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Heaven Will Be Glorious

Writer's picture: Pastor BrettPastor Brett

Isaiah 60:1-3, 17-22

Our primary activity in Heaven will be our eternal worship of God.

            Last November, Pastor John Burke published a book entitled, Imagine the God of Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God’s Revelation, and the Love You’ve Always Wanted.  This man has studied thousands accounts of NDEs - Near Death Experiences - and believes that, when taken in total, the commonalities of these experiences illustrate and give evidence for the biblical record about Heaven.

            It’s been reported that millions of people around the world have had a near-death experience.  These experiences have occurred throughout history.  Modern medical resuscitation and digital communication may have increased the occurrence and reporting of NDEs.

            In this book, his second volume on the subject, Burke reveals the God of all nations, revealed first in creation and then in Scripture, illustrated by seventy near-death experiences.  In a time as this, people need to know a loving God is real and is within their reach.

            Of course, John Burke has his critics and followers.  His first book, Imagine Heaven, was a bestseller.  He used to pastor a mega-church in Austin, Texas. 

            Before we finish this series of messages about Heaven, let me share some words of caution about NDEs:

            1) Scripture is our first and most important source of information about Heaven and the afterlife.  Any teaching that contradicts or adds to Scripture while citing an NDE as an authority equal to the Bible is not to be believed.

            2) An NDE is a dramatic experience, but no one should ever be believed merely on the claim of this kind of encounter.

            3) NDEs are subjective, personal events.  They cannot be duplicated, observed, or verified in any way.

            4) All NDEs are expressions of memory and are highly interpreted.  The person relating their story may innocently embellish details.

            5) Our medical definition of death is very fluid and subject to debate.  Was the person having an NDE really dead?

            6) By definition, a person having a NDE is not dead, but nearly dead.

            For all these reasons and more, our beliefs about the afterlife need to originate in Scripture.  NDEs may illustrate the truth but are not evidence of the truth.  Consume NDE reports with skepticism, recognizing  their limited usage.  Actually, we don’t need NDEs or any other kind of evidence.  The Bible tells us all we need to know about Heaven.

1. All people can be drawn to the light of God’s glory. (vs. 1-3)

            Like a beautiful sunrise you must awaken to see, verse one promises the brilliant light of God’s glory is dawning on His city.  The LIGHT of Jerusalem would be the reflected glory of God that RISES to SHINE on them.  This display of radiance is for ALL TO SEE.  This teaching of universal access to God is developed further in verse three and throughout this psalm.  More on that later.

            The light of God’s glory over Jerusalem is contrasted with the DARKNESS hanging over every other nation on earth (v. 2).  DARKNESS is a biblical symbol of sin, evil, and ignorance.  LIGHT is a symbol of righteousness, goodness, and knowledge.

            The NATIONS OF THE EARTH are the people who practice idolatry and sin.  Here NATIONS are not as much defined by geopolitical boundaries as they are spiritual and moral qualities.

            The GLORY OF THE LORD RISES and APPEARS over His people, those persons who have, by faith, received His salvation.  We live in His light by loving God and obeying His commands.

            People from all places and every class of society can be drawn to the light (v. 3). Universal access is not to be confused with universal acceptance.  It is the teaching of Scripture that God gives all people an opportunity to be saved, but most of them will reject it and condemn themselves.  This is the justice of God: He provides the light to lead everyone out of darkness.  Sadly, the majority of people will choose to remain in the darkness and suffer damnation because of it.

            The text tells us ALL NATIONS will come to see the LIGHT, not that they will receive the LIGHT or be transformed by it.  It only confirms that the NATIONS and KINGS will behold it. This reminds me of Revelation 1:7 = Look!  He comes with the clouds of heaven.  And everyone will see him - even those who pierced him.  And all the nations of the world will mourn for him.  Yes!  Amen!

            God, in His grace, makes the offer of salvation universally available to all people.  He will not, however, cancel their free will and make them accept His offer.  That decision is made by each individual and they will be responsible for the consequences.

2. The glory of God will drive out the darkness of evil. (vs. 17-18)

            Those who choose to enter into the light will experience God’s eternal renewal.  For example, He will make ordinary things much more valuable (v. 17).  He will exchange BRONZE FOR GOLD and IRON FOR SILVER, metals that have a similar appearance but different monetary values.  He will exchange relatively worthless WOOD FOR BRONZE, and worthless STONES FOR IRON, very gracious trades.  This is a material and poetic way of illustrating a spiritual truth, how heaven will be a perfected version of this world and we will be perfected versions of ourselves.

            This creation is frequently troubled by conflict and violence.  The New Creation will be characterized by perfect peace and righteousness (v. 17).  Jeremiah also foresaw a perfected eternal existence with God: Jeremiah 31:33-34 = “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.  And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”  These great promises are for our benefit and God’s glory.

            In the New Creation, war will be no more; all violence will end (v. 18), even DISAPPEAR entirely.  How rare is peace in this world and almost always uneasy.  Heaven will be marked by perfect peace.  Isaiah returned to this promise in 65:25 = “The wolf and the lamb will feed together.  The lion will eat hay like a cow.  But the snakes will eat dust.  In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain.  I, the Lord, have spoken!”

            God’s SALVATION will provide perfect security, resulting in praise of the LORD (v. 18). SALVATION will SURROUND us like the walls of an ancient city.  This is a picture of complete safety, a life without anxiety.  PRAISE WILL BE ON THE LIPS OF ALL WHO ENTER THERE, which is exactly what you’d expect from people who have received all the delights Heaven will have to offer.  Also, this is a reminder that chief of our joyous activities in Heaven will be worshiping God.

3. The glory of God will delight His people. (vs. 19-22)

            In his Revelation, John echoed Isaiah’s glorious prophecies in vs. 19-20. (Compare these verses with Revelation 21:23; 22:5.)  Note that it does not say in verse nineteen there will be no sun or moon, it simply says they will not be needed; the glory of God will shine so brilliantly it will supplant them.  In fact, v. 20 specifically says they will remain and will keep shining.

            Let’s list the praise-worthy blessings God promised.

- The end of MOURNING (see Revelation 21:4).

- Everyone will be RIGHTEOUS; they will bring God GLORY.

- They will remain in the land FOREVER. (vs. 20-22)

- They will prosper and multiply.

            When will all this come to pass?  When will all these promises be kept?  Verse 22 gives us the answer: AT THE RIGHT TIME the LORD WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN.  This is what Paul said of Jesus’ first coming in Galatians 4:4 = But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  Likewise, His second coming will have perfect timing.

            You and I have different ideas about the RIGHT TIME, but the only way we can be certain is to trust God to know.  When the RIGHT TIME arrives, Jesus will appear and we will join Him around the throne.  His appearance will usher in the New Creation and that will be the Heaven that Isaiah has envisioned here in chapter 60.

Our primary activity in Heaven will be our eternal worship of God.

            In a show of interchurch cooperation, a priest and a pastor stood by the side of the road holding up two signs.  The pastor’s sign read, "The End is Near!”  The priest’s sign said, “Turn around before it's too late!"       A car approached at high speed.  "Leave us alone, you religious nuts!" yelled a passenger as the car sped by. From around the curve, they heard a big splash.

            "Do you think," the pastor said to the priest, "we should held up a sign that says 'bridge out' instead?"

            Not every unchurched person will be ready to hear about Heaven, but many will be eager for a promise of Heaven when death is near.  What would you say in such a situation?  What would you articulate as a biblical belief about Heaven?

            Allow me to offer the following: “When we talk about Heaven, we’re talking about the forever home of all people who have trusted their souls to Jesus.  It is the most real, most perfect, most pleasurable place ever described.  It will be familiar but different from this world, a perfected world, a new creation.  We will enjoy unlimited time to worship God and love one another.  There will be nothing in Heaven that is evil or hurtful: for the first time we will experience perfect peace.  Now, what would such a place be worth to you?”

 

RESOURCES:

            Information about John Burke retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Imagine-God-Heaven-Near-Death-Experiences/dp/1496479904 on 15 August 2024.

            End times joke retrieved from https://www.math.ttu.edu/~pearce/jokes1/joke-153.html on 15 August 2024.

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