What happens after I die? Part II
(13 downloads)Wednesday, Jun 13, 2007
1 Thess 4:13-18
What really happens when we die? And how can I be prepared. If there is a heaven, what is it like? And if I am going there how does that change the way I look at death and how does it change the way I look at this life? For our answer to this mystery, once again, we go to the word of God, and to many passages which describe heaven for us.
The word Heaven is used nearly 700 times in the Bible.
There are three places called heaven or the heavens
#1 the atmosphere where birds fly.
#2 The starry universe
#3 The place where God dwells with angels and departed saints.
There are several different names for heaven
The "Father’s house" # Joh 14:2
"Paradise" # Lu 23:43 2Co 12:4 Re 2:7
“Abraham’s bosom" # Lu 16:22 Mt
"The heavenly Jerusalem" # Ga 4:26 Heb 12:22 Re 3:12
The "kingdom of heaven" # Mt 25:1 Jas 2:5
The "eternal kingdom" #2Pe 1:11
The "eternal inheritance" #1Pe 1:4 Heb 9:15
The "better country" # Heb 11:14,16
Heaven has at least five distinct phases
The pre-sin heaven, before Satan fell (Is. 14:12-15, Rev. 12:4).
The OT heaven of Paradise or "Abraham's bosom" ( Luke 16:22),
The current heaven, in the presence of God (Eph. 4:8-10; 2 Cor. 5:8).
The millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:14).
The New J & the new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21-22).
(Nearly) 40 facts about heaven about heaven
1. It is the dwelling place of God (Deut. 26:15; Matt. 6:9).
2. It is the dwelling place of angels (Luke 2:15; Matt. 28:2; Heb. 12:22).
3. It is the dwelling place of the saints (Rev. 4-5; Luke 16:22; Heb. 12:23).
5. There is immediate conscious existence after death, (Luke 16:22ff.
6. It is an actual place (John 1:32; 6:33; Acts 1:2),
7. It is consistently referred to as "up" (Mark 6:41; Luke 9:51).
8. It is where Christ came from (John 6:42),
9. It is described as a city (Heb. 11:16; 12:22; 13:14; Rev. 21:12)..
10. It is an inheritance reserved for us. (1 Pet. 1:4).
11. It is the Christian's country of citizenship (Heb. 11:16; Phil. 3:20)..
13 It will deliver us from our sinful condition (Rom. 7:24).
16 Heaven's central draw is Christ (Phil. 1:23).
17. Heaven contains an actual temple (Heb. 8:5; 9:11,23-24
18. Christ promised we would live with him there (John 12:26; 13:36; 14:2.
20. Our body will be like Christ’s (1 Cor. 15:20, 48-49; Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2).
29. In heaven, we will have eternal rewards, (Matt. 6:19-25; 25:20-21).
30. At least five different crowns are given as heavenly rewards:
33. We will reign with Him in heaven (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 3:21; 22:5).
35. Heaven has light, water, trees and fruit (Rev. 22:1-2).
39. God's people should long for heaven (Heb. 11:13-16; 2 Cor. 5:2, Phil. 3:14
40. Heaven should be a central object of our attention (Col. 3:1-4).
If there be so certain and glorious a rest for the saints, why is there no more industrious seeking after it? One would think, if a man did but once hear of such unspeakable glory to be obtained, and believed what he heard to be true, he should be transported with the vehemence of his desire after it, and should almost forget to eat and drink, and should care for nothing else, and speak of and inquire after nothing else, but how to get this treasure. And yet people who hear of it daily, and profess to believe it as a fundamental article of their faith, do as little mind it, or labor for it, as if they had never heard of any such thing, or did not believe one word they hear. Pastor Richard Baxter