A man asked this question, “why do you waste your time preaching about
Heaven? Why don't you put your energies into trying to build up a
better world?” I have thought about that and the more I
think about it the more determined I am to preach about Heaven.
Why? Because countless individuals have tried to make the world a
better place to live in, but the more they try the worse things
seem to get.
Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this
world.” He kept pointing to a better world to come
when he would abolish the old and bring about a completely new order
of things.
All Things New
Isaiah 65:17; "For behold, I create new
heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered,
nor come into mind."
To me that is a glorious expectation that the
Lord is going to make all things new; a new Heaven and a new
Earth. I am thankful that Jesus made Heaven so real.
He had a lot to say about Heaven.
“Our Father which art (where?) in Heaven.”
A New
Earth
He also spoke about a new Earth,
Matthew 5:5
says, “Blessed are the meek: for they
shall inherit the earth.
That is not our present Earth. It is the one
that Isaiah spoke of when he wrote, "Behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth.” A new Earth, won’t that be wonderful?
John 14:2
says; “In My Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so I would have told you, I go to prepare
a place for you.”
That home that Jesus is preparing will be a
wonderful place, a perfect place, a wonderful home of glory.
New
Jerusalem in Vision
Now we are going to join St John on the isle of Patmos.
One Sabbath morning God gave him a wonderful vision. He was given
a view of paradise. He saw the Holy City, the New
Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:21 says; "And twelve gates were
twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure
gold, as it were transparent glass."
The streets seemed to be made of pure gold.
In another text he describes the streets as being like polished
glass. It must have been very difficult to describe in human
language the glories of Heaven. But St John did the best that he could.
Measurement of the City
Revelation 21:15 says; "And he that talked with me
had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and
the wall thereof.”
I am sure St John must have wondered why the
angel would want to measure the city.
Revelation 21:16 says; “And the city lieth
foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he
measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The
length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.”
The measurement given by the angel is
amazing. It's circumference is 12,000 furlongs or 1500 miles. Thus
it is 375 miles on each side.
A city 375 miles long on each side would
cover an area of 140,625 square miles. It is far greater in size
that all of Palestine.
Gates
of the City
Revelation 21:12 says; "And had a wall great and
high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and
names written thereof which are the names of the twelve tribes of
the children of Israel."
There are twelve gates and there are twelve
angels, and the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are written
on them.
Revelation 21:25 tells us; “And the gates of
it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night
there.”
The gates are never closed, there is no night
there. Inside the city is perpetual light, for the light of God
illuminates the city.
Revelation 21:18 says; "And the building of the
wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto
clear glass."
Just imagine that! The walls are over 20
stories high, and they are made of pure diamond. This means that
they are transparent. The streets are paved with golden glass like
material, incredibly beautiful.
Tree and River of Life
Revelation 22:1,2 says; “And he showed me a pure
river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out from the
throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it,
and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life…”
That must have been a wonderful sight to be
able to see the city of God, the city of gold. As St John enters
the city, he sees the tree of life. He noticed the beautiful river
that flows through the great city. The tree of life spans the
river of life. Then it says that it bears a different kind of
fruit every month.
Many
Mansions
John 14:2
says; "In My Father's house are many
mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you."
One day Jesus is going to usher us into those
marvellous heavenly mansions that he has been preparing for us
with such loving tender care. Beautiful beyond description will be
our home of the future.
It was the thought of those heavenly
mansions that inspired and encouraged patriarch Abraham. For we read in
Hebrews 11:10; "For he looked for a city which hath
foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
The people of God have looked forward to that
wonderful day when they will at long last move into those heavenly
mansions.
No more
Sea
Revelation 21:1 says; "And I saw a new heaven and a new
earth: for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away;
and there was no more sea."
Most of us love the sea. There is a wonderful
sense of relaxation in swimming, lying on the beach sunbathing and
sailing in boats. In the beginning when God created this world He
made a sea or seas. So when God makes this earth new there will be
small seas.
Like a
Botanical Garden
Isaiah 35:1
says; “The wilderness and the solitary
place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and
blossom as the rose.”
The whole earth will be like a great
botanical garden. Can you imagine that! There will be flowers all
year round.
No more
Sickness
Isaiah 35:5,6
says; “Then the eyes of the blind
shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then
shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb
sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in
the desert.
The eyes of the blind opened? Is that not
wonderful? The cripple able to run and leap! The dumb
singing! Can you imagine that? But more than that, in
Isaiah 33:24 it says,
“The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick.”
No sickness! But not only will people never
become sick or have bad health but they will never grow old. They
will always be youthful. That is God’s promise to his people.
New
Jerusalem Will come down to Earth
Zechariah 14:4 says; “And his feet shall stand in
that day upon the Mount of Olives…and the Mount of Olives shall
cleave in the midst thereof…and there shall be a very great
valley…”
The city if God, that city of gold, the New
Jerusalem (paradise/heaven) will come down to this world of ours
and this world will become the capital of God’s universe for all
time to come, and Jesus will reign as the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords.
Why is
the Earth So Special to God?
You might say, ‘How can that be?’ I will tell you why
that God has chosen this dark
world out of the entire universe to be his new headquarters. This
world is the dearest spot in all the universe to God the Father,
for it is the birth place and the burial place of His own dear Son
when he came in human flesh.
“For God so loved this world.” This world with its rebellion; this is the
one dark world in the universe “that he gave His only begotten
Son.”
He sent His Son but they despised Him. They
treated Him like a criminal. They drove Him up Calvary’s hill and
nailed him to a cross. As God the Father saw those blood drops
fall from his side, and the blood trickling from his hands; as
that blood dripped into Mt Calvary, that marked this world as the
most cherished and precious spot in all the universe to God the
Father, because His Son died here.
And God the Father has decided to transport
His heavenly kingdom to this world of ours.
God
Will Live Among Men
Revelation 21:2 says; “And I John saw the Holy
City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband.” That must have been a wonderful sight!
Verse 3 says; “And I heard a great voice out of
Heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with man and He
will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God
Himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
St John is amazed that God is going to live
right here on this earth. Three times in this verse it uses the
word ‘with’, ‘with men’, ‘with them’, and once again ‘with them’. We are able to see God, to talk to him, and
to know what He is like.
No More
Tears Nor Sorrow
Verse 4 says; “And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former
things are passed away. “
It is wonderful to know that all the sorrows
of the past, all the heartaches, and all the trials will be wiped
away with God’s handkerchief of love.
Our hearts will be saddened as we think of
some loved one very dear to us who have allowed themselves to be
separated from God, and did not return to His fold. God will wipe
away every tear from our eyes and blot out from our memories our
heartaches. Isn’t it wonderful to know that there will be no more
death, no more undertakers, no more cemeteries, nothing that will
even suggest death. It also says that there will be no more pain.
There seems to be more sickness and pain today than ever before.
There is hardly a home where someone is not sick or suffering
pain.
In the New Earth all these things will be
gone forever. We will have perfect health. We will never grow old
but always youthful and glowing with vitality.
A Place
of Activity
Isaiah 65:17,21
says; “Behold I create new heavens
and a new earth and the former shall not be remembered nor come
into mind…And they shall build houses and inhabit them: they shall
plant vineyards, and eat fruit of them.”
That is going to be real life! There are some people that say ‘What do you
mean build houses? Why I thought that we would never have to work
in heaven?’
But that is not true. Heaven will be a place
of activity. There will be so much to do that we will never have
a dull moment. We will not be restricted to this earth, for there
will be a universe to explore; to be able to talk to the
inhabitants of other planets. There will be so many activities
that time will mean nothing.
When you think of these things, it makes us
wish that it will come quickly. The more we pray for it the quicker it will
come.
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