"We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" - 1 Peter 3:13; Rev Chapters 21 and 22.
Introduction
Hebrews 11, speaks to us about the great faith people, one of which was Abraham. He obeyed God implicitly when asked to move out into something new. The underlying motivation for Abraham's unwavering trust in God, was an understanding of the topic we will be discussing in this lesson. Abraham had a revelation of "the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God", v10. Everything we place our trust and confidence in, has foundations that one day will be destroyed. But the true Christian is a citizen of the Heavenly City. A city that will never be destroyed.
I. ALL THINGS WILL BE MADE NEW.
1. God will destroy the earth, as we know it and also the heavens (our universe).
Note that there are three heavens, 2 Cor 12:2:
1. Our atmosphere
2. Our universe
3. The spiritual realm where God operates
2 Peter 3:7, "But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men."
2 Peter 3:12b, " ... the heavens will be dissolved being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat."
2. He will create a new heaven (universe) and a new earth.
2 Peter 3:13, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."
Rev 21:1, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth and the first heaven and the first earth had passed away."
II WHO WILL LIVE IN THE NEW HEAVEN?
1. The Godhead.
Rev. 21:22-23, “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”
2. An innumerable company of angels.
Hebrews 12:22, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels.”
3. Those whose names are written in the Book of Life. They make up the General Assembly and church of the firstborn.
Heb 12:22-23, "But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven."
Rev 21:27, "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles ... but only those who are written in The Lamb's Book of Life."
III. WHAT WON'T BE IN THE NEW HEAVEN.
1. Marriage. Matt 22:30"For in the resurrection they shall neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven."
2. The painful things of this earth.
a. Grief
b. Death
c. Sorrow
d. Crying
e. Pain
Rev 21:4, "And God will wipe away ev
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First, second and third heavens
Some things are not explicitly stated in the Scriptures, and we would have to appeal to logic and experience in order to form a reasonable theory. I would say that this is one such case.
The first heaven could be described as the natural heavens - the sky, outer space perhaps.
The third heaven is clearly the place where the Father, Jesus, and departed saints are. This is the place which Paul got to see, whether in the body or out, he does not know.
I believe that the Second Heaven is the place of spiritual conflict between God's angels and the fallen angels, principalities and powers of darkness that are exercising influence because of our past choices and our ongoing choices.
In the book of Daniel, the angel that brings the message to Daniel said he was held up by the Prince of Persia (presumably a demonic fallen principality) for 21 days. Michael the archangel helped in the fight. Daniel had to patiently continue his partial fast during this time.
I consider talk of seven heavens to be erroneous. It is based on pseudopigraphical writings and perhaps things in the islamic hadith.
But I haven't been to heaven yet, so I can't speak with total authority on the matter. :-)
New Heaven and New Earth
I am doing a bible study on the subject of Heaven. I enjoyed your site with the exception of one area. 2nd Corinthians 12:2 states that Paul was caught up into the third heaven. Are we assuming there is a first and a second heaven. If we assume this should we also assume there is a fourth, fifth and so on number of heavens. Any help you can give for clarification on this would be appreciated.
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