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February 21, 2022 2:00 am
What happens when a believer dies? What will heaven be like? In the message "What Most People Don't Know about Heaven" from the series 20/20, Skip reveals a few surprising things about your future home.
This teaching is from the series Pastor Skip's Top 40.
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Paul even said our citizenship is in heaven, not far after that in the same book of Philippians. He said for me to live is Christ and die. The reason is because heaven is waiting for what is heaven like that is where it gets a little murky world tries to comprehend heaven, and even portray it in popular culture, but it's different than what the Bible actually says about heaven today we continue our countdown scripts top 40 messages on the connect with Skip hydrogen to In the number five spot is the message, but most people don't know about heaven were Skip review some truths about heaven that might surprise you want to tell you about an opportunity you have to see the Bible come alive before your eyes, and his wife plan you are taking to Israel in 2022 and you're invited on the journey visit places like Nazareth, the Jordan River.
The Dead Sea in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount in the garden to and that's just a quick look at the trap. Find out more about the trip that inspiration cruises.com/CAP Q okay.
We're in Revelation chapter 21 today as we get into the teaching with Skip Heitzig you know that some people are going to be surprised when they get to heaven. Somebody once said their target to be at least three surprises have. First of all, who's there that you thought would never make it.
Second, who's not there that you were sure would make it in the number three.
The fact that you yourself are there by God's grace. That's the wonder of it all. We have heard of heaven.
All of us since we were kids, especially if you're raised in a believing home you heard your parents talk about heaven you heard when somebody they knew died, they would say that person went to heaven.
You always wondering what is heaven like what is it look like what can we expect to spend forever. There and I discovered in listening that people describing their view of heaven, that it has become a confusing nondescript place, a sort of a make it anything you want. Kind of a place filled with all of your favorite activities and all of your favorite tats because it would be heaven without them up with is sort like build a bear, you go to the mall you have a bill to ban the cake and make the bear anyway.
He wanted heaven is sort of become that you make it what you want. So we want to look at what the Bible says we can expect when we go to heaven, not just some preliminary data are worded heaven in English comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word heave on heave on course we don't talk like that anymore. You don't say when I die am going to heave on but that is the original term heaven comes from heave on and that means to be lifted up or uplifted, which isn't far from the biblical rendition, the Hebrew word for heaven's show.
My name and it means the heights or the lifted up place.
Heaven is the lifted up place.
The Greek word likewise is the work will run switch means lofty or lifted by the way, organized the Greek word is what inspired the name of the seventh planet in our solar system from the sun. Uranus so amazed to be lofty or lifted up or the heights and that is because in the Bible. It is often spoken of as up right Jesus lifted his eyes up to heaven and prayed. John 17 Revelation chapter 4.
I heard a voice from heaven saying come up here. Heaven is a word that appears on 532 times in the Bible that just in my version. That's the new King James version of your research. It 532 times the word heaven appears another 171 times is put in the plural form heavens, so about 700 times the Bible mentions heaven or heavens. So it's a big subject in the Bible is a big subject, because it's our final destination.
Paul even said our citizenship is in heaven and not far after that in the same book of Philippians.
He said for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
The only reason it would be gain is because heaven was waiting for him. But what is heaven like exactly the story gets a little murky. And this is where even the best of us and the most imaginative of us, even reading the biblical text.
It's just tough to imagine CS Lewis put it this way, our ability to imagine what eternity will be like is like two infants in the womb talking about what they'll be doing once they're born and are 25. If no point of reference. So heaven is going to be as we read from the biblical text.
I totally different kind of existence than we have on earth I'm taking you to Revelation chapter 21 is our series on the 2020 seeing truth clearly and were not going to the book of Revelation we have done that. I've begun in the much greater depth on all of the subjects but this in in this series were going to look at heaven. From this chapter.
I've taken you to Revelation 21 because this takes us to the very end of all things and things get destroyed and things get made created again a new heaven and a new earth is ruinously but besides all the confusion that people have about heaven.
It seems to me that our enemy the devil would like us to be confused about heaven, Randy Alcorn, who by the way, wrote one of the best books ever on the subject of heaven said Satan laborers to give people and in accurate view of heaven. Our enemies slanders three things God's person, God's people in God's place in some of his favorite lies concern heaven make sense to me. He got kicked out of heaven.
He's not too stoked about the idea that you're going there by grace through faith. So confusion about so let's go through this tax and I'm just gonna draw out some themes in the name of this is what most people don't know about heaven and in the first thing most people don't know about heaven is that heaven comes in phases. There are different modes of existence distinct phases of your heavenly experience surprises a lot of people so if you were to die and go to heaven today. That's one phase of it, but in the future, there's gonna be a different phase in a different phase in and I want to show you that, but but it shouldn't be too great a surprise to us. After all, on this earth.
We have different distinct phases of our experience right we have the gestation phase 9 months in womb than the live birth another phase, then you're a baby then you're a toddler in your an adolescent, then you're an adult and then you're a geriatric and I can say I have experienced all of those phases. Ephesians chapter 2 verse seven, Paul the apostle said that in the ages to come.
Notices in the plural, not singular, not in the age to come, in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace toward us. So the moment a believer dies his spirit, his soul goes to be with the Lord immediately. His body remains.
Obviously that's why there are caskets so their body remains the body is buried in the ground typically are sold or spirit enters God's presence absent from the body. Paul wrote present with the Lord that's in immediate occurrence. You are with the Lord you are with them in spirit.
God is spirit. You the real you.
The spirit is with him as a place of joy.
It is a place of bliss. It is a place of comfort is interesting, however, there's not a whole lot of information about that phase, Wilbur Smith said, however, abandoned the scriptural data on resurrection and life in heaven is state of the soul between death and resurrection is rarely referred to now let me just throw this out after some people refer to this as the intermediate heaven on earth.
I like that term but it's it's it's you go to heaven you're with the Lord. Francis the throne room that you see. Like in Revelation chapter 4 and five but the big thing you need to know is that when you die E immediately you go to heaven there is no purgatory, you don't get stuff burned off so that you can later be admitted into heaven. That is not a scriptural concept and there's no such thing as soul sleep reader sorta go unconscious or just hang out. You have no recollection of any of that. And then one day you wake up on resurrection Bible doesn't teach either of those so absent from the body present with the Lord. I want to depart and be with Christ, which is far better for me to live is Christ to die is gain. He wouldn't say that you singular purgatory or socially. So that's phase 1, you die.
Your spirit goes to be with the Lord. Phase 2 is the rapture of the church. And that's because at the rapture of the church you get a resurrected body. That's when you get your resurrected body of the rapture of the church, the dead in Christ will rise first. So on rapture day.
That's resurrection day. First Corinthians 15 you get your new body resurrected body. Then, as we saw last time you will stand before the bema seat of Christ. The judgment seat of Christ.
Second Corinthians chapter 5 and and that's not a judgment for your sin that's passed us. The cross you get rewarded God hands out rewards to you. This is a cool thing about heaven. Not only do you get heaven once you get to heaven, you get rewarded by God for things you did in his name. Wayne Gruden wrote in his book systematic theology. Heaven is the place where God most fully makes known his presence to glass. I love the idea that God's heart toward us is to bless you. So you get to heaven if that's not a blessing enough.
He says wait I got some gifts I want to give out to you so you die your spirit goes to be with the Lord at the rapture you get a resurrected body.
Then there is the bema seat of Christ, then there is the marriage supper of the Lamb. We looked at that last time somethings think the last seven years. Some think it last for a whole thousand years. I can tell you, but I'll find out and then after the marriage supper of the Lamb Jesus comes back and sets up a kingdom a millennial kingdom called the kingdom age or the thousand year reign of Christ. Chapter 20 delineates thousand years thousand year several times. It mentions that Revelation chapter 20 the kingdom age get this is heaven on earth. So you die, you go to heaven right you wait for resurrected body. Then at some point you come back to this earth. But this earth gets a makeover. A total makeover and the prophets described a renewed earth. A kingdom age, and it describes it by saying there will be attained animal world.
This is mostly out of the prophet Isaiah, but others as well.
A lush biosphere which means if you're looking for Rio Rancho. You have to look for places filled with palm trees and ferns and water will be a lush biosphere. There will be longevity on the earth.
There will be world peace to be a new one and there will be perpetual health then there is yet another phase of heaven, and that is what we call the eternal state and the eternal state is a new heaven and a new earth and new Jerusalem verse one of Revelation 21 now I saw on new heaven and a new work for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea and I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
So after all those events that I just talked about after the thousand year reign of Christ, the kingdom age on earth the earth. This earth will have served its purpose, and when that time comes, it will be destroyed. It will be obliterated. It will be if you will, uncreated, reduced simply to energy which brings up a very interesting point. Did you know the earth is a disposable planet. It is so try to save the earth.
Good luck because it cannot be saved.
You can be a good steward of it and you should be. We should always be a good steward of what what God puts in our grass by God himself is going to destroy this earth. Why would he do that sin has polluted. That's why by the way, that's why there's not just in Newark but a new heaven and earth is heaven has been polluted as well.
There was a fall that took place by a guy named Lucifer, God will create a new heaven and a new earth.
So remember when Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. You know, we usually focus on the second part of that not the first part of the first horses heaven and earth will pass away. In other words, Jesus announced the world is going to end. And Peter tells us how it's going and second Peter chapter 3 verse 10, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat so it is going to be destroyed all the planets, the sun or solar system. The universe is going to be uncreated, you know, until this past century, tell about a little over hundred years ago the prevailing cosmology among scientists.
Cosmology is a study of the origin and maintenance of the universe, the prevailing cosmology was known as the steady state.
That everything is in a steady state. There's really no beginning. There's really no and this is sort of continuing but then science caught up and they study things like the sun, they discovered that the sun's radiation is produced by the loss of part of its mass.
So 4,200,000 tons of mass per second are lost by the sun burns out of every second is where we get our heat. What that means is the sun is running down if the sun is running down it means it had a beginning. If the sun is running down and the sun had a beginning and means the sun has an and and it will be destroyed along with this earth.
So this universe is designed to be temporary. So he said I saw a new heaven Newark for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. So verse one new heaven and new earth verse two, new Jerusalem good on verse five. Then he sat on the throne said the sort of a summary statement. The whole I make all things new. And he said to me right for these words are true and faithful sort of sums up the universe right I make everything new Isaiah the prophet also predicted. This is important because don't think that the idea of a new heaven and new earth to sprung up in the book of Revelation. Isaiah the prophet writes in Isaiah 66. I will make new heavens and a new word which will last for ever never be destroyed second Peter chapter 3, which I just quoted after he talks about the earth being destroyed melting with fervent heat. He says we according to his promise. Look for new heavens and a new earth. Now a couple words about them. The word new when when he uses the word new earth.
New have a new Jerusalem. He does not use a typical Greek word which had been layoffs. Laos means new chronologically.
He uses the Greek word kind's which means I'd quality of freshness. It's it's new and quality it some. It's different in kind.
It's a completely different kind of newness is brand spanking new new materials new atmosphere. I'll show you that in just a second or least I believe that so what's coming up is the obliteration of the earth and the heavens. So if you can be up in heaven that's going to go there earth is going to go nuts and make a brand-new heaven and the newer so you have heaven calls the intermediate heaven then you have heaven on earth for thousand years.
Then you have the earth destroyed and God makes a new heaven and new earth cc the phases of heaven we love new things. I love new things. I love when I get a new phone. I love assailant, we see how cool it is and the features it has in the camera that's on.
I would like new stuff when you get your car washed and they offer you. You want lemon, no lavender, no you want spice no I want new car. I'm sorry were out of that today is everybody wants the smell of a new car.
One of the dumbest things you never seen heaven is is that a new suit closure. Learn as I make all things new. Everything will always ever be new so heaven will come in phases. The second thing most people don't know about heaven is it will feel unfamiliar.
There are certain things that are not there that are here in our earthly experience that because of that will feel unfamiliar and one of them is found in verse one. I just sort of passed over this because I don't like this verse and it says I saw a new heaven and new earth. The first heaven and earth passed away. Also there was no more sea. I have wrestled with this verse for years.
This to me is so harsh, almost to the Excel Rigo. Do I have to go there minute.
This is heaven a brand-new world with no ocean map I'm writing the script on heaven is knocking to read this one. If I'm writing this) heaven is to say that there were no more cities, but there was lots of beach and a whole bunch of ocean palm trees galore, but a scissors no more's see I I gotta tell you I have wrestled with this so much that over the years. I even early on, rationalize the interpretive process of this II thought perhaps see is a metaphor for nations that are not in covenant with God that are described in the Bible like a troubled sea. So, for example, Isaiah 17 the uproar of many peoples. They roar like the roaring of the seas. Isaiah 57 the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest of Revelation 13. The Antichrist comes out of the sea. I really research this. Revelation 17 even says the waters which you saw, where the harlot sets are peoples, and multitudes and nations and time so I thought, there's hope. Maybe it's just a metaphor for a lot of angry people will be there but now I've resigned myself to a more literal approach.
I just think what John is saying and in a few words so short it's profound is that the earth is going to be at a different earth not to be anything like this earth sucking to be a water-based environment can have a different climate altogether the world that we live in now is three fourths water three quarters of the earth surface is ocean size that there's other water sources in the earth itself. We have our own hydrological cycle on this planet. We depend on that, i.e. your your mostly water. 90% of your blood is water 65% of your flesh is water. If you don't drink enough water you dehydrate you die to offer this short little pity statement and there was no see indicates the new art will be a completely different environment.
Not like carbon-based life on this earth required to have water that has operates in a different principal on the newer that Skip Heitzig Exhibit 5 message 40 messages counter from the series 2020. Plaintiff a message and more Scripps teachings that you want on your big screen TV from the comfort of your couch@youtube.com/Calvary BBQ here's a resource that helps you dive even deeper into God's truths. Imagine the challenge faced Skip 19 is taught over 3500 through the Bible messages we had to pick the top 10 for special resource offer you simple voltages are we in the last days. Yes, but we been in the last days for 2000 years. The time between the first coming of Christ in the second coming of Christ falls under the designation, the last date this town. Effects of Skip stunting teachings are messages will want to hear and share one of the things I love about God is he's not complicated. Most truth, you will discover his simple truth, not simplistic truth simple truth when you get $35 or more today will also include linear height six book reload love the history of ministry. This been helping children victimized by terror on the front lines. Get Skip step two messages on CD plus your copy of reload love by linear height today. Call 892 1888 to give or visit connectwithskip.com or like I wasn't speaking to you humans from distant, but the truth is he speaking to you through his word that we share these powerful Bible teaching on-air and online so you can hear God speak his truth and life into your life every day and you can help even more people experience that seemed lasting to work with today. To keep this broadcast ministry going strong to fight now. Simply call 892 1888 until 1992 1888 four visit connectwithskip.com/donate connectwithskip.com/donate. Thank you for your generosity coming up tomorrow Skip Heitzig six years. Another top 30 message and gives you a startling glimpse from Scripture about what you can expect in the future. In the end times. There are some who have a unhealthy preoccupation with prophetic things that all there about all the study they look for signs see signs and everything is a flower by the road that must be a sign of the end times can be, and unhealthy preoccupation, but it can also become a healthy patient can engender so Skip presentation of connection communication changing truth ever-changing time