Scripture: Revelation 21:1-7

Don’t you love the honesty of children? A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16). She said that Lazarus sat outside the rich man’s gate covered with sores, begging for food and that the rich man passed Lazarus without even seeing him.

But when they both died Lazarus went to Heaven, while the rich man found himself in hell, which the teacher described most graphically. When she’d finished, she asked the children, “Now which would you rather be—the rich man or Lazarus?” One little fellow piped up, “I’d like to be the rich man until I die and then Lazarus afterwards.”

This morning, I want to talk to you about a subject close to my heart. Heaven has been on my heart since I was 10 and my godly mom was killed in a car accident. The more loved ones and friends I have there, the sweeter heaven is. If you’re a Christ-follower, you’ll want to learn as much as you can about heaven, your eternal Home. If you’ve committed your life to Christ, if Jesus is your Savior, you’re going to heaven. But if you’re still seeking or unsure, I pray this will make you so desire to go to heaven that you’ll commit your life to Christ today.

These first seven verses in Revelation 21 unpack the description of new Jerusalem, the capital city of heaven, the eternal kingdom of God. The city is not all there is to heaven. It’s only3 one part of heaven.

In the Bible, when the word “heaven” appears, it can be used to describe three things, all using the same word. There’s the first heaven, which just speaks of the atmosphere, the sky. The Bible speaks of the birds that fly in the heavens. The second word “heaven” means cosmic space. The Bible says, When I consider the heavens, the works of thy hands… it’s talking about the stars, the moon, space. That’s the second heaven. Then the third use of the word “heaven” is the dwelling place of God. Whenever you read the word “heaven” in the Bible, make that distinction between the three. It’s this third heaven, the dwelling place of God that we want to talk about this morning. So, if you want to jot down some notes…

1. Does heaven matter? 

Public-opinion polls show that most Americans not only believe in God but also anticipate some kind of heaven. According to a Newsweek Poll, 94% of Americans believe that God exists and 77% believe in a heaven. Christian author, Phillip Yancey wrote, Although [most] of us believe in an afterlife, no one much talks about it. Christians believe we will spend eternity in a splendid place called heaven…isn’t it a little bizarre that we simply ignore heaven, acting as if it doesn’t matter? So, does heaven matter?

A philosopher admonished his followers, “Look to the end.” But skeptics reject the hope of a heavenly end. Most of us are familiar with John Lennon’s song Imagine: Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try No hell below us, above us only sky; Imagine all the people living for today.

The end Christ-followers anticipate based on God’s Word, isn’t nothingness. It’s the blessedness of eternity in heaven with God. Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft observed, If life on earth is not a road to heaven, then it is a treadmill, a merry-go-round minus the merry.

The atheistic architects of modernity: Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche, were wrong when they argued that hope in a heaven keeps us from enjoying this earthly life. Quite the opposite. Those who believe in life after death lead happier lives and trust people more. Those with the assurance of an afterlife are more satisfied with the present one. The certainty of heaven helps us cope with the uncertainties of earth. Only those who are ready to die are prepared to live.

2. Where is heaven? 

The most important fact is that heaven is a real place. Listen to the words of Jesus on the night before He was crucified: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in He. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

Heaven is a real place. Twice in three verses Jesus calls heaven a place. He means that heaven (my Father’s house)is as real as New York, London or Chicago. The place called heaven is as real as the place you call home. It’s a real place filled with real people, which is why the Bible sometimes compares heaven to a mansion with many rooms and sometimes to an enormous city filled with people (Revelation 21-22).

Heaven is the dwelling place of God. The Bible tells us that heaven is the dwelling place of God. His throne is there, the angels are there, and the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven. Philippians 3:20 says very plainly that our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus told the thief on the cross, Today you will be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

Heaven is not as far away as we think. Because heaven is a real place, we sometimes think it must be outside our present universe, which would mean that it’s billions of light years away. However, it’s clear that the early Christians understood that they’d pass immediately from this life into the presence of Christ in heaven. How can that be possible if heaven is beyond the farthest galaxy? Hebrews 12:22-24 tells us something amazing about what the gospel has done for us: But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

The writer of Hebrews is comparing Mt. Sinai with Mt. Zion. Under the old covenant no one could come near God except under very strict conditions. It’s why the mountain shook with thunder and lightning. [Note: three times the writer of Hebrews uses a word in the original that means to come near.] But now in Christ we’ve been brought near to heavenly realities. He’s saying that: We’re not that far from heaven. We’re not that far from the angels. We’re not that far from our loved ones in heaven. We’re not that far from God. We’re not that far from Jesus Himself.

So, heaven is a real place, it’s where Jesus is now, and it’s not far away.

3. What’s heaven like? 

One lovely moonlit night a grandfather and his small granddaughter went for a walk. The stars were magnificent. As the grandfather named individual stars and constellations, the granddaughter exclaimed, Grandpa, if the bottom side of Heaven is this beautiful, just think how wonderful the top side must be!

Most of us have heard that heaven is a place where the streets are paved with gold, the gates are made of pearl and walls of precious jewels. Those images come from Revelation 21-22, which offers us the most extended picture of heaven in the Bible. Do I believe those things are literally true? The answer is yes and no. Yes, they are literally true but no, heaven won’t be anything like we imagine. It will be so much greater.

I love the story of the rich guy who on his death bed, negotiated with God to allow him to bring some of his earthly treasures with him when he came to heaven. God’s reaction was that this was an unusual request, but since this man had been exceptionally faithful, permission was granted to bring along just one suitcase. The time arrived, the man presented himself at the pearly gates, suitcase in hand–both hands, actually, since he’d stuffed it with as many bars of gold as could fit. Peter said, “Sorry, you know the rules–you can’t take it with you.” But the man protested, “God said I could bring one suitcase.” Peter checked, found out that this one would be an exception, prepared to let the man enter, then said, “OK, but I’ll have to examine the contents before you pass.” Peter took the suitcase, opened it, saw the gold bars and asked quizzically, “You brought PAVEMENT?”

When John writes about streets paved with gold, he reports what he saw in his vision. His words are literally true. They’re meant to tell us that the things we value so highly in this life will be used to pave the roads in heaven. The Bible pictures it as a great city filled with all of God’s people.

What would such a city look like? It would be a city with no pollution. The skies would always be crystal clear. No crime, violence or criminals. It’s filled with beautiful parks, clean rivers, rolling meadows, and flowing streams. Lining the streets are flowers in constant bloom, fruit trees of every kind, every species of plants growing free from pestilence or disease.

The gates are made of pearl, with walls of jasper and streets of gold. Precious stones would lie on the ground: emeralds, rubies, diamonds galore. And everywhere children are laughing, bright conversation, music floating from every direction.

In the city that God builds, there are no tears, no sorrow, no regret and no remorse. Bitterness is gone forever, failure left behind, suffering redeemed and rewarded. There are no eyeglasses, no braces, no wheelchairs, no false teeth, no bald heads, no hearing aids.

There are no hospitals or nursing homes. No paramedics. No pain relievers needed. Accidents over, cancer gone, heart attacks banished, AIDS a distant memory. No one grows old or feeble.

But there is one other thing you won’t find in heaven – no cemeteries. Why? There are no funerals. In heaven no one ever dies. If you make it to heaven, you live forever, never to die again.

Either you believe in heaven, or you don’t. It’s either a real place or it isn’t. This is heaven, where all of our best dreams finally come true.

And we’ll know each other in heaven. 1 Corinthians 13:12, For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. In other words, we’ll know more in heaven than we know here. When we get to heaven we’ll know each other as God knows us and all the imperfections of this life will be removed. In this life sin causes us to cover ourselves, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually. In heaven with sin finally removed we can be ourselves with zero shame or embarrassment, and no covering up.

In his book on heaven, W.A. Criswell makes the point that our individual personality survives into eternity. I’ll be the same person then that I am now, only with all the imperfections and limitations of sin finally removed. What a wonderful thought, that the essence of who we are will remain for eternity yet vastly improved by God’s grace. Criswell also says that in heaven we can eat all we want and not get fat. I sure hope he’s right.

There’s a related question that people often ask: How old will we be in heaven? Personally, I think we’ll be in our early 30’s because that’s approximately how old Jesus was when He died. Add to that, Adam and Eve were created with age, not as infants. 30 is an age of maturity yet not old. Of course, there’s no scriptural support for this one way or the other.

We do know there won’t be any age in heaven in the sense we speak of age on earth. Aging is a function of the decaying effects of sin. Personally, I believe babies who die in infancy will be adults in heaven and someone who died of disease on earth will be restored to full health in heaven.

In heaven we will know each other. It’s why Peter, James and John recognized Moses and Elijah even though they’d been dead for hundreds of years on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). There was something about those two men that made Peter, James and John recognize them even though they’d never seen them before. In heaven we’ll know every person and all of them will be friends and loved ones to us.

It’s why a wife whose husband died when she was young will be able to pick her husband out of a crowd of billions, even though she hasn’t seen him for decades since he died. In heaven she’ll say, “Sweetheart! I knew it was you” and he’ll know her. How can this be? I don’t know, but I believe it will be true. In heaven there will be no strangers.

4. How do we go to heaven? 

Warren Buffet is one of the greatest investors today. In June 2005, someone bought lunch with him for $351,100.00. Compared to going to heaven, it’s cheap. Because if you and I had to pay an entrance fee to enter heaven, none of us would get there.

We know that God is in heaven because heaven is His dwelling place. The Lord Jesus has been in heaven ever since He ascended from the earth shortly after His resurrection. The Bible tells us that angels are in heaven. 

And the saints of God who died on this earth are in heaven. That includes the Old Testament Saints who by faith trusted in God’s Word and looked forward to God’s redemption on the cross (which they didn’t fully understand). It also includes every true believer from every age and place. Anyone who has genuinely trusted in Christ as Lord and Savior will be there. I also believe children who died before the “age of accountability go to heaven and those born with such mental limitations that they cannot understand the gospel. The Bible teaches that the moment we die we go directly into the presence of the Lord Jesus.

But I don’t want to be vague here. Not everyone is in heaven now. Worse, some people won’t make it. The Bible speaks of the saved and the lost. The saved are those who trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior. They’ve confessed that they’re sinners, can’t ever save themselves and trusted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross paid for all of their sins.

The lost are those who do not trust Christ as Savior. This is the great dividing line of humanity. You’re either saved or you are lost. There’s no middle category. You either spend eternity in heaven or eternity in hell.

The Bible teaches that the saved of all the ages, those who trusted in Christ alone, will be there. That vast throng will include many people who’d surprise us if we knew it now. Heaven will be more wonderful than we can imagine. Its population more diverse than we expect.

Based on Scripture, we can be sure of this. No one will go to heaven except by the grace of God and through the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ. If anyone doesn’t commit his/her life to Christ, trusts in the cross alone and somehow attempts to work their way into heaven by being good or moral, he/she has no hope of God’s forgiveness or heaven. How could anyone even imagine that the sacrifice of God’s Son wasn’t enough?

Philippians 3:20 says, But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior (New Living Translation).  The Bible says that the day you and I accepted Christ into our lives, by calling on Him in prayer with faith, that our names were then added in a book called the Book of Life. You’re now a citizen of heaven. The cross is your passport to heaven.

Think about this. If you try to enter Canada from another country and say: “I’m a good person, I do good deeds, I’m a hard worker, I don’t steal, let me in.” Do you know what the officer at the Canadian border will say to you? “Passport please. You don’t have a passport? You can’t come in.”

It’s the same with heaven. Jesus is our passport. We have a citizenship in heaven. The moment you walk up to the border entry in heaven, they’ll check your passport and compare it with their list of names in the Book of Life. When they look at your passport and see the blood of Jesus on it, they’ll let you in because In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).

This earth, this life is a pit stop. It’s foolish for all our time, thoughts, efforts and lives to be consumed with this life. The Bible reminds us over and over again that this life is like a vapor, a fog…gone in a moment.

5. Where will you be one minute after you die? 

Death is something we don’t want to think about, but we must. Every one of us has an appointment that we will not miss, death. C.S. Lewis observed, The statistics on death are impressive – so far, it is one out of one! Each of us is faced with the reality of dying every second of every day.

Death, though, is not our final destination. Death is only a doorway to our destination. Death is the point beyond which we do not return to life on earth. So, the question is not, will we die? That’s a fact. The ultimate question is: Where will you be one minute after you die?

How can I be sure I am going to heaven? That’s the most important question of all. Here’s a wonderful truth: God has made it easy for you to go to heaven. He did the hardest part when He sent his Son to die on the Cross for you. He paid the whole price for your sins so that you could one day stand before God in heaven. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). He also said, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved” (John 10:9 NASB). Jesus is the only way to heaven; He’s the door to heaven. If you want to go to heaven, you must go through the door marked “Jesus.” There is no other entrance. There is only one entrance.

This morning if God were to say, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” what answer would you give? There is only one right answer – “that Jesus died for my sin and I’ve trusted Him as my Lord and Savior.” It’s the answer of John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

So, let me make this very personal. If you were to die today, do you know for certain that you’d go to heaven? This is too important to say, “I think so” or “I hope so.” If you’re wrong, you’ll be wrong for all eternity.

What we need is the solid ground we have in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our entire hope of heaven is wrapped up in what Jesus did when He died on the cross for all our sins and rose from the dead.

No one goes to heaven by accident. Heaven is God’s prepared place for prepared people. We prepare for heaven and then God prepares heaven for us. Most people believe in heaven and most think they’re going there. But are they on the right road? Are they building their lives on Jesus Christ? Trusting in Him alone as the Bible teaches?

What’s your hope for heaven? Mine is Jesus Christ. I’ve staked everything I have on Him.

What about you? When the dark night falls, the lights go out, and the waters of death swirl around you, what will happen to you then? If you know Jesus as your Savior, you’ve got nothing to fear.

If you don’t, put your trust in Jesus today. Run to the Cross. Stand with your full weight on the solid rock of our salvation.

Conclusion

One of my heroes is Billy Graham. I’ve shared this before. It’s such a wonderful example of faith in going Home to heaven.

Back in 2010, when Billy Graham was 91 years old, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina invited their favorite son to a luncheon in his honor. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggled with Parkinson’s. But the Charlotte leaders said, ‘We don’t expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.’ So, he agreed.

After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the podium, looked at the crowd, and said, “I’m reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century.

Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn’t there. He looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn’t find it.

The conductor said, ‘Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.’

Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, ‘Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are, no problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.’ Einstein looked at him and said, Young man, I, too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.

Having said that Billy Graham continued, “See the suit I’m wearing? It’s a brand-new suit. My children, and my grandchildren are telling me I’ve gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So, I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I’ll be buried.

But when you hear I’m dead, I don’t want you to immediately remember the suit I’m wearing. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am, I also know where I’m going.”

My friend, do you know where you’re going…for eternity? May God help you to trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, so you know based on the promises of God you know where you’re going!

Do you want to go to heaven? It’s so simple, though for God it was so costly. It’s simply trusting that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough. Trusting Jesus  means staking your life upon the fact that when He died on the cross, He paid the price for all of your sins.

So, do you believe that Jesus died for you? Do you trust Him? If you’re ready to say Yes, then you can be a Christian right now. Let me give you a simple prayer to pray if it expresses the desire of your heart. You can pray it along with me in your heart right now:

“Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for dying on the cross for me and for all of my sin. Please take all my sin and guilt away. I believe you are the Son of God and the Savior of the world. I gladly accept You as my Savior. Come into my life and make me a Christian. Help me to live a life that will be pleasing to you. Thank you for hearing this prayer. Amen.”

Did you pray that prayer? I hope so. If you did, would you please let me know as you leave today? You can just come up to me and say, “Scott, I prayed that prayer.” I’d be so happy if you’d do that. Let’s pray.