Heaven 1
There are two good reasons to do a focused Bible study on heaven. First, because the history of how Christians have understood heaven has been written by several and this history reveals that...
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Mark 10:21 is informative about what to think about heaven, but it must be read in context and I’m asking you to read the whole text carefully — there’s a lot here and this passage directly addresses...
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Four texts from Mark 11 and 12 bring us back to the big idea of what heaven refers to. Here they are: Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that...
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Here are some texts from Mark 13 that muddy the clear waters of tradition when it comes to the meaning of “heaven.” Mark 13:25: the stars will fall from the sky [heaven], and the heavenly bodies will...
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We are looking into such issues as whether or not “heaven” is the eternal home, or whether it is better to speak of “new heavens and new earth” as the eternal place, and then we are looking into...
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Many of the Gospel texts have parallels we have discussed last week when we looked at Mark. So, I begin with a text that, while it doesn’t say much new, emphasises something important about “heaven”:...
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A few more texts from Luke on heaven: Luke 10:21 At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from...
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We are marching through Luke’s use of “heaven” this week, and I’m not so sure we will finish. So here are a few more references: Luke 12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of...
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One of the most common uses of the word “heaven” in the Gospels is to indicate “up-ness” or “sky” or “the beyond.” Hence, the following few references from Luke but there are other texts that seem to...
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Four more references to “heaven” in Luke’s Gospel: Luke 21:11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from...
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We enter into the world of John’s Gospel today. This Gospel has a stronger vertical dualism than the Synoptics, but let’s look at a few texts: John 1:32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending...
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One special text in John about heaven: John 3:26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with [ie. Jesus] you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all...
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Yet another interesting text in John, which I have to quote more completely. We are asking what does “heaven” mean and whether or not it is the final place of the blessed. 30 So they asked him, “What...
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Two more texts in John, both of which inform us of nearly the same thing: 12:27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came...
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My little computer program boots up about 19 separable instances of “heaven” in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. And we begin with a text that is at the center of a few debates today, in...
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Acts 2 has a number of interesting references and I will quote each one with a little context: 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing...
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We are in a series that seeks to examine what “heaven” refers to in the NT, and we are particularly searching to see if “heaven” is the eternal destiny. In other words, is heaven the intermediate state...
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Acts 4 has two references to heaven, and neither opens up new vistas for us on the meaning of heaven. Acts 4:12: There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among...
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Acts 7 also has a very interesting reference to “heaven.” Here are three texts in Acts 7: 42: But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the...
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Paul can say he saw a light flash from “heaven” in Acts 9:3, and probably just mean “up” or “in the skies.” But, Peter’s observations about his vision open up the heavens for us: Acts 10:9 About noon...
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