This is the final post summarizing my reading of Fear Not! a book written by Ligon Duncan on viewing death and the afterlife from a Christian perspective. You may read my previous posts here:
Chapter One: What is Death?
Chapter Two: What Happens After Death?
Chapter Three: What Happens When Christ Returns?
Chapter Four: The Final Judgment
Chapter Five: What is Heaven?
It is important for us to consider the reality of heaven not only in the face of great difficulty, but in our day-to-day lives.
Comfort from Jesus:
In the dark hours before the crucifixion, it is the subject of heaven that Jesus chooses to discuss with His followers. We find this discourse in John 14. It is easy to identify with the disciples who would view the death of Christ as a gross miscarriage of justice. Jesus seeks to reassure His disciples with words that express the design, purpose and choice of the Father for the hours which lie ahead. Jesus then goes beyond these reassuring words to describe the place that He is preparing for all those who would place their faith and trust in Him. It would do us well to review these words regularly!
Where is Heaven?
Typically we are speaking about what the Apostle Paul refers to as the “third heaven” when we discuss Heaven. It is the “heaven of heavens” – the very abode of God. Jesus calls this abode of God, “the Father’s house” – John 14:2. When one does a search of what heaven will be like in the Scriptures, they find that the Bible describes heaven as a beautiful place. Our understanding of just how beautiful is very limited though. Part of that beauty comes from the fact that we will no longer dwell among any evil; there will be “endless bliss and fullness of joy forever” (Duncan, p.87) Heaven in fact is a “spatial reality”, but where is it located? Where is it? It is located where Christ is! We do not know the “coordinates” for heaven, but we know that the One we long to see is there – and as He is there, so too will His followers be someday!
What is heaven like?
Ligon Duncan brings out a great point as he begins this discussion on what heaven will be like:
First of all, from the less than perfect relationships we experience with God and with others, the Bible teaches us to extrapolate from those experiences a perfect relationship free from limitations, frustrations and failure.
Some of our memories from dwelling with our own earthly fathers are precious. These delights will only be exponentially better in heaven with our heavenly Father! For some of us, our memories of earthly fathers are very hurtful and harmful. What a joy to know that as we dwell in our heavenly Father’s house that we will experience everything we have ever longed for in our earthly relationships!
Secondly, the Bible asks us to think about our life, and eliminate from it all the forms of pain, evil, conflict, and distress that we experience on earth, and then think, ‘That is what heaven is going to be like.’” (Revelation 21:4)
No sin, pain, sorrow, death, mourning, betrayal, disappointments, failure or rebellion will be a part of heaven. Isn’t that a blessed thought? This encourages me greatly!
Thirdly, the Bible asks us to enrich our thoughts of heaven by adding every conception of excellence and God-given enjoyment that we know and experience.
In heaven the redeemed will have no pain…only joy!
- Our greatest joy will be the fact that we are in the presence of our God!
- We will also experience Christ’s love on an on-going basis as He ministers to His people!
- We will also experience the fellowship of our loved ones and the whole body of the redeemed without reservation!
In heaven there is a mediator…in hell there is no mediator.
Hell is eternity in the presence of God without a mediator. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God, with a mediator. Hell is in the eternity of God, being fully conscious of the just, holy, righteous, good, kind and loving Father’s disapproval of your rebellion and wickedness. Heaven, on the other hand, is dwelling in the conscious awareness of your holy and righteous Father, but doing so through a mediator who died in your place, the One who absorbed the fullness of the penalty of your sin. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God with the One who totally eradicated sin from your life, the Lord Jesus Christ. ~p.94
Filed under: blogging, book review, Death / Eternity / Afterlife Tagged: | afterlife, Death, Gospel, Grace, Heaven, Hell, Jesus Christ, john 14, ligon duncan, rebellion
