"Heaven - What will we do there?"

How many here have ever seen the movie "The Wizard of Oz." It debuted on television in 1956. The film won two Academy awards. One for best musical score and one for the best song.

HOW MANY OF YOU REMEMBER THE SONG?

"Somewhere over the rainbow."

In one scene, Dorothy Gale, one of the lead characters, was told by her Aunt Em, "Now you just help us out today and find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble." Dorothy has no one to confide in but her dog. She strolls with him from a bale of hay to a piece of farm machinery where they both sit down. She mumbles to her dog, "Some place where there isn't any trouble." "Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by boat or train. It's far, far away, behind the moon, beyond the rain." Then, looking at the sky, she begins to sing. "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high…."

Do you suppose there is such a place where there isn't any trouble? Jesus said that there is. He has promised such a place for His followers.

It is important at the outset to make it plain and clear that heaven is NOT a place where everyone goes when they die. Heaven is reserved for only those who are the redeemed children of Jesus Christ. Not everyone goes to heaven. Jesus spoke emphatically about Hell, and that it was a real place too (Mark 9:25). And it will be the abode of those who refuse the salvation offered by Christ.

Heaven, on the other hand, is a place where the faithful servants of God, who have been born again from above, enter into their joy for all eternity (Matt. 25:34, 46)

But Satan doesn't like us to understand our destiny in heaven. The old devil knows that Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has put eternity in the heart of mankind. Intuitively, men and women know they were made for something better than this world. Unfortunately, Satan has garbled the right message. The devil labors to give people an inaccurate view of heaven. Some of Satan's favorite lies are about heaven. Revelation 13 tells us that Satan's beast - the Antichrist - will open his mouth. Why? What does he say? Let's read it.

Revelation 13:6 (NIV)

6 He [The Antichrist] opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.

This passage tells us that one of Satan's favorite tactics is to slander God's dwelling place, heaven. He feeds people a distorted view of it. He knows this will rob us of joy in anticipating our going to be with our Bridegroom. He very much wants you and I to fall in love with this earth, as if it were our real home. Satan would also like to have us think Heaven is unreal - more like an apparition. No wonder so many people see heaven as a place of numbing boredom.

Today, we are going to see that the Bible tells us that heaven far surpasses the distorted image that Satan tries to feed people today.

Last week, we took note of many questions that arise when tackling the topic of Heaven. Let's quickly review what we discussed in our last lesson.

HOW MANY HEAVENS DOES THE BIBLE SAY EXISTS FOR SURE?

I believe the Bible mentions only 3 heavens.

1 The first heaven is the atmospheric heaven - the sky. This is where the birds, clouds and airplanes fly, and where rain falls from.

o The second is the stellar or celestial heaven - outer space. This includes the sun, moon, stars, planets, etc.

o The third is the divine heaven, where God resides.

We also saw that the Bible presents Heaven as a real place, like Seattle or Tokyo. We also noted that the Bible uses at least 10 other names of Heaven -- like House, Paradise, A Country, and Mount Zion.

Today, we are going to address a couple of other questions - like:

"If heaven is a real place, where is it located?"

"What is Heaven like?"

"What will we do in Heaven?"

The answer to this last question will show Heaven will not be boring.

I want to add some thoughts to what I said in our last lesson, concerning the fact that Heaven is a real place, like Seattle, only much bigger. Heaven will not be some ethereal existence where we float about as spirits without bodies. Why would God take the trouble to create a new earth if there was not going to be anyone to live in it? Why would God have given us new physical bodies if we were not gong to live in a material world. When God created Adam and Eve, they were not placed on a cloud, but on the earth. Heaven will be Eden (paradise) restored.

I want to ask you a few questions.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE HEAVEN FOR ME?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY HEAVEN WILL BE LIKE?

One of the ways we learn about Heaven is to see what the Bible says will be there. On the other hand, we also learn about Heaven through what the Bible says will NOT be there. There are many things that we are used to on earth that will not be found in Heaven.

WHAT WILL NOT BE IN HEAVEN?

We can begin our list with those which are mentioned in Revelation 21.

Verse 4: No tears, No death, No mourning, No crying, No pain

Verse 8: The cowardly, The unbelieving, The vile, The murderers, The sexually immoral, The sorcerers, The idolaters, and All liars

Verse 23: No sun, No moon

Verse 27: Nothing unclean, None who practice abomination, None who makes a lie

I think it is safe to say that the following will also not be in heaven.

o Jails
o Drug stores
o Locks on houses
o Cemeteries
o Funerals
o Famines
o Suffering
o Disease
o Crime
o Lust
o Greed
o Racism
o Sexism
o Terrorism
o Chauvinism
o War
o No rumors of war
o Pollution
o Greedy Politicians
o Drug pushers
o Child molesters
o Road potholes
o Power outages
o Earthquakes
o Floods
o False Christs

There will be:

o No regrets
o No bitterness
o No remorse
o No eyeglasses
o No braces
o No wheelchairs
o No false teeth
o No hearing aids
o No crutches
o No hospitals
o No nursing homes
o No paramedics
o No CPR
o No aspirin
o No cancer
o No solicitors
o No e-mail viruses

All the wrongs in the world will be made right.

It will be a place where everything evil is absent…..and everything good is present.

Everything sad will be gone,……and only joy will exist.

Everything disappointing will disappear….and everything exciting will appear.

Everything depressing will be gone,….and everything hopeful will come.

Everything violent and hateful will be gone….and everything born of love will prevail.

Everything detestable will be gone,…..and everything desirable will abide with us.

Every sickness will be gone,…..and complete wholeness will take over our lives.

Every frustration, struggle and failure will be over,…..and only success is possible.

There will not be any hassles of closing a deal on a new home. Your home has already been purchased and there is no balance due on your mansion. So, nobody will be able to repossess you house. And you probably won't have to repaint or re-carpet your mansion. The Bible, most assuredly, says that heaven will be a whole lot better than this world.

WHAT WILL WE DO IN HEAVEN?

I was reading a sermon preached by Randy Alcorn. In the sermon, he mentions a pastor who made a startling confession to Randy. He said, "Whenever I think about heaven, it makes me depressed. I'd rather just cease to exist when I die." Randy says he tried not to show his shock, and asked him "Why?" The pastor said, "I can't stand the thought of that endless tedium. To float around in the clouds with nothing to do but strum a harp……it's all so terribly boring. Heaven doesn't sound much better than hell. I'd rather be annihilated than spend eternity in a place like that."

Where did this Bible-believing, seminary-educated pastor get such a view of heaven? Certainly not from Scripture, where Paul said to depart and be with Christ was "far better" than staying on earth.

Earlier, I mentioned Revelation 13:6, where Satan's human puppet, the Antichrist, blasphemes the things of God, including heaven; the place where God is. Satan doesn't want us thinking often about Heaven. Satan gets people to thinking that Heaven is just sitting on a cloud wearing a halo, while little angels play harps as they float through the heavens. Others see heaven as an unending church service, or the singing of hymns for all eternity. Some think it is some sort of celestial retirement city.

Children have their own perspective of Heaven. Here's how a few children responded to the question: "What do you do in heaven?"

o "You can do anything you want, silly!"
o "You can eat candy, and don't get fat or cavities."
o "You water-skate all day long!" declared on squirmy first grader. When asked, "What's water skating?" she smiled and replied, "you'll find out."
o "You can stay up all day and all night, and your parents can't make you go to bed because there aren't any beds."
o "You help people on earth be smarter."
o "You play the harp all day, whether you like it or not."
o "You have to paint clouds."
o "Most of the time you try to get dry because it seems like it's always raining in heaven."

Before we consider what we will be doing in heaven, I believe it is important to see at least a little bit of what we won't be doing in Heaven. Heaven is really going to be great.

We will never sin

o We will make not mistakes

o We will never need to confess

o We will never need to repair anything:

o no leaky faucets, no burned-out light bulbs, no broken-down cars)

o We will never have to rescue others

o We will never have to defend ourselves.

o We won't be required to apologize.

o We will not experience guilt, ever.

o Never again will we battle Satan, or the flesh

o We will never defend the gospel of Jesus Christ.

o Our bodies will never need healing or rehabilitation

oWe will never experience loneliness or depression.

While the Bible may not tell us as much as we would like to know about what we will do in Heaven, it does reveal to us at least five main things we will do there.

These might provide a basic job description for us. Those five things are:

o singing & worshiping
o serving
o supervising / Reigning
o studying / Learning
o sharing / fellowshipping

1. Singing and Worshiping

Revelation 15:2-3 (NIV)

2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God
3 and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.

This is specifically speaking of Tribulation saints who were not overcome by the Antichrist. They are singing songs of Moses and of the Lamb.

Revelation 14:1-3 (NIV)

1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.
3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

Here we have another group of Tribulation Saints - the 144,000 evangelists mentioned in Rev. 7. But it gives the impression that singing will go on in heaven as a part of our worship.

Heaven is a place of unending worship. Even those who cannot carry a tune in a bucket here on earth will be able to sing rapturously in heaven.

There will be many songs that we sing now, that we won't sing in Heaven.

o When We All Get To Heaven"
o When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder, I'll Be There"
o Cleanse Me
o The King Is Coming
o Come Thou Almighty King
o We've A Story To Tell To The Nations

But I'm sure we will be able to still sing:

o Great is Thy Faithfulness
o The Hallelujah Chorus
o All Hail The Power of Jesus' Name
o O Worship the King
o Amazing Grace

Worship will no longer be an indefinable word or an indescribable experience. It will not be manipulated or contrived. With all its pretense gone, worship will be one of the first great and continuous activities for the redeemed. Our worship will be spontaneous and genuine. It will encompass the whole universe. The hallelujahs and the praise the Lord and the amen will rise above other sounds in heaven and earth. We will finally be able to lose ourselves in the joy of telling our God how much we adore Him.

2. Serving

Heaven is revealed as a place of activity. John, speaking of the New Jerusalem, says:

Revelation 22:3 (NIV)

3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

While it is true that Heaven is a place of rest, "a rest for the people of God," (Hebrews 4:9), it will not be the rest of inactivity or idleness. Heaven will not be as one person had put on his tombstone, which read:

"Don't weep for me now, don't weep for me ever;
For I'm going to do nothing forever and ever.">

Heaven would soon be monotonous if such were true.

The word "serve" is prominent in the Book of Revelation. On eight different occasions it describes our function in Heaven. One of our jobs in Heaven will be to serve our Lord.

There is a story of a little girl who was happily humming a hymn as she dusted the furniture to help her mother. In the middle of her task, she asks her mother, "Mommy, will I be dusting God's chair when I get to heaven the way the hymn says?" The mother looked up, surprised, and asked: "Which hymn says that honey?" The girl responded, "The one that says 'and dust around the throne, and dust around the throne." It took the mother a while to figure out she was quoting a line from the hymn We're Marching to Zion, which says "and thus surround the throne, and thus surround the throne." It's not likely that dusting around the throne is going to be one of our jobs in Heaven.

It has been estimated that there are at least 40,000 different occupation in the United States. Yet very few people are really satisfied with their jobs. Personnel problems, inadequate pay, and wearisome hours of routine tasks are some of the reasons for the dissatisfaction.

However, these problems will be behind us forever in heaven. Every one of us will find full satisfaction as we serve the Lord in the various occupations He has for us in glory. The precise areas of serving the Lord are not clearly spelled out in the Bible, but I think we can rest assured that God will have a job designed for each of us.

Of this, we can be sure: Heaven won't be boring and it will be more fun than any activity you have been a part of here.

3. Supervising (Reigning)

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were to rule over the creation God had made. In the same way, God's people will reign forever over the new heaven and new earth.

Matthew 25:21 NKJV

21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

Again, there are no specifics of how this will be carried out. We will have to wait until we get to heaven to get the specific job description.

Revelation 22:5 NKJV

5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

To reign means that we will be given authority over other beings and things. It could also included some territory. One of the jobs of eternity will be the job of leadership, which would probably include some administration and decision making.

Just what form the authority given to believers is not fully stated. We will be the undisputed, unthreatened rulers of something who will lovingly understand and administer the subjects committed to our trust.

4. Studying / Learning

1 Corinthians 13:12 NKJV

12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

This verse tells us that our minds will be much more powerful than they are here. We are not, however, omniscient - only God is. Therefore we will not know everything in Heaven. But we will have a nearly limitless capacity to learn. Eternity will be a time for every person to learn things they didn't have the ability to know here.

When the human race sinned, a curtain was lowered, which has caused us to "see through a glass dimly." But, in Heaven, that curtain will be lifted. "I shall know even as I am fully known."

One of the great joys of Heaven will be that of taking all the time necessary to unravel all the mysteries about God, about man, and about the universe.

I have always liked music. I grew up in a family of 7 where each of us played several instruments. But there are many things about music I would still like to learn and know. Before I retired from Boeing, I had a number of things planned to do after I retired. One was to take piano lessons. I guess I never dreamed my schedule would be as packed as it is right now.

Maybe that is something I will learn in Heaven. Didn't Jesus say that He would give us the desires of our heart. God has given us more dreams and aspirations than we can fill in one small lifetime. We were made for eternity. I still have so much I want to learn about the fullness of the truth of the Word of God. I expect that to happen in heaven.

Poets, artists and musicians will get the opportunity to express truth with a beauty and freedom never known on earth. Every aspiration that God has planted in the hearts of men and women will motivate them throughout eternity.

Have you ever had a hankering to know more about astronomy. Telescope have made it possible to see some of the great galaxies of the universe. I believe that when we are in Heaven, we will have the opportunity to visit them all. Yes, Heaven will be a time of learning far more than we ever could here on earth.

5. Fellowshipping (Sharing)

Everyone whose name is in the Lamb's book of life will be in Heaven. We will have all eternity to get to know them all. This fellowship will, of course, include Jesus.

Revelation 21:3 NKJV

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Just think about relaxing around the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to gather with Christ at the marriage supper. We will be there with a myriad of angels, and an innumerable number of members of the church of the first born and with God. This all suggests limitless opportunities for fellowship.

I pulled out my copy of the great classic, PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, written by John Bunyan. It is a story of one person's travels, including some detours, on his way to the Celestial City. The main character's name is Christian. Christian is asked why he has such a strong desire to go to heaven. He responds,...

"Why, there I hope to see him alive, that did hang dead on the Cross; and there I hope to be rid of all those things that to this day are in me an annoyance to me; there they say there is no death, and there I shall dwell with such company as I like best."

Christian desired to go to heaven to be with Christ and enjoy the company of fellow believers.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a member of a perfect church? We will never find such a church on earth, but we will find such a church in heaven. The fellowship in heaven will be sweet first with our precious Lord, as we share intimate communion with Him and then with one another.

Matthew 8:11 (NIV)

11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus pictures the righteous as reclining at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

If you were to make up a list of the people you would want at your table at the great banquet in Heaven, most of us undoubtedly would put Jesus at the top of the list. Heaven means enjoying the eternal company of the greatest and best people who ever lived.

Imagine the conversations. If you relish stimulating conversation being around truly good and wonderful people, hearing exciting and intriguing stories, then you will enjoy heaven.

Just imagine hearing every detail of what happened in Egypt and the wilderness, from Moses himself. How about learning the entire life of Adam and Eve. And what about learning the Hebrew music that was set to the songs of David.

1 Kings 4:32 says that Solomon wrong 1,005 songs. Are you intrigued to know what they sound like.

The last verse of the gospel of John - John 21:25 - says:

25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

I would like to learn of all the things Jesus did that were not mentioned in the Bible.

The writer of the book of Hebrews lists, in chapter 11, a number of people that are going to be in Heaven. They give us a good look at the kind of people we are going to fellowship with in Heaven. Hebrews 11:38 tells us they were people "of whom the world was not worthy."

Conclusion

Let's review what the Bible specifically says we will be doing in Heaven. We will be:

o Singing & worshiping

o Serving

o Supervising / Reigning

o Studying and Learning

o Sharing & Fellowshipping

We may do most of these on earth in this life, but there will be a difference when we do them in Heaven.

o We will worship without distraction.

o We will give service without exhaustion

o We will reign without failure.

o We will learn without weariness.

o We will fellowship without suspicion.

And I might add: We will rest without boredom.

Earlier in our study of what we will do in heaven, we saw that we will serve the Lord.

It may surprise you to learn that the Scriptures contains no mention of believers serving each other in Heaven.

Earlier, when talking about our sharing and fellowshipping with each other, I mentioned Matthew 8:11, where we will recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Have you ever wondered who is doing the serving at this feast?

Luke 12:37 gives us the answer. It says that when He comes back for us, He "will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them."

Now think about this. Jesus, as the perfect Bridegroom, will wait on his beloved bride. And He will meet our needs forever.

Last Updated: Wednesday September 07 2011
©2001 John's Notes