Welcome to the Further Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn, and I just want to thank you for listening to this on Apple or Spotify or watching on our YouTube channel. Don't forget, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel and you'll get all of our videos sent straight to your inbox. We release multiple videos every single week. Small, medium, long form that can help you strengthen you. And then on Instagram and Facebook and X and TikTok, we have short, clear videos, truth you can share and be edified by, and then also quotes. And you can think of it like daily devotions invading your feed, which can have a lot of negativity. And for the gospel is here to provide sound doctrine for everyday people, easy to understand, and it should encourage you in the truth. Today we're gonna continue our series on heaven and the afterlife by talking about what heaven will be like and what heaven will look like. Last episode, I unpacked what happens when you die and the separation of the spirit and the body. But this episode, we're gonna think about the final destination of every Christian throughout all of human history and the eternal state after Christ returns, after he's judged the wicked, all of them have been sent into the lake of fire, and now all of God's promises have come to pass. What's it gonna be like? I want to start with 10 facts about what heaven will be like, and then we'll look at six truths or facts about what heaven will look like. This is gonna be really fun because you'll shift from what I would just call an imaginative, almost Hollywood-framed view of heaven, like we're all gonna be these chubby little cupids firing arrows everywhere, or you float around on clouds like the Philadelphia cream cheese lady in those commercials, if you remember that growing up. And we get our picture of heaven from really our imagination. We want to get ours, as Christians, from the Bible. And one thing is for sure, the Bible is very clear about what heaven will be like. There's a lot of mystery still, which I love that God has left some things as a surprise for us. But as far as what you know from the word versus what you hear or see in movies or the human imagination, the Bible is definitely clear enough to correct a lot of misconceptions. So, number one, heaven is where Christ is. Heaven is where Christ is. John 14, 1 to 3, Jesus promises this to his disciples. I go prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also. So heaven's glory isn't primarily a location. I want you to think about that. This is not about a location, this is about a person. Heaven is where Christ is, being with Christ himself. This is heaven. This is glorious, this is what we long for. Jesus is what it's all about. Number two, heaven is immediate for believers after death. In Luke chapter 23, verse 43, you have the thief on the cross. Jesus looks at him and says, Surely, truly, this day you will be with me in where? Paradise. And so heaven, the idea of heaven, you can call it the concept of heaven, the location or destination of heaven with Christ is immediate for all believers. There was no purgatory, there was no delay. Jesus didn't say to him, Hey, you got to pass a theology exam, you're gonna kind of pay for your sins for a bit. We want, you're gonna be in purgatory for a little while, kind of a holding tank. No, today you will be with me in paradise. And then Paul the Apostle in Philippians chapter 1, verse 23, said, I want to depart. I mean, to depart and be with Christ. Oh, so good. That is far better, he's saying, than anything else I could experience. If you would depart from here, you would be with where and who? You'd be in heaven and with Christ. So the moment a believer dies, they are present with the Lord. Of course, last time I unpacked it for you, the passage in 2 Corinthians 5 where Paul says to be absent from the body is to be ever present with the Lord. Very important you understand. Heaven, that's where Christ is, and heaven is going to be what you experience immediately after you die. Not the eternal state, which I'll unpack, but definitely in the presence of God. Number three, heaven is the Father's house. In John 14, verse 2, Jesus says, It in my Father's house, there's many rooms. He's gonna have this abode prepared for us. Hebrews 12, verses 22 to 24 calls it the heavenly Jerusalem, and it's filled with innumerable angels and the spirits of the righteous made perfect. So you have this picture in the New Testament of a home with many rooms, this incredible uh dwelling place with God, and it's personal and it's safe and it's joyful and it's beautiful. It's a heavenly Jerusalem, it's a real city, if you will. It's innumerable angels are present worshiping God and the spirits of the righteous, that's us, all made perfect. And so heaven, you could say, is my father's house. It's a place I'm going. It's a real place. Number four, heaven is filled with worth worship and joy. Heaven is filled with worship and joy. There are a couple of passages that make this really clear, but I want to read to you from Revelation chapter 4, verses 8 to 11. If you're watching this and you have your Bible or you want to grab your Bible, hit pause, come on. If you're listening, no worries. As usual, I'll read this to you. The YouTube version is just helpful for those of you who like to see the verses on the screen or follow along with these points. You can go back after and get all those. But let me just read this to you. Revelation chapter 4, and I want to go verses 8 to 11. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. And day and night they do not cease to say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and is and is to come. This is the throne room of worship at the center of heaven. This is the worship of the Creator, what is emanating, the sound that's emanating out of heaven. Verse 9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, to him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders, which were talked about in the verses prior, they fall down before him who sits on the throne, and they'll worship him who lives forever and ever. And they'll cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, O Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created. Friend, heaven is a place of worship and joy unto God, praising him for who he is. The words that are used, you created all things, you are worthy of honor and power. Because of your will they existed. It's your will, your sovereignty, your authority that has brought about all of this. And so, right there, even in heaven, our existence as his created, the lesser, if you will, even though we're in the greatest state we could ever be in, the glorified state of heaven. And God has said that he will exalt us in that place. There will be glorification. Oh, we still cast the crowns at his feet, those 24 elders do, and all of the rest of us cry out, echoing the sound of these angels. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Heaven's a place of great worship and joy. Number five, heaven is a place of rest and reward. If you jump ahead to Revelation chapter 14, verse 13, you'll see this beautiful promise. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, capital S, the Holy Spirit, so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them. These are the martyrs. These are those who have strived, strived for Christ. They've laid their lives down, they've given it all, they've left it all on the field, if you will, for the sake of the gospel. Now, oh, they enter into their rest. And you have a lot of other indication of rest as we see the author of Hebrews unpack this concept of rest. You've seen the Old Testament the concept of rest. Believers in heaven are entering into perfect rest. And they receive the crown of righteousness, 2 Timothy 4.8 says, because heaven is a place where there is both rest and reward. You're hearing, well done, good and faithful servant. What other words can just bring such peace, relieving the burden, relieving the anxiety, causing you to forget all of the pain and suffering and cares of this world and think, oh, I can just finally let my guard down. Oh, I can finally just rest. You know that feeling for a child when mom and dad have it handled, the feeling for a wife when her husband is leading spiritually, she's protected, the feeling of a Christian that's in a church that's gonna hold the line and shepherd and protect. It's not perfect like heaven will be, but that feeling of oh, dad's home. Or oh, finally, I can just lay it all out. Friend, heaven is going to be that place, but with perfection forever. You are going to be at rest. Number six, heaven is a place without sorrow. Revelation 21, 4, one of my favorite passages speaking about the eternal state. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. That's perfect healing forever. No miscarriages, no cancer, no divorce, no sin, no pain, no assault, no murder, no nothing. You and I, breathe that sigh of relief because there's never any impending doom waiting. It's not, oh, it's going really well right now, but whew, what goes up must come down. I know there's a valley in the future. No, there isn't. It's endless joy and glory. Number seven, heaven will be physical and then bodily existence. Physical, bodily existence. I want you to understand something. It's not pie in the sky, floaty, imaginary fantasy. It is real. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 explains that we're gonna have glorified bodies. The passage that I'm thinking of in 1 Corinthians 15 is verses 42 to 44. And I'll turn there, you can turn there as well. But if you go to 1 Corinthians 15, you'll see really the whole chapter is on the order of the resurrection. And in verses 42 to 44, it says, so also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, raised an imperishable body. Look at what Paul's saying. He's doing some comparison work here. It's sown in dishonor, meaning this right here, the physical body, our shell. It's sown in dishonor, it's it's sinful, it's flesh, raised in glory. It's sown in weakness. Of course we're weak, raised in power, the power of Christ in his resurrection, raises us from the dead. It's sown a natural body. Okay, this goes to dust. It's raised a spiritual body. That's where you get the Christian concept of a glorified body. If you hear that more and more, let's say you're a new Christian or new to church, you're like glorified body, the spirit, what's what is all this? Perishable, imperishable, flesh, like what's he talking about? The Bible teaches clearly that after you die and in the eternal state, you are going to be. So, two things. After you die, your spirit is in the presence of Christ. You're still spirit. But in the eternal state, when Christ establishes his rule and reign, he is now bringing his whole bride into eternity with God the Father. What will we be like? Like what's the final form? It's called a glorified body, glorification, meaning we will be spirit, but with a body again. And you go, what will it look like? And what will I be my younger version, my middle-aged version, my old version? Is it the version you are when you die? We don't know. It's a mystery, but it will be an imperishable, glorified, incredible, supernatural, spiritual body. And then Paul argues his point. He goes, Why is that so hard to believe? If there's a natural body in verse 44, there's also a spiritual body. So, like, what's the big deal, really, Paul is saying? You had a natural body on earth, a spirit indwelled it, that body goes to dust because the curse of Adam. From dust you came, dust you will go. Makes sense from the book of Genesis in chapter three, when there's the curse because of sin. Everybody dies now. The body goes and decays. Well, then why wouldn't it be in the perfect state of heaven, eternity, the eternal state, and the glory of it? Why wouldn't it be that then we have a physical body now turned spiritual? A perishable body turned imperishable, a non-glorified body, a dishonorable body that sins and goes to dust, now will become a glorified, perfect, amazing, supernatural body. So something exciting. It's going to be physical and bodily. We're going to live in a real existence and we will be transformed. So the new heavens and the new earth, it's going to be physical. Your body is going to be incorruptible and glorious, never subject to sin or decay again. Look forward to that. Number eight, heaven will be a renewed earth. So not just glorified body, but a renewed earth. Back in the book of Revelation, in chapter 21, verses 1 and 2, John writes, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away. There's no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. Okay, I don't understand why people don't believe this stuff, or they think, ah, whatever, it's just kind of symbolic or spiritual. Listen, pretty much every aspect of eschatology, every view is like, no, this is real. Like there's going to be a real new heavens, new Jerusalem, new earth. It's not just some spiritualized thing. We see this in sci-fi movies. You see this in Hollywood. People imagine great things with fantasy, and then it comes to the Bible, and we go, well, I don't even know. We serve a supernatural God. He is going to destroy the earth as we know it, and he's going to bring about a new heavens and a new earth, a new Jerusalem. So get excited because the greatest renovation project, and even renovation is probably not a fair word to use because renovating is kind of building what's been there already and just gutting it and redoing it, but you still have the original guts of the home. This is a new heavens. It's a new earth. So it's not the old Lake Como. It's a whole new one. It's not a new Hawaii. It's a, or an old Hawaii, it's a new one. It's not the old heaven. It's not, he's going to redo all things. It's going to be glorious and beautiful. And this is what the Bible teaches. I heard a loud voice from the throne, verse 3 of chapter 21 in the book of Revelation, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God, it's among men. Now, that tabernacle. He will dwell among them. They will be his people. He will be among them. So heaven is going to be a renewed earth, a new earth, and God will be with us. He will be there. Eternity is not floating on clouds. It's life on and in a perfected, physical, renewed world with God, which then leads to number nine, heaven will be the full presence of God. Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. So in the New Jerusalem, there's no curse. That's what Revelation 22, verses 4 to 5 says. There will be no longer any curse. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his bondservants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. You and I, if you don't like tattoos now, too bad. You're going to have one one day. His name is gonna be on your forehead and mine in glory. You're gonna see his face. He's gonna know you. You're gonna know him. We're gonna serve him and love him, and we're gonna have unbroken fellowship with God. That is heaven's ultimate treasure. And therefore, number 10, heaven will be eternal life, not just endless existence. John 10, 28, Jesus defines eternal life as forever with him. He has these beautiful words. He says, My sheep know my voice, and I know them, they follow me, and they'll never perish, because I give eternal life to them, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. So you're never going to lose this. If you're truly in Christ, you're gonna stay in Christ. My Father, verse 29, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. This is where we get the idea, the doctrine of preservation of the saints, meaning whom God truly saves, he will preserve, whom he has died for and bought and redeemed will stay redeemed. You didn't earn your salvation and save yourself, and so you don't preserve your salvation and keep yourself saved. I remember a great theologian said, if you could lose your salvation, you would. Friend, you can't. When you're truly saved, you say, What do we do then, Costi, with the people who abandon the faith or walk away from the faith or they depart from the faith? First John says they went out from among us because they were never truly of us. They were like the rocky soil, sprouts up quick, no roots, gone. Some, like the thorny soil, they grow a little longer, but then the cares of this world choked them out, and it's not the good soil. Others is just hard-hearted right away. But then there's the good soil. All of these reminders in Scripture are there to encourage us also to sober us up, to say, not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, Jesus says in Matthew 7, 22. Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, I prophesied in your name, casted out demons. I did all that. He'll say, Depart from me, I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness. But for those who truly are in Christ, though we sin and we're not perfect, we love him, we're progressing in him, no one can snatch you from his hand. And so it's gonna be eternity with him. I tried to think about eternity earlier yesterday as I was thinking through these things, and my brain started to short out, and I was going, I just don't. Okay, so it's been a million years, Lord, and then it's like not even anything. Yep, okay. Uh, all right, it's gonna have been a billion years, it's been a trillion, so it just never ends. There's no redoing of it all. We're not gonna get reincarnated, it's not gonna become another planet. We all get our own planet, and then we're a god of that, and then we do redo the God story thing, and then it's like, yeah, this endless cycle because now we all gonna nope, it is forever. And then I started thinking, wow, how important then? Your word says you are patient, not wishing that anyone would perish. It's not your will to just go, yeah, let's obliterate all the humans. No, your will is that you would save and call and draw, and you're so patient. And while there is a real hell and there is real judgment, and those who rebel and reject you will be held completely responsible and culpable for their sin. You're going to continue to save people and you're gonna make your gospel go forth because once it's done, it's done. Once we enter into everything I've just described, there's no second chance. It's not like we're gonna dip into purgatory and keep pulling out souls. Friends, it's over when it's over. And so that's why we call people turn to Christ now. And that's why also, while we long for heaven, we we say, Lord, save people in Jeros. Save more because that day is coming. And so the Bible gives us a beautiful picture of what it will be like. And then finally, what will heaven look like? I want to unpack just a few of these. Number one, there's a throne at the center. And John writes this: Behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne, Revelation 4, 2. And from that throne, flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder. There's this great and glorious throne. The throne is the central focal point in many of the passages that describe heaven. And so you can say, not just what heaven will be like, but what will it look like? You're gonna have this throne, and emanating out of it are gonna be lightning bolts and thunder. It's gonna be glorious. Revelation chapter 4, verse 5 is really clear about that. I mean, it just says it. There's lightning coming out of that throne. Heaven's heart is not empty space. It's not this big place with like giant empty ballrooms. It's the sovereign throne of God and it radiates his majesty. Number two, there'll be a sea of glass like crystal. And we're told in the Word of God, in Revelation chapter 4, verse 6, that there's a sea of glass like crystal, and and that before that throne is where that sea of glass flows from, and it stretches out from the throne. And it pictures God's holiness, his transcendence is dazzling, it is sparkling, and there's this expanse that reflects his glory. Think about a sea of glass. What is gonna happen when you have a giant sea of glass emanating from this throne that there's lightning and thunder and flashes? That means there's this reflection of the glory of God. You don't need the sun in heaven because we have the light of the true sun, the Son of God. You don't need electricity in heaven because you have the electric presence of God, the lightning bolts of his glory reflecting off a sea of glass. It is day all the time. There's light because of God. Number three, streets of gold and a city of pure gold. In Revelation chapter 21, verse 18, there's this really vivid picture. If you want to read this stuff, by the way, just Go read tonight Revelation 21 and 22. Short chapters, easy to read. And I guarantee you, when you get to that last verse in the book of Revelation, it might bring a tear to your eye as you think, Oh Lord, I miss you. I want you. Come quickly. Oh, I want this day. And then it'll remind you to evangelize people because that day's coming. But streets of gold, Revelation 21, 18 says, the material of the wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. And he goes through this list. So you have streets of gold and a city that is pure gold. Can you imagine? I mean, we've never seen that. Even the glory of Dubai can't compare every project they have, all the gold that's there. Nothing compared to heaven. Heaven's streets are not ordinary, they shine with divine brilliance, and they're a reminder of the purity and permanence of God's kingdom. Number four, twelve gates of pearl and foundations of jewels. I started to read it right there. You probably heard that in Revelation 21 and getting into verses 19 and all the way through to 21, but it goes through this list of jasper and sapphire and all of those precious stones. And then in verse 21, and the 12 gates were 12 pearls. Each one of the gates was a single pearl. Can you imagine a pearl the size of a gate? Heaven is going to be filled with 12 of those. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. You have this great and high wall with 12 gates, and each gate is made of a single pearl, the foundations of the wall of the city adorned with every kind of jewel. I mean, it's beauty layered upon beauty. That's the what the picture that comes to mind. Just beauty layered upon beauty, upon beauty. It symbolizes God's security of his people. It symbolizes God's glory with his people. Oh, what a sight that's going to be. Number five, unceasing light from God's glory. I already tipped this one off. I couldn't contain myself. I'm talking about there'd be no sun. And this comes from Revelation 21, verse 23. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the lamb. How good is that? Even the verbiage that the Holy Spirit writes through John. Its lamp is the Lamb, no darkness, no shadows, only the radiant presence of God and the Lamb filling everything. Leading to number six, what will heaven look like? There'll be a life-giving river and tree. John saw this in Revelation chapter 22, verses 1 to 2. Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, on God on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his bondservants will serve him. As I read earlier, they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads, and there will be no longer any night. They will not have need of the light of a lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them, and they will reign forever and ever. Heaven is not sterile, it is alive, it is lush, it's overflowing with God's life-giving power. This is the future, friends. This is the eternity that we long for, this is the eternity we're heading for. And it's what awaits all who are in Christ. We will live in a state of perpetual glory, saturated with the presence of God and full of joy. How do you experience that? Through the gospel. Why do we preach the gospel and the glory of heaven? Why do we preach the gospel and the glory of God? Why do we make such a big deal about Jesus? Because, friend, heaven is not just a beautiful idea, it's a blood-bought reality through the blood of Jesus Christ. In John 14, 6, Jesus said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. That's why people say, oh, it's so bigoted, it's so narrow-minded, it's so exclusive. Look, it is exclusive. Jesus didn't say, I'm one of the ways. You can get to the top of the mountain, just take any of these trails, Buddha, Muhammad, whoever. No, he said, I am the way. It's Jesus and Jesus alone. The door to heaven isn't good works. The door to heaven isn't religion and going to church. It's not wishful thinking. It's a person. His name is Jesus. He left heaven. He came to earth. He lived the perfect life we could not live. He died the death we deserved for the sins we committed. And then he rose from the grave to open the way to eternal life. And so that means for the believer, since the God who conquered death is who offers life, you can trust him. He's not going to bait and switch you. He can't give you eternal life unless he's conquered eternal and earthly death. And Jesus did that. This is why it's better to depart and be with Christ. And one day because of him, you, if you have placed your faith in him, if you've repented of your sin, that is to turn from it, to say, I changed my mind. I changed my mind about my good works, I changed my mind about my sin, I changed my mind about the way I've been living. I despise all of those things compared to Christ. I turn to him. If you do that in faith and you follow him and you believe that he is the Lord and Savior of your life, that he died for your sins, you are forgiven, you are sealed, you are called, you are chosen, and you are destined for heaven, my friend. And you'll stand one day on a new earth with a glorified body. You're gonna see his face, you're gonna enjoy his presence. And that's not just information, that is invitation. That message is for all to hear. Will some reject? Yep. But many who hear that message, they'll be drawn by the truth. And they'll respond to Jesus' words when he says, Come to me, all you who labor and you are heavy laden. You got burdens, bring them to me. Jesus says, I will give you rest. And so today, let the burden go. Repent of your sin. Lay it all down before him. Stop carrying around all of these encumbrances, these weights. You can't make it in the race of life if you're trying to carry it all yourself. Give it to him. Turn from your sin. Lay it all on him. He can handle it. And trust him. If you will do that in faith, heaven's glory awaits you. Heaven's glory awaits all who belong to Christ and have put their faith in him. Well, that concludes our time today. And I'm so thankful for you listening and you watching. And I pray that the gospel is either a current reality, it's good news for you, and you love it and you believe it and believed it, and that's just an exciting thing to hear all over again because we never graduate from the gospel. But maybe there's someone who's listening or watching who has found their way to this moment, this podcast, and the sound of my voice and what I'm saying, and you think that's what I've been looking for. I'm so glad that you got the privilege today of hearing the gospel and that the Lord would turn your heart to him. If that is you, you can drop us a comment, you can email our ministry, shoot us a DM, let us know how we can be praying for you, how we can support you in your next step. There are so many people who God saves through many different avenues. Some end up getting saved at church, some end up getting saved in their room just reading the Bible, others get saved hearing the gospel on a podcast like this. And so if that's you, let us know. We want to celebrate with you. Next week, I'll take you into what we'll do in heaven. Are we gonna uh have marriage, relationships? Will we know our friends? Are we gonna be hanging out? All of that. Important questions. They seem trivial to some people, but they're important. Are we gonna reunite with one another? I can't wait to dig in. If this episode has encouraged you, be sure to leave a review or share it with somebody who could use a glimpse of heaven. And don't forget for more resources on a lot of different topics like forgiveness, anger, marriage, theology, and more. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, or you can look back through over 250 episodes on the podcast already. 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