Basic Baptist Doctrine
Lesson #25
From a lesson by Elder Kent Welch
3-14-02

This study will endeavor to present the "basics" of what the Bible teaches about Heaven. We will purposely skirt some of the more difficult questions in an effort to stay with our original intentions to study basic Baptist doctrines. While many valid questions exist regarding Heaven, it is also true that most are unanswerable with any certainty because none of us have witnessed it firsthand. ?

Scripture lesson:

"1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 9And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."

a. The word "heaven(s)" within Scripture can mean three different things:

1. The sky we can see

2. "Heavenly" bodies; outer space: stars, planets, etc

3. The dwelling place of God

b. The location of Heaven

1. We often think of Heaven as being "up", but this is a relative term as "up" in China is "down" to us, etc.

2. Heaven is the abode of God and therefore, Heaven is where God is. As such, determining a "physical" location of Heaven would be likened unto determining a "physical" location for God. God is a spirit and is omnipresent. Understanding how God can be everywhere at once is really beyond our abilities of reasoning and understanding, just as understanding the location and properties of Heaven.

a. The obvious answer is "yes", at least in spirit (not yet in body)

"9And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."

"For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better."

a. People don’t like this, but…he relationships which man maintains will be dissolved upon death or the Lord’s Return. My wife will not be my wife. My children will not be my children. We all will be the children of God and will love each other equally without the understanding and practices of this life and its sin.

a. Eternity is just that…ternity. There will be no end to the "ceaseless ages".

1. Praise God

"9After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."

I have heard folks say from time to time something to the effect of, "Won’t we get tired of praising God for ALL of eternity?!?" The answer is no. Although we cannot understand how Heaven will be or how we will have been changed, we can realize this…Can you think of a moment of your life when you were completely joyful and at peace and happiness outside of the presence of God?? When the Lord is near, our joy swells. When we stray from Him, we find sorrow and heartache. Heaven is about WITH Christ of all of eternity! We won’t be able to be anything BUT happy!

A. Heaven Proper and the New Jerusalem (or New City)

1. Heaven will consist of a special city, called the Holy City. This city will be comprised of the Lord’s church and there will be many in Heaven which are not "residents" of this city (although the gates will be perpetually open…

2. The physical characteristics of the "New Jerusalem"

a. Gates (pearl)

b. Streets (gold)

c. Walls (jasper)

d. Immense! (1500 miles CUBED!!!)

Although these descriptions are offered to us, we must understand that they are not literal. Heaven IS a literal place, but also a spiritual place and one impossible to describe in human, earthly terms. Thus, John the Revelator often used terminology such as "was ‘like unto’… John attempted to paint us a picture of what he saw by utilizing the things we were familiar with and would know.

e. There will be MANY, MANY people there

a. Faith and Hope

Faith is realized and ends in sight; Our need of hope is extinguished by our full redemption.

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

Charity (love) will abide and dwell forever in Heaven…

b. Preaching

No need of preaching as there will not be any lost souls there or sin!

c. Tears, sorrow, pain, etc.

"17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

d. Sea

"1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."

Why no more sea?

The sea "separates" and there will not be such a need in Heaven. All things will be one and all of God’s people will be together, etc.

a. As was stated at the beginning of the lesson, there are many things which we will simply not understand about Heaven until we get there….but, when we DO get there…we will know it all!!

"9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

"12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."