I have been thinking a lot about death recently.

I have been thinking a lot about death recently

My Mom recently died in her 90s. 

My younger sister recently died in her 60s. 

A former colleague died three years older than I am. 

Friends died younger than I am. 

I attended my first Zoom memorial service. 

The daily pandemic numbers are also a constant reminder.

The average age of death in America is about 80 years. For every Aunt Lucy who runs marathons in her 90s, there are people who die in their 60s, often unexpectedly.

Life in heaven will be different from life on earth…very different.

Jesus’ letters in Revelation 2-3

In Revelation, chapters two and three, Jesus gave John letters to seven churches under his care. The churches have strengths and weaknesses. They are praised and warned. Jesus tells them:

            I know……your toil and your patient endurance (Revelation 2:2, ESV*)

            You have abandoned the love you had at first (Revelation 2:4, ESV*)

            Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison (Revelation 2:10, ESV*)

            I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first (Revelation 2:19, ESV*)

            You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead (Revelation 3:1, ESV*)

            I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3: 15-16, ESV*)

The churches then, as the churches now, were mixed: some good, some bad, some containing good and bad.

John’ vision in Revelation 4-6

But a big change comes in Revelation 4:1.

Revelation chapters four, five, and six paint a very different picture. John is given a vision of heaven, the eternal home of Christians. John describes what he sees:

          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… (Revelation 4:2-3, ESV*)

            And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes  all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, 

                “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8, ESV*) 

                  The twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne           and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns    before the throne, saying, 

                “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:10- 11, ESV*) 

                  And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth   and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 

               “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 

                  And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:13-14, ESV*)

Earth is mixed, scattered, and finite. Heaven is focused. It is the home of the Living God. We will be there. We will not be the focus. God will be.

On earth we live a life built on our finiteness, our fallenness, and relationships with those around us. Sometimes these relationships can be very difficult. Life in heaven will point to God and we shall experience him clearly.

What should we do?                             

While we are still alive on earth, we should focus on God. We should pray, learn God’s written word, and use our spiritual gifts to serve in his Church. 

We should point people toward God through the Gospel and through discipling other believers.

We should accumulate only what we need to live and not be magnets for useless clutter. Clutter distracts us from our life’s purpose.

Life in heaven will be different from life on earth…very different.

Questions for consideration:  

How have your thoughts about death changed over the years?

How will heaven be different for you? What parts of your finiteness and fallenness are you most looking forward to leaving behind?

* Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible