What is Heaven
Prepare yourself for a mind blowing trip, and I thru the word of God is going to take you there.
The leaflet was thrust into my hands by the evangelist and I
was told to read it. Eagerly I began to
read it hoping some unknown knowledge
would be imparted. The title of the Bible Tract was, “Are you
going to Heaven”. On the front there was
the picture three people climbing a huge circular staircase. Reading the article I quickly perceived that there was an assumption by the
writer that I knew what Heaven was, where Heaven was and what Heaven was like. The hope that the writer might have chosen to
impart some deeper knowledge on the subject of Heaven soon faded as well as my interested in the material. The Bible Tract message ended by framing the
question, do I have the assurance of eternal life and then telling me how to obtain it. Half-heartily I continued to read hoping some light might be shed on a question that I had been asking . In my attempt to understand Heaven , I had phrased
and posted a statement on the social media sites that said, “Tell me
about the Kingdom of Heaven”. The
response I got was, “The Kingdom of Heaven is where ever Jesus is, and it is a
place we want to be.” I was no more
satisfied with that answer than I was
when the lady said, “I know Jesus rose because he rose within me one
Sunday morning.” As a child I was not
impressed.
In 2003 ABC News did a survey that showed nine out of ten
people in the United States believed in Heaven.
Today that number is more like seven out of ten and dwindling. The religious attitude of the United States
is changing. In the midst of all of our
praying and teaching our younger generation do not believe as we do. Is it safe to say our belief structure is not
the same as our parents. Christianity,
religion, Heaven and Hell are becoming abstract terms and their use is superficial at best. Every
culture has wrestled with the question of an afterlife, and most have come to a
similar conclusion: The bad end up in Hell, the good go to Heaven. The promise of Heaven plays a central role in
the belief structure of most religions. For most people that believe in Heaven,
proof of Heaven is not necessary. Faith
is all they need. To some this faith
come easily, but it eludes others. When
the question is asked what is Heaven, this is where the lack of knowledge is amplifies.
In the eighteenth century few if any
understood the concept of nuclear energy yet the knowledge was there waiting to
be discovered. The young child’s mind
that is filled with pictures of dinosaurs is often tempted to ask did dinosaurs
exist in the bible. A deeper
understanding of God’s word would allow a Bible teacher to answer with
confidence, “Yes, and God talked to Job
about them.” The answer to, “What is
Heaven like,” and “Where is Heaven “ in the Bible, but many times it is overlooked
for a more excitable message.
Overcoming the hardships of this life is more exciting than the message
of Jesus telling you of your reward if you can endure. David was
extolling the Children of Israel to follow God, when he said, “I have
never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seeds beg for bread”, but Jesus gave a starling dissertation of a
righteous beggar and a rich man living and dying. Luke 16:23
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. In
that elucidation we are privy to a conversation between two dead men. There
is no indication that Lazarus saw the rich man in Hell, but the rich man
saw Lazarus. Luke 16:24-25
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue;
for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in
thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but
now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. If one came back from the dead would it make
any difference to what we already know? There
is much to be learned here. Bear with me for a moment, I am setting the stage for a mind blowing
trip. Ask a minister or teacher about
Heaven and you might get abstract responses
such as, “Heaven is a beautiful place”, “Heaven is a prepared place for a
prepared people” or “Heaven is where Jesus is .” Heaven by some is described as a place where
all the saints do is march around heaven all day.
In a children's book by Maria Shriver called “What's Heaven”, she describes it as
"a beautiful place where you can sit on soft clouds and talk... If you're
good throughout your life, then you get to go there... When your life is
finished here on earth, God sends angels down to take you heaven to be with
him." This is a distorted view of Heaven, according
to Bishop Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, the fourth most senior cleric in
the Church of England. This distorted
view is allowed to exist even in modern society because the focus of
Christianity has shifted from the hereafter to the now. The
selling of the Christ is about how to make money and amass blessing.
Christian often speaks of going to Heaven, but
to hear someone say, “I will be glad when I go to Heaven”, is almost unheard
of. Another distorted view is sick people
will sometimes say, “I am going to Heaven soon and I will not need this old
stupid body.” Aside from marching around
heaven all day because we had nothing to do, there was also the fallacy that we
would sprout wings and fly around heaven shouting , Holy, Holy all day
long. As a child, both conceptions cause
me to conclude that Heaven was a boring place, but Hell, the opposite was unthinkable.
There are many reports of
people having what I will call, “out-of-body’ experiences. These experiences can be mind altering and
life changing for the person involved.
Many members of society and the religious community look upon these
people as kooks. The value of dreams and
visions have faded and we live in a society where we can believe in a
supernatural God and not believe in ghost.
This part of the discussion is best summed up in the words of Abraham. Luke 16:29-31
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear
them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the
dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
The Scriptures speak of two
places, "Heaven" and "Hell," where the
"righteous" and "wicked" respectively are to spend
eternity. The one demands the other. There can be no Heaven without its
counterpart Hell. If there is no Hell there is no Heaven, for the same Book
speaks of both. The presentation of this
statement also gives fuel to the agnostic to state that a God of love would not
envision such a punishment upon his children.
Heaven is a
"PLACE," it is not a state or condition. The New Jerusalem is not
Heaven, though it is a city of Heaven. The Apostle John tells us that he saw it
"coming down from God OUT OF HEAVEN." Re 21:2. Heaven is the "PLACE" that Jesus
told His Disciples He was going away to prepare for them. Joh 14:2. It did not
exist at the time Jesus was on earth. It was built between the time Jesus
ascended in A. D. 30, and the time when John saw it in vision descend from Heaven
in A. D. 96, or if not yet built, it will be built before the Rapture of the
Church, for it is to be the Residence of the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. Re
21:9-10. Of Abraham we read-- "He looked for a City which hath
foundations, whose builder' and maker' is GOD." Heb 11:10. The New
Jerusalem is that City. The Apostle says-- "Here we have no continuing
city (permanent abiding place), but we seek one to come." Heb 13:14.
Continued in Part #2
A View of Heaven
No comments:
Post a Comment