Dear Friends,

There is a river…

.

A bride adorned

Today, God willing, we are going to talk about heaven. Next time, I want to relate this topic back to the Problem of Evil.

I have to offer a caveat for today’s post: in some cases, I may use some verses which sound like they are talking about heaven, when in fact (perhaps) they are talking only about a temporal experience some or all of God’s people can or will experience on earth, before death. The reason I’m not too worried about such an error is because in such a case, I can rejoice in the fact that heaven will be even better!

So, today, let us contemplate the bride adorned.

Arrētos

This is a super intimidating topic, so I’m asking God to help me write this right now.

When it comes to heaven, words fail…and that’s the point.

[2Co 12:3-4 KJV] 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard ***unspeakable*** words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

A man somehow went to heaven and came back. While he was there, he heard…something.

Even if you are not a language nerd, check this out, because it’s pretty awesome. See that word “unspeakable”? It comes from the Greek word transliterated as arrētos. This word is a combination of a, meaning “without”, and rhetos, meaning “spoken” (1). You have probably heard the English word rhetoric…well, now you know where it comes from (2).

Dear child of God, there’s a part of heaven that is arrētos…so, yes, we’ll look at some verses about heaven, but with the understanding that we are looking at a very very faint image, just the roughest sketch, the dimmest of outlines, of a place that is ultra, that is beyond, our limited, finite, time-bound comprehension.

Good writers know how to build suspense by only revealing a little bit of information at a time. The curiosity is stoked; the anticipation builds; the end of the story cannot come soon enough. Tolkien….Lewis….insert your favorite writer here…they must all bow before the Writer of HIStory.

Heaven is arrētos..which makes me want to go there all the more.

The former things are passed away

“When I was a child, my parents               and it caused me many years of           .”

“When I was in school, the other children               me and to this day I struggle with            .”

“My husband               me, which left me completely             .”

“Because of chronic poverty, my family and I suffer from lack of             and may not survive much longer.”

“I’m dying from                 and the doctors don’t know what to do.”

“I had a wonderful           , but then I ruined it all by             .”

Everyone could put some negative experience into the blanks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge believer in healing here and now, and reconciliation, and counting your blessings, and being victorious and joyful through your trials, but that is not the topic today.

We can experience great victories in the here and now, but today I’m talking about the Ultimate Victory. I’m talking about the day when ALL enemies are defeated, and all of our suffering ends:

[Rev 21:4 KJV] 4 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.

The only reason I’m bold enough to face up to those Big Wounds of yours is because I believe in a Big God who has a Big Plan to fix everything. Your pain is temporary, dear child of God. It is going to pass away. Your wounds are going to pass away. Your doubts are going to pass away. Your fear is going to pass away.

And you don’t have to do a single thing to earn this.

Wow.

O, that bride!

Once God casts death, hell and evil, hateful, wicked angels and people into the lake of fire (Revelation 20), what will be left?

O, dear child of God, I am glad you asked.

[Rev 21:1-2 KJV] 1 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. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

I remember seeing my beautiful wife walk down the aisle on our wedding day. This is the comparison John uses to give us a hint of the beauty, the majesty, and the glory of the holy city. Husbands…you should be blown away at the idea that any sight could be *more* glorious than your wife rounding that corner with her father and walking towards you. But it *will* be more glorious. It *will* be more beautiful, even though we cannot visualize it now.

God’s going to show me something even more amazing than my wife coming down the aisle?? I’m in!!!!

O, those gates. O, that tree. O, that river.

Streets of gold and pearly gates? No, this did not originate in a Creed song or a lawyer joke…it’s Bible!

[Rev 21:21 KJV] 21 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 then there was this:

[Rev 22:1-2 KJV] 1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the MIDST of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the TREE OF LIFE, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.

When you read the above passage, and also this one…

[Rev 2:7 KJV] 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the TREE OF LIFE, which is in the MIDST of the paradise of God.

…you cannot miss the connection to this one (hold on to your seats cuz we’re going waaaaaay back!):

[Gen 2:9 KJV] 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the TREE OF LIFE also in the MIDST of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

We blew it. We spoiled everything and lost access to the tree of life. It was forgotten…or thought by most people to be lost forever. But God….the Ultimate Healer….the God who is Love…the One True Creator…is putting it all back together. And this time, no tree of knowledge of good and evil. And even more importantly, no Satan!

[Rev 21:27 KJV] 27 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.

Yes, Adam and Eve and the snake robbed us of something. But God’s going to give it back!

The End

That which was lost will be found. That which was broken will be mended. The ruined marriage will be restored to even more glory than before.

It all sounds pretty wonderful, but remember, these are all just little tiny whispers, little tiny glimmers, of heaven…because heaven is arrētos.

And just as a side note, I didn’t even cover all that the Bible says about heaven! Let me know if you want to know more 🙂

Instead of “Oh, I’m scared that an eternity with God could be boring”, this is what John–the disciple who Jesus loved, the young ex-fisherman who walked the dusty roads of Judea with Jesus, who in his old age was imprisoned on the island of Patmos for his faith in Christ–this is what John said on the final page of the final chapter of the #1 best-selling book of all time (3):

[Rev 22:20 KJV] 20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so,

COME, LORD JESUS.

Links:

1: Vine’s dictionary on Blueletterbible

2: Google/Oxford dictionary

3: #1 best-seller