Heaven… Is it worth the wait?. Heaven: Is it worth the wait? “When I was a boy, the thought of Heaven used to frighten me more than the thought of Hell

Heaven…Is it worth the

wait?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Botanical_garden_Krakow_%282006-05-13%29_04.jpg

Heaven: Is it worth the wait?

“When I was a boy, the thought of Heaven used to frighten me more than the thought of Hell. I pictured Heaven as a place where time would be perpetual Sundays, with perpetual services from which there would be no escape.” David Lloyd George


The Far Side by Gary Larson

Billy Joel, “Only the Good Die Young”And they say there's a heaven for those who will wait Some say it's better but I say it ain't I'd rather laugh with the sinners Than cry with the saints The sinners are much more funYou know that only the good die young


"For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse." Isaac Asimov

Is it worth the wait?

•Heaven on Earth–A “heavenly” city comes to earth

“The ‘new Jerusalem’ …does not remain in a ‘heaven’ far off in space, but it comes down to the renewed earth …So heaven and earth, now separated, will then be merged: the new earth will also be heaven, since God will dwell there with his people.” Anthony Hoekema




–A renewed earth


Skagit Valley tulip farms




–A renewed earthIndeed, the Lord will comfort Zion; He will

comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody. Isaiah 51:3




–A renewed earth“They will say, ‘This desolate land

has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’” Ezekiel 36:35



•Heaven on Earth•Paradise: A stop along the way

pairidaeza: Persian for an enclosed garden, park, or orchard



•Heaven on Earth•Paradise: A stop along the way“The idea of a walled garden enclosing a

carefully cultivated area of exquisite plants and animals, was the most powerful symbol of paradise available to the human imagination [of the biblical writers], mingling the images of the beauty of nature with the orderliness of human construction.” Alister McGrath






•Heaven on Earth•Paradise: A stop along the way•A greater paradise

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7


Sheol (Hebrew)

Abraham’sside; Paradise

Hades (Greek)

Sheol

Paradise

Presenceof the Lord




Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 2 Cor. 5:6-8; Phil. 1:23




I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)




Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1 Cor. 15:51-52; cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-18



•Heaven on Earth•Paradise: A stop along the way•A greater paradise•Millennial Kingdom: Davidic

Paradise•New heavens and new earth


Progressive Unveiling of Progressive Unveiling of HeavenHeaven1. Sheol (OT)

Paradise, waiting the 1st coming of Messiah2. Present Heaven, presence of the Lord

Paradise, waiting and worshipping 3. Post-rapture Heaven

Waiting and worshipping in resurrection bodies

4. Millennial KingdomFulfillment as we rule with Christ

5. New Heavens and New EarthHeaven on a renewed earth, our true home


ApplicationApplication

1. Do you know your destination? 2. Do you long for heaven? 3. Study and meditate on your

heavenly home


Heaven resourcesHeaven resources Note: these are listed in order according to

“ease” of reading, beginning with the easiest and moving toward the most “theological”

• “Heaven : Better by Far”, J. Oswald Sanders, Discovery House Publishers, Distributed by Thomas Nelson, 1993

• “One Minute After You Die”, Erwin W. Lutzer, Moody Publishers, 1997.

• “Heaven”, Randy C. Alcorn, Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.

• “Death and the Afterlife”, Robert A. Morey, Bethany House, 1984.

Documents

Heaven… Is it worth the wait?. Heaven: Is it worth the wait? “When I was a boy, the thought of Heaven used to frighten me more than the thought of Hell