For this study, I wish
to use this term: “John’s vision of heaven, OR IS IT?” We will address
the subject of heaven from scriptures that directly support and define the true
meaning of the word. Our emphasis will be centered around John’s vision of what
the great majority of Christians deem to be heaven as outlined in Revelation 21:
1-3. The word “heaven” for the greater percentage of Christians continues to be
highlighted across the vast realm of Christendom as the place where people go to
be with Jesus as soon as they die.
As practiced in many
local Assemblies, during testimony time mainly during the Sunday evening
service, one by one the saints end their testimony by saying: “pray for my
strength in the Lord to be faithful to the end, for I mean to make heaven my
home.” Even the un-churched person on the street, entertains and subscribes to
the concept of going to heaven after death. I grew up in a Baptist environment
and got saved in what was called “Church of God” and became a preacher among
those who looked forward to going to heaven. Watching the eastern skies was a
constant mantra to the wise, making ready for the trip on high.
Since then, or in
recent years, my understanding of heaven gradually changed based upon what the
Lord spoke to my heart in London about the year 1966. He told me to read the
bible slowly, and to watch every word in the text, because words have meanings,
and taken out of context can divert from the truth. Since then I have based my
study and my writings solely upon what the bible said, and not upon the usual
doctrinal frame work of the local Assembly. Think of the common ideas contained
in songs and even in sermons by leading ministers of the gospel. We are familiar
with the Negro-Spirituals that espouse the idea that “I have robe, you have
robe, when I get to heaven am gonna put on my robe and walk all over God’s
heaven.” One of our favorite from back home is: “I’m gonna walk on streets of
glory, bye and bye (repeat) I’m gonna walk on streets of glory, I’m gonna sing
redemption story, I’m gonna walk on streets of glory by and by.”
Another popular song
that brings back fond memories of my teenage years in church is this: “We shall
have a grand time up in heaven: we shall have a grand time up in heaven, have a
grand time; walking with the angels, singing hallelujah, we shall have a grand
time up in heaven, have a grand time.” I have a mansion, just over the
hilltop—Lord build me just a cabin in the corner of glory land.” We sing these
songs, get so happy that while some faces are awash with tears, others break
into a dance—all about heaven! But what does the scripture say about these
beliefs about heaven?
Many months ago, I
placed a challenge on Face Book for any one who can find in the bible where
Jesus, upon his return to earth, took his people back with him to heaven, to
please send the scriptures, so I can read them for myself. NO ONE DID, because
there is no such scripture or scriptures. The best approach I can think of in
this study, is for us to go all the way back in time to the creation story, to
assure ourselves of God’s personal account of what HE called heaven. The idea is
not for us to discount the reality of heaven as outlined in scripture; but
rather to acquire a true understanding of the subject as verified and
substantiated in scripture.
Let us assume that
there are a thousand different groups with each one teaching their own version
of heaven, it stands to reason that all thousand groups cannot be correct: so,
the best approach for us to ascertain the “biblical truth” is for us to do a
biblical safari. Let us go back to the act of creation and see how God named the
newly created universe. “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters
which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament:
and it was so. And God called the firmament HEAVEN. And the evening and
the morning were the second day.” Genesis 1:7, 8. Because Paul mentioned
being caught up to the third heaven, many have set about to set them in this
chronological order. They say, the first heaven is the atmospheric heaven
outside our bedroom window. The second is the starry heaven where we see the
sun, moon, and stars; and the third, is the angelic heaven where God dwells.
That sort of explain the three heavens, but it said that the Jews believe in
seven heavens. However, the bible gives us a much bigger figure in the number of
heavens that we need to consider, so as to put the matter in its proper context.
Give this scripture
your sincere thought as to the truth it contains. “By the word of the Lord
were the heavens made; and all the hosts of them by the breath of
his mouth. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”
Psalm 33: 6, 9. The heavens are so numerous the writer did even bother to
put a figure to his account. In my short study of the subject of going to heaven
after death, it seems to me that on Old Testament times, that concept was not
embraced or even considered by the ancients. Let us see what happened at death,
or after death back in olden times. We can examine the passing of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, and even those who perished in the flood of Noah’s
day. Let us examine the accounts of those who died or were exhorted by
the Lord as to their ultimate end of life.
The purpose here, is
to confirm the fact that people in those ancient times did not see “going to
heaven” as their ultimate reward and their final destination. Let us begin with
Abraham. After affirming the destiny of his seeds that would end up in Egyptian
Bondage, we read: “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou
shalt be buried in a good old age.” Genesis 15: 15. “Then Abraham gave up the
ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man full of years; and was gathered
to his people.” Gen.25:8. Next in line is Isaac. “And Isaac gave up
the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full
of days.” Genesis 35: 29. Once again, we emphasize the fact that going to
heaven after death did not figure into the equation, and seemingly, was not a
part of the mindset of people back in ancient times.
There are two major
take-aways from the accounts referred to above, that do not require a lot of
research or deliberations. The first reality that is self-evident, is that the
person who dies did not come to an end or cease to exist, and the second is that
the departed fathers have not gone away as if in thin air or in a mist. Both the
newly dead person and the long deceased loved ones remain in “real time” no
matter what side of the equation they occupy—be it present time, or on the other
side in the realm of spirit. But when we add this truth, it is not surprising:
“For all live unto him.” Luke 20:38. Having said that, let us for
a moment stand as mere spectators, viewing the inner workings of the Divine
between two worlds. On one side of the equation is a world lying as it were, a
vast waste land. On the other, is a family of eight setting out to begin the
replenishing of the earth (starting from scratch.)
What do we see when we
look at “Mother Earth?” “And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both
of fowl, and of cattle, and of beasts, and of every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of
life, of all that was in the dry land DIED.” Genesis 7: 21, 22. As a
bible teacher, an elder in the local church, or simply a Christian, how would
you connect both the old “destroyed world” with the world of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob? Is there a message of redemption that directly relates to the dead? Does
God hold out any hope for those who died in the flood because they ignored and
bluntly rejected the preaching of Noah?
I do not profess to
hear and understand every sermon preached on this subject; so, I will ask you if
somewhere along the way, over the years, you have heard bible studies and
sermons directly involving these “lost souls.” From my days in Sunday school, I
used to hear preachers say that there is no repentance in the grave: where the
tree falls, there will it remain until judgment takes its course. For the most
part, it has been greatly overlooked or willfully ignored, and to venture into
the realm of the dead, to make any contact with the dead, is called “taboo” by
the church. But when we understand this profound truth that is substantiated and
under girded by biblical truth, we are compelled to recalibrate our mindset
Peter opened to us a
brand-new doctrine (though not new at all) that completes God’s saving grace as
it reaches through the land of the living and the dead. We are taken back in
time by Peter: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God (that is mankind in general) being
put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went
and preached unto the spirits in prison: which sometime were disobedient,
when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was
a preparing. For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are
dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh but live
according to God in the spirit.” 1st Peter 3:18-20; 4:6. Let us
see how death and its aftermath was treated back in olden times. We will begin
with Abraham. God spoke to this man in clear and distinct language, pertaining
to his seed that would end up in four hundred years of Egyptian bondage. But
among those prophetic details, God delivered a personal message to Abraham.
“And thou shalt go
to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.” Genesis
15: 15.
Here is the fulfillment of that prophecy! Then Abraham gave up
the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man; and was gathered to his
people.” Genesis 25: 8. The narrative now shifts to Isaac. “And Isaac
gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old
and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.” Genesis 35: 29.
We move down the chain of the family tree to Jacob. “And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet
into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.”
Genesis 49: 33.
The biblical narrative
moves down the corridor of time to David the king of Israel.
“So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the
city of
David.” 1st Kings 2:10.
And what about
Solomon, David’s son? “And Solomon slept with his fathers and was
buried in the city of David his father.” 2nd Chronicles 9:31.
Throughout the archives of biblical narratives, the idea of going to heaven
after death does not figure into the equation. In every case the person who
dies, is gathered unto his people. In fact, even today, people who have had
“near death experience” tell of meeting their loved ones with whom they had
conversation and was told that they had to return to earth and resume their
normal life. Jesus spoke a parable that we can highlight at this juncture, in
our quest for a better understanding to this subject.
The Lord said in a
parable: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then shall be gathered all nations before him: and he shall
separate them one from another. Then shall the King say unto them on his right
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:31-34. Thus far, death among the
people of old did not seem to culminate in a trip to heaven. The subject of
heaven is not mentioned or alluded to in any of these Old Testament “real life
stories.”. The overwhelming theme is that the departed soul would be gathered
unto “his people, or his fathers”. I have heard it said that during the days of
slavery, the slaves were promised heaven as their reward for being obedient and
hard workers. Heaven became an incentive for these poor slaves. I try not to be
negative in my observations of the Christian landscape; l but here is my
personal observation.
(continued)
