Afterlife | Sunday Message

Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here. You're listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast and my objective is to deliver, hopefully, compelling practical insights in faith, culture, and current events from a biblical perspective. To find out more about our ministry, just go to our website, harvest.org. So thanks for joining me for this podcast. The title of my message is Simply Afterlife.

The story is told of Billy Graham going to a city to hold one of his great crusades. And Billy wrote a letter to his wife, Ruth, to tell her how things are going. By the way, kids, letters, that's what we used to write a long time ago. We wrote them out, we licked the envelopes, we put a stamp on it, and went to a place called the post office and mailed them. Now people call that snail mail. Funny thing, now even email seems slow.

We'd rather text. But anyway, Billy wanted to send this letter home to Ruth in North Carolina, but he didn't know where the post office was in this particular town. He saw a young man standing on a street corner and he called out to him, young man, where's the post office? And so the young boy told Billy Graham where the post office was.

And then Billy said to that young guy, hey, you wanna come to the stadium tonight and hear me preach? I'm gonna tell people how to get to heaven. The little guy said, how would you know how to get to heaven?

You don't even know how to get to the post office. Well, sooner or later, if you're a Christian, you're gonna enter the afterlife. And if you put your faith in Christ, you're going to go to heaven.

What a great hope that is. The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. You'll close your eyes on earth and you'll open them in heaven.

So we have basic two modes of transportation to get us to the afterlife if we're a believer. It's either gonna be death or the rapture. And I'm gonna talk a little bit about the rapture in this message.

I'm gonna tell you what it is, why there is a rapture, when it would potentially happen, and a little bit more. But we're back here now in the book of Revelation and we close chapter three with a closed door and we start chapter four with an open door. Remember, chapter three ended with the words of Jesus as he spoke to the church of Laodicea and he said, behold, I stand at the door and I knock. If any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. The door was closed to Christ.

He was trying to get into that church. So this reminds us, if we will open the door of our hearts to Christ, one day he will open the door of heaven to us. Now as we come to Revelation chapter four, the camera swings. So we've been looking at earth and what's happening here. Now suddenly we're looking at it from a heavenly perspective.

We're seeing it from God's viewpoint. There's a major shift from Revelation three to Revelation chapter four because Revelation four and five are the introduction and background of the tremendous sweep of prophetic events that we'll look at for the remainder of this book. And it is worth noting that the church is nowhere to be found from Revelation four to Revelation 19. Let's read Revelation chapter four, verses one to two. Remember John's on the island of Patmos. He's been catapulted into the future in kind of a spiritual time machine.

I don't think it was a DeLorean. And he's seen things that are to come and he writes about it now in Revelation four when he says, after these things, you might underline that phrase. After these things, John says, I look and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying, come up here and I will show you things that will take place after this.

You might underline those words, after this. And John says, immediately I was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne. So he begins by saying, after these things, in the Greek it's metatalta. The book of Revelation, as I pointed out to you before, comes complete with its own outline. And there is a golden key to unlocking the book.

There is an encryption key or a password, if you will, that makes Revelation understandable. It's found in Revelation 1 19. It says, write the things that you have seen, the things which are, and the things that will take place after this. So Revelation is broken into three sections.

Number one, the things that you've seen. This is what John writes about in Revelation chapter one. He sees the glorified Christ with all power on heaven and earth in control of all that is about to happen.

Number two, the things which are. This is a reference to the seven churches spoken of in Revelation chapters two to three. As I described it, it's the seven love letters of Jesus to his church. And finally, category three, and that's where we're at now, those things that will take place after these things. So we basically have the Lord's person, his people, and his program.

It's all laid out. Again, to review, chapter one is a revelation of the glorified Christ. Chapters two to three is a flyover of church history. Chapters four and five were taken up into heaven in the rapture. Chapters six to 19, we have the great tribulation period that will last for seven years. Chapter 20, we have the millennium. Chapters 21 to 22, we have the new heavens and the new earth. So let's talk about the next event on the prophetic calendar. It's called the rapture.

Look at what John writes in verse one. The first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying, come up here and I'll show you things that must take place after this. After this, after what? After the things of the church on earth. So now the church, or all believers in Jesus, are caught up to meet the Lord. For Thessalonians four says the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first and we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up together with them in the air.

So if you're taking notes, here's point number one. Truly a question. What is the rapture?

Listen very carefully. The rapture is a future event when Christ will descend from heaven and resurrect the bodies of believers who have died. Their spirits have gone to heaven but their bodies are still here on the earth in the grave. At the same time, we who are alive, if it happens in our lifetime, we will be caught up together with them.

With who? With those others who are having their resurrection bodies given to them. We'll be caught up together with them in heaven.

It'll be a great reunion. The word rapture comes from the Greek word harpazo. This word harpazo is used 13 times in the New Testament. It means to take forcibly to snatch or to catch up. It's almost like you don't find the word rapture in the Bible.

Well it depends. If you have a Latin Bible you have it. Because the Latin translation of harpazo is rapturus where we get our English word rapture. It doesn't matter what you call it. The rapture, the harpazo, the great escape.

Whatever you prefer. But it means to take forcibly to snatch or to catch up. That's what the rapture is. So why is there a rapture?

Point number two. Paul was writing to the believers there in Thessalonica. And they had loved ones who had died. And they were wondering if they would ever see those people again. So he wrote these words inspired by the Holy Spirit to calm their hysteria and to bring them perspective.

He's saying you are going to see them again. Going back to 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 13. Paul says, I don't want you to be uninformed brothers about those who have died so that you will not grieve as those who have no hope. This is interesting. He says, I don't want you to be uninformed. And this sort of addresses the question of why should we study Bible prophecy? Some would say you can understand it. No. You can understand it.

Let me take it a step further. You need to understand it. The more we know about the afterlife will better enable us to live a good life here on earth.

And so it's very important how we view these things because it will affect us. And so Paul is saying, I don't want you to grieve as those that have no hope. Listen, when a Christian loses a loved one, when a loved one dies, we grieve. And I bring this up because sometimes well-meaning Christians will say to someone who's lost a loved one, well don't cry there in heaven.

Excuse me. I will cry. I must cry. My sorrow is an indication of my love. So Paul's not saying don't grieve. He's saying don't grieve as those who have no hope. He's saying don't grieve hopelessly.

Grieve hopefully. Yes you can miss them. Yes you can be sad. But remind yourself of this fact. You will see them again. And so that's what he's saying to the believers there and really in effect to all of us today.

And you know when you've lost a loved one, especially if they were taken from you quickly or unexpectedly, it's devastating. You had conversations that weren't finished. Things that weren't said. Things you wanted to do with them. Adventures you wanted to have and you find yourself thinking about them often. Or they enter your dreams and you're saying things to them that you want to say. They're never far from your thoughts. So imagine this, dear grieving friends. You could be going about your business, doing whatever it is you're doing.

Maybe even thinking about your departed loved one when suddenly in a moment that happens so quickly it can't be measured in time. Boom! You're with them. You're reunited with them. There they are.

And even better, you're there in the presence of Jesus himself. Mothers and fathers reunited with sons and daughters. Husbands reunited with wives. Wives reunited with husbands. Children reunited with parents and parents with children. Siblings being reunited with siblings. And of course, friends with friends.

The great reunion. Your sorrow vanishes and it's replaced with ecstatic joy. And again, you're not only with your loved one, you're with the Lord as well. So go ahead and think about these things and dream about these things and look forward to the afterlife.

C.S. Lewis wrote these words and I quote, A continual looking forward to the eternal world is not a form of escapism or wishful thinking. It's one of the things that Christian is meant to do. Paul writes in Colossians that we should set our affection on things above. Another translation says, Think heavenly thoughts or simply think heaven so it's a good thing to contemplate the afterlife.

It's an important thing for all of us to do. Coming back to this event that we refer to as the rapture. Is it spoken of elsewhere in scripture?

Answer, yes. Jesus spoke of it in John chapter 14. He said, At 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am you may be also. Jesus also mentioned this event in what we sometimes call the Olivet Discourse found in Matthew 24. He says there in verse 40, Two men will be in a field, one will be taken and the other left.

Two women will be at a hand mill, one will be taken and the other left. So be watching, you don't know what day your Lord will come. So some are in a field, some are working, some are sleeping. So it's a global event that will happen in a moment that you can't even really measure in time. The apostle Paul again refers to it in 1 Corinthians 15, 51. He says, Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. By the way, when this phrase we shall not all sleep is used, it's speaking of the death of a believer. Isn't that interesting?

It's never used to describe the death of a non-believer, only a believer. I don't know about you, but as I get older, I kind of enjoy sleeping. Or at least I like naps, right? And in the same way, you don't have to dread a nap. You don't have to be afraid of sleep.

And you don't have to be afraid even of death. But Paul goes on to say, We shall not all sleep or die, but will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. Now, some would say, Well, you know, there's no example of people being raptured in the Bible.

Actually, I would beg to differ. We find it in the Old Testament. Let's start with Enoch.

Remember him? The Bible says, Enoch walked with God and was not. He was close to God. He had a relationship with the Lord. And I guess one day, Enoch and God were taking their daily walk. And the Lord said, Hey, buddy, we're closer to My place than yours.

Why don't you come home with Me? But he walked with God and he was caught up to be with the Lord in heaven. A little commentary on that in Hebrews 11-5. It says, Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying. Suddenly he disappeared because God took him. And before he was taken up, he was approved as being pleasing to God. So he was in a solo rapture, if you will. Also, Elijah did not die. He was caught up to heaven.

And again, sort of a solo rapture. You remember the story of Elijah and Elisha walking together in the book of Kings, 2 Kings 2. When suddenly, the Bible says, a chariot of fire appeared drawn by horses of fire.

It drove between them, separating them. And Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. So those are two Old Testament believers who did not die, but were effectively caught up to heaven. Coming to the New Testament, Philip was raptured in a way, but I might say it was like a sideways rapture.

Let me explain. He was sharing the gospel with a man visiting from Ethiopia. And we read in Acts 8, verse 39, After he baptized this man, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away.

And by the word, that's that root word, harpazo, again. And the eunuch never saw him again. He went on his way rejoicing. And basically, he's placed 30 miles away.

Now, I would like to move around that way, just kind of get moved from this place to that place without having to drive or walk. That's what happened to Philip. In effect, Jesus Christ himself was raptured, if you will, because he was taken into heaven. Remember, he had given the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel. And then we read that word, harpazo, when it says he was taken up, harpazo, into the sky. And they were watching as he disappeared into a cloud.

So my point is simply this. There's precedent for it, and it's going to happen for a generation of believers. Now, here's the big question, the one that's asked more than any other. When is the rapture? And I'm going to give you the answer. So get ready for it.

Pass out your pen. Get ready to write it down. When is the rapture?

Answer anytime. It could happen today. It could happen tonight. It could happen tomorrow.

We don't know. The Bible says no man knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man will return. And if you were to go back to the original language, that would be translated out to no man knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man returns. And what that means is no man knows the day or the hour. So when someone comes along and says, I've cracked the code. I know the date. Don't listen to them.

They're wrong. No one knows the day or the hour. It could happen at any time, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.

It's been said that the twinkling of an eye is one thousandth of a second. So what's going to happen first? Well, when the rapture happens, the dead will rise first. So you might be asking, Greg, are you saying people are going to burst out of their graves and be given new bodies?

Actually, that's exactly what I'm saying. Because that's what the Bible says. The Bible teaches that there is a bodily resurrection.

So this is something we can look forward to. In fact, there's even a prototype for this event found in the Gospel of Matthew. After Jesus died on the cross, a lot of amazing phenomena took place. We read in Matthew 27, 51. After Christ died, at that moment, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, listen, and the tombs opened. And bodies of many godly men and women who died were raised from the dead after Jesus' resurrection. They left the cemetery and walked into the holy city of Jerusalem and appeared to many people. This is only in one Gospel.

It's amazing. So you're walking through Jerusalem and, hey, I just saw Uncle Harry walk by me. I thought we buried him three days ago.

He's alive again. The people are going to come out of their graves and be alive again. So let's look at the chronology of these things and try to understand it. Because sometimes people confuse the rapture and the second coming. The rapture is what we might call a stealth event. That's why it's called Jesus coming like a thief in the night. If a guy's going to come rip you off in the night, he doesn't call you and say, I'll be actually robbing you, breaking into your home at 3.04 a.m. So you might want to.

No, they don't tell you that. They come like a thief in the night. When he comes, it'll be sort of a quiet event. We're just caught up to meet the Lord. In contrast, the second coming is a big global event and everyone's aware of it. Jesus says, as the lightning shines from the east to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. The rapture is when he comes in the air. In the second coming, he returns to the earth. In the rapture, he comes for his bride, for his church. In the second coming, he returns with his church. In the rapture, he comes before judgment. In the second coming, he returns with judgment. Here's John on the lonely island of Patmos writing these words. He's concluded again with the words of Jesus, standing at the door and knocking.

Now a door is opened for John in heaven and he's hurtled into the afterlife. Revelation chapter 4 verse 2, John writes, Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven. And one sat on the throne, and he who sat there was like a jasper and sardius stone in appearance. There was a rainbow around the throne.

I find that interesting. A complete circular rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting, clothed in white robes, and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices, seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Before the throne, verse 6, there was a sea of glass like crystal, and in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and back.

The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf. The third living creature had the face of a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle, and the living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around them within, and they don't rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come. John is now in the afterlife, and what does John see in heaven? First of all, he sees the Lord seated on his throne. You know, that's a phrase we use often as Christians.

Well, God's on the throne, and that's our way of saying God's in control, and indeed he is. John sees the Lord sitting on his throne in control of all things, and it's beautiful to behold. John's trying to describe these things. He says in verse three, they were like, were like. You know, it's not like the way a teenager says it, you know, when they'll say, like, I'm all, and she's all, and he's like, and I'm like, and I'm like, hey, shut up.

You know, it's not that kind of thing. It's, John is trying to the best of his ability with first century language to describe this amazing thing he has seen. How can he describe heaven? The apostle Paul was caught up to heaven, the third heaven, and he said, what I saw was indescribable. There's hardly even words I can use to explain it to you, but Paul said it was like a paradise. Imagine trying to describe paradise to someone who's never seen it.

Imagine trying to describe the island of Maui to a two-year-old. How are you going to convey that information? So here is John trying to convey to us what he has seen as he has taken into the afterlife, but he sees the Lord on his throne. Also, verse four, he sees 24 elders. Who are these elders?

Nobody knows. They could be angelic beings. Perhaps it's 12 patriarchs from the Old Testament and 12 apostles from the New Testament, but they're given crowns, and we know already that there are rewards promised to us who faithfully serve the Lord and their crowns. The Bible speaks of a crown of life and a crown of rejoicing and more, and so the elders are given crowns, but this is what's important. What do the elders do with the crowns? They cast their crowns down before the Lord.

So when we're in heaven, we're not going to be walking around saying, hey, check out all my crowns, man. You know, check out all the medals and the ribbons. I have a friend who's been in so many track meets and other athletic events. He has so many ribbons.

I don't think I won a single ribbon or award throughout my childhood, but this guy has so many, and I said, you ought to just put them all on at one time, just hang them around your neck and wear them all out. Well, that would be a little ridiculous. So no one's going to be walking around with him and saying, hey, look at all my rewards. You know, otherwise, a guy like Billy Graham, man, who could touch him?

It's not about that. We take these things that we've done for God on earth, and we present them back to the Lord in heaven. In heaven, there are also ominous storm warnings. Look at verse 5. John writes, from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. This is all symbolic of judgment in Scripture.

From the safety of heaven. John can see that a storm is brewing on earth. He is in a shelter from the storm, but ominous things are coming to planet earth, which, of course, will be the great tribulation period. And I already pointed out earlier, God has promised to keep his children from the great tribulation period, because, remember, earlier we read in Revelation 3.10, because you have kept my command to persevere, Jesus says, I'll keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world, to test those that dwell in the earth. Think of Noah. Judgment came in the earth in the form of a flood. What did the Lord do? He got Noah and his family safely in the ark. And as the rain came down, as the judgment came down, the ark went up. God will preserve us. He will deliver us before this time of tribulation that is coming upon the earth. And it's interesting to think about the simple fact that when we're in heaven, we're going to know so much more than we know now.

You ever seen those little bobblehead dolls, and the head's really big and it kind of moves around? And it's not like we're going to be bobbleheads in heaven. Oh, I know so much. But it's interesting, because the Bible says we'll continue to learn in heaven. But we're told in 1 Corinthians 13, we will know as we are known. So many mysteries will be revealed to us. Many problems will be solved.

Many questions, if not all, immediately will be answered. But then we'll spend the rest of eternity just discovering more about the Lord, more about his glorious nature and his plan, et cetera. But in heaven, you're also remembering earth. I think sometimes people think that we have sort of a brain wipe. You remember that movie, Men in Black, and people would see an alien, so they'd do that little thing where their memory would be erased. And people think their memory will be erased in heaven, because they'll say, well, we can't remember what happened on earth because we'll be so sad.

That's not true. The Bible never says that, actually. Because the fact is, in heaven, you will have perspective. You'll see things the way God sees them.

As an example, in heaven, you're aware of the passing of time because over in Revelation 6, 10, we have those folks that have come out of the tribulation period saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth. So they're remembering earth. How could you have a reward for something you did on earth in heaven if you had no recollection of what you did? What's this ribbon for, this crown?

Why do I have it? I don't remember anything. No, you'll remember, but with perspective. Now, do people in heaven know what is going on on earth? Immediately, people say, no, they're oblivious to it.

I don't know that that's completely true. They may know some things that are going on on earth. As an example, every time a person comes to Christ on earth, there's a party in heaven, right?

Jesus said, I tell you, there's joy in heaven in the presence of the angels over one sinner that comes to repentance. So that shows a direct connection between an earthly event and a heavenly awareness. So we need to expand our thinking about heaven. We have a lot of unbiblical ideas. We're gonna know more than we know now.

That is for sure, and we'll see it with perspective. I remember when my granddaughters were younger. I have four granddaughters and one grandson. And they were in a doll phase, and they just loved dolls. It was a little doll I used to buy for them.

If I'm not mistaken, I think it was called Lala Loopsie. And it had a big little head, and for some reason, the little legs didn't work, so you just stacked them all up against a wall or something, and they collected them, and so they were losing them, or they would come apart. So I bought a couple of extra boxes of these little dolls, and one day, one of my granddaughters gave me, Papa, my doll's head came off, and there she was holding a decapitated doll. I said, everything's okay.

No, Papa, you don't understand. The head came off. It'll be okay.

No, and she's so upset, I said, look, and I pulled out the box and gave her a brand new doll. So we come to God, Lord, and everything's a mess. It's horrible. Lord says it'll be okay, because he sees it from a different perspective, as will we when we get to heaven. Also, John sees angelic creatures. Look at verse eight. Four living creatures, he's having six wings full of eyes around and within, and they don't rest day or night, saying holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come.

No, I know. It's just so hard to visualize. If you did a drawing of this, it's almost a little scary, right? This is symbolic, what John is saying, the presence of the eyes just conveys the awareness of the angelic beings. The Bible tells us there are different rankings of angels. It seems to me that at the top of the heap, if you will, of the angelic world is Michael, who's uniquely identified as the archangel. So he's a high-ranking angel.

He plays a singular role, going back to 1 Thessalonians four. The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel. So Michael's a part of the great rapture event. We read of him elsewhere in scripture, but there's also Gabriel. Now, I don't know if Gabriel is an archangel, but certainly Gabriel is a high-ranking angel. Gabriel was given the special blessing of revealing to Zechariah that he would be the father of John the Baptist, and of course, it was Gabriel that came to Nazareth and revealed to the young lady Mary that she was gonna have the privilege of being the mother of the Messiah. Also, we read about cherubim and seraphim, spoken of in Isaiah six when it says, I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne.

He was high and lifted up, and his glory filled the temple, and the angels cried holy, holy, holy. So cherubim, seraphim, archangel, all kinds of angels doing the work of God, and they're doing a work in your life too because the Bible says the angel of the Lord encamps around those that fear him. Sometimes the question is asked, do we have guardian angels?

I don't know. Maybe we do. We have angelic protection. We have angels assigned to us, but do we have a personal angel that follows us through life? Who can say?

Because this did say this. Let the little children come unto me, but no matter what, know that angels are actively involved in your life. Now, here's the big question. What are we going to be doing in heaven? This is important because sometimes people think heaven is gonna be boring.

It's gonna be a drag. We're gonna just sit around in fluffy clouds and pluck harps and just sleep. Now, actually some people might find that very appealing, like a long nap, but we're gonna be doing a lot of things in heaven, starting with worship. We'll be worshiping the Lord in heaven. Look at verse 10 here in Revelation 4. The 24 elders fell down before him who sits on the throne, and they worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before him.

Listen to what they say. You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. You created all things, for by your will they exist and were created. So they are giving honor to God, and we will be worshiping the Lord.

So get into practice now. Be a worshiper of the Lord because this is something we'll be doing a lot of in heaven. But we're not gonna just sit around and have one long church service. I think that's how some people envision it. Oh, it's like church on Sunday when it goes too long.

No, no. They'll be worshiped, and you'll see the Lord in his glory, and you'll want to worship. But listen, you'll be doing things as well. You'll be busy serving the Lord. Revelation 22, three says his servants will serve him.

Will serve him. So there'll be tasks for us to accomplish. Can you imagine the Lord saying, would you go do something for me right now? Yes, Lord, what can I do?

Anything you want, we're told in Revelation 7, 15 that we're gonna be serving him day and night in his temple. I mean, I'm looking forward to rest, but I can only rest for so long. I like to get out and do things, and I even like to accomplish things. You wonder, will we be able to accomplish some things in the afterlife we were not able to complete in this life? You know, we all have dreams and aspirations, things we wished we could have done, or maybe our dreams were shattered. And I think sometimes people act as though everything that can be done must be done in this life, and if it's not done in this life, then that's it.

There's no other chances. Now, I think it is important to do what we can with our life on earth. We certainly don't want to waste our life. It was Corrie Ten Boom who wrote, a life is not measured by its duration, but by its donation. We all want to make a donation with our life, but what if a life was cut short through disease or a disability? Or that life was shorter than we hoped it would be because they died as a young man or a young woman. They had no control over those circumstances. That doesn't seem fair.

So do they just lose, and that's it? Too bad, you died younger, and that's the way it goes for you. And then you see other people living long lives, sometimes, honestly, long wicked lives, long wasteful lives, and then you see someone that had so much promise and so much potential.

I think of my own son, age 33, just such a wonderful young man, so full of talent and vision and plans for his future, and he was taken to be with the Lord at 33. But why do we think everything that can be accomplished can only be accomplished on earth? There are things that we will do in the afterlife as well. And don't forget, and we'll get into this later, heaven is gonna come to earth. We read about that at the end of Revelation. There's also the millennial reign of Christ. That's a thousand years. In fact, we read in Isaiah 65, 21, we'll build our own house and eat the fruit of our own vineyard.

Wait, what? I thought we were gonna just sit around on clouds and pluck carbs, oh no. We have a lot of things we're gonna be doing. We're gonna be worshiping, we're gonna be learning, we're gonna be serving, we're even gonna be building houses in the millennium. So you might get that dream home after all. Let me restate that.

You will get that dream home after all. And now as we close this message, the elders give us an insight as to why we exist. Because this is a question that is often asked, why am I here on earth?

What is the meaning of life? Why was I placed here? These elders in heaven tell us why we are here on earth.

Let's go back to Revelation 4, verse 11. They say you're worthy, oh Lord, to receive glory, honor, and power. You created everything, and it's for your pleasure that they exist and were created. Why do I exist? Why do you exist? Why was I put here?

Here's the answer. I exist and I was created to bring glory and pleasure to God. I was not created to bring glory and pleasure to myself. But there are people that dedicate their entire life to the pursuit of pleasure. The Bible even tells us in the last days, people would be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. At first Timothy 5, six, we're told she that lives for pleasure is dead while she lives. Listen to this. Living for pleasure is one of the most unpleasurable things that you can do.

Let me say that again. Living for pleasure is one of the most unpleasurable things you can do. It's been said the best cure for hedonism is an attempt to practice it. Just go for it. You're saying, so Greg, are you saying that we can experience pleasure as Christians?

No. I'm saying don't live for it. Don't make that the pursuit of your life because if you do, you'll never find it. However, the Bible says in his presence there is fullness of joy and on his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Jesus said in John 10, 10, I have come that you might have life and that more abundantly.

So oh yes, you can experience pleasure. But you experience it not by living for pleasure but by living for God. My friend Randy Alcorn put it this way and I quote, if we come to see the purpose of the universe as God's long term glory rather than our short term happiness, then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem of suffering. End quote. Well said. If I understand that the ultimate goal of my life is bringing glory to God, it changes everything.

Here's the bottom line. When you seek to fulfill the purpose you were created for which is to know, glorify, and worship God, you will find the happiness you've been seeking in life. You won't find the happiness you want in life by seeking it. You'll find the happiness you want in life by seeking him because the Bible says happy are the people whose God is the Lord. Yes, God created you for his own glory. Isaiah 43 seven, the Lord says, everyone that I've created, I've created for my glory. Then first Corinthians 10 31, Paul says, whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.

Here's what it means. Whatever you're doing in life, whatever your career path or if you're a student or a husband or a wife or a parent or whoever you are, whatever you're doing, do it for the glory of God. If you can't do it for the glory of God, maybe you shouldn't be doing it anymore. Jesus taught us in the Lord's prayer to pray, hallowed be thy name. If you can't write hallowed be his name or honored be his name over what you're doing, then don't do it. Do what you can ask God's blessing on and do it for his glory.

Why? Because life is preparation for eternity. We were made by God, we were made for God and God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. So let me close with this. Are you ready for the afterlife?

You cannot escape it, it is there. You're gonna get there if you're a Christian by death or by rapture. But non-believers are gonna enter the afterlife too.

They of course would not go via rapture but they will go via death. And life here will end for some sooner than later and we all have an appointment with the afterlife. I decide in this life where I will spend the afterlife.

Let me say that again. I decide in this life where I will spend the afterlife. You have two choices. Heaven or hell.

Smoking and non-smoking. You decide where you will go. Sometimes people will say, how can a God of love send people to hell?

Why do you say that? You're immediately questioning the love of God. Has God not shown his love by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die in our place? Listen, God doesn't send people to hell. We send ourselves to hell.

As C.S. Lewis wrote, quote, the gates of hell are locked from the inside. Listen friend, if you end up in hell one day and we'll talk about this later in Revelation, but if you end up there, it's on you. It's not God's fault. Hell was not created for people. According to Jesus, hell was created for the devil and his angels or his demons.

God doesn't want people made in his image to spend eternity separated from him. That's why he sent Jesus to die on the cross in your place and he took his anger and wrath and judgment and poured it upon Christ when it should have come upon you and me and Jesus rose again from the dead and as we pointed out, he stands at the door of our life and he knocks and if we'll hear his voice and open the door, he'll come in. As I said earlier, if we'll open the door of our heart to Christ on earth, he'll open the door of heaven to us later.

So it's your choice. Where do you want to spend eternity? Do you want to go to heaven when you die? Do you want to know that you're ready to meet God? Then you need Jesus to come into your life. Jesus is standing at the door of your life, knocking, ready to come in.

Only you can open that door and invite him in and receive his forgiveness. In a moment, I'm gonna pray for you and I'm gonna pray that you will make this decision to follow Christ. So let's all pray. Father, I thank you for your word to us. Thank you for your promises to us and I pray for everybody watching, listening, wherever they are right now.

Speak to their heart. Show them their need for Jesus and help them to come to you and believe so they can change their eternal address from hell to heaven, from hopelessness to hope, from death to life. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Do you want Jesus Christ to come into your life? Do you want him to forgive you of your sin?

Do you wanna go to heaven when you die? I'm gonna lead you in a simple prayer and I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me if you like. You can pray it quietly if you prefer but I want you to pray this prayer and mean it. The Bible says whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved and in this prayer, you're doing just that. If you wanna go to heaven when you die, if you want to be forgiven of all of your sins, if you want to find the meaning and purpose of life, if you want hope instead of hopelessness, if you're ready to say yes to Jesus, pray this prayer with me right here, right now. Pray these words. Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner but I know that you are the savior who died on the cross for me and rose again from the dead. Now come into my life and forgive me. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here. Thanks for listening to our podcast and to learn more about Harvest Ministries, please subscribe and consider supporting this show. Just go to Harvest.org and by the way, if you wanna find out how to come into a personal relationship with God, go to KnowGod.org. That's K-N-O-W-G-O-D.org.