Christians have many different beliefs about what heaven will be like. Some people think it's going to be a never-ending worship service. Some people think earthly things (like Chick-fil-A, football, ice cream, animals, and amusement parks) will be there. Some people think it'll be just like life is now, but without sin.
There are also different ideas about what we'll do in heaven. Some people misguidedly think they'll inherit seventy-two virgins to have sex with. Some people plan on talking to Old Testament heroes and Jesus' disciples. Many, if not all of us, are looking forward to reunions with loved ones who have passed away. Some people think we'll live in mansions; others think we won't need buildings to reside in. Some people think they'll be able to eat all they want and not get fat. Others look forward to using their new bodies to fly, walk through walls, and run at super-fast speeds. Some people even look forward to looking younger in heaven.
And there are many different ideas about who will be in heaven. Some people think everyone will be there. Some people think only a very few (as in only a few hundred) will be there. Others think that most people will not be there.
But before we populate a heavenly place with our earthly thoughts, let's see what God's authoritative Scripture says. Isaiah 60, 65:17-66, and Revelation 21 are great Scriptures on heaven. There are many others, but these are the three I want to focus on.
The very first Scripture I want to point out is Isaiah 65:17. It says, "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind." I think we can erase all thoughts about earthly pleasures being in heaven. Jesus didn't die so we could ride roller coasters, play football all day, and eat buckets of ice cream. It's hard to accept this, especially for me (a Chick-fil-A employee), because Chick-fil-A is such a Christian company that it's just so easy to say that we'll be eating Original Chicken Sandwiches, Potato Waffle Fries, and Icedream in heaven. But I don't see that happening in Scripture.
It's also hard for many people to accept that their pets may not be in heaven. In all frankness, Scripture doesn't say whether animals will be in heaven. Isaiah 65:25 does say, "'The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,' says the LORD." Many people look to this verse to say that animals will in fact be in heaven. And I think it does make sense (based on this verse) to say that animals will be in heaven. But does this mean that all animals will be in heaven, or just the ones who survived till the end? Will every single animal that ever lived be in heaven, including the evil, possessed ones? And if not, where do they go? I can't say. Scripture doesn't say. And when Scripture is silent on a topic, I prefer to just avoid it altogether. It's better to not have an opinion than to get lost in human assumptions and hopes.
Although we've already established that earthly things won't be in heaven, I would like to point out Revelation 21:24b, 26: "... the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into [heaven]... The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into [heaven]." I'm not exactly sure what this is saying, to be honest. In the age of democracies and presidents, I don't know what the glory, honor, and splendor of a king looks like. It could mean the kings will bring their country's biggest export to heaven, like a special wood, jewel, or crop. But that's unlikely. I simply don't really know what this means.
We can be sure that there will be no crying, mourning, death, or pain (Rev. 21:4; Isaiah 65:19). Hardship, persecution, and suffering will be a thing of the past. Joy, purity, righteousness, and praise will be the banner of the people. Our faith, endurance, and hope will be rewarded in heaven with white robes and the right to eat from the Tree of Life.
Who will be there? You can read the second half of my previous post, The Truth About Heaven And Hell about that.
But what will heaven look like? Revelation 21:9-22:5 describe the new Jerusalem, the Holy City. A brief review shows that the city shines with the glory of God, and it's brilliance will be like that of a very precious jewel (Rev. 21:11). The walls of the city will be a square, as long as it is wide (Rev. 21:16). Each side will be about 1,400 miles in length (Rev. 21:16). Catch that? 1,400 miles. New York City to Los Angeles is 3,000 miles, so imagine half that distance squared and you get the square mileage of the Holy City. This "city" will be HUGE! It'll be "big cities" like New York, LA, Hong
This place truly sounds heavenly. And I don't know about you, but in a city where I can see God's face, drink from the Living Water, and eat of the Tree of Life, I doubt I'll miss Chick-fil-A, want to play football on God's front lawn, or even chat with Elijah, John the Baptist, and King David. All I'll want to do is worship the King in humble, fearful, grateful reverence.
Showing posts with label Light. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Light. Show all posts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Burn With a Passion For the Lost
Preaching in Galilee, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
What does it mean to be the "light of the world"? My mom was eight years old when she went to Israel. When she visited the Sea of Galilee, she learned what Jesus meant. Before I tell you, though, you ought to know that the Galilean Sea is two hundred feet below sea level and surrounded by mountains. The Sea is three miles wide and seven miles long, and in the day time, you can see shore to shore. But at nighttime, you can't see across. Now here is what Jesus meant in his parable: Before electricity was invented, they used candles to see at night. At dusk, a member of each house took a candle that had been kept concealed in a basket all day and went down to the shore. Lighting the candle, they placed their candles on the shore. The flickering flame of the candle told the fishermen where exactly on the shoreline to dock. Using landmarks, memory, and the candle, fishermen knew exactly where home was.
Are you starting to see what Jesus meant with this parable? Candles kept in the basket were utterly useless. They provided no light and led no one to shore. It was only when they were lit and posted on the shore could the fishermen see the light and know precisely where to go. We are supposed to be like these candles. Without that candle, the fishermen could spend hours wandering the Sea, trying to find home. And unless we display our light, we won't be leading anyone to Christ.
Light always defeats darkness. One small flame in a dark room illuminates the entire room. But one shadow in a lighted room does not devour the light. Light is stronger; light always prevails. We are to be lights in this dark world. In darkness, people are always drawn to the light, no matter how small it is. Why is that? Something in us yearns for light. Did you know that there's a small town in Alaska with a substantial number of suicides. Why? The sun only shines a few months of the year. People need the sun. We need vitamins and warmth from the sun, and, if you ask me, there's something about the sun that makes people happy and kind-hearted and lively. Did you know that people trapped in caves go stark raving mad and blind? Why? Trapped in a cave, they obviously never see the sun. Without the sun, the body does not get the vitamins it needs; parts of the body, like the eyes, simply stop working. If you spend too much time in the darkness, you will become blind. It's our job to be the flame. If we don't shine, no one will. Then what will our world look like? Everyone will be spiritually blind, sin will reign, darkness will be in control. We must be the light that beckons and calls others to Christ.
We need to be constant, stationary, consistent. Our job is to be the light that tells others where Christ is. We are supposed to point lost, wandering people to Heaven, to that shining City on a Hill. Burn with a passion for the lost. Fire up your flame for the lost. Our flame could be what brings someone to Christ.
The message the candle sent was, "Home is here! Here, you'll find comfort, rest, love! There is where you want to be! There's a loving family waiting upon your arrival; don't miss out!" Our message should be the same, word for word. Jesus also told us to be fishers of men. That's what those candles were: they fished the fishermen home. Are we to do anything different?
What does it mean to be the "light of the world"? My mom was eight years old when she went to Israel. When she visited the Sea of Galilee, she learned what Jesus meant. Before I tell you, though, you ought to know that the Galilean Sea is two hundred feet below sea level and surrounded by mountains. The Sea is three miles wide and seven miles long, and in the day time, you can see shore to shore. But at nighttime, you can't see across. Now here is what Jesus meant in his parable: Before electricity was invented, they used candles to see at night. At dusk, a member of each house took a candle that had been kept concealed in a basket all day and went down to the shore. Lighting the candle, they placed their candles on the shore. The flickering flame of the candle told the fishermen where exactly on the shoreline to dock. Using landmarks, memory, and the candle, fishermen knew exactly where home was.
Are you starting to see what Jesus meant with this parable? Candles kept in the basket were utterly useless. They provided no light and led no one to shore. It was only when they were lit and posted on the shore could the fishermen see the light and know precisely where to go. We are supposed to be like these candles. Without that candle, the fishermen could spend hours wandering the Sea, trying to find home. And unless we display our light, we won't be leading anyone to Christ.
Light always defeats darkness. One small flame in a dark room illuminates the entire room. But one shadow in a lighted room does not devour the light. Light is stronger; light always prevails. We are to be lights in this dark world. In darkness, people are always drawn to the light, no matter how small it is. Why is that? Something in us yearns for light. Did you know that there's a small town in Alaska with a substantial number of suicides. Why? The sun only shines a few months of the year. People need the sun. We need vitamins and warmth from the sun, and, if you ask me, there's something about the sun that makes people happy and kind-hearted and lively. Did you know that people trapped in caves go stark raving mad and blind? Why? Trapped in a cave, they obviously never see the sun. Without the sun, the body does not get the vitamins it needs; parts of the body, like the eyes, simply stop working. If you spend too much time in the darkness, you will become blind. It's our job to be the flame. If we don't shine, no one will. Then what will our world look like? Everyone will be spiritually blind, sin will reign, darkness will be in control. We must be the light that beckons and calls others to Christ.
We need to be constant, stationary, consistent. Our job is to be the light that tells others where Christ is. We are supposed to point lost, wandering people to Heaven, to that shining City on a Hill. Burn with a passion for the lost. Fire up your flame for the lost. Our flame could be what brings someone to Christ.
The message the candle sent was, "Home is here! Here, you'll find comfort, rest, love! There is where you want to be! There's a loving family waiting upon your arrival; don't miss out!" Our message should be the same, word for word. Jesus also told us to be fishers of men. That's what those candles were: they fished the fishermen home. Are we to do anything different?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Songs- Already Over
(Post 2 in a series on songs)
Already Over by RED
A few years ago, I stumbled across this song. At first, I did not fully understand what the lyrics meant. I wasn't sure what was "already over" nor what he was reaching for. After listening to it a couple times, an idea popped into my head. Perhaps the song meant that life in itself was already over; Jesus had already died, thus Lucifer's hope to be better than God was firmly destroyed and the gap between humanity and God was bridged. The end of the times we live in has been predicted and everything is set. We're just waiting out the clock for time to end. For those who don't know, when time ends, the followers of Jesus will live with Him in eternal bliss forever, and everyone else will suffer incomprehensibly forever. So, in my mind, the time we have can be used to literally do anything for God. We truly don't have to worry about anything since it's already over and God's sealed the deal.
In the music video, I love the portrayal between light and dark. The vines in the video, which represent sin, remind me of comic book character Venom. I'm reminded of of Spider-Man 3 when Peter Parker becomes possessed by the black, tar-ish alien substance that mutates his attitude and suffocates his good qualities. The same thing happens here, except that lead singer Mike Barnes is trying to reach the woman in the adjacent room, but is stopped by the black vines. However, the light prevails and destroys all the evil in the room. At the end, the two are surrounded by stark whiteness. To some degree, I think the end of the world will be like this. In addition, Red shows the fact that no matter how strong sin or temptation or evil feels, it is always weaker than the love of Jesus, the Light of the world. No matter what, as long as we hang on to Jesus, we make not make it though our problems in one piece, or even alive, but we'll still have Jesus.
Already Over by RED
A few years ago, I stumbled across this song. At first, I did not fully understand what the lyrics meant. I wasn't sure what was "already over" nor what he was reaching for. After listening to it a couple times, an idea popped into my head. Perhaps the song meant that life in itself was already over; Jesus had already died, thus Lucifer's hope to be better than God was firmly destroyed and the gap between humanity and God was bridged. The end of the times we live in has been predicted and everything is set. We're just waiting out the clock for time to end. For those who don't know, when time ends, the followers of Jesus will live with Him in eternal bliss forever, and everyone else will suffer incomprehensibly forever. So, in my mind, the time we have can be used to literally do anything for God. We truly don't have to worry about anything since it's already over and God's sealed the deal.
In the music video, I love the portrayal between light and dark. The vines in the video, which represent sin, remind me of comic book character Venom. I'm reminded of of Spider-Man 3 when Peter Parker becomes possessed by the black, tar-ish alien substance that mutates his attitude and suffocates his good qualities. The same thing happens here, except that lead singer Mike Barnes is trying to reach the woman in the adjacent room, but is stopped by the black vines. However, the light prevails and destroys all the evil in the room. At the end, the two are surrounded by stark whiteness. To some degree, I think the end of the world will be like this. In addition, Red shows the fact that no matter how strong sin or temptation or evil feels, it is always weaker than the love of Jesus, the Light of the world. No matter what, as long as we hang on to Jesus, we make not make it though our problems in one piece, or even alive, but we'll still have Jesus.
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