What's a body to do?

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Job 37:1–39:30 
2 Corinthians 4:13–5:10 
Psalm 44:9-26 
Proverbs 22:13

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

2 Corinthians 5:4 (NLT) "While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Our Verse for Today touches on the subject matter that is also addressed in 1 Corinthians 15. It focuses on the fact that we aren't simply spirits - we are also bodies.

Some folks erroneously think that our bodies are simply a temporary part of us. They suspect that when they die, their spirit will ascend to the Lord's presence and they will never have a use for their body again.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Our bodies are essential for at least two reasons:

First, they enable us to experience sensation. A spirit has no tongue and taste buds to enjoy delicious foods that will be a part of our heavenly experience. A spirit doesn't have a nose with which to smell the heavenly aromas. A spirit doesn't have the ability to touch and be touched to enjoy connectedness with others. Neither does it have eyes or ears to enjoy the sights and sounds of Heaven. So, our bodies are not incidental - they are absolutely essential to experience Heaven.

Second, our bodies are not made for some "spiritual" Heaven. Our bodies remind us of Genesis 1-2 where Adam was made from the earth. Clearly, we are made to exist on a planet with real dirt. So, it's no surprise when we read the last two chapters of Revelation and realize that our final heavenly home is "a new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21:1).

If you read our Verse for Today, Paul was saying that he didn't want to be finally rid of his body. While his physical body was decimated by the beatings, stoning, and many other horrible things he had endured, he desperately wanted a body to enjoy for eternity.

2 Corinthians 5:4 (NLT) "While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life."

If you will read through 1 Corinthians 15, you will hear the Lord (through the Apostle Paul's pen) state that our present bodies will one day be supernaturally resurrected and turned into our eternal bodies. They will be remarkably similar to what we have now but incredibly better. And with those new bodies, we will be able to experience the sensations of Heaven as we walk the New Earth.

How incredible is it going to be? Well, when you get to the final chapter of the Bible as the Apostle John had been writing about the New Earth, he couldn't help himself. He got so excited that his heart cried out, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 20:20). He was ready for Jesus to take him home right then and there.

If we properly understand Heaven and what it will be like, we will live our life to the fullest but also crave for the day that our Lord calls us home!

Heaven is Real

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Job 16:1–19:29 
1 Corinthians 16:1-24 
Psalm 40:1-10 
Proverbs 22:1

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Job 19:25-27 (NLT) "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!"

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

As you read the Bible from front to back, you can't help but notice that there is something called Progressive Revelation (even though you may not have known that term).

Progressive Revelation is simply the acknowledgement that many points of theology are introduced in the Old Testament and developed as the Bible writers added to the canon of Scripture. As more books were added, those theological principles were developed as God revealed Himself and His truth more clearly to His people. After Jesus' time on earth and especially as the Apostle Paul wrote his letters, we come to an extremely clear understanding of things that were murky at best to Old Testament saints.

One truth that is developed in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 15) is the eternal purpose for our bodies. God, through the Apostle Paul's quill, made it clear that our earthly bodies will eventually die (be separated from our spirit). Our earthly bodies will then immediately begin to decay. But, there is coming a day when God will supernaturally raise our decayed bodies and turn them into eternal, immortal bodies to be reunited with our spirits.

We need our bodies, after all. Our bodies are a clear sign that we are not made for some spiritual, 'unreal' existence. We are made for planet earth. Our bodies, made of clay, remind us of our connection to the planet upon which we walk (Genesis 2:7). So, it is no surprise that God's plan for our future home includes another earth (Revelation 21:1ff). And we will have physical bodies with which to experience the sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and feelings (touch) of that paradise.

In our Verses for Today, however, we realize that in Job (probably the first biblical book to be written), even early in the Old Testament there was an understanding that Heaven would be a physical place where we will have physical bodies to experience it.

If you just let your mind wander and think about Heaven being a real, physical place (after all, Jesus took His earthly body to Heaven - Acts 1:6-11), Heaven becomes even more attractive to us.

If you want to investigate this topic even more, I would HIGHLY recommend Randy Alcorn's book, "Heaven."

God is listening. Are you praying?

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Numbers 33:40-35:34
Luke 5:12-28
Psalm 65:1-13
Proverbs 11:23

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Psalm 65:2 (CSB) "All humanity will come to you, the one who hears prayers."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

When we think of prayer, we may tend to think of only our responsibility. We realize that the Bible commands us to pray and we are riddled with guilt because we aren't praying as much as we know we should.

Well, if we only think of our responsibility, the practice of prayer will become lifeless. It will be stripped of it's sense of awe. Ultimately, we will not find it easy to have a powerful prayer life.

But, our verse for today reminds us that all humanity will come to God (in prayer) because He is "the one who hears prayers."

That's beautiful, isn't it? God hears our prayers! He's listening!

In fact, in the book of Revelation, we see something else that is incredible. Through the Apostle John's eyes, we are able to sit in on a Heavenly worship service. Jesus takes the scroll and a worship service erupts!

But, notice what the twenty-four elders are carrying as they participate in the worship service ...

Revelation 5:8 (CSB) "When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints."

Did you get that?! The sweet aroma from the incense in the Heavenly worship service is ... OUR PRAYERS! God places such high value on our prayers that He uses them to create a fragrant aroma in Heaven!

So, do you know what we need to be doing today? Praying! Let's spend time on our knees, talking to "the one who hears prayers."

How Do I Know that I'm Saved?

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Exodus 28:1-43

Matthew 25:31-26:13

Psalm 31:9-18

Proverbs 8:12-13

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Psalm 31:14 "But I am trusting you, O LORD, saying, 'You are my God!'"


REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

In today's reading, we are invited into a heavenly scene in Matthew 25. We can almost see and hear Jesus as He sits on His throne and pronounces judgment on the nations.

Matthew 25:31-33 "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left."

Every single one of us will either be on His right or His left. Those on the right will be moments away from enjoying the splendors of eternity (see Matthew 25:34-40). Those on His left will be moments away from experiencing the pains of Hell (see Matthew 25:41-45).

What determines whether we will end up on His right or His left? That answer is given throughout Scripture. 

• We must come to a place where we realize that we have broken God's perfect Law and stand guilty before Him (see Romans 3:23).
• We must realize that God loved us so much that He has offered a way for our sins to be paid for by a Substitute - Jesus (see Romans 5:8).
• We must turn away from (repent) our sin and self-rule. Further, we must turn to Jesus, trusting in Him and what He did on the cross on our behalf (see Acts 20:20-21). This means that we no longer depend upon ourselves to gain God's approval - that's impossible. Instead, we depend upon what Jesus did on our behalf to gain God's approval.

So, if you have done this, how do you know you are saved? It would be nice if Heaven sent down a spiritual birth certificate but that's not going to happen. So, how do we know we are saved?

If you look in our Bible reading for today, you'll see that Jesus mentioned behaviors (see Matthew 25:35-36, 42-43). Implied is that those on His right trusted in Him for salvation. But, their changed heart was evidenced by a changed life.

Further, there is a book in the Bible that was written for the sole purpose of giving us the assurance of our salvation. It's 1 John. In fact, the author makes it clear that this was His purpose:

"I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13).

So, we would expect that as we read 1 John, we will find the necessary information to let us know if we are truly saved. What do we find in the book?

Well, first, we realize that we must trust in Jesus. That's given in 1 John 5:13. Our journey with Jesus begins as we "believe in the name of the Son of God."

But, how do we know if we've truly believed? What do we find in the book?

If you will take a few minutes to read the five chapters in 1 John, you will see a handful of behaviors mentioned: loving others, refusing to continue in sin, loving God, etc.

These behaviors don't save us. They simply show that we have been truly saved. They reveal that God has done a work in our hearts - that we have genuinely been born again.

We don't rest in works to save us. Ephesians 2:8-9 makes it clear that it is grace through faith that saves us. Any reliance upon our "good works" to save us sabotages our efforts to be made right in God's eyes.

Yet, the very next verse (Ephesians 2:10) makes it clear that we were saved for "good works." It's a changed life that ultimately reveals that we have legitimately received a changed heart.

And we had better get this right. Why? Because the last verse of Matthew 25 is terrifying. The same word that is used to describe how long we will be in Heaven is used to describe how long the unsaved will be in Hell.

Matthew 25:46 "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."

If you have never given your life to Jesus, trusting in what He did on the cross for you, then why not do that today? It is by far the most important decision you will ever make in your entire life. Your eternity rests on it.

Heaven is real

Too often, we treat our life like it is the only reality. We wake up, we get ready for the day, go to school or work, come home with family, do some chores and then settle in for a night's sleep only to do it all over again the next day. It's what we experience so it is "real."

We talk about Heaven and may even say we are looking forward to being there. Yet, if we are completely honest, too many Christians treat this life as "real" while treating Heaven as something surreal, "spiritual," and foreign. Since we can't see it, hear it, or touch it, (being completely honest) it may not even seem relevant to many who claim to follow Jesus.

So, with this mindset, we settle into this life and live it as an end in itself. We may not think about laying up treasures in Heaven like Jesus told us to because we are too busy laying up treasures in our garage. We aren't consumed with living in such a way that we will hear Jesus' words of affirmation on Judgment Day because we are consumed with hearing words of affirmation from our co-workers and peers.

In 1 Peter 2:11-12, the Lord speaks directly to this propensity when He tells us to change our thinking. We are to intentionally force our minds to realize that we are only temporary residents in this life and we are on a pilgrimage to our eternal home which is more real than anything we presently experience. And as we keep our eyes focused on Heaven and the day when Jesus' will assess how we lived this life, it will motivate us to see this life as an opportunity to show others that our God is so wonderful that we gladly submit to His authority. In so doing, we will provide a powerful example to those who are watching who will also stand before Jesus one day.

1 Peter 2:11-12

"11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world."

Heaven will not be a long church service! (---Sigh of relief!---)

I'll have to admit that the thought of Heaven wasn't too attractive to me as a young child.

Of course, I understood that Hell needed to be avoided for obvious reasons. But, Heaven ... well ... what's so great about a long worship service that never, ever, ever, ever ends? I've been in some worship services that only lasted an hour or so but they felt like eternity. Imagine them actually lasting for eternity! Ugh!

Then, God revealed some truths to me in His Word. I realized that while Heaven is a literal place, it's really about the relationship. I came to realize on a very deep level that God made me for Himself and my ultimate joy could be found in relationship with Him (adapted from St. Augustine). The sheer, incomprehensible joy of Heaven will be found in satisfying our longings by getting caught up in the incredible presence of God and experiencing His goodness to us.

Further, I came to realize that Heaven is in fact a literal place. It's not some 'spiritual' place 'out there' somewhere. It's a literal, physical locality as real (more real!) than our present life experience. It hit me that Heaven was going to be on a brand new earth with new stars, sun(s), moon(s) and whatever else God chooses to put in outer space for us to admire from the new earth. (Revelation 21-22 describes this place.)

This morning, I was reminded that there's coming a day when God will destroy everything with fire. This earth. Our sun. Our moon. The stars. The other galaxies. Whatever is out there, it's going to be toast. But, in its place, God is going to recreate a new earth with all of the stars and whatever else He chooses to put in outer space. That will be our new "Heaven" that we will inhabit forever.

2 Peter 3:11-13 (New Living Translation)
"Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness."

What will it be like to live on an earth inhabited by folks who love each other and love God? What will it be like to have no need for keys (no one will steal from others)? What will it be like to go for hikes with no fear of being attacked by wild animals? What will it be like to enjoy work and leisure with absolutely no anxiety? What will it be like to satisfy our deepest longings as we enjoy our God? What will it be like to never, ever experience the guilt or consequences of sin?

I can't wait to find out!!!

Does God care about how things smell?

One of the rides at Disney World (Epcot) that my family enjoyed on our visits to Orlando is called Soarin' (you can view it on Youtube). We buckled ourselves into our seats, the lights went off and we were lifted high into the air. A five story screen came to life as beautiful orchestra music began to play. It literally felt like we were flying only a few feet above a winding river, a massive cliff, orange fields, etc.

Disney wanted the experience to be breathtaking so they tried to overwhelm as many of the human senses as possible. They focused on visual appeal with the scenery on the screen. They focused on sound appeal with the music. They focused on feel appeal with the sensation that we were flying. They couldn't do anything about taste appeal but they did an incredible job with 'smell.' As we watched the screen and flew over orange trees, a fragrance was released that made it seem as if we were actually smelling the orange blossoms.

'Smell' is a powerful sensation. It can actually affect our moods. A beautiful smell can put us at ease and cause us to feel incredible.

As I read through my Bible reading this morning (Exodus 29-30), I saw that God wanted the Israelites who came near the Tabernacle to experience a very positive sensation. An anointing oil was to be made and everything was to be sprinkled with it.

Exodus 30:22-27 (New Living Translation)
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Collect choice spices - 12 1/2 pounds of pure myrrh, 6 1/4 pounds of fragrant cinnamon, 6 1/4 pounds of fragrant calamus, and 12 1/2 pounds of cassia - as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Also get one gallon of olive oil. Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil. Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand."

If God placed so much emphasis upon the pleasant aroma of the Tabernacle, I suspect that our eternal home will also be filled with pleasing aromas. God made us with our five senses. It only makes sense that to show us how wonderful of a God that He is, He will overwhelm us with goodness for all eternity that will satisfy every longing our senses crave.

Heaven, earth and warp speed

Ok, let me ramble for a few moments with some thoughts I had this morning. (As I reread this post that I wrote a couple of months ago, I realized that I began by talking about Jesus' physical body and some necessary attributes of Heaven and then move on to physics speculations. Rambling, indeed!)

Last night, my family sat down to watch Louie Giglio’s DVD entitled “Indescribable.” In that presentation, he spoke of how incredible our God is and showed pictures taken by NASA, the Hubble telescope, Voyager 1 and other sources that provide glimpses of our massive neighborhood we call “outer space.”

As he spoke and as I took in those incredible sights, it reminded me of a presentation we saw in the IMAX Theater at the Kennedy Space Center last year. For an hour or so (it seemed like only a few minutes), we donned our oversized 3D glasses. We watched a 5-story screen come to life with breathtaking pictures of our universe taken by the Hubble Telescope as incredible sounds and music filled the auditorium.

As I watched that video last night with my family, it caused me again to ask the question: “Why would God have created things trillions of light years away from us, so far away that we cannot see them with our most powerful telescopes not to mention that we could never visit and explore them?”

After all, God created the farthest star to glorify Him and for mankind to enjoy and move us to praise Him. But, if we can’t explore them or even see them, what’s the purpose?

Then, I had a “eureka” moment this morning. If you’re still reading, try to follow me on this…

When Jesus went to Heaven on the cloud, He took his physical body with Him. (Reread that last sentence. It is extremely important.) In His physical, resurrection body He walked beside disciples on the road to Emmaus without them suspecting that He was anything other than just a traveler from Jerusalem. He ate fish on the seashore just like anyone with a physical body could do. He did all sorts of things in His resurrection body that we do. 

When He was lifted up out of the sight of His disciples and went back to Heaven, His physical body didn’t drop to the ground as His spirit ascended. He took His physical body with Him.

Now, if the Heaven that exists right now isn’t physical, Jesus is really out of place because He took His physical body with Him. From that and other truths in Scripture, I am absolutely convinced that Heaven is a physical place (like earth is "physical") that exists “out there” somewhere. 

It isn’t just a spiritual, invisible location. Again, if it was, how is Jesus able to breathe? His physical body needs air. The temperatures in Heaven would also have to be very close to what it is on earth, again, to maintain the integrity of the physical body that Jesus took to Heaven. He still has His physical body, right?

So, if Heaven is a real location somewhere out there far, far away that we’ve never discovered with our most powerful telescopes then Jesus had to exercise some laws of physics that we don’t yet understand. Why? Because even if Jesus, in his physical body, took off to Heaven at the speed of light, He would have had to hold His breath for 4 years and 3 months before He passed our closest star (besides the sun) and we have no reason to suspect that Alpha Centauri (our closest star) is Heaven so He would have had to keep going.

Besides, it isn’t just Jesus that made the trip from Heaven to Earth. Angels constantly make the trip. Jacob, in the Old Testament, had a vision of angels going back and forth. Gabriel who announced the coming of the Messiah to Mary had been in Heaven, came to earth and then headed back.

So, this trip between Heaven and Earth is made often. Unless we acknowledge that there are laws of physics that we don’t yet understand, there is really no way to explain how this unimaginable space between Heaven and Earth can be spanned in such short periods of time.

I just wonder if what we have been dreaming about in our science fiction movies about space travel and warp speed are actually possible. I’m really allowing my imagination to take off here but I just wonder if when God makes the new Heavens and the new Earth (Revelation 21-22), that somehow we will be able to explore the incredible distances of outer space (His creation) and glorify Him.

Just speculation.

The purpose of trials

None of us like it when life gets tough. When finances get tight or a relationship sours or a loved one gets a bad prognosis ... we try to pray it away. We can't imagine how going through such trying circumstances can be a sign of God's favor or God's sovereign reign over His creation.

Yet, throughout Scripture, we read that times of trouble are a good thing. In my Bible reading this morning, I was reminded that God often uses undesirable life circumstances to test our faith... - to see if we are truly children of God on our way to Heaven or whether we are on our way to a Christ-less Hell.

After all, you don't want to get it wrong. Imagine the horror of thinking you are on your way to Heaven and only a moment after closing your eyes in death opening them in torment in Hell. Imagine it hitting you like a ton of bricks that this will be your plight for ever and ever and ever. It will never, ever end. Jesus warned that many will experience this very thing! (Matthew 7:21-23).

So, how do you know that you are saved? How do you know that you have a genuine relationship with God and that your eternal destination is Heaven?

Trials are what God uses to give us certainty of our eternal destination!

God sends difficulties into our life to test us. How we respond says a lot about who we really are on the inside.

When your life gets tough, what's you knee-jerk reaction? What do you do for consolation? Is your natural response to find comfort in spending time with Him in prayer and reading His Word? Or do you find some other thing to bring some sort of inner peace?

What is your response to God? Do you find it natural to say "Your will be done, Lord" or do you naturally question Him and His motives? Do you ignore Him or get angry at Him?

Of course, even the most devout of Christians will have struggles. For a time, they may experience some undesirable mindsets and behaviors. However, they will eventually find their comfort in God like a moth is drawn to a light at night.

Yes, trials are our friends. They are God's gift to us to test the genuineness of our faith. They are intended to comfort our hearts (while not necessarily in this life) with the assurance that we are truly children of God. It is certainly possible for us to experience peace and joy in the midst of trials but ultimately, those trials give us comfort in the fact that we are headed to Heaven.

1 Peter 1:6-7 - "So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." (New Living Translation)

Will people die in Heaven?

For those desiring to go a little deeper than the devotional thought I wrote earlier on Heaven and the New Earth, here’s a thought:

If you read Isaiah 65:17-19, you will read about the New Heavens and New Earth. I mentioned (as does the Apostle John in Revelation 21-22) that this is referring to our eternal home (“Heaven”). Yet, if you read the very next verse, Isaiah continues:

“No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.” (Revelation 65:20).

If you’ve had your morning cup of coffee and your brain is awake, you would have read that last verse and scratched your head in bewilderment and said, “What?!” Because, it would seem to say that on the New Earth (“Heaven”), folks will die. In Revelation 21:4 (the chapter that tells us of the New Earth), it says that “death shall be no more.”

So, which is it? Will people die on the New Earth, our eternal home in Heaven? What are we to make of this? Will there be death in Heaven or not?

Well, this is where we need to be thoughtful students of God’s Word and understand how the Old Testament prophets were to be understood by New Testament readers.

Here’s a case in point:

In this morning’s Bible reading, I also read Isaiah 61:1-2. Pay close attention to verse 2:
1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;” 

If you notice, verse 1 and the first part of verse 2 is comforting. It’s very positive. Yet, the middle part of verse 2 changes drastically. It moves from talk of healing and comforting to talk of vengeance.

Fast-forward 800 years to a synagogue in Nazareth. Jesus was given a scroll to read out loud in the worship service. Listen to what happened. He found Isaiah 61 and read only one and a half verses. Observe carefully where He stopped reading. Here’s Luke 4:16-21 - 

16 And he (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Did you get that? Jesus found Isaiah 61:1-2 and read it. Yet, He stopped reading mid-verse in verse 2! He read all of the positive stuff and didn’t read about the Lord’s vengeance.

Why? 

Because the first time Jesus came to earth, it was to show God’s love and grace. The second time He comes, He is coming in vengeance as the Tribulation Period starts.

You see, God wrote through Isaiah and made clear what would take place. However, for purposes of His own, He mysteriously concealed the time table. Jesus came to proclaim grace, the year of the Lord’s favor (that appears in the first part of Isaiah 61:2). However, there are at least 2,000 years that separate “the year of the Lord’s favor” and the very next phrase: “the day of the vengeance of our God.”

So, we see that when New Testament readers look at the Old Testament, we realize that while information is presented together, the chronology/time frame is sometimes concealed for God’s own mysterious purposes.

Go back to where we began as we talked about the New Earth and whether or not people would die on it.

First, the New Testament (Revelation) speaks clearly that people will not die on the New Earth. That is to be taken at face value. It's truth with no ambiguity.

Second, we need to read the Isaiah text realizing that in the Old Testament, God sometimes concealed the chronology of events as He spoke through the prophets.

Therefore, it would seem that Isaiah is lumping the Millennial Reign (1,000 years) of Jesus on this earth (Revelation 20:1-6) with the ultimate Reign of Christ on the New Earth (Revelation 21-22). In the Millennial Reign, sinners will still inhabit the earth. People will still die. But, at the end of the Millennial Reign, God will destroy this earth and recreate a brand new one. On that one, there will be no sinners and no one will die.


Hopefully, I’ve explained this sufficiently so that by the time you read this last sentence, you say, “Now, I get it!” rather than “Huh?”

Heaven and the New Earth

As I finished the book of Isaiah this morning, I came across Isaiah 65:17-19 where God says:

“For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness. ...
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.”

This passage is mirrored in Revelation 21:1-2 where it says:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

When I was young, I thought that “Heaven” was somewhere up on the clouds. I even remember a flight I took with my family to South Korea where I looked intently at the clouds from high above them to see if my suspicions were accurate.

Then, I came to realize how silly that notion was. But, I still just couldn’t quite fathom what Heaven would be like. Would it be “out there” somewhere? Would we be floating around with harps in our hands forever? Would it be a long, long, long worship service that would never end … because I’ve been in “worship services” like that here on earth!

It finally hit me that God had clearly told us, in many regards, what Heaven will be like. He did so in Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21-22. He was going to destroy the earth we now reside upon and everything in outer space with a consuming fire. Then, He would completely recreate a new earth with new heavens (the space below and above our present ozone layer).

The place that Jesus said He was going to prepare for us (John 14:1-3) is the New Jerusalem (at least that is my suspicion) that will come down to the New Earth. God will dwell with the saved on a brand new earth that has no sin and no curse. We will be free to live on a new earth and explore whatever we desire in outer space as everything that God created for us moves us to worship and praise Him!

When you come to realize that Heaven is the New Earth, it takes on a whole new meaning! (If you want to dig into this topic, an excellent book that I would heartily recommend is “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn.)

Sermon (video): Are You Headed for Heaven or Hell? (Matthew 7:13-23)

This is a lengthy sermon but few people tuned out as I preached. I suspect that was because of the relevance and seriousness of this topic.

I hope that as you watch this sermon, you will examine yourself to see if you are really a child of God on your way to Heaven ... or if you are deceived as to your true standing before the Lord. This sermon, that elaborates on Jesus' words in Matthew 7:13-23, should help to clarify the matter for you.

Click here to view the sermon.

On trips to Heaven and writing a book about it

Have you ever wondered what Heaven is like? Have you ever wished that you had a little more information than what is given in Scripture?

What’s it like moments after death? Do our loved ones form a welcome committee upon our arrival? What does Heaven look like? Smell like? Sound like?

All of these questions and more, many of which are not answered in Scripture, are provided if you’ll just purchase the books (mild sarcasm permeated virtually every word of the previous sentence). Now, please understand me on this. I’m not standing in judgment of the authors of books like “Heaven is For Real” or “90 Minutes in Heaven.” I’m not saying that those folks didn’t experience what they say they experienced. I’m just stating that I’ve got some serious concerns about them.

First, they present as fact what is not revealed in Scripture. Doesn’t this undermine the usefulness of Scripture? Doesn’t this assume that what God has seen fit to reveal to His church for 2,000 years about Heaven is no longer good enough? 

Second, the information conveyed in these books is completely subjective. There is no possible way to “prove” that what they are saying is true. It may be true but there’s no way of validating it.

Third, it opens the proverbial can of worms. The conversation is now based not upon the authority of Scripture but upon each individual’s experiences. So, if one person who tells us that they’ve gone to Heaven expects us to believe their story, what would keep us from believing Bill Wiese’s story (“23 Minutes in Hell”) of how he was physically taken to Hell in a night’s vision. And if we believe his account, where do we stop?

Fourth, I’m concerned that those who have had an out-of-body experience may not be able to interpret what they’ve experienced. There are many who have seen the "light at the end of the tunnel" who have never claimed to have a saving faith in Jesus Christ. There are stories of those in other religions who have experienced places of bliss after their death rather than torment. 

Jesus was clear in John 14:6 when He said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. Therefore, we MUST conclude that if unsaved folks are encountering similar experiences as those that claim to be Christian, we simply cannot be certain what they are experiencing post "death." To write a book about the experience means that conclusions were not only made but are then presented as fact. Dangerous, in my opinion.

I’m not saying that these things don’t happen. I’m simply, once again, stating that Christians have no biblical paradigm through which to think about these phenomena. Some may think that 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 may be a "proof text" for an out-of-body experience. However, a logical reading of that Scripture plainly shows that the Apostle Paul could draw no conclusions about whether the experience was real ("in a physical body") or a vision. Therefore, we can draw no conclusions about "out-of-body experiences" and "trips to Heaven" from this passage.

Fifth, Jesus shed some light on this subject in His parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus states that these two men died. The rich man lifted his eyes in a place of torment and Lazarus was transported by angels to the place where Abraham was (Heaven). 

Now listen closely. I want you to catch this. In verses 27 and 28 of that text, the rich man in torment begged Abraham to grant a request. “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him (Lazarus) to my father’s house – because I have five brothers – to warn them, so they won’t also come to this place of torment.’” What was his request? An out-of-body experience! He asked that Lazarus arise from the dead and warn folks of the reality of Hell. If the rich man had lived in 21st century America, he may have even asked Lazarus to write a book about his visit to Heaven while he was at it. 

Listen to the few words of interaction following the rich man’s request in verses 29-31. (When Abraham mentions “Moses and the prophets”, he’s talking about the Old Testament Scriptures written by those men.) “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’ ” 

The principle here is pretty clear. Abraham said that the Scriptures were sufficient. If folks weren't convinced by reading God's Word, an account of someone who had an out-of-body experience would do no good. We learn that it is not God’s pattern to send people to Heaven (or Hell) and back simply to tell others of their experience and encourage them to receive the gift of eternal life.

In conclusion, I’m not saying that those who have written such books are being untruthful. I’m not saying that they haven’t experienced what they write about. I’m just saying that a thoughtful Christian must read them with caution. A thinking Christian must base no theology upon something in those books not found in Scripture. You may want to read any of these books but here's my advice ... err on the side of safety and read them as fiction. 

If you’re really interested in a book on Heaven that handles the topic in more substantive, biblical ways, you’ll want to pick up a copy of “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. I have read this book and absolutely enjoyed it!