Think About A House In Heaven

Uplook – September 2010 – Grace & Truth Magazine

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:1-6NIV

WHEN YOU’RE DISCOURAGED
Think About A House In HEAVEN!

Heaven is a wonderful place, Filled with glory and grace. I’m going to see my Savior’s face! Heaven is a wonderful place.

The words of this praise song capture the essential truth of why heaven is a wonderful place – because we will see our Savior face to face and be with Him forever! This is the sure hope of every believer. The Bible doesn’t tell us everything about heaven, but it does tell us how to get there.

You can’t find more clear directions than the words of Jesus in John 14:6. Thomas, one of His disciples, specifically asked Jesus the way to heaven. The Lord responded, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” This one statement of truth eliminates all other world religions and philosophies, and all man-made ways to heaven. If any person anywhere in the world is seeking the truth and the way to heaven, God will, in some way, lead that person step by step to Himself. And Romans 1:20 leaves no doubt that everyone has been given enough evidence of God in creation so that no one has an excuse not to respond to Him.

In addition to clearly showing us the way to heaven, the first few verses of John 14 should excite us about being in heaven. After looking at the background of this passage, we’ll consider three truths the Lord revealed about heaven and why it is such a wonderful place.

Discouragement
Chapter 13 begins the section of the Gospel of John known as the Upper Room Discourses. In these talks the Lord took time to give final instructions and comfort to His disciples before going to the cross.

In John 14:1 Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Why were they discouraged? There were four reasons. First, He had told them He was going to be crucified (Jn. 12:32-33). Second, He had revealed that one of them would be a traitor (Jn. 13:21). Third, He said that He was going to leave them (Jn. 13:33). And fourth, He told Peter that “before the rooster crows you will disown Me three times” (Jn. 13:38). We can understand why the disciples were bewildered; we would have felt the same way. It was in this context that Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me” (Jn. 14:1).

In John 14:2-3 the Lord explained that He was not going to leave permanently, but was going away to prepare a place for them. He promised to come again and reassured them that they would be with Him again. This, by the way, is not a reference to the death of the believer, but a reference to the return of the Lord. So here in John 14:1-3 we not only have a description of heaven, but also the promise of the Lord’s return.

A Theological Question
Now let’s ask a theological question: Is the return to which Jesus referred the “rapture” of the Church, or is it His return to the earth to set up His kingdom? What’s the difference?

In the Olivet Discourse (Mt. 24- 25; Mk. 13; Lk. 21) Jesus taught about the future and spoke of His return to the earth to set up His kingdom in power, glory and judgment. Matthew 24:29-30 says: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” This passage describes the Lord’s return to set up His kingdom. All the Old Testament passages dealing with the coming of the Messiah to set up His kingdom here on earth appear to refer to this same return – the one of which our Lord spoke in the Olivet Discourse.

However, in the Epistles (letters written to the Church), we find a “return of the Lord” which appears to be different: He does not return to the earth in power, glory and judgment; no cosmic signs are associated with this return; He is not seen by everyone on earth. It seems that this return does not occur after the special time of great trouble mentioned by the Lord in the Olivet Discourse. It appears to occur before the endtime period of tribulation.

The return of the Lord mentioned in the Epistles is specifically for the Church. At this coming, the Lord will not return to the earth but to the air, where Christians will be caught up to meet Him (1 Th. 4:17). That’s why this coming of the Lord is called the “rapture” (from the Latin rapere, which means “to be caught up”). There are two specific passages in the Epistles that deal with this return – 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. First Thessalonians 4:16-17 says this: “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

These two great passages in the Epistles deal with the rapture of the Church. All the other passages in the Old Testament and in the Gospels refer to the Lord’s return to set up His kingdom, with one exception – John 14:2-3, the subject of this article. Notice verse 3 again, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” I believe this verse refers to the rapture of the Church.

Encouragement
Imagine sitting on a beach in the Caribbean in the winter, with warm sunshine, blue water and a large iced tea: “It doesn’t get any better than this!” Or maybe it’s a beautiful day in the mountains, with blue skies, crisp air and perfect ski conditions: “It doesn’t get any better than this!” Well, it does get better, much better, in heaven. Let’s look at three reasons in John 14:2-3 that tell us why.

First, heaven is called home: “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (14:2). Heaven is a home. That’s really the idea that the Lord is conveying here. Some of us may think that we’ll each have our own beautiful, private mansion when we get to heaven, because some versions use “mansions” for “rooms.” But the thought here is that we will all be home together as one, big, happy family in the Father’s house.

Maybe the best way we could capture this idea is to think of the expression, “going home for the holidays.” If this gives you a warm, happy feeling because the whole family is together – eating, sharing fun times and memories – then you’re getting close to understanding the idea expressed in these verses. Heaven is the believer’s home! And the great thing is it’s forever!

A second reason why “it doesn’t get any better than this” is because heaven is a place that’s being prepared for us: “I go to prepare a place for you” (14:2). The Lord, who knows all about us because He created us, knows what’s best for us. Some of us might be hoping that there will be golf, or skiing, or great entertainment, or great-tasting food in heaven! All joking aside, heaven will be the greatest, because the Lord has prepared it just for believers.

The third reason why heaven is a place where “it doesn’t get any better than this” is that the Lord Jesus is there. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (14:3). The Lord wants us to be with Him forever. It’s going to be great! Did you ever take a trip somewhere, expecting to see someone special, but when you got there that person wasn’t there? What a disappointment! Well, we don’t have to worry about anything like that happening in heaven, because Jesus is coming to personally take us with Him to heaven. First Thessalonians 4:17 says, “And so we will be with the Lord forever.” It doesn’t get any better than this!

Think About Heaven
The Lord told His disciples about heaven to cheer them up and to encourage them. In the same way, thinking about heaven really helps to put our discouraging circumstances into proper perspective by asking ourselves, “One hundred years from now, what difference will this discouragement make?” No matter what makes you discouraged, think about heaven. If you know Jesus as your Savior and Lord you will be there with Him forever. “It doesn’t get any better than this!”

By David R. Reid

Look For Me At Jesus’ Feet

If I leave this world of sorrow
Sometime before you do.
Just look for me in Heaven
And we’ll talk the ages through.
But if at first, you fail to see me
Let me tell you where I’ll be.
I’ll be thanking Christ, my Savior
For saving a wretch like me.

For I’ve been longing and I’ve been waiting,For the Precious, Holy One to see.There I’ll be through the countless ages;Look for me at Jesus’ feet.By Squire Parsons