[Chris Rowland] About six years ago I was doing some research to find out where some of my ancestors were buried. I knew I had some relatives at a cemetery in Indianapolis, and I was able to locate the location of some of those graves from a website the cemetery had put together. And we spent a while during a visit there hunting for some of the tombstones of people in my past, ancestors, and taking some pictures of them.

And then a few summers ago we also stopped in Tullahoma, Tennessee with a second cousin of mine who found me on the Internet, and he showed me a small family cemetery where some of my great grandparents were buried on their farmland in the early 1900s.

If you ever spent some time walking through a cemetery it's interesting to look at the different grave markers there and the way that people put different messages on them. The different sayings, different sentiments that they wanted recorded. We found one relative who, on their tombstone, said, "Not dead. Just asleep." And another nearby tombstone of someone else related to the family said, "Precious Lord, take my hand," and it showed two hands reaching up and one hand reaching down from a cloud to meet them.

Well, is it true that my dead relatives are not really dead, but just sleeping? Or did the Lord actually take that person's hand when they died and lead them to some kind of a paradise? And what does happen after we die?

When I started to research the topic of what happens after you die, I naturally went to the Internet to see what different groups, different individuals might believe about that. Well, one of the first links that I came to was subtitled, "What Happens to the Body After Death?" And this was a site sponsored by the Australian Museum. And I figured well, this might tie in pretty well to my sermon. So I pulled it up and looked at it and started reading, but it didn't take long for me to get grossed out by, you know, what I saw. They took what happens after death quite literally. The page even features a time lapse movie where you can watch the first week of a dead piglet decomposing, and it didn't take long to realize that the focus on that page was on the process of decomposition, with explanations of different organisms bacteria, flies, beetles, moths that feed on corpses, and I definitely don't want to cover that topic for you. I think we can safely agree without looking at the details that the process they describe is, in fact, what happens after death. Now, I'm not going to argue with those findings at all. So we'll call that a given, and let's move on from there.

And the question becomes, then, is that all there is? Is that all there is? Is decomposition the only sure thing that will happen after we die? Is there something more? Is there a purpose to the lives that we have? Well, since my wife worked at a public library, I had her bring home some books. I wanted some books that explained what happened after we die. And I asked her if she would specifically look at the children's section, because I wanted something that would be at my level, even something that I could understand. (Laughter) And there are actually quite a few books that are published for children that talk about death that attempt to explain to young people the meaning of death and to help them cope with the feelings that they had surrounding it.
Well, most of the books that she had that she found brought up the subject of heaven, you know, books about grandma and grandpa in heaven, or on the way there. You know, books with questions and answers about what heaven is like. Not surprisingly, she didn't find any titles, like, "Going to Hell to Be With Grandma," or "Will I See My Dog in Hell," or "Will There Be Other Children in Hell?" (Laughter) No, nothing like that. They're all about heaven. The books that you find, they all dwell on the positive, which they consider heaven. Now, they might hint just a little bit that not everyone's going to make it to heaven, but it's very subtle.

You know, it mostly consists of saying, you know, "Jesus is the way to heaven, and whoever believes in Him can enter," but they don't really explain the other side of the story. Heaven seems to be almost the universal answer out there to where people go and what they do after death.

Well, one of the books that my wife brought home I found a little bit interesting was written by the former First Lady of California, Maria Shriver. Well, it's called, "What's Heaven?" It's a picture book that she wrote to share with her oldest daughter after her greatgrandmother died. The book was also written for any other children who were facing a difficult time and looking for answers. And in that book, a mother tells her daughter, Kate, that her greatgrandmother has died and gone to heaven. And when Kate asks her what's heaven, this is her mother's reply. Her mother says, "Heaven is a beautiful place up in the sky where no one is sick and where no one is mean or unhappy. It's a place beyond the moon, the stars and the clouds. Heaven is where you go when you die." And then when Kate asks, "If heaven's in the sky, how come I can't see it?" And her mother replies, "Heaven isn't a place that you can see. It's somewhere you believe in. I imagine it's a beautiful place, where you can sit on soft clouds and talk to other people who are there. At night you sit next to the stars, which are the brightest of anywhere in the universe."

On my personal opinion, I'm not going to get a lot of sleep sitting right next to the brightest star in the universe. But continuing, she writes, "Everyone there is happy to be in such a peaceful place where God will love them forever." And the mom goes on to say, "I believe that if you're good throughout your life, then you get to go to heaven. Some people believe in different kinds of heaven and have different names for it. When your life is finished here on earth, God sends angels down to take you up to heaven to be with Him."

And when Kate asks, "Well, do the angels just take you through the ceiling and through the sky?" Her mother says, "You know, Kate, there are lots of things we don't know about heaven, but I think that when a person dies, the angels come and take the soul and leave the body there." And through the course of this story, young Kate comes to grips with this new knowledge she has about her greatgrandmother and what's happened to her, where she even comforts the mother later as her mother's eyes fill with tears and Kate tells her, "You know, greatgrandma is in heaven. She doesn't have to be sick in a bed anymore. She can play games and go to parties. She's in a safe place with the stars, with God and the angels and Shamrock, our dog. She's watching over us from up there. I just know it."

Well, what exactly are those beliefs based on? You know, certainly some of the beliefs that people have about heaven are based on scripture, aren't they? You know, many Christians believe that the Bible plainly states that heaven is God's reward for the righteous. And throughout the centuries, this has been a hope that's been taught by mainstream Christianity. Well, one of the things that I wanted to research in preparation for this sermon was to find the scriptural basis that their beliefs have in heaven, where that might come from, because certainly there have to be some passages of scriptures that they use to commonly support those ideas.

So I'm going to do something a little bit different in this sermon. I'm now going to present several of the different arguments that they have that use scripture to claim that heaven is the reward of the righteous. And as I go through these points, please keep in mind that I'm trying to present this material first from their point of view. So we'll go through some of the rationale why a lot of Christians think that they're going to heaven when they die. But then after we've walked through those points, I'll present you with the reason why those perspectives may or may not be correct.

Several times in the gospel of Matthew, God's kingdom is referred to as the "kingdom of heaven." So the first rationale they want to present for their beliefs is the kingdom of heaven. For example, in the beginning of Matthew chapter 3, we see this terminology used. In Matthew 3:1 Matthew starts out saying that,

Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"

Now, because Matthew uses this phrase, the "kingdom of heaven," most people consider the kingdom of heaven to be synonymous. So what's at hand? The kingdom's at hand. Well, what's the kingdom? Well, it's heaven. Why is it urgent that John's preaching about here? Well, if the kingdom is heaven and heaven is at hand, then heaven is near; it's close. In fact, you could die and go to heaven at any moment, so it's very close.

And then two chapters later, chapter 5, begins in this way, speaking of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 5:1  And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.

V.2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

So not only is heaven at hand, but it belongs to those who are poor in spirit. Heaven belongs to the righteous. And most Christians would conclude from looking at that, that heaven is the reward of the righteous, based upon these scriptures.

A second rationale for heaven being the reward of the righteous is that believers are promised paradise. You know, for most Christians, paradise is synonymous with heaven.

If you'll turn to 2 Corinthians 12:2, in Paul's second letter to the Corinthian church, he correlates the terms heaven and paradise when relating to a story of a man who had a vision of heaven.

In 2 Corinthians 12:2 Paul writes,

2 Corinthians 12:2 I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago  whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows  such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

V.3 And I know such a man ‑ whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows 

V.4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Well, Paul says first that this man was caught up into the third heaven, and then he restates it, saying that he was caught up into Paradise, so the third heaven and Paradise are the same thing.

But if we now go to Luke 23:43, let's look at the words of Jesus Christ when He's talking about Paradise. He was speaking to a criminal who was being crucified along with Him.

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

So when you combine these words uttered by Jesus, with Paul's recounting of the man's vision, it's a simple matter to conclude that Paradise is in heaven. And Jesus was assured he promised that a dying man would be with Him later that day.  So it's not hard to see why many people put these together and believe that they can go directly to heaven at the time of their death.

A third rationale I want to present for heaven being the reward of the righteous is that the righteous are already up there or they're looking down. They're waiting. They're watching. They're watching what we do here on the earth. If we look at 2 Kings 2, I'd like to look at an account in 2 Kings 2 verse 1. The scriptures state that God took Elijah the prophet up to heaven.

2 Kings 2:1 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

V.2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel."

V.3 But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they went down to Bethel.
Well, it says here in verse 1 that Elijah was soon to be headed to heaven.

Moving down now to verse 11, 2 Kings 2:11, says.

2 Kings 2:11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

V.12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. 

Here we have a statement in the Old Testament that Elijah went to heaven.

Peter, James and John, they had a vision later in the New Testament during the transfiguration where they saw Elijah. So the conclusion is that God took Elijah to heaven here, and he's currently in residence here.

Another scripture that's often quoted by the righteous being in heaven is Hebrews 12. People think that they're in heaven even today, as we speak. Just one chapter earlier in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, it goes through a list of the righteous through time, and all the way back to the time of Abel. But then here in Hebrews 12:1 it continues with that thought, saying,

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Well, Christians argue that this cloud of witnesses refers to the righteous who are up in heaven, everyone, including Abraham, Moses, Rahab, Enoch, David, et cetera. They're watching from up there as witnesses to what we're doing here on the earth. They're witnessing the course that we're taking, surrounding us and maybe even cheering us on to salvation.

Well, the fourth and the last rationale that I want to present today for heaven being the reward of the righteous is that there's a promise that we will be with Christ. Christ, well, He's currently in heaven. So for us to be with Him, people conclude that, well, we're going to have to go there too, to be with Him as promised.

And many people use Philippians 1:21, the words of Paul from the first chapter of Philippians, to prove that as soon as we die we go to be with Christ. He writes:

Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

V.22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 

For I am hard pressed between the two. Having a desire to part and be with Christ. Which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.

John chapter 14 contains another passage that's used to show that we will be with Christ after we die. John chapter 14 in the first verse, Jesus Christ is speaking, and He says,

John 14:1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

V.2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

V.3 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.

And most Christians believe that these mansions are permanent dwellings in the heavens that we can inherit and we can dwell forever in Christ's presence.

So these four concepts, I hope, give us an idea or basis for understanding why many well-meaning Christians believe that they're going to heaven when they die. They think it's God's reward for the righteous. They think this is what the Bible teaches. But let's begin to dig a little bit deeper on some of these subjects and see whether what they believe is actually what the Bible describes.

Let's look first at this concept of the kingdom of heaven. Is God's kingdom the same thing as heaven? Now, what did Jesus Christ and John the Baptist mean when they used that phrase, "the kingdom of heaven"? Did this mean a kingdom in heaven? Did it mean a kingdom from heaven? A kingdom that's like heaven, or what? Well, the phrase "kingdom of heaven" appears in Matthew's gospel account 32 times. And it's interesting to note that Matthew was the only biblical writer who used this term the "kingdom of heaven." The other writers use the term "kingdom of God." For instance, Luke's account of the sermon on the mount says.

Luke 6:20 "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

The words are interchangeable. The description of the kingdom of heaven is not a promise we will go to heaven, but it promises a kingdom that originates from God in heaven. In the New Testament describes God's kingdom is something that will be instituted on this earth, not something that we're going to in heaven.

In Luke 19:12 there's a parable of the nobleman. Jesus is talking about Himself, and He describes Himself here as a certain nobleman who went to a far country to receive for himself the kingdom and to return. So Jesus will return with His kingdom. He received it in a far country, but He's bringing it back.

And in the passage known as the Lord's prayer, we are shown to ask God for His kingdom to come. It's not a prayer for us to go there and to join Him. It says, "Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When God's kingdom arrives, God's will shall be done on earth.

And no matter how many times Matthew talks about the kingdom of heaven, it's never referred to as a kingdom in heaven. The kingdom of heaven  the kingdom of God is at hand, but it's at hand in the same timeframe that the return of Jesus Christ is at hand.

And in the sermon on the mount, does it say that the poor in spirit get a kingdom in heaven, but the meek, they just inherit the earth? You know, why would God split up the poor in spirit from the meek, with the poor in spirit group getting to go to heaven, while the other group, the meek, have to remain on earth and inherit that? If that were the case, maybe I should try not to be so meek so I could go to heaven, then we could go to heaven with the poor in spirit bunch.

But clearly the kingdom is not in heaven. It's from heaven. It will be established on this earth. Both the poor in spirit and the meek will be in God's kingdom together, in the same place, in the same kingdom on this earth.

Now, what about the promise of Paradise? You know, what is Paradise? The word translated Paradise appears three times in the New Testament. We've already looked at three instances where it's used, Christ's words to the thief on the cross and in the vision that Paul describes that relates Paradise to the third heaven. The other passage mentioning Paradise is in Revelation 2, where it talks about the tree of life being in the midst of the Paradise of God. This tree of life will be in the New Jerusalem.

Well, each time this Paradise is mentioned, it's describing a place of God's presence, a place where He is. The third heaven is a phrase that's used to describe where God's throne is located. The New Jerusalem will be the place where God comes down from heaven to rule and men will dwell with Him in that holy city. So the promise of Paradise is the promise that we will have the opportunity to dwell in the presence of God.

In the vision that Paul described, where a man was caught up into the third heaven into Paradise, agrees with this understanding, since the third heaven is understood to be where God rules from today. But God will rule from the new earth after the new heavens and new earth are created, and that will also be Paradise.

I'd like to go back to 2 Corinthians 12 and look at the man who had the vision of heaven. Paul writes,

2 Corinthians 12:2 I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago  whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows  such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

V.3 And I know such a man  whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows 

V.4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Well, all indications in this verse are that the man who had this vision  who some think may have been Paul himself  was still on earth at the time that Paul was writing this. Otherwise, how would he have been able to share this story with Paul? How would he have known about it? So this man had a vision of going into heaven, of hearing inexpressible words. And since this was set in the third heaven, it may have been a vision of God's throne. Several prophets in the scripture have had visions of God's throne and the majesty that is there. But since the man must have returned from this vision to earth so that we could know about this vision, I think it's safe to conclude that this concept of being caught up to heaven does not imply that this man died. You know, this being caught up or carried up to heaven was most likely a part of his vision.

When Christ returns it says that the believers who are still alive will be caught up in the clouds to meet Christ in the air. Also, after Phillip had his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch, it says that the spirit caught him away so that the eunuch did not see him any longer. On both of those cases, death is not involved. This being caught up, this being carried is some type of spiritual transportation that takes people to another place. Well, in this man's vision, he was caught up to Paradise. He was super naturally transported there in his dream. And the recounting of this incident does not create any relationship between what was seen in that vision with a place where humans are going to go when they die.

Now, I think we can agree with most Christians that we are promised a future in Paradise, a future in God's kingdom. And this Paradise is one where we will dwell in God's presence. Not one where we will play harps or  and sit on clouds all day. Now, I suppose I would maybe have the musical ability to play a harp, if I felt like it. But I expect to be too busy when there's other work that God has for us to do.

Most serious Christian scholars out there, they agree with us that the traditional image of a heavenly Paradise is not supported by scripture. Now, they acknowledge, like we do, that there's a lot about God's kingdom that has not yet been revealed. There's a lot we don't know.

But what about the timing of this entry into God's kingdom? You know, do we go to Paradise immediately after death? Remember how Jesus told the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with Me in Paradise"? Well, let's assume that the traditional Christian interpretation of this verse is true and that on the very date of the crucifixion, on the very day of the crucifixion the thief went to Paradise to be with Jesus Christ. Well, could that even be possible? Well, we know it wasn't, because if the thief ended up in Paradise that day, Jesus wouldn't have been there to join him, which was the other half of that promise. He said, "with Me in Paradise." Jesus Himself did not ascend to Paradise or to heaven on the day that He died. He went first to the grave. He was buried, and He didn't rise again until the third day, and that's clear from a verse in John 20:17 that shows that Jesus had not been in God's presence, nor had He been in heaven since His death.

In John 20:17 we can read where,
John 20:17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"

So over three full days later from His promise to that dying thief, Jesus Himself clearly said that He had not ascended to heaven, not yet.

So the dying criminal could not have joined Jesus in Paradise on that day that they both died. I think most of you here have read our church literature and understand that this problem with this scripture is that a comma was placed before the word "today" in most translations instead of after the word "today." Since there was no punctuation in the original Greek we have, it was inserted many years later by people who probably had their own understanding of what the verse was saying and were trying to make it a little bit clearer. So we believe that the scripture should be phrased that, "I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise."

Now, most critics argue against our point of view that that's how it should be translated, but they use the following reasoning. I want you to listen to why they criticize our stand on that. They say there would have been no need for Christ to have said, "I say to you today," since the dying man already knew it was today. Now, that kind of logic doesn't really mean anything. Well, if that argument holds, well, why did Jesus always start out His statements to say, "Verily, verily, I say unto you," before a lot of His statements. People would have known it was Jesus talking to him. And for that matter, why did He tell the thief, "I say to you." Would the dying man have just thought it was a voice coming from somewhere? Of course he knew that Jesus was the one talking to him. There are a lot of idioms that people use all of the time, that if you try to analyze that idiom and why it was necessary, they're not necessary.

Well, the type of address that Jesus gave to the thief, it's still with us today, when someone wants to emphasize a future promise or a prediction. I found an example of this in a quote by a sports figure, Kobe Bryant. He said, "I'm telling you right now we're going to win on Tuesday." Now, we could apply this same logic to this statement. Well, everyone knows it's right now. So maybe he was saying, "I'm telling you," comma, "right now we're going to win on Tuesday. But that doesn't make any sense at all. You know, the point is that he was making a prediction. You know, the fact that he said "right now," it's an important part of the sentence, because it shows even from the date that he was saying that, the outcome was known. And if his team won the game on Tuesday, people could point back and say, hey, Kobe Bryant knew this would happen way back on that day.

Well, Jesus Christ knew that the thief on the cross would be with Him in Paradise, even back on the day when they were both crucified. And Jesus made it a point to remark on this saying, I can tell you right now, that this is the way it's going to turn out for you.

But what about the third concept? What about the concept that the righteous are already in heaven, that they're waiting for us, they're watching us, they're cheering us on every day?

Well, what did the verse mean when it says that Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven? Did Elijah die? Did he cease to exist on the earth at that time? It kind of sounds that way if you read that story, doesn't it? He certainly was caught up in a most dramatic way and taken away from Elisha. Before answering that, let's look for a moment at what happened to Phillip in Acts 8:38. I mentioned this episode earlier briefly when I was talking about being caught up by the Spirit. Let's turn to Acts 8 and read more about the specifics of what did happen to Phillip.

Acts 8:38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Phillip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

V.39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Phillip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.

Well, if you stop reading after verse 39, you might conclude that Phillip died at this point and was taken to heaven. It is similar to the story of Elijah. He was supernaturally transported and basically disappeared from those around him. But if we read on in the next verse, to verse 40, it says:

V.40 But Phillip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

So Phillip didn't die. He didn't go to heaven here when he was caught up. He was found. They found him. God moved him to another place on the earth so that God's will could be done.

Now, let's go back and look at the story of Elijah in 2 Kings 2 to see if maybe the same thing could have happened to him. 2 Kings 2:16, in the story of Elijah, God was appointing Elisha to be Elijah's successor. After Elijah was removed, the sons of the prophets, they wanted to go look for him.

2 Kings 2:16 Then they said to him, "Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send anyone."

V.17 But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send them!" Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him.

V.18 And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?"

So God had taken Elijah somewhere where those men couldn't find him. God needed to do that, because as long as Elijah was around, Elisha would not be accepted as the leader of the prophets. But how do we know that Elijah was still around after this dramatic event? The Bible records a letter that Elijah wrote many years after these events. Now, I don't want to go through all the details of that in this sermon.
But in the next chapter, 2 Kings 3, after Elijah has been removed from the scene, an encounter has been recorded between Elisha and the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat. Well, several years later Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram, succeeded his father as the king of Judah, and the king was wicked. And a few years into his reign, several years now after Elijah miraculously disappeared from the scene, a letter came to him from Elijah, and Elijah wrote a letter to this king warning him of the consequences of his sins.

And in 2 Chronicles 21:12 it says that that letter came from Elijah. For that to have occurred, Elijah must still have been living somewhere on the earth. But didn't it say that Elijah went into heaven? Well, it didn't say that Elijah went into the third heaven. Heaven can also refer to the earth's atmosphere. It can refer to the sky, which would correspond to the reaction that the sons of the prophets had to go and look for him somewhere else nearby. What goes up must come down.

Let's move on to John 3 now and look for a few minutes about whether there are currently any human beings in heaven. Are there righteous people already there, maybe communing with God the Father and with Jesus Christ? In John 3:12 John is talking here  or Jesus is talking here to Nicodemus, a teacher. He says,

John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

V.13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is the Son of Man who is in heaven. 

It can't get much plainer than that. Jesus plainly states that no one has ascended to heaven. Well, this means that not Abraham, not Moses, not David, not Elijah, not anyone, except for Jesus Christ. These are the words of Jesus Christ Himself. Certainly if anyone had ascended into heaven He would have seen him. He would have known about it.

Well, Acts 2:29 specifically states that not even king David, a man after God's own heart, has ascended into heaven. Acts 2:29 gets pretty specific. It says: 

Acts 2:29 "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day."

And continuing in verse 34, it says,

V.34 "For David did not ascend into the heavens."

So let's turn to the end of Hebrews 11 and see what is stated about the faithful through the ages. Now, the 11th chapter of Hebrews is known as the faith chapter, and it recounts the names of some of God's faithful throughout history. I'd like to look at the last two verses, 39 and 40 of Hebrews 11. Verse 39 says,

Hebrews 11:39 "And all these  you know, all that he's mentioned  having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

The scripture says that these righteous did not receive the promise. They won't be made perfect apart from us. We will all be made perfect at the same time, when Christ returns.

But let's move on to the 12th chapter of Hebrews here, the next verse. So who is in this great cloud of witnesses and what is it that they're witnessing?

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

V.2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Well, some understand this cloud of witnesses is people looking down on us from heaven. Well, that's not the correct interpretation. Hebrews 11 records many people whom God commended for their faith. And as we just read, they've not received the promise. It's these people who are the cloud of witnesses. They're witnesses not because they're watching and witnessing us, but rather they've set an example for us through their lives. They're witnesses for Christ for God and witnesses for the truth. So this cloud of witnesses, you could rephrase as a cloud of examples or a cloud of testimony or a cloud of evidence. You know, this scripture is describing that the stories of the faithful that have been recorded in the Bible for us provide us with a wealth of examples that we can surround ourselves with, and which can inspire us to run the race, which is set before us. Their lives bore witness to the faith that they had in God's promises.

And what about this fourth concept that the righteous are going to be with Christ when they die? Well, since Christ is in heaven, to be with Christ, don't we have to go join Him there? The words of Paul in the 1st chapter of Philippians are often used to prove that as soon as we die we go to be with Christ. As I read in Philippians 1:21, where he said,

Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

V.22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit for my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.

V.23 For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

So part of what Paul is talking about here is a matter of perspective. Paul knew that if he were executed, he would die, be buried, and await the resurrection. However, since the dead have no thought processes whatsoever, in his next waking moment, he would be with Jesus as the returning Messiah. Paul's next conscious thought after his death would be joining Jesus at his second coming with the other saints at the first resurrection, something we all look forward to. But this event is yet in the future. But for all who have died in Christ, it's going to be their next conscious thought. Elsewhere, Paul talked about a crown of righteousness that would be given on that day, the day of Christ appearing. Not at the moment of a believer's death.

So in a sense, from Paul's perspective, he would be with Christ with his next conscience thought after death. Most Christians believe this too, but they believe that that moment has already come for Paul and the other saints in Christ. They don't believe that Paul is still in the grave, still awaiting that promise to be with Jesus Christ.

And the other passage in John 14 that many Christians use to show that we'll be with Christ in heaven as soon as we die is in John 14:2, about the mansions. Jesus Christ says,

John 14:2 "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

Most Christians believe that these mansions are permanent dwellings in heaven that we can inherit, and we can dwell there forever in Christ's presence. They think that their loved ones are already dwelling in these heavenly mansions.

One part of this passage that they miss is, again, the timing. You know, Christ says that after He prepares the place for us, He will come again and receive us to Himself. Christ doesn't come again each time a Christian dies. Christ will come again one time at His second coming. That's the timeframe for when these places that He's prepared for us, when our reward will be given.

I'd like to look at Matthew 16 to make sure we understand that the timing for this reward is yet future. No follower of Christ has received this reward yet. Jesus Christ says,

Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father, with His angels, and then He will reward each according to His works."

And this same timing is confirmed in Revelation 22:12. The very end of the scriptures, Revelation 22:12, where it says,

Revelation 22:12 And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me  He's bringing it with Him to give to everyone according to his work.

Well, that reward that we receive, it doesn't happen chronologically at the moment we die. It will not occur until Christ's second coming. So these places, these mansions that are being prepared for us, will be brought with Christ at His return. These rewards are with Him.

Well, what are these places? You know, are these mansions that are prepared for us in our Father's house? Well, these places are positions of responsibility in God's kingdom. Revelation 5:10 speaks of the resurrected saints when it says, Christ will have made us kings and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth. So our places in God's house are not places in heaven, but on the earth, as it says, as kings and priests serving Him and doing His will.

So we've looked at four of the common areas where traditional Christianity believes that they have a biblical basis in the concept of going to heaven when we die. Well, I hope these explanations have been clear, and the United Church of God does publish a booklet "Heaven and Hell:  What Does the Bible Really Teach?" that gives more support and explanation of the topics I've looked at today. But so far we've only looked at contradicting these beliefs put forth by mainstream Christianity regarding heaven.

But there's an additional question that I always find even more interesting that I want to look at, specifically as it relates to the resurrection. Why is there a resurrection if the believers are already in Paradise? Well, I looked into that, and Christian scholars have several explanations for that question, none of which seem to make a lot of sense to me.

The most common explanation I've seen for the resurrection is that there are two heavens. There are two heavens. The first type of heaven exists for people before their bodily resurrection, and the second type of heaven exists after the resurrection. So the first heaven is a type of interim or intermediate heaven, where all of the dead souls are now living. They say this isn't a permanent home, but kind of a holding place for their souls until they're joined with their bodies again.

I want to read a passage from Randy Alcorn's book titled, "Heaven," where he describes whether we will live in heaven forever. This is page 42 of his book "Heaven." He writes, "The answer to the question: Will we live in heaven forever depends on what we mean by heaven. Will we be with the Lord forever? Absolutely. Will we always be with Him in exactly the same place that heaven is now? No. In the intermediate heaven we'll be in Christ's presence and we'll be joyful, but we'll be looking forward to our bodily resurrection and permanent relocation to the new earth. When we tell our children, 'Grandma's now in heaven,' we're referring to the intermediate heaven. Though it will be a wonderful place, the intermediate heaven is not the place we're made for, the place God promises to refashion for us to live forever. God's children are destined for life as resurrected beings on a resurrected earth." That's what Randy Alcorn says.

Another book where author Erwin Lutzer  in his book, "One Minute After You Die," he also calls the times before the resurrection an intermediate state. And I'll read here from page 72 of his book. He writes, "If the saints already have bodies in heaven, albeit temporary ones, why does Paul place such an emphasis on the resurrection in his writings? He clearly implies that the saints in heaven today are incomplete and in an unnatural state. The New Testament doctrine of the resurrection is an affirmation that we are a spiritual and physical unit and that God intends to put us back together again. Although the soul is separate from the body, such a separation is only temporary. If we are to live together, we must be brought together as a united human being, body, soul and spirit."

He continues saying, "The New Jerusalem is new, that is, recreated, just as our resurrected bodies are recreated from our earthly bodies. The previous heavens, the atmospheric heavens and the earth tainted by sin will have been obliterated by fire to make room for the new order of creation. This new city came out of heaven because it's part of the heavenly realm."

Well, these are some serious well respected authors, and there are a lot of other Christian scholars who go to great lengths to explain to us how there are these two different heavens in an attempt to explain why there needs to be a resurrection.

Now, I think if you read what they say about the ultimate new heavens and new earth, they're pretty accurate. You know, they quote the scriptures that talk about a place where there's no more sorrow, no more crying, no pain, no sun or moon, no hunger, thirst or heat and with the tree of life and rivers of living water. Most of those images we agree with. They're from the Bible. But we just don't use the term heaven for where those are located. However, most of their argument about this intermediate heaven, the heaven where we're supposed to tell our kids that grandma is at today, seems rather vague and confusing.

You know, some Christians believe that the scriptures of the new Jerusalem apply to the heavens now, with the pearly gates and streets of gold. But others who study a little deeper in scripture, they know that those prophesies are still yet in the future.

So why do Christians insist on believing in this intermediate heaven? Why would God plan for us to go to this holding area, you know, hanging out for a little while and wait for the resurrection so we can get a new place to live? Well, the reason is that Christianity has been deceived into accepting the doctrine of an immortal soul that cannot die. Man believes that he will not surely die. He's been told this lie since he encountered the serpent in the garden of Eden. So man has had to concoct this idea that a man's body and soul separate at death. And if this soul is immortal, it has to go somewhere, and that's where the idea of this intermediate heaven comes from. They don't want to contradict the idea that there's a resurrection, because it is prevalent in the New Testament. So they need a place for souls to go before that resurrection. And so they have what they describe as an intermediate heaven where we may or may not have some intermediate bodies to live in until we get our resurrected body.

Now, I'm not sure that most Christians you meet on the street believe in the resurrection. Or if they do, maybe it's a mystery that they can't comprehend. I don't have enough time in today's sermon to dig deeper into the doctrine of the immortal soul and how it has affected the beliefs in mainstream Christianity, but I do want to mention that I think it's that belief that appears to be the main reason why mainstream Christianity will refuse to believe the truth about the reward of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked.

So in conclusion, I found it an interesting study to look into how Christianity supports this belief of heaven through the use of scripture. In many cases scriptures can be unclear or it might appear to support their beliefs. And most people are sincere when they believe that heavens' our reward. But they've been blinded, blinded by false doctrine, such as the immortal soul, you know, confused by misinterpretation of scripture such as, "Today you'll be with Me in Paradise." Much of this world has been blinded to God's true purposes, the purpose for man and the Kingdom of God.

So what does happen after you die? Well, after you die, you cease to exist. Your soul doesn't separate from your body and go to heaven to be with the Lord. Instead, you know nothing. You're dead. You're asleep. You cease to exist until God in His mercy resurrects you to life. The righteous will be given everlasting life and a place in God's kingdom, not in heaven, but on the earth.