Introduction: We have hope! The best thing for discouragement is
believing that things will get better. We have discussed unity in
this series of lessons, but the best news is that we will be unified
when we get to heaven. Let’s jump into our study of the Bible and
learn what a great place heaven will be. I believe our feelings of
love and gratitude towards God will take away any division. Let’s
enjoy a vision of the future!
- Heavenly Housing
- Read John 14:1-3. What has Jesus promised His disciples?
(He will return and take them to heaven to be with Him.) - Notice that you are promised a “room” in the
“Father’s house.” The King James aggrandizes room by
translating it “mansions.” Would it make sense to
have a “mansion” inside a “house?” - Why do you think the King James translated the Hebrew
as “mansions” instead of “rooms” or “dwelling place?” - Read Revelation 21:15-16. This is a description of the New
Jerusalem, the “house” of God the Father. What shape is
it? (It is a cube.) - How big is the cube? (1,400 miles or about 2,200
kilometers on each side!) - To what would you compare it today? (This is a high
rise condominium building that reaches into outer
space!) - What do you think the description “rooms” represents
in this condominium building? (Now “rooms” makes
sense. This reinforces the idea that we cannot
imagine what God has in mind for us. It also
highlights the problem of adequately describing what
God has prepared for us in the New Jerusalem. I once
ran some projections on the size of the individual
condominiums in the New Jerusalem, and they are
bigger than anything you have in mind! Turns out that
the King James and the NIV have it right, this is a
mansion and it is rooms!) - Read Isaiah 65:21-22. What does this tell us about our
condominium in the New Jerusalem? (It is not our only
place to live. We will also have country homes that we
build and enjoy.) - Heavenly You
- Read Isaiah 65:17-19. What will be our state of mind in
the New Earth? (Gladness, joy and delight. We will not
remember the difficult things of the past. Weeping and
crying are over – never to be heard again.) - Will you enjoy being able to forget some things?
- Read Revelation 22:3-4. I’ve contemplated the idea that
forgetting about sin might not be good. That memory should
be the most effective barrier against sin arising again.
Does this verse suggest a different approach to stopping
the re-emergence of sin? (“His name is on their foreheads”
means that they made a choice for God. With our
inclination to sin destroyed with sin itself, our choice
should be secure. Another measure of security is that we
see the face of God.) - Read Isaiah 65:20 and Revelation 21:4. Will our loved ones
die? (Death is destroyed! I think the reference to dying
at 100 years in Isaiah is a reference to what will not
happen in the earth made new.) - Look again at Revelation 21:4. We previously
discussed no more crying, death or mourning. What do
you think is meant by “the old order of things has
passed away?” - Read Revelation 21:3. Notice that God says that “He will
live” with us and He will be our God and we will be His
children. How will it impact your life to be in the
presence of God whenever you want? (He lives in your
condominium building!) - Read Revelation 21:5-6 and Isaiah 35:5-6. What is the
state of our health in heaven? (We are new, and we drink
from the “spring of the water of life.” Our disabilities
are gone.) - Read Revelation 22:1-2. Why will our health be perfect?
(In addition to drinking from the “water of life,” we get
to eat from the “tree of life!”) - Let’s see if we can stretch your imagination! The
Bible tells us, as we previously discussed, the fact
that the New Jerusalem is a cube, an enormous high
rise condominium. How does a river run through it and
a tree stand on both sides of the river? (In my
imagination, the New Jerusalem is an “open atrium”
building, meaning that it has an open center. I see
the River of the Water of Life running on each level,
and dropping like a waterfall down to the next level.
(In that design the river runs just outside the door
of your condo.) The Tree of Life rises from the
bottom to the top of the cube, with twin trunks on
each side of the river. Can you begin to imagine the
beauty and majesty of this?) - Read Revelation 22:5. What is the source of our light in
the earth made new? (God. I believe that in heaven and the
earth made new, the level of light is much brighter! It
will better bring out the beauty of it all.) - Read Isaiah 35:1-2 and Isaiah 35:6-7. The writer no doubt
saw a lot of desert. What does this tell us about the
land? (It has water. It will bloom!) - Read Isaiah 11:6-8. Why do the texts keep referring to a
“little” or “young” child? (The verses list some pretty
dangerous animals: wolf, leopard, lion, bear and viper.
The point is that there is no danger. Heaven will be a
place of perfect safety.) - Read Isaiah 65:25. What is part of the reason for being
safe around wolves and lions? (They have a new diet. They
now eat straw.) - Read Isaiah 35:8. What other reason will we be safe?
(“Wicked fools” will not be there. No one will desire to
do us harm.) - Heavenly You
- Read 1 Corinthians 15:47-49. Who are the “first man” and
the “man from heaven?” (This must refer to Adam and
Jesus.) - Who are you going to be like in heaven? (“We bear the
likeness of the man from heaven!”) - Read 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. What do we learn about our
future selves? (We “will be changed.” We will “be raised
imperishable.”) - What does it mean to be “imperishable?” (We will not
die.) - How do you think we will be changed? We already
learned that we will be new and like Jesus. We also
learned about our new state of health. What else
changes? (Read 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. All of our
spiritual problems go away. They are replaced with
perfection!) - Have you heard some Christians warn that we
must be perfect in order to go to heaven? We
must be “safe to save?” What does this say
about the state of those who die, but who are
going to heaven? (The die in dishonor and
weakness. Perfect is not our state when we die,
rather, perfection is our state when Jesus
raises us from the dead to take us to heaven!
Praise God!) - Friend, are you ready for a total upgrade in every aspect
of your life: your housing, your health, your state of
mind, your future, and your spirituality? Do you want to
enjoy unity with the Great God of Heaven, the Creator of
the Universe? These things have been promised to those who
choose Jesus as their Savior. Why not, by the power of the
Holy Spirit, choose Him right now? - Next week: We begin a new series on the book of Revelation.
