Where Is Heaven?

Heaven...Where is it? What is it? What can we learn from John's glimpse behind the veil into the throne room of God? This is week 3 of our 10 week exploration of the book of REVELATION. Thank you for being a part of COMMUNITYonline and journeying with us as we explore God's Word to the 7 churches of Rome.

Imagine There’s No Heaven

     Where has Heaven gone to? A few years ago John Lennon, in a famous song invited us to imagine it didn’t exist. In a dreamy voice, he sang...

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today 

     This song was very tempting for a generation tired of heaven being used as a carrot stick to get them to behave. Because this strange distant place exists, and because you might want to go there yourself some day, you’d better behave nicely here, or so the saying went. This was part of my story growing up as well. To me it meant, if you don’t drink, smoke or chew and stay away from girls that do, you might have a chance at Heaven.

     Today, our society is still as confused over Heaven as it was when Lennon sang his song. On the Christian side Heaven is central to the Gospel as a promise to those who put their faith in Christ. Given that Heaven is where Jesus went, we as followers of Jesus, better get our minds round it. Is it possible that the book of Revelation might just give us that fresh new insight we need to deepen our understanding of Heaven?

     So far, (our previous blogs) we have tried to understand John's apocalyptic tradition and the world of the Roman Empire in which he lived and wrote. Our next task is to come to grips with the questions of when and where John expected his visions to be “fulfilled.” Many people take Revelation's references to “the End” or to “heaven” as being about specific times or places that are “later” or “apart from” the time and place of first-century Roman Asia. There are then a few important questions we need to ask,

•  How would John's audience have understood his language about “heaven”? 
•  How did people in Roman Asia think of time and space? 
•  What did the concepts of “heaven and earth” mean to the inhabitants of the first-century Roman Empire? 
• What relationship existed between these “realms”?

Space

     One of the challenges of the common notion of “heaven and earth” found in our world is that it projects two distinct places between which there is little connection. Part of this perception was developed from the way ancient Israel understood YHWH as a “sky-father” god like other powerful storm gods around them. The literal meaning of the Greek term ouranos, which is translated “heaven,” is “sky,” that is, the physical space above the earth. The same meaning is also found in the Hebrew word for heaven as seen in Gen 1:1. Here the word for heaven is “She-maim.” What is fascinating is that “maim” means water and “She-maim” means water from above. This very ancient understanding of heaven as reflected in our biblical creation story shows the primitive understanding people had of time and space. For them the earth was flat and Heaven was a fixed canopy from where water falls. This was before the days of Galileo. It is this understanding that still captures many Christians’ imagination of heaven.

     However, in Revelation we find John describing heaven from a different perspective. Heaven in Revelation is more about describing two realities. In Revelation, “Heaven” is holy while “earth” is evil. Earth is the perspective of empire. Heaven, on the other hand, is where John sees that the truth is unveiled. In Revelation, John does not describe heaven as a place far away “way beyond the blue.” For John, Heaven is God’s space, which intersects our space but transcends it. As the veil was pulled back for John, heaven was experienced as only a further dimension of our world. N.T. Wright says: 

The Christian hope is not (despite popular impressions) that we will simply “go to heaven when we die.” As far as it goes, that statement is all right; after death those who love God will be with Him, will be in His dimension. But the final Christian hope is that the two dimensions, heaven and earth, at present separated by a veil of invisibility caused by human rebellion, will be united together, so that there will be new heavens and a new earth. Heaven isn’t therefor an escapist dream. Heaven is the extra dimension, the God-dimension, of all our present reality; and the God who lives there is present to us, present with us.

John expects his audience to be familiar with apocalyptic writings, which mean that “heaven” is not in the sky or after death, but co-present with daily life, hidden only by a veil. In being invited to “heaven” by a heavenly angel, John of Patmos is given privileged access to the truth of things. As Richard Bauckham explains:

John (and thereby his readers with him) is taken up into heaven in order to see the world from the heavenly perspective. He is given a glimpse behind the scenes of history so that he can see what is really going on in the events of his time and place.

Because John of Patmos had personally seen the apocalyptic truth of heaven and had communicated this through his book, the Christians addressed in the 7 churches were able to know that it is where God lives and reigns that constitutes the ultimate reality, not the illusory reality of the Empire of Rome.

---

Questions to ponder:

1. Does this affirm or challenge your perception where and/or how you think of “heaven” as existing? 
2. How would this view of heaven affect how you live day to day? 
3. How do you see God's space intersecting with your daily life?

---

Come be a part of COMMUNITY

• Join Us For Worship - Join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 or 10:45 as we continue our journey into the fascinating book of Revelation.
• Watch Live Online - Can't be with us in person? Be a part of COMMUNITYonline and join our live webcast Sunday mornings at 10:45. Click here.
• Watch Past Sermons - Missed this week's sermon? You can watch it here.
• Wednesday Evening Q&A - Join us Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Gallery for a deeper look at Revelation
• Ask Pastor Tredoux a Question - Submit questions to Pastor Tredoux here.

Couldn't join us Wednesday night? Watch the Exploration Revelation Class - Week 3

Recorded Live on June 29th, 2016

Exploring Revelation with Pastor Johan Tredoux - Week 3

Posted by COMMUNITY Covenant Church on Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Revelation Unveiled

     This summer at COMMUNITY, I have embarked on a very invigorating and adventurous path, that is... to spend ten Sundays on the Book of Revelation. I have taught on end time Eschatology at Mid-America Nazarene University, but I have never preached on it. So you can say that I have officially entered into “The Danger Zone.” You remember that song from the movie Top Gun?

     I am sure like many American’s, I have grown up with a real fear of Revelation. Especially after I saw the movie “The Thief in the Night,” which came out when I was about thirteen years old. It literally scared the hell out of me. (no pun intended) I remember many times coming home from school not finding anyone, and my immediate thought was that my family was raptured and I was left behind.

     Even so, I am sure that you would agree with me that Revelation is one of the most powerful texts in the Western World. Some find the book scary, others alarming, and for some, confusing and even dangerous. And I have to agree. Who can forget the modern-day Branch Davidians incinerated at Waco and the Heavens Gate community, who committed mass suicide thinking they were joining a spaceship?

           

     Many have set dates for the return of Christ only to be disappointed. So, why study Revelation? Can Revelation be understood? Is it good news or bad news? Is it primarily about Christ or the antichrist? Does it concern the past, the present, or the future?

     I hope you will discover with me, over the next ten weeks, that Revelation is not about the antichrist, but about the living Christ. It is not about a rapture out of this world, but about faithful discipleship in this world. I hope that at the end of the book we will not find ourselves in millennial debates, but find ourselves on our knees worshipping the Lamb.

     So, here are a few things for you to consider as we begin our journey with Revelation...

First things first... putting it in context

     One of the rules of Biblical interpretation is that we consider the historical context and audience to whom the text is addressed. This includes the author, the time the text was written, the specific literary genre used, as well as the reason for writing the text. So here is a quick answer on the first three:

• Who is the Author? Most scholars don’t know who John is. Some have thought that John is one of the disciples, but most scholars believe that he is a traveling prophet or the bishop over the seven churches that he is writing to. 
• When was it written? Most scholars have placed the writing during the reign of the Emperor Domitian from 81-96 A.D. It was a relatively peaceful time in the Empire with little persecution of Christians during this time.
• To whom was it written? What is often overlooked is that John is sharing this Revelation with the 7 churches of Asia Minor. It was not written to the church of the 21st century. It is important to know that it had a profound meaning to those who received this letter from John.  They understood what he was talking about. His letter to the churches was all 22 chapters.

What is the literary style of Revelation?

     This is a more difficult question and if we can get this right, we have the best change to unpack some of the mysteries of Revelation. Scholars agree that Revelation use both the Apocalyptic and Prophetic style of writing. It is then critical for us to understand this particular form of writing. This will give us the filters we need to make sense of all the bizarre symbols and weird language used in Revelation. So lets look first at the Apocalyptic Style of Writing:

• Apocalyptic Genre: What is fascinating is that the Apocalyptic style of writing had a 400 year history going all the way back to the Persian empire. This style of writing was very familiar to the author of Revelation. In fact it is used throughout the book of Revelation.
• One of the most common characteristics of A.G. is that it is filled with dualism... like lamb vs. the beast, light vs. darkness, or God vs. Satan. It is filled with imagery and symbols that should not be taken literally. We should be asking “What do these synbols mean?” Symbolic numbers is also a strong characteristic of the Apocalyptic writing style. I mean, who doesn’t want to know what 666 really means?
• Over it’s 400 year history, the A.G. usually surfaces during oppressive regimes or empires. It is written when things are going bad. This is why this style of writing is usually very pessimistic. They have seen so many failed attempts to change the systems of oppression, that they don’t think God can work from within history to accomplish His purposes. A new future will then have to come from outside –of –history. However, it is important to note that John doesn’t see salvation sweeping in from outside of history. John wants the readers of the seven churches to know that salvation is already present... in history. The true Savior of the world is the slaughtered Lamb whose Kingdom is already unfolding.
• In verse 4 John calls Jesus the one “who is, who was, and who is to come. This is a strange way to use the tenses. We usually go with past, present, future. But John puts the present first and goes backward and forward from there. This points to a much-overlooked factor that has to be considered when we interpret Revelation. It is the time factor. Scholars indicate that the time orientation of the Roman world was more focussed on the present. That is, they thought that the duration of their present time will remain that way forever. Therefore the mindset was that the present drives what is forthcoming. The future is already in the process of becoming. When you compare this idea of time with us, Scholars would describe our time worldview in the USA to be more future oriented. That is... the future drives what is present.
• It is also a common feature of the Apocalyptic style of writing that the author repositions himself earlier in time and talk about the past as if it is in the future. Because of its apocalyptic genre, we see that John writes of the cataclysmic events of the previous generation, such as Nero’s persecution of the Christians. 54-68 AD. He writes about the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. He even goes as far back as the time in Egypt when the Jews were slaves and the time in Babylon when the Jews were in Exile.

Unlocking Revelation

     This brings me to the key to understand the book of Revelation. In order to reveal, to rip the cover from the way things are, John is saying to the 7 churches, I want you to know what the Spirit has revealed to me about the real reality of the world we live in.. I want you to see two worlds. I want you to know that the victorious Christ is already present...he is the real deal. The New Creation is already underway. Everything else is fake. The true reality is the one who is and who was and who is to come ... Present , past, future.

• The key to understand Revelation is that John wants the 7 churches to know that Jesus, the Lamb of God, not Caesar, is the true Emperor of the earth.
• Revelation is a very daring, very creative, absolutely dangerous proclamation that Jesus Christ, not the Caesar, is the true Emperor of the earth. (It is this message that will either get you crucified or exiled. The Roman Empire did not allow descend)
• That’s what Revelation is up to. Revelation is a theatrical prophecy in the Apocalyptic genre of how Jesus, the Lamb conquers the Beast, whom John portrays as Rome.
• John speaks of Rome as Babylon, the Beast, the great whore. John was afraid that the Christians in the seven churches are being lulled to sleep into embracing Roman Civil religion. John is reminding them.... Remember Rome is a beast. Rome is not just evil when it is persecuting Christians; Rome is evil in peacetime as well. It is idolatrous!

---

Questions for you to ponder:

1. What is your first thought when thinking about studying Revelation? Fear? Excitement? Trepidation?
2. Does understanding the context and literary style of Revelation challenge or support your current interpretation?
3. 2000 years from now how will cultures interpret our modern day symbols? Will they understand the fall of the Berlin Wall, 9/11, Facebook?

---

Up Next: The Unique Nature of Prophetic Literature!

Come be a part of COMMUNITY

• Join Us For Worship - Join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 or 10:45 as we continue our journey into the fascinating book of Revelation.
• Watch Live Online - Can't be with us in person? Be a part of COMMUNITYonline and join our live webcast Sunday mornings at 10:45. Click here.
• Watch Past Sermons - Missed this week's sermon? You can watch it here.
• Wednesday Evening Q&A - Join us Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Gallery for a deeper look at Revelation
• Ask Pastor Tredoux a Question - Submit questions to Pastor Tredoux here.