‘Heaven’
Revelation 12.7-12 & John 1.47-57
Cirencester Parish Church – 28.09.14, 8am
The book of Revelation was written by the apostle John, around 70 A.D. Also known as the ‘The
Revelation to John’ it was intended to give hope and encouragement at a time when Christians were being
persecuted by the Romans, because of their faith. What follows is a series of revelations and visions,
presented in symbolic language that would have been understood by the Christians of the day, but would
have remained a mystery to all others...including many of us!
Today’s reading from Revelation is set in heaven!
It starts, ‘There was a war in heaven’ (Rev 12.7).
And we hear the story of how a war broke out between Michael, his angels... and the dragon, also known
as Satan or the devil, or if you’re up on your knowledge of the book of Job, the Archangel Lucifer!
Michael and his angels win and, Lucifier, the dragon is thrown out of heaven down to earth.
We hear a loud voice saying: ‘Rejoice all ye heavens and all ye that dwell in them!’ (Rev 12.12).
But we also hear the same voice saying ‘Woe to you all earth and sea, for the devil is come down unto
you, having great wrath’ (Rev 12. 12b).
In our gospel reading we hear about the calling of Nathaniel, also known as Bartholomew...but did you
notice that Jesus also gives us a beautiful image of heaven, where the gates have been opened and the
angels are coming down to be with us on earth (John 1.51).
It seems today that Heaven is in focus!
Heaven usually remains a [somewhat] distant place to us, until someone we love goes there...or it appears
we might be soon going there ourselves.
At some point in our lives we will all lose someone whom we love the most: a friend or family member.
And those thoughts of heaven start to come into focus a bit more...and we look forward to seeing them
‘again’ one day. That’s our Christian hope.
Many of us think of heaven as something that is ‘up there somewhere’ [POINT] ...above the clouds, and I
would imagine most Christians aren’t nearly serious enough about it.
And those who don’t know Christ in their lives are even less so. It’s just not somewhere, or something,
we tend to think about each day! But, heaven is THE place where we have the chance to live with God for
eternity, so it should be a ‘very’ big deal.
There was once a bishop who was on his way to important speaking engagement, but got lost. He stopped
to ask a few boys for directions to the Town Hall where he was giving the lecture. They told him where
the Town Hall was and then asked him, "What are you going there for?" He said that he was giving a
lecture on heaven and how to get there.
“Would you like to come and find out?" he said.
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"You’re kidding," said one of the boys, "You don’t even know the way to the Town Hall."
How seriously ‘do’ we take it?
Jesus himself only mentions heaven a handful of times: He says: ‘In Father’s house there are many
mansions’ (John 14.2). In today’s reading, he talks about its gates being open and angels coming up and
down between heaven and earth (John 1.51). And on the cross, he says to the thief next to him: “Today
thou shalt be with me paradise” (Luke 23.43).
But later, in the book of Revelation, we get a further glimpse...it is described in beautiful detail by John.
He tells us that:
- There is a river of life as bright as crystal (Rev 22.1).
- That the glory of God is its light (Rev 21.23).
- It’s a place where the gates are never shut (Rev 21.25).
- Where the trees produce all kinds of fruit (Rev 22.2a)
- That their leaves provide healing for all nations (Rev 22.2).
- It’s a place where there is no more night (Rev 22.5).
- The ‘new’ Jerusalem (Rev 21.10).
And we know from today’s reading that it’s a place of goodness with no falsehood or evil (Rev
12.9)...because Michael and his angels saw to that. Wow! Quite an image, don’t you think?
But, even reading the description of heaven that we find in Revelation, we don’t really get a good picture
of it. Heaven is just ‘too’ wonderful for us to understand until we finally get there.
It is as much beyond our comprehension as our world is for an unborn baby...an unborn baby can hear the
sounds of our world, and even see glimmers of light, but there’s no way he or she can yet comprehend
[for example] the beauty of a waterfall, or the glory of a sunset...or understand the fury of the ocean after
a storm at sea, or the majesty of snow covered mountains.
It’s beyond their comprehension, just like heaven is beyond our understanding right now also.
John attempts to tell us what heaven is like in Revelation, but it is far greater than he can communicate.
He tries, but because of the limits of our present world, we don’t have a full understanding of it.
What really makes heaven special [though] is the fact that God Himself will be there, and that it’s an
eternal home for his family.
So... believe in heaven!
It’s a promise from God for those who are baptised. It’s a homecoming, a journey back to the Father who
created us, and it’s a place where we will all be healed and united in love.
Amen.
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