In the sermon by Jason Dohm on the topic of Heaven, the speaker delves into the significance of faith and eternal perspectives as outlined in Hebrews 11 and 2 Corinthians 4. The sermon emphasizes that faith is the substance of things hoped for, encouraging believers to set their eyes on a heavenly country rather than earthly afflictions. Dohm discusses the interconnectedness of justification and sanctification, explaining that true saving faith always bears fruit through the work of the Holy Spirit. The vision of heaven depicted in Revelation 20-22 is described in detail, highlighting the New Jerusalem as a place devoid of pain, sorrow, and sin, where love and righteousness dwell in perfection. The sermon encourages believers to view their earthly troubles as temporary and to focus on the eternal joy and glory that await them in heaven, where God Himself is the ultimate joy. It concludes with an exhortation to live with an eternal mindset, seeing heaven as a doctrine that profoundly impacts daily life, and underscoring the glorious exchange God offers through Jesus Christ.

Our Father, we come before You with humble hearts, thanking You for Your Word that has all the things that we need to know in it. God, I thank you for what your word says about eternity. I pray that you would press these things upon our souls, O God. Teach us today. We desire to come as humble learners to your feet, to hear from you, and to be changed and to be conformed into this precious image that we have seen week after week in the Gospel.

Oh, God make us like Jesus. We pray in His name. Amen. Heaven. You can see that I've used all my creative powers in coming up with the sermon title.

Heaven. Oh, to think about heaven. To think about the things that await those who have forsaken any sort of trust in themselves and have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on behalf of His people. Hebrews 11 is the great faith chapter and it chronicles in this very short form all of these saints who have gone before, at least the ones that are mentioned, that have trusted God, have believed God, and it was credited to them as righteousness. None of these people were perfect.

In fact, you read some of the greatest instances of sin in Hebrews 11 attached to some of these people. But they believed God and it was credited to them as righteousness. So the righteous life that Jesus Christ lived was imputed to these sinners who were listed in Hebrews 11. And even though they weren't righteous, God has declared them to be righteous for the sake of His Son who laid down His life and shed His blood. So this is what Hebrews 11 is about.

Listen to these three verses from Hebrews 11. I'm skipping around in Hebrews 11. I'll start in Hebrews 11, verse 1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And then in verse 6, but without faith it is impossible to please God.

For he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And then to verse 16, but now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. This is what Hebrews 11, the great faith chapter is. It's a chapter that lists people who looked to things that they couldn't see with their physical eyes.

They could only see with their spiritual eyes. And they called that substance. They called that real. They called what they couldn't see with their physical eyes reality. And They knew that they could never please God unless they believed Him.

They believed that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. It made them desire a better country. We live in a country where every person born lives in the country where God has placed them on this earth. But He is teaching His people day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, decade by decade, not to look to the country that we were born in, but to desire to long for a better country, a heavenly country, citizenship in another place. That makes this life and the troubles of this life seem so temporary, seem so small.

Here's our problem. The people of God often think that our troubles in this life are large, but they are not large. This life is a vapor. And eternity though extends out forever. And so God would teach us, God would train us to look to a heavenly country, to take our eyes off of the firm ground beneath our feet and say about things that we can only see with our spiritual eyes, that is substance.

That is substance. I am longing for a heavenly country. God wants a heavenly minded people. He wants us to stop looking around and making our decisions, setting our courses by the things that we see, but to be heavenly minded and to know that this life is just a vapor and that eternity extends out forever and to see all of our sorrows, our trials, our pains, our tribulations through this lens that says, these afflictions are momentary. Paul speaks to this in 2 Corinthians 4.

Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4 verses 16-18, Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, Now consider who is writing this. Paul who was beaten with the 39 stripes. How many times?

Paul who was stoned. Paul who spent his life in fasting and prayer and traveling city to city. He was just like Jesus. He didn't have a place to lay his head. This Paul writes and says that our afflictions are but for a moment.

So Paul says, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." Did you catch Paul's argument here in 2 Corinthians 4? He's arguing that we should love these afflictions in a sense because they make us long for heaven. Because every affliction that God sends to us heightens our anticipation for that day when those who have loved him, when those who have believed him and it was credited to them as righteousness will go to be with him forever and all these afflictions will be swept away and the afflictions themselves will sweeten the day. You are going to encounter afflictions in this life.

Everyone is. We might have been through a spell where it's just been going great. But you know what? Every life is full of sorrow. Even the most sorrow-free life is not sorrow-free.

Everyone is going to encounter afflictions and sorrow and pain and trouble in this life. Which lenses will you see them through? Will you see them through earthly lenses that just understand everything in terms of its impact on you and your immediate circumstances? Or will you see these troubles and afflictions and pains through the lenses of eternity where we say that this life is only a vapor, and one day we are going to be with the Lord forever and ever and ever and ever. And all these things will be only a memory, And the coming into his presence will only have been sweetened by the afflictions that he has been faithful to send to us.

So this is a doctrine that matters. Heaven is a doctrine that matters. To the extent that we shift our gaze from this earth, our perspective changes dramatically and we stop seeing things through the lenses of just how does it impact me today and tomorrow and next week. And we start having an increased ability to honor God through our afflictions, to know that He has sent them to us and to know that they only sweeten eternity and to persevere in them, knowing that all these things have come through the kind intention of His will. It matters whether or not we think of heaven from one day to the next.

It matters because it means that we look at hardships in life either one way or the other. The spiritual eyes fixed on heaven can endure hardship and rejoice. Brothers and sisters, this is what God is calling us to. This is not just Happy Sunday, because we had Sad Sunday last Sunday. We were considering hell, and so now we have to have Happy Sunday.

This is not what this is. This is a doctrine that is meant to make us live our lives differently. That's what it is. Turning your Bibles to Revelation 20. Almost all of our time this morning is going to be spent in Revelation 20 and 21 and part of 22.

It's not my intent to do a verse by verse exposition. First I'm not sure I'm even competent to do that. There are many things in the text that we'll be reading that I don't really understand. So I'm not doing a verse by verse exposition on these, however many, verses. But I'm going to be making key observations that are obvious in the text, but will help us think rightly about heaven.

So I'll begin reading in Revelation 20 verse 11. And I'm even going to read into the early verses of Revelation 22. So work hard to track with me. Have your Bibles open and be following along. And even though it's a long reading, work hard to stay with me.

Revelation 20 verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books.

The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the Lake of Fire. Chapter 21.

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 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. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven plagues came to me and talked with me saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife.

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also, she had a great and high wall with twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square, its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, 12, 000 furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is of an angel.

The construction of its wall was of jasper, and the city was pure gold like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was Jasper, the second Sapphire, the third Chalcedony, the fourth Emerald, the fifth Sardonyx, the sixth Sardius, the seventh Chrysolite, the eighth Barrel, the 9th Topaz, the 10th Chrysoprase, the 11th Jason, and the 12th Amethyst. The 12 gates were 12 pearls. Each individual gate was of one pearl.

The street of the city was pure gold like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.

And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day, there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Chapter 22.

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." It's a long reading, but here are my observations about the things that I've just read. First if we begin back in chapter 20, beginning in verse 11, 11-15, we see that there's a great white throne. It's the throne of Almighty God and that this is such a terrifying prospect that the nations of the world want to flee. They want to run away, but there is no place to run.

It's impossible to flee And so all are brought before God and the books are opened. Records have been kept. Records have been kept of every life and the books are opened. But there's another book called the Book of Life. And it contains the names of those who will be welcomed into heaven.

This happens with eternity on the line. All mankind are brought before the great white throne and the records are there. The records of every deed, of every idle word, of every thought, are recorded in the books. And everyone will be dispositioned. Will be either sent to the right hand or to the left.

It will either be shown to be a sheep of the shepherd or will be shown to be a goat. The determination of everyone who is hearing this is going to be made before God. In verse 13 it says, and they were judged each one according to his works. Actually, right here where we've been reading, it says it twice. It says it in verse 12 and it says it again in verse 13.

We're going to be judged by our works. Now, how does this square with the Gospel? Isn't it salvation by grace alone through faith alone? So that it's not the works of any man that will determine. And yet, here in Revelation where it speaks specifically of the judgment of all mankind coming before the great white throne, it says, by their works they will be judged.

We like to separate justification and sanctification and draw a hard line. But I just want to say The Bible just doesn't encourage us to do that. Now I do wholeheartedly believe in justification by grace alone through faith alone. I exhort you to believe in the same thing. And yet, when we are tempted to think that there is a hard line between justification and sanctification, just understand that the Scriptures don't do that.

They keep them together. They are inseparable. They are wedded, never to be separated. James takes this up and he talks about a saving faith and another kind of faith that even demons have. Believing intellectual things about God is not saving faith.

The demons believe intellectual things, propositions about God, and it makes them tremble. Many people have that kind of faith and they will never be saved, any more than a demon will be saved. And yet there is a saving faith that comes and abides in those who truly have trusted in Christ and it always, always, always, always, always bears fruit. That's what makes these things inseparable. When God Almighty through His Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart of any man, woman or child, It's God Almighty.

He's effectual. It matters when He comes to live. And so He produces fruit. We call it the fruit of the Spirit. It's not possible for the Spirit to live somewhere and not produce fruit.

It's not possible. The second thing I would say about this, in order to say, this is not works righteousness, this is not salvation by works that is being put before us in Revelation 20. Listen to Jesus in John chapter 6. This is John chapter 6 verses 28 and 29. Jesus has been teaching the multitudes, so it's not scribes and Pharisees, it is the lost sheep of Israel that he is talking to.

They have a question for Jesus. Listen to this, then they said to him, then the multitude said to Jesus, what shall we do that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "'This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent. This is the work of God, believing, believing on the one sent by the Father, believing on the Son who would come and stand in the place so that we don't have a righteousness of our own, which is from the Law, but we have a righteousness through faith in Christ. This is what causes your name to be written in the book of life, the second book that is spoken of in Revelation 20. What causes your name to be written in this book?

It is to do the work of God. As defined by Jesus in John 6, the work of God is to believe on the one who was sent by the Father. We at least know of heaven, spoken of in the Bible, and we definitely know about the earth, and we know about Jerusalem, this geographical place where God was pleased to set His name for so many centuries. But Revelation 21, at the very beginning of the chapter, says all those things are going to pass away. The heavens as we understand them are going to pass away.

The heavens as we understand them are going to pass away. The earth as we know it is going to pass away. Even Jerusalem, of which so much is said in the Bible is going to pass away, and there is going to be a new heavens, and there is going to be a new earth, and there is going to be a new Jerusalem. And in that day, every shadow passes away and is replaced by the substance. God has given us so many things to point forward to the real substance.

Think about the temple. Think about the sacrifices. Think about all those things in the Old Testament that are just a shadow of Christ or of something that would come in the future. Even this earth that we are living on is a shadow and it is going to pass away. It is going to be replaced by the substance.

The type is going to pass away and the thing that it pointed to will be established forever and ever. In Revelation it just says that these things pass away. It just mentions it in a phrase. But Peter actually talks about the passing away of the heavens and the earth and Jerusalem and all the things that we know about in more detail. This happens in 2 Peter chapter 3 verses 10 through 13.

2 Peter chapter 3 verses 10 through 13. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Second Peter 3 teaches us this about heaven, righteousness dwells there. There are so many corruptions on the earth, on the Jerusalem that we read about in the Bible, so many corruptions, not so the new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem. The corruption will be gone and righteousness will dwell there. So Revelation just speaks of the passing away of the old earth, the old heavens, the old Jerusalem. But Peter says it's going to be quite an event.

It's going to be a meltdown. It's going to happen with a lot of noise. And it's going to be a terrifying event. And Peter points to it and says, Therefore since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? God wants to take the doctrine of heaven and press it upon us so that we will understand what kind of persons we ought to be in holy conduct and godliness.

It matters to think of eternity, to think of the day where a tumult will happen and the heavens and the earth will be melted away from the heat of that day. It makes us think about the importance of holy conduct, living for Him, and godliness, pursuing Him, seeking after Him. John speaks of the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven. He taps into the language that Paul has used in Ephesians 5. He said, this new Jerusalem is like a bride adorned for her husband.

Paul in Ephesians 5 springs the mystery on us. And He gives us the secret that God has been holding in reserve until Paul wrote Ephesians 5. What is it? That marriage is a picture of the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and the bride, His people, His church. That all along, marriage was a shadow of something.

Here's another shadow that's going to pass away. Marriage is a shadow that's going to pass away. Do you remember when the Sadducees came with their tale of seven brothers, one bride for seven brothers? Whose wife will she be? Jesus said, Heaven is not going to be like that.

The shadow of marriage passes away and the substance is a bridegroom, a glorious bridegroom Jesus Christ who has paid a bride's price, who has shed his blood to purchase, redeem a bride for himself. He is going to bring together people and make a bride that he loves and he is going to exist into eternity with the bride that he has brought together. John has already seen this in his visions that are recorded in Revelation. Listen to Revelation 19 verses 7 through 9. Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, For the marriage of the Lamb has come and the bride 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 were called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These He said to me, these are the true sayings of God with all the shortcomings that we bring into our earthly marriages. Even so, think of the glory of it.

With all the failings and the sins, so imperfectly reflecting what God always intended marriage to be. Even so, even with all of those failings, think of the glory of marriage, think of the love, the comfort that exists in marriage. Just a shadow. Just a whisper. But It won't be a shadow.

It will be the substance. It won't be a whisper. It will be the yell of it. It will be the yell of it. It will be a union like it was always meant to be.

And our earthly marriage reflect a little bit of the glory of it. God loves us. If you're one of His people, if He has shed His blood for you and sent His Holy Spirit to do a work in your heart, to make you His, to give you the gift of faith and repentance. He loves you like a bridegroom loves his bride. He loves you.

You are not just here to serve Him. Now we ought to serve Him, but it's not just about serving Him. He loves us with an everlasting love. He has made us the apple of his eye. He has made us the object of his love from eternity past to eternity future.

We are a bride, a beloved bride, a bride that an inconceivable bride price has been paid for. His own blood. So God the Father is a King who has arranged a marriage for his Son. Do you remember that parable? God the Father is an Almighty King who has arranged a marriage for his son.

His son was delighted in the plan and came and paid the bride price. Now the Holy Spirit is applying the price paid and bringing together the bride from the north and the south and the East and the West and calling together a people who were not a people and taking enemies and making them not just servants but sons and daughters and collecting them up into an object of affection and love for all eternity. Our union with Christ on earth is so precious. Think of how many comforts you've received from your union with Christ on earth." I want to say that this is nothing. I want to say that the doctrine of heaven paints a picture before our eyes that would so dim even the most precious thoughts that we have of our union with Christ here on earth.

In Genesis 3, the indications are that Adam and Eve were walking with God in the cool of the day. It just seems like, when you read it, It just sounds like that's what happened in the cool of the day. That God came and walked with them. Doesn't that make you even tear up to read? Just think.

I don't even know what that means that they would walk with God in the cool of the day. What would that look like? And yet, heaven transcends the garden times a thousand. This isn't just a return to Eden. No, No, it's not.

It is far beyond Eden. It's far better and more precious than even to walk with God in the cool of the day. Our union with Christ in heaven will be like the union between a bridegroom and his bride. Praise God for the doctrine of heaven that would cause us to think about these things and think about the things that are so precious to us. The most precious things that we can think of, or our union with Christ here on earth.

It's nothing. It's nothing. The highest thoughts that we can collect up and think upon are nothing. We can't even imagine the glory of our union with Christ in heaven. But suffice it that it is glorious.

It is to be anticipated every single day that we live on this earth, so that we live in a way that we can come into His presence with rejoicing, having lived well, having lived to the glory of our King, but not only of our King, of our Father, and not only of our Father, but of our Bridegroom. Chapter 21 verse 4. 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.

For those who have loved him and trusted him and received righteousness from him, There is coming a day where all the sorrows that you've ever known will be wrapped up in this category. Former things. Former things. Never to be experienced again. Never to be thought of again.

Past. All past. Sorrows past. Death past. Crying past.

Pain past. Former things. Sin is the source of all these things. That's why they are part of our present. Then they will be part of our past.

Now they are part of our present. And why are they part of our present? Because of sin. And what is sin? On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The law is just summed up in love for God and love for neighbor. So all of our sin is simply a violation of loving God. We should have loved Him, but we don't. We sin. Or love for our neighbor.

We should have loved our neighbor, but we don't. And we sin. And it brings sorrow. It brings pain. It brings death.

It brings tears and crying. But in Heaven, love will dwell in perfection. In heaven, there will be no sin because there will be no violations of love. We will love our neighbor as ourselves in heaven. These things we find ourselves so unable to do in this life, we will be able to do it in heaven.

When we see this great commandment, love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, how crushing that is. That will not be crushing in heaven. We'll find ourselves with the ability to love God with our whole being. As we are commanded to do now, so we will be able to do them. We find ourselves so unable day by day to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

We find ourselves so full of self-love and so cold towards our neighbor. It won't be so in heaven. Heaven will be a world of love. Jonathan Edwards has written a book that I commend to you, Charity and Its Fruits. Jonathan Edwards just writes a book to give an exposition of the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13.

He ends it with a chapter titled, Heaven, a world of love. He just goes into the stratosphere to talk about the goodness of God and love in heaven. Here is what he says, In heaven there shall be no remaining enmity or distaste or coldness or deadness of heart towards God and Christ. How many times have we been discouraged by the coldness and deadness of our hearts towards God, knowing that we ought to love Him, knowing that He is worthy to be loved as the great command that commands us to love Him. Finding such an inability to love Him In this way, Jonathan Edwards points to 1 Corinthians 13 and he says, Heaven won't be like that.

The coldness of heart that brings you such sorrow here will be gone. There will only be a heart of fire towards God in heaven. A heart of fire towards your family in heaven. Listen to 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, verses 8-10 and then the last verse of the chapter. Love never fails.

But whether there are prophecies, they will fail. Whether there are tongues, they will cease. Whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away." The last verse of the chapter, and now abide faith, hope, love. These three.

But the greatest of these is love. Heaven is a place where so many things are stripped away and cease. Prophecy will cease. Tongues will cease. So many things will be stripped away, but a few things will abide.

And the greatest of the things that will abide is love. It grieves me to think how little I love, but a day is coming where that won't be true, where love will abide in its heaven. Chapter 21 verses 6 through 8 talks about those who are in and those who are out for all eternity. There are those who are in heaven, welcomed to heaven for all eternity, And there are those who are out and cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. And God in Revelation 21 says that those Who will be welcomed into heaven are those who were thirsty.

Those who were thirsty and who drank from rivers of living water. He welcomed them. I would like to suggest he awakened the thirst in them too. He gave them a thirst and then he quenched their thirst with living waters. Those who are outside, who will be cast into the lake of fire for eternal torment, are those who are unbelievers and who raged against God and lived in rebellion.

Some of those people are going to have the most pristine exteriors and we are all going to be surprised to hear the voice of our Master say, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. They were so respectable in this life. They were so nice and so polite in this life, but they had no real love for Christ in their hearts. And they never believed in Him in a saving way. Maybe they believed like the demons believe, but weren't wise enough to tremble as the demons tremble, but they didn't have a saving faith.

And so they were polite, and they were respectable, and they will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever because their name is not in the book of life. In chapter 21 we have this middle section which I completely don't understand. So I'm not going to talk much about it. It has gates named after the twelve tribes, after the patriarchs. It has twelve foundations named after the apostles of the Lamb.

It has precious stones embedded in the walls. It has streets of gold, but gold that is transparent like glass. I don't know what that means. Here's what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9, I have not seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who loved him.

You can't even imagine the things that God has prepared for those who love him. You can't even imagine it. You have to have empathy for John, who has seen these things, and now he has to write. How do I explain gold that's transparent like glass to these people? What point of reference do we even have for any of these things?

I think there will be many surprises for us. Many of this is cloaked in a mystery. And in Revelation, God has just peeled back the curtain just to the smallest degree and allowed us to think of things that we can't hardly even comprehend. Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor have these things ever entered your heart, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him. In chapter 21, the very end of the chapter, verses 23-27, in heaven there's no temple.

In heaven there's no sun. In heaven there's no moon. In heaven, there's no security. They don't even close the gates at night because there is not a night. And it's not a problem.

No temple, No sun, no moon, no security, no problem. God Himself is the temple. The Lamb is the temple. The glory of God is the light of heaven. You need no other source for your light than the glory of God.

What does that mean? I have no idea what that means. It means we will have plenty of light. There's nothing to threaten us there. No reason to shut the gates at night.

At night. Verse 27, the last verse of chapter 21, nothing that defiles is there in heaven, Only those who are in the Lamb's Book of Life. That means we have been cleansed. Do you get that in verse 27? That means we have been cleansed.

Perfectly cleansed. Never descend again. Now, there is a sense of that in this earth. We have been cleansed, we have been declared righteous for those who have trusted in a saving way in Jesus Christ. We have His righteousness and yet Romans 7 still rings true to us, doesn't it?

Where Paul says, I find myself doing what I don't want to do, and then the things that I want to do, I'm not doing those things. This is the experience of the Christian in this life. There are still defilements. There's still sin that has to be repented of. Day after day after day after day.

It's not like that in heaven. The defilements don't come with you. You're cleansed in a permanent way in heaven. All the discouragements associated with our frailty and being dust, and continuing to sin even after we have so great a salvation washed away, white as snow forever. In chapter 22, these first five verses, the tree of life is back.

Do you remember? The Bible starts this way. The Bible starts with the Tree of Life. And we are forbidden after sinning. Cast out an angel with a flaming sword to guard it, to make sure we don't get at the Tree of Life.

No such thing in heaven. The Tree of Life is back in heaven. The leaves of the tree heal the nations. And the fruit, these twelve fruits, what must they be like, are available to His people, to His bride. And there is no more curse.

The Bible opens with the rebellion of man and the curse, but the Bible doesn't end that way. It ends with all the defilements being washed away and the curse, there is no more curse. And we are free to be with our God uninhibited by sin. Those who have trusted in Christ will serve Him. Do you see that here in the early verses of chapter 22?

We'll serve Him and we'll look upon His face. We can look upon His face now, that would kill us. But in heaven that's not true. We'll be able to look upon His face. And we'll be with Him.

God Himself is the joy of heaven. Why should you want to go to heaven? For all these things we've mentioned, no, because God is there. God Himself is the joy of heaven. Now there are many perks to being in heaven.

And there are many wonderful things about being in heaven. But the best thing about heaven is that God Himself is there. And we will look on his face. Now we see through a glass darkly. Then face to face.

Turn to John 14. We'll close with John 14. We'll close with John 14. Revelation gives us the ability to check our hearts and to see how we are doing. Do these things cause your heart to burn within you and desire it?

And does it do for you what it does for John, where he heard these things and he says, Come quickly Lord Jesus, come quickly. Bring this to us quickly. If our hearts Don't burn when we hear these things. We should search them. We should examine them.

God Himself is the joy of heaven. So if you have bolted yourself on in some way to the people of God for all the external benefits, all the comforts that come along with it. And yet your heart doesn't burn to be with Him. You should look inside that heart to see if you know Him and are known by Him. Alright, John 14.

Verses 1-4. 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. And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to him, Lord, We do not know where you are going and how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me. In verse 1 we see that for the people of God, a contemplation of heaven, a contemplation of eternity is the remedy for a troubled heart. Jesus says, Let not your heart be troubled. The doctrine of heaven has been given to the people of God so that we would have a remedy for a troubled heart. That we could know that life is vapor.

And that He's gone before us to prepare a mansion. If it were not so, He would have told us. Again, we're going to be with Him. We're going to be the bride to the perfect bridegroom. We're going to be the bride to the perfect bridegroom.

We are going to be the bride to the perfect bridegroom. And to be the object of His affection for all eternity. This is a glorious doctrine. Jesus says, I am the way. Do you want to know how to have your name in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Jesus says, I am the way. I am the way to heaven. Thomas says, we don't know where you are going and we don't know how to get there. Jesus says, yes you do. I am the way.

No one comes to the Father except through me. There is a wide road that leads to destruction. There is a narrow road that leads to life. It has a gate. Jesus is the gate and Jesus is the way that leads to life.

Think of what you deserve. The Bible says that the wages of sin are death. Think of what you deserve. We spend an hour talking about hell. Hell is what you deserve.

Heaven is not what you deserve. And yet, God is full of mercy. And God atones for sin. Stands as a substitute to take the wrath of God upon Himself that you earned. The wages for your sin is death.

You earned the death. Not just a physical death, but an eternal death. But God offers an exchange of your wages for His wages. He lived a perfectly righteous life. The life that you should have lived, the life that I should have lived, but didn't.

And he would take your place, And you could take His. Think of the glory of this doctrine of heaven. Heaven will be populated by those who deserve hell. Heaven will only be populated by those who have earned hell for themselves. And we will be the trophies of His grace.

Heaven isn't about our joy, though there will be joy. What joy will be for us there? But it's not about our joy. All things are to the glory of God and heaven is no different. Heaven is to the glory of God.

And how will heaven glorify God? It will be populated by those who deserved hell and yet God showed mercy. God made a people who were not a people. God took his enemies and made his friends. What made them his friends, his sons, his daughters, his bride?

Think of the glory for God that will be rendered to Him by the trophies of His grace who deserved one thing we are given heaven. Let's pray. Father, come quickly. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. God, God, help us to live with the substance of heaven in mind.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Oh God, give us this kind of faith that has unseen things as a substance so that our eyes would be taken off of this earth, and we could live to your glory with such freedom. I thank you for the doctrine of heaven. May we live in the light of it. In Jesus' name, Amen.