A Word For This Hour

It seems as if my Dad will be going to be with Jesus soon. He is not responding the way the doctors thought he would following the surgery.

I have a dear friend. He is retired College Administrator. He sent this to me this evening. I wanted to share it with all who come to the backyard. It was his notes from his Sunday School Class he teaches each week.

What the Bible Says about…Heaven
Tom Barnard

There’s good news and bad news today. The good news is that there is a Heaven; the bad news is that not everyone will go there when they die. The good news is that it is free to all who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus; the bad news is that only a relatively small percentage of people will choose to believe. The good news is that Heaven is a timeless experience; the bad news is that time is running out for people who put off the decision.

I found it interesting that “heaven” or “heavens” is mentioned hundreds of times in both the Old and the New Testaments (I stopped counting at 600). And when you include the synonyms for heaven in the list, it is enormous. Here are some of the “other” names for heaven that appear in the New Testament:

Paradise…New Jerusalem…Holy City…Dwelling Place of God…House of the Father…Kingdom of the Father…City of the Living God…Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem…Everlasting Life… Place of Great Reward…the Second Heaven…and the Third Heaven.

On the other hand, the word translated “hell” in English is found infrequently in the Old Testament, and other than about a dozen times in the Gospels, the word “hell” is mentioned twice in the Letters of Paul and Peter (once each). Of course, there are synonyms for “hell” throughout Scripture. But clearly the Bible speaks in numerous places about a place of separation from God. Here are a few words that clearly indicate the intent of scripture in identifying a place where none of us wants to go:

Place of Eternal Fire…Gehenna…Hades…Second Death…Sheol…Tartarus…Lake of Fire and Brimstone…Place of Eternal Judgment…Place of Separation from God…Eternal Damnation…Outer Darkness (where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth)…Everlasting Destruction…Furnace of Fire…Everlasting Fire…Tormented in the flame.

Selecting one passage of Scripture around which to build a lesson on heaven was difficult, but I chose John 14 because of the beauty of the figurative language and our familiarity with the words.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” (John 14:1-4)

1. “Let not your heart be troubled.” Just two chapters back in the Gospel Jesus spoke about his death. He said, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain…Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour…A little while longer the light is with you...While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light…Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’” (John 12:23-24; 27; 13:35-36) The disciples were confused. They expected great things were about to happen that would lead
to power and prestige for them and glory for Jesus. Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” (13:36)

Jesus did not want his disciples to be fearful about the future. He wanted them to look forward to future things. They were to be a significant part of God’s future plans. They were focused on death; he wanted them to be focused on life, both now and in the future.

2. “In My Father’s house are many mansions.” Jesus was speaking figuratively. He was speaking in physical terms about a place that is spiritual. In Revelation 21 John described the New Jerusalem. He spoke about walls of jasper that were adorned with precious stones, gates of pearl, and streets of gold. And John spoke of the immensity of the City—a city laid out in a square, 1400 miles in each direction, with walls that were 216 feet thick! Jesus spoke of a heavenly place in which there were many “mansions.” He wanted his followers to understand heaven was an actual place, but not a physical one. Incredible in size and dimension? Yes. Indescribable in beauty? Yes. But a place of great intimacy with God. Jesus was saying not to worry about the size of heaven; it is a place big enough for all of us.
“If God had made this world so fare, where sin and death abound,
How beautiful beyond compare, will paradise be found.”

3. “I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus spoke of a place where others would be present, too. Will we recognize our loved ones in heaven? Yes. We will recognize and enjoy the company of loved ones who have gone on before us. Otherwise, why would Jesus even refer to such a place where we would not know anyone? In writing to the church of the first century, John said, “We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” If this fellowship were not to continue in heaven after we die, why would the apostle say so much about fellowship here on earth? Why even talk about fellowship here on earth? Will there be marriage in heaven? No. There will be no necessity for marriage in heaven. Marriage is important on earth because of what it produces—children, siblings, family. In heaven there will be one family. The intimacy and closeness of our fellowship in heaven will be so grand, that comparing it with anything here on earth will be meaningless. As one preacher said, “We will know and love each other there even more significantly than we know and love each other here.”

The apostle Paul spoke about Jesus as the “first fruits of them that slept.” Following his resurrection, Christ was recognized by the disciples, but his resurrection “body” was not limited by space and time. He could pass through doors, prepare breakfast at the seaside, and travel great distances quickly. He was “visible” to his followers but not restricted in any other way. When the Risen Christ ascended into heaven in Acts, everyone—500 witnesses—all saw it happen.

Jesus said that he was leaving to “go to prepare a place” for his disciples. I do not know everything this means, but I believe that he was going so he could be preparing to gather our loved ones as part of a committee to welcome us to heaven.

4. “I will come again and receive you to Myself.” I have never stood beside a person when death arrived. But I have heard what it is like, particularly when the dying person is a Christian. Even though there is sadness present, there is a sense of joy and celebration as well. Some say that when a Christian dies, there is a sense of the presence of Christ in the room. Someone has called death “a journey into the altogether new.” Jesus promised that when we die, He will “come again and receive” us unto Himself. Jesus is coming again for us—if living, at the Rapture, if following death, in His presence.

5. “…that where I am, there you may be also.” For Christians who die who have no friends or loved ones waiting for them in heaven, they have Someone who is not only waiting for them but will be with them forever. Our song should be,
I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus; no turning back—no turning back.
Though no one join me, still I will follow; though no one join me, still I will follow;
Though no one join me, still I will follow; no turning back—no turning back.

Jesus promised to be with us here in life…to be with us when we die…to come for us as we depart for heaven…and to live with us there eternally. It doesn’t get any better than this!

And be sure of one thing: Jesus said He was coming back for us…and He absolutely keeps his word!