stmichaelschurch.net · Web viewHeaven is the realm of God’s Glory, presence and power which exists alongside this earthly realm, and from which He hears the prayers of his Children…(Isaiah

St. Michael’s ChurchCHARLESTON, SCEASTER

FROM EARTHLY LAYOVER TO

HEAVENLY MAKEOVER

BY THE REV. ALFRED T.K. ZADIG, JR.RECTOR

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WEDNESDAY APRIL 22, 2020

Slide 1: Easter Series

HEAVEN…COULD THERE REALLY BE ‘3’?

++++++++TEACHING+++++++

5 years ago, there was a headline in the Post And Courier…in big black and white print…

Can Quarterback Tom Brady Play…Forever?

5 years and a couple of Superbowls later, we know the answer is yes…

Tom will be in various uniforms into eternity!

Seriously we all have a fascination about Heaven, the when, the where, the what!

In fact, the two things that will surprise us most in heaven will be:

Who is there and who is not!

I think of A little girl…

FROM EARTHLY LAYOVER TO HEAVENLY MAKEOVER 1

She’s taking an evening walk with her father. Wonderingly, she looks up at the stars and exclaims;

"Oh, Daddy, if this wrong side of heaven

is so beautiful,

what must the right side be!"

Slide 2: Purpose

It is my joy to introduce to you this 6 week teaching from your St. Michael’s Clergy Team on Heaven!

I’M Coming to you from the Buyck chapel in the Pentecost house of prayer with our new stained glass window of revelation 12 behind me…SATAN BEING THROWN OUT OF HEAVEN..

The Purpose of this series is to:

Teach what is clearly revealed in Scripture about Heaven

In such a way that you can communicate easily to those in your life who think this earthly layover is all there is…

It’s why I preached on it during Easter!

As Ann Graham Lotz said in her devotional for today…The prospect of death will fill us with dread …unless we know

Where we are going…

MEANING…knowing as much as we can about our final destination and WHO will meet us at the end of life’s journey takes the fear out of getting there!!!!!

It’s why we will go deeper during these 6 weeks….in our series called:

From our Earthly Layover to our Heavenly Makeover!

These 50 days and our focus on Heaven will connect us from Easter Day to Pentecost on May 31.

Bottom line…


The life we’re in, This life…is only our Earthly Layover…

As we await…Our Heavenly Makeover!!

Remember 2 weeks ago…I said…

An average layover in the Atlanta Airport is 90 minutesAverage earthly layover is what? 20,000 days.

Echoing Billy Graham who said:

“My home is in heaven,

I’m just travelling through this world..”

WE ARE TRULY IN…NOTHING MORE THAN A LAYOVER HERE…

Okay..

Heaven…

Slide 3: 3 Disclaimers

But I need to give 3 “Foundational Disclaimers” to begin our 6 week series..

1. First Disclaimer, we are guilty for not teaching and preaching on it More!

2. 2nd.. Believing in Heaven is an Anglican Thing!

3. 3rd Disclaimer…We will not be Overly Technical

+++++++++++++++++++++++1. Guilt

We’re offering this series largely out of guilt.

Guilt is like the red warning light on the dashboard of the car.

You can either stop and deal with the trouble, or break out the light.

Guilt because we can be so caught up in our present we forget what’s next!

Heaven is within that area of our Theology called:


Eschatology…defined as that part of our Theology that deals with:

Death Judgement and the final destiny of the soul and of human kind…

We need to talk more about this, especially during this Pandemic.

Children especially need to understand heaven, for if THEY don’t, life has no deeper purpose!

So Guilt…First Disclaimer…and guilt because I could not fit everything into my 18 minute Easter sermon!

So to ease my guilt…

Tonight: April 22What is Heaven and are there really three of them?

Week Two: April 29..The Rev. Randy Shirley What will the Resurrected Earth be like?

Week three: May 6 The Rev. David Booman: Who will I see and What will I do in heaven?

Week Four: May 13 The Rev. Richard Grimball….What will our relationships be like as well as the Top Questions of Heaven…

And Richard will be looking at the fun questions… Will there be Pets? Will Children age in heaven Will you wear your wedding ring in heaven? Will good single malt Scotch be available there?

Week Five: May 20 I will speak on the fact that as there is a heaven, there logically must be a hell.

Week 6…May 27The Rev. Bill Hyer…How do I get there and will I go there alone?And any unfinished business!

+++++++

So…First Disclaimer…Doing this series because we should have done it years ago….


Slide 4: Anglicans Believe In heaven and Tricycle

+++++++++2. Disclaimer 2…Believing in Heaven is an Anglican Thing!

If you have taken I like Mike, or can remember your Confirmation class, you know that one of the things that makes Anglicans Unique is that we don’t make decisions based soley on:

Tradition or even Soley on Scripture.

When it comes to theology, that is…our study of God, we use a ‘3’ Wheeled TriCycle..

1. Bible2. Tradition3. Holy Spirit driven Reason..

That’s what makes Anglicans Unique..

Scripture, Tradition, and Reason.

Like a tri-Cycle, the wheels aren’t equally weighted…Scripture is always primary.

These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way.

Scripture is THE source for God's revelation and the source for all Christian teaching and reflection.

The smaller wheel of Tradition passes down from generation to generation the church's ongoing experience of God's presence and power, serving under Scripture as our earthly authority.

Reason is understood to include the human capacity through the Power of the Holy Spirit to discern AND APPLY THAT truth.

This Anglican balance of authority falls if any one of those tires goes flat.

Our model therefore can be distinguished from a tendency say in

Roman Catholicism that can overemphasize tradition to the compromise of Scripture and reason,

and in certain Protestant churches that can overemphasize scripture to the compromise of tradition and reason.

So…Let’s use that formula on Heaven.


1. Bible..the Big Front Wheel..

Heaven is Mentioned 500 Times in Scripture

Last week in Church:i. Colossians 3:1: If you have been raised with Christ, seek the

things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the Right Hand of God.

ii. Philippians 3:20: Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

iii. 1 Thessalonians 4:13: Do not be ignorant about those who fall asleep and do not grieve like those who have no hope!

iv. Matthew 6:19-20: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy… But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

But it’s not just a New Testament Concept…Even the Old Testament!!!!

i. Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.Jeremiah 32:17

i. The heavens declare the glory of God;the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;night after night they reveal knowledge. Psalm 19:1-2

ii. There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1

All of that and I haven’t even mentioned Revelation! I’m saving that for desert..in just a minute..

So, Heaven dominates Scripture…

So, what about the tradition of the church?

2. Tradition Tradition, under the Bible is our authority…there are essentially 3…


https://dailyverses.net/ecclesiastes/3/1

https://dailyverses.net/ecclesiastes/3/1

https://dailyverses.net/psalms/19/1-2

https://dailyverses.net/jeremiah/32/17

https://dailyverses.net/matthew/6/19-20

https://dailyverses.net/philippians/3/20

.. all found in our Prayer Book…

i. The 39 Articles of Belief…ii. The Catechism

iii. And the Creeds..

39 Articles: The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England / Anglican Church.

i. Take Article 4…Christ did truly rise from the dead and ascended into Heaven where he sits to judge all people on the last day

ii. Purgatory by the way…it’s a dead end for Anglicans..Article 22 “The Romish doctrine concerning Purgatory is vainly invented and grounded up on no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.

So…the 39 Articles, then…our Catechism which is a summary of faith..

Our Catechism…. i. Where do you go after you die? (Question 143 of To be a

Christian)…1. Quoting 1 Corinthians 15:42-44..When I die, my body will

perish but by the will of God, my soul will live on, awaiting resurrection and final judgement.

ii. What is the Resurrection of the Body? (Question 144)1. When Jesus appears on judgement day, He will bring all

the dead back to bodily life, the wicked to judgement and the righteous to eternal life…(John 5)

iii. Question 167…What is Heaven?1. Heaven is the realm of God’s Glory, presence and power

which exists alongside this earthly realm, and from which He hears the prayers of his Children…(Isaiah 61)

So, under Tradition…39 Articles…Catechism and 3rd, the Creeds!

iv. Heaven is in our creeds professed every Sunday, Both Apostles and Nicene Creed…again from last Sunday..

The Creeds: Nicene and Apostles: i. “I believe in God the Father, almighty, Creator of Heaven and

Earth..(Said in both)


ii. He Ascended into Heaven…

iii. I believe in the Resurrection of the Body and the life everlasting, Amen(only Apostles Creed, but that’s for another talk)

So, As Anglicans, our 3 wheeled School of Theology: Heaven dominates Scripture

Heaven dominates Anglican Tradition

Heaven dominates reason

3. Reason.. What is reason? The way we live out Scripture and Tradition!

As seen or worked out in our worship As seen in our Liturgies As seen in the hymns we sing As seen in classic Anglican Architecture As heard from in our ancient and Church Fathers As seen how we live and treat others

4. In the interest of time, consider Heaven as seen through reason, through our worship…

This might surprise, you, but my favorite church service is the funeral, not for a pre-mature death, but for someone who’s lived a long life..

In our worship, it’s chock full of communication on heaven..

Specifically as seen through Worship!

Opening words come from John 11…I am the resurrection and the life says the Lord, whoever has faith in me will never die..

As Anglicans, heaven is in our Worship DNA!

One of the things that David Booman will cover will be what we do in heaven..

i. Not to steal his thunder but the major thing will be worship!

ii. Not boring, but the most beautiful worship you’ve ever seen!

As Anglicans, our worship unlike most any other denomination is completely Vertical!


It’s why here at STM, even through the quarantine we don’t open our services with the clergy already in place.

No, we are led vertically by the Cross of Christ, always looking up , always looking to Jesus!

Again, let’s just go back to our worship service 3 days ago, as we, like you were worshiping from home, I was counting the number of times heaven is mentioned in our hymnody…quick review:

i. He is Risen 1. Vs.4: He is Risen He is Risen, He Hath Opened Heaven’s

Gate!...

ii. Then..There is a Redeemer… 1. Verse 3…When I stand in glory, I will see His face..there

I’ll serve my King Forever, in that Holy Place…

iii. Then, Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee 1. Verse 2…All thy Works with Joy Surround thee, earth and

Heaven reflect thy rays

iv. Be Thou My Vision… 1. Verse 3: High King of Heaven my Victory Won, May I

reach Heaven’s Joy’s, bright Heaven’s sun!

v. The Lord’s Prayer! 1. Our Father, Which art in Heaven…2. Thy Kingdom Come, They Will be done, on earth as it is

in……..

vi. Christ the Lord is Risen Today 1. Verse 1..Eath and Heaven in Chorus Say…Alleluia2. Soar we now Where Christ has Led!

vii. My Favorite.. 1. Praise My Soul the King of Heaven…Reflected in our

stained Glass Windows…

And Yes, Heaven as seen in our classic architecture

5. Slide 5: Reason in Practice: The Chapel at Sewanee

This is the my seminary chapel, All Saints Chapel at Sewanee.


Classic Anglican-Gothic architecture for the purpose of raising our eyes to heaven, to give us a heavenly glimpse!

St. Michaels is colonial but for the same effect, to look up above the altar to see a vision of heaven!

6. Slide 6: Reason in Practice: The Chapel at Sewanee

Then there are the windows…one of my favorite earthly windows is from Sewanee..above their Altar..

There is the campus, the Chapel and out of the Chapel, Jesus flowing to heaven…and I can’t help but break out in song..

Praise my Soul the King of Heaven!

The Reason of our elders who have gone before, the Church Fathers:

Reason… As seen or worked out in our worship As seen in our Liturgies As seen in the hymns we sing As seen in classic Anglican Architecture As heard from in our ancient and Church Fathers In seen as to how we treat others

It was St. Augustine who said:

“Learn to dance on Earth

so that when You get to Heaven,

the angels will know what to do with you!”

Being Anglican means being Heavenly minded, through:

Scripture Tradition Reason

o Liturgyo Architectureo Hymnodyo The Church Fathers

Slide 6: 3 Disclaimers +++++++++++++++++++++++


Disclaimer 1: Guilt

Disclaimer 2: Anglicans Believe in Heaven

Disclaimer 3: We will not get overly technical..To quote our Bible in a year Passage from Saturday…Deuteronomy 30:29:

There are secret things that belong to the Lord our God…

But the things revealed belong to us and our children forever!

We will be talking about the revealed things, for the purpose of sharing with others.

++++++++


Slide 7: Three Heavens!

Okay…What you’ve all been waiting for…

The Three Heavens!

How could there be three?

I’m going to stretch you even more by saying…

I’m going to begin with the 2nd heaven, followed by the third then make my way back to the first heaven..

+++++++++++++

Slide 8: Intermediate Heaven

Intermediate Heaven:

This is the heaven we go to when we die…

By the way, you know that we were never supposed to die…Thanks to Adam and Eve’s sin, we now die.

Eden, modern day Iraq..

Was supposed to be where Adam and Eve would live forever, But because of Adam and Eve’s sin…they screwed it all up.

Which means..

Black or white Rich or poor Gamecock or Tiger Yankee or Southerner We all die and go to one of two places…

Heaven or hell.

Tonight heaven

Hell…week 6..

When a Christian dies we enter into what is referred to in Eschatology…

As an intermediate state…


a transitional period between our past lives on Earth and our future resurrection life on the New Earth.

When we go to this intermediate Heaven (what we classically think of heaven)..

The Bible says our bodies go into the grave or urn on our last earthly day…

But our souls go to this intermediary heaven.

Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 5…

“BE of good courage, and prefer to be absent from the body

and to be at home with the Lord…”

Now, it is possible that somewhere between our earthly death and Heavenly life, God may grant us a physical form that could allow us to function as humans while in that unnatural state between the bodies, awaiting our resurrection.

In any Case…

When Granny goes to heaven, we’re referring to that “intermediate” heaven that we all think about and have been taught about in Sunday School.

It’s a real place, a gorgeous place!

Slide 9: Revelation 4 Jasper!

Described in Revelation 4:

“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven!

Wow, and here we get to step through for a sneak peak..

And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3

And he who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.

By the way…Jasper symbolizes the glory of God;

His splendor Brightness


magnificence and

beauty.

Jasper symbolizes the blood atonement we have through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the passing over of God's judgment.

It also represents

Royalty

Prosperity

Prestige

and valiance.

And then there is:

Carnelian…it’s A glassy, Orange Covered translucent stone in the Quartz family.

4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.

5 From the throne came:

flashes of lightning rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6

and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: and day and night they never cease to sing:

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

Kendal Harmon, our Canon Theologian for the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina uses this verse in Revelation to Prove Jesus is an Anglican…as they sing the sanctus…

Can you get the visual here?

How about the Audio?


Revelation 4 reveals what this Intermediate Heaven will sound like…

Roy Ortlund of the Gospel Coalition writes:

1. It will sound first like the roar of rushing waters. Niagara Falls. Sustained intensity.

2. Then simultaneously..a loud peal of thunder. Kaboom! Dramatic percussion.

3. Third, harpists playing their harps---Tender loveliness.

4. So the sound of this intermediate heaven was/is all three sounds mingled together as one.

We have never heard such a sound. Of course:

We do know what a waterfall sounds like What a thunderclap sounds like Even what an orchestra of harpists might sound like.

But we have never heard it all mixed together into one coherent, simultaneous whole.

Someday we will hear it. Someday we will be a part of it, as we sing a new song Before the throneWe will become capable of:

sustained intensity dramatic percussion and tender loveliness, all at once, forever, as the celebration of God’s glory pours out of us.”

But even more intimately…

Jesus has gone before us to personally prepare our place there..

Slide 11: Jesus Preparing our Mansion

John 14..

Jesus says…In my Father’s house ARE many mansions…

I’m going to prepare a place for you in that HEAVENLY DWELLING!

A physical place IN God’s dwelling place where angels work and live…


I recall the story of the Rev. Richard Sigmund.

As I said on Easter..

He was in a car crash in 1974, and went into a coma..and had a vision of heaven…

In His book, My Time in Heaven He writes:

I saw an avenue containing mansions beyond compare…

architecture beyond imagination….

But the biggest mansions I was told…

were reserved for…

The missionaries…all they’d given…returned 100 fold!

And none had locks, all doors were open…There were no thieves…!

Immersed in the shekinah glory of God!

We will know and be with Jesus!

o The same Jesus who walked on the Sea of Galilee,

o The same Jesus who healed Dead Lazarus…

o The same Jesus who died and Rose Again!

WE WILL BE WITH HIM!

++++

And just to touch on what David Booman will be teaching on in 2 weeks..WHAT WILL WE DO IN HEAVEN, WHO WILL WE SEE? I just told you what it might sound like…who will we see there?

IMAGINE..

Slide 12: Hall of Fame!

You’re walking in heaven when:


Around the bend..o There’s BILLY GRAHAM

Down by the Celestial lake…o C-S LEWIS!

On the other side..o JR. Tolkien!

Over there, reading on the park bench..o There’s Old Testament Ruth…

Back to The Rev. Richard Sigmund..Sigmund recounts walking in heaven and coming upon:

The largest pipe organ he had ever seen, being played by none other than

Johann Sebastian Bach

supported by choirs of heaven joining in praise and worship!Imagine!

Breakfast with Mary the mother of Jesus

Lunch with Moses and Lot with a side of manna and salt

Dinner with Johnny Cash…think about it!

But let’s get more personal…

Imagine the moment you see your Grandparentso Great grandparentso Great-great-great-great-grandparents!

Then seeing your momma…

Your daddy..

Your son…

Your daughter… who died at too young an age..

++++++

The intermediate heaven…Rainbows, Jasper and Carnelian..music, deepest friends and heroes..BUT..


++++++++Slide 14: Permanent Heaven

But believe it or not … that heaven is temporary…

Yes, it’s a place by far better than living here on Earth under the curse away from the direct presence of God.

Yet, that heaven is not the place we were made for.

God’s children are destined for life as resurrected beings in a resurrected EARTH.

Something Randy will be speaking on next Wednesday night.

To give you a brief preview…

The Theme Passage for the New Earth Heaven is Revelation 21…

The New Heaven and the New Earth

I John, saw a new heaven and a new earth,

And I saw the holy city (not Charleston), new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man.

He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.[c]

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

9 Then came one of the seven angels who he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God

having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates

the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13

on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel.


https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+21&version=ESV#fen-ESV-31041c

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+21&version=ESV#fen-ESV-31041b

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+21&version=ESV#fen-ESV-31041a

The first was jasper,

Second sapphire,

Third agate, Fourth emerald, 2

Fifth onyx,

Sixth carnelian,

Seventh chrysolite,

Eighth beryl,

Ninth topaz,

Tenth chries-o-prase,

Eleventh jazz-inth

Twelfth amethyst.

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

Now this is important…No Churches on the New Earth…22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

This is also important…No Need to bring your flashlight…And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its

lamp is the Lamb.By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into

it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

This is also important…No Need for

Soap Hand sanitizer…

Washing machines Dishwashers

Or even car washes..Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only

those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.”

This is backed up in the Old Testament book of Isaiah 60..


“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

2

See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

3

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.6 Herds of camels will cover your land,

young camels of Midian and Ephah.

Wait a minute, animals! Stay tuned in week 4 for Richard’s talk!

18 No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders,

No border walls or police needed

but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.

19 The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,

for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Can you visualize this new Earth?

It’s basically the reversal of Eden…Through the Easter Resurrection, Jesus as the New Adam Reverses the Curse…and in doing so,

brings Eden Back!

Revelation 22 says so:

22 On each side of the river stands the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

3 No longer will there be any curse

This will all be launched by the 2nd coming of Jesus…

When? We do not know…wait a minute, back to our Anglican Worship..when in communion we say:


CHRIST HAS DIEDCHRIST IS RISENCHRIST WILL COME AGAIN..

WHEN? WE DO NOT KNOW!

BUT WHEN JESUS DOES COME AGAIN, THIS IS WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN..

the trumpet will sound,

And those in heaven will be given their new-MADEOVER and permanent heavenly bodies first…

Followed by the same for those on earth.

Which means if you’re blessed enough to live ON EARTH during the time of the 2nd coming, you will truly never die…you’ll just keep going!

But for those who have come before..Slide 15: New Bodies!!~

NEW BODIES!

1 Corinthians 15:…

“In the twinkling of an eye, our bodies will be raised…”

WHAT A MAKEOVER THAT WILL BE!

Personally In my new body as I said on Easter..:

I AM GOING TO ORDER ONE THAT WILL LOOK LIKE like Tom Brady

WITHOUT his Buccaneer uniform….

and WITHOUT my bald spot…and with more Hair like Richard Grimball.

SERIOUSLY..

Scripture says our new made-over bodies will resemble the resurrected Body of Jesus Christ……

SO…Recap…


When we die, we go to the intermediate Heaven…

Then when Christ Returns, we will be given eternal bodies on an eternal earth…

A new Eden, where Jesus will finally reverse all that the Old Adam had done..

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Slide 16: Not Caught in the Weeds

Now…a 3rd in flight disclaimer…

There are some things about heaven we will never know this side of earth, and so at the outset,

I’m not interested in getting into the technical arguments, Specifically…debates like:

Is there time in heaven? This is very hotly debated..jury is out…


Then there is the debate of TIME…JUST WHEN WILL CHRIST COME BACK?

3 VIEWS…

1. Pre-Millennialism… This view expects a catastrophic global upheaval as THE sign of Christ’s visible, sudden return,

where He will establish a literal thousand year reign of truth and righteousness during which He will rule the world with his Saints.

Satan will be locked up and the curse of the fall will be revoked and we will have a golden age.

Within this camp, there are those who believe that they know IN ADVANCE the time of Christ’s second coming…like William Miller who thought Christ was coming in 1843….

2. Post Millenialism This view believes that the current spread of the Gospel and Christian teaching will gradually

improve society until nearly complete conversion occurs…

Evil will be reduced as Christian Morality transforms the world

and therefore the time of worldwide Christianization will not necessarily be a literal thousand years because that number is considered symbolic. But Christ will return at the end of that time.

3.A-Millenialism ..this view does not hold to a literal thousand year reign of Christ, but believes

good and evil will simultaneously spread until Jesus comes back.

This view holds that the Kingdom of God is now present as Christ rules His Church,

thus the Millenium and persecution is being experienced by the church right now.

This is the majority Anglican View. But again of secondary importance.

++++++++++++++

Slide 17: Purpose of this Series

What is most important is that Jesus Christ has won the conflict over evil…

He will return at His time and usher in a perfect

Eternity

a utopia in which God and His people will enjoy one another forever.


The forces of Evil, satanic or human do not and cannot defeat the Son of God. Jesus Christ wins, and In Him we win to.

People either go From here to Heaven…

Or hell

If Heaven…we then then receive our Bodies in the 2nd coming of Christ…and live forever on the New Earth!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++


Slide 18: Heaven Now

Okay, that heavens 2 and 3……where is the 1 st one?

Thank you…

This will surprise you.

One of John Piper’s colleagues Jonathan Parnell wrote a piece called:

Where is Heaven on Earth?

He writes… “Now in our life..wherever Christ is made King…That’s Heaven..

When Jesus rose from the Dead on Easter, He sparked the beginning of the day when our world will become His own…

You see…

On Easter Day,

Heaven reached its hand into our world and put its foot in the door…Meaning, wherever and whenever Jesus is made

King in our hearts King in our lives….that is the moment of Heaven on Earth..

Slide 19: When you:When through the Holy Spirit you:

You Forgive Humble yourself Put yourself last Honor another Reconcile with that child you are estranged from..

When you make Christ King in any situation.. When you.. Exude grace when we call On His Name…

You have just brought Heaven to Earth..

THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN…


When Jesus is made famous in your life…that’s Heaven on Earth!

Which means as people walk into St. Michael’s, they are walking into the very Gate of Heaven!

Again, it’s why our worship is Vertical, forcing us to look up to that cross!

+++++


Slide 20: Don’t Live for the Layover! So…

Heaven upstairs-no bodies 2nd Coming..Heaven permanently on earth-with bodies But Heaven is now too!

Which means…

Jesus in this Easter Season in quarantine is saying stop living for the layover, keep seeking things above!

Live for heaven so you can do more earthly good!

Living in the quarantine doesn’t mean we need to fear Death as Christians..

It’s why C-S Lewis would write:

The More Heavenly minded we become, the more Earthly Good we are!

Why?

Expecting our Heavenly Makeover means there is nothing on earth we can’t handle…

--Because we know this layover is temporary!

We don’t need to stress!

We can hold on to people and even things loosely

Because we know we will be getting an eternal heavenly makeover WITH them for all eternity!

We can relax, not fearing our final day…

Yet..

There are 2 things we can’t do in heaven…

1. Sin

2. And Evangelize

We cannot evangelize…by then everyone in heaven will be there!

Therefore this layover is all about helping others get to their heavenly makeover.


Using time in the Easter quarantine therefore to:

Call on people

Connect the church to the disconnected

To Speak peace without fear of death

To Speak of heaven boldly!

++++++++++Slide 21: Easter Sunday Night

One final story…

On Easter Sunday night, my mother called me, so excited to have watched the Easter Service at St. Michael’s from her computer in Boston. She was thrilled.

Back story is that my mother has cancer, and cannot receive Chemo at the moment because of the Covid-19 issue, so she’s scared, terrified actually.

In that phone conversation, half way through…she says in a tearful voice…

“Did you preach that sermon on heaven for me?

I felt as if you were looking into the camera into my heart….”

You and I as Agents of Christ, have got to be therefore agents of Heaven…clearly communicating to the suffering, those on the doorstep..

We must give and live…heavenly hope on earth.

In Jesus Name..

Amen.


Documents

stmichaelschurch.net · Web viewHeaven is the realm of God’s Glory, presence and power which exists alongside this earthly realm, and from which He hears the prayers of his Children…(Isaiah