Transcript
During this time in God’s Word we’re going to be looking at the two eternal hopes held out in Scripture, the hope for the Body of Christ in heaven, and the hope for the nation Israel on the earth.
Charles Fuller once announced that he would be speaking the following Sunday on the subject of “Heaven.” During that week a letter was received from an elderly man who was very ill and near death. The following is part of his letter:
“Next Sunday you are to talk about heaven. I am interested in that place, because I have held a clear title to it for over 55 years. I did not buy it. It was given to me without money and without price, and without any effort on my part.
“But the Donor purchased it for me at tremendous sacrifice. I am not holding it for speculation since the title is not transferable. It is not a vacant lot. God sees me as already there. For more than half a century I have been sending things forward to it…
“No locks or bolts will ever be placed upon heaven’s doors for me…And it’s now almost time for me to enter into it and abide in peace eternally, without fear of ever being ejected.
“I cannot reach my home without passing through a valley of deep shadow, but I am not afraid because my Savior went through the same valley, long, long ago and drove away all its gloom.
“Since I came to trust Christ as my Savior 55 years ago, He has stuck by me thru thick and thin, and I hold His promise in printed form, never to forsake me or leave me. He will be with me as I walk through the valley of shadows, and He will bring me home.
“I hope to hear your sermon on heaven next Sunday from my home in California but I have no assurance that I shall be able to do so. My ticket to heaven has no date marked for the journey―no return coupon―and no permit for baggage.
“I am all ready to go, and I may not be here on earth while you are speaking next Sunday, but I shall meet you there in heaven some day.”
Our heavenly hope, and the assurance of it for believers, gives us stability, strength, assurance and comfort in life, like this man’s letter demonstrates.
Having trusted Christ and the gospel of salvation, that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again, we have a certain hope of heaven, and we can confidently say with Paul that “for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
But heaven in heaven above isn’t the only hope held out in God’s Word, a kingdom of heaven on earth is also a hope which is proclaimed, and there are many in the Church today who don’t know where they’re going: to heaven or the kingdom on earth.
As with so many topics and subjects in the Word, rightly dividing is the key.
Ephesians 1:10 says, “That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.”
We see by this verse that God has a distinct plan and purpose for both the heaven and the earth for eternity.
God’s program for the earth we identify as Prophecy, while God’s program for the heavenlies we identify as the Mystery.
Through God’s prophecy program He reveals how God has plans for people to reign on the earth for eternity, the nation Israel.
Through God’s mystery program He reveals how God has plans for people to reign in the heavenlies for eternity, the Body of Christ.
This heavenly part of God’s eternal purpose had been a secret in time past, hid in the mind of God, prior to revealing it first to Paul.
The theme for both of God’s programs is Jesus Christ. He is the focal point of all of God’s plans and purposes, and by Him all things will be fulfilled.
The theme of God’s prophetic program is Christ’s reign as King upon the earth in the future kingdom of heaven on earth. The theme of God’s mystery program is Christ’s reign in the heavenlies, the highly exalted Head of the Church, the Body of Christ.
In God’s Word, we need to rightly divide between God’s program for heaven, and His plan and program for the earth, because there are differences between them.
There are differences in the operation and the administration of God for heaven and for earth, and in the people who are the inhabitants of these two locations.
John 14:1-3 reads, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. 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 and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
These verses are used by many in Christendom to comfort and speak of a heavenly hope, and the mansions in heaven we will inherit one day. But these verses are spoken to Israel in light of an earthly, kingdom hope and calling.
When our Lord speaks of “my Father’s house,” it’s not speaking of heaven, but of the temple. Earlier in the book of John, in 2:15,16, we read, “And when [Jesus] had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, And said unto them, Take these things hence; make not MY FATHER’S HOUSE an house of merchandise.”
The Father’s House here in John 14 is speaking of the future house and temple of the millennial kingdom on earth, which was Israel’s hope.
The term “mansions,” literally means “dwellings, residence, or abode.” In John 14:23, the term “abode” is the exact same Greek word as “mansions” in verse 2.
But speaking of the millennial temple of Christ, “mansions” is a good translation, because that temple will be a glorious dwelling place, as it will be the dwelling place of the God of all glory, the Messiah-King of Israel, Jesus Christ.
In this future Millennial temple, there will be dwelling places in it prepared for the apostles to live in. Ezekiel was shown this and describes it in Ezekiel 40,41:
“Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, thirty chambers were upon the pavement, And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and there were windows in it,
“And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him, And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers.”
Their will be chambers and dwelling places throughout the Millennial Temple, for all manner of people, and some of those chambers will belong to the twelve apostles.
Our Lord told His disciples in Luke 22:29,30: “I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.”
Then in Matthew 19:28, He told them “in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
The twelve apostles in the kingdom on earth will have a place to live in the temple, they’ll eat at the Lord’s table, they’ll have a throne to sit on and a job to do, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. They will live and reign with Christ in the Temple.
Revelation 5:10 speaks of the hope of the nation Israel, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
The kingdom of heaven on earth with the Messiah as King ruling from David’s throne in Jerusalem is the great hope of the prophetic program and the apostles.
The Lord tells them “I go to prepare a place for you,” which speaks of Him going to the cross to die to pay for their sins and rise again, ascend back to the Father to as Luke 19:12 says “receive for Himself a kingdom, and to return,” bringing that kingdom to earth.
The Lord says, “I will come again,” not at the Rapture, but at His prophesied Second Coming, when He comes to destroy the Anti-Christ’s army at Armageddon, and to establish a glorious kingdom on earth. He “will” come and do this, just as He said.
And when He establishes that kingdom, as He tells His apostles here, He will, receive them unto Himself “that where I am, there ye may be also.” And “where I am” here speaks of in His temple, in His kingdom on earth.
Being with Christ is the greatest prospect about their hope in the kingdom of heaven on earth. And that’s true of our hope also in heaven.
And as Matthew 25:34 says of those entering the kingdom on earth, “Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
And so while we have a heavenly inheritance in heaven, the hope of the nation Israel is to inherit the earth, to inherit the kingdom prepared for them by their Messiah.
God has always loved the whole world. His plan and purpose in the past was that the nation which would come thru Abraham, would be a blessing to “all families of the earth,” Gen. 12 says, drawing the nations into the worship of the true and living God.
God promised Abraham that a great nation would come from Him, and promised him and his seed a great land, the promised land (Gen. 15:18).
Later, Israel entered into the covenant of the Law with God, and God promised that they would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex. 19:5,6).
Later still, God made a covenant with David, and promised a permanent kingdom in the promised land, and an everlasting throne, that David’s family line would permanently rule over Israel. The Lord told David in II Samuel 7:10,16,
“I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more…And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
These are key facts of prophecy, Israel promised a land, to be a great nation and a blessing to all the earth. They were to be a holy nation, and a kingdom of priests.
They were given a kingdom hope, permanently established in the Promised Land, with the rulership of that kingdom centered in David’s Seed, who is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah 23:5,6 says, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” (cf. Luke 1:33).
Psalm 37 also identifies and confirms the hope of the nation Israel. Psalm 37:9 says, “but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit THE EARTH.”
In v. 11, which is what Christ taught also and held out as the hope for Israel in Matt. 5:5 in the Sermon on the Mount, Psalm 37:11 says “the meek shall inherit THE EARTH.”
Verse 11 goes on to say that the meek will “delight themselves in the abundance of peace,” because when Christ, the Prince of Peace reigns on the earth, there will be “abundance of peace,” and He will establish a kingdom of peace on the earth, which will perpetuate peace throughout the whole world.
Psalm 37:22 says, “For such as be blessed of Him shall inherit THE EARTH.” Israel’s great hope and rich blessing by God is an earthly inheritance and kingdom.
In verses 29 and 34, it speaks of Israel’s hope of dwelling and inheriting “the land,” the promised land. Psa. 37:29 says, “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.” And verse 34 says of Israel, “He shall exalt thee to inherit the land.”
The kingdom on the earth will go on forever and ever, and Israel’s everlasting hope and joy is to dwell on the earth. And their exaltation is to be exalted with Christ on the earth, in His kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom will be established on the earth, and extend to all the earth. Christ will bring the entire world under His sovereign rule, ruling from David’s throne in Jerusalem and: “The Lord shall be King over all the earth” says Zechariah 14:9.
In contrast to this, Philippians 3:20 says, “For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
This book of joy, Philippians, tells us of so many places we find joy, and gives so many reasons why we have joy in Christ. And Paul shows how having a heavenly home and an eternal citizenship there is true cause for joy in our lives.
While the theme of prophecy is Christ’s reign on earth and Israel’s exaltation with Him in His earthly kingdom, the mystery program’s theme is Christ’s reign in heaven, and the Body of Christ’s exaltation with Him in the heavenlies.
After Israel had rejected her Messiah, God’s Son, and then continued in her rebellion by rejecting the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, God temporarily suspended His prophecy program, set Israel aside in unbelief, and ushered in a new program, called the Mystery, or the dispensation of the grace of God.
And under this parenthetical time, God is holding out a heavenly hope to those who trust His Son and His finished work for their salvation.
Paul’s epistles point us heavenward for our hope, and all those who are members of the Church, the Body of Christ. From Paul to the present, all the redeemed of God in this program have a heavenly hope.
Colossians 1:5 says, “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel” (Col. 1:5).
The Bible holds out two locations for the eternal homes and hopes for God’s people, one is for the nation Israel, and one is the for the Church, the Body of Christ.
When we turn to the letters of the Apostle Paul, we learn of a new hope in a new location for the church today.
Paul doesn’t say the hope which is down here in the kingdom on earth, but up for you in heaven. Our hope isn’t earthly; it isn’t to dwell in chambers or mansions in the earthly temple, or to rule and reign with Christ on earth.
The hope and destiny for all those who trust the gospel of grace in the dispensation of the grace of God is heaven, in heaven. Our hope and eternal home is heaven.
Thus we see in Paul’s epistles how Paul says the sphere of our spiritual blessings in Christ is in heaven! Ephesians 1:3 says, “[God] hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
Our exalted position in Christ is in heaven. Ephesians 2:6 says that God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Today under grace, our position in Christ is based on His position.
Christ is seated in the heavenlies, and positionally we are seated in the heavenlies in Him, and someday we will be experientially seated in the heavenlies for eternity.
And Paul also says our citizenship is there. The word “conversation” here speaks of citizenship and this was surely something to which the Philippians could relate.
Philippi was a Roman colony, and its citizens were Roman citizens. This citizenship gave them stability and security under Roman law and was of great value. The Philippians were citizens of Rome, though they lived outside of and far from Rome.
Though we are outside and far from heaven, we are citizens of it right now, and this is of infinite value to us, and gives us great stability and security in life.
D. Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote that having trusted Christ “We have a new citizenship, we are in Christ, and because we are in Christ, we are seated in the heavenly places with Him.
“Our citizenship is as definite now as it will be when we arrive in heaven. There will be a physical translation at the Rapture, but spiritually and positionally we are there already, we belong there.”
2 Corinthians 5:1 says, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS.”
Paul says, “if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,” speaking of our earthly bodies being dissolved at our physical death.
But Paul draws a stark contrast between our earthly tent bodies now and our future heavenly eternal bodies “a building of God, an house not made with hands,” which we will be fitted with and dwell in for eternity, when they are changed at the Rapture.
Notice where we’ll dwell eternally in these bodies: “eternal in the heavens.” We have a permanent place in heaven. In our eternal bodies, we’ll dwell eternally in heaven.
2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
Verse 20 tells us that each of us in the Body of Christ are “ambassadors for Christ.” The fact that we are called ambassadors by God teaches us that this earth is not our home.
Pastor Tony Evans says this, “America has ambassadors. Ambassadors are in a foreign land that is not their own. They temporarily spend time in a foreign land away from home.
“Ambassadors have to learn the language and learn the customs, but they’re never to belong there. They are just to live there in order to carry out their commission. In order to carry it out, they’ve got to live there.
“In order to carry it out, they’ve got to talk the language. To carry it out, they’ve got to function in the context of the people, but they are to never forget it’s not where they belong. The Bible says your citizenship is in heaven.
“What good is an ambassador who doesn’t represent the homeland? The problem is that today we’ve got a generation of ambassadors who like the foreign country. In fact, they have fallen in love with the foreign country.”
Being “ambassadors for Christ” implies that we don’t belong here, that the earth is not our home or our hope. An ambassador represents one country to another location. If we’re ambassadors for Christ on the earth, it means that we’re not citizens here. The Word says our citizenship is in heaven. Our home is heaven.
We are Christ’s ambassadors, temporarily taking up residence here, representing Him and heaven to this world, carrying out our commission of reconciliation that He has given us. And when our work here is done, we’re going home.
We are only temporarily in this world. This world is not our home, and our lives should reflect this. We are just pilgrims passing through. We who have trusted Christ as Savior are on our journey home.
As we pass through this life as heaven-bound travelers, we can do so with joy and faith knowing that we share heaven’s glory and honor, our citizenship is there, our names are recorded in heaven (4:3), our fellow Body members are there, our inheritance is there, our riches are in heaven, our Savior is in heaven, and one day our faith will be sight.
Philippians 1:23 says, “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.”
One author once wrote, “My family and I have lived in the same house for 17 years. We’ve lived there more than twice as long as I have lived at any other address in my entire life. I’ll sometimes refer to it as ‘our house,’ but more often I refer to it as ‘home.’
“What makes it home isn’t the address or the lot or the garage or the architecture. What makes it home is the people, what makes home home is the people in the relationships.
“And what makes heaven heaven is not streets of gold…and no smog. What makes heaven heaven is Christ. It is being there with Him. With His presence comes peace and [joy]…We can anxiously anticipate this future in the presence of Christ.”
Paul says that to be with Christ isn’t just better, but better by very far is the idea. To Paul going to heaven to be with Christ is better by far than staying on earth. There was no question as to what was the superior and preferable choice to Paul.
The true story is told of a soldier who was terribly wounded in battle. The Doctor told him he needed surgery but his chances of survival were only one in a hundred.
“What would you like for me to do?” the doctor asked him. He replied calmly, “Go ahead with it Doctor.”
Later after the soldier fully recovered, the doctor asked him how he could face the situation with such calmness, and confidence.
The soldier told him, “I knew whichever way it went that there would be a welcome for me. If I lived I knew my Mom would be here to welcome me and if I died that Christ would welcome me home!”
And that’s how we can live our lives with the calm assurance that we have a welcome waiting for us which is beyond imagination. That we can live with confidence and faith in light of eternity, for Christ, for others, knowing we’re on our way home.