Do you remember the first time experiencing something amazing and awe inspiring? Maybe it was the first time you went to a huge aquarium as a child or you went to an Imax theater or you went on a road trip to see the Grand Canyon or Mount Rainier. You were filled with wonder and amazement as you took in what you were seeing and experiencing. Any picture you had seen just couldn’t do the real thing justice. Now hold onto that feeling and we’ll come back to it.  A lot of people hear descriptions of Heaven and they get the impression that Heaven is boring. We walk around in white robes on clouds playing a harp and singing while little, fat baby angels float around us. However, this is not at all the view of Heaven we get from scriptures. So what will heaven be like? The truth is, we don’t fully know. There are verses that attempt to describe Heaven but the Bible also says in 1 Corinthians 2:9 “that no eye has seen, or ear heard or the heart imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” We can’t even imagine or comprehend the awesomeness of Heaven! A picture in our minds or a description in a book simply cannot do it justice. Heaven is beyond what we’ve ever seen, felt or experienced by a million. We can be assured that when we stand in the presence of God and see Jesus face to face, that experience will be unmatched by anything we can do here on earth. Revelation 21:4 describes heaven like this, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  Imagine that, a place where death, pain, mourning, suffering and sadness will not exist. Not only will they not exist, but they will be replaced with the most pure expressions of love, joy, peace, and happiness like we’ve never felt before. Do you remember when you were most happy, or most at peace? Now take that experience and increase it by a billion, and you will be nowhere even close to what Heaven holds for those who choose to spend eternity in the presence of God. Why wouldn’t a person want this? Why wouldn’t we look forward to this and want others to be with us there in the presence of our savior? Let’s be people who look forward to Heaven with hopeful anticipation, but also use that future reality as a call to evangelism and introducing others to Jesus in this life.

What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived - the things God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4

A systematic study of the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) and the doctrine of the Church (ecclesiology). Special attention will be given to the plan of redemption and the contents of the gospel message as it is seen in the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Special emphasis will be on the nature and working of the kingdom of God. The Gospels and Jesus’ teachings will serve as the specific source of the study.

A systematic study of the doctrine of God (theology proper) and the doctrine of man (anthropology). Special attention will be given to a study of “the world” (expanding on the study of man by extending it into the fallen realm in which he lives). The Gospels and Jesus’ teachings will serve as the specific source of the study.

Paradise Series
True North Church

Imagine Heaven
John Burke