Things some people believe in

All Christians %

All Non- Christians %

God

99

69

Heaven

96

                                                      57

 

When you die will you go to Heaven, Hell:p>

Yes %

No %

Heaven

79

48

Hell

1

6

Purgatory

5

2

Somewhere else

9

35

 

What is heaven going to be like?

 

Study - Why Heaven is important

 

Read 2 cor 4:8-5:10

 

Adam Clark comments on Verse 18.   While we look not at the things which are seen.  While we aim not at the things which are seen; do not make them our object; are not striving to obtain them; for they are not worthy the pursuit of an immortal spirit, because they are seen; they are objects to which the natural eye can reach; and they are temporary; they are to have a short duration, and must have an end.  But the things which we make our scope and aim are not seen; they are spiritual, and therefore invisible to the eye of the body; and besides, they are eternal-things that are permanent; that can have no end; they are things which belong to God; holiness, happiness, and the endless communication and fruition of himself.

 

Point One -   Living the victorious life like Jesus did
.
2 Corinthians 4

 

8  [we are] afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;

 

Speaks of being taken down like a wrestler and knowing not what to do, but not crushed.

 

"Perplexed" is being pinned and "not despairing" means getting out of the pin and becoming a conquerer.

 

 9 "persecuted", but not "forsaken"; struck down, but not destroyed;

 

The idea of "persecuted", but not "forsaken" is the one of being in a race, being chased but not overtaken, struck down is back to wrestling and being thrown down and not distroyed refers to rising to conquer.

 

 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
 
In what way are we being taken down like a wrestler and pinned?

 

How is it that we rise again to conquer?

 

Point Two - Pauls view of eternal blessedness, 16-18.

 

16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

 

Light afflictions here in this life are insignificant compared to what awaits us. Signified here by Weight of Glory, original language cannot be expressed properly in english, it means it is so far beyond comparison.

 

 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

 

Why do we spend so much time on the cares of the world and so little time meditating on the Kingdom of Heaven. - It is our perspective, it is temporal, carnal and self centered when it needs to be heavenly, spiritual and Christ centered.

 

Point Three -

 

2Co 5:1  For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

 

This house is disentegrating as the home for our souls, it is being taken down just as the tabernacle was taken down, our souls are now veiled just as the spirit of God was veiled in the tabernacle, but one day will be opened at our resurrection just as it was opened at Christs resurrection never to be veiled again. At some time in the future we will receive resurrected bodies just as Jesus did upon his resurrection, after the body was broken.

 

READ 2Co 3

 

12 Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness in [our] speech,
 13 and [are] not as Moses, [who] used to put a veil over his face that the sons of Israel might not look intently at the end of what was fading away.
 14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.
 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
 16 but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty.
 18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

 

 2 For indeed in this [house] we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven;

 

Living life in Christ means we long to be clothed with Heaven, it is part of our Spiritual service of worship that we long to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, not our current dwelling, just as God looked forward to removing the veil so that we can enter in, so God will one day remove our veil that we might be one with Him, in Heaven, the place He is preparing for us.

 

 3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked.

 

We are alive in the flesh but when saved we put on the heavenly, we need to live like we are present with the Lord, right living is Heavenly living.

 

 4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

 

We want to be living in the Kingdom now, so we can live victorious lives.

 

 5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

 

God prepared us to live this life, now and throughout eternity.

 

 6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--

 

ACC ~ Heaven is the home of every Geniune Christian and claimed as such

 

 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight--

 

The difference between our walk here and in Heaven is that now we see with eyes of faith the Heaven that we are to enjoy as the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

 

 9 Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

 

Pleasing lives, lived the same one earth as it is in Heaven, so what is heaven like so we can live like that now!

 

 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

 

How are our deeds to be Kingdom deeds if they are not done in light of eyes of faith which see this current Kingdom in light of our coming Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Before the cross our lives were veiled from God, now we live Kingdom of Heaven Lives through the eyes of faith unmolested by a veil over our eyes.

 

These verses only make since in the context what heaven really is. If your understanding of Heaven is typlical of evangelical understandings, you will not have the undertanding of what Heaven is much less the ability to live Kingdom of Heaven lives.

 

After this class on Heaven you should want to live Heavenly.

 

If we are to be living Heavenly, how then shall we live?

 

 

 "Addison

 

  ---Whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
        This longing after immortality?
        Or whence this secret dread and inward horror
        Of falling into nought?  Why shrinks the soul
        Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
        'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us;
        'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
        And intimates eternity to man.---
        The soul, secured in her existence, smiles
        At the drawn dagger, and defies its point.
        The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
        Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;
        But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
        Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
        The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds."

 

We study heaven so we can live Kingdom lives here and now just as Jesus did.

 

A proper understanding of Kingdom living has to be understood in the context of what heaven really is.

 

If we are to live victorious lives we must live Kingdom lives.

 

Christians living the Kingdom lives are well prepared to enter eternity. Theirs is a death of great expectation, one without the veil of flesh that distorts the reality of Christian living.

 

 

 

Review the benfits of the lesson

Ice Breaker - Your name, Joy of your life

 

 

How class will benefit from lesson - Application

 

We will see how knowing what heaven is prepares us to live it here.

 

See that the Spirit led life is one driven by the knowledge of Gods desire for our lives, what better way to know that than to study what His eternal destiny is for us, how he wants us to live for eternity.

 

See that knowing about the unsurpassing glory of heaven helps us through the brutallity of this life.

 

 

Find out why Heaven is important for us to know about

 

Approach to Class - How we will study material

 

Non threatining class, easy going, get up get coffee at any time and enjoy our time together.

 

Rabbit trails are fine, just stay on topic and not to long.

 

Source of information using in the class
Commentaries, Heaven book, Bible, Internet

 

Review: Review what approach will be, Goal and benefits for trainee.

 

We will be reviewing some famous quotes, have some interactive discussion time, read through the Scriptures, some lecture with discussion time and a time of personal application.

 

 

 "Addison

 

  ---Whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
        This longing after immortality?
        Or whence this secret dread and inward horror
        Of falling into nought?  Why shrinks the soul
        Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
        'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us;
        'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
        And intimates eternity to man.---
        The soul, secured in her existence, smiles
        At the drawn dagger, and defies its point.
        The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
        Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;
        But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
        Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
        The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds."

 

 

2Co 5:1  For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

 

1-This house is disentegrating as the home for our souls
2 -It is being taken down just as the tabernacle was taken down
3-Our souls are now veiled just as the spirit of God was veiled in the tabernacle
4-One day will be opened at our resurrection just as it was opened at Christs resurrection
5-Never to be veiled again.
6-At some time in the future we will receive resurrected bodies just as Jesus did upon his resurrection
7-Just as Jesus body was broken,.Our tabernacle must also be taken down.

 

With a healthy understanding of heaven we can say like Paul did in 1Co 15:55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"

 

What will some of the attributes of our heavenly body be?

 

Study - Why Study Heaven?

 

Point One -   The veil of separation has been rent

 

Read 2Co 3

 

12 Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness in [our] speech,
 13 and [are] not as Moses, [who] used to put a veil over his face that the sons of Israel might not look intently at the end of what was fading away.
 14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.
 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
 16 but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty.
 18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

 

The question of the superiority of the new covenent with the Holy Spirit over the Old covenent and the Law comes up.

 

Often the question comes to me where is the power of the Spirit in my life, in the life of my family, in the life of my Church?

 

1Co 3:16  Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwells in you?

 

How do we know that the Holy Spirit is in us and that the power of the Spirit is at work?

 

Litmus test

 

How do we recognize that the Spirit with in us is the Holy Spirit?

 

1Co 12:3 Therefore I make known to you, that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

 

1Jo 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

 

How do we know that God the Holy Spirit dwells in us?

 

1Jo 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

 

How do we know that we are saved and have the spirit of God in us?

 

1Jo 5:5 And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

 

How do we know we will be given a new body and be resurrected?

 

Ro 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

 

How do we know that He will let us in heaven?

 

Re 2:7 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.'

 

How is it that we now live the Kingdom life?

 

Mt 3:2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

 

quote from  Da 7:13,14

 

ACC ~ The kingdom of heaven is at hand]  Referring to the prophecy of Daniel, Da 7:13,14, where the reign of Christ among men is expressly foretold.  This phrase, and the kingdom of God, mean the same thing, viz. the dispensation of infinite mercy, and manifestation of eternal truth, by Christ Jesus, producing the true knowledge of God, accompanied with that worship which is pure and holy, worthy of that God who is its institutor and its object. But why is this called a kingdom?  Because it has its laws, all the moral precepts of the Gospel: its subjects, all who believe in Christ Jesus: and its king, the Sovereign of heaven and earth. N. B. Jesus Christ never saved a soul which he did not govern; nor is this Christ precious or estimable to any man who does not feel a spirit of subjection to the Divine will.

 

But why is it called the kingdom of HEAVEN? 

 

ACC~Because God designed that his kingdom of grace here should resemble the kingdom of glory above.  And hence our Lord teaches us to pray, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

 

The veil of the Old Covenent has been rent, and now we have the Holy Spirit renewing us and: 

 

But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit ~.2Co 3:18

 

Point Two - The veil of death still keeps us from Him

 

 2 For indeed in this [house] we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven;

 

Living life in Christ means:

 

It is part of our Spiritual service of worship that we long to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, not our current dwelling, just as God looked forward to removing the veil so that we can enter in, so God will one day remove our veil that we might be one with Him, in Heaven, the place He is preparing for us.

 

 3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked.

 

We are alive in the flesh but when saved we put on the heavenly, we need to live like we are present with the Lord, right living is Heavenly living.

 

 4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

 

We want to be living in the Kingdom now, so we can live victorious lives.

 

What do we do to live heavenly lives now?

 

1 - Commune with God
2 - Live righteous lives
3 - Live out the Purpose He made us for ~ Commercial

 

Point Three -

 

 5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

 

God prepared us to live this life, now and throughout eternity.

 

 6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--

 

ACC ~ Heaven is the home of every Geniune Christian and claimed as such

 

 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight--

 

The difference between our walk here and in Heaven is that now we see with eyes of faith the Heaven that we are to enjoy as the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

 

 9 Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

 

Pleasing lives, lived the same one earth as it is in Heaven, so what is heaven like so we can live like that now!

 

 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

 

How are our deeds to be Kingdom deeds if they are not done in light of eyes of faith which see this current Kingdom in light of our coming Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Before the cross our lives were veiled from God, now we live Kingdom of Heaven Lives through the eyes of faith unmolested by a veil over our eyes.

 

These verses only make since in the context what heaven really is. If your understanding of Heaven is typlical of evangelical understandings, you will not have the undertanding of what Heaven is much less the ability to live Kingdom of Heaven lives.

 

After this class on Heaven you should want to live Heavenly.

 

If we are to be living Heavenly, how then shall we live?

 

 

Knowing what heaven is prepares us to live it here.

 

The Spirit led life is one driven by the knowledge of Gods desire for our lives, what better way to know that than to study what His eternal destiny is for us, how he wants us to live for eternity.

 

Knowing about the unsurpassing glory of heaven helps us through the brutallity of this life.

 

 

 

Ice Breaker - Where did you like to spend Christmas as a child?

 

 

 

A forester and lawyer
A forester and a lawyer were in car accident and showed up at the pearly gates together.

 

St. Peter greets them at the pearly gates and takes them to the homeswhere they will spend all of eternity. They get into St. Peter's holy vehicle and head on down a gold road, which turns into a platinum road, which turns onto an even grander road paved with diamonds, to a huge mansion where St. Peter turns to the lawyer and says, here is your home for the rest of eternity, enjoy! And if there is anything you need, just let me know.

 

Then St. Peter took the forester to his home, back down the diamond studded boulevard, down the platinum highway, down the street of gold, down an avenue of silver, along a stone alley and down an unpaved footpath to a shack. St Peter says "Here you go" and goes to leave when the forester says "Waitaminute!, how come the lawyer gets the big mansion and I get this shack?"

 

St. Peter says: "Well, Foresters are a dime a dozen here, we have never had a lawyer before."

 

 

How class will benefit from lesson - Application

 

 

Approach to Class - How we will study material

 

Non threatining class, easy going, get up get coffee at any time and enjoy our time together.

 

Rabbit trails are fine, just stay on topic and not to long.

 

 

Review: Review what approach will be, Goal and benefits for trainee.

 

 

 

 

The secret is that you and I come equipped with a built-in inclination to expect life to have some kind of sequel beyond death. -Speakman

 

 

1Th 4:13-18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.
 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.
 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of [the] archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.
 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

 

Notice three things.

 

We are to have hope and be comforted that there is an intermediate heaven.
God will bring those who have died before us back with Him at the rapture.
They will get resurrected bodies before we do, so they do not have their final bodies at this point.

 

We are trinitarian beings, if we do not have bodies, what do we have?

 

Study - Understanding the Intermediate Heaven

 

Point One -  What is the nature of the Intermediate Heaven?

 

This world is but the vestibule of eternity.  Every good thought or deed touches a chord that vibrates in heaven. -Anonymous

 

Nature of Intermediate Heaven

 

Not our final resting place

 

A waiting place for the return of Christ at the Rapture

 

A much better place than here.
Philippians 1:23

 

Analogy of trip to Miami with stop over in Dallas.
Homeless shelter to Inheritance of home and job always wanted.

 

Observations about heaven

 

God Created Heaven.
Heaven is a finite, created place.
A place where God chooses to dwell
Where angles dwell
A place where man dwells with God

 

The New Jerusalem, our future city comes down out of heaven (apparently the intermediate heaven)
Rev 21:1-3

 

We are conscious in intermediate heaven.

 

Ecc 12:7 - The spirit returns to God who gave it
Luke 16:22-31 - Lazarus and the rich man
Luke 23:43 - Christ was in Paradise
Rev 6:9-11 - Martyrs cry out to Lord in the intermediate heaven

 

We will be judged

 

Bema seat
Romans 14:10-12 - 2
Corinthians 5:10

 

Judgement of works, not faith
1 Corinthians 3:13-14

 

Where reward are given, not punishment
2 Timothy 2:12 - Rev 2:26-28; 3:21

 

When and how the judgement happens is not completely clear.

 

The intermediate heaven is another realm or universe where Christ lives in his resurrected body.

 

Acts 7:55-56
2 Kings 6:17

 

Why do you think God created an intermediate heaven?

 

Point Two - Is the Intermediate Heaven a Physical Place?

 

Heaven is a state of service, though not of suffering; it is a state of rest, but not of sloth; it is a praising delightful rest. -Henry

 

Heaven is substance, Earth is the shadow of it.

 

The temple was made from the pattern of the actual one in heaven
Ex 25:9
Hebrews 8:5; 9:24

 

Heaven is full of things we have on earth, heaven existed before earth.
Rev 15:8 - smoke
Rev 7:9 - palm branches - trees
Rev 8:6 - Musical instruments
2 Kings 2:11; Rev 19:14 - Horses
Rev 8:13 - Eagles
Heb 12:22 - New Jerusalem

 

Paradise was described as a physical place.

 

Paradise means a walled park or enclosed garden
Luke 23:43

 

The tree of life was in the garden, the intermediate heaven and new heavens and new earth.
Gen 2:9 - Rev 2:7; 22:2

 

We have a body or "presence" of sorts, but not our eternal body.

 

We were made with a body and spirit and soul
Genesis 2:7

 

Said to be clothed by "heaven"
2 Corinthians 5:2-4
Rev 6:9-11

 

Some disappeared and appeared with bodies
Hebrews 11:5 - Enoch
2 Kings 2:11-12 - Elijah
Luke 9:28-36 - Moses

 

What makes us human, different from other created things and beings?

 

Point Three - What is Life Like in the Intermediate Heaven?

 

Heaven, the treasury of everlasting joy. -Shakespeare

 

Read Rev 6:9-11

 

Read from Book - 21 observations

 

People will remember life on earth.

 

Rev 6:9-11 - Marytrs did
Luke 16:25 - Comforted for things that happened on earth, implies memory
2 Corinthians 5:10 - Matthew 12:36 - We give account for earthly things
Matthew 6:19-21; 19:21; Luke 12:33; 19:17, 19; 1 Timothy 6:19; Revelation 2:26-28 - Rewards are for things we did on earth.
Malachi 3:16 - Scroll of rememberance being recorded now for future use.

 

Memory is part of our personality, if we will be then who we are now, we must have memory, or the person then will not be us.

 

We will see at least some of what is happening on earth.

 

Revelation 6:9-11 - Martyrs see what is happening
Revelation 18:20 - Rejoice over fallen Babylon
1 Sam 28:16-19 - Samuel remembers Sauls deeds of evil
Hebrews 12:1 - Great cloud of witnesses are those of faith in chapter 11 of Hebrews who now appear to watch as we run our race.

 

What are some of the things you look forward to in this life?

 

 

The intermediate heaven is an exciting place, where we can be with and serve the Lord

 

It has form and substance, we will apparently have form, with spirit and soul.

 

We will know what is happening and be excited by what is happening on earth.

 

 

 

Ice Breaker - What did your mother or father tell you that you have found to be true as an adult?

 

 

 

Reward for goodness
Three men died in a car accident and met Jesus himself at the Pearly Gates.

 

The Lord spoke unto them saying, "I will ask you each a simple question. If you tell the truth I will allow you into heaven, but if you lie....Hell is waiting for you.

 

To the first man the Lord asked, "How many times did you cheat on your wife?" The first man replied, "Lord, I was a good husband. I never cheated on my wife." The Lord replied, "Very good! Not only will I allow you in, but for being faithful to your wife I will give you a huge mansion and a limo for your transportation.

 

To the second man the Lord asked, "How many times did you cheat on your wife?" The second man replied, "Lord, I cheated on my wife twice." The Lord replied, "I will allow you to come in, but for your unfaithfulness, you will get a four- bedroom house and a BMW.

 

To the third man the Lord asked, "So, how many times did you cheat on your wife?" The third man replied, "Lord, I cheated on my wife about 8 times." The Lord replied, "I will allow you to come in, but for your unfaithfulness, you will get a one-room apartment, and a Yugo for your transportation.

 

A couple hours later the second and third men saw the first man crying his eyes out. "Why are you crying?" the two men asked. "You got the mansion and limo!" The first man replied, "I'm crying because I saw my wife a little while ago, and she was riding a skateboard!"

 

 

How class will benefit from lesson - Application

 

 

Approach to Class - How we will study material

 

Non threatining class, easy going, get up get coffee at any time and enjoy our time together.

 

Rabbit trails are fine, just stay on topic and not to long.

 

 

Review: Review what approach will be, Goal and benefits for trainee.

 

 

Donald Trump on Eternity
Early in 1989, when (Donald) Trump’s bank account was still bulging, a writer asked Trump the inevitable question about what horizons were left to conquer.
“Right now, I’m genuinely enjoying myself,” Trump replied. “I work and I don’t worry.”
“What about death?” the writer asked. “Don’t you worry about dying?”
Trump dealt his stock answer, one that appears in a lot of his interviews. “No,” he said. “I’m fatalistic and I protect myself as well as anybody can. I prepare for things.” This time, however, as Trump started walking up the stairs to have dinner with his family, he hesitated for a moment. “No,” he said finally, “I don’t believe in reincarnation, heaven or hell—but we go someplace.” Again a pause. “Do you know,” he added, “I cannot, for the life of me, figure out where.”
Donald Trump, investor and businessman quoted in Pursuit magazine in an adaptation from the book What Jesus Would Say, by Lee Strobel, Zondervan, 1994.
Interactive

 

Review of Study thus far

 

Studied the nature and cronology of the Rapture
Reviewed the sequence of events leading up to heaven
Reviewed cronology of intermediate and eternal heaven
Reviewed the nature of the intermediate heaven, what it is like
Some Observations about heaven

 

Study - What is Life Like in the Intermediate Heaven?

 

Point One -  People will remember life on earth.

 

Rev 6:9-11 - Marytrs did
Luke 16:25 - Comforted for things that happened on earth, implies memory
2 Corinthians 5:10 - Matthew 12:36 - We give account for earthly things
Matthew 6:19-21; 19:21; Luke 12:33; 19:17, 19; 1 Timothy 6:19; Revelation 2:26-28 - Rewards are for things we did on earth.
Malachi 3:16 - Scroll of rememberance being recorded now for future use.

 

Memory is part of our personality, if we will be then who we are now, we must have memory, or the person then will not be us.

 

What do you want to remember better in heaven that is fuzzy now?

 

Point Two - We will see at least some of what is happening on earth.

 

Revelation 6:9-11 - Martyrs see what is happening
Revelation 18:20 - Rejoice over fallen Babylon
1 Sam 28:16-19 - Samuel remembers Sauls deeds of evil
Hebrews 12:1 - Great cloud of witnesses are those of faith in chapter 11 of Hebrews who now appear to watch as we run our race.

 

What are some of the things you look forward to in this life?

 

Point Three - What we have learned about the intermediate heaven.

 

Learned some things about the intermediate heaven:

 

If our current lives on earth are just a shadow, what are the shadows that point to the fact that:

 

-We are conscious in the intermediate heaven
-We will be judged
-Heaven is substance and earth is the shadow of it
-Paradise was described as a physical place (paradise means walled garden)
-We will have a body, just not our eternal bodies

 

What are some of the suprises you have learned about the intermediate heaven?

 

 

If we will remember our lives, or at least the important things, how then should we live on earth, what should we be doing differently?

 

The fact that heaven, the angels,God and possibly others can see what we do should have an impact on how we now live.

 

What are we doing now that is exciting those who watch from heaven?

 

 

 

Ice Breaker - What would it take to make your home a garden of eden?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non threatining class, easy going, get up get coffee at any time and enjoy our time together.

 

Rabbit trails are fine, just stay on topic and not to long.

 

 

 

 

The Bible is divided into three sections,

 

Gen 1-2 - Before the flood living in a place made by God for men to be with Him.

 

Gen 3 - Rev 20 - Man in fallen state with God working (during His rest) to redeem man to be with Him again.

 

Rev 21-22 - The renewed heaven and earth where God once again with be with man in a place He made for us, just as physical as the place He made originally for us, more glorious than the first and most importantly, with Him in His home.

 

Read from the book, page 82

 

 

Read Ge 2:8-25

 

What excites your heart? What do you want to know more about? What would you go see right away?

 

Study - Grasping Heavens Far Reach

 

Point One -  This world is not our home

 

Heb 11:8-10 - Like Abraham we long for a city not made with hands promised to us by God.

 

Heb 9:11,24 - The City is God's tabernacle and the tabernacle is at the center of where we will live with Him for eternity.

 

John 14:2-3 - It is our fathers house being customized for us.
Vrs 3 - A physical place
Re 21:1-5  - It is the new Jerusalem made for the bride

 

Heb 11:10; 13:14 - Heaven is a City
Heb 11:16 - Heaven is a country
Rev 14:13 - We will rest
Heb 4:10-11 - We will want to rest
Rev 22:3 - We will serve Christ on the new earth, we will work and want to work.

 

If Abraham looked forward to this city, we are certainly more qualified to hope, we have the revelation.

 

What are some of the Physical and Social attributes of:

 

A City
A Country

 

Point Two - Why is earths redemption essential to God's plan?

 

Redemtion means to set free from current condition and back to the original condition.

 

God promises to renew the heavens and earth. God cannot fail, His creation must become better, He will never give up on it.

 

Isa 6:3  . . .  The whole earth is full of His glory." - God's glory is tied to the earth.

 

Isa 65:17  "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.

 

Isa 66:22 "For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will endure.

 

2Pe 3:13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

 

Re 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer [any] sea.

 

Ep-1:10 - Redemtion of the creation is part of God's plan to bring all things together under the rule of His Son. See also:Ga 4:4; Heb 1:2; 9:10; 1Pe 1:20; 1Co 3:22,23; 11:3; Eph 2:15; 3:15; Php 2:9-10; Col 1:20

 

What is something that you have had to restore, was it easier to make originally or to restore? Which brought you the most pleasure?

 

Point Three - What will it mean for the curse to be lifted?

 

Martin Lloyd-Jones ~ What we call heaven is life in this perfect world as God intended humanity to live it.

 

Mt 25:34 - It means we will inherit the Kingdom
Ep 1:10 - Uniting the spiritual and physical.
Re 21:3 - Uniting of all things in Heaven and all things on earth.
Rev 4:4,11:16 - God the Father, the Son and His children will reign.
Romans 5:12-19 - The second Adam defeats Satan and death.
Gn 3:17-19; Rev 22:3 - The curse is lifted.
Gn 3:22 - Again we can live forever.
Ro 8:19-21 - Restoration of the creation.

 

What implications does the lifting of the curse have in our personal lives?

 

 

If this world is not our home, why do we live as though it is, this truth should set us free from the cares of the world.

 

All of what the world has to offer will pass away, we are to be about what is permanent.

 

The curse has been lifted for our spiritual lives now, all logic points to Christians living in light of that fact.

 

 

 

Ice Breaker - What is your favorite flower

 

 

 

Farmer Joes Accident
Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Farmer Joe decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company (responsible for the accident) to court. In court the trucking companies fancy lawyer was questioning farmer Joe. "Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?" said the lawyer.

 

Farmer Joe responded, "Well, I'll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the......."

 

"I didn't ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted, "just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine!'"

 

Farmer Joe said, "Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road..."

 

The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question."

 

By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie."

 

Joe thanked the Judge and proceeded, "Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting real bad and didn't want to move. However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans. Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes. Then the Patrolman came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me. He said, "Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her - how are you feeling?"

 

 

How class will benefit from lesson - Application

 

Goal of the Class is point 1,2,3

 

Approach to Class - How we will study material

 

Non threatining class, easy going, get up get coffee at any time and enjoy our time together.

 

Rabbit trails are fine, just stay on topic and not to long.

 

 

Review: Review what approach will be, Goal and benefits for trainee.

 

 

Death is the opening of a more subtle life.  In the flower, it sets free the perfume; in the chrysalis, the butterfly; in man the soul. -Adam

 

 

1 Cor 15:12-22 15:35-58

 

What can we know about resurrected life from this text?

 

Earthly Body                              Resurrection Body

 

Sown a perishable body         - Raised an imperishable body
Sown in dishonor                   - Raised in glory
Sown in weakness                 - Raised in power
Sown a natural body              - Raised a spiritual body

 

Study - Anticipating Resurrection

 

Point One -  Why is resuurection so important?

 

Death to the Christian is the funeral of all his sorrows and evils, and the resurrection of all his joys. -Aughey

 

Resurrection is physical

 

We were made original to be immortal physical beings, from the ground.

 

Job 19:26 - We will see God in the flesh

 

Continuity is critical

 

1 Cor 15:17 - Physical resurrection is required.
Matthew 19:28 - It includes the whole earth.

 

The nature of our new bodies

 

Luke 24:39 - The empty tomb is proof resurrection is physical.
They will be the recognizable as who we have always been.

 

Christ's resurrected life is a model for ours

 

Philppians 3:20-21 - Be glorious like His body
1John 3:2 - Be like His body
Luke 24:39 - We will not be ghosts

 

The promise of imperishable bodies

 

Flesh and blood, our bodies of sin as they are now will not inherit the kingdom but our resurrected imperishable bodies will, they will be flesh but untouched by sin they will live forever.

 

Point Two - Why does all creation await our resurrection?

 

This world is the land of the dying; the next is the land of the living. -Tryon Edwards

 

Broadening our view of redemption

 

Gn 1:31 - The earth was originally very good, as God intended it to be from the beginning.

 

Colossians 1:16-20 - He will redeem everyting!

 

All creation waits in eager expectation

 

Romans 8:19-23 - We were made for the creation and it was made for us. The resurrected earth will be much like the resurrected man but eternal, as it was meant to be at the beginning.

 

As mankind goes, so goes creation

 

Gn 1:1 Whole creation means all of it!

 

Was there really no death

 

Ge 1:30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, [I have given] every green plant for food"; and it was so. - Bible says every animal ate plants
Isa 11:6-9 At some point they will again

 

From the fall to our resurrection

 

John 3:162Cor 5:19 - Everything is redeemed by Christ, the same word used for the earth is used to include us also in these texts.

 

So it goes with man it goes with the rest of the universe.

 

The pains and promise of childbirth

 

Ge 3:13-16 - Ever since the fall the earth, like eve have been in pain.

 

What do you look forward to enjoying in the new heavens and earth besides loved ones, Christ and other people?

 

Point Three - How far reaching is the resurrection?

 

Men have been helped to live by remembering that they must die. -Spurgeon

 

The resurrection of our deeds

 

1Co 15:58 - What we do now is not in vain
1Co 3:12-15 - It will follow us into heaven.

 

Using our imagination about the resurrection

 

Ps 90:17 - Literally "make perminate"

 

 

 

Reforming our vocabulary to fit the resurrection

 

We, like the apostles can think of resurrection in terms of personal physical contact like again touching loved ones.

 

Resurrection day

 

A day of unspeakable joy!

 

What you are doing today that you would ask the Lord, make permenate.

 

 

We picture death as coming to destroy; let us rather picture Christ as coming to save. 

 

We think of death as ending; let us rather think of life as beginning and that more abundantly. 

 

We think of losing; let us think of gaining.  We think of parting, let us think of meeting. 

 

We think of going away; let us think of arriving.

 

And as the voice of death whispers "You must go from earth," let us hear the voice of Christ saying, "You are but coming to Me!" -Macleod

 

 

 

Heaven Bible Study Study Seven

 

 

 

How class will benefit from lesson - Application

 

Goal of the Class is point 1,2,3

 

Approach to Class - How we will study material

 

Non threatining class, easy going, get up get coffee at any time and enjoy our time together.

 

Rabbit trails are fine, just stay on topic and not to long.

 

 

Review: Review what approach will be, Goal and benefits for trainee.

 

 

 

 

There is not one inch in the entire area of our human life about which Christ, who is Sovereign of all, does not cry out, "Mine!" Abraham Kuyper

 

 

 

 

Study - Seeing the Earth Restored

 

Point One -  Where and When will our deliverance come?

 

Christs resurrection is not a matter of a spirit appearance, but the utterly unprecedented, unique, world transforming heaven-anticipating, soverign action of the Creator in the first installment of remaking the world. ~ Bruce Milne

 

The old testament hope for a new earth
Hebrews 11:13-14, 16 - The saints of the old testement were hoping for a better country, a heavenly one.

 

The country has a city, the new Jerusalem.

 

Isaiah 26:19 - We will come back from the ground, just as Adam was from the ground . . .

 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - We will be right here on the earth when Isaiah 26:19 is fulfilled.

 

1Co 15:52 - Brings up an interesting question about how long it took to make Adams if all of us will be remade in a twinkling of an eye.

 

The question of the millennium
Christs 1000 year reign on earth
Some believe we are in it, they spiritualize it
Some believe it is future as we do

 

Re 20:3,7 - It is not the total reign of Christ on the earth, but a time where God will show man, one last time, that even if He is living among us we will rebel against Him, because man is unrighteous in his un-redeemed state.

 

Understanding what the millennium is for will help us to interpret it as a literal time frame.

 

The promised new world
Isaiah 9:7 - Chirst will fulfill this in the Millennium literally

 

Isaiah 11:1-10 - Fulfillled in the millennium

 

The Messiah's earthly kingdom

 

Ps 72:11 - It is an earthly Kingdom
Is 66:12 - Jerusalem will be the capital

 

What will Christians look forward to during the Millinnium?

 

Point Two - Will the old earth be destroyed . . . or renewed?

 

In His redemptive activity, God does not destroy the works of His hands, but cleanses them from sin and p[erfects them, so that they may finally reach the goal for which He created them. Applied to the problem at hand, this principle means that the new earth to which we look forward willl not be totally different from the present one, but will be a renewal and glorification of the earth on which we now live. ~ Anthony Hoekema

 

Burned up or refined?

 

Ps 102:25-26 - Luke 21:33, 2 Peter 3:10, Re 21:1 - The earth is in a decaying downward trend and will need to be re-made or refined.

 

Ec 1:4, Ps 78:16 - The earth will remain forever, so the earth that is will be destroyed, but the building blocks must remain forever.

 

1Cor 3:12-15 - Things that survive from the present earth are renewed things.

 

Ro 8:21-22 -The earth and all of creation will be redeemed, Just as Christ was made of flesh, it was destroyed but resurrected.

 

1Co 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, - He was the first fruit of the resurrection, He was first and the pattern for what will happen as the whole earth groans awaiting her redemption.

 

Redemption means restoration

 

Acts 3:21 - Restoration of all things, not anilation but restoration

 

The meaning of new

 

Rev 21:1 New is kainos means new in quality and superior in character. 

 

Therefore there is continuity with the present heavens and earth.

 

2Cor 5:17 - Paul uses the same word new to speak of what happens to a beliver when they become a "new creation"

 

Just as when a house burns down it does not cease to exist, just takes on another form of energy, so the new heavens and new earth will not cease to exist, just be translated from one form to another.

 

Point Three - Will the new earth be familiar . . . like home?

 

The life we now have as the persons we now are will continue in the universe in which we now exist. ~ Dallas Willard

 

What our home will really be like

 

Heb 4:1, Ge 2:1-3 - It will be familiar place of rest, compared to the rest of God after the creation.

 

What we assume about heaven and what the bible says about heaven from chart in book

 

Page 155

 

Page 156 quote from the Heaven book starting first paragraph through the quote.

 

The familiarity of home

 

Joh 14:2-3 - The new Heavens and new earth, a place Christ is preparing for us that will be a perfect fit for us.

 

1Co 2:9 - It will take into account our being, our desires, our hopes, our dreams, our preferences beyond what we imagine.

 

New song, new car, new earth

 

If it is not a car, it wouldn't be called a car, so the new earth is earth, renewed.

 

Does earthlikeness demean heaven?

 

God made it so it was very good and will return to very good.

 

Homesick at home

 

We all have eternity in our hearts, set there at our creation by God. It is a hunger for the renewed earth, an earth not fallen, ruled by the Creator Himself.

 

 

Our deliverance from this life comes at death when we shall see Chirst face to face

 

We await the reign of Christ on the earth in the millennium and even more so the new heavens and earth at the end of the millennium.

 

The new heavens and earth will be a familiar "very good" earth.

 

The new heavens and earth will be an earth and heaven that we long for, one that fits what we were made for originally but much better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nature of Hell
An essay written by a student about the nature of hell...

 

"Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Support your answer with a proof."

 

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some variant.

 

One student, however, wrote the following:

 

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time.

 

So, we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all people and all souls go to Hell.

 

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand as souls are added.

 

This gives two possibilities.

 

#1 If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

 

#2 Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

 

 

 

Goal of the Class is point 1,2,3

 

Approach to Class - How we will study material

 

Non threatining class, easy going, get up get coffee at any time and enjoy our time together.

 

Rabbit trails are fine, just stay on topic and not to long.

 

 

Review: Review what approach will be, Goal and benefits for trainee.

 

 

Heaven is a state of service, though not of suffering; it is a state of rest, but not of sloth; it is a praising delightful rest. -Henry

 

 

Job 19:26-27, Luke 24:39, Luke 16:25, Matthew 8:11; Mt 26:29

 

What can we tell about people in heaven by reading these scriptures.

 

Study - Will we be ourselves in Heaven

 

Point One -  Will we be unique, or will we become angels?

 

Lu 15:4-10
Mt 8:11
Mt 17:3

 

What was it that made these individuals identifiable besides there features?

 

Will we become angels?

 

2 Cor 5:8
Ph 1:23
1 Cor 6:2-3
Mt 18:10

 

What can you tell from the text about the difference between angels and man?

 

We won't be angles, we will be with them.

 

Point Two - Will we have emotions, will we have desires?

 

Rev 6:10; 7:10
Re 7:11-12 - Angels
Re 21:4 - tears of sadness and sorrow, not of joy
Lu 6:21
Lu 6:20-23

 

What can you tell about emotions from these passages?

 

Ps 34:4

 

No longer have to battle our desires, they will come from pure motives.

 

Point Three - Will we maintain our own identities or will we lose ourselves?

 

Ge 1:26
Eze 1:26
Re 1:13

 

What can you tell about how we are made, and what God looks like?

 

Lu 24:39
Is 66:22
Mt 8:11
Re 20:15; 21:27
Re 21:12-14
Is 62:2; 6515
Re 2:17; 3:12 - We also get new names like Abram, Sari, Jacob Simon etc.

 

What do these verses tell us about our identities?

 

 

We will not loose who we are now

 

We will not stop being who we are

 

We will be able to identify ourselves as men

 

We will be righteous and sin no more, not another type of creation, but the same one made better, renewed, not distroyed and replaced.

 

 

Test goal - Did we Learn - point 1,2,3

 

Review the benfits of the lesson