Jesus is where heaven and earth meet. Most Christians hear about heaven in connection with an evangelistic sermon. We decide it is preferable to the alternative and jump on board the train bound for Glory. Yet, life after life misses the real message of Christianity. We were created to dwell with God, but sin messed that up. So, he devised a plan to reconcile us to him and will eventually make his home in our midst. Dwelling with humankind began with the Exodus tabernacle. Sadly, his people rejected him and he departed for a time. Four hundred years later he took on the form of a man and again made his tabernacle among us. (John 1:14) One day God will again dwell with us. Until that happens, we are expected to reflect heaven on earth. That is the job of true disciples and the real Christian message of heaven.
“How you think about heaven affects everything in life—how you prioritize love, how willing you are to sacrifice for the long term, how you view suffering, what you fear or don’t fear.” (John Burke, Imagine Heaven, (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing, 2015). The writer of Ecclesiastes observed, “He has also set eternity in the human heart . . .” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) According to Randy Alcorn (Heaven, Tyndall House Publishers, 2004), “the unifying testimony of the human heart throughout history is belief in life after death. Anthropological evidence suggests that every culture has a God-given innate sense of the eternal—that this world is not all there is.” (Kindle Location 272)
Don Nix wrote a song entitled, “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, but Nobody Wants to Die;” first recorded by blues artist, Albert King in 1986. There is a lot of truth in that sentiment. If you ask someone if they believe in heaven and hell, there is a chance they will say “no.” But, if you ask those same people where they expect to go when they die, they will likely say, “heaven.” In an article entitled “Next Stop, the Pearly Gates . . . or Hell?” published in the Los Angeles Times on October 24, 2003, K. Connie Kang asserted, “For every American who believes he’s going to Hell, there are 120 who believe they’re going to Heaven.”
A Barna Research Group poll, disclosed an overwhelming majority of Americans believe in life after life and that both heaven and hell exist. Perhaps the reason we hear so little about heaven is because the enemy of our souls doesn’t want us living like we are there now. He would prefer we reject Jesus while believing in heaven. The easiest way to do that is by pushing the nearly universal belief that all good people go to heaven. That belief might be widely accepted but it is a gross misconception. It simply provides a false sense of security for those on the wide road to destruction.
The words for heaven (Hebrew: shamim and Greek: ouranos) are translated God’s dwelling place. (Psalm 33:13) Jesus is there now (Acts 1:11) While on this earth he not only believed heaven is a place, he said he was going there and would return to take his followers there, too. (John 14:1-3) According to the apostle Paul, Christians are citizens of heaven and that is where Jesus will be until he returns for his Church. (Philippians 3:20) Revelation 21 describes heaven, but I suspect it will be even better than the apostle John’s description. We will get a new body suited for our eternal home in a new heaven and a new earth. (1 Corinthians 15:40-49) God’s dwelling place will be on earth with his people. Some people interpret 1 Corinthians 13:12 as proof we will know each other in heaven, perhaps as a friends or family members. It also appears that we will be given jobs to do in heaven. There will be no death, pain or tears. (Revelation 21:4) and we will likely eat and drink there. (Matthew 26:29)
Based on the promise Jesus made on the cross, believers will go into the presence of the Lord immediately after they die. (Luke 23:43) Exactly where that will be is uncertain. Some maintain we will sleep until Jesus returns while others hold that we will occupy an “intermediate” heaven, perhaps the “paradise” Jesus promised the thief. According to them the heaven that exists now is not where we will spend eternity, and the body we will be clothed in there will not be our forever body. It would seem, given what the apostle John reported, an intermediate heaven is the most likely place where we will await the Lord’s return. Regardless of whether we go to an intermediate heaven or sleep until the good times roll, when we open our eyes on the other side, it’s going to exceed our wildest imagination.
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