A couple years ago Don Piper wrote a book titled, “90 Minutes in Heaven”. As the book begins, Piper is involved in a traffic accident. Piper was assessed by paramedics on two separate occasions and pronounced as dead. 90 minutes later, he was found alive but badly injured. During that 90 minutes Piper says he was in heaven. The story is very compelling and believable. The book is worth reading, though most of the pages cover Piper’s lengthy and difficult recovery.
Recently the book “Heaven is for Real” hit the store shelves. This is the story of 5 year old Colton Burpo who visited heaven. Colton had a terrible bout of appendicitis and during his surgery, he visited heaven. As I read this story it was difficult to believe, it is definitely heaven from a child’s perspective. But as the details are revealed, I found myself concluding there are just too many extenuating circumstance to brush it off as a dream or lie. Heaven is for Real is also worth reading and the chapter titled, “Two Sisters” is extremely moving. I suggest you read both of these small books.
With the old saying, “Believe half of what you see and nothing you hear” in mind, I thought it would be beneficial to consider some of what the Bible has to say about heaven. (Note all the italics in this article are mine and Scripture references are from the ESV.)
Take a look at 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” This passage is often quoted in the midst of a prayer-will-fix-the-nation article. That is a great application of the passage, but notice where the answer comes from, “heaven.” Next we read Matthew 23:9, “… for you have one Father, who is in heaven.” So that is more pointed, “Father in heaven,” does it mean God is in the sky? No. Add Ecclesiastes 5:2, “… for God is in heaven and you are on earth….” Once when looking at a beam of sunlight shining through the clouds, one of my grandsons asked me, “Is that what God looks like?” Sometimes the sky can remind us of God, but He lives beyond the sky.
The scriptures also refer to God as the "God of heaven." For example, Nehemiah 1:5 says, “And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.” And Ezra 1:2, “… The Lord, the God of heaven, has given….” Psalm 103:19 tells us, “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens….” Psalm 14:2 says, “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.”
Jesus declared that he is establishing, "the kingdom of heaven". Matthew 4:17 is one example, “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 5:19, “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Finally, Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:9 to address God the Father as “Our Father in heaven ….”
Matthew 5:11-12 tells us there are things going on in heaven, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter
There are not only things going on in heaven, Jesus came from and went to heaven. John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” In Acts 1:11 we read, “… why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” In addition, according to Acts 7:55 Jesus is at the right hand of God, “… [Stephen] gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
Not only is Jesus in heaven, it is the destination for those who belong to Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:1 tells us, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Philippians 3:20 tells us, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:13 tells us, “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” Revelation 21:1-3, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”
What does heaven look like? Revelation 21 gives us a sneak peek,
2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 6And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 18The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. 19The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. 22And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
Finally, who will see heaven? Not everyone. Rev. 21:27, “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” The faithless won’t see heaven. Neither will the “cowardly, … the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8). If you have not received Christ, your name is not in the Lamb’s book. I encourage you to confess your sins, ask God for forgiveness, and pray that His Spirit would come into your heart and guide you to heaven!
-Pastor David
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