Be Ready - Heaven is Near
BE READY - SERIES
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. —Revelation 21:1-5
We need to BE READY - Heaven is Near
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 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.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. —John 14:1-3
When you’re facing troubling times,
Jesus said: do not let your
Jesus teaches us here to
Learn to change your perspective…
Don’t focus on the
Take a closer look at the ultimate eternal hope. HEAVEN and
20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. —Philippians 3:20-21
Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. —Luke 24:39
Our New
HEAVEN… We need to BE READY - Heaven is Near
HEAVEN’S LOCATION
Heaven in the New Testament is described as…
A country…Hebrews 11:46…this speaks of its vastness
A city…Hebrews 11:10…it has many inhabitants
A kingdom…Mathew …it’s an emphasis on its orderliness
A paradise…speaks of its beauty
A house…Jesus called it: My fathers house….that’s because heaven is where God has chosen for his house.
And his house becomes our house…our
This world is not my home…I’m just a passing through
This world is not your home…it is a battle
This world is not your home….it’s a soul saving
This world is not your home…it’s a dress rehearsal for the reality
Greek word….is Not
When an Israelite Son got married, the father would add a wing to his house, and so on until in the middle there was a patio…where all the sons with their families lived around…the same house with Father. they were all close to the Father.
HEAVEN’S LAYOUT
How big is heaven?
Scientists have not even been able to measure the size of the known physical universe. There is a photo called the XDF (eXtreme Deep Field) that was put together from images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope over the course of ten years. It shows a vast number of galaxies, each comprising billions of stars like our sun. Our sun is 93 million miles away from the earth. And the galaxies are very, very far apart—Andromeda, the closest galaxy to our own, is 2.2 million light years away. To give an idea of how far that is, a shuttle traveling at 18,000 miles per hour would need over 37,000 years to travel one light year. The universe is absolutely huge—and God created it all.
The measurement of the heavenly city described in Revelation chapters 21 and 22 is 12,000 furlongs. A furlong is 1/8 th of a mile. This makes the city about 1500 miles square, or 1500 miles in all directions. The literal land area of the city described in Revelation would be 2,250,000 sq miles.
London is 140 square miles
At the ratio of people in London, the heavenly city could hold 100 billion people.
There is plenty of room for everyone…but not everyone will make the choice to go.
WHAT HEAVEN LOOKS LIKE
18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[f] 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. —Revelation 21:18-27
WOW!!! - What will we do forever?
I think a big part of our “yawn” toward heaven is we think that we will only have one emotion, one task, one repetitive function forever and ever. This isn’t true!!!
We will not have any of the “omni(s)” Only God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, etc.
We will still be finite beings: Meaning we will continue to learn, travel, develop skills, gain knowledge, visit, explore, learn and grow.
Who knows what God has in store for us…the Bible says that eye has not seen, nor ear heard…neither hath in entered into the heart of man…
Consider a few of God’s traits that do show up in us (His image bearers)
• Creativity
• Dangerous and Adventurous
• Fun loving
o What other child like tendencies: Joy, play, celebrate and laugh.
o The stress of life and the pressures of ‘adult’ responsibly can suck the life out of us.
o Even now wishes we would stop worrying and enjoy life; how much more then?
o Why does my dog play? Why do Horses run when not spurred or chased?
o Why do Whales and Dolphins jump out of the water?
o Why do we love music? Fun? Play? Beauty? Etc? —- Because it’s “good!”
..in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. —1 Timothy 6:17
• Relational
How about listening to the Angel’s stories…I am sure they will have some interesting reports to share?
AND Most importantly Jesus will be there! And we will have full access to His company and Glory!
1 Corinthians 2:9 - we are told, God prepares all these things for “those who love Him.”
HEAVEN’S LIFESTYLE
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” —Revelation 21:3-4
No death…suffering…pain…crime
Our present blessings are great….
Christ changes lives, brings peace, joy….
But even greater blessings await us… the BEST iS YET TO COME
Eternal life, eternal peace, heaven, escape of judgement, and then an eternity of Life with Jesus and endless possibilities!
Intentions:
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who started out on a trip or vacation with the purpose of winding up lost. At some point in everyone’s life there is nothing but the best of intentions! So then how do cute little tykes grow up and go to prison? How do able young people wind up alcoholics? How do starry eyed couples wind up divorced? It’s a matter of being on the wrong road.
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. —Matthew 7:13-14 KJV
We need to BE READY - Heaven is Near
Repent, Be Baptized in Jesus’ Name, Be Filled with the Holy Ghost
If your intention is to make Heaven your home and you want to be with Jesus for eternity - then let’s get ready now!
Extra Reading: Revelation 21 & 22