From His Heart

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Are you excited about inheriting heaven or at least curious about what to expect? Here's Pastor Jeff Shreve.

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Christians have wondered, what is heaven going to be like? What do we do in heaven?

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Our minds just race with questions about heaven. God tells us about heaven. Now, he doesn't give us all the specifics about heaven, but he tells us enough to get us so excited about this place.

There is treasure, there is blessing, there is hope that you always bring love. He can heal every scar. So real, true.

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Just about every Christian, or even non-Christians, wonder what heaven is going to be like. And though God doesn't give us all the specifics about heaven, He does tell us enough to get us excited about this destination. But in truth, it's not a destination for everyone.

Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, who'll explain that inheriting heaven is not a given. He'll share three characteristics of our eternal home in heaven, characteristics that'll be frankly indescribable. The message today is the last from Pastor Jeff's four-lesson series, Forever and Ever: the Reality of Eternal Heaven and Eternal Hell. We have been airing it this month, and we have part one today and part two on Wednesday.

Now, to listen to the other three messages from the series we've already aired, we invite you to go to fromhisheart.org and click on the listen link. But first, open your Bible to the book of Revelation, chapter 21. Here's Pastor Jeff to begin explaining the peace that comes when you know that you are inheriting heaven.

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Now remember, in the book of Revelation, it's not the revelation of John; it's the revelation of Jesus Christ that was given to John, the unveiling of Jesus Christ to John. And it goes in stages, right? The things you see, the things that are, and the things that will take place after these things. And so John goes through what is going to happen, and it comes about in stages.

I believe in Revelation chapter 4 we see the rapture of the church, where John says, "I heard a voice speaking to me like the sound of a trumpet that said, 'Come up here.'" And immediately he was caught up in the Spirit, and he's in the presence of God, seeing the worship of God. You have that in chapters four and five. Then in chapter six, we have the beginning of the tribulation period, that seven-year period of destruction, with God's wrath being poured out upon the earth.

You have the rise of the Antichrist as he breaks the first seal. There are seals of wrath, trumpets of wrath, and bowls of wrath. There's no church in Revelation chapter 6 until Revelation chapter 19, when the church reappears with the Lord as he comes back. He comes back in Revelation 19 at the battle of Armageddon, doing battle with the Antichrist and his forces. He destroys them with the sharp sword that goes out of his mouth; he speaks a word and speaks them into oblivion. He takes the beast and the false prophet and casts them alive into the lake of fire.

Then he has his angel bind up Satan with a chain and puts him in the abyss. For a thousand years, the Lord rules on earth, in the millennial kingdom, the reign of Christ on the earth, as he rules from Jerusalem. At the end of the thousand years, he lets the devil loose, as it says in Revelation chapter 20. The devil gathers the rebels in the Lord's kingdom—those who faked like they were followers of Jesus. He gathers them like the sand of the seashore, and they come up against the holy city, against God's people. Fire comes down from heaven and destroys them all.

Then you have the final, final judgment, the great white throne judgment. Everyone at that judgment goes to hell; they are all unbelievers, and they go to the lake of fire. Revelation 21 and 22 describe the eternal state, telling us about eternity. Time is no more. At the beginning of Revelation chapter 21, John says, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea."

He continues, "And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he shall dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be among them. And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. And there shall no longer be any death, there shall no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away.' And he who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' And he said, 'Write, for these words are faithful and true.' And he said to me, 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things. And I will be his God, and he will be my son.'"

Such a great passage of scripture! So what is in store for the child of God? As Christians, the scripture says we're going to inherit these things. What is in store? What is our eternal home going to be like? I want you to notice with me three characteristics of our eternal home in heaven with God.

Number one: Heaven is beyond our imagination. It's beyond our imagination. First Corinthians, chapter two, verse nine states, "What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has even entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him." Now John is going to describe heaven, but he's describing something that is indescribable. It's very difficult to describe.

You know, Paul was caught up to heaven in 2 Corinthians, chapter 12. He said, "I know a man 14 years ago. Whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know. God knows." This man was caught up into the third heaven, and he said, "I heard things that a man is not permitted to speak." Paul never talked about what he saw and what he heard; he said, "I heard words that are inexpressible. I can't talk about them."

Well, John talks about them, and he has trouble describing the indescribable. But here is what he tells us: he saw a new heaven and a new earth. Verse 1 states, "For the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there's no longer any sea." So the first thing we learn is that it is brand new—a new heaven and a new earth. It is brand new.

People are so concerned today. We have all these people saying, "Oh, the climate change! We're trying to protect the planet." We're so concerned about the planet, and we're so afraid that, as AOC says, in 12 years this planet is going to be no more.

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That was.

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She said that a couple of years ago. So 10 years, we're on the 10-year plan. And if we don't quit, you know, using cars and planes and all that stuff, that we're going to destroy the planet. There's a great Hebrew word for that: baloney. Okay? We're not in charge of the planet. God is. Now, we don't pollute the planet. We're not supposed to do that. But this planet is going to be around for as long as God wants it to be around.

And then God, you read Revelation, chapter 6 versus Revelation, chapter 19. See what God does to this planet? He brings destruction on this planet and then he throws the whole thing away. I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away. They died, so they're gone. And God makes it brand new. The word for new heaven and new earth is kainos. That means new in quality. The Lord says in verse five, "Behold, I am making all things new." All things kainos. It's gonna be new in quality. It's not gonna be like anything that you and I know because it's brand new.

John says this. He gives us a kind of an inkling of the fact that it's different from anything we know. And there's no longer any sea. Now, you remember this: John is on the island of Patmos. He's exiled on the island of Patmos. The island of Patmos is about 13, 14 square miles. It's not very big. And all he sees is the Aegean Sea. He's separated from his loved ones because he's exiled there. So he says the new heaven and the new earth doesn't have seas; it’s totally different.

The seas in our world today cover over 70% of the surface of the earth. Over 70% of the surface of the earth is covered by water. But in this new heaven and new earth, you don't have that. It's not a water-based world. And so it is different than what it was. God makes it new. Now, don't get the idea that this is just some massive makeover—an extreme makeover with Chip and Joanna Gaines helping God. It's not like that at all. He makes it brand new. The old things are gone. This is a new heaven and a new earth. It is brand new, and it is God's greatest masterpiece: the new heaven and the new earth.

And the crown jewel of the new heaven and the new earth is the Holy City, New Jerusalem, verse 2. "And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband." That's the capital city that comes down out of that third heaven to this new earth and heaven that God makes. The capital city is the new Jerusalem. And it is some kind of city. I mean, it's an amazing place. And the scripture says that.

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It’s made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. Now, John 14, where Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you." That's the place. That's the place. The capital city of the new heaven and the new Earth, new Jerusalem. He's preparing that place. That's the place that comes down. And the Bible tells us that's the place that has streets of gold, that has gates of pearl, that has walls around it that is 1500 miles in length, in width, and in height. It is some kind of place. It is prepared as a bride adorns herself for her husband.

Now, I've done enough weddings, and with three daughters that have all been married, I know about brides getting ready for their wedding day and for the event. You know, that's a big deal for a bride. And so, you know, I've done these weddings, and they're talking about at the rehearsal dinner, "Well, what time should we be here tomorrow?" It's Friday night. You know, weddings at 2 on Saturday. What time should we be here tomorrow? Well, everybody needs to get here at eight. Good night. Eight o'clock. You do at eight. Get ready. It takes a bride a long time to get ready. Why? Because she is gonna pull out all the stops and look as beautiful as she can possibly look on her wedding day.

So from 8 to 2, 8 AM to 2 PM, what's she doing? She's working on looking good. She's gonna pull out all the stops. What does God do? He pulls out all the stops on the new heaven and the new Earth. And especially the crown jewel of heaven is the Holy City, New Jerusalem. 1500 miles long and wide and tall. 1500 miles is basically half the size in surface area of the United States, roughly. But then it also goes up 1500 miles. It is some kind of place. You can do the math and figure out what is the amount of space in the New Jerusalem.

Hey, if you had three miles, I read somewhere it says, you know, as far as the eye can see, when you're looking out just horizontally, you can see about three miles. So if as far as the eye can see in the New Jerusalem, you would have 500 floors in the New Jerusalem. And every floor is half the size and surface area of the United States of America. This is a big house. It's a big place. It's a big city. In my Father's house are many dwelling places. Well, I bet. So if it's fitting, 1500 miles in length, width, and height.

As the old song says, "It's a big, big house with lots and lots of rooms." And so that is the masterpiece of heaven where the Holy City is. And it's called the Holy City in verse two. But we could call it the Holy, Holy, Holy City. See, this New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven is holy. Holy.

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Now the Bible calls Jerusalem the Holy City. It's the city of the great king. There's something special about Jerusalem, and God led David to set up his kingdom there. Jerusalem was formerly known as Jebus because it was the site of the Jebusites. Nobody could seem to overthrow Jebus because of the way it was walled in. But David was able to overthrow Jebus, and he set that up as his kingdom, which became Jerusalem. God loves that place; it's the city of the great king.

However, this is New Jerusalem. Old Jerusalem was tainted with sin. The Lord says, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." The Lord left that house in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. During the tribulation period, the Antichrist is going to set himself up in the temple in Jerusalem and say, "No longer do you worship and have sacrifices to God. You worship me. I am God." This is called the abomination of desolation, as spoken of in Matthew chapter 24.

But now we have this New Jerusalem. It's holy because God is there, dedicated to God, and only the people who occupy the New Jerusalem are believers. They have been made holy by the blood of the Lamb, as stated in verse 27 of chapter 21. Nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. That's what John saw; it is beyond imagination.

The second characteristic is that Heaven is nothing like now. In terms of the physical characteristics of Heaven, yes, it's beyond imagination, and we have nothing to compare it to. But when we think of life on earth, Heaven is nothing like that. Look at what he says in verse 4: "He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall no longer be any death, mourning, crying, or pain. The first things have passed away." So how does John describe Heaven, the indescribable? He describes it by saying what's not there.

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The blessed exemptions and things that are taken out. Death and mourning and crying and pain. And he's going to wipe away every tear from our eyes. You mark it down in heaven. In the eternal state of heaven, there will never be one second of sorrow. Not one second of sorrow, not anything that would cause anyone tears.

Now I believe that at the judgment seat of Christ, there will be tears of regret. I believe that he does wipe away those tears at the judgment seat of Christ. But Revelation 21 and 22 is talking about the eternal state. That's not talking about the judgment seat of Christ, the Bema judgment. All that is past now; we're entering into eternity.

In the eternal state in heaven, there is no sorrow. None of those things that we have known before—death, mourning, crying, depression, and anxiety—are present. All those things are gone. Not a moment of sorrow, not a second of sorrow.

People ask the question, will we remember loved ones that didn't go to heaven? Someone has said there are three big surprises when you get to heaven. First, you will be surprised at who's there. Second, you will be surprised at who's not there. And then third, you will be surprised that you are there.

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You won't really be. You don't need to be surprised that you're there, because we can know that. We know that we're going to heaven. But what about people that didn't make it? They never trusted Christ. Loved ones that we prayed for, but they rejected Christ. Neighbors and friends and people we work with, we say, you know, are we gonna remember that? I don't know. I know this. We're not gonna have sorrow there. If we remembered that, it would be hard not to be sorrowful. But we're gonna have the mind of Christ and he knows everything. And the Lord is not sorrowful in heaven. And so however that shakes out, we can know this. There are not any tears in heaven. There's not any sorrow in heaven, not one second of sorrow.

And secondly, there will always be in heaven complete joy and satisfaction. Complete joy and satisfaction. We have new bodies that were given in heaven, glorified bodies, bodies like the Lord Jesus. For our citizenship, Paul says, is in heaven, from which we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory through the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself. We're going to have a body just like Jesus, a body indestructible. This perishable must put on imperishable. And this mortal must put on immortality. Then will come about the saying, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? There is no death in the eternal state. And we have bodies that cannot die. We will be able to experience joy like we've never experienced before. Before we'll be able to experience satisfaction like never before. And that's what heaven is. It is complete joy and satisfaction.

Look at verse six of chapter 21. And he said to me, it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega is the last. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. That is God's way of saying, you will be satisfied in heaven. Psalm 16, verse 11 says, in your presence, Lord, is fullness of joy, and in your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Some people say, well, you know, what are we going to do in heaven? Am I going to get bored in heaven? You're talking about forever and ever and ever and ever. They have this idea that somehow we become angels. You know. You ever hear that somebody says, well, you know, grandma died, now she's an angel? No, she's not. It doesn't say that we become angels if we know Christ. We're sons and daughters of the most high and we don't become an angel. Angels are heavenly servants and we are part of the family of God. We don't become angels, but we have this idea that we get wings and then we sit on a cloud, we have a little harp, and then we just play the harp for all eternity.

Well, it'd be fun to play the harp. Maybe not. Forever and ever and ever and ever, all you do is play the harp. That's not what it is. It is going to be exciting in heaven. It is going to be so joyful in heaven. In his presence is fullness of joy. And in his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. And you will be satisfied beyond anything you've ever experienced before in your life. And it's not a satisfaction that wanes.

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You're listening to the message "Inheriting Heaven" from Pastor Jeff Shreve's four-lesson series "Forever and Ever," which explores the reality of eternal heaven and eternal hell. If you'd like a copy of this series on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an immediate MP3 download, go to fromisheart.org and click the Listen link or call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE).

When you reach out to us this month, we'd like to ask you to pray about making a generous year-end gift to From His Heart. This month is critical for this ministry as we plan what outreach we can accomplish next year. For your gift this month, we'd like to say thank you by sending you the brand new 365-day daily devotional book called "The Heart Is God's Home." It's gorgeous on the outside and so fulfilling on the inside, with daily encouragements, scriptures, and prayers to move your heart closer to God.

To get your copy of "The Heart Is God's Home," call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromisheart.org to make that gift and request the new beautiful devotional book. As we step into 2026, our 21st year of broadcasting, we pray that God will bless you richly for the difference you're making in His kingdom.

We also hope you'll visit our website each day, where you can hear a daily Real Hope minute from Pastor Jeff. You can sign up for the weekly Real Hope email encouragement letter that you'll receive every Friday morning in your inbox, and you can download an MP3 of any broadcast you may have missed. Plus, you can easily join Pastor Jeff on his social media channels for comment, commentary, and encouragement. The web address again is fromisheart.org.

Well, I'm Larry Nobles. Thank you so much for joining us today and for listening to From His Heart. We trust that you'll be back with us tomorrow when we'll again open God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from His Heart.

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From His Heart.

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From His Promise Heart is the listener-supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve, speaking the truth in love to a lost and hurting world.

Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out more when you go to promiseheart.org.