Exposing the Myth the Heaven is the Reward of the Saved

It is a common doctrine among most churches that Christians go to heaven after death. The mainstream teaching is basically, if you have been good you go to heaven, and if bad you go to hell.

There are various denominational twists to this accepted dogma. There is the idea of purgatory for example. Some will teach you must believe in Christ , and if you don't you are damned. Others are much more inclusive, and believe God accepts all mankind into heaven as long as they are a good Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, etc.

To avoid confusion let us look into the Bible, which is the inspired word of God and the authority on the subject.

What happens to us when we die ? Well this has been explained in the previous section entitled Exposing the False Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul. We go into the grave, and our bodies rot. We return to dust. But there is the hope of the resurrection. We are saved through faith. Christ and His living word the Bible promise us that there is a resurrection, and therefore there is hope (Luke 20: 34-37) (1 Corinthians 15:42-58) (John 11: 23-27).

The resurrection of the saints has not happened yet. This will occur at the last trump. At the blowing of the 7th Trumpet, which heralds the return of Jesus Christ and the setting up of His kingdom.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52  " Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

Matthew 24:30-31 " And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. "

1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 " For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. "

Zechariah 14: 3 -4 " Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives................ "

1 Corinthians 15: 20-23 " But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. "

Revelation 20: 4-6  " And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. "

The last trumpet shall sound, and then the resurrection of the dead saints happens. This coincides with the return of Christ to the earth. His feet shall stand upon the mount of Olives.

In the Bible there are three meanings for the word ' heaven.'

1. One refers to God's throne, or home where He lives - this is in the spiritual realm.

2. Another refers to the universe with all its galaxies and stars.

3. Another refers to the sky, which surrounds our earth - the atmosphere.

So when it says, " and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other " - this doesn't mean the saints will be gathered up in heaven where God lives, but rather they will meet Christ in the air - the sky, after having been resurrected. Christ won't shoot up to heaven, but His feet will stand upon the mount of Olives.

When we die we return to the earth, but there is hope in the resurrection.

God described David as a man after God's own heart (Acts 13: 22)(1 Kings 11:4). It is prophesied that David will be resurrected and be in God's Kingdom (Jeremiah 30:9) (Ezekiel 34:24) (Ezekiel 37:23-24).

Yet it is clearly stated in the Bible that David is still dead and buried, and is not in heaven.

Acts 2: 29 " Men and brethren, let me speak freely unto you of the patriarch David, he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. "

Acts 2:34 " For David is not ascended into the heavens....."

If the righteous go to heaven at death, then why does the Bible say plainly that David is not ascended into the heavens, and that he remains dead and buried ?

It is because the resurrection of the saints won't happen until the seventh trumpet sounds. As well the saints will be with Christ and Christ will be here on the earth, setting up His Kingdom. They will rule with Christ in His Kingdom, and will be here on earth (Daniel 7:27) (Matthew 19:28) (Luke 19:17-19).

Christ will rule the world from Jerusalem, which will be the world capital. The saints ain't going to heaven, except for maybe a brief official ceremony before God the Father's throne in heaven (Revelation 14:1-5).

The saints follow Christ and Jesus will be busy here on earth setting up His Kingdom and ruling the earth (Zechariah 8:1-3 , 14:9)

Micah 4:1-3 " But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. "

The reward of the saints is of course eternal salvation, but among other things it is also a job here on earth in Christ's Kingdom. There will be a lot of work to do. No the saints don't float around heaven on clouds for all eternity, playing on harps. God plans to eventually set mankind over the work of His hands (Hebrews 2:6-9).

Eventually, after the 1,000 years and the judgment period the earth will turn into a ball of fire. The incorrigibly wicked will be thrown into this lake of fire and burned up - this is the second death (Revelation 20:14-15).

God then creates a new heaven and a new earth. This will be on the spiritual plane, because there will be no more death, tears, pain or crying. Death, tears, pain and crying are part of this physical existence, and are associated with the physical bodies we now have. But when we have the spiritual bodies God has promised us, and after God is finished with this physical earth, then we will be living in the spiritual realm and so won't suffer pain, and won't cry.

There won't be any sin in the New Heaven and the New Earth, so there won't be any sorrow. There won't be any Devil and Fallen Angels around to cause trouble, and pain. The rebellious sinners will have been burnt up, so won't be around to cause others sorrow. All of the resurrected saints will have proved in this physical life that God can trust them to remain loyal and faithful to Christ and God the Father in God's Kingdom.

God the Father will come to live on this new earth, which then will become the seat of God's throne. So actually God's home (heaven) will be here on the new earth.

Revelation 21:1-4  " And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. "

Revelation 21:5-7  " And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. "

Revelation 21:8  " But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. "

The New Jerusalem descends down to the New Earth from heaven.

Revelation 21:9-27 " And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

" And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

" Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

" And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

" On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

" And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

" And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

" And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs (somewhere around 1,500 miles). The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

" And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits (which is about 216 feet) , according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

" And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

" And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

" The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

" And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

" And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

" And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

" And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

" And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

" And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. "

Revelation 22: 20-21 " He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

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