Troublesome Topic: THE PURPOSE OF HEAVEN

When we think about heaven, we usually focus on the beauty of it. This has been conditioned in us by the songs we sing and the sermons we hear about heaven. However, I challenge you to focus on the purpose of heaven, not just the beauty of heaven.

The Purpose of heaven is a closer relationship. God did not create heaven as some kind of art gallery to show us what He is capable of. The beauty that will be there is nothing more than a byproduct of who God is; it is not the main purpose. Ever since Adam and Eve Sinned God has been working to draw us back to Himself. Closeness has been His goal.

We have already seen the progressive steps God has taken to get closer to mankind. The first section of steps can be called “God is with us;” the second section of steps was extremely difficult, it can be called “God was one of us;” the third section of stairs brings Him even closer to His goal, it is called “God dwells inside us.” Heaven will be the final set of stairs, the final stage in this progression of closeness. I can’t explain it, but I know that it will somehow be even closer than God dwelling in us!

On this earth we have many hindrances to our relationship with Him; we have temptations, human weaknesses and baggage that we have carried around since our youth. But in heaven there will be no such hindrances.

I Cor. 15:26 says that “the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Why is that? Why isn’t Satan the last enemy to be destroyed? Or Sin itself? God will eliminate sin and He will condemn Satan to eternal punishment, but after that He will deal with the consequences of sin. Death is sin’s primary curse. So when God eliminates death He will be eliminating the primary consequence of sin. In this life we cannot get away from sin’s consequences (plural), like suffering and hardship, nor from the consequence of sin (singular), that being death. But when God destroys death itself it will be a sign that He has been completely victorious. He will have eliminated the problem (sin), the promoter of the problem (Satan), and the consequence of the problem (death). He will rightly claim complete victory over the problem. Then Jesus will take his long-awaited victory lap!

So in heaven we will not have any of the hindrances to intimacy against which we now struggle. God’s desire for intimacy will finally be realized in the most complete way.

The next lesson in the Full and Medium series on Covenants is: Are We Living Up to Our Potential