A Better Country – A Place Called Heaven

Hebrews 11:16 (NASB) 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

Many Christians tend to ponder very little about their eternal destination other than being satisfied in saying, “I know I’m going to Heaven someday.” If one thinks “too much” about Heaven, the accusation of “being too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good” jokingly gets tossed around. But then “life happens,” when the stings and distresses of mortality – and eternity – threatens our lives. It is in the crucible of those times of sobering experiences of hardship, sickness, fear, loss or grief that we may become “hopefully homesick.” I have had many such occasions in my life, and I’m sure you have too, especially if you’re a Christian. I believe it would be more assuring rather than unsettling and uncertain to have a more grounded understanding about Heaven, the “better country” toward which we are directed by our faith in Jesus Christ.

Back in 2009, as a new pastor in Wichita Falls, Texas, I went with others from my church one evening to go to a neighboring church, Central Baptist Church in Burkburnett, Texas to hear their invited speaker, Pastor Don Piper present his captivating testimony about his death in a car accident in January 1989, being declared dead for 90 minutes, his experiences in Heaven, his miraculous resurrection, his 13 month ordeal of 34 surgeries and recovery in hospitals, and his message of hope and salvation available today. We were tremendously blessed and excited to hear (and later ask questions) about his time in Heaven. His best-selling book, 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life (available here here here), movie (premiered 9/11/2014) and interview with Pastor Randy Phillips (2020) are available for your consideration to look into further. Pastor Piper later met the retired DPS trooper who responded to his accident. The book has sold more than 9 million copies to date, and has been translated into many languages. Let’s be clear, his was not a near death experience (NDE) encounter, rather it was a “Lazarus” death and resurrection encounter! Of all the wonderful things he shared with us that evening, one of the most memorable to me were his statements, “Heaven is a real place. The more we know about it, the more we should anticipate it. As I have often suggested, Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people.”

It is with that suggestion that I write for you to consider how prepared you are for the place that Jesus is preparing for us for eternity with Him. First, there are many misconceptions about Heaven, and as a result, has been mischaracterized. Here are just a few:

• People turn into angels with wings, are given harps, recline on clouds and are eternally bored with nothing to do

• Live forever without a body

• Won’t remember our former lives or be us anymore

• That the Christian’s eternal home is Heaven

• Heaven will be a never-ending church and choir service. Keep in mind that hymn lyrics, though inspiring, are not always theologically correct. We will be worshiping, praising God, and singing, but we’ll be doing other activities as well. Here are a few hymn lyrics that may be somewhat misleading:

• My Jesus, I Love Thee - “In mansions of glory and endless delight, I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright”

• I’ll Sing Forever More of Jesus - “I'll sing forevermore of Jesus”; “I'll worship Him and fear Him, and exalt Him all my days”

• Heaven is filled with mansions. The word “mansions” is used twice in the New Testament (Jn. 14:2; Jn. 14:23) and literally means “dwelling places,” or “abodes.” Again, some lyrics of beloved hymns are not theologically accurate:

• Mansion Over the Hilltop - “I want a mansion, a harp, and a crown”; a mansion that’s a “gold one that’s silver lined”

• Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul - “I have a future in heaven for sure, There in those mansions sublime”

• Spend all of eternity in the clouds

As Jesus was preparing the disciples for His soon ascension to Heaven, He provides them with three powerful, clear promises. They are very reassuring, so much so that I use them often when officiating funerals to comfort families of departed believers.

Three Promises from Jesus About Heaven (Jn. 14:1-3)

1. It is a Real Place - “...if it were not so, I would have told you” (14:2). Jesus’ use of the word “told” has a stronger sense than merely informing or mentioning others about something. It was more like us saying today, “specifically or emphatically said” so as not to be misleading or allowing false assumptions to be made. Jesus defined Heaven, though unseen, as a concretely existing and purposeful place, not just an abstract concept.

2. It is a Promised Place - “...I will come again and receive you to Myself...” (14:3). The “you” are believers only, the redeemed, the purchased, the blood bought (Rom. 6:22-23). It does not apply to “hopeful earners” who think they can work their way into Heaven (Eph. 2:8-9). It also does not apply to “wishful thinkers” who believe something hard enough that God will let them into Heaven. It is also by no means a universal destination for everyone (a later post about Hell). Jesus promises a return to take believers there. He said, “I will come again” (palin erchomai), meaning a future, definite promise. Christians of all eschatological (Bible prophecy) beliefs should recognize this as the primary Messianic hope from the one and only risen, redeeming Savior. Jesus stated that he will receive us (Gr. paralambano = a taking out or away from a place). This is not a passive receiving as one might go somewhere and not be turned away, but rather active taking, abd very similar to the Lord Jesus seizing or snatching out (Gr. harpazo) of believers by resurrection and rapture prior to the Tribulation.

3. It is a Prepared Place - “...for I go to prepare a place for you...” (14:2). Prepared for whom? For those who are already prepared in Christ as believers. Heaven is therefore:

• An abode, or dwelling place, for those who abide in Christ (Jn. 14:23; Jn. 15:4)

• A place of rest for those who have entered His rest (Heb. 4:1-11)

• A place of reward for those whose heart’s treasure is not of this world (Matt. 6:21; Lk. 6:23; Lk. 12:34; 1 Cor. 3:11-15; 1 Tim. 6:19; 2 Jn. 8)

If Heaven is a temporary place for believers, what happens during the Millennial Kingdom and beyond into eternity (premillennial dispensational beliefs)?

 As we will see, God has richly provided for His own, and offers much mercy and grace even through severe future judgments to come. He is not willing that any should perish (2 Pet. 3:9), but that all should come to repentance. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 33:11), but would rather them turn from their sin to Him.

Truths About What is Beyond Heaven

1. Millennial Kingdom – After the closure of the Tribulation, the curse of original sin will be suspended, and nature as originally created will be restored. Believers in flesh that survive the Tribulation will have greatly increased longevity. Israel’s covenant promises will be fulfilled in Christ’s rule with overall peace and prosperity. At the end of the thousand-year rule, Satan will be released for a season to tempt mankind before the final (Great White Throne) judgment.

2. Recreated Heavens and Earth (Eternal State) – There will be no more disease, death, sorrow, tears, or pain. Hew Jerusalem, which presently is being prepared in Heaven, will descend to the earth and occupy where the present Jerusalem resides. The New Jerusalem will be both huge and beautiful! The present heavens and earth will be destroyed and new heavens and earth will take their place. The new earth notably has no sea (literally “the sea is no more). Some interpret this figuratively to represent the permanent removal of troubled nations of ungodly men, and speaking of God’s re-creative perfection, the literal truth is that the former heavens and earth will no longer exist, and new eternal ones will take their places which bear this distinct characteristic of greatly increasing inhabitable living space. Truly, we are given only a glimpse of how great it will be! (1 Cor. 2:9; Isa. 64:4; Isa. 65:17)

What Happens When Believers Die, are Raptured, or Survives the Tribulation?

When a believer dies, they become “absent from the body” and become “present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6-8) dispelling the notion of “soul sleep,” meaning the belief that a believer’s spirit and soul remain with their earthly remains until resurrection. The believer’s spirit (eternal life) and soul (intellect, will, emotions, personality) go immediately to be with the Lord in Heaven until final redemption (until receipt of their glorified or eternal body). The believer is given a temporary body until resurrection that looks like the believer and is recognizable to other departed believers. Departed believers at the Rapture will be resurrected first, given glorified bodies, will accompany Jesus to Heaven during the seven-year Tribulation, and return with Him at His Second Coming. Living believers at the Rapture will be translated next, given glorified bodies, will accompany Jesus to Heaven during the seven-year Tribulation, and return with Him at His Second Coming. Departed, or martyred, believers during the Tribulation will be given glorified bodies at the start of the Millennial Kingdom (end of the Tribulation when their number is completed), along with the Old Testament believers (Rev. 20:4, 6; Dan. 7:27; Dan. 12:1-2; Ezek. 37:12-14). Living believers who manage to survive the Tribulation, will be given glorified bodies at their death during the Millennial Kingdom (may live many years with the curse suspended)

What Happens When Unsaved People Die or Survive the Tribulation?

When unbelievers, or unsaved people, die they go immediately to a place of torment awaiting final judgment at the end of the thousand-year Millennial Kingdom (Great White Throne judgment, Rev. 20:11-15), and then into the Lake of Fire. The living unsaved, during the Tribulation, do have opportunity for salvation, but have high likelihood of dying (50% of all earth’s inhabitants will die during that time). The living unsaved who manage survive the Tribulation will be condemned to death, and will not enter into the Millennial Kingdom (Matt. 25:31-46). Only the saved will enter. The children and descendants born to living believers in flesh after surviving the Tribulation into the Millennial Kingdom, even though they live long in a curse-suspended world, must by free will receive Christ as Savior just as all people of flesh must do.

Believers have a real, promised, and prepared place with the Lord. Have you prepared for your eternal future? If you haven’t, will you call upon the Lord to be saved? Pastor Piper said it this way, “You can have a better life on the way to Heaven” if you will come to Jesus and just ask.