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It Is Written Canada

Is Heaven For Real?

Chris Holland

1. Is Heaven For Real?

God's book, the Bible, still relevant in today's complex world.

It is written sharing messages of hope around the world.

What would you say if I told you that there was a lake that had water that was actually pink?

Or how about if I told you that there was a mountain with red, blue, and gold rock formations?

Or what if I told you that there was a cave that had crystals that grew to over 12 meters high and 4 meters in diameter?

Do they all sound like impossible places to even exist?

In fact, all of them are real places on this earth.

The Pink Lake is Lake Retba near Dakar, Senegal, not very far from the Cape Verde Peninsula.

Its pink color is due to the specific kind of algae growing in the lake.

They can be found in Gansu, China, and throughout the region there where there are wonderfully red colored mountains and rock formations.

And those huge crystals, they too are reality.

They are found in the cave of the crystals in Chihuahua, Mexico, a cave that reaches a blistering 58 degrees Celsius at times.

But the beauty of these crystals is really amazing.

All of these seemingly unreal places are real.

They actually exist, even though their description may seem otherwise.

But what about a place that is often discussed in religious circles?

Some people even have claimed to have gone to heaven.

But what does the Bible say about heaven?

Is it some far away distant sphere with clouds and babies playing harps?

The word heaven or Heavens appears over 720 times in the Bible.

Now it's important to note that the word Heaven or Heavens can mean several different things.

Heaven and Earth together can refer to the entire universe.

The word Heaven or Heavens can refer to the sky along with the stars and planets.

But it also, the word heaven can mean the home of the righteous.

The word can have a literal meaning or a metaphorical meaning at times.

For our new series, we will concern ourselves with the literal meaning, the home of the righteous.

Sometimes heaven is described without using the word heaven itself.

This is the case when Jesus speaks of Heaven and the preparations He's making for us there.

Notice what He says in John chapter 14 verses 1 to 3.

It's a well-known verse that you may have memorized.

If it were not so, I would have told you.

And if I go prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Here, heaven is described as where God dwells and where he wants those who follow him to live as well.

Now over the next few moments, we are going to look at a number of Bible texts that describe heaven.

Through all of this, we must keep in mind the scripture of Isaiah chapter 64 verse 4.

And I love how the old King James Version puts it.

For, since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

The Bible describes heaven in human terms so we can understand them, but those descriptions fall short of how amazing heaven will be.

Ephesians 3.20 says that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Well the reason it's important is because heaven is an important place and it is a place that none of us want to miss out on.

The Bible describes how God will make our final home.

In Isaiah chapter 65, verse 17, For behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.

In Revelation 21.1, the Bible describes it in this way.

The last book of the Bible, Revelation 21 and verse 1.

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

Heaven, the home of the righteous, will be the recreated earth.

You see, God created this earth over 6, 000 years ago, and he created it over the course of 6 days, and it was perfect, perfect in every aspect.

But then sin marred the earth into the situation that we now have today, a very imperfect planet.

But a day is coming when God will destroy this earth to make a new earth on which we will live.

Second Peter chapter 3 and verse 10 says it this way, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Then in the latter part of verse 12 through 13 it says this, The heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat.

Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Now remember, heaven is God's home and where he wants his followers to live.

The Bible doesn't give us an exact location.

In fact, Psalm 14 and verse 2 says this about the reality of heaven.

The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

And again in Psalm 33 And verse 13, the Bible says, the Lord looks from heaven, he sees all the sons of men.

And then later in the scriptures, in the New Testament, in Acts chapter 1, And in verses 9 through 11, it describes Jesus' ascension from this earth.

Now when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up, And a cloud received him out of their sight.

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, 2 men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?

This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven.

In fact, the book of Revelation tells us about heaven now.

John looks up and in chapter 21 and verse 2 of the book of Revelation, it describes what he sees when he looks up.

Then I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband.

It is out there, but Jesus is making preparations there to make this earth God's home and our home with him.

God made earth to be with humankind, But we rebelled and turned away from Him.

Now He will make it again, perfect again, but with a guarantee.

According to Nahum 1.9, it says this, a place where affliction will not rise up a second time.

Heaven is a real place where there won't be any sin.

No more calls at midnight telling us about a son or a daughter.

The book of Revelation goes on to tell us what else won't be in heaven.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

2. Is Heaven For Real?- When Do We Get There #1

There is no doubt that the Bible clearly teaches that heaven is a real place for real people.

The question that many have is, when do we get to go to heaven?

Now some say that it happens immediately after we die.

Others say there is a waiting time in purgatory and still others say that it happens when Jesus comes again.

I'd like for us to go on a journey, a journey to ancient Egypt.

And there In ancient Egypt, we may discover the secret to immortal life.

And we may discover when we will get to go to heaven.

Well see, in ancient Egyptian culture and religion, the afterlife was very important.

In fact, some of the greatest monuments and treasures found in Egypt have been in regard to the afterlife.

As we travel back to ancient Egypt and visit some of those tombs, we would find within those tombs coffins, and those coffins would be nested 1 inside of another.

The innermost coffin would contain the embalmed body of the deceased.

Now the embalming process in ancient Egypt involved removing all of the body's fluids, often all of the organs except for the heart.

And then the body would be wrapped and included in that wrap would be placed the Book of the Dead.

Now The Book of the Dead would not have been a book like we think of today, a bound book, but rather it would have been likely on a papyrus scroll.

The Book of the Dead was in the Egyptian mind inscriptions to guard and protect the spirit of the dead.

As Egyptologists have worked to decipher the book, they have found a ceremony there called the weighing of the heart.

The weighing of the heart was an act performed by the gods in which they would weigh the heart of the person who had died to determine their destiny.

Friend, aren't you glad that Jesus doesn't work that way?

His grace is freely received and can save us to the uttermost.

He doesn't measure whether we've done 600 good deeds, but then find 601 bad deeds and banishes us.

And as long as we have given him our life, He will save us.

During the Egyptian process of preparing the body, at the end of that process, the deceased's mouth would be opened.

Well, because they believed that they would need to, again, be able to eat, breathe, drink, and speak.

The Egyptians didn't believe that death was the end.

In fact, the first century historian Herodotus, in his book, The Histories, said this, thing.

Then coming to birth and after passing through all the creatures of the land, sea and air, it enters once more into a human body at birth, a cycle which it completes in 3, 000 years.

So they believed you got this immortal soul that leaves the body and comes back, it reincarnates.

There are Greeks who have used this doctrine, some earlier and some later, as if it were their own.

And it is here that we begin to see that an understanding about what happens at death and when we go to heaven is such an important topic.

What we begin to see emerge are really 2 lines of thinking.

You have the pagan doctrine of immortality conceived by the Egyptians and handed down to the Greeks, which would become known as Greek dualism, and then that which the Bible teaches about immortality and the afterlife.

2 streams, man's thoughts and ideas, then God's true principles.

The question is, which will we believe and follow?

So what happens when we die And when do we get to go to Heaven?

The only reliable answer on this topic is found in God's Word.

The only logical answer is at the beginning.

In fact the only way to understand what happens to a person when they die is to know first how life began.

Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7 tells us of the first human life and how it began.

Genesis 2.7, and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.

The King James Version says that man became a living soul.

Notice the simple formula that is used here.

God took the dust of the ground, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

I want you to notice that man doesn't have a soul, but rather he is a soul.

Or even more simply, the elements of the earth plus the breath of God equals a living being.

The soul is not some separate conscious entity, but rather it is the very being itself.

So the word soul could be simply said to be a person.

However from a biblical point of view, That is not the case.

In fact, Ezekiel 18 and verse 4 is quite clear.

In fact, some of the more modern versions of the Bible state, the person who sins shall die.

In the Bible, soul is used in 1 of 2 ways.

If the Bible is talking about soul as the product of body and spirit together, God formed man out of the dust of the ground.

God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

If the Bible talks about the soul as something I am, it's always I am a living person.

Secondly though, if the Bible talks about the souls as something I have, it's always referring to life or the very essence or core of who I am.

We have a soul in the sense that we have life, but the soul is not immortal.

In fact, none of us are inherently immortal.

1 Timothy 6 and verse 15 tells us that there is only 1 who is immortal.

The King of kings and Lord of lords who alone has immortality.

In fact, the Bible uses the word soul over 1, 500 times and never once is it used in reference or context of an immortal soul.

Notice how Jesus himself uses the word soul in Matthew 16, verses 24 to 26.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone desires to come after me, Let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?

Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Notice how Jesus uses the word life and soul interchangeably.

It is a description of the very life of an individual, but not some separate immortal entity.

Job chapter 4 and verse 17 is clear when it says these words.

In fact, Romans chapter 2 and verse 7 give us some instructions.

Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor and immortality.

Please take note friend, that the scripture is clear that we seek immortality.

Why would we need to seek it if we already possessed it?

It is because we are not naturally immortal.

First Corinthians 15 tells us that someday that will happen.

3. Is Heaven For Real?- When Do We Get There #2

Stephen Sykes was born in 1914 in England.

He is most well known for his work as an artist, especially in the Gethsemane Chapel in Coventry Cathedral, which is also referred to as St.

Michael's Cathedral in West Midlands, England.

During World War II, Sykes joined the British Army where he worked in the camouflage unit.

At a most critical junction in the war, Sykes was commissioned to help camouflage the building of a railway from the sea to Mishifa.

Instead of camouflaging the actual railway, Sykes decided to build a false railway.

But when presented, the commanding officer actually approved of the idea.

Sykes and his team took leftover wood, palm fronds, and leftover gas cans to form this false railway and railhead.

The rails, the buildings, tanks, all were included in this grand scheme.

On November the 22nd, 1941, the true test came and enemy bombers flew overhead and they actually bombed the false railway and all of its accessories.

The team was there to set off flares to further the deception.

The other railway and railhead were built successfully.

The entire scheme was based on deception.

Could it be that Christianity over the centuries has been deceived into believing 1 of the original lies of the devil in Genesis chapter 3 verses 4 to 5 the devil said these words to Eve Genesis chapter 3 verses 4 and 5 Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." It was a promise to become like God.

And the devil made other promises that were lies.

Number 1, even in disobedience, she wouldn't die.

Number 2, he promised that her eyes would be opened and that ultimately she would be like God, knowing good and evil.

1 of the subtle lies of the devil was the promise of immortality.

However, the Bible is quite clear in 1 Timothy 6, 16, when referring to God, he says, who alone has immortality.

God alone inherently possesses eternal life.

Man must put on eternal life as is promised in 1 Corinthians 15, 54.

So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

Even when we receive the gift of immortality from the Lord, we will still be ever dependent upon Him for life.

Now over the last several programs, we have been looking at heaven and asking the question, Is heaven for real?

Last week we began a study on what happens when you die.

Now if you missed last week's program, you can go to our website.

It is written Canada.ca and there you can find archived programs or you can go to our YouTube channel, youtube.com forward slash IIW Canada.

And there you can watch any of the previous programs.

In a thorough study of the scriptures, we discovered 2 very important things.

Number 1, the Bible is clear that man doesn't have a soul, but rather he is a soul.

Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7 say these words, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." Or, a living soul, as it is written in the King James Version.

Secondly, we saw over and over again that the Bible refers to death as a sleep.

In fact, the Bible is quite clear that death is like a sleep that lasts until Christ's second coming.

The Bible mentions death as a sleep more than 50 times in the Bible.

David says in Psalms, in the book of Psalms, Psalm 13, and in verse 3, it says these words, Consider and hear me, O Lord my God, enlighten my eyes, David says, lest I sleep the sleep of death.

Peter, in his famous sermon after Pentecost, speaking of David, said these words in Acts chapter 2 and verse 29.

Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day.

And then later in verse 34 says this, For David did not ascend into the heavens.

David taught and believed that death was asleep.

Peter believed and taught that death was asleep.

Jesus taught as well that death is like a sleep.

You'll remember Jesus' friend Lazarus became sick and he died.

Lazarus had been dead for 4 days and Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Lazarus' home.

And as they arrived, Jesus said these words in John chapter 11, verses 11 to 14.

These things he said, and after that he said to them, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.

Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well.

However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought he was speaking about taking rest and sleep.

Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

The disciples thought if Jesus is going to wake up Lazarus up out of a sleep, Lazarus must be doing pretty well because he's simply sleeping and he would be well again.

I want you to notice how Jesus uses these words interchangeably.

Series

Is Heaven For Real?

1. Is Heaven For Real?

Transcript

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