North New South Wales Conference

Justin Torossian

Is Death the End?

01 Halloween’s Haunting History

Lyle Southwell

02 Spirits, Demons and the Dead

Charissa Fong Torossian

03 Who are the Spirits?

04 Death’s Surprising Truth

05 Your Questions Answered

09 Does Heaven Exist?

06 Is Death the End?

08 Hell Truth: Death of Death

Cathy Hookham

07 Cathy’s Story: Clairvoyant to Christianity


It was the story that had it all. In 2006, a six-year-old boy was seriously injured in a car crash. He died, went to heaven, and met Jesus. But does heaven really exist? A bestseller and movie later, the story of Alex Maliki as told in the book The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, was found to be a lie.

In an open letter written 9 years after that car accident, that 1 six-year-old boy who died and went to heaven, Alex wrote, I did not die. I did not go to heaven. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough." Well, that's good advice.

And tonight, the question we're going to answer is, does heaven exist? Well, you know, Jesus declared that heaven exists. John 6 33 says, for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Jesus says he came down from heaven. It's for real.

In 1st Peter 1 3 & 4 the Bible says there, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away reserved in heaven for you. You know Satan lies but God doesn't. God's promise is something so much better than this world for those who believe in Jesus. In this world, we have pandemics that break out and relationships that break up. In this world, children die, husbands and wives are ripped apart because of cancer and car accidents.

In this world, sometimes even death looks better than life. But God wants you to know right now that there is a better world, and this world is not our final home. In the beautiful words of 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 16 and 17, the Bible here reads, For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Jesus is coming soon with power and great glory.

His coming will be visible, glorious and loud, so loud the dead in Christ are going to wake up from the sleep of death when they hear the voice of the life giver and there's going to be a family reunion in the sky. What a day that will be. I don't know about you, but I long for this day. In July of 2021, Jeff Bezos, he actually spent $5.5 billion of his fortune on a 10-minute and 10-second joy flight into outer space. Maybe you read about it.

He just went 100 kilometers up into the air, paid $5.5 billion for it. Friend, you may never have left your country of birth, but if you belong to Jesus, when he comes, he is going to take you on an expenses paid intergalactic star space trip to heaven. In 1 Corinthians 2.9, the Bible says, but as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. Heaven will be better than the most beautiful place you've ever seen. It exists.

It is real. The Bible says so. And God gave the Apostle John a sneak peek, if you will, a sneak preview of this better world to come. In vision while in exile on the island of Patmos, John says he saw this. I'll read it to you from Revelation chapter 21, verse 2.

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. It's called the New Jerusalem. And you say, hang on a minute, Charissa, you're telling me that a city is going to come down from heaven to earth, like from the sky? Well, hey, if we can put a space city in space, then God can bring down the holy city if he wants to. John says he saw the holy city of God in vision coming down and as he saw it it reminded him of a bride on her wedding day.

It was breathtaking. What does heaven look like? Well I wish as I read the book of Revelation that John had a camera with him because he just describes it in amazing language. I read verse 16, the Bible says, the city is laid out as a square, its length is as great as its breadth, and he measured the city with the reed 12, 000 furlongs its length breadth and height are equal so it's a square a perfect square and it's like 550 kilometers on each side and according to 1 mathematician I'm not a mathematician so I'm just gonna take their word for it, but according to a mathematician, the New Jerusalem could house 2000000000 people on just the ground floor using those dimensions. If we use magnificent multi-story buildings, the possibilities are endless.

The point of God's Word is this, God has room in heaven for you. And God's goal is to get as many people into the holy city as he can. Notice what it says in Revelation 21 14. Now the wall of the city had 12 foundations and on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. Who were the 12 apostles?

Well We read about those. There were James and John, the sons of thunder they were called because they had great tempers. There was Peter who denied Jesus. There was Thomas who wouldn't believe him until he touched him. The apostles were the followers of Jesus.

And as you read their story in the Gospels, you see that they had their faults. But their names are written on the foundation of the holy city of God. Because God is saying to you and to me that if they can make it, so can we. By God's grace, you can enter into the holy city of God if you surrender your life to Jesus. We continue to see what else John saw in verses 12 and 13.

Here the Bible says she had a great high wall with 12 gates and 12 angels at the gates and names written on them which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel. 3 gates on the east, 3 gates on the north, 3 gates on the south and 3 gates on the west. You say well why are there 3 gates on every point of the compass? The number 3 is significant in scripture for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So think about it.

On the east side of the Holy City, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit say, come in. On the West side they say the same. On the North and on the South, God is saying the gates of heaven are wide open for you and for me. And the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, we read about those being there too. Who were they?

Well, Reuben, Judah, Simeon, Levi, these were some of their names. And if you were to try any 1 of those men in a court of law today, you could try them for murder, robbery, adultery, You could lock them up for life, really, but their names are on the gates of the city of God to testify to you and I again that anyone, anyone, anyone who accepts the grace of God can walk through those pearly gates and into the home of God. The holy city, God's capital. It is unlike any city you have ever been to in this world or you can even imagine. But I want you to notice with me what it says in Revelation 21, verse 27.

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Can you imagine a city undefiled? Not a single lie or liar in it. Satan, the father of lives, he can't step foot into this city. But if your name is in the Lamb's book of life, you can.

You might think, well, you look at yourself right now and you think, well, there's no way in the world that I could enter into heaven. But when you look to Jesus, the Lamb of God, there's no way you can't. Jesus will get you in if you will just surrender your life to him. He says, whoever you are, you can make it through those gates. Whatever you've done, God and his grace can forgive you.

You just have to come to him. If God can create this whole world, and if he can recreate it 1 day as well, he can transform your life as well. Revelation 21 verse 18 says, The construction of its wall was of jasper, and the city was pure gold like clear glass. The holy city, the Bible goes on and tells us it sits on a foundation of 12 types of precious stones and from a distance the city must look like it's just resting on a rainbow since every color of the rainbow is represented in those stones. Verse 21 says the 12 gates were 12 pearls.

Each individual gate was of 1 pearl and the street of the city was pure gold like transparent glass. There are 12 gates and each 1 of those made of 1 giant pearl. The Bible calls Jesus the pearl of great price. Jesus will 1 day swing open the pearly gates of the holy city for everyone who puts their trust in him. And the streets, they're paved with gold, the Bible says.

You and I can only imagine what this is going to be like. In Revelation 22, verse 1 says, and he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the lamb. This river isn't dirty. It's clean. It's pollution-free.

And verse 2 goes on, In the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the tree of life which bore 12 fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. We're going to eat, the Bible says in heaven, from the tree of life. This tree brings unending life, no death in heaven, unending life and youth to all who eat from it. And what kind of bodies will we have?

Ah, Philippians chapter 3 has the wonderful answer. Philippians chapter 3, verses 20 and 21, the Bible says this, For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we so eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself." When Jesus rose from the dead, he had a glorious body. Question, was he recognizable? Yes, Mary recognized him and so did the disciples on the road to Emmaus. So this means that heaven is a real place for real people, living people.

Isaiah 33 24 says, and the inhabitant will not say I am sick. There'll be no cancer, there'll be no disease, no sickness, only health. In fact notice what it says in Isaiah 35 verses 5 and 6. Then the eyes of the blind shall be open, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing, For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

No glasses, a world with no wheelchairs and no vaccines. The first voice many hear will be Jesus's voice. And the first face many see will be the face of Jesus. There'll be no antibiotics, no medicine, you won't need it. This side of heaven we might suffer, but there is a better eternal world coming and God wants you to know about it.

Satan would love for us to think that this is all just 1 great fairy tale, Because you know what? He used to call it home. And he hates that he will never be able to go back there, but that we can. Heaven is a real place for real people who do real things. Isaiah 65, 21 says, houses and inhabit them.

They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Heaven's not a holiday destination. It is going to be the home of the saved. You'll be able to build your very own dream home in the country in heaven, And you'll have a city home designed by Jesus in the holy city. In Isaiah 11 verse 9 the Bible says, They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. We won't have a need to lock our doors because nothing can hurt us. We'll be worshipping Jesus. Our hearts will be filled with joy and peace because the 1 who knows us the best will love us the most. And heaven will be this place of eternal friendship.

This is 1 of the highlights, I think, as I look at this subject in the Bible. Matthew chapter 8, verse 11 says this, and I say to you that many will come from east and west, and this is Jesus speaking, it's been read in my Bible, many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Can you imagine this? I don't want to miss these conversations. Imagine meeting Abraham and Daniel and Paul and talking with them.

There's so many Bible characters and so many people I want to meet but more than any of them I want to see Jesus. The Bible says in Revelation chapter 22 verse 4 they shall see his face and his name shall be on their foreheads." You know, in all eternity, Jesus will have time for you. And in Revelation 21 verse 3, it says this, And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, The tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. God's great desire is to be with you forever.

And if you surrender your life to Jesus today and say, I want to be with you Lord, I want to live for you and love you, then you will be there with him. You see right now the living God offers to you his heart and his home. There's a place in God's heart for you and only you. If you're not there, if you're missing, it won't be the same. It's 1 thing to miss the bus, but friend, it's another thing to miss heaven.

You don't want to miss out on heaven. I'm homesick for heaven. I want to be with Jesus. How about you? When I read Revelation chapter 21, verse 4, ah, it just grabs me.

It says this, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." The pain of the past will be forgotten. Death itself will die. Loved ones torn apart by death in this life will be reunited to never part again.

God doesn't like death. He's getting rid of it and that's why it makes no sense to celebrate Halloween, by the way. You know, as a young man, Dwight Moody, the famous Baptist preacher of the 19th century, He was called at short notice to preach a funeral sermon. And so he got his Bible out and he hunted through the Gospels looking for a funeral sermon that Jesus preached. But his search was in vain.

Instead, he found out that Jesus broke up every funeral he ever attended because death could not exist where Jesus was. Jesus conquered death and his resurrection guarantees our own should we die before he comes. Never forget the words that Jesus said to Martha before he raised Lazarus from the dead. In John 11 verse 25 he said this to her. He said, I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live." If Jesus is the resurrection and the life, then your eternal destiny depends on your relationship to him. Heaven isn't a default destination. There's only 1 way to be there. You must choose to accept Jesus' invitation to join Him there. It's been so good to have you join us for tonight's study on heaven.

And there is so much more I would have loved to have shared with you, but just didn't have the time. And so that's why I'm really glad to just share this with you. We want to make this free offer available to you. It's a study guide series called Try Jesus. And this study here is entitled, What and Where is Heaven?

If you would like to obtain your free copy of this, and we're going to throw in an extra book for you. It's called Is Heaven for Real? Then I invite you to text 709 to the number on your screen and we will make sure that you can have your free copies of these offers. I also want to let you know that tomorrow night, it's the last night of our series of Is Death the End? And we're really excited because we have a live Q&A panel.

So we'll be taking your questions, interacting with you. So don't miss it. We look forward to having you join us again tomorrow night.

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Series

Is Death the End?

09 Does Heaven Exist?

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

01 Halloween’s Haunting History

02 Spirits, Demons and the Dead

03 Who are the Spirits?

04 Death’s Surprising Truth

05 Your Questions Answered

1 more

09 Does Heaven Exist?

06 Is Death the End?

08 Hell Truth: Death of Death

07 Cathy’s Story: Clairvoyant to Christianity

Sound Doctrine