Destination Known - What the Bible says about Heaven - Dr. Gary Johnson

e e e e e e e hey everyone we're going to go ahead and get started it's a little bit past six o'clock and we uh have a lot of ground to cover for Those whom I have not met in the room my name is Gary my last name is Johnson my wife Leah is uh here with me this evening uh we're from Indianapolis I've been a preacher for 40 years uh 30 in Indian ianapolis at Indian Creek Christian church and then 10 years before that at a church in Central Illinois and um uh a few years back I handed the Baton off at the creek to my successor and now I lead this ministry called E2 effective Elders of which calasa is a partner uh and uh this I think is my third trip up here and been here to preach before and whatnot so it might be that we have met one of the topics that I have um been privileged to to teach lecture preach about is uh that of Heaven what what awaits us and so when I was talking with Andy about this site visit talking about how do we use our time together while we're in calcasa and he asked if if we could go ahead and share this on a Wednesday evening with the church so that's what we're going to do now this topic we could spend hours we could spend two days three days on it what we're going to do we're going to condense it and uh we're going to break it up into two parts so we will get up we will take a bio break we will get something to drink or more to eat and how grateful we are to Anita for putting Refreshments out for us we're very grateful um I know also that we are uh uh streaming this right now to people who are not here I also know that we're recording it uh I think both audio as well as uh video so uh there will be something uh if you want to refer to this a little bit later on but without any further Ado I want to pray and we're going to jump in the material and uh get started uh good good father how Greatful we are that you have awaiting for us something that our minds cannot even begin to comprehend and we we thank you for this written word word that we have that begins to pull back uh the cover of what awaits us after we leave this life and how we pray Spirit of Jesus you are God in us would you be our Master teacher would you give to us understanding of the written word of God the scriptures that will help us begin to uh understand what you have prepared for us that with our finite limited Minds we could begin to just uh uh enter into a a place of clear understanding so that we could indeed be increasingly excited about that which awaits us away from this place may we leave differently tonight when we arrived compared to when we arrived and may it all be because because of your presence Among Us the ground is Holy in this room because you are here in this room all for the glory of Jesus we offer this prayer amen uh one of my favorite stories that I enjoy telling is a mission uh story and it's about uh a young couple in New Zealand I by God's grace get to go to New Zealand uh early in the year to work with one of our partner churches but New Zealand has very very few Christians in it very few and a young couple who were there they uh fell in love and they got married now both of them were Believers and they chose 1 John 418 for the theme of their wedding and that verse says perfect love casts out all fear the bride wanted it on the invitation she wanted it on the napkins at the reception she even wanted it on the side of the cake first John 4:18 the preacher used it in the wedding the wedding was beautiful it was time for the reception the bride and the groom walked in and she was thrilled they love my cake they were taking pictures of her cake came time to Cut the Cake she and her new husband went up to Cut the Cake and she realized then why they loved her cake the baker was not a Believer there in New Zealand didn't understand the importance of those numbers and letters and so the the the baker left off at number one in front of John and the side of the cake only said John 4:18 which says the fact is you've had five husbands and the one you now have is not your husband and uh when I heard that story from this missionary I got to thinking that little detail really makes a difference when we miss a little detail now we're going to be looking at details this evening about heaven that are very important Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians sins no eye has seen no ear has heard no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him and that is connected to what Isaiah wrote many centuries previous uh in Isaiah 64 so as we start to try to understand the fullness of heaven when we try to understand what awaits us on the other side of this life our minds are limited they cannot fully conceive what the Lord has prepared for us but we're going to try to have a deeper understanding because there is a great deal of misunderstanding about heaven for example I shared a couple of examples last evening we had a meeting uh here and I said I as a preacher I've heard times I'll be doing the funeral of a little child and somebody invariably comes up trying to be kind trying to be um um comforting well make a comment to the effect of well it looks like God needed another Angel and I just let that go and then a little bit later on I'll say to that person that little guy is not an angel now babies or little ones when they pass away they don't become Angels but people get that from this word cherub hear that word cherub and they think baby angel cherub means means angel in Hebrew cherubim b i m cherubim that I am is plural it means many angels cherubim so in English cherub a lot of people think they're just little fat chubby overweight baby angels and if a baby dies they become a baby angel again that's a gross misunderstanding somebody thinks that people who are in heaven are watching us right now uh oh they just love the wedding oh they just love my wedding grandma she saw our wedding I miss my grandma so and and uh if she is thinking Grandma saw her wedding well then Grandma must have seen the wedding night on the honeymoon see we we have to understand our thinking and where do we where do people get that they get that out of Hebrews chap 12 12:1 therefore since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses people oh the loved ones grandma grandpa they're on a cloud watching me right now graduate from high school no they're not people who are in heaven are absolutely captivated with whom Jesus they're not watching what's going on here they are absolutely captivated with Jesus so what we're going to try to do is clear up a little bit of misunderstanding when it comes to uh heaven now what we want to understand here is the Book of Revelation we're going to be in Revelation quite often this evening and what Revelation is hermeneutically well we have to understand hermeneutics the Bible has to be interpreted according to rules There are rules to follow when interpreting the Bible Revelation is apocalyptic literature as a matter of fact in Greek the name revelation is apocalypse or apocal in Greek and it means to uncover it's kind of like if we have something here with a covering of it we uncover something now as apocalyptic literature there are three books in the Old Testament Daniel and Zechariah and Ezekiel they are apocalyptic literature and in the New Testament just one and that would be Revelation and in these books what we have to understand is there are symbols and we're interpreting symbols so I'm confident that many of us in the room have heard about in Revelation oh 200 million soldiers are going to come from China and they're going to use nuclear war heads and they're going to attack Israel that would have meant nothing to people in the day that John wrote the Book of Revelation what we need to understand is what was written then speaking to people needs to speak to us today and if Jesus Waits another 2,000 years before he returns it needs to speak to people between now and when Jesus Christ returns hence if we are in a book of apocalyptic literature we need to here we go understand that numbers have meaning the number seven for example means full and complete numbers have meaning that would mean that colors also have meaning if something's white it is always holy or pure if something is red it's referring to blood or death if something is black it's death and Sinister or evil uh images they have meaning so we're going to be looking at colors numbers images tonight and understanding that they have symbolic meaning to help us understand what awaits us uh now we're going to break this up into two parts the first part before we take our break we're going to talk about our departure details and what I mean by that is all of us are going to check out from this life someday all of us are going to draw our last breath someday and what we want to understand is what happens to me the moment I draw my last breath so that's part one then what we're going to do after we take our break we're going to talk about when Jesus Christ comes back the second time and he splits the clouds all right so that's what we're going to be doing what I'd like us to do let's open our Bibles and let's go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 now Paul wrote this and he's writing to a church that he absolutely loved thessalonica he was there only for three Sabbath days and during that time he led a number of people to Jesus and a church got started in thessalonica and it was a very brief visit but the people there absolutely uh were so grateful to Paul for what he had done now he's writing this first of two letters to them because there is some confusion in chapter 4 uh he's going to give the longest explanation about the return of Jesus and in this explanation there's going to be something that speaks to us about our departure from this life what happens to you and to me the moment we die here we go verse 13 chapter 4 1 Thessalonians brothers and sisters or brothers we do not want you to be uninformed or about uh about those who sleep in death that means they have passed away we don't want you to be ignorant about those who have fallen asleep your version might say fallen asleep so that you do not grieve like the rest of humankind mankind who have no hope so Fallen asleep was a euphemism it was a kind gentle way a good way of saying that somebody had died hey I heard that your father passed away that's a gentle kind way of saying acknowledging that somebody had died and that's exactly what Paul is doing here every one of you in thessalonica we don't want you to be ignorant about what has happened to those who have died so he's going to talk about what happens bam the moment we pass from this life for we believer verse that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus notice that phrase it's very important will bring with Jesus those who have died or fallen asleep in him so that would tell us that if I'm a Believer and I've died I am with Jesus hold on to that thought and Jesus is going to bring back with him those who have died or fallen asleep in him verse 15 according to the Lord's own word we tell you that we who are still alive who are left until the coming of the Lord his second coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep or who have died Paul is saying if we're still alive on planet Earth on the day the moment when Jesus Christ comes the second time we who are alive on planet Earth are not going to precede those who have already died and are home with him with the Lord okay hold on to that this all going to be unpacked verse 16 for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ this is interesting will rise first H the de in Christ will rise first after that we who are still alive and are left walking on planet Earth will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will be with the Lord forever therefore encourage one another with these words now something that stands out here that we want to take a look at is this phrase and God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep God's bringing with him our loved ones who have already passed away in their home with the Lord and also that phrase and the dead in Christ will rise first so there are some people they look at that phrase and the dead in Christ will rise first and they have developed what is called the doctrine of Soul sleep that when somebody dies their soul is asleep in the grave that's what some people believe that what happens to me when I die my soul is asleep in the the grave it is inanimate now I have a problem with that uh it's mentioned also over in 1 Corinthians 15 when Paul says for the trumpet will sound the dead will be raised imperishable we're going to figure this out so Jesus says to the thief on the cross today you'll be with me in Paradise that's not a sleep in the grave grave see people who believe in Soul sleep the soul is asleep in the grave we would have to say well then what what's this all about here in Luke 23 Jesus turns to the thief on the cross today you will be with me in Paradise Jesus isn't asleep in the grave people aren't asleep in the grave as a matter of fact we could also look at the account of Lazarus remember Lazarus he's a beggar in the home of this rich man both Lazarus and the the rich man die and it says the time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side the bosom of Abraham meaning Paradise Paradise he's not asleep in the grave the rich man also died and was buried in hell where he was in torment he's not asleep in the grave so this doctrine of Soul sleep thinking that I'm asleep in the grave and when Jesus comes to the Dead dead in Christ will rise first it's got to mean something else and we're going to unpack what that means now some people if they don't believe in the doctrine of Soul sleep and I don't I'll explain in a moment what I believe that the scripture teaches there are others who believe in the doctrine of purgatory now these are our Roman Catholic friends and the Roman Catholic Church in 1439 I believe it was it was in the early 1400s they developed this teaching of purgatory they were building St Peter's in Rome and they were beginning to sell something called starts with an i indulgences and so they said uh the pope he he sat ex Cathedral whenever a pope sits ex cathedr and he gives a teaching it becomes as authoritative as scripture so they were teaching uh there is a place called purgatory and the word Purgatory it means to purge so a a Catholic individual would go to purgatory and something has to be done here by their loved ones to purge their loved ones in purgatory of their sin so that they could go to heaven and part of that in the 1400s was the sale of indulgences uh today it might be something else the saying paying for a high funeral mass or a pilgrimage to a holy site of the Roman Catholic Church something has to be done well to me none of us in the room believe in purgatory because when Jesus is hanging on the cross remember he says in the Gospel of John it is what it's finished it is finished and what Jesus is saying there he's not talking about his physical life my life is finished it's come to an end he's using a word here it's a banking term a business term and it means paid in for full so when Jesus dies on the cross and he says it's finished he has paid our sin debt in full with his death on that cross remember in the Old Testament uh there were goats and sheep and oxen they were all sacrifice there for the forgiveness of sin there cannot be the forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood it says in the book of Hebrews so it happened in the Old Testament they would offer these animal sacrifices and it would be like in a bank I used to be a bank officer many many many years ago if a farmer came in to uh pay off his six-month operating note and he had a horrible Harvest and he said Gary I can't pay that off all I can do is pay the interest I would go to the Vault get the note write up a new note I would stamp this one that he's paying off paid by renewal and the debt would roll forward another 6 months if you had a great harvest then the next year here and he came in and he's writes a check to the bank for the principal and interest I get that note out of the Vault and now I stamp it paid in full every time goats and sheep and animals were sacrificed in the Old Testament paid by renewal paid by renewal paid by renewal that sin debt was rolled forward until the Spotless Lamb of God came and what did John the immerser say Behold the Lamb of God who takes away what the sins of the world Jesus dies on the cross says it is finished and Bam paid in full there's nothing that you and I do to remove Sin from our lives Jesus Paid It all all to him I oh so if there are people who believe in purgatory and you live near them or you work beside them or they're a member of the family this makes a good talking point because the Catholic Church still believes this and what it means in essence is the death of Jesus was not enough that's what the doctrine of purgatory is teaching the death of Jesus was insufficient you have to do something more all right so doctrine of Soul sleep don't believe that doctrine of purgatory certainly don't believe that so what on Earth is this phrase the dead in Christ will rise first while here here's what we believe in 2 Corinthians 58 we're confident Paul said and we would be prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord what happens to us the very moment we draw our last breath our last breath here becomes our first breath There Our Last Breath here on planet Earth we are immediately in the presence of the Lord to be absent from the body is to be home present with the Lord and this is called the intermediate State the intermediate State this is not the fullness of Heaven this is not walking on streets of gold yet we'll talk about that and we'll we'll understand why okay now what we want to remember is that Jesus said to the thief on the cross today you will be with me in Paradise now this word Paradise it means an incredible place of Peace security safety well-being and that's where Lazarus the beggar went to be into Paradise that's where your loved ones my loved ones think of somebody that you and I know who died in the Lord they held on to Jesus until they drew their last breath absent from the body is to be home with the Lord present with the Lord so what we want to understand is this doctrine of the intermediate state what happens to me when I draw my last breath Paul said I once knew a man caught up to the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2 of whom was he speaking himself this is a humble way of saying I'm I'm the guy I was caught up to the third heaven so we might be thinking well what on Earth is this third heaven uh are there three Heavens well look at it this way in Psalm 6 8 it says in verse 8 the heavens pour down rain here in calcasa the heavens pour down snow okay that's the first Heaven our atmosphere the clouds that's the first heaven in Psalm 19 it says the heavens declare the glory of God and if we read in that passage it's talking about the what the son the moon the stars we look up in a clear skar sky at night and we see these glorious Stars the heavens declare the glory of God that's the second heaven hence when Paul says I once knew a man caught up to the third heaven that is beyond the celestial meaning the Abode of God hence where is your loved one right now and my loved one right now in the Abode of God in the home where Jesus is the Abode of God now let's talk about then this phrase and the dead in Christ will rise first what does that mean surely it's got to mean that we're Six Feet Under And when Jesus Christ comes back the his second coming we're going to be the dead in Christ rise first no it we're not asleep in the grave we're home with the Lord okay well to understand that we got to go to Revelation and if we could go to Revelation chapter 19 Revelation 19 and this is describing the second coming of Jesus and if we begin there in verse seven and 8 I just want to to pull out something in verse 7 and 8 that's very important let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory for the wedding of the Lamb capital L who is that Jesus the Lamb of God who takes Away The Sins Of The World the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride who is that the church and his bride the church has made herself ready now look at verse eight this is so very important fine linen bright and clean was given her to wear Vine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people now see right there there's even from John the uh Revelator the Apostle John he gives us an explanation if somebody goes oh it's literal white clothing no John says no it isn't the fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people so the the church those who are home with the Lord the church they are adored in these righteous acts of God's people now let's let's go on a little a little bit in verse 11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose Rider is called faithful and true who does who do you think this has got to be this got to be Jesus let's see if this fits with Justice he judges and wages what he makes War okay he's going to make war his eyes are like blazing fire and on his head are many not just one Crown but many crowns crowns uh symbols of authority authority are many crowns he has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself he is dressed in a robe dipped in Blood and his name is the word of God this has to be Jesus in in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God John 1:1 a robe dipped in blood has to be Jesus and then notice this is intriguing the armies of Heaven were following him riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen white and clean didn't we see that a moment ago that phrase dressed in fine linen white and clean clean who who was given the fine linen white and clean the bride the church was given that hence when we see that he is coming to wage war and somebody is coming with him the armies of Heaven are coming with him and they are dressed in fine linen white and clean who's coming with him the church those who have died in the Lord so let's say he's coming tonight at 8 p.m. we're still here on planet Earth and Jesus is splitting the clouds and how many eyes will see him every eye doesn't matter where we are on planet Earth everyone's going to see the second coming of Jesus and our loved ones are rising up as an army they're not rising up and the dead in Christ will rise first from Six Feet Under they're rising up as an army and they're coming with the one who's going to conquer the evil one and that's called The Battle of starts with an A Armageddon the battle of Armageddon it's mentioned only once in the entire Bible in Revelation 16 verse 16 and that's going to be when Jesus conquers evil It's the final battle in the war against evil and so all of his loved ones our loved ones who are there with him are rising up the and the dead in Christ will rise first as an army not from Six Feet Under in the ground all right let's look at uh a little bit more in that text coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the Nations he will rule them with an iron scepter he Treads The Wine Press of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty and on his robe and on his thigh he has this name written King of Kings Lord of lords undeniably this is Jesus and coming with Jesus is the church those who have died in the Lord and their home with the Lord in the Abode of God now so what does that tell us the intermediate State the intermediate state is a place of identity right now think about your loved ones our loved ones who are there with the Lord they are known they have identity like a lot of people think well nobody I I lose my identity when I go uh to Heaven no we don't stop and think with me when uh in Mark chapter 9 Jesus is on the top of the Mount of transfiguration and who is with him Moses Elijah and then the three disciples who were they James Peter and John and James Peter and John they see who Moses and Elijah well there's MO how did they know them I guess from their yearbook pictures from when they graduated high school or maybe they saw something on Facebook on social media they Moses and Elijah maintained their what their identity they maintained their identity they were known and so when we die we maintain our identity my mom is home with the Lord I have an older sister Mary she lived one day on planet Earth and then she died when my mom went home to be with the Lord she knew immediately her daughter Mary maintaining identity so you're just let that comfort you right now your loved ones who are home right now with the Lord they know one another I believe that uh when I pass from this life into into the next and I go home to be with the Lord I believe that my dad my mom my loved ones who are there not only will Jesus welcome me but I believe believe that my loved ones are going to what are you doing here already not even a day has passed here because remember with the Lord a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as a day see time measured in heaven is completely different than linear time here on planet Earth what are you doing here already loved one identity is maintained and not only is identity right now but there's togetherness and we're going to look in a text that speaks about that there is togetherness don't think for a moment that your loved ones or my loved ones are apart from one another there is profound Indescribable Oneness uh in heaven now awareness there is awareness people are not floating on some Cloud a rocker recliner Lazy Boy rocker recliner they they are fully engaged in Revelation I want us to look at chapter 6 now Revelation is very easy to understand and I'm not yanking your chain on this we make it difficult we make it far too difficult Revelation let me give you very quickly just the outline of Revelation this is so simple in Genesis there was a guy by the name of Joseph he had a code of what many colors and that young 17-year-old boy had two dreams he dreamed that the sun moon and stars were what bowing down to him he had another dream where sheaves of grain were what bowing down to him two different dreams but with the same meaning and boy did it get his brothers uh all in a tizzy when he told them the dreams and it even upset his dad a little bit Jacob as well what does this mean your mother and I are going to bow down to you so two different dreams same meaning pharaoh in the Book of Genesis he had more than one dream uh these beautiful cows coming out of the Nile River and then ugly cows eating them that's one dream another dream beautiful stocks of grain and then other um ugly stocks of grain consuming them two different dreams of the same meaning seven years of incredible productivity of the land followed by seven years of record famine two different dreams same meaning that's Revelation see God God has a pattern going here in Revelation there are three visions three dreams we have the Seven Seals each of the seals are broken the Seven Seals then we have the seven trumpets being blown the seven trumpets and then we have the seven balls being turned over and what happens is during the first six se there's suffering massive suffering suffering suffering and more suffering but in the end Jesus comes back same thing with the trumpets suffering suffering suffering hardship hardship hardship but in the end who comes back Jesus ohh the Bulls incredible suffering incredible hardship but in the end Jesus comes back three different dreams with the same meaning there's going to be horrific difficulty on planet Earth but loved ones you be faithful to the point of death and I'll give you the Crown of Life Revelation 2:10 the last sentence be faithful to the point of death and I'm going to give you the Crown of Life that's the whole story of Revelation right there it's not complicated now here's one of those passages chapter 6 it's the first vision of the three when he opened the fifth seal when he opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony that they had maintained in other words they were martyred for their faith they were killed because of their testimony of Jesus Christ they called out in a loud voice if I'm using a loud voice I want somebody's what attention they're calling out in a loud voice voice they want somebody's attention how long Sovereign Lord holy and true until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood see they want Justice these ones who have died for the faith then each of them each one of them was given a white robe interesting and they were told to wait a little longer until the full number of the their fellow servants their brothers and sisters were killed just as they had been now this is a glimpse into what's going on in heaven right now so think about your loved one think about your loved one and what's happening there's two-way conversation going on in that text those who had died and they are home with the Lord with a loud voice how long Sovereign Lord faithful and true they're talking with whom with Jesus and Jesus is responding just a little bit longer just a little bit longer see there's a two-way conversation going on between Jesus and people already home with the Lord I wonder if my mom's talking to Jesus remember Jesus is omnipresent what does that mean at the same time I know that Andy's talking uh his dad is talking with Jesus but uh Andy uh Jesus is talking with your loved ones just as if your loved one was the only one there because he's everywhere at the same time see conversation uh as we Glimpse uh into heaven into that Revelation 6 passage people are rational see they're they're rational they're they're emotional how long Sovereign Lord until you avenge our blood they're emotional they want Justice and then look at this people are remembered for their faithfulness each one was given a what white robe that tells us that there's individuality just again such personal incredible experience in Paradise this intermediate State it's not the fullness of Heaven yet and lastly they long for justice I believe that I I don't know about you but I pray many a time I hear something in the news and I'll just pray revelation 22 come quickly Lord Jesus bring this to an end please come quickly Lord Jesus we want Justice onplant we want the the uh evil to stop so what we want to do just like a waypoint you are here if we die before the second coming our last breath here becomes our first breath there we're in the presence of the Lord we're in the Abode of God a place of indescribable Splendor it is beyond space remember it says in the scriptures that even the highest Heaven cannot contain whom God even the highest Heavens cannot contain God when you and I last breath here we are in the Abode of God uh and this is the intermediate State it's not the fullness of Heaven yet it's going to be after a break the fullness of heaven so when a Believer dies before the return of Jesus we're home with the Lord home with the lord it's not the fullness of Heaven that's going to happen at the second coming of Jesus but likewise this is very important should an unbeliever die like the rich man in the Gospel of Luke if a non-believer dies before the return of Jesus he or she is away from the Lord in a place of real torment remember what Jesus said about the rich man in hell where he was in torment now listen carefully the full fullness of hell has not yet come let's just peek around the corner of that statement again this is not difficult to understand there's going to be a what day at the second coming of Jesus a judgment day we know that it's mentioned over and again in scripture and it says that everybody from greatest to least will stand before the Judgment Throne of God that's in the scripture well we might be thinking why why am I going to have to go through judgment because I'm already home with the Lord again this is easy to understand um if we're in Genesis Genesis chapter 3 Adam and Eve blew it they committed sin and God he's walking in the cool of the garden uh with them and he says to Adam because you listen to the woman this is what's going to happen to you to Eve because you listen to the serpent this is what's going to happen to you and to the serpent because you deceived these ones this is what's going to happen to you you see God explained the why about their suffering here's the why well he did that with Moses because you struck the Rock and you did not what speak to the Rock you're not going into the Promised Land hey Aaron just like your little brother here you struck the rock you're not going into the promised land god explained the why of their punishment uh we read the story of David with Beth Sheba and Nathan the prophet goes and he says because you took uh another man's wife not your own and you killed a man uh though you're forgiv the sword will never leave your house here's why you're going to suffer David see there's this pattern where God always explains the why well when Jesus is walking on planet Earth and it's just a couple of days before he's nailed to the cross he's teaching what is called the Olivette discourse he's on the Mount of Olives and he says uh to the sheep on his right he says I was thirsty you gave me something to drink I was hungry and you gave me something to eat I was naked and you clothed me I was sicken in prison and you came to see me and they will the sheep on his right will say Lord Lord when did we see you thirsty or hungry or naked or sick or in prison and Jesus says I tell you the truth that what you did for the least of these you did it as unto me he's explaining why they're going to be in Heaven someday he's explaining the why similarly to the goats on his left I was thirsty hungry naked sick in prison you didn't help me and they'll say Lord Lord when did we see Lord Lord they say Lord Lord they thought they were saved Lord Lord when did we see and he says I tell you the truth that what you did not do for the least of these you did not do it as unto me away from me uh you evildoers and he then explains the why of their punishment hence Judgment Day is for that purpose in Revelation 20 again it's an easy book to understand the single longest passage on Judgment Day is in Revelation chapter 20 and it's a picture of a courtroom a courtroom and God is the righteous judge and everybody somehow some way I can't wrap my brain around it's too too big for me to understand but everybody appears before the Judgment seat of God and it says in Revelation 20 and the books plural were opened and people were judged according to what had been written in the books uhoh nothing to worry about oh Christian so when we stop and remember Ephesians chapter 2 it says that we are saved by grace through faith not by Works lest anyone should boast we're not saved by what we do we're saved by what Jesus did on a cross that's what saves us all right that's what removes the sin our sin debt now just like in a court of law if the judges here the judge is taking under consideration evidence because he's going to use the evidence to reach a a verdict God is looking for evidence that we truly surrendered Our Lives to Jesus Christ he already knows so to be absent from the body is to be home with the Lord and we're standing in front of the Judgment seat of God and we're hearing why we get to be with God forever and forever and forever and forever and we don't deserve it it's all because of Jesus that's that's why we have to go through a judgment day and then we enter this new Earth A Home of righteousness that's why Heaven gets better we'll talk about that after our break why it gets better for the person who died without Jesus it gets worse and here's why it's worse they're already in hell where they're in torment but it's worse because they're summoned into the presence of who God of Jesus and they see God they see Jesus they hear hear the voice of God they hear the voice of Jesus and realize it was true after all and they rejected Jesus and then they're going to be cast into the lake of Eternal fire and their suffering will be all the more intense that's why it gets worse and that's why we should be very motivated to share our faith with people who are not yet a follower of Jesus we should be all the more urgent because after a person passes away there is no Purgatory there's no helping anybody move from one place of the Dead to another it's essential that people understand what is possible for them in Jesus right so a guy by the name of Henry David thoro said Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads isn't that a cool statement it's under our feet now what we're going to do we're going to take a little 10-minute break and we're going to come back and we're going to talk about the destination and this is the fullness of Heaven we're going to think of it like a trip and um so and by the way I did bring with me some some resources for example uh this all we're doing is like the icing on the top of a cake tonight this is the cake or this is the cake itself uh this is a video uh actually there are six videos on this little thumb drive and it's called destination known what the Bible says about heaven it was a six week series that I preached and I just went through different places in Indianapolis filming uh this teaching so if you like videos Six videos uh this is normally $30 uh on our website for E2 it's $25 when I am am someplace this book it's really two books in one help for today becomes Hope For Tomorrow the print goes in two directions so help for today what the Bible says about retirement it says nothing about retirement okay this is a Bible study about uh Ecclesiastes who wrote Ecclesiastes Solomon did in the Autumn years of life he is a miserable man and he did not finish well he he died unfaithful to God and what we do we take a dive into Ecclesiastes and how I use it is I talk about four quarters in a football game and it's just like four quarters in a season of life we have children in the room that's the first quarter and they grow up and they become 20 23 years of age they're now entering the second quarter they're adult years and then when they hit 40 45 they're at halftime or 50 and then after halftime they're now empty nesters they're in the third quarter but then some of us in the room are in the fourth quarter if you know what I mean we're in the fourth quarter some people in the room look like they're in overtime all right now the key yes that would be our dear beloved brother over time by God's grace and so here's the key what I do I identify four plays that Solomon blue and I don't want to blow those four plays I want to finish well that's what this part is how to finish well it's very practical Bible study um and then as a matter of fact I know of a lot of churches that have used that for home study groups for the older folks then you turn it this way and this becomes hope for tomorrow and this is a book that's all about what we're talking tonight for example there's a chapter in here on Judgment Day what I just explained to you was just the skimming of the uh surface of that there's a chapter in here on the Plan of Salvation how is somebody brought to Jesus if you have somebody in your sphere of influence in your family your circle of friends and you want to know how to close the deal with that person leading to there's a chapter on that so this is normally $15 on the website but tonight it's 10 bucks okay and then I mentioned Revelation Ting times this thumb drive is called faithful to the Finish there are 20 videos on this Revelation chapter 1 all the way through chapter 22 and every one of these videos ends with discussion questions we have hundreds of people using these in their home study groups they put them in the side of their Smart TV or their computer and they hit play and there's a whole lesson uh for their Bible study their life group their Sunday school class and again 20 videos this is 30 bucks what is that a $150 a video or whatever so this is $25 tonight this is $25 this is $10 so if you get all three it's 60 bucks or you can get it separate and uh I can take Plastic Fantastic with my wonderful iPhone so but we're going to take a 10-minute break and we'll come back and if want to get something that's fine if you don't no problem but people always ask me can I have your notes Etc no you can have something better than notes okay all right and it might be uh this makes a great stocking stuffer especially for people in your family who are not where they need to be in Jesus okay all right let's take a break here we go 10 minutes [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] w w [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] now [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] no no [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] all right here we go part two part two as we think about this I want us to be thinking about a trip of a lifetime it might be that you were saving up you're going to retire and you want to go to Alaska for uh a month or you want to go to Hawai or you want to go to Israel to take a tour of the Holy lands but you're excited and you're reading all the literature and you're you're getting ready to leave so we depart but then we arrive at the destination so now we're talking about the the return of Jesus the destination uh when Jesus returns where will Heaven be it says very plainly in Revelation 21 then I saw a new what heaven and a new Earth for the first Heaven had and the first Earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea we're going to talk about that phrase no longer any sea it's very uh exciting to me and he who was Seated on the throne said I am making how much new everything is going to be brand spanking new everything in second Peter 3:1 but the day of the Lord will come like a thief the heavens will disappear with a roar that's the first and the second heaven disappears with a roar the elements will be destroyed by fire the Earth and everything done in it will be laid bare the Earth is destroyed Matthew 24:35 Jesus said Heaven and Earth will pass away but my words will never pass away so this Earth the first Earth this is going to be destroyed everything's going to go up and smoke everything so just think about all the skyscrapers and all of the roads everything's going to be destroyed in an instant and God's going to make a new Earth now this is real important that we understand and this is not hard what we want to begin to understand is what is called the uh concept of continuance just remember this phrase God picks up where he left off God picks up where he left off Isaiah 65 behold this is God speaking now I God will create new heavens and a what A New Earth the former things will not be remembered the former things will not be remembered nor will they what come to mind and who said that God so let let's just sit in that for a moment somebody abused us as a child it's not going to come to mind somebody uh ripped off our money in a business deal left us bankrupt not going to come to mind people fought in the horror of the Korean War and all the horror that we saw is not going to what come to mind it will be remembered no more see everything that has been done on planet Earth is going to be remembered no more and there's a reason for that you'll see in just a moment from the scriptures um Isaiah 66:22 as the new heavens and the new Earth that I make will endure before me God's going to make new heavens and a new Earth that will endure now let's sit in that for a moment okay if we try to define the word Everlasting we have no human words capable of describing eternity Everlasting our minds can't go there so in the book you all I described how how I think of everlasting um so I've done some mountain climbing it's one of my hobbies really big high tall mountains like kilamanjaro 20,000 ft it's the freestanding Mountain on the continent of Africa uh if we have a mountain of solid Granite hardest rock known to man solid Granite it's a th000 miles square at the base and it's a th000 Miles High even Everest is not Everest is not a th000 miles high and once every 1 million years this little bird comes and is allowed to sit on the top of that 1,000 mile high mountain of solid Granite that's a th000 m square at the base and it's allowed to Peck away at that granite for 10 seconds every once 1 million years as soon as that 1,000 M high mountain of granite th000 M square at the base is completely worn away from that bird pecking at it for 10 seconds once every 1 million years once it's all gone that to Eternity is but one day I cannot comprehend how long eternity is and that new Earth is going to endure that I will make endure and we're going to be there forever and forever and forever and forever and forever and on planet Earth if I had a big coil of rope what direction is that East okay let's say I had this big coil of rope and I gave it to Andy and he took it out and he just heaved it and it kept going and going and going and going wrapped around planet Earth and then it flew out into outer space okay and just kept going and here on the end of the Rope I had some tape about this long and uh so we're born we go to kindergarten we're in elementary high school we graduate we go to the military or get a job or go to college we fall in love get married have kids raise our kids we have empty then uh uh we are grandparents and then we get white hair and then we uh die okay at the age of 98 there we are that's 98 that's how much a long life is compared to all of that that never ends so this right now is nothing but a warmup all right The Best Is Yet To Come literally when we draw our last breath here it's the beginning of that which never ends it's the beginning so that's why we we have to remember when Paul says therefore encourage each other with these words words encourage now in second Peter this is what floats my boat in second Peter 313 Peter wrote but in keep keeping with his promise we're looking forward to a new Heaven and a A New Earth look at this phrase the home of righteousness there will be no sin on the new Earth there will be no bickering no fighting no jealousy no coveting no name calling no conflict no division uh no temptation anybody interested in that one no temptation on this this new Earth nothing evil Sinister can be on the new Earth can you imagine living on the new Earth in a place like that forever and ever and ever and that's no mind has conceived but the Lord has in store for those who love him uh it says in Revelation 21 then I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth had passed away now I've just showed you sum of many verses that all say the first Earth the first Heaven passed away and then there's a new Heaven and a new Earth over and over and over again people have got to understand when Jesus comes back there's going to be a brand new Earth and what we want to grasp is this concept of uh continuance in Genesis chapter 1 Genesis chapter 2 everything is incredible because on the sixth day on the sixth day it says and God saw everything that he had made and it was very good it's incredible Genesis 1 and 2 first two chapters of the Bible everything is very good without any kind of a mar imperfection and then chapter 3 verse one sin shows up so chapter 1 and two it's phenomenal the last two chapters of the Bible Revelation 21 and 22 God picks up where he left off Revelation 21:1 then I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth had passed away God picks up in the last two chapters where he left off from the first two chapters that's what I want us to start thinking of there's a concept of God continuing what sin messed up what Jesus solved with his death and Resurrection we now get to enjoy uh what is that that's the St Louis Arch it is a landmark uh what is this the Golden Gate Bridge you recognized it immediately where is it San Francisco California what is this the Statue of Liberty and where is it in New York City New York Harbor see these are called landmarks and all we had to do was look at them we knew what they were immediately we know where they are we're going to look at three landmarks now as we get into the scriptures this is just a picture of the Damascus gate in Jerusalem the reason I wanted you to see a picture is here is a gate just one of many here is an enormous wall and if you look there it has to have tremendous foundations in order to support that weight we're going to be looking in Revelation 21 and 22 at foundations walls and Gates and the city walls and gates are going to speak about three things stability security and sanctity sanctity means what what's a holy pure these landmarks in Revelation 21 and 22 walls Gates foundations not literal symbolic symbolic are going to speak about security and stability and sanctity and how long are we going to be there forever and ever and ever and ever now when the Book of Revelation makes mention of the New Jerusalem I saw the holy city descending from God as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband the New Jerusalem people look at that and they read oh it's a literal City don't think of it as a literal City think of it as symbolic now in the Bible whenever you and I open the Bible and read we have to think survival from Genesis to Revelation people killed each other the only food they had was the food in front of them they didn't have pantries full of food and deep freezers full of food food and cupboards teeming with food the only food that they had was in front of them they didn't have closets with their winter clothes their spring clothes their summer clothes the only clothes they had were where on their body so if they would go they remember David the king for a time he lived in philistia and uh the king of the Philistines said hey David where have you been today he said we went out raiding r a d i n g raiding and that was what people did they would go into an unsuspecting Village that had no protection they would kill everybody in that Village they would take their clothes they would pillage the the victims they would take their food because they had no way to eat or clothe themselves the Bible was always one of survival uh if Andy was a fisherman he would go fishing on the Sea of Galilee hoping to catch fish to sell them in the market to earn enough money to keep his wife alive for one more day it was a survivalist culture people work to live for one more day we live to work I love work I love work I'm going to work not in the Bible they worked in order to live for one more day so when John the author of Revelation is talking about this city security stability that would have been music to their ears because a dad a husband would do all that he could to protect his wife and kids at night from somebody who would come and kill them for their food and clothing people wanted to live where in a city that had high walls and strong Gates because they could sleep well at night feeling safe that's why we see these landmarks in this new city the New Jerusalem all right does that make sense okay now let's go on a little bit let's talk about the first Landmark we're going to talk about the foundations in other words stability stability in Revelation 21:14 the wall of the city had 12 foundations and on them were the names of the TW Apostles now let's just think about this for a moment if it's literal 12 foundations and we know of them to be beautifully decorated with all kinds of stones and we even read in Revelation the name of those stones literal or symbolic the number 12 means also so full and complete the number 12 has that meaning but also what we want to understand is the number 12 Apostles that gets a little dicey if we try to be specific about 12 even out of the original 12 one of them committed suicide then they replaced him by the casting of Lots now we're back to 12 but then what about the Apostle Paul what about the apostle Barnabas what about the Apostle James the half brother of Jesus he's called an apostle in the book of Galatians what do we do with these other Apostles are they a part of the original does somebody else get off the list so that these other three guys can be on the list see what happens when we try to be literal specific so a full and complete and um the apostles were in the New Testament the New Covenant New Covenant so these found ations are speaking of stability think of how unstable life is right now life is very unstable we don't know if there's going to be peace in the Middle East we don't know if there's going to be peace between Russia and Ukraine we don't know if there's going to be peace with turkey the president of Turkey is threatening to send nuclear weaponry uh or ar ar uh uh Warheads into Israel he's rattled uh shaking there's great instability with regard to Global uh conflict think economic there's great economic instability anybody know what the national debt is what 35 the national debt hurt hit $ 35 trillion on our 46th wedding anniversary July the 29th and uh now just stop and think with me I remember as the young Banker 1981 our national debt hit $1 trillion in October of 1981 Ronald who was President Reagan was President and it was the talk of America a trillion dollars what are we going to do nobody's talking about the national debt now and you know what we have to add to the National the national debt 35 trillion that is called our statutory debt what is that that's not a big word it just means that we have signed on the bottom line and we have to rep pay that we have to repay it to many foreign Nations we have to repay it to many people who bought our bonds Etc it's our legal debt that has to be repaid we have signed 35 trillion in IUS it's got to be repaid now add to that our nonstatutory debt what's that other obligations anybody getting a social security check that's a part of the nonstatutory debt anybody on Medicare Lee and I we we're in Club Med we got our Medicare cards Club Med that's a non-statutory debt that's an obligation military retirement you got a lot of military up here in northern Michigan all of those numbers have to be added to what we owe and when we add our nonstatutory debt retirement Medicare military retirements to the legal debt we are in Hawk are you ready we are in Hawk over $75 trillion and there's no way America can pay that the banker I in me I know that um somebody uh if they cannot pay their debt they are forced into what's the b word bankruptcy it's called involuntary bankruptcy they don't file no a bank or a creditor files against them and forces them into bankruptcy to protect their loan and that doesn't happen just to an individual it can happen to a business not just to a business but it can happen to a government it can happen Stockdale California the first city in America to file bankruptcy followed by Detroit Michigan filed Bank bankruptcy Greece the nation of Greece filed bankruptcy my point is we could go up and down the list we are so unstable in so many ways politically we are unstable the likes of which we have never known before in America it's not going to be that way on a new Earth on a new Earth that will never happen again absolute stability not a worry not a care not a fear on a new Earth the home of righteousness let's talk about landmark number two the wall this is all about security it had a great high wall with 12 gates there's that number 12 again 12 literal Gates or a full and complete way to get into this new place with 12 angels at the gates and on the gates were written the names of the 12 what tribes well let's that gets a little dicey because Joseph his boys became two tribes remember Ephraim and manessa and so just who are then the the official 12 tribes the point is that's Old Testament before Jesus the old Covenant now these Gates or the wall rather the angel measured the wall using human measurement and it was 144 cubits thick the wall was made of Jasper the city of pure gold as pure as glass some people have looked that a cubit is this length from the tip of our middle finger to our elbow that is a cubit oh it's 140 18 in time 144 ID 12 that's how many feet it is thick not literal symbolic numbers are symbolic what times what is 144 Shazam 12 * 12 is 144 when it comes to Security on this new Earth do we have anything to fear not at all we're going to be so safe on this new Earth all right let's look at another feature of this wall the city was laid out like a square I love this as long as it was wide he measured the city with a rod and he found it to be 12,000 stadia in length as wide and high as it is long this New Jerusalem was a what in the shape of a what a cube and people oh the New Jerusalem our Heaven it's going to be like a giant Cube 12,000 stadia in length and width and depth and well what's a stadia ah it's got to be like a mile really anything stand out to you there about that number ah there's that number 12 again times 10 7 10 and 12 full and complete 12 * 10 is 100 20 * 10 1200 * 10 12,000 see there's a symbol there now there's more this is a cube watch this and who's who's in the presence here of this place God Jesus in the presence of this check this out in First Kings this is chapter 6 this is where Solomon is building the first temple and notice what it says in verse 16 he Solomon partitioned off 20 cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from Florida ciling to form within the temple and the inner Sanctuary the most holy place the most holy place and what what about that the inner Sanctuary the most holy place it was 20 cubits long 20 wide and 20 high it's a what it's a cube now think with me the the temple we had the alar where all the animals were sacrificed we had the labor the sea where all of the priests bathed before they could offer up sacrifices then we had the holy place where the table of showbread the lamp Etc the the incense was and the priests went in there every day to tend the lamps to put fresh bread out but then behind the curtain was was what the the most holy place and what was in the most holy place the Ark of the Covenant and the Ark of the Covenant represented God God was there and who could go in the most holy place the high priest how often one day out of the year on the day of atonement and they would tie a rope around his ankle in the event that he died and they would pull his body out because he was in the presence of the most holy God and God in the most holy place it's in the shape of a cube isn't that fascinating this Dwelling Place on planet Earth of God it's in the shape of a cube literally does it have to be a literal Cube no not at all it's symbolic of God's intimate presence with us more on that in just a moment let's talk a little bit about sanctity Holiness the gates had this great high wall with 12 gates and with 12 angels at the gates we've looked at that on the gates were the names of the 12 tribes of Israel there were three gates on the East three on the north three on the south three on the west 12 literal Gates no not there's this full and complete entrance into this new Earth let's talk about that for a moment what's that look like on no day will its Gates ever be shut for there will be what no night there think with me for a moment bad things happen when in the night in the dark there's no no impropriety that's going to take place on this new Earth and the gates are never shut because there's no need for gates to be shut it's not literal Gates what's what it's symbolic of there's nothing to fear on this new Earth A Home of righteous that Peter describes nothing sinful can happen because sin has been cast where into the Lake of Fire the author of deception now here's something that we want to look at about these Gates each gate was what made of a single Pearl 2121 and I've seen pictures of these 12 gates three on each side of the city made of these giant pearls and people going in and out of these giant Pearl Gates think symbol with me how do we get a pearl from where from an oyster that's right there's an oyster and Leah you said what an irritant gets into that oyster like a grain of sand and then the oyster begins secreting a fluid that coats that irritant layer by layer by layer by layer and it produces is something of incredible beauty being a pearl so this irritant has been uh covered how do we enter into this new Earth A Home of righteousness somebody suffered and we enter through that gate what did he say in The Sermon on the Mount he said narrow is the gate or small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only if if you find it but wide is the gate and Broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it who's the gate into this new home Jesus is and he suffered he went through great suffering to produce for us this incredible uh opportunity and moreover we suffer remember be faithful to the point of death and I'll give you the Crown of Life six seals suffering suffering suffering we're going to go through suffering and the suffering of Jesus and be allowed to enter this new home A Home of righteousness the trumpets the bowls all right let's then talk about this the doctrine or the teaching of immutability what's immutability mean that's a big word what's it mean it doesn't change this is in reference to God God does not change everything around us is changing life is changing rapidly God doesn't change in Malachi chapter 2 he said I the Lord do not change in Hebrews 13:8 Jesus is the same yesterday today forever more immutable all right with that thought we're going to we're going to marry two things here God doesn't change and the concept of continuity God here who created spoke everything into existence and he saw that it was very good not just good but very good God doesn't change so God is going to be our protector God doesn't change for example Psalm 91 verse uh uh 14 I believe it is because he loves me says the Lord I will rescue him I will protect him for he acknowledges my name he will call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in trouble I will deliver him and honor him with long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation because he loves me says the Lord I will rescue him I will protect him God doesn't change he's going to be our protector for how long forever and forever and ever there's nothing from which uh we're going to fear or worry nothing impure will ever enter the new Earth that matches what Peter said A Home of righteousness second Peter chapter 3 God is going to be our provider revelation 22 the River of Life flowing from the throne literal no the the picture the symbol is God is the source of the River of Life and on both sides of the River of Life were what the Tree of Life bearing its fruit how often all the time all the time God's the provider uh one more God will be our Peacemaker revelation 22 it says in verse two that the leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the Nations I love this that word nations in Greek is this word ethnos and we get our English word ethnic from ethnos there is one race it's human there is one race it's human there are multiple ethnicities and God's going to provide healing for all the ethnicities the Nations so what that means is that word healing listen to this word in Greek and tell me what English word we get from it therapia what's that sound like with regard to Medicine therapia therapy exactly correct so God is going to provide all the healing between all people groups and there will be absolute peace on this new Earth there will not be one cross word not one iota of conflict because nothing evil can enter into it it is a home of absolute righteousness it's incredible don't we get weary in the news of all of this conflict and Emmanuel God is with us forever now the dwelling of God is with men he will live with them and he will wipe every tear from their eyes uh I don't know about you but uh I don't let people well I don't cry I don't cry that much and the only person I would allow to touch my face would be my wife maybe a grandchild yeah a grandchild yeah granddaughter come on yes um but God what what this picture is is of incredible intimacy with God and when we see this now the dwelling that word dwelling I love this the word dwelling uh is in Greek the same as the word Tabernacle in the Old Testament the Tabernacle was a tent made out of animal skins uh anybody go camping and I'm not talking about a 36 foot mansion mcmansion on Wheels with those pullout sections I'm not talking about that I'm talking about real camping you know when we go backpacking into the mountains you you want to carry as much uh lightweight stuff as you can and we've got these tents that weigh less than three lbs and I'm here to tell you uh it advertises they're a Twan tent there's no way two people are going to get in that not I'm keeping my own tent that's what I'm doing and because they're pretty cozy that's what that word dwelling means it's going to be cozy incredibly intimate with our father who gave us the breath of life and not only the breath of life here but he gave us life there incredibly intimate and uh we're going to be forever alive no longer will there be any curse what's that curse the curse of death that's Revelation chap three God said to Adam from dust you came and to dust you will return the curse of death that's where it all began from dust you came and to dust you'll return now here's one that I really really really like this is for you sister Kavanaugh okay ready we're going to be together forever Revelation 21:1 I told you there's something about that word c sea I saw the new heavens and the new Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea people might think is the new Earth not going to have a sea no I believe there will because in the concept of continuance in Revelation or excuse me in Genesis chapter 1 and 2 were there oceans were there Seas sure there were I believe there's going to be that and then some on this new Earth the home of righteousness So What on earth does that mean then no longer was there any sea who wrote Revelation John did where was he when he wrote it on the island of Patmos about 60 miles from the mainland he's there as a prisoner Rome put him there on a prison Island he's going to probably die on that island he's writing Revelation while he's more than likely late 80s early '90s he's one of the old well he is the oldest living disciple that we know of and he says and no longer will there be a sea he loved people remember it says in third John verse4 he wrote third John and in he said I have no Greater Joy than to know that my children are walking in the truth we don't know if he married and had kids or grandkids but he's talking about his spiritual children people that he brought to Salvation I have no Greater Joy in life than to know that my loved ones are walking in the truth faithfully and he missed them they were 60 miles away on the mainland a sea separated them does it hurt us when we say goodbye to our loved ones unbelievably so unbelievably so but we're not going to say goodbye anymore so when we are concerned about leaving planet Earth to go home to be with the Lord what we want to make sure is that our children and our grandchildren know and love Jesus and that for me gives me No Greater Joy than to know that my children and my grandchildren are walking in the truth and then we will never say goodbye again so we're going to be together for would that not rock your boat Would we not want to be here absolutely this guy Isaac azimov are you ready for this this is what he said he said I don't believe in an afterlife so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell or fearing Heaven [Music] more for whatever the tortures of hell I think the boredom of Heaven would be even worse so and and he has passed away I'm I'm not going to say anything more because I'm not judge and jury that's way above my pay grade okay but what I want us to talk about is what we're going to be doing on this new Earth A Home of righteousness we are going to have new and improved bodies anybody ready for that no more knee repl no more knee Replacements no more d diets how about that no more diets no more benay no more benay all right so let's talk about this new and improved 1 Corinthians 15 verse 51 and 52 listen I tell you a mystery and when Paul said that he's saying a mystery this is beyond my understanding he's trying to put into human words but there are no human words to describe I tell you a mystery we will not all sleep what does that mean we won't all die that's exact what that means not not all of us are going to die some are going to be left here on planet Earth at the return of Jesus but here it is we will all be changed all of us are going to be changed in the flash in the twinkling of an eye that's the blink of an eye back when General Electric was still around the company they measured the blink of an eye and it takes four 100ths of a second for the eye to Blink we're going to be changed that quickly see Paul's trying to put into human understanding what's beyond our comprehension uh and when is this going to happen at the last what trumpet what's that referring to the second coming of Jesus this is Second Coming language we're not going to get a new body when we leave planet Earth to go home with the Lord that's the intermed intermediate State we're not going to need a new body until there's a new earth on which to use that new body that's when we get a new body the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed the dead will be raised from Six Feet Under yes or no no not from Six Feet Under the dead will be raised how as an army coming back with Jesus at the second coming and at that time bam all of us are going to get a new body instantaneously and this is why I say it is new and it is improved okay this is when you can really use that phrase we're going to have a brand new body and it will be far better than what we have now okay now let's talk about this a little bit we're going to unpack this we're almost done stay with me in 1 Corinthians 15 same passage Paul says Christ has indeed been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep the first fruits of those who have died now what that means is Paul is using an offering in the Old Testament one of the offerings was the offering of first fruits so if Dan was a farmer and he's harvesting his barley he's taking how much what percentage out of his field 10% where is he taking that to the temple he's harvesting in a tenth of his crop of barley to the temple it was called the offering of first fruits and why it it's first fruits because he's going to go back now and he's going to harvest the rest of the the field 90% And it's all what barley it's not wheat it's not corn it's the same thing but the the offering of first fruits is everything that comes out of the field is going to be just like that first fruits now Jesus was the very first one to die and to be raised from the dead never to die again because when Lazarus was raised from the dead what would have happened he would have died again when gyrus his daughter was raised from the dead what would have happened to her she would have died again Jesus is the first one to be raised from the dead never to die again and that because he's the first fruits we're going to be raised just like that we're going to be raised from the dead never to die again now let's keep going on here verse 23 but each in his own turn Christ the first fruits then when he comes those who belong to him so at his second coming all of us who belong to him those who are already home with the Lord and those who are left here on planet Earth at a second coming we're never going to die again and we're going to get these in the twinkling of an eye a new and improved body this is fascinating to me what you sow does not come to life until it dies what you sew does not come to life until it dies so let's let's talk about corn Le and I we were uh at what's the market again Cherry something and they had incredible sweet all of our sweet corn in Indianapolis is gone and uh incredible sweet corn if you take a kernel of corn and you plant it in the spring of the year that kernel has to what die and it gives birth to Barley no to what corn and so here we got this stalk starting to grow out of the ground and by the 4th of July it has to be how high knee high by the fourth it's got to be and we're going to pick not just probably one ear but probably two ears of corn from that stalk and we're going to shuck it and we're going to see one kernel hundreds of kernels you see it is it what was sown died and something new came and it was so much more that's you and I our new Eternal bodies we will be the same but so much more Darren is still going to be Darren but he's going to be so much more Lisa will still be Lisa but she will be so much more we maintain our what our I identity we are the same who we are but we have a new Eternal Body that will be suitable for a new Earth for eternity eternity there will be no decay of the human body no bone Replacements joint Replacements no nothing no Medical Treatments no nothing no Medicare no health insurance no doctor appointments no Pharmaceuticals now let's talk about what are we going to be doing I can tell you three things for sure from the text Revelation it peels back what we're going to be doing and reveals it reveals what we'll be doing we're going to be worshiping if people don't like to worship Jesus now they better get over it because they're going to have an eternity to worship Jesus I don't like going to church well you better get over it because we're going to be worshiping forever Revelation 19 after what uh after I heard what sounded like the Roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting Allelujah salvation Glory power Belong To Our God then I heard what sounded like a great multitude like the Roar of Rushing Waters the loud peels of Thunder shouting Allelujah for our God Almighty Reigns for the Lord Our God Almighty Reigns let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory this is a picture of what's going on in heaven and it's going to happen gloriously at the second coming of Jesus and and and occur forever and ever and and we're never going to Tire of worshiping God and we're going to have a body that'll enable us to do that and to do that well here's a second thing that we're going to be doing on a new earth oh excuse me Revelation 21222 I did not see a temple in the city because the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are its Temple there's no need for a house of worship because God is going to be everywhere at the same time and we can worship him and what is worship it's not just the singing of a song it's not just the the preaching of the word worship is esteeming worship is exalting and you and I can do that seven days a week tomorrow morning if God gives you and I another day of life first thing we ought to do is worship him before we even put a foot out on the floor thank him for a day of life that's worship acknowledging God acknowledging his Mercy acknowledging his grace so we worship um and then secondly we're going to be working think with me for a moment back here in Genesis 1 and 2 before sin ever happened God created work he told Adam to what two things he told him to do two things tend the garden and what name and rule over the animals rule over the Earth he had work to do and it wasn't burdensome when did it become burdensome after after sin by the sweat of your brow God says so if we come here in the first two chapters when everything was perfect without sin we can come over here and be very reasonable in our thought that on this new Earth A Home of righteousness we're going to be able to work we're going to be able to serve our God and never ever ever ever never ever ever get tired of that and um 22:3 and his servants will serve serve him we will serve him Genesis 2 the Lord God took the man and he put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it he was humankind was caretakers of this Earth uh I can remember the first time I was teaching on this at Johnson University uh the session was over and this big guy came up to me he was about 60 years old and he was crying uncontrollably and I said sir how can I help you and he could barely talk and he saidou just explain to me literally my dad he said my brothers and I buried our dad last week our dad died on the farm in the house where he was born he never moved his whole life and our dad farmed that ground and as boys growing up he would take us out into the field and he would pull up soil in his hands and he would say sons look at this this is God's gift to us and we're going to feed one another and many other people God's going to give us rain and sunshine and we are going to enjoy the fruit of his ground and he said my dad is going to till and farm on a new Earth for the glory of his God see whatever it is that you enjoy might be that you enjoy Garden it might be that you enjoy whatever that's going to continue for how long forever and ever and ever it's going to be service to our god um it says in Revelation 21 verse 25 on no day will its Gates ever be shut for there will be no night there here's another dimension to that statement where was business transacted at The City Gate you remember the story of Ruth she uh caught the attention of a guy by the name of Boaz and he fell for her and uh Naomi her widowed mother-in-law told Ruth the young mother or the young daughter-in-law who was widowed hey I'm going to help you get a husband we're going to get you down to Goodwill you're going to buy a Saturday special and we're going to get you some Chanel number five and some bubble bath you're going to get all doled up you're going down to the threshing floor and this relative of ours Boaz you're going to turn his head sure enough that's exactly what happened and uh they got hitched in chapter four of Ruth he went immediately where to The City Gate of Bethlehem and what did he do he transacted business with another relative and it talked about the elders being there witnessing that transaction the whole point of that is not only were Gates for the purpose of protection but the gates were a sign of activity the fact that the gates never close not only because there's no danger but we're going to be busy in on this new Earth serving our living God and we're never going to get tired of serving our living God never ever ever won't need a nap okay and then finally we're going to be busy reigning here's three for sure of what we know from scripture chapter 22: five and they will reign meaning us we will reign forever and ever well what are we going to Reign Over Genesis 1 let's go back to the beginning God said let us make man in our image and our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea the birds of the air over livestock uh over all the Earth over all creatures that move on the face of the ground mankind ruled over the Earth everything was reporting in so to speak that's going to pick up we're going to rule rule over the Earth do I think that Andy is going to have more crowns than me it doesn't matter because there's not going to be any competition or jealousy what would we want to do with our crowns anyway we'd want to cast them at the feet of Jesus so we know that for sure now let's just close with this some speculation this is not in the word of God but we can speculate question will we eat and drink in eternity on a new Earth what do you think did they eat and drink in chapter 1 and two of Genesis they sure did your wife wants Diet [Laughter] Coke biscuits and gravy we're going to eat uh I believe on a new Earth do we get pleasure from food absolutely what a gift of God I believe that we can speculate that we're going to be eating and drinking now I don't know if we're going to be eating uh gravy with meat in I have no idea because if we are going to eat meat what do we have to do we have to kill and I just wonder if there's going to be a different kind of sustenance that brings us profound satisfaction even more than a 32 oce Porter House steak [Laughter] biscuits and tofu will there be animals on a new Earth I think that we can say yes because where were there animals in Eden before sin ever happened who created them God did he created all those many creatures and he said to Adam name them come on now and he had a he and Eve had a rule over him I believe it's very um safe to speculate they're going to be animals on the new Earth now will it be Rover I don't know I'm I'm not going to say yes or no let me just help us think this through will there be horses is that what you just said oh yes yes yes I'm talking now uh Baxter our last dog 140 pounds Baxter died of cancer is Baxter going to be there we love Baxter he was a house dog I don't know this I do know animals do not have souls did Jesus die on a cross for our pets no because they a pet cannot commit what Rebellion against God but I'm going to just leave that with God it's above my pay grade uh I'm going to leave it there and just you can speculate okay will we enjoy the Out of Doors I believe we will if if we go over here to Genesis 1 and 2 Adam was made uh evidently out in the wild because it says twice in Chapter 2 of Genesis God put him in the garden and typically uh we like the OU do we like sitting in a building all day do we like being behind a computer screen or at a machine working all no we like being outside I believe that uh there's going to be a lot of great time outside so I want to close with this this is really important that we long for the second coming of Jesus Paul says his last will in Testament remember he's on death row writing second Timothy he knows his days are numbered and he's getting towards the end of his letter now just stop and think if you and I were writing a letter to our children and our grandchildren and we're on the last page we're coming to the last paragraph we're going to put our pen down and we're going to die that's the context of of what Paul is writing here for the time of my departure has come I'm being poured out like a drink offering what what's he referring to at the altar they would have wine and they would pour out a drink offering and every last bit of it would be shaken out at the foot of the altar so he's talking about his body he he's not every bit of him is going to be uh offered to to God the time of my departure has come he's not talking about being released from prison on parole he's talking about departing planet Earth the time of my departure has come I have fought the good fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith I have fought the good fight against evil I kept fighting and fighting and fighting and fighting evil even in my own interior world I know the good I ought to do that I don't do I know the evil I ought not to do that's what I end up doing what a Wretched Man I am who will rescue me from this body of death I fought the good fight I have kept the faith I finished the race I'm at the finish line now watch this now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day and not only to me but to everyone to all people who long for his what appearing do we long for his appearing do we pray Jesus come quickly please father send your son split the clouds every time you and I hear of another horrific evil that's been perpetrated please Jesus come quickly we really do need to long for desire the second coming of Jesus so I believe with all my heart that there is something that we can understand about heaven that it is a destination that we can know we won't know everything but we can sure know a lot more than what we do if we just enter into the word of God and we allow the spirit of God to speak into US God's people say amen let me pray in good timing it's uh 808 Jesus thank you thank you thank you oh we're going to have an eternity to thank you we can't even begin to comprehend no eye has seen no ear has heard no mind has conceived what you have prepared for us you said that you go now to prepare a place for us and if you go and prepare a place for us you will come back to take us to be with you where you are forever and forever thank you for taking all of the Wrath the rage the fury the anger of God when he laid on you our sins we never would have survived that moment so as this day draws to a close as we have spent time in your word we give you thanks we thank you for the best that is yet to come burden us with an urgency burden us with a care for those that we know that we say that we love and yet they are not your follower put them in our path Spirit of Jesus you are God in us give us an urgency give us wisdom how do we have a Jesus conversation with that person just help us plant seed and will you water it help us to build relationships with people who are far from God and enable us someday to have that conversation with them so we just give you thanks tonight we thank you for your bride called calcasa Church of Christ what a blessing she is thank you for the opportunity to be with our friends here one more time and we just give you thanks for this day of life that we've enjoyed and should you in your great grace give us tomorrow we thank you in advance in the mighty name of Jesus we say together amen [Applause] amen hey how about if we get a picture of everybody can you uh maybe just come up here and we'll take a picture of all of you