Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's Word through the most effective media available, like this podcast.

To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm.

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Glad to study God's Word with you every day.

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This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

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Right now, Jesus is constructing a place that is perfectly designed just for you.

C.S. Lewis said this place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone because you were made for it. Made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and doctor Robert Jeffress. Some call it heaven, others call it Elysium, Nirvana, or the Great Beyond. Essentially, they're all attempts at answering the same question: where do our minds, bodies, or spirits go when this life is over?

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explores whether heaven is a real place or simply a state of mind. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.

Speaker 2

Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Over the years, I've discovered that people tend to have bizarre ideas about our eternal destiny. At Pathway to Victory, we've prepared an exclusive brochure that provides a clear explanation of biblical teaching about our eternal home and how to get there. It also compares our Christian beliefs to other major world religions such as Jehovah's Witness, Mormonism, and Judaism. I'd like to send a complimentary copy of this resource to you today. It's called "What Seven World Religions Teach About Heaven," and you can request a copy right now by going to ptv.org.

In addition to the brochure, I'd also like to send you the thoughtful book I've written for you. It's called "Encouragement from a Place Called Heaven," and I'll give you more details later in the program. But first, I'm eager to invite you to join us for the vacation of a lifetime. I'm referring to the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska, June 13-20. Alaska's pristine wilderness showcases the Lord's incredible artistry through towering glaciers, majestic wildlife, and breathtaking coastal beauty. This isn't just any vacation; it's a thoughtfully designed Christian journey where believers can travel together while experiencing one of God's finest masterpieces. So check out all the details at ptv.org.

Okay, let's turn our attention to the subject at hand. Some believe that heaven is little more than a state of mind. So during today's program, we're answering the question: Is heaven a real place?

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If you have your bibles today, I want you to turn to John 14. John 14. As we answer this question in our series, "A Place Called Heaven": Is heaven a real place or simply a state of mind? Now, the setting for John 14 is key to understanding this chapter. Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples. Within just a few hours, Jesus will be betrayed. In Gethsemane, Jesus said he was going to the Father's house and he would come again to take his followers to be with him.

Look at verse one: "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. 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." Now, in these three verses, there are three key words that help us answer the question of whether heaven is a real place or simply a state of mind.

First of all, the significance of the Greek word "tapos," translated "place." The second word that's significant in this passage is the Greek word "moni," which is translated "dwelling places." And then thirdly, the significance of the word "prepare." "I go to prepare a place for you." Where is Jesus right now? He is in heaven, preparing our future home, that place called heaven. That ought to answer the question forever: Is heaven a real place or simply a state of mind?

Of course, that raises the question, well, where is this place called heaven? Have you ever wondered that? To answer that question, it is important to distinguish between the present heaven and the future heaven. In scripture, the Bible says there are three different heavens that exist right now. The first heaven is the earth's atmosphere. The second heaven is outer space. But the third heaven is the abode of God. It is where God is. However, that place we go to, the abode of God, is only our temporary destination. We are not going to spend eternity up there.

The fact is, there is a present heaven right now, but there is also a future heaven that is under construction, and it is going to reside on a newly created earth. John says, "And I saw a new heaven." That is what God is working on right now. "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." And I saw the holy city, that is the new Jerusalem. That's what Jesus is working on now, coming down out of heaven. That's out of the current heaven. "I saw it coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband."

So we have the present heaven that includes the abode of God. But there is a future heaven, and that will come out of the present heaven and will reside on a newly created earth. Now let's look at some characteristics of our future permanent home, this place called heaven. First of all, it will be new. It will be new. Look at verse one of Revelation 21: "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."

Peter repeats that truth in 2 Peter 3:7: "But the present heavens and earth, by his word, are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat. Do you see the repetition? The first heaven and the first earth are going to be destroyed not by water like it was during Noah's day, but with fire.

I don't know how it's going to happen, but what God says is everything we see around us, the first heaven and the first earth, this earth will be completely destroyed before there can be a new heaven and a new earth. Why is it necessary to destroy everything that we now see? One word: Sin. The reason you and I need new bodies is that our current bodies are laced with sin. They're infected with sin. That's why we're going to receive a new resurrection body that is free from sin.

But not only do our bodies need to be rid of the sin virus, Romans 5:12 tells us that all of creation labors under sin. Sin has an effect on all creation. It has infected the ground. This is why you have thorns and bristles. It infects every physical law there is. For example, let's say you take a 1955 classic Corvette, you set it out in your backyard, and you do nothing to it. What's going to happen to that classic car? After a few years, it's going to turn into a rust bucket, isn't it? Under no circumstances will that 1955 Corvette evolve into a 2016 Lamborghini. It's just not going to happen.

It's not going to turn into a better car and a better model. And it is certainly never going to evolve into a 777 jetliner. It's just not going to happen. Even though you've got the building blocks there for it, it will not evolve because the world is not evolving into something better. Ever since sin entered the world, the world is devolving toward chaos. And it is this judgment, the destruction of everything by fire, that is the only way to rid the world of sin. That's why it's necessary.

And by the way, it fulfills the promise of Isaiah 65:17: "For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind." The second characteristic of this new heaven that comes to earth is that it will be physical in nature. It's an actual place. You know, you and I inhabit physical bodies. In this new heaven and earth, we will still have physical bodies. There will be new bodies, but they will be physical. And because we have physical bodies, we need a physical location in which to dwell.

Number three, this new heaven will be familiar to us. This new heaven on the new earth will be familiar. You know, I have found that a lot of Christians, if you inject them with truth serum, are not real excited about the idea of going to heaven. They're not excited about floating around up there in nothingness in some undisclosed location. I mean, you don't get excited a lot of times about knowing that you're going to move from someplace that's very familiar and comfortable to an unknown city or an unknown country where you know no one and nothing is familiar.

But the fact is, that's not going to be what heaven is like. It's going to be very familiar to us. Heaven, the new heaven and earth, is going to be something we are vastly familiar with. And indeed, every tear will be removed. John said in Revelation 21:4, "And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall no longer be any death. There shall no longer be any mourning or crying or pain, for the first things will have passed away."

Number four, the new heaven will have no oceans. Again, chapter 21, verse 1 says, "I saw the new heaven and the new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea." Did you know the oceans occupy about 71% of the surface of the earth? Some have speculated there will be no oceans so that there will be room for everybody to dwell in on this new earth that God has created. Other people have said that because of the high salt content in oceans, which is necessary for the preservation of life, we have to have salt today. Since there won't be any sin disease, there will be no need for that preservative.

That's only speculation, but there won't be any oceans. That doesn't mean there won't be water, as we'll see in a moment, but no oceans. Next, the Bible says the new heaven will have no sun or moon. Look at verse 23: "And the city, the new Jerusalem, has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb." No sun, no moon, because the brightness of Jesus will illuminate everything. Again, that's a fulfillment of Isaiah 60, verse 19: "No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light. But you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory."

Next, the new heaven will be free from any sin. No oceans, no darkness. And you know what else will be missing from the earth? Not only will it have no oceans and darkness, but there will be no preachers in it either. Well, let me rephrase that. We'll be there, but we're going to have to find some new work. There will be no need for preaching in the new heaven and new earth. Think about what a preacher of the Word is supposed to do. He's supposed to condemn sin and proclaim the gospel. Neither function will be necessary in heaven.

First of all, there will be no sin. Revelation 22:3 states, "And there shall no longer be any curse. And the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and his bondservants shall serve him." Everyone will know the Lord, and not only that, Habakkuk 2:4 says, "The whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea."

The next characterization of the new earth is that it will have a capital city called the New Jerusalem. It is interesting that even in the Old Testament, the focus on heaven is actually a focus on a new city, the city of my God. According to Revelation 3:12, Abraham was looking not just for some nondescript land; he was looking for a city. Hebrews 11:10 says, "For he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." We see that again in Revelation 21:2 and 10: "And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband."

Then look at verse 10: "And he, the angel, carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." This is the construction project Jesus is working on right now, the New Jerusalem. Now, I want you to stay with me because to me, this is just fascinating, what the Bible tells us about this city that's going to be our eternal dwelling place.

First of all, the Bible talks about the size of the New Jerusalem. Look at verse 16: "And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as its width. And he measured the city with the rod, 1500 miles. Its length and width and height are equal." Now, if you take the length and the width of 1500 miles, you come up with 2.25 million square miles. But that's not the end of the story, because not only is it just a square, it's a cube. Did you see in verse 16 that there is a height to the city? The height is also 1500 miles. You know how many stories that is? 660,000 stories. That is one big city.

You might say, "Well, surely he's speaking figuratively. That can't be literal, can it?" Look at verse 17: "And he measured the wall of the city." The wall of the city around the city is 72 yards. That's how thick this wall is. That is 3/4 the length of a football field. That's how thick the wall around the city is. There's going to be one giant wall around Jerusalem. And who's going to pay for the wall? God is. That's the best part of it. Isn't that great? He's going to pay for it. It's going to be a massive wall.

But you say, "Oh, that has to be just figurative, doesn't it?" Look at this: "72 yards according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements." Isn't that interesting? He threw that in there, lest you think I'm just speaking in preacher talk or hyperbole. This is real. He says the same measurements that humans use are what angels are using as well. One theologian, Ron Rhodes, describes the bigness of this city this way: "One mathematician calculated that if the New Jerusalem is shaped like a cube, it would have enough room for 20 billion residents. If each individual residence had a massive 75 acres, there would also be plenty of room left for parks and streets and other features that you would likely see in any major city." It's going to be big.

Notice also there's a word about the gates of the city in verses 12 and 13: "And it had a great and high wall with 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels. And the names were written on them, which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west." Now, in ancient civilizations, the gates of a city would be locked at night in order to protect the citizens who were asleep. But look at verses 25 and 27: "In the daytime, there will be no night there. Its gates will never be closed, and 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."

These gates will never be locked. You know, today we lock gates, don't we? If you live in a gated community, the gates are locked. Not in the new Jerusalem. There will be no need to lock your homes. There will be no need to close the windows. You can even leave your keys in the car without any repercussions at all. Why? Because evil will be done away with. There will not only be no need for pastors, but there will be no need for policemen. My brother's going to have to get a new job in the new Jerusalem because there will be no evil to police.

Thirdly, the permanence of the city. The permanence. Look at verse 14: "And the wall of the city had 12 foundation stones, and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb." This probably only means something to those of you who've had to move a lot in your life. Maybe you were a military family, a missionary or pastor's child, or your work caused you to have to move and move and move. That will come to an end.

And notice the splendor of the city. The splendor. It is going to be more beautiful than anything you can imagine, even more than the imaginary Emerald City in "The Wizard of Oz." Look at verses 10 to 11: "And the Holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear Jasper." And then chapter 22, verse 1: "And the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb."

There's going to be this gushing fresh water coming from the throne. In verse 2, "And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations." Remember the last time we saw the Tree of Life? It was in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, God banished them from the garden so that they would not eat from the Tree of Life. For had they eaten of the Tree of Life after their fall, they would have remained permanently fallen. They could have never inherited the new body that God had prepared for them.

But now this Tree of Life appears, and it's seen on either side, spanning this massive river coming from the throne of God. It says that the leaves were for the healing of the nations. I don't pretend to understand what that means, but what he's saying to us is there's no sickness in the new heaven and new earth. Everybody is going to be permanently healed. Now think about it: no hospitals, no emergency rooms, no doctors. Doctors in the house, you're going to have to find a new profession as well. A lot of people think no police, no lawyers, no preachers, no doctors.

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That is heavy.

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Really, when you think about it, there won't be any need for that at all. And you know what else is going to be missing from the new Jerusalem? Verse 22 says, there will no longer be a temple. No temple in the present Jerusalem. When you go to Jerusalem, the focal point is the site of the Old Temple. The old Temple was the center of Jerusalem.

But there will not be a temple in the New Jerusalem because God, the Almighty and the Lamb of God will be the temple. And it is in God's presence that you and I will live, will worship, will work and play for all eternity. Jesus said, "I am going right now to prepare a place for you." Right now, Jesus is constructing a place that is perfectly designed just for you.

C.S. Lewis said it: this place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone because you were made for it. Made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand. You know, there's a contemporary Christian song that says, "I can only imagine." The truth is that place Jesus is preparing for you right now, that place called heaven, is beyond your wildest imagination.

Speaker 2

Beyond our wildest imagination. God is preparing a place in heaven right now for those who follow him. Such an encouraging promise from God's Word today.

Well, we're just a few days into our series called A Place Called Heaven, and already we're receiving lots of requests for the book I've written. Let me encourage you to get your padded hardcover copy today. The title of my book is Encouragement from A Place Called Heaven. Make no mistake, Heaven is a real place, but here on Earth, people are losing hope and life is hard. I've found there's no better cure to these problems than basking in the reality of Heaven. Ask for a copy of Encouragement from A Place Called Heaven either for yourself or someone you love. It comes with my thanks when you give a generous gift to support Pathway to Victory.

In addition to receiving the book, I'm also going to include the helpful brochure I mentioned earlier called What Seven World Religions Teach About Heaven.

In closing, let me mention how much I appreciate those who step forward and invest financially in this ministry. Pathway to Victory has been through another season of wonderful growth, using every platform to reach people with bold and biblical teaching, including radio, television, the Internet, our mobile app, and more. Our growth is directly linked to the generosity of friends like you, including our pathway partners and all those who give generous one-time gifts.

Keep up the good work, and I look forward to hearing from you today. Here's David with all the details.

Speaker 1

Today, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'll say thanks by sending you a copy of the book from Dr. Jeffress, *Encouragement from a Place Called Heaven*. Just call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org to give. By text, simply send PTV to 78800, and when you give $75 or more, you'll also receive the *A Place Called Heaven* teaching series on CD and DVD, along with a copy of the original bestselling book by Dr. Jeffress, *A Place Called Heaven*.

To request the complete package of resources, it's easy. Call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. You could also write to us at P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins. Join us again Wednesday when Dr. Jeffress answers the question, "Have some people already visited Heaven?" here on Pathway to Victory. *Pathway to Victory* with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.

You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org/donate or you can follow the link in our show notes.

We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Oh, and one last thing before we go. Have you reserved your spot yet for the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska? You've been hearing me and Dr. Jeffress mention it, so what are you waiting for? Just picture yourself on the deck of Holland America's elegant Koningsdam and stepping out on deck to witness nature's grandeur. It's beautiful. These moments in God's creation will deepen your faith in powerful ways. It really will!

Experience five-star dining, luxurious staterooms, and visit iconic ports like Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. We're also bringing along our own Christian entertainment. You'll love it! Seats are filling up, so book your spot today at ptv.org.