Will Heaven Change?

Happy Sunday. A little girl was with her mother outside on a dark night, looking at the stars, and she said, "Mom, If Heaven is so beautiful from this side, what will it be like on the other side?" That's a great question, isn't it? What will Heaven be like?

This may surprise you, but I believe that heaven, that the heaven that our loved ones are in right now, will change. I've come to believe in my study of scripture that heaven is a place that will transition in days to come. I read this analogy, and I like it. Suppose you lives in a homeless shelter in Miami, and one day you inherit a beautiful home in the Swiss elps.

On your flight to Switzerland, you have to change planes in Atlanta, where you spend several hours. Now, when the ticket agent in Miami ask you where you headed, would you say Atlanta? No, you would say Switzerland, because that's your final destination. So it seems to me that the heaven that we go to when we die, the present Heaven of today, is a temporary Dwelling Place, a stop along the way to our final destination: the new Heaven and the new Earth. Have you ever thought about that?

Let me show you how I got there. Remember, it's not what we think, it's What God Says. So listen to this teaching from The Book of Revelation, chapter 21, verses 1, 2, and 3. There John said in his vision, "Then I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth, for the old Heaven and the old Earth had disappeared, and the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, look, God's home is now among his people. He will live with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them."

There we are told that on the day after the second coming, or one day after the second coming of Christ and the final judgment, the current heaven will change. The capital city, New Jerusalem, will be a physical place where God will dwell with men. The idea that God would come down to the new Earth to live with us fits perfectly into his original plan, doesn't it? This is Return to Eden, if you will, a very, very physical place. We should view the Garden of Eden as a blueprint for the new Earth.

The city's exact dimensions are given in Revelation 21:15 to1 17. There we find this: "The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its Gates, and its walls. When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles. And then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 ft thick, according to the human standard used by the Angel." That's pretty specific, isn't it?

A city this size would stretch from Canada me to Mexico, and from the Appalachian Mountains to the California border. The ground level of the city is about 2 million square miles, and remember, it's a cube. It appears we will not be by Dimension or by gravity, but it does indeed appear to be a very physical place. It will truly Be Heaven on Earth.

Now remember, these dimensions are only for the New Jerusalem City. Heaven's much bigger. Think of the most beautiful place you've ever seen. CS Lewis said this: "The Hills And The Valleys of heaven will be to those you now experience not as a copy is to an original, nor as a substitute to the genuine article, but is the flower to the root, or the diamond to the coal." I love that.

Earlier I skipped over Revelation 212. John said, "I saw the new, the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." It's a good picture. I've done lots of weddings in my day, and I have one of the best seats in the house. I love it when the doors at the back of the church open, and the bridal March is being played, and everyone stands, and they turn to see the bride.

I know I've done at at least 150 or more weddings. I've lost count. I've never seen an ugly bride. Now, don't ask me about the Grooms, but that's a different story. It's a great picture of expectation and anticipation and excitement.

Heaven is going to be a blast. I hope you're prepared. We'll look at more next week. Pray with me.

Father, thank you that you love us so much that you have prepared Perfection. You did that in the Garden of Eden, and we messed up, and now you will do it again. Thank you for such love. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen. God bless.