Heaven: The Adventure Begins

Overview of Heaven

Why should Christians consider Heaven?

Often times we focus on our lives here and we forget about our eternal inheritances. We get comfortable here because it seems like real life and Heaven seems foreign or something on some spiritual realm.

Heaven seems to be the forgotten subject and many people think the scriptures are silent on this subject. Actually there are many, many verses sprinkled out the Old and New Testament to get our minds and thoughts engaged on eternal things.

The Devil is actively trying to keep our eyes off Heaven.

Consider Revelation 13:6, “He opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.”

  • Blaspheme God.
  • Slander his name.
  • Slander his dwelling place.
  • Slander those who live in heaven.

Questions:  Has Satan been effective in slandering God’s dwelling place, Heaven?

  • Consider some common views of heaven?
  • Heaven is a Spiritual / non material or physical realm.
  • Heaven is boring.
  • Life on heaven is flouting on clouds, playing harps.
  • Heaven is a endless church service.

No wonder why Heaven seems to be the forgotten subject. Their nothing mentioned above that would get our hearts excited.

What are some common ways Heaven is Slandered?

  • TV Shows & Movies
  • Jokes, comics
  • Art
  • Lack of teaching
  • keeping our eyes on the temporal

What are some common fears that arise about Heaven?

  • We feel guilty thinking about heaven, because we are not excited about it.
  • We are afraid that they will get bored of worship and even heaven itself.
  • We say, “What am I going to do for millions and millions of years?
  • We are afraid that God may get sick of us.
  • We are afraid it will be a never ending church service.

Can we know about heaven?

1 Corinthians 2:8-10 “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him.”

Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God.

Reading in Context:

1 Corinthians 2:8-10 “no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him. These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God”

Deuteronomy 29:29, The secret things belong to the LORD our God. But the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”

We are called to set our sights on heavenly things

 Colossians 3:1-4, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

How can we be obedient to this command, what are some ways we can learn about heaven? Read the Bible, bible studies, sermons, discussions, books (Heaven by Randy Alcorn), ask God to reveal it and open up our minds.

  • Using our imagination:
    • 2 Timothy 2:7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
    • Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
    • Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

What does the Bible say about heaven?

The Bible gives us many clues and even whole chapters are given in great detail about heaven in the Old and New Testament. 

Heaven is real and tangible place. In scripture it describes it in a way that we can grab a hold of it and picture it. It is described in detail, from the river of life that flows from the Thrown of God, to the animals that live in peace with each other, to the peoples and nations that enter in and gather for worship.

Genesis gives a detailed account of this present creation. We can read and understand Genesis . The scriptures gives us details also of our eternal home, so we also can read and understand heaven.

Just as we have a better view of Genesis by living in this creation, so we will have a better view of Heaven once we are their.

So also, I believe God has given us enough details about the New Heaven and New Earth to get our mouths to water, to spark our imagination then we can follow his commands and sincerely fix our eyes on things above.

I believe that heaven will be so great and glorious that our minds cannot contain all the blessings and riches that are and will be there. But, I also believe God has given us enough in scriptures so that we can set our hearts and minds of the heavenly kingdom.

 New Heaven and a New Earth?

Old Testament: In Isaiah 65:17 it says, “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will  not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

New Testament: In 2 Peter 3:12-13 it says, “As you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That   day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will   melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new   heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”

Other references: 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1

What will our Bodies be like in Heaven?

Will we have physical bodies in Heaven?

Will our heavenly bodies look like our current earthly bodies?

Will our heavenly bodies be recognizable to our family and friends that are in heaven?

Will we have similar characteristics, mannerisms and habits that define who we are now in Heaven?

 Resurrection in the Old Testament 

Will we have physical bodies in Heaven?

There are many verses in the scriptures that point to a resurrected body. Consider 

Daniel 12:2-3, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

Job 19:25-27, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!”

We see from the verses above that their is a day when our bodies will rise.  Even Job through the eyes of faith knew what was to come, but in degrees. He saw himself seeing His redeemer with his own resurrected body and not another body that was foreign to him.

These bodies will be our current bodies but changed, made new. God will recreate our current bodies and those bodies will fully meets all our needs in Heaven.

The bodies we have now are wasting away but there is great hope in knowing that God will make right what is wrong with our earthly bodies in the future.

The New Testament and the Resurrection

We find the same message in the New Testament regarding our bodies. We can see how God has laid out his plan from the beginning. Consider

2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.

1 Corinthians 15:42-43, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. What was sown in corruption; will be raised in corruptible: What was sown in dishonor; will be raised with glory; what was sown in weakness; will be raise with power.

From these New testament verses we can see the continuity between the Old and New Testament. The same theme runs like a thread from the beginning of the bible till the end.

As we suffer in our bodies we can have great hope that one day our bodies will be made new.

As we get older, see ourselves getting weaker and as we begin to get weaker we begins to give up the things we enjoy; like walking, running, hiking, and host of other physical things. We can be glad because all these things that we may lose now we will gain in the future. We are just shelving our limitations for a time.

Jesus Christ and His Resurrection 

To get a better idea of what our bodies will look like and we need only to look at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Consider the continuity between his earthly body and his resurrection body. Consider

Luke 24:39, Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

John 20:26-27, A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

1 Corinthians 15:20, But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

So we can see what a resurrected body will look like as we look at Jesus resurrected body. Will we be able to do everything he did, like walk through doors, etc. He is different then us because He is fully God and Man and we will be only men and women.

Christ Resurrected Body and Ours

1 Corinthians 15:48-49, “As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.”

1 Corinthians 14:42-44, “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”

Our New Bodies

As we get older our bodies are being pulled down to the earth. We are not as strong, agile and sharp as we once were.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them” 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;3 when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;  when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred.

If Adam and Eve saw us they would be shocked at how far humanity fell Emotionally, physically and spiritually.  If we saw them, we would be in awe at what God intended for us.

The last hike… I did my last hike up Mount Tom due to my physical issues, but I am really shelving my physical limitations and waiting for the resurrection to regain what I  have lost.

We will have new heavenly bodies, eternal bodies, bodies made for a new world and perfectly suited for our eternal dwelling. Our bodies will never be pulled down by sin and the result of the fall.

We are human here, fallen but human. In heaven we will be human but different in a sense, we will be completely what God intended for us to be. We may even be more then what we would have been in the garden.

We will be male and female. We will not be clones, but individuals and different from each other. We will be different than other people.

Heaven will have a diverse culture. There will be people from various times, various nations and from every tribe, language, people and culture.

Our Heavenly Identity:

  • Will we have memories of our earthly life?
  • Will we have the same personality and interests?
  • Will they have different cultures and languages in Heaven?
  • How much of who I am now, will be part of me there?

We will be Ourselves:                                                                               

We will be us, not somebody else. We will be all the things that makes us different from each other. We will bring everything that makes us who we are as individuals. We will even bring our appearance, our bodies and we won’t be clones of each other. We will all be different shape, sizes. We will bring all the things that make us who we are.

We will be similar and recognizable and yet we will be different. We will have our personalities, characteristics mannerisms (Luke 24:15-16, Road to Emmaus), and the diversities that make us different then each other.

1 Corinthians 15:52-54, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18, Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Jesus ‘earthly body had direct continuity with his resurrected body. We will be similar and recognizable and yet we will be different. We will have our personalities, characteristics mannerisms and the diversities that make us different then each other.

We Will Bring Our Memories and Our Uniqueness

1 Samuel 28:8-19, (Witch of Endor) Samuel knew Saul’s past, his present (the circumstance he was in) and his future.

Revelation 6:9-11, Souls under the Alter, cried out, ““How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

Samuel and the Martyrs knew what was going on in earth.

We will bring our mannerisms and the other things that define us. Luke 24:15-16, tells how his Disciples recognized him when he broke the bread on the Road to Emmaus.

We will even keep out names just like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and we will also get new names. Isaiah 62:2, 65:15, revelation 2:17, 3:12

We Will Bring Our Talents and Gifts

We will bring our knowledge, understanding, passions, joys, pleasures and interests into the kingdom because that is what makes us who we are.

Many of our skills, talents, gifts will be brought into the kingdom. Everything that makes us who we are without the sins will follow us.

We will grow in all these things all for the glory of God. We will work and learn without the thrones and thistles.

We will do all types of work for many of our occupations and joys will follow us into the kingdom.

As we learned our skills on earth they will grow in eternity. As the Lord lead us in our careers here, he will lead and develop us there. We will learn from others, and we will grow in our skills and other new skills will be learned and developed.

We will enjoy working and find fulfillment as we serve the Lord.  We could be working in fields, forests, office, houses, worship, labs and a host of other professions that are known and not known.

We will be active in service to the King of Kings.

We Will Bring Our Language and Culture

Revelation 5:9, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Revelation 7:9, After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

We will bring different worship styles but nothing that dishonors the Lord.

We will be one people, under one banner, and under one God. We will be ourselves not someone else.

 Our Relationships With Each Other

1 Corinthians 12:5-8, (After the Resurrection) he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of who are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me.

Just as Jesus’ earthly relationships had direct continuity with his resurrected relationships. Jesus appeared to the ones He loved, we also will continue to have relationships with the ones we love, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends.

We will build new relationships with the saints, angels, animals and the rest of the new creation.

There will be marriage, but it will be between Christ Jesus and the Church.

We will be surrounded by the ones we love and many other people that God brought into our lives. What God started in a relationship on earth, will continue and it will grow in eternity.

All those in Christ will be one body, one church, one bride and yet we will keep our identities

Our Relationship with God

Will we see God, will he really want to see me?

What type of relationship will I have with Him, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

Will he ever get sick of me or even worse, will I get bored with God?

My heart wonders so much now, how am I going to live in a way that is pleasing to God for all of eternity? 

 We will see his face 

Revelation 22:4, They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.   

1 Corinthians 13:12, For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.   

Psalm 27:4, David says, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple”  

Job 19:25-27, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”   

 We will see God:   

God cannot be contained, for he fills the universe. Yet, he allows himself to be contained or manifested in a unique way.   God has used different ways to reveal himself in the scripture, depended on the situation.    

Ezekiel saw God when he departed from the temple.  Ezekiel 10 

Moses spoke to God face to face and yet his deity is not limited.   

Israel saw a Fire by night – whirl wind by day when they left Egypt. 

Consider the burning bush, cloud at transfiguration. 

Moses, I will cover Exodus 33:22-23, When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” 

Scriptures describe him with Hair white as snow, eyes like flames of fire, feet burnish bronze, likeness in human appearance. Waist like gleaming metal and fire. Fire and brightness flows out of him.    

God fills the universe, God is Spirit, God cannot be contained yet God shows us himself in unique ways. 

God revealed in Jesus Christ  

We will see God in the face of Jesus Christ.  

Hebrews 1:3, The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. 

Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” and “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.   

The clearest picture of the Triune God is found in the face of Jesus Christ.    

John 14:9, Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?   

Jonathan Edwards: Seeing God in the glorified body of Christ is the most perfect way of seeing God; for in seeing a real body that one of the persons of the Trinity has assumed to be his body, and that he dwells in forever as his own in which the divine majesty and excellency appears as much as ‘tis possible for it to appear in outward form or shape.”  

 

 J. I. Packer, “By incarnation the Son became more than he was before, and a human element became integral to the ongoing life of the Triune God… Christ’s glorified humanity, which is the template and link for the glorification that is ours, must go on forever.”   

 We will see God in creation:  

Romans 1:20, For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.   

Psalm 19:1-4, The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. 

Jesus said in Luke 19:40, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” How much more in the eternal kingdom.  

Seeing God throughout the New Creation. These are signposts pointing back to God.   

We will See God in Each Other 

We are made in His image and we are being transformed into that image with ever-increasing glory. 

2 Corinthians 3:7-9, 18, Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory. 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away.  And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 

We will see God in others, they will all reflect the Lords Glory.

The Holy Spirit is also described in the scriptures as a dove, mighty wind, fire, water. Will we see similar things in Glory?

The Triune God sits on one throne and shows their oneness. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will fill the New Creation completely for “Where could we flee from His presence.” and yet they may reveal themselves in very unique ways depending on the situations. 

Look The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and Revelation 5:6, “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.” 

We will know God 

God is the heart and soul of heaven.   

John 17:3, Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  

God gives us himself and our heart will have a desire to worship.   

Psalm 63:1, You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water… Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name, I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.  

We would love to be like this always, but sometimes we just don’t have the strength.  

Sometimes our Hearts are grounded 

Many times are hearts and minds are not on worship. We live is a fallen world and we seemed to be pulled down to this shadow land and it hinders the way we want to worship. 

Often it seems easier to be excited about the ones we love because we can see, feel and touch them.  We love the Lord but it seems a continual challenge stay engaged and have a continual heart of worship. 

The thought of Heaven and worshiping continually can be scary because we look at our past and we see our failures, our inconsistencies and all the things that try to lay hold of our hearts.  

Take heart for God knows our limitations, Psalm 103:13-14, As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 

We worship and Invisible God, that is why Jesus can say, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

God will create in us a heart of worship. 

Ezekiel 11:19-20, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 

If God did this for His glory and honor here, how much more where he dwells with man 

Our Heavenly Worship

  • Will worship God continual, like at a church service?
  • It says they worshiped him day and night, will I get sick or bored with worship? 
  • I am afraid of Heaven because I cannot even stay focused now, how am I going to stay focused for all of eternity?

A Responding Heart that Desires Worship  

  • When we see how the Lord redeemed us from all things.  We will see redemption in relationships and God will generously redeem us from all the things the world has robbed us of.
  • Imagine God redeeming all the things you have lost and the things you foolishly gave away.
  • Imagine God wiping away all your tears and wash away all your regrets for the things you have said and done or were done unto you.
    • Joel 2:25, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—  the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm.
  • This will bring praise to our lips?

Heavenly Worship will be Life Changing 

  • We will worship God jointly and individually.
  • We will worship God in old as well as new songs from every tribe, language and people.
  • Most of our hymn and songs are based on scripture and even moved by the Holy Spirit. Will he really destroy everything that brought glory to His name.
  • We will see Christ Jesus lifted up in new and unique ways by the various cultures.  We will see different worship styles as the Spirit moves but nothing that dishonors the Lord.
  • We will worship God with diversity in music and with various musical instruments from this world and new ones from the next.
  • Worship will not be stale and mundane but fresh and engaging.
  • We will have a body, heart and soul made for eternal worship without the sins that robs us now in worship.
  • We will always worship the Lord continually as we enjoy every good thing he has prepared for us.
  • We will worship God in creation and in work, in our gifts and talents and in our relationships.
  • We will worship God in all things.
    • Nehemiah 9:6, You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
    • John 4:23-24, Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
    • Question: Do you think you will struggle with worship in heaven?

Our Heavenly Kingdom

What does heaven look like, is their vegetation, rivers, mountains, streams and trees? Will there be animals, angels or other creatures, and will I have any contact with them? How big is the New Jerusalem, will I get to explore it and are their other cites or things outside the New Jerusalem to see? I heard the doors are shut and the wicked are outside, so will our life in eternity be limited to the city only? Will we be able to explore outside the city walls?

  Revelation 21: 1-3, Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

  • Our Home, will be on the New Earth.
  • Our Capital, is the New Jerusalem.
  • Our Country, is all the Earth.
  • Our boarders, are all the Heavens.
  • Our King, is God himself, who will dwell with us and fill all creation.

Heaven is called a House or a home.

John 14:2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

Psalm 23:6: Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD   forever.

3.2 Corinthians 5:1, or we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands

4.2 Corinthians 5:8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Heaven is called a country or city.

Hebrews 11:10, for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:16, Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 12:22, But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.

Hebrews. 13:14, for here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Heaven is called a Kingdom.

Matt. 13:43, Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Luke 12:32, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

Heb. 12:28, Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

Heaven is called a Paradise.

Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

2 Cor. 12:2, 4 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.

Rev. 2:7, Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Heaven will be eternal and we also will be eternal.

a)Psalm 23:6, surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

b)Matt. 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

c)1 Pet. 1:4-5, into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time

d)2 Pet. 1:11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Our Kingdom Life

  • Will Heaven be better than our current lives, what will we do there? 
  • Will there be music, will we learn, will we work, will we laugh, will we rest and is their anything that we enjoy on earth in Heaven?
  • I enjoy painting, reading, writing and learning, so will we have hobbies?

What will We do in Heaven

  • We will work, tinker, rest, worship, fellowship, play, teach, learn, explore as far as God’s dominion extends.
  • We are created for such things, that is why we have such pleasure in them.
  • We will eat and drink and celebrate and entertain the saints in our homes.
  • We will walk through cities, fields, valleys and mountains.
  • We will eat food that is not pulled by the fall, and we will taste food with new bodies, with taste buds that is not affected by the fall.
  • We may walk through the great city and try all kinds of food, from breads, fruit grain and …. (meat, fish – Death)
  • We will be at the wedding feast of the lamb.
  • We will see God and have full access to him, for He will fill the kingdom.
  • We will see animals, angels and a host of other living beings. God may create knew animals or other things.
  • Pets are a big part of some of our lives and we will have some sort of relationship with the animals.
  • We will see a host of Heavenly beings.
  • Our lives will be filled with everlasting pleasures.
  • We will explore all of God’s creation and see His glory in the cities, the fields, the forests, the star, galaxies and how ever far His dominion goes which is unlimited.
  • Revelation 1:6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Heaven will be eternal, and we also will be eternal. 

  •  Psalm 23:6, surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
  • Psalm 16:11, You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
  • Hebrews 12:22-23 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the
  • Question: Will we play, laugh, celebrate and have fun in heaven or are these just earthly pleasures?