This is the last week we’ll spend on heaven so that we can complete the study of Revelation. In the last several Words for the Week, I’ve shared some things about heaven from my own experience, which should by no means be considered conclusive. I’ve read and heard many other descriptions that are different from what I’ve shared, but heaven is so big and diverse that I have no problem believing that all of these experiences put together probably describe far less than one percent of what heaven is really like.

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This week we continue our discussion of heaven. As we have briefly covered, Scripture reveals that heaven is so big that the physical realm is called “a shadow” compared to it. We also see in Scripture that it is diverse with many kinds of beings, not just angels. I personally believe that there are far more species in heaven than there are on the earth, and we are still discovering new ones on the earth. In short, heaven is a place of perpetual fascination and awe that reflects the unfathomable diverse and creative heart of...

       The next basic thing I learned about heaven is how diverse it is. For this reason, all of my experiences together probably do not represent even a measurable percentage of the vastness of the heavenly realm. When I hear others with very different experiences of heaven, I think it is to be expected. We all see in part and know in part, so no one has the whole picture. To have the whole picture we need to put the different parts together.

       Heaven is the creation of God just as the physical realm is, so there are similarities....

        Our goal in taking time to consider heaven during this study of Revelation is so that we can see with heaven’s perspective, not just an earthly one. From my experiences, the next main aspect of heaven that comes to me is how big it is. This means that to have heaven’s perspective, ours has to grow—a lot!

In Scripture, the physical universe is referred to as “a shadow” of the heavenly. So the huge expanse of the physical universe only has the substance of a...

The study of Revelation is a study of a spiritual experience that John had and the things that he saw while “in the Spirit.” His vision concludes with the kingdom of heaven coming to earth, so we will take a little time to examine one of the most fascinating and frequently asked questions today:

What is heaven like?

The main purpose for addressing this here is so that we can better understand how the kingdom of heaven will ultimately...