Revelation
21:1-7
Then
I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and
the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I
saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 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.
‘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.”
He who was seated on the
throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write
this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is
done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the
thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water
of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will
be their God and they will be my children.
Heaven....
To
our earth-bound minds, Heaven is an abstract concept, a realm foreign
to us. We accept by faith the reality of this spiritual realm, but
it’s difficult to imagine what Heaven must be like. The Bible only
gives us hints at what Heaven is like, and the descriptions
we have appear in the form of poetry and metaphor.
Galileo remarked, “The intention of the Holy Spirit is
not to teach us how Heaven goes, but how one goes to Heaven.”
The glories of Heaven far surpass our perception. Heaven is a real
place, and the reality will exceed all images and symbols. The
Apostle Paul was given a vision of heaven, but words failed him.
Human language has limitations. All Paul could say was that he
experienced things so astounding that they couldn’t be told (II Cor
12). Heaven is a reality unreachable to any of our senses. It’s
like explaining the world to an unborn baby.
Heaven
is “Paradise restored”. Because of sin, Adam made a grave of a
garden, but Christ has made a garden of a grave. Sin resulted in
expulsion from a garden, and salvation is restoration to Paradise.
Some things will be missing in Heaven. There will be no death, no
pain, no sin, no curse, no tears. God declares through the prophet
Jeremiah 31:13, the Message: “I
will turn their mourning into gladness, their weeping into laughter,
lavishing comfort, invading their grief with joy.” The
injustices and deprivations of earthly life will be fully and forever
corrected. In Heaven we will be liberated from every loss. We will
find Heaven a place where the Lord’s Prayer is fulfilled--where
God’s Name is hallowed, His Kingdom is come, His will is done.
In heaven. Sad
thoughts of earth such as murder, rape, divorce, deception, death,
destruction...memories of loss and sadness, depression and hunger,
disease or disability just won't have a place in heaven. These
horrors of the fallen flesh will all be mitigated and eclipsed like
the stars are eclipsed by the rising sun. Because the brightness of
the risen son will be brighter than any guilt, any shame, any sorrow,
and anything sin might might have used to destroy. We won't forget,
but we will have no need to remember. I look forward to that great day...more to come. You know I love ya, Don
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