The Notes

This coming Wednesday night, June 10, 2026, we continue our new Bible study series on Heaven.  This week, we look at the most anticipated event in the entire world - the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and His reign as King of Kings, Lord of Lords.  

Through this Heaven series, we aim to separate truth from myth, give clarity to Revelation, and answer common questions about heaven and the end times.  It's the destination of all Christians, so we ought to know about where we are headed and what to expect.  Join us for in-person worship and some mid-week encouragement for the soul at 6:00 p.m.

If you can't join us in person, you can always participate through our Facebook page - we go "live" at 6:00 p.m., and you will have a front row seat.  If you can't join us live, there are 3 ways to watch the message later - on Facebook, on YouTube, or here on our website.  Messages are posted the following day and you can watch a replay of any message anytime!  

If you want to keep some notes from a message, you can download the notes for a specific message from the "Past and Future Messages" page of our website.  There are many ways to be spiritually fed and encouraged.

This past Wednesday night,  June 3, 2026, we began a new Bible study series on Heaven.   We ought to know more about our future home and our destiny.  The fact is - we all have a need to be wanted, loved, and know where we’re going (what's coming).  Heaven fulfills all three of those needs.  It's intentional.  God created us with needs that ultimately lead to Him because only He can provide for us and fully satisfy the longings of our hearts.  Scripture says that God “has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” – Ecc. 3:11.

As much as we may look forward to heaven as believers, God is looking forward to showing us what He has been preparing for us over these thousands of years.  Consider I Peter 1:4 – “we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away.”

 But in the very outset of this study, we have to understand one important truth.   We want to know about heaven, and scripture gives us a glimpse of it, but it’s not for us to know all there is about our future destiny.  1 Corinthians 2:9 - “it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.’”

I don't believe that verse is entirely true.  Many of us imagine what heaven will be like, and a great song by MercyMe says, "I can only imagine. . . ."  But importantly, Jesus let John see heaven and what is to come.  The Apostle Paul also was given a glimpse of heaven and future events, and so did Daniel.  They share what they saw with us, and we will look at it in depth over the next 3 or 4 weeks.

In this first week, we focused on answering common questions and giving an overview.   One question is whether Heaven is a mystical spiritual existence or a place.  It is a place.  Jesus encouraged His disciples, saying: “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

“I go to prepare a place for you” tells us it is a place.  And the book of Revelation describes a “city.”  Isaiah’s prophecy refers to it as the city of Zion.  It says, “So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.”  Is. 35:10.  The answer is clear - heaven is a place; it’s real.   “In my Father's house are many mansions,” and the Greek work for “mansion” is a dwelling place; family abode; staying.  That means heaven is the place where God wants to spend eternity with us, His family.  Heaven isn’t just where God dwells; it is a place being prepared for us as our eternal (not temporary) home!

If we are spending eternity with God, will it be fun?  Does God have a sense of humor?  Those are fair and honest questions because religion teaches us to have respect for God.   Reverence.  Awe.     Fear the Lord.   But here are truths that point to God having a sense of humor.  First, humanity was created in God’s image.  So the human capacity for laughter and playfulness must ultimately originate from the Creator.  Second, the unusual design of some animals points to the humor of God:  the antics of ostriches, a playful porpoise, silly seals, the platypus, kangaroos, and we can't forget mischievous racoons.  Third, Ecclesiastes 3 shows God’s design – “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. . . ."  It goes on to say in verse 4, that there is "a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. . . .”   God's design includes laughter which tells us, God has a sense of humor.  Fourth, Jesus – God incarnate  on this Earth – had a sense of humor.  He said things like, “Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!” (Matt. 23:28).  That's pretty funny; if we lived in His time we would have laughed out loud at that.  Fifth, people often experience God's humor in their daily lives; our Creator has used comedic timing & gentle irony to show us Himself and demonstrate that he is with us; He’s there.

Another question is will animals be in heaven?  Will our pets be there?  I believe the answer is absolutely yes!

The Bible says that when Jesus reigns on His throne, there will be a time of peace.  We will experience a radical transformation of nature reminiscent of the Garden of Eden.

Isaiah 11:6-7 – “In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow.”  All the animals will be there, living in peace.  It will be like it was before the flood in the days of Noah.  After the flood, Genesis 9 God told Noah that all animals will now look on humans with fear & dread; and humans were now given permission to eat meat, just not “with its lifeblood still in it.”  Here is the key - verse 5 - “And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal.”  Where will this accounting take place?  The Bible describes only one time; it is when we will all give account in Heaven before the great white throne of God. 

In Revelation 20:12-13, John describes an amazing scene -  "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.  The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.” 

So, yes, the Bible prophecies point to animals being in heaven, and that will certainly make heaven a fun place to be.  Now we can ride the back of a giraffe or comb the mane of a lion.  We can curl up with a polar bear or enjoy the antics of penguins.  

Another question is about purgatory.  The simple  truth is, there is no mention of it in the Bible.  No scripture indicates there is a middle ground or a temporary holding place for spiritual purification.

Revelation 21:27 says that "nothing unclean" can enter Heaven.  We’re either made clean by the blood of Jesus, or we are not.  It is not possible for other people to pray righteousness or purification into your life.

Finally, let's get an understanding of heaven.  Truly, the Bible tells us of 3 heavens.  First, there is the heaven above the earth.  It's what God made on the second day of creation when He separated the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth (the sky). See Gen. 1:6.  It's what we see in the atmosphere and in the stars at night.  

Deut. 10:14 – “To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.”  See also Isaiah 66:1 – “This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.”

Second, "Paradise" is the second heaven.  Recall Luke 23:43 when Jesus, while on the cross, assured the repentant thief, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."  This indicates that paradise is a place of immediate fellowship with Christ after our deaths.  And there is a third heaven – the ultimate, eternal heaven.

Paul wrote about this in 2 Cor. 12:2-4 - “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.”  . . .   This man “was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.”

The Apostle Paul calls it both the “third heaven” & paradise.  And John also called this third heaven "paradise" in Revelation 2:7 - “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”  When we come to the end of the book of Revelation, we get a description of this third heaven - "paradise" - which will be in the “New Heaven” – the final destination for all believers.

In Revelation 21, John says he saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”  This heaven that comes own to us is what Jesus is preparing for us - the ultimate Paradise.  The Holy City in the new Heaven.  Now look at Revelation 22 – “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.”  That description of the tree takes us right back to Genesis 2:8-9 which states, "And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."  An exciting thing about our eternal home - the "third heaven" – is that it will be a lasting paradise; it will be the most amazing and beautiful garden we could ever imagine!  

Let's close with this verse - Rev. 1:3 - “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Be blessed my friends.  Be very blessed!