What's Up With Heaven? | Dr. David Jeremiah

Now, in the Bible, as you read the Bible through, and especially during this series, as we focus on these passages, we're going to find a number of names for heaven, different things the Bible speaks of it about. It's pictured in many ways, and each picture suggests a little different aspect of it.

When we say that heaven is a country, we're talking about how vast it is. Heaven's a big place. When we see it in the scripture and it's a city, we think of all the people that live there. When we see it compared to a kingdom, we think of how orderly and organized the government is.

When we hear of paradise, we imagine all the beauty of heaven. My favorite description of heaven is the father's house. I love that. I like the father's house. When we get there as God's people, we're going to feel at home. We're going to feel the joy and compassion and it'll be wonderful. >> Thank you for watching Turning Point.

Here is Dr. Jeremiah with his message. What's up with heaven? >> One day, Suzanne Edwards found a deflated helium balloon in the backyard of her home in Monroe, Georgia. Tied to it was a photo of a smiling family and a handwritten note in childlike print. As she read it, tears welled up in her eyes.

It said, "Dad, I wish you were here so we could have fun together. I wish you a merry Christmas. I hope you are happy in heaven. If you are okay, then tell me I love you, Alejandro." Suzanne later learned the note was written by 7-year-old Alejandro Garcia Herawis, whose home was about 20 miles away.

Three years earlier in Colombia, Alejandro's father, a law professor, had been murdered. Alejandro and his mother moved to the United States. But every Christmas, the boy would write a letter to his dad and send it off in a helium balloon, hoping it would get to heaven. Using social media, Suzanne found Alejandro's mom and asked her to pass along this message to the boy.

I want you to know that heaven is a wonderful place, more amazing than you and I can ever imagine. It is a place where there is no pain and no worries. And I am certain your daddy didn't want to leave you or cause you to feel lonely or sad.

He will always love you. And I'm sure that you make him proud. Have a merry Christmas. When Alejandro received the message, he cried. So did millions of people around the world when the story was picked up by the media. Suzanne was right. Heaven is more wonderful than we can imagine.

It's not a dream or a mystery. It's real. You see, my goal is to make sure you all are going there. You know, someone told me the real purpose of a Christian is to go to heaven and take as many people with him as he can. And I would feel very sad if for some reason you didn't hear about heaven and how to go there and missed it.

So I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen. So what's up with heaven? Let me begin by giving you some basic truths about heaven that you may not know. The idea of heaven is not just a doctrine tucked away in the pages of our Bibles.

It shows up everywhere in our culture, in our stories, our songs, and our screens. And as you know, everybody thinks they're going to heaven. You know, you watch sporting events and people whose parents have died recently, they say, "But but dad, he'll see me from heaven and he'll be happy."

And that may be true, but you have to know, is he in heaven? Did he know Jesus Christ? Because as you know, you can't go to heaven if you don't know Jesus Christ. So not everybody who's going to heaven in their mind is going to heaven in their body.

We don't have to rely on lyrics or screenwriters to understand what heaven is like because God has already spoken. And we're going to begin with some wonderful truths about heaven from the scripture. Did you know that in the Bible the word heaven is mentioned more than 600 times? 33 of the 39 Old Testament books talk about heaven. 21 books in the New Testament talk about heaven.

In the Old Testament, the word for heaven is shmayam, which is a word meaning the heights. In the New Testament, the Greek word Uranus inspires the name of the planet Uranus. And the word refers to something that is raised up or lofty. So, as you can see, heaven is not a side topic in the Bible.

It's a major theme that runs from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible tells us Enoch walked with God and was taken not to a grave, but into God's presence. Abraham looked beyond Canaan to a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God. David spoke of dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.

And Isaiah described a future with no sorrow or sighing. Jesus spoke about heaven often. He told stories to help people understand it. And Paul wrote about longing for it. And John saw it and described it in detail in the book of Revelation. So heaven is a key theme in the Bible.

It doesn't just mention heaven here and there. It keeps pointing us to heaven everywhere. It's where God is. It's where his people will be and where the story is headed. The prominence of heaven. Here's one you may have wondered about. I know a lot of people have asked this question.

The plurality of heaven. As you work your way through the hundreds of mentions of the word heaven in the Bible, you soon realize there's a difference between the word and how it's used. In fact, the Bible specifically speaks of three distinct heavens. The first heaven is the atmospheric heaven, the sky with its clouds and birds and life-giving oxygen.

Genesis 1:20 says, "Then God said, let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament to the heavens." And Job, God asked, "Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens?"

And Isaiah speaks of the rain and snow that come down from the heaven. So in these passages, the word heaven is the atmosphere, the place where rain falls, where clouds form and birds fly. It's the thin layer of gases, mostly nitrogen and oxygen, that makes life on the earth possible.

Most of its vital resources are within 10 miles of the surface. And God designed it to sustain life. This is what the Bible calls the first heaven. And then there's a second heaven. In Genesis 1, God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night."

And then he describes the sun and the moon and the stars. The second heaven is the vast universe beyond our atmosphere, its outer space filled with billions of stars and planets and constellations and meteors and galaxies. The book of Psalms praises God for the lavish display of his glory.

Psalm 8 says, "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him." Jesus predicted a coming day when the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.

These are all references to the second heaven, the stellar skies. We have the atmospheric heaven. We have the stellar heaven. Here's the one that causes people a lot of questions when they read this passage of scripture from 2 Corinthians 12. Paul writes, "I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body, I do not know, or whether out of the body, I do not know.

God knows. Such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know. God knows how he was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

He was caught up into the third heaven. And when we read that, when we've read it in the past, we've always wondered, "What in the world is the third heaven? I didn't know there was more than one." Now you know. There's the atmospheric heaven. There's the stellar heaven.

And now there is the heaven where God lives. In these verses, Paul's not referring to the atmospheric heaven. He's referring to the highest heaven, the very dwelling place of God. Solomon spoke of this in First Kings 8:27. He said, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built."

Moses called this heaven the highest heaven. Other Bible writers describe it as God's holy temple. Hebrews calls this place a better country. Jesus referred to it as the father's house. This is it, the heaven of heavens, the highest heaven, paradise, the father's house. This is the place where God dwells and where his throne radiates glory.

Where angels fill the skies with praise and where the redeemed of every age will live forever. This is our future address. If we know Jesus, the highest heaven where God lives, the prominence of heaven and the plurality of it. Let's talk about this place called heaven. Key passage here is John 14 where Jesus said, "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.

Now, in the Bible, as you read the Bible through, and especially during this series, as we focus on these passages, we're going to find a number of names for heaven. Different things the Bible speaks a bit about. It's pictured in many ways, and each picture suggests a little different aspect of it.

When we say that heaven is a country, we're talking about how vast it is. Heaven's a big place. When we see it in the scripture and it's a city, we think of all the people that live there. When we see it compared to a kingdom, we think of how orderly and organized the government is.

When we hear of paradise, we imagine all the beauty of heaven. My favorite description of heaven is the father's house. I love that. I like the father's house. When we get there as God's people, we're going to feel at home. We're going to feel the joy and compassion and it'll be wonderful.

Some people, according to Charles Ball, talk about heaven as they would about an imaginary place. They talk about it with tongue and cheek, an annoying smile, as if to say heaven is a human invention, a neverland, a realm of dreams not to be taken seriously. Other people say that heaven is a benevolent state of mind.

Have you heard people say that? Heaven is what you think about on this earth. You make your own heaven. They say heaven is not a place you go. Heaven is what you make out of what you're doing right now here on this earth. Well, all of that is untrue if you believe the Bible.

The Bible speaks of a special place. Not a figment of our imagination, not a feeling, not an emotion. Heaven is not the beautiful aisle of somewhere. Heaven is not merely a thought form. It's not merely a projection of the best in ourselves. It's not a vision of a long for utopia.

It's not a pleasing hope or an invention of man. Our thoughts do not make heaven. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you." Heaven is a place. It is not a feeling. It is not a thought pattern.

It is not how you deal with life on this earth. Heaven is the place that God has created for his people if they will trust his word about how to get there. So, we've talked about the prominence of heaven in the Bible and in culture. We've talked about the plurality of heaven.

How many of them are there? There are three. We've talked about the place called heaven. Now, let me just speak with you for a moment about the preciousness of heaven. Why is heaven so important to us? Why do we all need to get ready to go to heaven?

Why is it that I say to you today that my goal in this series is that nobody gets left out of heaven? I want you all to go to heaven. I don't want one of you not to go. You may be the meanest person I ever met, but if you know Jesus Christ, you need to go to heaven.

And that's the only way you're going to get there. First of all, heaven is precious because our redeemer is there. I have a feeling that when we get to heaven and we see the golden streets and the pearly gates, every other visual marvel, they will all fade into insignificance when compared with Jesus Christ.

Imagine the moment that we see Jesus. Right now, we don't see him with our eyes. We don't have the privilege of standing in his presence. The Bible says, "Though you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressable and full of glory." If we rejoice with joy, inexpressable and full of glory, having not seen him, just imagine what it will be like when we actually see him.

He is in heaven in his human body, bearing the scars of our redemption in his hands and in his feet. And when we see him, we'll all be reminded that if we're there, we're there because of him. He's the only reason any of us can get to heaven.

You can't get to heaven without Jesus and what he did on the cross. I remember hearing someone say one time that if he could be in heaven and peak through a keyhole and see Jesus for a single second every thousand years, it'd be worth it. Well, I don't know if that's true or not in terms of its reality, but we're not going to have that experience.

I don't know how it works. I can't explain how with all the myriads of people who will be in heaven, each of us can have a personal relationship with Jesus. But that's what the Bible says. We will know him. We will see him. We will be like him.

And the Bible says the fellowship of Jesus in heaven is the most precious thing about that place. It's not the pearly gates. It's not the streets of gold. It's Jesus. When we get to heaven, heaven will be heaven because that's where Jesus is. But secondly, not only is our redeemer in heaven, our relationships are in heaven.

Hebrews 12 says there are several categories of people who will be in heaven. the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, an innumerable company of angels, the general assembly and church of the firstborn. And the description of the heavenly city was written to believers still on earth.

And the description tells us that when we get to heaven, people of all ages are going to be there. We are going to live in an eternal community with fellow Christians. Now, just think about this. will speak with people from every era of history. Friends from the past, the future, and the pages of scripture.

I mean, I have a lot of questions for David and Joseph and Daniel. I want to sit down with Paul and ask, "What was your thorn in the flesh?" Everybody's veated that for so long. I hope to meet CS Lewis, Charles Haden Spurgeon, AdWoser, other people who you've heard me quote from in my sermons over the years who I have read and have been such a blessing to my life.

And of course, heaven is precious because it reunites us with our loved ones, loved ones we've lost, parents, siblings, children, and friends. So, our redeemer is in heaven. That's the first thing. Our relationships are in heaven. That's the second thing. Did you know that our resources are in heaven?

The Bible says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.

You and I as children of the Lord are due to receive an inheritance beyond anything we can imagine. Not because our names are in the phone book, but because our names are in the lamb's book of life. You have an inheritance in Christ that will never be touched by inflation.

Won't be lost in an economic crash. Its value will never decline or decrease. And the Bible says it's reserved for you in heaven. And then the Bible says our residence is in heaven. Heaven is not just our future home. It's our true homeland. Think about what happens and what it means to be a citizen.

If you've ever applied for a passport, you know the process. You have to fill out documents, provide your birth certificate, proof of your residency, and much more. Because a passport proves your allegiance. It tells the world this is where I belong. Now, imagine heaven using passports. On the day we were saved, heaven stamped our citizenship papers.

Put it this way in Philippians 3:20, "For our citizenship is in heaven." Now, I was born in Toledo, Ohio. I live in Southern California. My real residence is in heaven. I'm a citizen of that land. I'm currently here on earth on an assignment. I am an ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ on planet Earth.

But there's more. We're not just citizens of heaven. We're children of the King. We aren't just inside the door. We're inside the door seated at the table of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We actually outdo the angels in that regard because we have no record that the angels are at the table.

So when we get to heaven, we're not there as guests. We're there as sons and daughters. The Bible says when we get to heaven, we're going to have a reward ceremony. In fact, the Bible lays out five different rewards for which we can qualify. Some people think we shouldn't be worried about rewards.

I've heard very spiritual people say if you really love God, you wouldn't care about rewards. But the Bible speaks about motivation and rewards. And the Lord is one of the chief spokesman. when we get to heaven, we're going to get crowns as rewards and that we'll cast those crowns at the feet of Jesus in worship.

And friends, I don't want to be standing in line empty-handed and not have a crown to cast at the feet of Jesus when the time of worship comes. And then the Bible says that our riches, the riches that we have are in heaven. Listen to Matthew 6. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. What a statement. But what does it mean to lay up riches in heaven? How can you send resources to heaven? What are eternal riches? Let me explain what the Bible teaches about that. The Bible says that there are only two things that are eternal.

One of these days, everything's going to be wiped off this earth as this earth is renovated in preparation for the new heaven and new earth. But two things will last. The souls of human beings and the word of God. If you invest yourself in those two things, you're sending riches to heaven.

If you lead people to Christ or you give money and they come to Christ, that's sending your riches to heaven. When you emphasize the importance of the word of God and you study it and you teach it and you preach it and you learn it, most of all you live by it, you're sending riches to heaven.

Finally, our reservation is in heaven. Listen to me. You can't go to heaven if you don't make reservations ahead of time. You got to make a reservation. I mean, I'm sure all of you have had the experience I've had going on a trip where you think you have a reservation in a hotel and you show up and they don't have it.

You go in there and they don't have a reservation and they don't have any extra rooms and so you're stuck and you're running all over town trying to find a place to sleep. That's happened to me more than once. I'm okay with that now. I can deal with it.

That's not what you want to experience when you get to heaven. You don't want to be without a reservation. When you get to heaven, God is going to say to you something like this. Why should I let you into my heaven? And if your reservation ticket isn't stamped with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will be denied entrance into heaven.

The Bible says Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And no man goes to the father or heaven except through Jesus Christ. If you don't know Jesus Christ, you can't go to heaven. You say, "Well, pastor, I grew up in a different tradition." That's wonderful. I'm okay with that.

But the tradition of any of us doesn't matter. All of us have traditions. The important thing is what does the Bible say? And what does God want us to know? And God wants us to know that one day we will stand before God and give an answer for why we should go to heaven.

And the answer better be right that you've put your trust in Jesus Christ. You say, "Well, I've raised good children." That's wonderful. Congratulations. But that won't get you into heaven. I've lived a good moral life. We need some more people to do that. But that won't get you to heaven.

There is no other way to go to heaven except by putting your trust in Jesus Christ and asking him to be your personal savior and forgive your sin. If you put your trust in Jesus Christ, you punch your ticket to heaven. If you have never taken the step to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can do that today.

If you will allow us, Dr. Jeremiah would like to send you two resources that will help you. The first is a booklet called Your Greatest Turning Point, which will help you as you begin your relationship with Christ. And the second is our monthly devotional magazine, Turning Points, to give you encouragement and inspiration throughout the year.

These resources are yours completely free when you contact Turning Point today. Thank you for being with us today. Join Dr. Jeremiah next time for his series, The Promise of Heaven, here on Turning Point. ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing)) ((applause)) ((music playing))