Tonight [we will] think about what Jesus said about heaven.

(Transcription of audio file from 03:38 to 04:14 omitted.)

The Intermediate State⤒🔗

I want to briefly comment on the Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 57 and 58. [These questions] discuss and explain the meaning of “the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting” from the Apostles' Creed. And when it defines the meaning of “the resurrection of the body,” it answers in this way:

That not only after this life shall be immediately taken up to Christ its head, but also that this my body, raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul, and made like the glorious body of Christ.Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 57

And then describing “the life everlasting,” our catechism answers by saying this:

Inasmuch as I now feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, I shall after this life possess complete blessedness such as eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man: therein to praise God forever.Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 58

Notice the catechism there distinguishes between this life (leaving this life and entering eternal blessedness) and there is something to come when we are raised (Question 57). When we describe the things of heaven (the things of the ultimate reality; eschatology, as we sometimes describe them), we make a very clear distinction between what we call the intermediate state and the final state. So there is a difference between what happens to us now, should we die (what happened to the Old Testament saints and what will happen to us), at this point before the second coming of Christ, and what happens after that moment. We call the things that happen between the first and the second coming of Christ (for example, for New Testament Christians) the intermediate state. There is something provisional and temporary about it. But there is also a greater glory to come.

So when we are describing heaven (we are asking tonight “What did Jesus say about heaven?”), we want to think of heaven as that intermediate state. Heaven is the realm in which God exists with his people, but heaven is a provisional place. It is a provisional state. It is a provisional and temporary thing that God has made. There is something greater than heaven. That which is greater than heaven is the new heavens and the new earth, in which heaven (as it exists “up there”) and earth (as it is “down here”) will be merged together. They will be reunited. And God will raise our bodies and he will in a sense resurrect all of creation. We will get to that, but for now I want to understand that when I say heaven, we are speaking about that intermediate, provisional and temporary time and place and experience between now and the resurrection and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How Does Jesus Describe Heaven?←⤒🔗

So we are thinking about what Jesus taught about that intermediate state/provisional state/temporary place. What did Jesus say? In the first place, we want to simply say this: that Jesus spoke of heaven by using all kinds of metaphors/descriptive language/visual images, so that we would have some mental capacity to grasp something that is wonderful and eternal. As our catechism quotes from 1 Corinthians 2: “No eye has seen, or ear heard, or has entered the heart of man the things which God has prepared for us.” So Jesus comes down to our level and he speaks in a way that we can understand. That is how Jesus speaks. He wants us to grasp what heaven is like.

But recognize that because he uses metaphors/images/similes/figures of speech, they are limited in their descriptions, because they are simply accommodated language.

We have tonight four of those metaphors: Heaven is like a barn, heaven is like a house, heaven is like a kingdom, and heaven is like a table. Let's notice those four metaphors briefly. We will look at a few texts.

Heaven Is Like a Barn←↰⤒🔗

To begin with, our first text that we read was Matthew 13—the parable of the weeds. Here is a story/image/metaphor/narrative. Jesus speaks in figures and metaphors and visual imagery so that we can grasp what heaven, his kingdom, is like.

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,” he says (Matthew 13:24). He sows good seed in a field, and then while he is sleeping another man comes, an enemy, and he sows weeds. Two competing farmers. One has the upper hand, and the other one, the enemy, wants to get the upper hand. He wants his “market share,” so to speak. And he sows weeds all across the man's field. Then the servants ask, “Now there are weeds…how did this happen? I thought you sowed goods seeds! They were purified and they were prepared in the right way and they were supposed to be 99.9% weed free! But yet there are weeds all throughout your field!” And he surmises and concludes, “Well, that was someone else who did that work.”

Then they asked a very curious question (which we do not have time to delve into); they said, “Should we go and pluck up the weeds? You have a very large field and you have a very large clientele, and if you have weeds, your weeds will choke the good seed. You won’t have a great harvest this year, you will lose money, and those who depend on you won't have as much food to eat. Should we pluck up the weeds?” And the master says, “No. Because while you are going through the field and as you are plucking up weeds and as you are sticking little stakes in the ground to uproot them and get down deep for those bigger, more menacing weeds, you just might pluck up some wheat along with a weed. Just allow the harvest to come, and then at the harvest time both will be reaped, and then we will gather together at that point the weeds. They will be gathered together, they will be bound up, and they will be burnt in a fire. And then we shall gather together the wheat.”

Here is a parable about the end of all things when Jesus comes (as we describe it: the last judgment). He will come to judge the living and the dead. Notice what he says about the eternal state, about heaven. As he describes this field and he describes the two kinds of seeds and he describes the activity of sowing and of reaping, and there are two masters and there are servants, notice the very last word, the noun, in verse 30. “At that time we will gather them, we will put them in bundles” (the weeds), “and they will be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

That is sort of a strange metaphor for heaven. If you have ever seen a barn, it is not the most attractive thing. Barns really are just something of utility. They simply exist. They are large and sometimes they are oddly shaped. Maybe they are oddly coloured. Maybe they are not so coloured. Maybe they have not been kept up for very long. A barn is simply something that exists because you need something big with walls and a roof to put stuff in. It is not meant to be attractive. It is not meant to be a place where people drive by and say, “Look at the size of that thing! Look at the wonderful architecture!” It is a very basic four walls with a door and an odd shaped roof at times.

Jesus describes heaven like a barn! Animals go in barns, we know. All kinds of utensils go in there, all kinds of tools, whatever. If you have ever gone to a barn, the barn is sort of like that junk closet for a farmer. There are a lot of good things in there too, but sort of like that junk closet or junk drawer that you have, all kinds of stuff is just thrown in there. It is sort of a catch all thing. Why does he describe heaven/the eternal state like a barn?

Well of course, it fits the metaphor/story/parable. But a barn is a gathering place! A barn is a place where things are gathered, they are assembled together, and they are collected, as the harvest is going about. It is a gathering place. But also a barn is meant to protect. Here Jesus describes his elect like wheat, and he is going to gather his elect into this barn, this gathering place which protects and which preserves. Which keeps out (at least in human terms, as much as we possibly can) vermin and rats and it keeps out the elements and it preserves whatever there is within it. Heaven/the eternal state, strangely enough, is like a barn, Jesus says. We are gathered to that place and protected in that place from our enemies.

Heaven Is Like a House←↰⤒🔗

And then notice, as the Scriptures continue, John 14. There is another metaphor. You will notice that these do not all relate. There really is no connection to these metaphors except for the fact that they all are describing one common thing, which is heaven, the eternal state. In John 14, Jesus having described it as a barn in one place, now describes it like a house. This is a little more close to home and a little more of a nice type of metaphor. This is more of nice feelings and emotions, closer to home, and “warm fuzzies” even. He describes it like a house.

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.John 14:1-4, ESV

In the older translation we know it as “many mansions.” They are not mansions. Jesus was not a Frederick Price or Kenneth Copeland or Benny Hinn; he was not a faith prosperity preacher. He goes to his Father's house, which is heaven, and in that house are many rooms (many “dwelling places”). Many places for the many people of God whom the Lord is gathering to himself.

And in using the metaphor of a house, unlike the barn (which is simply an ugly thing, just a place of utility to gather things together), a house has purpose, a house has architecture, a house has more than just utility. As we say, where the heart is, there is the home, in a sense. A house is where a family lives. A house is where those who love each other dwell within. A house is the building in which a home is created. “In my Father's house there are many rooms.” And Jesus has gone to prepare a room for each and every one of those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ! In that great eternal and heavenly house is a room that Christ himself (amazing!) prepares, dresses, makes it up, cleans it up, builds, forms!

Heaven Is Like a Kingdom←↰⤒🔗

Heaven is like a barn because it gathers and it protects. It is like a house because a house is a dwelling place of family members. Then notice also that he describes it as a kingdom. In Luke 22:29-30 he very simply describes it as a kingdom. So the metaphors are going from small to big, so to speak. From things that may not be as impressive to this grand and vast kingdom. And the metaphor of a kingdom then signifies to us that there is a King, and that King has a realm which we call a kingdom. He has a large boundary over which he rules and has authority. And of course, as a King with a kingdom, he has kingdom subjects/servants. We are those servants. Christ is the King. Heaven itself is the kingdom.

And the amazing thing about the New Testament is that the New Testament describes the kingdom of heaven (which is this immense and heavenly thing that God describes as his dwelling place), and the kingdom of God makes itself manifest in this life in the church of Jesus Christ! The kingdom is larger than the church, but in this pilgrim age the kingdom is manifested in terms of the church. Isn't that amazing to think about? We [are] members of Christ's church—with all of its sin, with all of its dysfunction, with all of its problems, with all of its issues, with all of its anxieties—[and] the church is Christ's kingdom.

We are his subjects. He is our ruler. We are the realm of Christ. He dwells within us. He does not rule with an iron fist, but he rules as a tender Shepherd, a loving and inviting King. He invites us to his banquet. He invites us into his kingdom. He opens the door for us. He prepares a place for us to dwell in that kingdom.

Heaven Is Like a Table←↰⤒🔗

And as a King with a banquet hall, amazingly, Jesus invites us to his table. We read from Luke 22 where he describes this kingdom, and in that kingdom is a table. In Matthew 8 we read these words:

When Jesus heard this, he marvelled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”Matthew 8:10-12, ESV

A time is coming, Jesus is saying, when the kingdom (as it was known in Israel) would be cast out, and Christ would reconstitute his kingdom, and that kingdom would be made of outcasts from east and from west, strangers, weirdos, weak, despised people, just like us. And we will sit in that kingdom of heaven. There is a great table. At that table’s head is Christ, and at the right hand is Abraham. He is the father of the faithful. Abraham is the father of the Israelites; he is the father of the people of God. From him God would bless all the nations. And there is a seat for you, Jesus says! The most intimate image he could use of heaven is a table. A large table at that, but yet a close-knit table where there is wonderful fellowship and where there is wonderful discussion and conversation. There is a sense of welcome and inviting to that table. There is a sense of calling and a sense of love. He invites us to that table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to feast upon a lavish banquet that only a King could set

That table is described by Jesus himself in the book of Revelation. The great marriage supper of the Lamb. Turn to Revelation 19. John sees this vision of the future. He sees what Matthew recorded Jesus saying.

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude…

Those gathered from east and from west, as Jesus said.

…like the roar of man waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder…

That is a big table, beloved!

…crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.Revelation 19:6-8, ESV

An amazing banquet table. A wedding table! It is not just the dinner table, the lunch table or the breakfast table (which is wonderful as it is). But this is the wedding banquet table, the most joyous of tables. You know it! The most blessed of tables. To sit there with the bride and the groom and to see the smile of the groom and the smile of the bride, the love for each other in their eyes. Between Christ and his church, the Bride. That is the kingdom of God. He has prepared it. He has invited. She has made herself ready. He has clothed her in pure white, righteous linen, bright and pure—the righteous deeds of the saints.

So what did Jesus say about heaven? He said a whole lot! These are just four basic metaphors of heaven: a barn, a place of gathering; a house, because it is a place where a family dwells; a kingdom, because he rules over his subjects, a vast kingdom from east and west; but also a table, a close-knit, intimate fellowship, welcoming strangers as guests. [Think of] the parable of the man who goes out seeking to get guests for the wedding feast, and no one would heed his call, and so he brings in the strangers. He brings in the homeless and the dirty, and he clothes them and makes them ready. Here is Christ offering his kingdom, offering heaven in the metaphor of a table, to all of us, saying, “Come and taste and eat.”

How Does Jesus Say We Enter Heaven?←⤒🔗

But how? Jesus puts out the call. Jesus makes the invitation and he “mails them out,” so to speak. So how do we enter into that barn? How do we enter the front door of that house? How do we become a subject of his kingdom? How do we find our place at a seat at that wedding table?

Here is where it might seem to us that it gets very confusing. [These are] wonderful images, wonderful metaphors, wonderful pictures to us that we can relate to. Most of us have seen a barn. We all live in some form of a house. We may not know what a kingdom, is but we live in a country and we have rulers. And we have all been around a table. And Jesus speaks about how we enter into heaven, but it seems like Jesus is contradictory. [The critics] like to say, “Well, the Bible seems to be so wonderful, and you Christians claim that you must believe in Jesus Christ, but didn't Jesus say that you must be perfect? You Christians and Protestants and Reformed Calvinists teach that it is by faith alone…Didn't Jesus say that you must obey every commandment? ‘Sell at that you have and give to the poor, then come and follow me and you shall enter heaven’?”

Was Jesus confused? Did he have two personalities? Was he schizophrenic? Did he speak out of one side of his mouth to one crowd and the other side of his mouth to another crowd? What is really happening? He says that we are to enter by obedience (Matthew 19), and he also says that we must enter by faith (John 3). So what gives?

Here is where we must understand this (I learned this in college, and I will pass it on to you): When you read the Bible, context is king. Context is king, when you read the Bible! The context in which Jesus says, “Obedience is the means by which one enters the kingdom,” and the context in which he says, “Faith alone is the means by which one enters into the kingdom” is king. Matthew 19 has just one example of his sayings of obedience as the means by which we enter the kingdom. And without understanding the context, we can very easily mistake the two. We can mingle the two. We can muddle the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Entering by Obedience?←↰⤒🔗

The rich young man (the rich young ruler, as one Gospel describes) in Matthew 19 comes to Jesus:

“Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

Don’t we all wish we had that question posed to us from our neighbours?

And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.Matthew 19:16-22, ESV

Jesus speaks here truly to the one who thinks that he or she can enter the kingdom of God because he or she is obedient or holy or somehow good. Jesus here speaks truly. He says, “Fine, if you want to enter the kingdom of God on the basis of your works, here is what you have to do: keep every single commandment.” And here is where the ruler/young man shows his true colours. He calls him “Teacher,” a term of flattery and maybe of respect. He speaks about doing good deeds, and Jesus says, “What are you talking about ‘good’? There is only one who is good, and that is God.” “Well, what must I do?” “Keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” Jesus lists off just a couple of them.

“I have kept all of these commandments.” He shows his true colours. He is a legalist. He has all kinds of stuff, and he really deep down thinks (and the last verse even brings this out) he is generous. He thinks he is honouring his father and mother. He has never actually killed anybody. He has never committed adultery. He has never stolen. He really thinks that he can be obedient. And Jesus says, “You want obedience? Here you go. If you have actually kept the commandments, I want you to sell everything that you have. There is your obedience! And then come and follow me. Are you willing to get rid of everything that you have?” This is a tangible expression of loving the Lord his God with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. Do you love your possessions or do you love God? Do you love your neighbour or do you love your possessions and yourself?

The context is king here. Jesus is speaking (in our terms) the law. He is confronting this man with the law. Because those are the terms upon which the man has set up the debate. “I want to enter the kingdom of God by law. I have done these things.” And Jesus says, “Well, you really haven't. Let me just show you how you really haven't, because you have never done this. Go and do all these other things and then come back and talk to me.” And the man shows his real colours. He leaves the way depressed and sorrowed.

Jesus never once teaches us in the Gospels that we enter his kingdom by our obedience. Never! He says that to the one who thinks he can enter the kingdom of God by his obedience. He never says that it is a means, or somehow alongside of faith that we enter heaven through our good deeds or our works or anything else. You will see it in the context. Trust me. Read it yourself. He only speaks this way with hypocrites, with arrogant Pharisees, and even with people like this, seemingly pious, good people who deep down inside are legalists.

Entering by Faith←↰⤒🔗

In John 3, on the other hand, Jesus speaks to Nicodemus. Maybe in our common terms we would call him a seeker. He is one who wanted to know about Christ who was afraid of the Pharisees, because they would put him out of the synagogue. So he came to Jesus at night, seeking to discuss with him the kingdom of God. Jesus in John 3 speaks to the one who is not a legalist, who is not a hypocrite, who is not an arrogant, highfalutin Pharisee, but one who seeks the kingdom. One whom we would say the Spirit has drawn and the Spirit has led. The Spirit has pricked his conscience. Jesus in John 3 says:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.John 3:16, ESV

“I did not come to condemn the world; I came to give the world life through my name.” Jesus speaks about entering heaven by the means of faith. God has loved the world. He has given his Son to be the Christ. And all who believe and who believe alone in Christ, and who by belief alone in Christ alone desire to enter this kingdom—who desire to sit upon chairs at that table, who desire to enter the house of fellowship and the barn of protection and gathering—those will enter the kingdom, the place we call heaven. Not by their obedience, but by faith in contrast to their obedience. And he says it to a Pharisee! Amazing! The root of the word “Pharisee” is one who is separate, who is devoted, who has set himself to obey the law of God, to be distinguished from the nations, to be holy, to be righteous, to be obedient, etc. Jesus speaks to this Pharisee, and John records it, and he says, “He who believes.” Amazing! That is how simple the gospel is.

That is what Jesus said about heaven. It is this amazing thing that God has made for us to relate to him. And the amazing thing about it is that it is so simple to enter, because we enter by faith, which is a gift of God, which itself is a part of his gospel, his promise, and his offer to us.