Final Restauration of Unity

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John 14, Revelation 21, Isaiah 65, 1Corinthians 15
English
Year: 
2018
Quarter: 
4
Lesson Number: 
13

Lesson 13 Final Restoration of Unity

(John 14, Revelation 21, Isaiah 65, 1 Corinthians 15)

 

Copr. 2018, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. All scripture references are to the New International Version (NIV), copr. 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society, unless otherwise noted. Quotations from the NIV are used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

 

Introduction: We have hope! The best thing for discouragement is believing that things will get better. We have discussed unity in this series of lessons, but the best news is that we will be unified when we get to heaven. Let’s jump into our study of the Bible and learn what a great place heaven will be. I believe our feelings of love and gratitude towards God will take away any division. Let’s enjoy a vision of the future!

 

  1. Heavenly Housing

 

    1. Read John 14:1-3. What has Jesus promised His disciples? (He will return and take them to heaven to be with Him.)

 

      1. Notice that you are promised a “room” in the “Father’s house.” The King James aggrandizes room by translating it “mansions.” Would it make sense to have a “mansion” inside a “house?”

 

      1. Why do you think the King James translated the Hebrew as “mansions” instead of “rooms” or “dwelling place?”

 

    1. Read Revelation 21:15-16. This is a description of the New Jerusalem, the “house” of God the Father. What shape is it? (It is a cube.)

 

      1. How big is the cube? (1,400 miles or about 2,200 kilometers on each side!)

 

      1. To what would you compare it today? (This is a high rise condominium building that reaches into outer space!)

 

      1. What do you think the description “rooms” represents in this condominium building? (Now “rooms” makes sense. This reinforces the idea that we cannot imagine what God has in mind for us. It also highlights the problem of adequately describing what God has prepared for us in the New Jerusalem. I once ran some projections on the size of the individual condominiums in the New Jerusalem, and they are bigger than anything you have in mind! Turns out that the King James and the NIV have it right, this is a mansion and it is rooms!)

 

    1. Read Isaiah 65:21-22. What does this tell us about our condominium in the New Jerusalem? (It is not our only place to live. We will also have country homes that we build and enjoy.)

 

  1. Heavenly Atmosphere

 

    1. Read Isaiah 65:17-19. What will be our state of mind in the New Earth? (Gladness, joy and delight. We will not remember the difficult things of the past. Weeping and crying are over - never to be heard again.)

 

      1. Will you enjoy being able to forget some things?

 

    1. Read Revelation 22:3-4. I’ve contemplated the idea that forgetting about sin might not be good. That memory should be the most effective barrier against sin arising again. Does this verse suggest a different approach to stopping the re-emergence of sin? (“His name is on their foreheads” means that they made a choice for God. With our inclination to sin destroyed with sin itself, our choice should be secure. Another measure of security is that we see the face of God.)

 

    1. Read Isaiah 65:20 and Revelation 21:4. Will our loved ones die? (Death is destroyed! I think the reference to dying at 100 years in Isaiah is a reference to what will not happen in the earth made new.)

 

      1. Look again at Revelation 21:4. We previously discussed no more crying, death or mourning. What do you think is meant by “the old order of things has passed away?”

 

    1. Read Revelation 21:3. Notice that God says that “He will live” with us and He will be our God and we will be His children. How will it impact your life to be in the presence of God whenever you want? (He lives in your condominium building!)

 

    1. Read Revelation 21:5-6 and Isaiah 35:5-6. What is the state of our health in heaven? (We are new, and we drink from the “spring of the water of life.” Our disabilities are gone.)

 

    1. Read Revelation 22:1-2. Why will our health be perfect? (In addition to drinking from the “water of life,” we get to eat from the “tree of life!”)

 

      1. Let’s see if we can stretch your imagination! The Bible tells us, as we previously discussed, the fact that the New Jerusalem is a cube, an enormous high rise condominium. How does a river run through it and a tree stand on both sides of the river? (In my imagination, the New Jerusalem is an “open atrium” building, meaning that it has an open center. I see the River of the Water of Life running on each level, and dropping like a waterfall down to the next level. (In that design the river runs just outside the door of your condo.) The Tree of Life rises from the bottom to the top of the cube, with twin trunks on each side of the river. Can you begin to imagine the beauty and majesty of this?)

 

    1. Read Revelation 22:5. What is the source of our light in the earth made new? (God. I believe that in heaven and the earth made new, the level of light is much brighter! It will better bring out the beauty of it all.)

 

    1. Read Isaiah 35:1-2 and Isaiah 35:6-7. The writer no doubt saw a lot of desert. What does this tell us about the land? (It has water. It will bloom!)

 

    1. Read Isaiah 11:6-8. Why do the texts keep referring to a “little” or “young” child? (The verses list some pretty dangerous animals: wolf, leopard, lion, bear and viper. The point is that there is no danger. Heaven will be a place of perfect safety.)

 

    1. Read Isaiah 65:25. What is part of the reason for being safe around wolves and lions? (They have a new diet. They now eat straw.)

 

    1. Read Isaiah 35:8. What other reason will we be safe? (“Wicked fools” will not be there. No one will desire to do us harm.)

 

  1. Heavenly You

 

    1. Read 1 Corinthians 15:47-49. Who are the “first man” and the “man from heaven?” (This must refer to Adam and Jesus.)

 

      1. Who are you going to be like in heaven? (“We bear the likeness of the man from heaven!”)

 

    1. Read 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. What do we learn about our future selves? (We “will be changed.” We will “be raised imperishable.”)

 

      1. What does it mean to be “imperishable?” (We will not die.)

 

      1. How do you think we will be changed? We already learned that we will be new and like Jesus. We also learned about our new state of health. What else changes? (Read 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. All of our spiritual problems go away. They are replaced with perfection!)

 

        1. Have you heard some Christians warn that we must be perfect in order to go to heaven? We must be “safe to save?” What does this say about the state of those who die, but who are going to heaven? (The die in dishonor and weakness. Perfect is not our state when we die, rather, perfection is our state when Jesus raises us from the dead to take us to heaven! Praise God!)

 

    1. Friend, are you ready for a total upgrade in every aspect of your life: your housing, your health, your state of mind, your future, and your spirituality? Do you want to enjoy unity with the Great God of Heaven, the Creator of the Universe? These things have been promised to those who choose Jesus as their Savior. Why not, by the power of the Holy Spirit, choose Him right now?

 

  1. Next week: We begin a new series on the book of Revelation.