DISCERNING COMMON QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIONS ABOUT HEAVEN
Hebrews 11:12-16
In the past two messages I preached on this passage, I addressed two specific issues in regard to our promise of Heaven.
1. When we die, we are conscious and are with the Lord; but this is not our eternal state.
2. When Christ returns, we will receive a resurrected body, and our eternal condition will be a physical condition.
Now, today before I go further into our study of Hebrews 11, I wanted to devote one more week to the issue of Heaven and eternity --- I want to seek to give answers to some of the most commonly answered questions.
Disclaimer: I have never been to heaven, because I am still alive. Thus, when I speak on this subject I am going to try my absolute best to stick simply to what the Bible says.
And since the Bible does not give us an exhaustive view of eternity and Heaven, not all of our questions will be answered.
QUESTIONS:
It is hard to imagine what Heaven will be like; should we even try?
QUOTE: Elder David Fairchild, “We cannot desire that which we cannot imagine...when we say we cannot imagine what heaven will be like, we completely disregard all that God has revealed to us about our eternal home.” What Fairchild is saying is that not only CAN we imagine what heaven will be like, we SHOULD imagine it, because we cannot desire that which we cannot imagine. The Bible is so clear about what heaven will be like in so many ways, we need really imagine very little - just trust the Scriptures to be true - to be have our desires enhanced for this heavenly city.
READ: Revelation 21:1-27; 22:1-5
Now, so many have tried to make these words to be allegorical or interpretive.
But, just imagine if they are what they say they are-an expression of truth about what we are to expect in our eternal home. Is that so hard?
Sometimes contemplating Heaven can seem overwhelming to some, and to some it is a fool’s errand.
Famed physicist Stephen Hawking made recent comments about the existence of heaven saying, “There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers,” Hawking said of the human brain to the Guardian newspaper Monday. “That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”
Our heart should break for one who utters such words.
For the believer, seeking after the reality of Heaven is one our earthly rewards.
We get to imagine about, hope about, and pray for the Kingdom of Heaven to come.
We are even commanded to do so...
Colossians 3:1 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
QUOTE: A.W. Pink “To "seek" after Heaven must be the chief aim and supreme task which the Christian sets before him: laying aside all that would hinder, and using every means which God has appointed. The world must be held loosely, the affections be set upon things above, and the heart constantly exercised about treading the Narrow Way, which alone leads thither.”
How can I be happy in heaven, if it comes to pass that I am there, but my most precious loved one is not there?
Some believe in a loss of memory. Isaiah 65:17 ESV “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”
Yet, it is not likely that this passage is referring to us losing memory of ourselves, or our identities because to do so would be to remove an essential part of who we are, making eternal life somewhat without significance.
It raises the question: If this life is forgotten, what significance has it had?
Furthermore, Scripture indicates that the souls in Revelation 5 remembered their martyrdom, that Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration were recognizable as individuals, and that we will eat with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Certainly this would go against the idea that we forget our identities in the new earth. Others contend that it is not that memory will be lost, but that complete sanctification will be gained.
I think this is a much more biblical explanation.
If anything, the Bible seems to indicate that we will know and understand more, not less.
1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
Consider this: Will God forget the unredeemed? No, God cannot forget.
Yet, will He be saddened for all eternity at their demise?
No, because He understands that His holy requirements demanded their just punishment.
It is certain that when we are fully sanctified that we too will be able to understand that their punishment is just, and it will not steal from our eternal joy.
Right now we cannot understand this---because right now we are not yet fully sanctified.
Illustration: “Hitler in Hell” Most of us go through life fully aware that Adolph Hitler is probably in Hell, yet it does not steal from our joy. Why? Because we believe his sins were atrocious, and his punishment is just. It is likely that when we are sanctified, we will look upon the sins of all the unredeemed with equal understanding of its just condemnation.
Why is there no marriage in Heaven?
This is actually a significant question based on a question which was posed to Jesus.
Matthew 22:23–30 ESV “The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.” But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
This is actually a reason why some go after the Mormon religion, because in Mormonism theology the marriage ceremony lasts into the next life...and for some with strong marriages where the love is so fervent, there is difficulty believing that this can be severed even by death.
Yet, Jesus is clear that the marriage relationship is ended at the resurrection.
But why?
Because the marriage relationship provided many things which will not be needed in heaven.
First, there will be no need for procreative relations in heaven, as their will be no more growth in population.
Second, there will be no need for the symbolism of marriage, as the marriage symbolizes the relationship between Christ and His bride, and this will forever be a living reality, without the need of symbols.
Finally, and most importantly, while husbands and wives who are believers will share in the common unity of a loving relationship for eternity, it will not be the primary relationship. The primary relationship in heaven is with Jesus himself. Husbands and wives on earth will become brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of Heaven, and their primary love relationship with be with Christ.
For those who have intense love in their marriage, this should not be a fearful thing to imagine, but a hopeful thing.
The love you have will go through all eternity - just in a different form.
You will have no sin, no divide, and no pain between you; and Christ will be in the midst of all as the focal point of the love that is shared by all.
CONCLUSION: It is an awesome thing to contemplate all of the questions of Heaven, and today we have only really dealt with a few.
But as we begin to close, I want you to consider two final thoughts:
(1) Some fear the concept of heaven because the change will be so overwhelming, thus they have trouble seeking it.
For those, I would propose this analogy: Before birth, we are very comfortable in the womb. And when the time for birth comes, it comes with travail and difficulty.
We didn’t want to leave the womb - it provided all we needed; it was safe and comfortable.
Yet, none of us would at this time submit ourselves back to the confines of the womb.
I submit that this same thought could be used in regard to our transition to heaven.
Unless Jesus returns, we will all suffer the travail of death.
Yet, once their, we will likely wonder how we ever survived here in the confines of this sinful flesh.
(2) Some are unsure of where they are going when they die, thus they cannot live with assurance in this life.
Maybe this is you today - maybe you are one who cannot fathom the idea of Heaven because you have no confidence you are going to be there.
Maybe you do not believe in God, even though the Bible assures us that there is ample evidence in all of creation for His existence.
Maybe you think that you are a good person, and if God exists, He will certainly let you into Heaven… I remind you that the Bible is clear that you are a sinner, you are unrighteous, no matter how good you may think you are --- and that you deserve God’s wrath.
Maybe you have never heard the Gospel, which I declare to you today.
Go has commanded all people everywhere to repent of their sins, and bow their knee to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Jesus said that He is the way to eternal life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.
Have you trusted Him? Do you know Him?
Only through Him will you have life. Do you have life today?
