Liberty Gospel Tracts - Bible Study Course - Heaven

Chapter 5

V. How Long Will People Be In Heaven?

A. Heaven as it is right now.

1. In Luke 23:43, Jesus told the repentant thief on the cross, “To day shalt thou be with me in ________________.”

2. According to II Corinthians 12:2, Paul was “caught up to the __________ heaven,” and in verse 4 he describes that as being “caught up into paradise.”

3. Jesus told Peter in John 13:36, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow me ______; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.”

4. II Corinthians 5:8 says, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be ______________ with the Lord.”

5. I Thessalonians 4:17 closes by saying, “so shall we ever be ________ the Lord.”

What we have seen, thus far, is that Jesus went to the “third heaven”

or “paradise” after His death on the cross. The repentant thief would join Him

there that same day, and the disciples would also follow Him there when they died.

We, too, are given the promise of being with the Lord when we leave these bodies through death.

That means that we will spend time in that third heaven or paradise with Jesus.

But much to the surprise of many, the Bible does not promise an eternity in that third heaven. The promise of II Corinthians 5:8 is “to be PRESENT WITH THE LORD,” and the promise of I Thessalonians 4:17 is, “so shall we ever be WITH THE LORD.” The promise is clearly that we will always be with Jesus throughout all of eternity. The question now becomes, “Where is Jesus going to be at different times in eternity? Right now, Jesus is in that third heaven, so all believers who have died are there right now (notice II Corinthians 5:8 again).

B. Heaven after the Rapture.

1. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:1,2, “I go to ______________ a place for you.”

2. In verse 3 of that same chapter He says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and ______________ you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

3. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes how He will come again to receive us.

a. Verse 14 of this passage says, “even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring ________ him.”

b. Verse 16 says, “the dead in Christ shall rise __________.”

Note: Believers who have died and gone to be with Jesus will come back with Him, and will receive their new glorified bodies first.

c. Then verse 17 says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the ________ in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Note: All believers still alive upon earth at the rapture will instantly “be ______________, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...” (I Corinthians 15:51,52)

4. After the rapture, we will then be with Jesus in the third heaven for 7 years, which is the length of the Tribulation Period then taking place upon earth.

a. According to Revelation 11:3, God’s two witnesses will prophesy for how long? __________ days or ____ years

b. When their job is finished, Revelation 11:7 says the beast “shall overcome them, and ________ them.”

c. According to Revelation 12:1-6, the “woman” (Israel) will need protection for how long? __________ days or ____ years

Note: So the Tribulation Period is 3½ years plus 3½ years, which equals 7 years.

Christians who have died and are in the third heaven right now with Jesus, will leave there and come back with Jesus at the Rapture to get us and to receive their glorified bodies. Then we will all return to the third heaven with Jesus, to spend the next 7 years there.

C. Heaven after the Tribulation Period.

1. Zechariah 14:5 says, “and the Lord my God shall come, and all the ____________ with thee.”

2. Revelation 19:11-21 describes the Lord’s return at that time in more detail, and says, “the ____________ which were in heaven followed him...” (verse 14)

Note: The Tribulation Period ends when Jesus comes with the armies of heaven to be the victor of the Battle of Armageddon.

If all the saints come with Him, then we will leave the

third heaven and come to earth for a period of time.

The question is, “How long do we then stay upon earth?”

The next section will answer that question.

D. Heaven during the Millennium.

1. According to Revelation 20:2, Satan is bound for a ________________ years (during the Millennium).

2. Then we see in verses 4-6 of that same chapter, that believers “shall reign with him (Christ) a ________________ years.”

Note: The word millennium is a Latin word meaning “one thousand.” It is used in Christian literature to refer to the thousand year reign of Christ upon earth. This is what the Jews are still waiting for — the Messiah to rule upon earth.

Remember the promise of I Thessalonians 4:17, “So shall we ever be ________ the Lord.”? If Jesus is going to rule and reign upon earth for a thousand years; and if we are always going to be with the Lord; then we must leave the third heaven and be with Him upon earth for a thousand years.

Where do we go from there? The next section will answer that question.

E. Heaven in eternity.

1. According to Revelation 20:2,3, after the thousand years are fulfilled, Satan is loosed for “a ____________ season.”

2. After Satan is loosed, he goes “out to ______________ the nations.” (Revelation 20:7,8)

3. Verse 8 tells how successful he is at getting people to rebel against God. He gathers them together to battle, “the number of whom is as the ________ of the sea.”

4. Verse 9 of that same chapter tells the outcome of that battle — “________ came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”

5. The devil is then “________ into the lake of fire and brimstone.” (Revelation 20:10)

Note: The earth faces another great and terrible battle, and a great amount of blood is shed. What does God now do?

6. Revelation 21:1,2 says that God then makes a “new ____________ and a new __________.”

7. Verse 2 also states that “the holy city, new Jerusalem” comes down from God ______ of heaven.

8. According to verse 22 of that same chapter, there is no temple in the holy city, because “the Lord God Almighty and the ________ are the temple of it.”

At this point, God creates a brand new heaven and earth.

He brings the heavenly city which He has prepared down to the new earth.

God dwells in the city, because the Father and the Son are the temple of it.

At this point, time is not referred to any more. There is no event left on the

Bible calendar after this. As far as we know, this is the setup for all of eternity.

Note: Remember once again the promise of I Thessalonians 4:17? “So shall we ________ be WITH THE LORD.”

If the Lord is upon the new earth in the heavenly city for all of eternity, then that is where we will be. But does the Scripture agree with that teaching, that we end up back here in a situation we would describe as “heaven (the heavenly city) upon earth?”

a. Psalm 37:9 says those who wait upon the Lord “shall inherit the __________.”

b. Verse 11 of that same chapter says “the meek shall inherit the __________.”

c. Matthew 5:5 also says the meek “shall inherit the __________.”

Note: At death, we who are saved immediately go to be with the Lord in paradise (the third heaven). We will be there until the end of the Tribulation Period. At that point, we will come back to earth with Christ as He wins the Battle of Armageddon. He then sets up the Millennium, which is His thousand year reign upon earth. We will rule and reign with Him upon earth. At the end of the Millennium, Satan is loosed and leads a rebellion against God; Satan is defeated and is cast into the lake of fire. God then creates a new heaven and earth, and brings down the heavenly city, New Jerusalem, to earth. So in the sense we normally think of heaven, heaven will then be upon earth for all eternity — for we will spend eternity “with the Lord.”

REVIEW:

1. Jesus told the repentant thief, “To day shalt thou be with me in ________________.”

2. We are confident, “and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be _____________ with the Lord.”

3. Right now, Jesus is in the third ___________, so all believers who have died are there with Him.

4. After the rapture, we will then be with Jesus in the _______________________ for 7 years.

5. At the end of the Tribulation Period, Jesus will come back to earth, “and all the ____________ with thee.”

6. The Lord stays upon earth at that point for a ________________ years, and we will be ruling and reigning with Him here.

7. What Latin word is used as a name for that period of time? ____________________

8. After Satan is put down for his final revolt, God creates a new ____________ and a new _________.

9. What does God then bring down upon that new earth? _________________________________________________

10. Those who wait upon the Lord shall inherit the ___________.

11. The meek shall inherit the __________.

12. We will spend eternity “_______ the Lord.”

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