Section 6: Salvation — Part 1
Week 1: What Is Salvation?
Day 3: We Are Saved to More than Heaven
Rev. 20:11-21:5
Take a moment to imagine what heaven is like. It’s a pretty cool place, right? Each of us may have a different image that comes to mind, but we all probably think of it as a place full peace, joy, love, and happiness. If it’s good, it’s in heaven. And that’s our ultimate hope as Christians isn’t it? To spend eternity with God in heaven. Well… actually it’s not. We noted yesterday that we are saved from more than hell. Just as we are saved from more than hell, we are saved to something more than heaven – at least to the extent we think of heaven as a far-off place where we go when we die.
Take a look at Revelation 21:1-4:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
God created this world and intended to dwell among us here. Sin, unfortunately, corrupted everything in this world, but God intends to set things right and restore his creation. When that happens, God’s will once again intimately dwell among his people. That’s why the book of Revelation pictures heaven coming down. Heaven and earth will be one. Our ultimate hope, therefore, is not to go to heaven so we can be with God, but for heaven to come here so he can be with us.
Challenge:
Reread Revelation 21:1-4 several times slowly.
Reflection Questions:
As you meditate on that passage, what jumps out at you? Have you ever pictured heaven coming down to you, rather than you going to heaven? In what ways do you experience the “heaven” of God’s presence right now?
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