In the third part of my post about Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), we will discuss heaven; what it might be like and the hope and assurance that those who love God and believe in Jesus Christ will spend eternity with Him there. What a great gift God has offered us, if we only accept it by believing and trusting in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
John 14:1-3
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
John 3:16-18
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.“
Whoever believes in Jesus Christ is not condemned, but has eternal life in heaven. Whoever does not believe and has not accepted God’s grace, is already condemned and doomed for hell. It seems like such an easy choice. We can accept God’s love and trust in Jesus, who will give us eternal life in heaven and adopt us as sons and daughters, or we can rebel against God and suffer the torments of hell and be separated from Him. But how awesome it will be when we get to heaven. It is my prayer that all those who read this, all my friends and family, all my neighbors and community, all my coworkers, will know Jesus and will be with me in heaven someday.
Revelation 21:1-8
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, 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 heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
One day Jesus will return and take his people home. There will be a time when we will be with Him in heaven where there will be no more suffering or death or sin. Those who do not follow Jesus, whose names are not written in The Book of Life will be in hell, a place of eternal torment, separated from God. But we will be forever in His presence thanks to His grace. The place He has prepared for us will be beyond comprehension, beyond our imagination.
Revelation 22:1-5
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
All the trials and struggles we go through because of our faith in Christ will all be worth it. No amount of suffering or persecution will compare to the glory and inheritance that awaits us in heaven. And not only that, but He gives us peace and joy that we can have here and now. We have a living hope through the sacrifice, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That gives us great joy and we eagerly await of what is to come.
1 Peter 1:3-12
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.
Imagine that…angels desire what we will have! Our faith will be tested. And when we come through it we will be stronger. And not only that, we will receive a reward. And besides that, we have that hope that is in us, knowing that we will be transformed and that we will be in His glory.
Philippians 3:20-21
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
This is our temporary home. One day we will be in our permanent home in heaven. All who believe, who trust in Jesus Christ will have all this awaiting them. It will be a day of rejoicing. Even now when a person turns to Jesus, there is rejoicing in heaven. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to hear all the angels and saints in heaven celebrating the new life of a believer?!
Luke 15:7
I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
One day there will be a great celebration in heaven. It will be a feast like no other for all those written in The Book of Life. Jesus is waiting for His bride, the church. Let us be ready and look forward to that day!
Revelation 19:6-9
And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”
I pray that all who read this (and who do not) will be able to take part in that great celebration. Jesus came to this earth to die on the cross, paying for our sins so that we may believe and be saved. We do not do good works to be saved, we do works because we are saved. Jesus did it all, for all. Jesus offers that gift to everyone, and those who accept it will have eternal life in heaven. That is the gospel. That is what it takes to be a part of the celebration, to obtain the inheritance that waits for us in heaven, and gives us hope and assurance and joy here and now.
Titus 3:4-7
But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
My Daily Scriptures 