almost sixty-five wonderful years.  He called us to serve Him in Brazil for thirty-four years in a time of great harvest for the Kingdom of God.  He gave us a fantastic family of children and enlarged our family with a multitude of Brazilians who share our faith in Him.  What a blessed family reunion we will attend!  We will be one great family in Heaven.  Everyone will be friends, brothers, and sisters in Christ Jesus.  For time without any limit, we shall embrace our parents, our relatives, and our friends.  Audrey and I will embrace each other, have long walks together, recall the joy of our life together, enjoy fellowship with our children who will be together once more, and renew our relationships with those with whom we were separated by death.  As we were best friends on earth, we will be even greater friends in our Final Home.  We will not “be married” or live together as husband and wife.  In our new bodies, we will not have sexual desires.  We will have an intimacy with joy, and the pleasure of each other and with Christ that sexual relations on earth could only foreshadow. God will replace sex with something that will be even better!  Are you anxious to discover what that “better” will be?  The Lord says, “Come and see for yourself!”

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4. A fourth promise of God as related to our Final Home in Heaven is that “there will be no more death” (Rev. 21:4).

 

The Bible teaches that Heaven will be a paradise that was lost due to Sin but will be perfectly restored.The sin that brought death to the world has already been answered by the Cross of Jesus Christ. In Heaven, God’s saints will be blessed beyond all present knowledge.God’s greatest gift will be Life Eternal.This life will be lived with Him and where death has been annihilated.The last enemy of man will be no more.

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• However, from earth to Heaven, “we must go through much tribulation to enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).  We are chosen:

  • to pass through the testing fires of affliction (Isa. 48:10)

  • to carry our Cross through trials (Lk. 9:23-26; 14:26-33)

  • to be engraved with sufferings, persecution, reproach, and treated unfairly to glorify Christ (1 Pet. 4:12-16)

  • and destined to walk through the door of death (Job 14:1-2)

 

Yet, thanks to the Cross of our Master, we have His presence and sympathy to comfort and cheer us, His grace to provide us with victory, and His example to teach us how to be faithful and endure until the end.  Walking by faith encourages us to cast all cares upon the Lord and to anticipate good results from the worst calamities that life has to offer.  And, since our days are few and without hope to escape from the sharp arrows of affliction, we dare not to set our affections on things that are perishing on this earth but seek those things that are above where moth cannot devour, and thieves cannot break through and steal (Col. 3:2; Matt. 6:19).  These thoughts of paths through troubled waters is the way home where all joys are perpetual and eternal.  They provide a pillow for weary heads.  They furnish good reasons to deny a life that is fading away and encourage us to heed God’s warning when He says, “It is time to seek the Lord” (Hosea 10:13).  To refuse or neglect His work of grace, is to face death without God’s presence for all eternity.  But, to die “in Christ” means to die in faith and results in life from the grave where the pains of death become the birth pains of eternal life.

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Man’s only hope is found in God Himself.  Jesus tells us to be of good cheer and know His peace.  Why? Because He has already accomplished a smashing defeat of Satan and his rule over the world’s system of rebellion.  For the time being, Satan remains very much alive and very active.  However, “pay day” for Satan will come!  (Jh. 16:33; Rev. 20:7-10).  Until that day, the Apostle Peter admonishes us to submit ourselves to God alone and resist the devil.  Peter says that by God’s grace, after we have suffered a while, we will be strengthened in character to stand firm in our faith until we reach Christ Jesus’ home of eternal glory (1 Pet. 5:9-11).  The promises of God to be with us in times of trouble, to aid us, strengthen us, deliver us, and to honor us with His kind of life are clearly stamped and signed with the Royal Ring of the King in Heaven!  Amen and Amen!