What Heaven Do You Want?

Thank you, gentlemen, and thank you very much to the choir, to Mr. Rusnak and Mrs. Seifert.

It really adds a lot having special music. I guess that's why they call it special.

And thank you all for being here. It's wonderful to be keeping this feast day.

I'm wondering, I want to start off with a question. How many of you have heard at least one joke about someone going to heaven? I thought I'd say almost every hand.

Most of them have a person or group of people appearing at the so-called pearly gates, and then talking to St. Peter. He has the keys, of course. And then there's some amusing irony, either in how they ended up there or in their accommodations once they arrive.

Now, I'm terrible at telling jokes, which is why I have them written down. Actually, I'm not so bad at telling them. It's remembering them. But I think the telling of these jokes, I think it's telling when the jokes give some description of what heaven is supposedly like. For instance, this one is one you've probably heard, but it says, heaven is where the police are British, the chefs are Italian, the mechanics are all German, the lovers are French, and it's all organized by the Swiss. In contrast, hell is where the police are German, the chefs are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and it's all organized by the Italians. And I'm leading into something for this, but this is one I find amusing. This is a good example. There's a cat, a good cat. He dies and he goes to heaven. He's such a good cat that God meets him personally at the gates. And he tells this kitty, you've been a good cat all these years. Anything you desire is yours. All you have to do is ask. Cat says in his cat voice, which I won't imitate, well, I've lived all my life with a poor family on a farm, and I had to sleep on hardwood floors.

God says, say no more. Poof! Instantly, a very nice comfortable pillow appears.

A few days later, something similar happens. Six mice are killed in a tragic accident, tragic mouse accident. And they go to heaven and God meets them at the gate. And he makes the same offer as the cat. You've been good. Anything you want is yours. The mice consult and their spokesman says, well, all of our lives we've had to run. Cats and dogs have chased us, even women with brooms. If we could only each have a pair of roller skates, we wouldn't have to run anymore. God says, say no more. Poof! Instantly, each mouse is fitted with a beautiful pair of tiny roller skates. And when I envision that, I think I could stop there, and that alone is kind of funny.

But it's about a week later. God decides to check and see how the cat's doing. This is good personal service in heaven. The cat is sound asleep on his new comfy pillow, but God gently wakes him.

How are you doing? Are you happy here? The cat stretches. I've never been happier in my life.

And those Meals on Wheels you've been sending by are the best!

Mind you, I didn't write that. I've got one more, and mind you, these are all telling, not about heaven, but about what people want or expect. There's an 85-year-old couple. We probably have some of those here today, or close. They'd been married almost 60 years, and they die in a tragic car crash. Now, they had been in good health the last 10 years, mainly due to the wife's interest in health, food, and exercise. Low fat, no cholesterol, high fiber. They reach the pearly gates. St. Peter takes them to their mansion, decked out with a beautiful kitchen, a master bath suite, and a jacuzzi. And they're, oh, wow, this is nice. The man leans over to Peter and says, how much is all this going to cost?

It's free, Peter says. This is heaven. Next, he takes them out back to see the championship golf course that their mansion backs up to. They'll have golfing privileges every day, and each week the course miraculously changes to a new one, representing the great golf courses from all around the earth. Man asks, well, what are the green fees? Peter's reply, this is heaven. You play for free. Next, they go to the clubhouse. There's a lavish buffet with the cuisines of the world laid out. How much does it cost? The man says, don't you understand yet? It's heaven. This is free. Well, where are the low fat and the low cholesterol foods? The man asked timidly. Peter says, that's the best part. You can eat as much as you like of whatever you want. You never get fat. You'll never get sick. This is heaven. The old man looks at his wife and he says, you and your brand muffins? I could have been here 10 years ago. Now, I'm glad to see in general, we don't get upset over jokes like this because they're just jokes. Even though we have a different understanding of what happens when people die. I suspect, though, most people do tend to imagine heaven. Or, if we don't want to call it heaven, we could call it the reward for good people after they die. We tend to imagine that in light of what we would like to experience now in this life.

As I said, most of us in this room long ago came to an understanding that we don't go to heaven or to hell immediately after death. So, I'm not going to spend a lot of time disproving that today.

I do want to think about what these many different ideas of heaven or paradise, what the different religions and cultures teach, and I want to consider some of what they've devised over the years, what they tell us about mankind. And, I want to talk about what we are looking forward to.

What really is the reward of God's people? Before I discuss some of the different ideas that exist about heaven or paradise, let's read a couple of the passages in the Bible that do address the subject of heaven and what it's like. The first is in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. The first I want to look at that is. 2 Corinthians 12 will begin at the start of the chapter.

This is the Apostle Paul. He says, It's doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I'll come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who, 14 years ago, whether in the body I don't know or whether out of the body I don't know, God knows such a one was caught up to the third heaven. This, by the way, is the place where we understand that there are three heavens. And our understanding is that the first heaven is the atmosphere. The birds fly in the heavens. We deduce that the second heaven must be outer space where the planets and the stars are. And here he says he was caught up to the third heaven. Whether there's a fourth or fifth that we don't know about, I doubt it. But he says, I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I don't know, God knows, he was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which is not lawful for man to utter. Of such a man went, I'll boast, yet of myself I won't boast, except in my infirmities. Now, Paul is being a little cagey in writing this because what he writes says a little later when he says he does feel compelled to boast a little, and he's only boasting a little to assert that he really is an apostle doing God's work, gives us the idea that the person he's describing really was himself.

And most scholars agree that he saw some type of vision of paradise, of the third heaven.

Either way, though, whether it was him or someone else, so far he hasn't told us what it was like. He said it was inexpressible, words unlawful to utter. Some years later, though, the apostle John had a similar vision, and he did write a description of what he saw. We find it in Revelation chapter 4.

In Revelation 4, we get a not thorough description, but an interesting description somewhat of the God's throne in heaven. I'll start at the beginning of chapter 4.

After these things I looked, and behold a door standing open in heaven. And this, perhaps he saw it in what we'd call the first heaven, and going through the door takes him into God's throne room. And the first voice, which I heard, was like a trumpet speaking to me, saying, come up here and I'll show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit, so we know it was a vision, and behold a throne set in heaven. And one sat on the throne, and he who sat there was like Jasper and a sardius stone in appearance. There was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white robes. They had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunders, voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass-like crystal.

And in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had the face of a man, and the fourth, like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, will full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come. And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, you are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.

Now, I've got a heading in my version of the Bible that labels this the throne room in heaven.

Think about this, though. We don't know how much more there is of heaven.

Listen, if this is the throne room of heaven, are there other rooms? Are there multiple rooms? How big is heaven? And maybe that's a pointless question to ask because we're talking of the spirit realm. It seems that there are millions and millions of angels from what the Bible tells us.

And then I think, how much space do millions of angels need? That used to be something, in medieval times, Bible scholars would contemplate how many angels could dance on the head of a pin, which I don't know where they came up with a question like that.

I suppose, though, if we needed to know the answers to these questions, the Bible would tell us.

So there are a lot of things, I think, as far as being a human being and a potential son of God, that are still on a need-to-know basis. And you and I don't need to know some of those things.

We do know that the Holy of Holies, in first the tabernacle and later the temple, was modeled after the throne room in heaven. God specifically, as he gave instructions to Moses, said, see that you do this after the model shown to you. So he wanted him to make it so it was like what was in heaven. We can pick up other hints of what this might be like, but there are things we don't see. We don't see any mention of buffets, nothing of golf courses. The description of heaven doesn't actually mention streets of gold or Pearl Gates. That's actually part of the new Jerusalem that it says will come down out of heaven that you read at the very end of the Bible. Certainly, there's no description of mice with roller skates, providing convenient meals for cats on fluffy pillows. Throughout many centuries, people have misinterpreted a few scriptures to get their idea that the souls of good people go to heaven upon death. But what would they find when they get there?

If they found what we just read in Revelation 4, when you think about it, creatures full of eyes and lightning and thunder and noise, to me that seems a little bit unsettling, definitely intense.

Maybe that's why instead people turn to their hopes and dreams instead to fill in the blanks of what they think paradise should be. I'm guessing most of you like me have seen at least once, maybe several times, in a movie or a TV show you might have read in a novel where a group of characters discuss what they think heaven will be like. It's usually in some quiet, intimate scene in which the characters are letting down their guard and getting to know each other. There could be a factory worker, and he says, you know, I think there will be no time clocks in heaven. No one will have to do boring labor day after day. If there's a young person, imagine him, you know, a young person who grew up poor and underprivileged, he might say, in heaven there must be the most fabulous amusement park with all the best rides that you get to go on for free, and there are never long lines.

Perhaps a man who's always been watching his weight and had trouble with that might say, in heaven there's a free buffet with all the best foods. Steak, chicken, roast, pot pies, cakes, and all of them have no calories.

And when I see a screenwriter or even a novelist would use a scene like this to tell us about the characters. What is it that motivates them? What are they unhappy with in their life? What are they looking for? And often this is one of those scenes that sets the stage for later them discovering something about themselves or how they will have a happy ending. But it's all imagination. It doesn't tell us anything that's real about heaven, as they said. It tells us about the person who's doing the speaking. I think the same might be the same if we look at different religions, different civilizations and cultures. I think their teaching about the reward for good people when they die is similar. What they teach and believe teaches us about those people, not necessarily about reality. One of the things I'll start with is the fact that almost every religion and culture that's ever existed believes that life automatically continues after death. And the fact that they all believe that tells us one thing very clearly. Man does not accept his own mortality. We do not want to believe that we could die and be done forever. Most of mankind, well, most people, as Mr. Hadley mentioned, aren't familiar with the Scriptures. The majority haven't been, and even those who do, they don't like to read what it says in Ezekiel 18 verse 4, as well as in Ezekiel 1820. I'm not going to turn there. The short version is, the soul that sins shall die. God is actually making the point that the soul doesn't pay the penalty for someone else's sins. The father is not to put to death for the sins of the son. The son is not put to death for the sins of the father. The soul that sins shall die. And it's just a given, of course, that death is the result of sin, as it says in Romans 6, 23. And there it says that eternal life is the gift of God, a gift yet to be received. Most of mankind has assumed that God already gave that gift to us upon birth. That belief has been documented as going back as far as ancient Egypt and in ancient Babylon, the earliest cradles of civilization. The Greeks took it from them, and they developed it further with a theory that there is some type of soul that's a non-physical thing that separates from the physical body upon death. And that idea has been passed on to almost all Western religions. You know, they have slightly different ideas, but they're mostly similar. And the idea of what happens when good people die after they die, you know, they're variations.

Now, I was trying to interpret what I wrote here. As I was researching this, I found the theories of what happens to bad people when they die to be more interesting, but that's not my purpose today. I want to describe very briefly the beliefs of some different cultures. Let me start with ancient Egypt, and you've seen mummies and such. All ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife. They spent their lives preparing for it. Pharaohs built the finest, most elaborate tombs, collected with funerary equipment. That means equipment has to do with a funeral.

And the mummies would be... the mummies. The pharaohs would be turned into mummies in a very expensive process. Now, those who didn't have all that money would have to provide for their afterlives with whatever their earthly means were. But regardless of their wealth, they all expected the afterlife to be an idealized version of their earthly existence. In other words, pharaohs would continue to be rich and powerful. Servants would continue to be servants. I tend to call this belief of the afterlife more of the same. More of the same seems to be a recurring theme.

Consider Greece. The Greeks, though, feared death because they believed that afterward they'd have to go through a journey into an unknown land known as Hades in the underworld. It offered punishment for those who were bad, but pleasure for the good, which they called the Elysian fields, if I'm pronouncing that correctly. That would be a sunny green paradise, and that would be the home of all those who lived a good life. The Romans actually looked out from Earth. One of... and actually there were a number of views because they were polytheistic and had different versions, and the Romans adapted and incorporated many different religions and cultures. But one view said that this physical life was a short period, like somewhat like a prison term, and then the spirit, when the life ended, would be free to go out and take its place in the Milky Way.

And they said that the mortal world was the center of a revolving universe with nine different spheres, among which moved the sun and the clouds and the moon. And the mortal body was the outer representation of the spirit, which was the immortal aspect of man. Let me mention just a couple others to go to other cultures. In Polynesia, Pacific Islanders saw death as a journey that included crossing a river. Now, one of the key things they all looked for was they would have a reunion with family and with friends who had gone before. But on the way to that, the path to the other side featured monstrous creatures, dangerous cliffs. But if they got past those, once there, life would be familiar and comfortable. If you get through the danger, more of the same, only familiar and comfortable. Similar to the American Indians. And some Native American religion spirits sometimes were portrayed as having to walk across a balance beam. And the only way they could get across it was if they had the prayers of holy people to help them keep their balance. But once they made it, the best part of the afterlife was the happy hunting grounds. We've heard of that phrase.

And as I said, what seems to be the most common element in these beliefs is that, for the top level of society, at least, heaven amounts to still more of the same of what they experienced in this life, except hopefully a little better. I think it's too bad for the lower levels of society. They also get more of the same, but hopefully at least a little bit better.

And more of the same makes sense if you like what you're experiencing in this life. It seems good to just keep on going. Now, I'm not going to spend much time discussing the common Christian views of heaven. We should be pretty familiar with them. It permeates our society. It's reflected in those jokes I was telling. We could study and see there are some variations among different Protestant groups, and especially with Catholicism, I will mention that Muslims share a belief that the afterlife for good people will be filled with worldly delights.

One thing I want to speculate a little as a historian. I haven't had time to research it to back this up entirely, but I suspect that in recent centuries, as life has become more egalitarian, as more people are sharing the comforts of life, professing Christians have shaped their view of heaven to include recreational activities for most people. Centuries ago, the vast majority of people just labored and worked. So I would think it would sound like paradise to enjoy leisure isleness. Laying around on a cloud might sound good if you've been a dirt-poor peasant doing back-breaking labor all your life. Or likewise, if you've been a factory worker punching a clock and just working on an assembly line, it might be heaven to think I'm going to not have to do anything. I'm going to sit on the couch and watch Oprah. But in recent decades, as working hours have gotten shorter, benefits have gotten better, people started then seeing heaven not as just lazing around on a cloud, but with golf course privileges and playing tennis. It changes from a flophouse to a country club, perhaps. But at any rate, all these ideas reflect people's hopes, their wishes. Just like the movies, they tell us about what people want to have more than what God's Word says is the truth of life after death. I do want to explore that, but first, there's one radically different view that I haven't yet expressed, and it's definitely not more of the same. But it's perhaps more thoughtful, and it's been espoused by a very large portion of people. In some books and movies, you may see a different representation of what it's like for a person who's able to gain immortality. You know, we've been discussing life after death continuing to live as a good thing, but there are some representations of it as more of a curse than a blessing. And I thought maybe the best way that popped into my mind to explain it was from one of the Indiana Jones movies. I'm hoping most of you have seen them. I know the first Raiders goes back to when I was a teenager. But the third movie, that's the one with Sean Connery, and they were going to find the Holy Grail. And near the end of the movie, they find it. It's in a cave with a lot of different cups, and I don't want to get into the representation there, but the idea is if you could drink from the Holy Grail, your life is preserved. It gives immortality. And in that cave, along with these cups, is a knight, one of the knight's Templar. He's drunk from the cup, and he's there to guard the Grail. And so finally, when Indiana Jones has to choose, and he chooses the right, he chooses wisely. If you remember the movie, the first man chose poorly, which is reflected when he dies a horrible death. Indiana Jones chooses wisely, so he now becomes the caretaker of the cup, and the knight is allowed to die. And he's so happy that he can come to an end, and you think about it. How much would you like eternal life if you had to spend it by yourself sitting in a cave? That doesn't sound like much fun to me.

Things could lose their interest, even things that are fun, if you have to do them forever.

One of the things I thought about is, you know, I like pizza. I mean, probably most of us like pizza, but I thought, would I like to have it every night for a month? Would I like to eat pizza every day for a year? How about forever? One of the reasons I mentioned this, I'll make a confession to you. It came into my mind a few times as a teenager, and I started coming to church with my grandmother when I was 10 years old. So all through my teens, I was convinced this was the truth. I knew God's way. Didn't know everything. I didn't don't know everything now. I certainly didn't know everything then. But I understood what the Bible teaches, and there were times when the idea of living forever sounded a little scary. I thought, what if I get bored? You know, after a few million years, do I really, you know, am I going to get tired of it and not have a choice?

And what's interesting is a large portion of the world's population, currently about a billion, have a similar view of eternal life. And here I'm talking about Hindus and Buddhists. Hindus and Buddhists, you may already know, believe in reincarnation. They believe after a person dies, his consciousness, or I'm not sure if they call it something else, but it begins life again in a new physical form. It may appear as a newborn baby, but it also could be a dog, could be a bug.

It might be a person who's a wealthy businessman, a famous movie star. So as you're looking at the next life, is it going to be a lot better, a lot worse, more of the same? Supposedly, a person's karma makes that determination, whether you move up or down on the scale. Karma is based on a person's moral purity, selflessness, and such. So, to put bluntly, the more you're a jerk in this life, the worse your next life is going to be. You might be that bug. But if you're giving, kind, outgoing, selfless, you might move up and have a better situation in the next go-around.

Of course, in their view, a soul could move up and down many, many times. It could go through life countless times, almost countless, sometimes getting better, sometimes getting worse.

I know I've got a lot of pop culture references, but I saw a movie years ago that really struck me. It's called Groundhog Day, one where Bill Murray is the main character, and he goes through the same day, Groundhog Day, over and over. And if you watch it, he does some really stupid things. Then he gets careless, and eventually he turns into a good person. Because, and that's the thing I like about the movie, he realizes living life for your own personal pleasure is very empty. But living life to give and to help others is very good. My understanding is that the Hindu belief is similar to that movie. They feel that way, and they think the ultimate goal is to reach what they call nirvana. This is supposedly only possible when a person becomes morally pure, detached from the desire for physical gratification. And when they reach that finally, they can be released from physical life. Attaining nirvana, in their view, means to merge one's consciousness with the universe. You lose individual identity and consciousness. To me, that sounds like a lot of nothingness. It means ceasing to exist. As I said, if life was unending tedium and boredom, that might be good. As I said, it might be better. That appeals to a teenager who worries about getting bored. But is that it? Is life, is eternal life, doomed to be tedium and boredom? Unhappiness?

What are the choices that man's dreamed up on his own?

Most religions believe heaven will be more of the same, maybe a bit better, and that going on forever. Some supposedly Christian and Muslim views of heaven say that heaven gives everybody the best of whatever we can imagine. Or that it lets people do a whole lot of nothing.

And as I said, Hindus and Buddhists think the ultimate reward is to just switch off, to never have to be and again. To be honest, I'm not too thrilled with any of those choices.

And we don't have to be. I've spent a lot of time on this, but I want to consider now what we can learn about eternity from God's Word. Because it does give us an idea of what's ahead, not the fullest picture. We have already discussed that the Bible teaches that man does not have an immortal soul. The Bible teaches that eternal life is a gift from God.

A gift is something we don't already have. If man's ideas of life after death and a reward for good people are wrong, then we'll do well to review what we do know from the Bible about what lies ahead. I'll start off in Hebrews 9. My Bible is still open to Revelation, so Hebrews is a few pages towards the front. Hebrews 9 and verse 27. I'm going to come back to Revelation, though. I should have said that if you had... well, it's still not a long trip.

Hebrews 9 and verse 27 says, it is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment. So it's appointed for men to die once. The one exception I could say, and we could say it's still not an exception, is those who are changed in a twinkling of the eye when Christ returns. Even then, you could say the physical body would die and God would give a new one. But after the judgment... what's this judgment? Let's turn back to Revelation chapter 20. Revelation 20 and verses 11 and 12 also mention judgment after death. Revelation 20 verse 11, and by the way, we covered earlier in the Bible study that at the end of the millennium, Satan would be released after a thousand years, would stir up the nation's gog and may-gog and come to the holy city and then be burned up in fire.

And we pick up after that, and of course he'd be thrown into the lake of fire, the bottomless pit. In verse 11, Then, after all that, I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, now no longer dead because they've been raised, standing before God. And books were opened, and another book was open.

So we have several books open, and then this one book, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. I think this is where traditional Christianity gets the idea that people die and immediately then go and stand either before St.

Peter at the pearly gates or Jesus Christ, and they're judged. Either you get to come into heaven, or the trap door opens and, boooooo! You know, they're sort of, I like the screens where they go, ahhhh! They go down to the other place. We see this judgment, though, as fitting with Ezekiel 37, which we've also read.

I'm going to turn to Ezekiel 37. It describes a resurrection to physical life. Ezekiel 37, and I'm not going to explore everything in this chapter because I'm sure Mr. Moss might want to discuss it this afternoon, but Ezekiel 37, beginning in verse 13, says, Ezekiel 37, verse 13, says, Then you shall know that I am the Lord, the Eternal, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you out from your graves.

I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live. I will place you in your own land, and then you will know that I, the Eternal, have spoken it and performed it. Again, the word of the Eternal came to me. Actually, I want to drop down to verse 24 now. Ezekiel 37, verse 24, David, my servant, shall be king over them. They shall have one shepherd, and shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

They'll dwell in the land which I have given to Jacob, my servant, where your fathers dwelt. They shall dwell there. They, their children, and their children's children forever. And my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover, I'll make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. I will establish them and multiply them. I'll set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.

My tabernacle also shall be with them. Tabernacle often means dwelling. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The nations also will know that I, the Eternal, sanctify Israel when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore. Now, over the years, people have had different opinions on whether these last scriptures are referring again to the millennium or to the time when all people will be resurrected.

And I appreciate Mr. Hadley covering this. I note it here to reference 2 Peter 3 and verse 9, where it says, God wants all to come to repentance. He's speaking of the physical nation of Israel here specifically. But also in Acts 10 and verse 34 and 35, Peter says, now I see God is not partial. He wants, well, I actually wrote it down, yeah, and every nation, whoever fears him is accepted by him. There are a few scriptures where we see that God is thinking far beyond the physical descendants of Israel.

And although the great white, you know, Ezekiel 37, seems to describe, well, does describe physical Israel, the great white throne judgment talks about the sea giving up their dead, the graves opening, all people coming back.

Now let's remember good conditions prevail during the millennium.

And we've been spending a week talking about how wonderful it would be.

Those don't have to stop when the next phase of God's plan begins. During the millennium, agricultural, agriculture, yeah, growing stuff, that'll become predominant. As Micah 4 and verse 4 says, everyone will have their own vine and their own fig tree. Perhaps that signifies the fact that everyone will have some land. They won't be stacked up in apartment buildings, you know, wishing they could see a little ground, but they can't because it's all parking lots and shopping malls. Everyone will have his own vine and fig tree. And Amos 9 and verse 13, actually I'll turn to Amos 9.

Again, it's not a far trip from Ezekiel. Ezekiel 9 and verse 13, Behold, the days are coming, says the Eternal, when the plowman will overtake the reaper, the treader of grapes, him who sows seed. You'll have such abundant crops, you'll have hard time harvesting before it's time to plant again. You won't have time to to trample the grapes and get the grape juice out before you've got new ones growing up. And mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with it. I'll bring back the captives of my people Israel, and they'll build the way cities and inhabit them. As I said, we don't know if we didn't know these were prophecies about the millennium, we might be tempted to think that this is a description of what it's like in heaven, just like the jokes I was reading. But this isn't heaven, this is earth.

We know that Christ will come to earth. The Bible is very clear. He will rule on earth, and the saints will live and reign with him as kings and priests for a thousand years. As it says in Revelation 20 and verse 6. I'll go back there. I'm beginning to realize why the back part of my Bible is falling apart. Revelation 20 and verse 6, we've read this a number of times, so you might want to just note it. But blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.

Over such, the second death has no power. They shall be priests of God and Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. That's our destiny. That's part of our destiny.

And after this, we read of a resurrection for everyone else. What will life be like for those people? Well, my thought is it's going to be an awful lot like it was like it was like.

I think it'll be a lot the way it was for the people before them during the thousand years.

And if so, what a happy life! Finally, they'll have God's Spirit. They'll be brought into a world with peace, with abundance, with Satan put away for good. I often like to, I describe sometimes as Satan's influence. He's the prince of the power of the air, and God's truth is here, but Satan's influence is like static in the brain. You just can't get it. But imagine the static clear, and suddenly there's no noise, no background noise, no interference, and people can understand God's Word. What a happy life! Won't it be wonderful to have teachers to teach them how to live, to practice in God's way and enjoy the blessings that it brings?

Now, that does sound a little bit like some people's view of heaven.

Except, things won't go on like that indefinitely for everyone. Now, the general condition of having God's Spirit and living God's way will continue on forever. But let's turn back to Isaiah 65 to show that there are alternatives and stopping points possible. Isaiah 65 and verse 20, we often read the scripture on this Holy Day because we believe it's tied to it. It's a depiction of what will happen. Isaiah 65 and verse 20, this might give us an answer to what's going to happen after that general resurrection. It says, No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, no premature deaths, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days. So, no traffic accidents taking somebody away before they finish their time. The child shall die 100 years old. The sinner being 100 years old shall be accursed. There seems to be a 100-year time period.

And there's room for speculation on exactly what that means, but it seems to indicate that God's not interested and not intending on life to go on forever in the flesh. For those people that are resurrected in flesh, and as we see Ezekiel 37 is very clear, the bones come together and flesh, muscles, and tendon, and sinew, and then skin, and then the breath of life. So it's a resurrection to physical life, but even in extreme happiness, that's not going to go on forever. This seems to indicate that God will give everyone 100 years to learn and experience and accept his way of life, to develop righteous character, to become spirit-born sons of God, or after 100 years if they refuse all that, if they say, I don't want that, I want my life to come to an end, that can be their choice. So in that way, the Hindus might be on to something, but it's not something that's out of their control or unknown. But we'll see that death isn't always going to be an option. Back in Revelation chapter 20, now that I'm doing this, I'm realizing I should have told you just leave a marker there, but Revelation 20 in verse 14 tells us, then, and this is after we read of the books being opened. And by the way, I made the difference between the book of life and the books. It's our understanding that the books are those books you have in your lap. The books of the Bible are opened to people's understanding. As I said, the static is cleared. They can see God's Word clearly. The books are opened. But after that, when it's all done in verse 20, wait a minute, where was I? Revelation 20 verse 14. Not verse, I didn't say there's no verse 20, but in verse 14, and death and Hades, death and the grave, were cast into the lake of fire. That's the second death. So the second death is real.

We know this option is available, and then at some point it ceases to be available. Back in 1 Corinthians 15, we will see that. 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter.

It's funny, we think of that about resurrection, but it does have something to say about death.

1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 24.

Then comes the end. And this seems to be the end, or the end of a phase beyond which things don't go back. Then comes the end when he delivers up the kingdom to God the Father. So Jesus Christ will deliver up the kingdom to God the Father when he's put an end to all rule and authority and power. He must reign until he has put all elements under his feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. That's a powerful statement in a very short phrase, but the last enemy that will be destroyed is death. That means that enemy will be destroyed.

Death is going to come to an end. If you turn back to verse 54 of this chapter, verse 54 says, When this corruptible is put on incorruption, and this mortal is put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that's written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

This is saying that at some point in the future, there will be no more dying. And that seems to come after those who were immortal and corruptible have become immortal and incorruptible.

And we know for certain we're not talking about souls being tortured forever in immortal hellfire. I'm going to just reference Malachi 4 verses 1 through 3, where it says, The wicked will be burned up. It says there'll be ashes under the soles of our feet. That's not a perpetual suffering. That's the mark of a very merciful, loving God.

Anyone that knows and understands his way and plan, but doesn't want to be a part of it, won't have to be a part of it. If they want to stop existing forever, he holds out that possibility.

But it's a choice that someone has to make, knowing they're making that choice. And that ties into our whole concept of the unpardonable sin. You don't commit that sin accidentally and unknowingly. You willingly choose to sin, knowing that you know and know that you know and don't want to do the other way. Once you've gone that way and you don't want to live forever as part of God's plan, then he'll say, so be it. No repentance, no desire for eternal life. I won't force it on you.

As many of our leaders have said, I think I heard it first from Mr. Armstrong, I expect that'll be very few people. I hope it's very few. Who would want that?

It seems that God's plan calls for all humans, beings, eventually to either accept his way of life or cease to accept. Cease to exist. I should stop reading and just talk. Those accepting God's way, and they'll be able to do it because they'll have a spirit, they'll become immortal. Death will be destroyed. And we eventually, though, come back to one of those questions that I had from the start. What are we going to do?

What are we going to do when you've got a lot of time on your hands?

Here, the Bible doesn't give us near as much specific information as it does for previous periods. We do know that we know some things that people won't do. People won't cheat, they won't steal, they won't lie. People won't do anything contrary to God's way, then.

Do we have any reason to suppose that we would have to stop doing the things that we've enjoyed before that point? I think one reason that God doesn't give us a lot of detail on what we'll do forever, what we'll do long after the millennium, long after the Great White Throne judgment, maybe is because he himself doesn't necessarily know yet. Now, we say God knows all things, but I want to say I suspect he's not deciding it all for us. And this is one thing I never would have dreamed of until I had a son. But, you know, I don't know all that Connor is going to do with his life. When he becomes an adult, I'm hoping that I want to help to prepare and train him so that he'll be able to participate in making his life's decisions. I hope he'll prepare for and have a great career, but I'm not going to determine his career. I want to help him make a good choice.

I want him to choose a mate who he can love and who loves him. I want him to choose his hobbies, and so on. We're growing into sons of God. I imagine he'll want us to participate in deciding what we'll do when we're mature sons of God. So maybe a lot of what's not in the Bible is because it hasn't been decided yet. I think of an example. When I was younger, I loved playing basketball, which I don't know if there's very many of you here who have seen me play basketball. It's a great irony because I'm about a 3% shooter, if that. I'm not good at it, but I like it, and I still enjoy playing every now and then. So maybe in eternity, I can play basketball every now and then. Maybe every few hundred years, we can get a pickup game going. Now, I would consider it a curse if all I ever got to do was play basketball. But I might want to in the future. Think of this. The feast is coming around next year. Do you know what you're going to have for dinner every night of the feast next year? Probably not. You might know that you'd like to have steak one night, or salmon, or there might be a particular restaurant. You think, yeah, I want to go to that restaurant. But you certainly want to leave yourself freedom to decide some things when the time comes. If that's your view towards a few meals, wouldn't you want similar flexibility in how you'll spend all eternity?

Will you get bored? What will you want to do? I think there might be a hint in what Solomon wrote to describe a happy life. I like to go to the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 5 and verse 18. Ecclesiastes is a beautiful book. A few years ago, it dawned on me that there are several places where he describes what I consider the keys to a happy life. As I said, Ecclesiastes 5 and verse 18. Here's what I've seen. So, sort of a summary. It's good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, in which he toils under the sun, all the days of his life which God gives him. It's his heritage. It's good and fitting. Happiness comes from engagement. It's good and fitting. Happiness comes from engaging in engaging daily in whatever your task is to do and enjoying the results.

I'm not sure why that should change just because we have a lot more days ahead.

This is important now that we finish the feast. Also, we're going to go back to our normal life.

We shouldn't go back and say, oh, I wish I were at the feast. I only had to do that.

God wants us to enjoy the things that are before us every day. That's what makes a happy life. I think several keys are put together a couple pages later in chapter 9. Ecclesiastes 9.

I want to read verses 7 through 10. Ecclesiastes 9 verse 7. Go, eat your bread with joy, drink your mowine with a merry heart, enjoy your food and drink. Of course, when you're perfectly healthy and don't get upset stomachs or acid reflux or anything like that, that'll be easier. Let your garments always be white. Let your head lack no oil. Enjoy dressing nice. Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life, which he's given you under the sun. Enjoy your family. Don't you wish you never lacked for time with your grandkids or to see your brothers and sisters to spend time with your wife? If you live forever, you won't lack time. So enjoy the time.

Whatever your hand finds to do, okay, what is that? Well, what you find to do, do it with your might.

And here he said, there's no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you're going. But we could say, once we reach that point, there's no grave where we're going. So whatever you're finding your hand finds to do, do it with your might and enjoy it. I think these are the keys to happiness in life. Enjoy your work. Enjoy your food and drink. Enjoy your family. And surely we can add friends to that. I think these will still bring happiness in eternity. God has been inhabiting eternity forever. I'll make a note here in Judges 9 verse 7, is a place where it says, wine cheers the hearts of God and man. I'm still not sure how wine can cheer God's heart, but it's in there. So maybe in eternity we can enjoy a glass of wine and a good steak, or beer and chips while we watch a football game. I don't know if there will be football in the kingdom. I'm just... John 5 verse 17, Jesus said, I work and the Father works. The Father works.

He must find joy in whatever his hand finds to do and doing it with his might. If he can find joy in that, we can in eternity. We know God loves family. Eternity can be filled with enjoying the simple pleasures of life. But that isn't necessarily all it will be filled with.

But those matter. I mentioned when I was younger, I worried a little bit about getting bored forever. I've come to see that that's not anything to worry about. God doesn't want that for us. And aside from realizing that I can do all the things I like whenever I want to in eternity, I can continue doing new things. It also occurred to me one thing... one of the things that helped me turn that corner when I was still young is I thought, you know, the people that I like to spend time with will be in God's kingdom for eternity. I don't want to not be there. I want to be where they are. You know, I wouldn't want to miss out. And it'll be great to finally never run out of time. Because I've had that the last few years at the Feast of Tabernacles. If I get to spend it with friends, I'm always saying, oh, I just don't have enough time. I wish we could hang out more.

It reminds me, my friend Dave Cobb is here. The first time that I was a camp director, we were serving together. And he one time near the end, he said, Frank, this you-being camp director is sure cutting into our hanging out together time. But in eternity, nothing will cut into our time. But I haven't got around yet to talking about another amazing thing that awaits us. Let's turn to Psalm chapter 8. This is another place we like to go to. And once again, we're in Ecclesiastes. Psalms is just back towards the front. Not just a few, but some pages. Psalms 8, beginning in verse 3. Psalm 8.3, When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars which you've ordained, what's man, that you're mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him? You've made him a little lower than the angels, and you've crowned him with glory and honor. You've made him to have dominion over the works of your hands, and you've put all things under his feet, sheep, oxen, even the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. And God has put man at the top of the food chain. We're the dominant species on earth, and he gave us authority over this planet. But let's turn to Hebrews and see how Paul solved this. He takes it a big step further. Hebrews chapter 2, beginning in verse 6. Hebrews 2, 6. Paul will quote what we just read. I'll read over it quickly. Hebrews 2 and verse 6. 1 testified in a certain place, the place we just read, What is man that you're mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You've made him a little lower than the angels. And we often interpret this as a little wow lower than the angels. And you've crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of your hands. You have put all things and subjection under his feet. And now Paul adds this, for in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that's not put under him. But we now do not yet see all things put under him. And he goes on to say, We see Jesus who does have all things under him. This goes beyond the plants and animals on earth.

And remember, when David wrote that, he said, When I consider the heavens, he was looking out at the night sky, perhaps when he was still a shepherd with the sheep. And if you've been away from the city, and I'm guessing most of you have at least once, you know, if you're out in the desert or on a ship at sea, when you look up, wow, is there a lot out there? You can't count those stars.

That is the all things that God has planned to give us. Nothing, not subject to mankind.

Eventually, when the time comes, I've been talking about how there is enough time.

The universe has billions, trillions of stars. I think they're talking about quadrillions. I don't know. It's a lot of zeros. It's more stars than we can count. And we have no idea how many planets.

And the Sun scientists say it's continually expanding, that new stars are being created right now, as if there weren't enough already. I'm just going to make reference in Isaiah 9, verse 6 and 7, when it talks about Emmanuel, the Prince of Peace. It says, of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. How could his government never stop increasing?

Maybe if there's a continually expanding universe, that's the answer. It could be a grammatical thing to explain that, but I like that. And to be honest, I've always been a Star Trek fan. So, the thought of going out into the universe to explore stars and planets? That sounds exciting to me. There's so much more to do, to build, to learn.

That's not more of the same. That's not something that's boring. We've got an exciting destiny ahead. Not only we, we have a special place in God's plan, but all mankind. And it's funny, I had a note to write at the end, because with all this going and going and going, I wanted to stop and say, in all that eternity, there's nothing anywhere that says you can't stop and take a nap.

Naps are good. And we never have enough time, it seems. We can explore the universe. You can play basketball every now and then. You can eat the food you like. You can have a hobbies. But you can also stop and nap. You can read a good book. Read a thousand good books. You know, I've got so many on my shelves that I'm waiting for time to read. You know, when I think about it to a small degree, those jokes about heaven do seem to have some things right. The things that people do like, long as they're not harmful or wrong, will be things they can do. You know, there may well be golf courses in God's kingdom throughout the universe. I say, I don't golf. I tried it once, and I played golf worse than I played basketball. But for those who do, why not? We can enjoy the best of the foods that we like. But God wants eternal life to be so much more than man has ever imagined. I'm touching on the things we can't imagine. I'm sure there's things we haven't imagined yet, but they'll be out there. It's going to be an exciting, wonderful life. It's absolutely not losing consciousness and merging into nothing. God has a plan for us to join his family. He wants us to be happily occupied, to enjoy being with other members of that family.

We could do all that here on earth, but it turns out that man's ideas of heaven have been too small.

They've been too limited to encompass what God really has in mind for his family.

But as I said, if we go outside on a clear night when there's not a hurricane bringing clouds in, we can gaze at the stars. We can see our inheritance. God will give his family all things. He'll share the challenges and the fun and everything we could ever want with us for all eternity.