The Promise of Heaven

All Saints Sunday

November 2, 1997

Revelation 21:1-6 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven of God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: 4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away. 5 And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true. 6 And he said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

John 11:32-44 32 Mary therefore, when she came where Jesus was, and saw him, fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, 34 and said, Where have ye laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see.

35 Jesus wept.

36 The Jews therefore said, Behold how he loved him! 37 But some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him that was blind, have caused that this man also should not die? 38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus saith, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time the body decayeth; for he hath been dead four days. 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou believedst, thou shouldest see the glory of God? 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the multitude that standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou didst send me. 43 And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

MAYBE I WAS MORE SENSITIVE this year than before... but it seems to me that Halloween was more pagan and repulsive this year than ever before. Oh, don't think I'm against innocent fun: I have no problem with Beggars' Night and Masquerades— we've been doing that forever. But this year glorifying the macabre, and emphasizing ignorant statements about life after death, and especially emphases on witches and the occult have been, to my mind, in very poor taste to say the least. Most people have forgotten, if they ever knew, that day on the ancient church calendars which was the real cause for celebration. Hallowe'en means, of course, 'The Eve of All Hallow's Day,' or All Saints Day. All Saints and All Souls were days to especially remember that those who have died in the Lord are not lost and gone, but are very much alive.

It certainly is true that death and what lies beyond is a great mystery. But it seems to me that we could better celebrate Christ's promise of eternal life, and celebrate the one holy church that is made up of those here struggling on earth, and those victorious in the glory of heaven. All Saints is a time to celebrate the promise of eternal life— the promise Jesus gave us of heaven.

THE PROMISE OF HEAVEN IS GOD HIMSELF

When we think of heaven we think in terms of what we shall see, and what we shall do— the golden streets, the mansions Jesus has gone to prepare. And that is understandable. But first of all, heaven is eternal life, and that life is Jesus Christ Himself. "I AM the resurrection and the life!" His words.

The earnest (or guarantee) of heaven is the Presence here in this imperfect world. Certainly life here and now is filled with both pain and pleasure— a full mixture of good and evil. But heaven's reality is never far away, for we have an High Priest who knows and cares how we feel— who has said "I will never leave you." This is NOT heaven— we weep, we hurt, we suffer, we die. people fail us— we fail ourselves sometimes. Jesus feels and cares. Jesus stood and wept at the sorrow of Martha and Mary.

Heaven is where faith becomes sight, and there comes an unveiled beholding of the Presence. A hymn writer wrote:

"How happy are the saints above
Who once went sorr'ing here
For now they taste unmingled love
And joy without a tear."

THE PROMISE OF HEAVEN IS FELLOWSHIP WITH THE TRUTH

Death is our enemy, and when it comes there is separation and there is sadness. But for those who trust in God, death is a defeated enemy. In Jesus Christ death has been conquered. We face death with hope— and that makes all the difference. Far from the macabre or the occult, John's glimpse through the door left ajar into heaven in his Revelation sounds like this:

"The home of God is with mortals. He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his people, and God himself shall be with them; he will wipe
every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying
and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away . . . I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

Heaven will be a place of true fellowship. We will be 'for real,' there, and everyone we see and talk to will be 'for real' as well. No hidden agendas, no back-biting, no slander, no jealousy— no envy! How do I know this? Listen to these words from this same 21st Chapter:

But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and
fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,— their part shall be
in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.

There is a place of eternal separation from God and good. There is reason to view death and the hereafter with serious concern. It is not the subject for costumes and jokes. The perfect fellowship promised in heaven will be far different from the imperfect, flawed fellowship we know here. And what causes the most concern is the fact that I have lied! I may not fill all that list in personal testimony— but I certainly have been afraid! Have you ever lied? Have you ever been afraid to be all you knew God wanted you to be?

But then I think of Paul's words: "But such were some of you!" No, I would say, 'But such were ALL of us!" That is where God's great saving grace comes in! And that is where the witness of the Spirit becomes our promise of eternal life:

THE PROMISE OF HEAVEN IS COMMUNION BEGUN BELOW

Prayer