Rev 21:1-12
Heaven IS for REAL!
To Jesus every day I find my heart is closer
drawn,
He’s fairer than the glory of the gold and purple dawn;
He’s all my fancy pictures in its fairest dreams, and more,
Each day He grows still sweeter than He was the day before.
The half cannot be
fancied
This side the golden shore;
O there He’ll be still sweeter
Than He ever was before.
People
have some strange conceptions about heaven, don’t they? I have been at the
funerals of unbelievers, atheists and complete unregenerate people and folks
have stood by the casket and said the nuttiest stuff. How they are really
raising hell up there. How they are really partying. How they are now our
angels watching over us.
Some
people envision us lounging on clouds with wings and halos strumming harps – or
maybe throwing lightning bolts at us.
Here
are a few of the things that just might surprise you about heaven:
1.
We really will
strum harps in heaven
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the
voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the
voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3
And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the
four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
2. We are not angels in heaven – Angels are another class of being created by God
apart from the human race. They are super human in their strength and
abilities. When we go to heaven, we don’t become angels, we don’t get wings or
halos. We sing songs that angels cannot sing, because they have never been
redeemed.
3. There is only one street in heaven –
Rev 21:21 And the
twelve gates were twelve
pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent
glass. 2 In the midst of the street of
it, and on either side of the river, was
there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and
yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
4.
Heaven is a cube!
Rev 21:16 And the
city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he
measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the
breadth and the height of it are equal.
5. There will be tears in heaven until the Great White
Throne (after the tribulation and the
1000 year reign of Christ on earth)
Rev 7:17 For the
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes.
Rev
21:4 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.
6. We will work in heaven. (But there is no curse – it is blessed work!)
Rev 22:3 And
there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in
it; and his servants shall serve him:
Look
what the Tribulation saints are up to in heaven. Rev 7:14 And I
said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came
out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them.
7. It will not be about us (for the most part) After all, we are His kids and
are therefore pretty special and it seems to be in His nature to lavish His own
with the very best. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. But primarily Heaven is going to be about the
One Who made it all possible.
Rev
4:8 And
the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were
full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
8. There will be one more war in heaven –
Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place
found any more in heaven. 9 And the
great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were
cast out with him.
9.
There is a Tree in
Heaven that bears a different fruit each month! It is somehow in
the middle of the street and on both sides of the river of the water of life.
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which
bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month:
and the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations.
10.
The Throne of Jesus is going to be a huge surprise to you.
Rev 4:1
After this I looked, and, behold,
a door was opened in heaven:
and the first voice which I heard was
as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will
shew thee things which must be hereafter. 2
And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in
heaven, and one sat on the
throne. 3 And he that sat was to look upon like a
jasper and a sardine stone: and there
was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
a. The appearance of Jesus Himself.
Rev
1:12 And
I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven
golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst
of the seven candlesticks one
like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt
about the paps with a golden girdle. 14
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as
snow; and his eyes were as a
flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto
fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many
waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and
out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his
strength.
b.
There are 24
thrones surrounding Christ’s throne. On these thrones set the 12 apostles of
the NT and the 12 patriarchs of the OT, therefore representing all believers of
all time.
Rev
4:4 And
round about the throne were
four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting,
clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
c. There are 7 Spirits before the throne
Rev 1:4 John to
the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and
which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Rev 3:1 And
unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath
the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast
a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Rev 4:5 And out
of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
d. There are some interesting creatures also surrounding the
throne
Rev 4:6 And
before the throne there was a
sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about
the throne, were four beasts
full of eyes before and behind. 7 And
the first beast was like a
lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a
man, and the fourth beast was
like a flying eagle. 8 And the four
beasts had each of them six wings about him;
and they were full of eyes within:
and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which was, and is, and is to come.
e.
There are 2
different kinds of bottles setting around the throne, salty and sweet. The salty ones
contain the tears of the saints. The sweet ones contain the prayers of the
saints.
Psa 56:8 Thou
tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
Rev 5:8 And
when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of
them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 8:3 And
another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there
was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which
was before the throne. 4 And the smoke
of the incense, which came with
the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
11.
You will get a tattoo in
heaven (name of God on your forehead)
Rev. 7:3, Rev. 9:4, Rev
14:1
Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall
be in their foreheads.
12.
You get a personalized
white stone and a secret name! (and even some hidden manna)
Rev 2:17
He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to
eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a
new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
What? Well, some things are best left to
be mysteries! However, we can speculate.
• In ancient Greece, jury members
would cast a white stone to signify an acquittal, whereas a black stone
proclaimed the defendant guilty.
• A small object called a “tessera,”
made of wood, stone, clay or bone, conveyed special privileges to its owner. The
ancient Romans used tesserae as tokens of admittance to events in the arena.
• One of the better-accepted
explanations of the white stone has to do with the high priest’s breastplate,
which contained twelve stones. Each of these stones had the name of one of the
twelve tribes of Israel engraved on it (Exodus 28:21). As he ministered in the temple,
the high priest bore the names of God’s people into God’s presence. In the same
way, the “white stone” with the believer’s name written on it could be a
reference to our standing in God’s presence.
• The white stone may be a translucent precious stone such as a diamond. The
word translated “white” in Revelation 2:17 is leukos and can also mean
“brilliant, bright.”
* The best meaning of the white stone probably has to do with the ancient Roman
custom of awarding white stones to the victors of athletic games. The winner of
a contest was awarded a white stone with his name inscribed on it. This served
as his “ticket” to a special awards banquet. According to this view, Jesus
promises the overcomers entrance to the eternal victory celebration in heaven.
13.
You will not always be in
heaven once you get to heaven. The
Bible says that where He is, there we may also be. It also says that we will
behold His face. Suffice it to say that wherever Jesus is, that will be heaven.
The 1000 year Millennial reign of Christ will find us back here on earth,
ruling and reigning with Him as kings and priests. The New Jerusalem comes down
from God out of Heaven to the new earth.
14.
The Judgment seat of
Christ is going to be a complete shocker to all of us!
a.
You will
discover just how complete the cross was and is.
b.
You will
discover the extent of God’s grace
c.
You will
discover the lavishness of His riches glory
d. You will discover the wasted time and effort of your
earthly journey (knowing the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men)
e. You will understand, finally, how relatively insignificant your
earthly sufferings were.
Rom
8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us.
f.
All of the things that will be
revealed about you, your work, your heart, that you thought nobody ever
noticed.
But
here are the 3 main surprises of heaven I want to share with you...
1. You will find that there will be those in heaven who are
there that you did not expect
2. You will find that there
are those who are not there in heaven whom you did expect
3. You will find that you
are finally, actually there! Not that you are there, if you are saved, that
should not surprise you. But that you have actually made the move.
It
will be like going on a trip, you have saved up for it, planned it, looked
forward to it, desired to get out of town, get to your destination, but until
you are finally there, even then it takes a bit for the realization to set in.
Once you are getting into vacation mode, it is time to go back home and back to
work or school… but not so with heaven!
*Don’t
let heaven surprise you. If you have not truly come to Christ for the
forgiveness of your sin, you aren’t going to heaven. Heaven is only for those
whose sins are washed away in the blood of Jesus.
*Don’t
get to heaven and think you are going to get a ton of rewards if you are
unfaithful to Christ here.
*Don’t
go to heaven thinking that your family and friends are all going to be there
just because they are good people, or Americans. Someone has to bring them to
Jesus or they aren’t going to be there. You are that someone.
