Every Christian will live eternally in heaven. But many are too focused on the concerns of this world to get excited about the next. Are you one of them? Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah seeks to help you prepare for your heavenly home.
by sharing details from Scripture that you need to know. From the promise of heaven, here's David to introduce his message. What's up with heaven? You know, heaven is known to all of us. In fact, as we look up into the skies, we see the heavens.
The Bible says there are three heavens. Paul said he was caught up into the third heaven. But heaven is a very interesting subject. And recently we saw a research project that said heaven is more in the minds of people today than it's been for many years.
So, I'm going to tell you some things about heaven in today's program, tell you about its prominence in the Bible. I want you to know more about this place where we're going to spend eternity. This is kind of a part two introduction message, but you'll hear some things about heaven that you haven't heard before, and hopefully, it will start to get you excited about heaven. The title of this book is The Promise of Heaven. The subtitle is 31 Ways for You to Get Excited About Heaven, and I hope we can help you do that.
Don't forget, you can get a copy of this book, The Promise of Heaven, which is just being released. From Turning Point, all you have to do is send a gift of any size during the month of October and say, Please send me the book on heaven, and we'll get it off to you right away. Let me tell you: also, you can get this book at Barnes Noble, you can get it at Target, you can get it in Walmart, wherever books are sold. Hobby Lobby carries this book, and we want you to get it. Whether you get it from us or get it from somewhere else, we most of all want you to get the truth of this book.
It will tell you what to expect when you get to heaven, and if you're not sure you're going there, it'll help you find out how to get sure. And we begin that process today with this message we've called What's Up with Heaven. One day, Suzanne Edwards found a deflated helium balloon in the backyard of her home. in Monroe, Georgia. Tied to it was a photo of a smiling family.
and the handwritten note in childlike print. As she read it, tears welled up in her eyes. It said, Dad, I wish you were here so we could have fun together. I wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope you are happy in heaven.
If you are okay, then tell me, I love you, Alejandro. Suzanne later learned the note was written by seven-year-old Alejandro Garcia Heraures. whose home was about twenty miles away. Three years earlier, In Colombia, Alejandro's father, a law professor, had been murdered. Alejandro and his mother moved to the United States.
But every Christmas the boy would write a letter to his dad and to send it off in a helium balloon, hoping it would get to heaven. using social media Suzanne found Alejandro's mom and asked her to pass along this message to the boy. I want you to know that heaven is a wonderful place, more amazing than you and I can ever imagine. It is a place where there is no pain and no worries, and I am certain your daddy didn't want to leave you or cause you to feel lonely or sad. He will always love you and I am sure that you.
Make him proud. Have a Merry Christmas. When Alejandro received the message, he cried, and so did millions of people around the world. when the story was picked up by the media. Suzanne was right.
Heaven is more wonderful. than we can imagine. It's not a dream or a mystery. It's real. We began this study on heaven, and I believe it could be one of the most important series we've ever done.
You see, my goal is to make sure you all are going there. You know, someone told me the real purpose of a Christian is to go to heaven and take as many people with him as he can. And I would feel very Sad if, for some reason, you didn't hear about heaven and how to go there and missed it.
So, I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen. It was Sunday morning, Sunday school, and the five-year-old class was in session. and the teacher was quizzing her class. She said, If I sold everything I owned and gave the money to the church, would that get me into heaven? And no, the children shouted in unison.
If I cleaned my house every day, mowed the yard, planted flowers, made my home beautiful, would that get me to heaven? No, again they answered. If I was kind to animals and polite to friends, if I loved my family, would that get me to heaven? No. said the crowd.
Well, the teacher continued, how can I get to heaven? And one little boy who was new to Sunday school shouted out the answer: You have to be dead.
Well, he was right. And that means that the offer of heaven is for everybody because, let's face it, the death rate is still 100%. Every second, two people die, and that adds up to about 170,000 people stepping into eternity every single day. either into heaven or into hell. You would think we'd be talking about heaven all the time.
But interestingly enough, it has become neglected in many churches.
Some people see heaven as wishful thinking. Others have worried that too much emphasis on the next world Will detract from efforts to address suffering and injustice in this world. When the church forgets heaven, Something happens. The church loses its way. Without an eternal perspective, the church becomes indulgent and self-centered.
And it's all about today, and all about my needs, and I didn't get my need met, and we become spiritually lethargic. Present comfort takes central stage. Heaven becomes little more than an afterthought. That's why it's important for us periodically to visit this subject. and never to let it be very far away from us.
So what's up with heaven? Let me begin by giving you some basic truths about heaven that you may not know. The idea of heaven is not just a doctrine tucked away in the pages of our Bibles. It shows up everywhere in our culture, in our stories. Our songs and our screens.
Back in 2003, Mitch Album wrote a book called The Five People You Meet in Heaven. And it captured the hearts worldwide. Do you know that that spent 95 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list? Telling the story of Eddie, an amusement park. Worker Who dies saving a child?
and meets five people in heaven who reveal the unseen impact of his life. Years later, Randy Alcorn. Wrote a 500-page theological book on heaven. Which sold over a million copies and is the go-to book on heaven if you want to get one. And then there are movies like Heaven is for Real, Miracles from Heaven.
They may not have broken the box office records, but they reached wide audiences and many people were interested in it. And of course we have all of the stories of people who supposedly went to heaven and came back. They died, went to heaven, and came back. I don't know what to make about all of those. And somebody asked me in this series if I was going to do that, and I said, no.
I'm not going to talk about people that went to heaven. and came back because I don't know if it's real or not. But I know what the Bible says is real, so I'm going to focus on that. You know, we have a lot of music. That's been written about heaven, Eric Clapton.
Wrote a song called Tears in Heaven. Curry Underwood wrote, See you again, reflecting our desire. to be reunited with people who die. and hoping that if they're in heaven, we're going to meet them someday. Even television shows like The Good Place.
documentaries on near-death experiences remind us that the question of eternity is very much alive in many hearts. We don't have to rely on lyrics or screenwriters to understand what heaven is like because. God has already spoken, and we're going to begin with some wonderful truths about heaven from the scripture. Did you know that in the Bible The word heaven is mentioned more than 600 times. 33 of the 39 Old Testament books talk about heaven.
21 books in the New Testament talk about heaven. In the Old Testament, the word for heaven is Shemaim. which is a word meaning the heights. In the New Testament, the Greek word Uranus Inspires the name of the planet, Your Honours. And the word refers to something that is raised up or lofty.
So as you can see, heaven is not a side topic in the Bible. It's a major theme that runs from Genesis to Revelation. And The Bible tells us Enoch walked with God and was taken not to a grave. but into God's presence. Abraham looked beyond Canaan to a city with foundations.
whose architect and builder is God. David spoke of dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. And Isaiah described a future with no sorrow or sighing. Jesus spoke about heaven often. He told stories to help people understand it.
And Paul wrote about longing for it, and John saw it and described it in detail in the book of Revelation.
So heaven is a key theme in the Bible. It doesn't just mention heaven here and there. It keeps pointing us to heaven everywhere. It's where God is, it's where His people will be. and where the story is headed.
The prominence of heaven. Here's one you may have wondered about. I know a lot of people have asked this question. the plurality of heaven. As you work your way through the hundreds of mentions of the word heaven in the Bible, you soon realize.
There's a difference between The word and how it's used. In fact, the Bible specifically speaks of three. distinct heavens. The first heaven is the atmospheric heaven. the sky with its clouds.
And birds and life-giving oxygen. Genesis 1:20 says, Then God said, let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament to the heavens. Psalm 104, 12 says, the birds of the heavens, referring to the birds flying through the open sky. And Job God asked who Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? who can tip over the water jars of the heavens.
And Isaiah speaks of the rain and snow that come down from the heaven.
So, in these passages, the word heaven. Is the atmosphere, the place where rain falls, where clouds form, and birds fly. It's the thin layer of gases, mostly nitrogen and oxygen, that makes life on the earth possible. Most of its vital resources are within 10 miles of the surface. And God designed it to sustain life.
This is what the Bible calls. The first heaven. And then there's a second heaven. In Genesis chapter 1, God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night. And then He describes the sun and the moon and the stars.
The second heaven is the vast universe beyond our atmosphere, its outer space. Filled with billions of stars and planets and constellations and meteors and galaxies. The book of Psalms praises God for the lavish display of His glory. Psalm 8 says, When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained. What is man that you are mindful of him?
and the Son of Man that you visit him. Jesus predicted a coming day. when the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. These are all references to the second heaven. the stellar skies.
We have the atmospheric heaven, we have the stellar heaven. Here's the one that causes people a lot of questions when they read this passage of scripture from 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Paul writes, I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body I do not know. or whether out of the body, I do not know, God knows. Such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
And I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know. God knows. How he was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. He was caught up into the Third heaven. And when we read that, when we've read it in the past, we've always wondered, what in the world is the third heaven?
I didn't know there was more than one.
Now you know. There's the atmospheric heaven. There's the stellar heaven. And now there is the heaven where God lives. In these verses, Paul's not referring to the atmospheric heaven.
He's referring to the highest heaven, the very dwelling place of God.
Solomon spoke of this in 1 Kings 8:27. He said, But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you. how much less this temple which I have built. Moses called this heaven the highest heaven.
Other Bible writers describe it as God's holy temple. And this is what God was referring to. when his son Jesus said to the thief, Today you will be with me in paradise. Hebrews calls this place a better country. Jesus referred to it as the Father's house.
This is it. The heaven of heavens. the highest heaven, paradise, the Father's house. This is the place where God dwells and where his throne radiates glory. Where angels fill the skies with praise, and where the redeemed of every age.
will live forever. This is our future address if we know Jesus. the highest heaven where God lives. the prominence of heaven and the plurality of it. Let's talk about this place called heaven.
A key passage here is John 14, where Jesus said, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. 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, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.
and receive it to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Now, in the Bible, as you read the Bible through, and especially during this series, as we focus on these passages. We're going to find a number of names for heaven. different things the Bible speaks of it about. It's pictured in many ways, and each picture suggests a little different aspect of it. when we say that heaven is a country We're talking about how vast it is.
Heaven's a big place. When we see it in the scripture, and it's a city, we think of all the people that live there. When we see it compared to a kingdom, we think of how orderly and organized the government is. When we hear of paradise, we imagine all the beauty of heaven. My favorite description of heaven is The father's house.
I love that. I like the father's house. When Don and I were students at Dallas Seminary, We longed to be at home. But we were 1,050 miles from Cedarville, Ohio, where I lived. And believe it or not.
There were occasions when we'd get off work on Friday. Get in my Chevrolet convertible. and drive a thousand fifty miles to be home for a few hours because we had to be back at work on Monday. And we look back on that now and think, that was the craziest thing we ever did in our lives. Do you ever do any crazy stuff like that when you were younger?
I mean, we don't. People ask me, do I do red eyes? I don't even think about doing red eyes anymore. I used to do them all the time. When you're younger, you do stuff you would never do as you get older.
And I can't imagine driving 1,050 miles two ways. twice. in a weekend. But you know why we did it? To get to the father's house.
to get home. where we grew up, where I grew up, where my mom and dad were. It's tough when you're that far away from home going to school, and we wanted to be home. That's the way it will be for heaven. Heaven will be the Father's house.
When we get there as God's people, we're going to feel at home. We're going to feel the joy and compassion. And it'll be wonderful.
Some people, according to Charles Ball, talk about heaven as they would about an imaginary place. They talk about it with tongue in cheek and a knowing smile, as if to say heaven is a human invention. A never-never land, a realm of dreams, not to be taken seriously. Other people say that heaven Is a benevolent state of mind. Have you heard people say that?
Heaven is what you think about on this earth. You make your own heaven, they say. Heaven is not a place you go. Heaven is what you make out of what you're doing right now here on this earth.
Well, all of that is untrue if you believe the Bible. The Bible speaks of a special place. not a figment of our imagination. Not a feeling, not an emotion. Heaven is not the beautiful isle of somewhere.
Heaven is not merely a thought form, it's not merely a projection of the best in ourselves. It's not a vision. Of a longed-for utopia. It's not a pleasing hope or an invention of man. Our thoughts do not make heaven.
Heaven is a prepared place. for a prepared people. Billy Graham wrote, heaven is a literal place. It is not an imaginary world or fantasy land to which dwell. God created heaven with its vast array of authentic characteristics.
Jesus did not ascend to a lofty dream world following His resurrection. Jesus returned to sit at the right hand of his Father in the place. called Heaven. Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you. Heaven is a place.
It is not a feeling. It is not a thought pattern. It is not... How you deal with life on this earth. Heaven is the place that God has created for His people if they will trust.
His word about how to get there. This is what I want you to know.
So we've talked about the prominence of heaven in the Bible and in culture. We've talked about the plurality of heaven. How many of them are there? There are three. We've talked about the place called heaven.
Now let me just speak with you for a moment about the preciousness of heaven. Why is heaven so important to us? Why do we all need to get ready to go to heaven? Why is it that I say to you today? then my goal in this series is that nobody gets left out of heaven.
I want you all to go to heaven. I don't want one of you not to go. You may be the meanest person I ever met, but if you know Jesus Christ, you need to go to heaven. And that's the only way you're going to get there. First of all, heaven is precious because our Redeemer is there.
I have a feeling That when we get to heaven. and we see the golden streets. in the pearly gates. every other visual marvel. They will all fade into insignificance when compared with Jesus Christ.
Imagine the moment that we see Jesus. Right now, we don't see him with our eyes. We don't have the privilege of standing in his presence. The Bible says, though you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. If we rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, Having not seen him, just imagine what it will be like when we actually see him.
He is in heaven in His human body. bearing the scars of our redemption in his hands and in his feet. And when we see him, we'll all be reminded that if we're there, we're there because of him. He's the only reason any of us can get to heaven. You can't get to heaven without Jesus and what he did on the cross.
I remember hearing someone say one time that if he could be in heaven and peek through a keyhole and see Jesus for a single second every thousand years, it'd be worth it.
Well, I don't know if that's true or not in terms of its reality. But we're not going to have that experience. I don't know how it works. I can't explain how. with all the myriads of people who will be in heaven.
Each of us can have a personal relationship with Jesus, but that's what the Bible says. We will know him. We will see him. We will be like him. And the Bible says the fellowship of Jesus in heaven Is the most precious thing about that place.
It's not the pearly gates. It's not the streets of gold. It's Jesus. When we get to heaven, Heaven will be heaven because that's where Jesus is. But secondly, Not only is our Redeemer in heaven, our relationships are in heaven.
Hebrews chapter 12 says there are several categories of people who will be in heaven. The city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. an innumerable company of angels. the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, And the description of the heavenly city was written to believers still on earth. And the description tells us that when we get to heaven, People of all ages are going to be there.
we are going to live in an eternal community with fellow Christians.
Now just think about this. We'll speak with people. From every era. of history. Friends from the past, the future, and the pages of Scripture.
I mean, I have a lot of questions for David, Joseph, and Daniel. I want to sit down with Paul and ask, what was your thorn in the flesh? Everybody's beated that for so long. I hope to meet C.S. Lewis, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, A.W.
Tozier. Other people who you've heard me quote from in my sermons over the years, who I have read and have been such a blessing to my life. And of course, heaven is precious because It reunites us with our loved ones, loved ones we've lost, parents, siblings, children, and friends. When we get to heaven, we're going to see all those people. because we know for a fact that they put their trust in Christ.
and they will be there.
Well, there's so much about heaven that I want you to know, so much I want to tell you, and every day I'm filled with excitement to give you this information and share with you the promises of the Bible. We'll have more about what's up with heaven tomorrow. On Thursday, we're going to talk about the kind of body you have to have to go to heaven. You can't go in your current body. Did you know that?
And then on Friday, we begin two days of discussion about the city of heaven, the holy city, the celestial city, a beautiful place. Hey, we're going to take a little journey right after Christmas this year. We do this almost every year. We'll be sailing on Holland America's Konings Dam. Beginning December 27th, we'll be going to the Caribbean.
With wonderful music, teaching from the Word of God, incredible beauty, and just great fellowship with God's people. Already have a great start for a great group, and you can join us. Go to DavidJeremiah.org for all the information. Be sure to join us tomorrow on this good station. For more information on Dr.
Jeremiah's series, The Promise of Heaven. Please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected. our monthly Turning Points magazine, and our daily email devotional. Sign up today at DavidJeremiah.org slash radio. That's DavidJeremiah.org slash radio.
or call us at 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's encouraging new book, The Promise of Heaven. 31 Reasons to Get Excited About Your Eternal Home. It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions, complete with notes and articles from Dr.
Jeremiah's decades of study. Get all the details when you visit our website davidjeremiah.org slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series The Promise of Heaven on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah.
