Is Heaven Paved with Streets of Gold

Happy Sunday. I've truly enjoyed talking about heaven. I hope this study has been informative for you. Today we'll look at a few more questions about heaven.

One of my favorite movies is The Wizard of Oz. We're All familiar with Dorothy saying, "There's no place like home." Today I want to remind you that Earth is not your home. If you're a Believer, Heaven is your home. Hebrews 13:14 puts it like this: "This world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come." I'm looking forward to Heaven.

I heard a story about a man that was thinking about heaven, and he made arrangements with God that enabled him to take some of his Earthly Treasures with him when he died. When he arrived at the Pearly Gates with the suitcase in hand, St Peter asked to see the contents. It was filled with gold. As I wrote this sermon, gold was a little more than $2,400 an ounce. With a puzzled look on his face, St Peter said, "Why would you bring pavement?"

So let me answer a few questions here. Is St Peter at the gate? And are the streets paved with gold? And is there a gate? Why in the world is there a gate in heaven?

Let's begin at Revelation 21 verse 13: "There were three gates on each side: east, north, South, and West." And Revelation 21:21 tells us, "The 12 gates were made of pearls, each gate from a single Pearl, and the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass." So yes, there it is, the streets are pure gold.

But back to the gates. Why are they there? We need to know that the New Jerusalem will be a place where we can come and go. We'll have access to all of God's creation outside of the city. The universe will be able to come and go.

As for the 12 gates being made of pearls, we remember that John is trying to describe the Indescribable here. Is it really a pearl? Well, if God wanted it to be, it would be. You know, the oyster lover in me would love to get a hold of the oyster that Pearl came from.

Back to St Peter. There are 12 gates; does he cover them all? Actually, scripture does not teach that p is at the gate at all. This Legend comes from Matthew chapter 16. In that section of scripture, Jesus asked the disciples this question: "Who do people say that I am?" And various answers were given, including John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, various prophets.

And then Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You're the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." After that, Jesus said this to Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the Gates of Hell will not Prevail against it. I will give you the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven." That's how it started, that Legend: "I'll give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven." So no, he's not at the gate.

Here's a question that has come up over the years: will we become angels in heaven? Well, the truth is, when we die and go to heaven, we become even greater than the Angels. The Angels Are Spiritual Beings who were created by God to be his servants, and God has given them great Authority and power to do his will. And at this present time, the angels are greater than we are, because God made us "a little lower than the Heavenly beings." That's from Psalm 8:5.

But the Bible also tells us that in heaven will be higher than the angel, and the reason is because we'll be like Christ. The Bible says, "Do you not know that we will judge Angels?" That's from 1 Corinthians 63. Now, that verse may be referring to the rebellious Angels who chose to follow Satan. It still implies that our status after death will be above the Angels.

Several years ago, Genie and I, my wife, taught us Sunday school class made up of senior adults. One day a dear lady up in years asked, "How old will we, we will we be in heaven? I'm tired of being old." That's a good question, isn't it? I' never really thought of it. How old will we be in heaven? Will babies still be babies? Will the old be old?

You know, scripture does not give us an exact age. Some have guessed 33, because Jesus was 33 when he went back home, but that's just a guess. We really just don't know. We do know that there will be no Decay from any aging process, and age really seems to be a moot point, because our bodies will be ageless. I'll just trust God that it'll be just perfect.

One question and answer make some spouses mad and some thankful where they'll be: will, will there be marriage in heaven? In Matthew 22 we're told that Jesus said, "In the resurrection people neither marry nor are given in marriage." Now, before you get mad about this, let me tell you that I believe if you're in a happy Mar marriage here on Earth, in heaven you'll be even closer. Not married, that's a term for Earth, but closer. There'll be no jealousy or grudges or distance or sin of any kind; there will only be closeness.

Now, when God created us, he said in Genesis, "It was not good for man to be alone." I believe that in heaven we will have a closeness to others that is not nearly approached on Earth. Do you have more questions? You can contact me on my website, david.com, and I'll do my very best to answer them.

Today it's my prayer that you're ready for the journey. Pray with me. God, help us to have Heaven on our mind. Help us to search your word and to see what you say, and to just marvel at what you are preparing for us. Father, help our hearts to be right. Thank you for each one. In Jesus name, amen.

God bless. Thanks for joining me today.