Jump Start # 1130

Revelation 4:1 “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in Heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

This is one of the “WOW” verses in the Bible. We have many wow moments in our lives. Holding a new baby, standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, walking a daughter down the isle are wow moments in my book. But here, John gets to see Heaven. There is a door and the door is opened and John is invited to come up there and take a look. What follows, is what he saw in Heaven.

Heaven excites us. The thought of Heaven motivates us and compels us to keep going when we feel weary and just want to sit on the sidelines of life for a while. Heaven holds all to me, is more than a hymn, it’s a motto and a way of life for followers of Christ.

This passage is inviting. John is being asked to come and see and then share with the world what he saw. This very act removes so many wild speculations about Heaven. For some, Heaven is nothing more than a personal fantasy catalog. It is different, some believe, to each person. They see Heaven as an extension of this life. Roller coasters, golf courses, pets, chocolate, sun sets, beaches, fun and more fun is how many want Heaven to be. All the things that bring them joy and all the things that they never have time for down here, that is what Heaven is their way of thinking. Problem with that is it just isn’t supported by the Bible. Heaven isn’t different to each person. Heaven isn’t a selfish, materialistic theme park. John didn’t see any of those things.

Others think Heaven is going to be down here on earth. The “new Heaven and new earth” passages found in Isaiah, Peter and Revelation are thought to be literal. They see a “restored earth” that includes animals, trees and in one book I read, some sort of spiritual sex, whatever that means. Our verse invites John to “Come up HERE.” It wasn’t down there. It was up there where Heaven is. The Isaiah “New Heaven and new earth” verses are now. They describe a new relationship with the Messiah. They took place when Jesus died and arose from the grave and salvation was issued in. Peter is talking about the end of time and the new order or changes that will take place. Revelation is talking about Heaven. God promises to destroy with fire this world. It will have served it’s purpose and will no longer be necessary. The temple was that way. Death and hades will be that way. They have a function and purpose and when that is fulfilled, they are no longer needed.

Still others see Heaven as a long church service with singing that lasts for 10,000 years. Sitting around singing is perceived as a bit boring, especially for that long of time. John didn’t see church pews.

The many, many books about people seeing Heaven and then coming back are driven by ideas that are not supported in the Bible. How they got there, how they got back, and why they were allowed to tell what they saw and heard is counter to the way the Bible teaches. Paul, an inspired apostle, saw the third Heaven, but it was “unlawful” for him to repeat what he heard. Those resurrected, including Jairus’ twelve year old daughter, Lazarus and others, never spoke one word about what they saw or heard. Yet, we are to believe that God allows a four year old here and a six year old there, and this person and that person to go and come back and write a book and make a profit when no one in the Bible did. The stories in these books are not consistent. Which one is to be believed? Which one is right? There are different messages. There are different things that took place.

What John saw, similar to what Isaiah saw in his vision of Heaven and what Ezekiel saw in his vision of Heaven, is God upon the throne. Heaven is God’s house, not ours. We are invited to His house. John sees God upon the throne. Holy, pure, perfect, majestic is God. This is Heaven. It is God’s house. And yet, God is inviting us to His house, not for an evening. Not for a tour. But to become our house. His house becomes our house.

Want to know what Heaven is like? Read Revelation four. Want to be in Heaven? Walk with Jesus. Want to get others to go to Heaven? Tell the story of Jesus.

Heaven, you don’t want to miss it. Live as if you have one foot already there.

Today, we are one day closer.

Roger