Shocking Truths About Heaven - Part A

Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you.

We are about to read about that place. This is the place he has prepared. What we're dealing with here is the new heavens and the new work, what we call the eternal state, the eternal heaven.

Do you know what your heavenly home will be like? Well, today on Connect with Skip Hyton, Pastor Skip begins his message, Shocking Truths About Heaven, and shows you what God's Word says about the place Jesus is preparing for believers. Now here's more about this month's new resource about the current situation in Israel and how it fits into God's divine plan for his nation. Israel at War.

That's the title of a new book by Skip Hytzing. Modern Israel has been at war from its very first day of existence. As Skip points out, on the day after Israel became a nation, that was May 14, 1948. On May 15, virtually every Arab neighbor attacked Israel to destroy it. Israel had been a nation one day.

They didn't have an organized army. Israel at War is up to date concerning current events in the Mideast and includes Skip's comments during his December tour of the Gaza border and a video link to Skip's interview in Jerusalem. The new book, Israel at War, is our gift to you this month to anyone who encourages the growth of Connect with Skip with a gift of $50 or more.

Make your financial vote of support at connectwithskip.com or by calling 1-800-922-1888. Israel at War will give you Skip's insight from over 40 trips to Israel and decades of Bible study. I know the Middle East seems like a very complex situation.

It's actually pretty basic. One side wants the other side dead. On one side you have a Jewish nation, a Jewish state called modern day Israel. Israel wishes to exist as a sovereign state living in peace. Most Palestinians and other Arab nations, not all but many of them, deny the right of Israel to exist. Receive Israel at War by Skip Heitzig with your gift.

Go to connectwithskip.com or call 1-800-922-1888. Okay, now let's listen to Skip's teaching today. We're going to be in Revelation 21. Today we're going to look at heaven. And you know what it says in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him. I often hear that verse quoted referring to heaven and it's sort of like, yeah, nobody knows.

It's just so awesome. Eye hasn't seen, ear hasn't heard. Hadn't entered our heart.

Nobody can figure this out. They need to keep reading that passage because it says, but God has revealed them to us by His Spirit. So we have the revelation of God at least in part of what heaven is going to be like. So this is a message I'm calling Shocking Truths About Heaven. And I know you're thinking, shocking truths about heaven? What could be shocking about heaven? Well, first of all, when you get there, you're going to see some people that you go, I can't believe you made it. I'm shocked. And they're going to look at you and going, you know, I was thinking the same thing about you.

I can't believe you're here. Well, we know we're saved by grace. But when it comes to heaven, I've made a little bit of a discovery after being in the ministry for a long time. People have really weird ideas about heaven. Just it's like, and they'll say these things typically at funerals. And whenever I hear them, you know, that's not the time to correct somebody in their theology when they have a broken heart.

I found that out the hard way. But people are confused about what heaven is going to be like. For example, some people say, when we die, we turn into what? Angels. Where did that come from? Not from this book.

No, we don't turn into angels. And I think what they where they got that from was from the movie, you know, when every every time a bell rings, angel gets its wings. What's that from?

It's a Wonderful Life. That was a wonderful movie. Lousy theology. Wonderful movie. So I've even heard it put this way, when a child dies, somebody will come and say, I guess God needed another angel.

That's a horrible thing to say. God has enough angels. He doesn't turn people into angels. Or some people think, well, when you die, get to the gate of heaven. And there's somebody there waiting for you called Peter. And Peter's got like some questions for you.

And you better you better answer these hard questions because if you don't, you know, they're gonna they're gonna call the hounds for you and take Greg out and you're not gonna make it. Or, well, you'll eventually get to heaven. But you got to go somewhere first to burn your sins off. And one day, someday, eventually you'll make it to heaven. Or here's one.

Have you heard this? When we get to heaven, what do we sit on? We sit on clouds.

Most boring landscape ever. This is gonna sit on a cloud. And you're gonna what are you gonna play? A harp.

Yeah. No wonder people are not fired up about going to heaven with things like this. So we can put those things aside. Randy Alcorn said, Satan labors to give people an inaccurate view of heaven. He slanders three things God's person, God's people and God's place. He said some of Satan's favorite lies are in regards to heaven. But Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you. We are about to read about that place. This is the place he has prepared. What we're dealing with here is the new heavens and the new earth, what we call the eternal state, the eternal heaven.

Now, a couple preliminaries as we get started. Did you know that heaven is mentioned in the Bible, written in the Bible, 532 times? 532 times the word heaven appears. Another 171 times, it shows up in the plural, the heavens. So over 700 times, heaven is mentioned.

Sounds to me like it's a pretty important subject if it's mentioned that much. Our English word heaven comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word heave on. And heave on was the old word for to be lifted up or uplifted. It's very similar to the Hebrew word for heaven. Shamaim is a word that means the heights. The Greek word similarly, uranas, means lofty or lifted up. So we're not surprised when in the Bible we read things like Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and prayed.

It's typically referred to as up. Now, though we're about to read things regarding your eternal home, not a lot is said in the Bible about heaven. Or let me put it this way, I wish there were more details. There's a lot, for instance, in the Bible about the tabernacle, far more about the tabernacle than there is about heaven. And perhaps one of the reasons not a lot is said is that if a lot were written about heaven in the Bible, we'd all be looking for an early exit ramp. It's like, yeah, man, that's so awesome. I want to go now.

Some of you already feel that way. So in the Bible, heaven is looked at three different ways. Number one, there is the terrestrial heavens. The terrestrial heavens are the atmosphere, the birds of the heavens, the Bible says. It's the atmosphere surrounding the earth.

That's like 6,200 miles and then it blends into space. The second way heaven is used is the celestial heavens, moon, stars, sun. The heavens declare the glory of God. But the third use of heaven in Scripture is what we call the third heaven.

We call it that because Paul called it that. He said, I was caught up into the third heaven. What's the third heaven? It's the heaven of heavens. It's God's heaven. It's the dwelling place of God's glory. Paul even said in Philippians, our citizenship is in heaven. In other words, you have an address in heaven.

You're going there one day. And he also wrote in that book, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. In other words, no matter how good you have it on earth, heaven will be far better. So what is heaven like?

Well, we don't need to guess. We read in verse one of Revelation 21, now I saw. This is John's vision given to him by Christ of heaven. He's seen a lot so far.

It's called the book of Revelation. He's seen the tribulation. He's seen anguish on earth. He's seen the antichrist. He's seen the second coming, et cetera, et cetera. Now he sees heaven. So John is an eyewitness, and I'd much rather listen to what John saw than listen to somebody's life after death experience or some dumb joke about Peter giving you questions at the gate or we're going to sit on clouds and play harps.

I'd rather find out what he saw. So as we do that, beginning in verse one, going down to verse eight, I want to share with you five realities that might shock you about heaven. First reality is heaven will require destruction.

Some people are shocked to find that out. Destruction, what do you mean? Verse one, now I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

We read about that last week. Go back to chapter 20, verse 11. Then I saw the great white throne and him who sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. So after the millennium, after the thousand year reign of Christ, on a restored earth, the present universe will be destroyed. It will be uncreated. The creation will be uncreated and reduced to energy.

These are incredible statements. The uncreation of the universe, it goes out of existence. So what does that mean? It means no earth as we know it, no earth as we know it, no Rocky Mountains, no Great Plains, no Santa Fe, no Big I, I'm just giving you reference points, no Sandia tram, no United States of America, no seven continents, no third planet from the sun, the earth itself, all that we know, even the millennial earth, completely destroyed. This is not new news.

We read about this a lot. Hebrews 1, like a cloak, you will fold up the heavens and the earth and they will be changed. Change into what? He's going to create a new heaven, a new earth. Jesus said in Matthew 24, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. We typically focus on the second part of that, but think of the first part, heaven and earth will pass away.

There it is. Jesus himself announced there will be an end to this world. The world will end. The world will end. Why is that important? It's important because up until this century, this past century, the prevailing cosmology among scientists was called the steady state theory, that the universe basically had no beginning and no end. We know better now. We have a few more observations on deck and we have made the kind of discoveries that lead us to believe the world will one day end.

Here's an example. The radiation produced by the sun, the sunshine that we enjoy or on some days don't enjoy so much, is produced by the loss of part of the sun's own mass. 4,200,000 tons every second are lost by the sun. What that means is one day the light will go out, not because God didn't pay the electric bill, just the sun's going to burn out. If the sun had an end, it means it had a beginning, so the steady state theory is thrown out. So the universe is running down. If the universe is running down, it had a beginning and it has an end. This earth was designed by God to be temporary. Now, I think that's an important truth. I think we should be good stewards of what we have.

I do think we should be good to our environment. However, if you're some of the save the earth people, you are fighting an uphill battle because God's going to destroy it. It's His to begin with, so He will completely take it out of existence.

It is designed by God to be temporary. Now, in Colossians 1, I've always loved this description. Speaking of Jesus Christ, He is before all things and in Him all things consist. And in Him all things consist are held together. What holds the universe together? Answer Jesus.

Simple answer, Jesus holds it together. I remember in class growing up, my professor would talk about the oxygen nucleus. And now students, we have 16 particles in the oxygen nucleus. Eight are positively charged. They're protons. Eight are neutrons. And we know that elements of like charges repel each other. Particles that are unlike charges or magnetic poles attract each other. So class, what holds the oxygen nucleus together?

Well, now I know. Jesus holds it together. What holds anything together?

Jesus holds it together. Question, what happens when He lets go? When He lets go, this happens. The earth, the heavens, the universe will cease to exist.

And one day He will let go. By the way, that is described by Peter, 2 Peter chapter 3. But the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, that's the word of God, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment. 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. The elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct in Godliness?

It's a great question. If the material universe is going to burn up, what kind of a person should you be? Well, not a materialistic person. You should be a spiritual person. Looking for, He continues, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, the elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. So, shocking reality number one, heaven requires destruction. Number two, it will be a fresh design.

It'll be a fresh design. I want you to look at the first couple verses at the word new. I saw a new heaven and a new earth. Verse two, I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem. Verse five, He who sat on the throne said, behold. Behold just means, hey, check it out. Behold, check this out. I make all things new. We're going to look at the new city next week, new Jerusalem. But just to note about that, look in verse two. I saw the new city, new Jerusalem, holy city coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

I think God is saving the best for last and can't wait to look at the look on your face when He shows you this part of heaven. I've told you before about my wedding day. I was a wreck. I was a mess. First of all, it was over a hundred degrees in Southern California in a place where it's usually the highs are like 75 in the summer.

So, it's over a hundred. I'm sweating. I'm nervous. We decide to hold the wedding outside, not prepared for that kind of heat. I have shoes that are a couple of sizes too small. They didn't fit it right at the tuck shop. I'm wearing a tux.

I hate wearing tuxes and shoes are too small. So, I'm like in pain and it's hot and I'm sweaty and I'm miserable. And I'm nervous about this commitment I'm making until Lenya shows up and starts walking down the aisle. And for me, it was like, oh. And it was like, I'm okay now.

A bride adorned for her husband. That's how God describes Him showing you this part of heaven, the new Jerusalem. More on that next week. But in verse five, look at that little sentence, behold, I make all things new. In heaven, everything is always new. I'm not going to walk up to Antonia and go, hey man, is that a new shirt? You're going to say, yeah, it's new. It's always new.

I won't say, hey, Trish, did you, is your hair different? You're going to go, yeah, it's new. I won't say, hey, Nelson, can I borrow an old sweater of yours?

I didn't bring one of my sweaters. And you're going to go, no, I won't give you an old one. I'll give you a new one, a new one.

Because it's in the present tense. Behold, I am always constantly making all things new. We love new things. And when we buy new things, it's not long, before they get scuffed, dinged up.

They lose their luster, their shine. I make all things new. Now this, this new earth, new heavens and earth, has been anticipated. Doesn't just show up in the New Testament. Way back in the Old Testament, Isaiah 65, God said, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind. So if you're thinking, man, when I'm in heaven, I'm going to be thinking about, no, you won't be. Won't even come to mind. Everything is new.

Best day ever, every single day. Now about this word new, new, new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem, all things new. It's a very particular word.

I want you to know about it. Kynos. Kynos is the word.

It's very different from the typical word. The usual word in Greek for new would be neos. Neos means it's new. It's never been seen because it's chronologically new. So you have this and then that and then now this.

That's the typical word. It means new chronologically. This word kynos means new qualitatively. In other words, it's a fresh design. It's new in quality. It's different from this or that.

It's completely different. So think about what God did in six days. He made this, the heavens and the earth. Six days. Would you say he did a pretty good job in six days? I would. There's some awesome places on earth.

So gorgeous. Six days. That's all it took him. Then when he comes back, when Jesus comes at the second coming, he recreates the earth into the millennial kingdom, maybe over weeks, months, maybe instantly.

We don't know. But some think that he has been working on new heavens and new earth during the millennium. Some will even say since he made the first one, he's been working on this one. But what it shows me is God has an endless capacity for creating so that everything is ever and always new. And I love this. He made the old one.

He'll make a new one and it'll be completely qualitatively different. That's Skip Heidegger helping you see what your eternal home will be like in his message, Shocking Truths About Heaven. From the series The End is Near, find the full message as well as books, booklets, and full teaching series at connectwithskipp.com. Now, did you know that you can have an eternal impact as you help share God's Word with more people through this ministry? Your gift today can connect people around the world to the good news of Jesus Christ so they can have a personal relationship with God right now. And your gift will also help keep these faith building messages coming to you and so many others around the world. We're seeking to expand this broadcast into more major U.S. cities, but we can only do this with your help. Visit connectwithskipp.com slash donate to give generously and share God's love with others. That's connectwithskipp.com slash donate or call 800-922-1888.

800-922-1888. Thank you for changing lives. And be back tomorrow for the conclusion of Skip's message and get encouraged with more Shocking Truths About Heaven. You'll never say have a good day in heaven. It's the dumbest thing you could ever say in heaven. Have a good day. You'll never say that. If somebody says that, you'll go, you're new here, right? Because every day is like awesome.

Every day is the best day ever. Nor sorrow. Make a connection. Make a connection at the foot of the crossing. And cast all burdens on His word. Make a connection, a connection. Connect with Skip Hyton is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever-changing times.