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Pictures of Heaven
Do you ever think about Heaven? Do you ever wonder what Heaven looks like? Do you ever think about what you will be doing in Heaven?
I think that my own version of Heaven would be to run the Ice Cream shop. In Heaven, they surely have the best ice cream and you can eat all you want without getting sick!
Well, that is a just a fun way of looking forward to Heaven. But the reality of what Heaven is like is even better than all the ice cream you could eat or anything else this world has to offer. In the following Scripture passages, we will look at some pictures of Heaven -- Heaven from God’s point of view.
Through this study, I hope you are encouraged by the awesome blessing God has in store for His children. I also hope that in seeing the eternal blessing God has planned for you in Heaven, that you will in turn be a blessing to others here on Earth.
Scripture Passage: Revelation 21-22
Main Thought: Heaven is a real place where you will live forever in the presence of the LORD Jesus Christ. He is preparing Heaven for all who trust in Him here on Earth.
Outline:

God’s Presence in Heaven (Revelation 21:1-5)

God’s Protection in Heaven (Revelation 21:15-21, NIV)

God’s Purity in Heaven (Revelation 21:22-27, NIV)

God’s Provision in Heaven (Revelation 22:1-5, NIV)

1. God’s Presence in Heaven

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:1-5, NIV)

This first picture of Heaven is a glimpse of something really new. In heaven, all things will always be new. Nothing will ever wear out, fade away, or grow old. That is why Jesus said:
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21, NIV)
In heaven, all things will also be beautiful. The Bible says that God “has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, NIV). He will also make everything beautiful in eternity. The heavenly city will be “as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (v. 2).
The newness and beauty of Heaven is hard to imagine. Yet the greatest part of this picture of Heaven is the glorious presence of God Himself.
“He will live with them” (v. 3) meaning our home in Heaven is God’s home and we will dwell in the very presence of the Almighty God. Today, no one can see God in the flesh, face-to-face, and live because God is holy (Exodus 33:20). Yet in Heaven, we will be glorified – the sin nature will be completely gone, our bodies resurrected completely new, and we will see God!
“They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God” (v. 3) meaning that as believers in Christ we belong to the family of God. Through faith in Christ you are adopted into the family of God. Your adoption is not temporary but permanent. In Heaven you will enjoy the full privileges of God’s family as if you were the first-born child of God. In Revelation 22:5 and 2 Tim. 2:12, the Bible says that we shall even reign with Him!
When you put your trust in the LORD Jesus Christ, He promises to be with you in this life “even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NKJV). Then, in Heaven, you will be with Him forever (John 14:3). You will never be lonely in Heaven. You will dwell in the presence of the LORD forever (Psalm 23:6). There may be times here on Earth that you feel lonely or ignored. But remember -- the time here on Earth is very short compared to spending eternity in Heaven with our LORD.
This is the exciting future we have, as we trust in the LORD Jesus Christ. How will we get there? The Bible says:
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, NKJV).

2. God’s Protection in Heaven

15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man’s measurement, which the angel was using. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. … 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. (Revelation 21:15-19,21, NIV)

The Bible speaks of a holy city in Heaven – the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2). Again we see the beauty of what God will create in Heaven.

The walls are made of a precious stone (Jasper).

The foundation is decorated with every kind of precious stone.

The city itself is made of pure gold, polished so that it shines like glass.

Yet we also see a much greater picture picture of Heaven: God’s protection. The city is described as a cube, about 1,400 miles wide, long, and high. Look closely here in verse 17: “He measured its wall and it was [216 feet] thick, by man’s measurement” (NIV, paraphrase by Randy). If you walked half the distance of a football field, that is how thick the wall is around the Heavenly city. You could line up twenty cars end-to-end on this wall.
Back during the time the Bible was written, cities were surrounded by thick walls. This gave the people in the city great protection from invading armies. This picture of a beautiful city with tremendous walls around it shows us that we will be safe in Heaven. We will live in the presence of Almighty God. We will enjoy the protection of Almighty God. There will be nothing to fear.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2, NIV)
There are plenty of things to fear in this world: the loss of a job, a criminal to rob us, a terrorist to attack our family. But God is our refuge and strength. And in Heaven, we will enjoy complete safety. We will be protected forever by the LORD Himself.

3. God’s Purity in Heaven

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:22-27, NIV)
This third picture of Heaven shows a place that is absolutely pure. The Bible says, “Glory and honor” (v. 26) will be brought into Heaven. “Nothing impure will ever enter it” (v. 27). Heaven is a place of light (v. 24), no darkness and no shadows (v. 25). God is holy, holy, holy according to Isaiah 6:3. He is without the stain of sin and so is Heaven.
God is completely righteous. His desire always is for righteousness, even more so in Heaven. Consider, if Heaven is a place of light, righteousness, and purity, what does that say about the people who will go to Heaven? This means that only pure, righteous people will be in Heaven.
In that case, if Heaven contains only pure, righteous people, how can anyone ever go to Heaven? This we know to be true:

No one on this Earth can remove the penalty of sin from you.

No person can attain righteousness before God from good works.

You can not be in Heaven without purity and righteousness.

Only Jesus Christ can give you forgiveness for your sins and give to you His own righteousness.
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18, NIV).
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. (Romans 3:21-22, NIV)
So when you turn from your own sin and turn to the LORD Jesus Christ for salvation, He forgives you and declares that you are righteous forever in His sight. Through Christ, you can enter the pure and righteous Heaven! Imagine yourself in holy clothes, gathered together with all of God’s people, in a place that is pure, righteous, and holy! Praise the LORD for such a glorious picture of our future in Christ.

4. God’s Provision in Heaven

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5, NIV)
This final picture of Heaven is like the picture of a garden. First we see the river of life flowing from God’s throne. Then we see the tree of life bearing fruit that is always good for you.
There are no thorns, or weeds in Heaven. Here on Earth, I fight a war with weeds in my yard every spring. When the sun warms the ground and clouds water the yard, the weeds just grow and grow and grow! I really do not like weeds. But in Heaven, the curse upon the creation (Genesis 3:17) will no longer apply. This is a new Heaven and Earth.
Some have thought that the tree of life spoken of here is the same one that was in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of time:

In the middle of the garden there is a tree of life (Genesis 2:9, NIV).

When God banished Adam and Eve from the garden, He said, “He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” (Genesis 2:22, NIV).

We do not know if this is the same tree or not. What we do know is that in Heaven, God gives us every thing we need. He will sustain us personally in Heaven. He will sustain us perfectly in Heaven. You will have no needs in Heaven.
This is a picture of God’s marvelous grace pouring out to each of us all that we need, and much more. None of us deserves such grace – yet God extends grace to people every day through Christ.

Conclusion
Heaven is pictured as the place of God’s presence, God’s protection, God’s purity, and God’s provision. Now we do not want to just stand around and dream about how great Heaven will be. It is a wonderful, mind-stretching thought to think for sure.
But here is the key: knowing the certainty of Heaven and its glory, every believer in Christ should be motivated to do his/her best on Earth. The Bible puts it like this:
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14, NIV)
Heaven is your final destination as a believer in Christ. There we will serve the LORD forever in His glorious presence.
Has God called you to a place in His Heaven? He calls every person to a right relationship with Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. He calls every believer to live for Christ every day BECAUSE of Heaven.
The accounting for sin and the granting of righteousness is forever settled for you if you have trusted in Christ. Believe in the LORD Jesus Christ and you will be saved. (Acts 16:31). Believe in the LORD Jesus Christ and have the certain hope of Heaven.

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Copyright 2/10/2001, Randy Lariscy.