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I was not raised in a Christian home. Everybody I knew as a little kid made fun of the idea of Heaven. Gates of pearl! Streets paved with gold! The whole idea was silly. I told the preacher that I could believe most everything he preached, but Heaven! It was too much to believe in Heaven.

The preacher said, “Which one?” I said, “What do you mean by which one?” He said, “The Bible says there are three heavens.” Three! I couldn’t believe in one. And here he was telling me I had to believe in three of them! The preacher went on to tell me about the three heavens.

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I. The first heaven is the atmospheric heaven.

It is the sky, with the clouds, with life-giving oxygen. We live on planet earth. It is enveloped by a layer of gases of nitrogen and oxygen. The atmosphere reaches out about ten miles from the surface of the earth. This is the first heaven. Isaiah 55:10 says, “The rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven…” (Isaiah 55:10; p. 762). That is the first heaven. I had no trouble believing that. I could see the first heaven.

II. The second heaven was also easy to believe.

The Bible says,

“God made two great lights…to rule the day…he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth” (Genesis 1:16, 17; p. 4).

This refers to the great Universe in which we live, filled with stars, planets, and galaxies. That is the second heaven. I had no trouble believing that. I could see the second heaven through the great telescope in Griffith Park. I could see the second heaven through that telescope.

III. The third heaven was the one that gave me trouble.

I couldn’t see it. The Apostle Paul spoke of “the third heaven” in II Corinthians 12:2-4 (p. 1238). Paul was speaking of the dwelling place of God. Christ spoke of it when He taught us to pray, “Our Father which art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9; p. 1002). The Psalmist said, “The Lord’s throne is in heaven” (Psalm 11:4; p. 604).

The third Heaven is just as real as the other two heavens. But I couldn’t see it! It seemed like a fairy tale to me, because I couldn’t see it! But the Lord Jesus believed it. In our opening text, Jesus said, “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” (John 14:2; p. 1135). Moses called this the “highest heaven” (Deuteronomy 10:14; p. 229). The Psalmist said, “The Lord’s throne is in heaven” (Psalm 11:4; p. 604).

This Heaven is the “highest heaven.” It is the place where God lives. This is where real Christians go, to be with God, with angels, and with the saved souls of those who die on earth. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). So, the third Heaven is a place. It is as real a place as the first two heavens. The Greek word translated “place” is “topos” – it refers to a real place. The Bible speaks of the Third Heaven as a specific place. This is the place Jesus went when He was “carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51; p. 1113).

When God cast Lucifer out, Lucifer had said, “I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north.” This speaks of the Third Heaven “on the farthest sides of the north.” Astronomers say that there is a place which exists in the northern heavens that seems not to have any stars or galaxies in it. This “supervoid” is 1.8 billion light years across. Scientists can’t explain what it is. Even from the Bible we can only imagine how vast this place is – and theologians say that this place may well be the location of the “Third Heaven.” We cannot see Jesus either, “though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (I Peter 1:8; p. 1311). In Hebrews 12:22-24 (p. 1304) God gave us a list of things we will see when we get to the “Third Heaven.”

1.  The heavenly Jerusalem.

2.  An innumerable company of angels.

3.  The church of the firstborn.

4.  God.

5.  Spirits of just men.

6.  Jesus.

7.  The Blood of Jesus.

The problem I have with some of these new preachers is this – they can’t count! It’s becoming popular today to say there is no Blood of Christ in Heaven. But there it is, on the page of your Bible – number 7, the Blood of Jesus. It’s number seven on the list of things in the “Heavenly Jerusalem”! I think some of these pastors studied too much Greek – and not enough arithmetic. It’s number seven, number seven, number seven. Why should the first things be there, but not number seven? Don’t worry, it’s there! The Bible says so! In Hebrews 12:22-24.

What can wash away my sin?
   Nothing but the Blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
   Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.
Oh! precious is the flow
   That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
   Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
(“Nothing But the Blood” by Robert Lowry, 1826-1899).

Now look at the capital city of Heaven. Please turn to Revelation 21:1-8 (p. 1351). Mr. Song, Mr. Mencia and I will read these eight verses.

“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. 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. 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” (Revelation 21:1-8; p. 1351).

This is the city of New Jerusalem. This is the place Christ is preparing for true Christians. Christ said, “I go [there] to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

How big is the city of New Jerusalem? Revelation 21:15-16 says the city is about 1,500 miles wide, 1,500 miles high, and 1,500 miles long. The city is 2,250,000 square miles. It is 15,000 times as big as London. It is ten times as big as Germany, and ten times as big as France. It would cover most of the area of the United States! But wait! New Jerusalem goes up 1,500 miles in the air. It has about 1,500 floors. And every floor is the size of a continent. It can be inhabited by about a hundred thousand million people – seventy times the present population of the Earth!

How can we get around up there? Our resurrected bodies will be like that of the risen Christ. He could instantly travel from one place to another after He rose from the dead. So transportation will be no problem! Christ will be the light (Revelation 21:23-24; p. 1352). There will be no night there (Revelation 22:5; p. 1352). Nothing on earth can compare to the size and beauty of New Jerusalem!

The Scottish theologian and preacher Horatius Bonar said that New Jerusalem is a great city, a well-built city, a well-lit city, a well governed city, a well-peopled city, a holy city, a glorious city. How eagerly we should look for it! How worthy of it we should live!

Now look at Revelation 22:17-18.

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book” (Revelation 22:17-18; p. 1353).

Have you trusted Jesus? If you have trusted Jesus you will be there! If you have not trusted Jesus you will not be there! It’s that simple!

The moment you come to Jesus and trust Him, your name is in the Book of Life. When God sees your name in that book, you will be admitted to the New Jerusalem when you die.

When I was a young man in my twenties I earned my Bachelor’s degree by going to college every night after working eight hours in the daytime. On most Friday nights I would leave the college and drive out to my Father’s house to spend an hour with him. We would sit together at his kitchen table. About midnight, my Dad would always say, “Robert, let’s sing one of the old hymns.” And so we would sing these words together,

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
   And time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks eternal, bright and fair;
   When the saved of earth shall gather
Over on the other shore,
   And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.
When the roll is called up yonder,
   When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
   When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.
(“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” by James M. Black, 1856-1938).

My Dad had not been a Christian in his life. His greatest joy had always been to go to Las Vegas, to gamble. But now that he was old, he never thought about Las Vegas. Now he only thought about going to the New Jerusalem when he died. That’s all he thought about now that he was an old man. “When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.”

A preacher friend of mine led my Dad in trusting Jesus. Now the world had nothing to offer him. All he thought about was going to the New Jerusalem! “When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.”

Will you be there? You must come and trust Jesus. You must be washed from all your sin in the Blood of the Saviour, who died to pay for your sin on the Cross. Do that and you will be there with my Father, in the glory of the New Jerusalem.

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:17-19; p. 1353).